Big Weekend

This past weekend, the kids and I went to Illinois to visit with Rob's parents. Our purpose was two-fold: visit family and give Daddy peace and quiet while he works and rests. We had a wonderful time and the kids were delighted to spend so much time with their grandparents.



We took off on Friday after dropping Rob at work. It's a three and a half hour drive, so not too bad at all. Both of my kids are amazing travellers, so it was not a big deal to take them by myself. Neither one needs to be entertained. I just pop in some music and they sing along and enjoy the scenery. We stopped halfway down to have a picnic at a reststop and let them run around for a bit, then we finished the trip. When we arrived, Matthew ran into the house and yelled, "Grandpa! Abbie! We're here!" Abbie bounded up the steps and barked like mad, which made Matthew fall back against the door until Grandpa calmed her down. Ben walked in and looked at Abbie as if to say, "Hey, cool! A barking dog!"



Grandma came home a bit later and I don't think Matthew gave her a moments rest until she dropped them off here on Tuesday! Matthew is a Grandma's boy, be it Grandma Litwiller or Fulkerson. Ben prefers his Grandpa's and had to know where "Pa-pa" was all weekend. We'll see who the next one prefers!



I had a Tupperware party at my sister's that night and it went very well. Not too many attendees, but a lot of outside orders, so she ended up with a lot of free stuff. I didn't go to bed until around midnight that night, so I was rather tired all day the next day! Jim and Leanah took the boys to the children's museum in the morning and offered to let me stay home and rest. I took that time to run to Target (forgot my brush and a pony tail holder) and to Krispy Kreme for a Cafe Kreme and glazed chocolate donut. Then I rested in a recliner, called Rob, and read the paper. Bliss!

The kids managed to take some semblance of a nap that afternoon, and then we visited GG (Rob's grandma). She is a very sweet lady and I love how she devotes her full attention to the boys when they talk to her. Matthew sang a few songs for her and recited his Tiny Tracker verses. After the visit, Jim and Leanah treated us to the Cracker Barrel (one of my favorite restaurants) and then we went home. Rob's brother Andy came over and thoroughly tickled and tackled the boys, which they loved, then my sister came over with a puppy that she is fostering. (She works for a shelter and usually has some puppies or kittens that are too young to adopt out yet.) Matthew carried that little thing everywhere and had a ball. The funniest part of the evening is when Ben sat down to read his book and Wilma (the puppy) came up and licked him all over the face. He didn't seem to appreciate it much, but he didn't cry either, so that's good. It was awful cute! Little boys and puppies just belong together, I guess. Oh, my parents poppped by briefly after the Steve Green concert they attended, so the boys got to see both sets of grandparents!

Church the next day did not quite go as well as usual. (Although Steve Green was the special music: very cool!) Matthew came out of Sunday school saying that he had been crying for his grandparents and we found out that Ben was unusually fussy as well. New nursery combined with colds did not make for happy children. We did get to see Jim tell a story in sign language during Junior church, which was very neat. Matthew really liked it. After that, we had lunch at Steak and Shake and then I headed home WITHOUT THE KIDS!!! That's right, my wonderful in-laws asked a few weeks ago to keep the kids until Tuesday. They did very well and didn't cry for Mommy (unless a punishment ensued, but that do that with me and Rob too!)

Rob and I enjoyed our two childless days very much. We had planned to get a lot of housework done, but rested instead. Rob worked on school stuff and I caught up with my Bible study. We grocery shopped (and took our time) and headed to Madison for supper at the Olive Garden. My adorable sister gave us a gift card that we enjoyed very much. It was so nice to eat in a restaurant without having to cut up food, referee, and keep children in their seats.

While at the grandparents, the kids visited more great-grandparents, played at the park, ate at Chuck E. Cheese, did not nap, and wore out their grandparents. At least they had the decency to go to bed at seven that night! I could tell they had a blast when they got home (that included the grandparents.) I could sense a special bond had been formed that could only come with Rob and I out of the picture for awhile.

The kids came home around 1pm on Tuesday and it was nice to see them again. Ben cried (I think he wanted to stay with Pa-pa) and Matthew looked for Daddy. It wasn't until later that they snuggled on my lap (forever) that I knew they had missed me. Ben even napped on me for an hour, something he simply doesn't do. They didn't get to see Daddy until 8:15 and they clung to him until bedtime. They slept late this morning and napped good this afternoon, so I know they are catching up on sleep. They had a wonderful time, as evidenced by this afternoon's pretend session of "Grandma's House." Their toy dog was Abbie, Ben was Pa-pa, and the toy room was Grandma's. That was funny!

Totally unrelated: Today at breakfast, we were having Ben practice some new words. Matthew asked him to say "fire." Ben said "wa-wa." I don't know where that came from!