Road trip!

I have been fully converted - I am now a road tripper!  We drove from NC to PA to MA and then back through NY to NC a few weeks back and can I just tell you what a gorgeous ride it was?  Of course, that was my view from the back seat with little man, but boy oh boy was it pretty.   I have always been a ‘just get there’ person and never really appreciated the trip itself. 

I guess I can attribute the reluctance to drive to too many road trips as a kid in the good ‘ole yellow paneled station wagon.   At the time it’s what people did (yay ‘70s!), but I did spend many, many hours stuck in my tiny corner of the bench seat with no seat belts to help contain my brothers.   We had ‘lines’ on the seat that defined our areas.  God help you if you went over your line.  I cannot imagine how my parents retained their sanity on those trips.  But I digress…

We originally began our plan simply motivated by the sheer volume of stuff that a 6 month old requires to exist for 10 days– and honestly we were driven out of fear of hauling all of that on to a crowded airplane with absolutely no status to let us board early! 

So we were wimps – I’ll cop to that.  I will.  But the bottom line was, by driving we were able to see people and things we haven’t seen in years!  I saw my Godmother!  Yay!  I loved our visit – even if it was just a blitz.  We stayed with friends and family on the way up and back – which was so nice and again something we’re very unaccustomed to…we typically stay at a Hampton Inn.  It was so sweet to wake up and spend quality time visiting with everyone and little man in his PJs – he’s so much fun in the morning!

B & B @ a Rest Stop in PA
Stretching their legs!

We got to really enjoy the ride too because little man was actually a good traveler.  He really did sleep much better than expected and I think really adapted well to being strapped in to his car seat for long periods of time.  We tried to break things up when we could and get out and stretch our legs.  But in reality, I know the drive was hard on B.  He drove the entire thing – from start to finish.  Ouch. 

Of course he had the option to share the drive, but stayed up front in the ‘grown-up seats’ while little man and I stayed in the middle row – his choice.  Does he need a massage to work out the kinks, probably?   But in reality, I think driving was the right choice.  Breaking it up into three days instead of two was nicer too – but that all depends how much time we have to get away.

Going forward I think I would do it again – I didn’t realize how homesick I was for up north – driving through the mountains and seeing the gorgeous scenery certainly made me want to head to Amish country again….who knows.  Maybe I’ll convince B to go on another road trip to Maryland….would be good to see the old stomping grounds again.

Happy Monday Ya’ll!

I am a Pumpkin Snob.

Welcome fall!  You’re finally here!  I have been waiting for you.  I love your cooler weather and think what you do with the leaves on the trees in my backyard is just gorgeous.  So thanks for that! My craving for homemade applesauce has kicked in and I’ve already started snooping around for pumpkins. But in an attempt at full disclosure, I am a pumpkin snob.  I don’t love the bright orange round ones that just sit there.  I prefer a smart pale orange pumpkin and a white pumpkin will always make me smile.  I don’t know why honestly – somehow in the last few years as they started introducing all of these designer pumpkins, I got hooked.

I love the way the colors are softer – although as most of you know – I have never met an orange shirt or sweater that I didn’t love.  SO I guess I’m good with the color but only if I wear it.  Don’t want to decorate with it.  That makes me an official pumpkin snob.

I don’t even like Halloween – I’m a Halloween Hater.  I think it will be fun to dress up Blake, but I so don’t get into the whole witches and skeleton thing.  Ghosts maybe a bit – but forget the vampires.  As a Halloween hater with a baby boy who will surely love getting dressed up as a super hero and getting free candy – I’m going to have to change my outlook.  I get that.  But not for a bit. 

For now I’ll continue to decorate with my designer pumpkins and be content with my calmer colors. I know in the very near future I’ll have to start actually carving the stupid things – but there will always be a Blake pumpkin and Mommy’s pumpkins in our house.  Because I said so! J

There was something I wanted to tell you....crap. Never mind.

So I had a topic all ready to post about today and I have completely forgotten what I wanted to say. Fortunately, this lapse in memory has helped me to find my new topic du jour…I forget things.  Sweet mercy I forget things.  I’ve never been this forgetful in my life.  I knew it was a side effect of pregnancy, but had no idea it was also a side effect of being a Mommy too.

I guess you could think this is funny, but it’s also a huge pain in the butt.  I write things down (when I’m feeling organized and efficient) and then of course I forget to read the damn notes.  (My moments of organization and efficiency obviously do not last as long as they should.)  I ask my sweet B to remind me of some things, but then he forgets to remind me and that just makes me annoyed at him – when I should actually be annoyed at myself since I forgot to begin with!  Sorry B!

So, where does that leave me?  I would love an assistant, but that isn’t going to happen in this lifetime.  Blake is too young to help remind me of things.  I guess I’m just going to have to make do with only getting half of things done I wanted to accomplish.  Phew- that my friends, is easier said than done.  I’ve never been one to drop balls – they might bounce occasionally, but never ever do they stop bouncing.   Until now. 

So now the proverbial ball has dropped and I’m sitting on my hands so I don’t try to grab at it.  OH it’s killing me.  There you have it.  I’m a control freak who had to lose my freak.  I’m now just a tired Mommy who recalls she put laundry in the washing machine, but can’t remember if she added the soap.  But I’m fairly confident than I didn’t turn it on.  So there’s that. 

Happy Tuesday Ya’ll!