Wednesday, March 17, 2010

It's always fun when Grammy comes

I just got off of a two week vacation - a.k.a., my mom being in town.  I realize it's quite unfair that it's certainly no vacation for her, but for two weeks she made every meal, got the kids dressed every day and changed almost all the diapers. Can I tell you my stress level for the last two weeks was non-existent? Wow.  I was thinking back to a movie Ryan and I watched a while ago that was set back in the 1940s and they had a governess and a cook and all that - and the wife was always happy!  And she was so pleasant to her children.  And she would sit and knit!  And I told Ryan, "See how happy I could be if I had a cook and a governess?  See how happy and pleasant I would be to our kids if I could just sit and play with them and read books to them?  See how much knitting I could do?!?"  But alas, my mom just left and I'm back to fend for myself and realize how much more easily tempers flare when you're doing everything by yourself and your kids are being naughty, and how it's no longer a snap to get out of the house with kids dressed and lunches packed, and it's definitely much harder to get the kids back to the car without an extra hand to help herd them and chase them down as one bolts out of reach, one flops down on the sidewalk throwing a tantrum in refusal to holding your hand and the other one is off crying about not wanting to leave.

But we had a great time while she was here.  I got so much done!  I try to think of everything that might need to be done in the next 6 months or so and do it all in the space of two weeks.  We probably had about 8 doctors appointments, saw a ton of schools trying to find one for Cash, and got a million other errands run.  Without having to get three kids in and out of the car every time.  Amazing how much you appreciate that. And it's so nice to have a clean house, clean closets, and cleaned out piles of accumulated junk now too.

And we still managed to get out and have fun. I'll just throw in a bunch of pictures from all the stuff we did.

Went to the Children's museum:


























Had a birthday party for my mom and Ryan complete with orange pound cake trifle.


My mom got some shots of the playroom in the condo of the girl who does Cash's school.  I'd love to have a room like this in my house!



My mom and I went to afternoon tea at the gorgeous Biltmore Hotel.


Went to lots of parks:







And hit the beach on an absolutely gorgeous day:

























Yeah, even I was a little worn out from trying to get so much done by the time she left! I'm sure she's plenty relieved to be home recovering from us too!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, that's so nice. Your mom made dinner every night?! That is one thing I can really say I don't like doing. How nice. LOVE the beach pictures. And there you are looking all glamorous again.

Jenilee said...

Yay for MOMS. We all love them. Looks like a lot of fun. We love our Children's Museum too. It is such a nice way to burn some energy, during our cold winter months. Luckily the sun is starting to shine and we can be outside again.

Anonymous said...

Your mom is an angel. I am happy you have her help
and . . . Love!

Anonymous said...

It puts me out of breath to hear all that we accomplished and everywhere we went. What was amazing was that last Friday it rained buckets ALL day long, followed by our perfect beach day on Saturday.

The funniest thing that happened was that on Sunday Ryan left for his early church meeting (I couldn't figure out why he left at 6:30 a.m. for an 8 o'clock!). Come to find out when we got to Church just after 9 a.m. with three boys(that alone is amazing!), the meeting was just ending because of Daylight Savings Time -- it was really just after 10!

It was so fun to be with a vibrant, active, busy family and see how very wonderful their parents are as they teach and train their little ones.
xoxocyh-Grammy

Anonymous said...

Jen worked as hard as anyone, simply keeping us going and ready with lists made. It was a great two weeks! So fun to see how much the children had all grown since Christmas and was a lot of things they know - I heard both twins count to 10 while I was there, (when they did not know I was listening) and they can recognize nearly every letter of the alphabet - and put together their own train tracks, and run quick as scat!

They are lucky to have such devoted, caring parents. Fun to see them all in action - and, believe me, it is ACTION.

xoxo Grammy

lindsy said...

That is sooo nice to have extra hands ... and to get so much done.

Sarah said...

You're mother is one of the neatest ladies I've met! and she looks simply fabulous (and about 35 years old) sitting there on the beach.. what a Beautiful Lady!!

I loved all of those pictures and I can't believe how big those twins are getting. They're all so cute.

You even went to the BEACH? with all three kids? it looks like you had Ryan's help too though, so how was it. (I seriously just started thinking and majorly craving your homemade cupcakes you made for cash's beach birthday party) now my mouth is watering and I'm not even kidding. I can't remember which one I liked better... The yellow cake with the chocolate center or the chocolate cake with the vanilla center. they were both good but one of them was simply out of this world. Best cupcakes I've ever had BY FAR!

ok, wow. major tangent.

You're darling. your kids are beautiful, and your mother is a saint. And just so Ryan doesn't feel left out. He's a swell guy too :)
xoxo

Susan said...

I can't get over your gorgeous beach day! Thanks for sharing the great pictures!
(I saw your mother at Katie's baby shower today and she looked beautiful! I think all the work, or the darling children, or the day on the beach was good for her. At least she was none the worse for wear.

AnnaMarie said...

Sounds like so much fun! It is always great to have extra hands around, especially ones who love your kids!

Corinne said...

That beach is SO LOVELY. Really, so lovely. I'm so glad you got to spend time with your momma :)

Safire said...

Sounds like you had an amazing time with your mom! And your beach day looked like so much fun.