Three before Seven

Three spankings before 7:00 a.m. is not the way I had hoped to start my day. The boys were in moods of incredible dissatisfaction and no matter what I did, they wanted more, less or different. I laid down the guidelines for morning bliss and they crossed them with squared jaws and furrowed brows, so I met them, as promised, on the other side with correction. This has been a frustration dealt with and both are now playing without squeals of anguish as I type. Hopefully our day will continue this direction.

Yesterday, Sherri brought me my rocker base. It was delivered while we were gone to Florida and she kindly stored it in her garage until we returned. I was able to put it together this morning and it looks just as I’d hoped. I am surprised though at how low it sits and how far back it leans. I have yet to see whether this will be comfortable or not. When researching my little plan I did read that some people weren’t comfortable in the rockers, but I thought they were referring to the discomfort of a hard fiberglass chair. When I tried it out, it allowed me to lean pretty far back in the seat, so this may have been the issue instead. I’m not sure. Regardless, when I am no longer pregnant and there is a baby to nurse, I will know better how I feel about the comfort of the chair. Until then, I can only guess. I do know that it looks cool.

I did want to hit on some highlights of our Florida trip. First, we almost missed our flight out of Nashville. We did not realize the huge crowd that would be leaving our fair city on Thursday morning. After waiting in an endless line for security check we had 7 minutes to get our shoes back on, pull our bags together, get the stroller back in shape to push the baby and run to the gate. Can you see me? Almost 7 months pregnant, pushing a stroller with two bags and a baby in and around it, and running as fast as I can to gate 19 of the 25 on the concourse. Honestly, I wish I could have seen me. I would have laughed at myself. Shoot, I was laughing at myself. I remember thinking…”I didn’t know I could do this!” We made it and the extremely calm and friendly staff at Southwest was patient and helpful beyond the call.

The visit in Florida was fun as always. The boys enjoyed their time with Granddaddy and Grandma, visiting Mema’s pool and running around like they own the place. Kris and I relaxed quite a bit and though the schedule was full, I was able to put my feet up often and I appreciated every moment. The wedding, which was the purpose of our trip, went extremely well. Pretty flowers, pretty dresses, handsome best man and ring-bearer and of course the beautiful couple all seemed to enjoy themselves along with the guests. The whole thing was a setting of merriment and Jessica’s personality really came out with the fruition of her plans for the afternoon. She and Kevin rode off on their bikes, each bearing a sign and dragging tulle and flowers behind them. Jessica’s pink helmet, yellow flowers, white dress and purple pumps were “completely cute” to borrow a phrase from Tisra.

The next day we enjoyed a worshipful church service. The boys played well in the nursery once they were acclimated. I had to give Owen a lot of extra encouragement and spent some time in the class with him until he was comfortable. I’ve never, ever had to do this before and I can only surmise that his age and maturity have changed his perspective on making new friends and being comfortable in a new environment. Once he realized that Parker and John and Victoria etc. all liked Cars and had birthday parties to talk about, he was fine and I was able to go back to church. We had dinner with Mema and Kris’ parents and then loaded up and headed to Tampa to fly away. Once again the flying experience was not as expected. Our flight was delayed due to bad weather in Dallas and we spent more than 4 hours in the airport before we could board a plane. The good thing about that is that Tampa has a very nice airport. The children’s play area was right across from our gate and we were able to sit and read while the boys played on the soft carpet and brightly colored hardened foam airplanes. They really had a good time and with food convenient we were not in bad shape. The bad part was paying $33.00 to eat a very disappointing dinner at Chilis. I normally like their food, but it was very lacking in that facility, I’m sure due to the way they have to prepare the food in a small space. I felt sick the next day…ew.

We were back in Nashville, and home with two very sleepy boys before 9:30 Sunday night. It was a long day, but it still beats driving. I mean, even the wait in the airport allowed us time to relax with elbow room and play time. Yesterday, began full force with an appointment with Kathy in the morning, followed quickly by a trip to Mt. Juliet for fabric, library books and groceries. The weather was lovely and the boys were able to play outside in the cool air last night. It promises to grow warmer today and tomorrow but I will bear it with my chin held high as this prevents sweat from gathering in between folds of skin. Hee hee!

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

The camera messed up a lot for me. I sort of liked the way this one turned out of Ivan though.

Owen was quick down the aisle. I tried to explain that he should walk with the little girl, but he insisted that she would do what he did.

I was able to get a couple pictures of Owen before the wedding and I’m glad I did, because it would have been nearly impossible to catch a good one of him in the complete tux afterward.

Ivan wanted so badly to be up on stage and doing what Owen was doing. This was before the wedding began and he was so excited just to be on the steps of the stage.

Here, Owen had to sit down on the job. It didn’t bother me a whole lot but it looked like he was posing which was sort of annoying.

Owen was pretty fidgety. When he did stand up again, he was moving a lot, in this picture he’s leaning into or between Kris’ legs.

Rings.

After the kiss.

Ivan and Granddaddy

Owen sitting down at the reception without the tux jacket. He seemed so comfortable with everything around him. No amount of attention is too much for Owen to enjoy it seems.

We got a couple shots of the three married brothers in their swanky suits during the reception.

The very excited couple leaving the building.

Off they go!

Playing at the airport.