A weeks worth of catch-up!

How quickly a week goes by when you are busy. I have done so much since my last post! Let me fill you in… My sister was in a play (her very first show and she got the lead!) in the far, far north, and I wanted to fly with BBZ there to see it. Flights to a place that no one goes unless they have to are very expensive, so in an attempt to save a few bucks, I bought a cheap ticket to KC where my mother was getting some medical stuff done and planned to make the 10-hour drive with her and BBZ in tow. N had enough frequent flyer miles to get a free flight home, so we thought. More on that later. The flight was uneventful and he did quite well. He was ready for a nap when we landed, which was good timing for our ride. We made a few necessary stops and others in between when the little man got cranky. He was just about d-o-n-e when we stopped for dinner. Since his bedtime is usually around 6:30 or 7pm, we decided to stretch our dinner out until then and finish the drive while he snoozed away in the back seat. He passed out quickly and we were on our way, planning to get to my parents house around 9pm. As we drove along, it suddenly started snowing…hard. I texted with N who gave us weather updates as we drove on, going about 45 mph. he kept saying we were though the worst of it, but to us it just kept getting worse. At one point we drove past a very busy exit where every single car exited. My mom and I wondered if they knew something we didn’t know. we drove about 4-5 more miles and decided it was too bad out to keep going. The upcoming exit said there was lodging so we decided to stop. As we came down the exit ramp the sign pointed that lodging was 4.5 miles to the left. It was a dark country road and I suddenly had thoughts of us driving off the road or some creepy far north dweller coming after us and thought it would be a better idea to get back on the interstate and drive to the exit where everyone else got off. That is what we did and we checked into a hotel for the night. BBZ woke up in the car when my mom was getting us a room. He was pretty wound up when we got into the room and didn’t settle down until around 10pm. He slept in a playpen next to the bed, so when he woke up around 2am and saw me he wanted to be where I was. I brought him to bed with me and snuggled. He is just the sweetest thing! At one point I had my eyes closed and was trying to show him that it is still sleep time and not play time, then I opened my eyes and he laid a big, fat, wet kiss right on my mouth then turned and snuggled into my chest. I just laid there and smiled. It was so special! We got up the next day and made the 3-hour trip to my parents house. I don’t think I have ever been so happy to get out of a car as I was right then! We had a fun day on Saturday and headed to the show Saturday night. The show was so good! My sister absolutely nailed it! I was so proud to see her up there, doing her thing. She got great reviews and I couldn’t be more proud. Sunday we spent the morning together and headed to the airport. We had to flights ahead of us and a 1-hour layover. To say I was nervous is an understatement. BBZ did well, all things considered, but it is not something I would like to do anytime soon, but I will be after all. To finish what I mentioned before, N had these frequent flyer miles that he hoped to turn in for a free 1-way flight, but little did we know that you cannot use points for a 1-way flight. I had already bought the cheap 1-way ticket and just needed a way to get home. N ended up coming up with the brilliant solution (as he all to often does). He booked the first leg of the one-way for me to get home this past weekend, and booked the other leg back to the far north during Thanksgiving weekend, which we just so happened to have been planning the week-long trip there anyway. He will make the 13-hour drive with Delilah and BBZ and I will land happily (hopefully) in the far north in just a few hours. That way we will only have to do 1, 13-hour trip with the little guy. Traveling is hard enough when you don’t have a toddler, but he adds a whole new dimension. So we got home safe and sound around 8pm and I had the worst headache in the world, I imagine from the stress of the trip. Then it was back to the grind the next day at work! It was a rough day, but I made it through. I sent BBZ to school yesterday just to get a handle on things around the house. It’s amazing how much I do on the weekend that I didn’t even realize! I had an amazingly productive day yesterday that included grocery shopping, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, laundry, hanging BBZ’s 1-year pictures on the wall, cooking a yummy chicken dinner, and washing diapers. It was a crazy busy weekend, but all worth it! I was a bit worried about how my dad would do as far as bedtime with BBZ. Actually, I wasn’t worried about my dad, I was worried about how BBZ would be with anyone besides me putting him to bed. I called my dad at the first intermission and he said that BBZ came to him and laid his head on his shoulder, which let my dad know he was getting tired. He took him upstairs to the boys’ room (the room reserved for BBZ and his cousin when they visit) and just snuggled with my dad and his blanket until he drifted off to sleep. I was so relieved! I always worry about him at bedtime since I am the one who always lays him down, but he did great. My little Mr. Independent. He's walking around like crazy, although he rarely goes more than 4-5 steps before dropping down to crawl. I really think he is a bit lazy and knows he can get there faster by just crawling. He has added 3 new words to his vocabulary including "ge-da" (get down), "aga" (again) and "MAA!" (mine). Let me tell you how much I LOVE that last one. It sounds very much like "mo" (more) but it very distinct when you combine it with grabbing whatever it is you are holding and pulling very hard in his direction. Ahhh, my little boy...he definitely knows what he wants!