Well, as many of you who are in frequent contact with me already know, Josh's older sister, Rachel, just got married this weekend in DC!- well, Annapolis, to be precise. She and her new husband (Pat) are both musicians for the Navy, so they had a beautiful ceremony in the Annapolis Chapel. Rachel wanted a small affair, so only parents, siblings, their families, Rachels' best friend, and Pat's 2 children attended. Josh and his dad officiated- it was just lovely!
Anyway, those of you who are in frequent contact with me must know, then, that hotels, connecting flights, and napless days with a 17-month-old Bunny are stressful for me! I love thinking that I have it all together, that I am in control, that Rebes and I have finally meshed into a smooth unit...travel like this is the Lord's way of stretching me, I think!
Where to begin?....Let's see, Josh's parents blessed us by flying us in and Rachel blessed us by planning her wedding in such a way that Josh was able to take his German final early and be done with class, thus allowing us to go home, I mean TX :), earlier for Christmas! We flew out as a family Friday morning...with him preparing for the final and trying to finish his PhD apps, Josh delegated me as our ride-finder to and from the airport. I think I am normally good at this sort of thing, so I was glad to pitch in where Josh normally leads so well! Andrea blessed us with a ride that morning and as Josh wondered where she was, we realized that I had gotten the flight time wrong and we would barely make the plane! Fortunately, Andrea was early and we walked in as they were boarding...whew! We easily made the next and final leg of the flight- 3 hours of fly time can be challenging for a 17-month-old, so we heavily invested in some suckers and treats...those went over well, altho Rebes evidently prefers Tootsie-Roll Pops to Dum-Dums. She also learned all about airplanes and can recognize any airplane by calling it an "ehpane" and saying "zoom!" She also loved the "snow" in the sky (aka clouds).
So, we got there Friday afternoon, J's parents picked us all up and thus began Rebekah's fascination with Papa! She always had to know where he was and insisted he partake in Itsy-Bitsy spider even while driving (he said no). We ate lunch and Rebekah easily went down for a nap in the hotel crib! I was shocked! We visited, got her up when she called out for her grandparents, and headed off to dinner with the wedding party. We had our own room at the restaurant and Rebekah loved her new cousins (Cuale-7 and Emilia 3 1/2)! She had a blast eating, running around, and going for walks around the place. She went to bed late, but easily, and all seemed well...until the next morning...Rebekah was rousing at 6am (way to early for her late bedtime), so the 4 of us (we all shared an adjoining room to Rebekah's) decided to see if she'd fall back asleep. She wasn't crying, juts sort of moaning sleepily. After 30 minutes of this, I finally threw in the towel and said they could get her, but, oh, by the way, I accidentally shut the adjoining door (now inoperable by design from our side), so go out thru the hall and thru that door. Upon further reflection, tho, I was reminded that Phyllis had locked the deadbolt and the security bar (as I would have)...so, yep, we were plumb-locked-out!! I'd like to stress that R wasn't crying...anyway, the hotel maintenance guy was about 200 yrs old and not much help as he rattled the hall door again and again...my genius husband was much more help as he picked the door from the adjoining side! My hero!! Anyway, in the midst of all this, R had fallen back asleep none the wiser!!!
On with the day- breakfast, pick up flowers, meet at the chapel, chase the child (who loved her dress shoes and the sound they made on the marble floor), sit down for the wedding, pull out aforementioned suckers and M&Ms...unfortunately, this is the part where Rebes realizes that not only is Dada talking up front, but low and behold, so is Papa!! Lots of sushing takes place to no avail, and R ever so often excitedly calls out Dada! or Papa! or fusses as she tries to run to them...thankfully, it was a short wedding! Onto a lovely lunch, where R is surprisingly good for no nap and being cooped up! We head back to the hotel and the last 5 minutes of the trip, she conks out....it's after 3, so since we have to wake her up at 5am the next morning, I am wondering is it wise to let her sleep a long time when she really just needs to go to bed early...anyway, I opt for what I assume will be a happy medium- let her nap an hour in the carseat, wake her up, put her to bed at 6...really wish I could re-do that. Rebekah, bless her heart, was crashed out and did not appreciate being awakened...she melted down for about half an hour, then decided if she was up, she was up! There was no going to bed at 6! We tried- but Josh convinced me to get her up, wait til she was really tired, then try again...so, we hung out with her for a while, walked, looked at the Nut Cracker (to which she affectionately refers "Nutttt" (great articulation of the "t") or "Crackers") and Christmas tree in the lobby...then we rolled her up with us in the bed and threw our parenting philosophy out the window and watched some tv...I was able to put her down at 8 without much squawking.
So, Josh got me up at 5 this morning- he was to take his parents and us to the airport before he drove to NJ to look around at Princeton for fun since he's applying there (high hopes! ;)). His dad was to marry another couple this afternoon in TX, so they had to make their flights and to my knowledge they did. Since this was my ride, we booked my flight early, too...I was sick about having to wake her up, but before we awakened her, J discovered that my first flight to Chicago had been delayed 3 hrs by a snow storm. Since I had a 3-hr lay-over anyway, this was welcome news! I went back to sleep with R once again none the wiser and Josh came back for me and for his other sister, Sarah, since we both now had 10:30 flights. Unfortunately, this delay was just long enough to make the AA people assume we would not be able to make our second flight, so they put us on a later flight home. I thought, oh well...anyway, we enjoyed the extra time with Sarah and had a great first flight. Seriously some of the sweetest time with Rebekah to date! She is talking so much and is so much fun! She even impersonates a crying baby when she hears one on the plane- you have to hear it!- it makes my eyes water...
Well, we get to Chicago and I double-check on the next flight and discover that it, too, has been delayed just long enough that we can make it- if we are willing to go without luggage! I decide, fine, and head off to get us lunch, assuming we have enough time...silly girl...I am just biting into my Chicago-style hotdog (sesame bun, mustard, tomato, relish, pickle, cucumber, and celery salt- wow!) when I hear last call for Passenger Emily Malone! On my gosh- I'm
that person! So, I chunk my food and drink and grab my girl and run for the plane...a bit over-dramatic b/c the plane hasn't even been loaded with luggage, which makes me wonder why they can't put mine on...? So, as I'm sitting there, I realize - hmmm...the carseat will not be there when we get there...so, I frantically call my ride and tell her to get the extra one out of our basement when she picks up our car. Anyway, Bunny and I have another delightful flight- before she slept and I tried to tune out the guy in front of me telling the whole plot line of the new Will Smith movie, I asked her for a bite of her apple (before you judge me, remember I had to throw away my wonderful hotdog and i am preggers and in need of constant food...). She obliges, then resumes eating it herself. Next thing I know I have an apple right in front of my face and a sweet little face and voice asking "Mama bite?" I almost cried from the tenderness of the moment- shoot- I'm tearing up now...you had to be there to hear her little timbre and the sweetness of the offer, besides the fact that I didn't know she knew the word "bite"...In the midst of so much chaos, my little angel is simply content to sit on my lap and share her only food with her mama.
We land! My ride lets me know that the whole house was locked tight (I assumed the back would be open from the girl dropping by to take care of Samson) so she was unable to get the extra carseat, but had procured one from a mutual friend!! PTL!!!! It should have been at this point that I realized that I foolishly put my house keys in my big bag and did not have them and would thus be locked out, as well. Instead, it was as we pulled up to the locked house...I called Josh, who gave me the person's # for where his key was for the dog, and was able to use my spare car keys (hidden under the mat for all these rides to the airport) to get over there and retrieve the key. It was also at this point during a call with Josh, who was truly nothing but helpful and compassionate, that the stress of the day hit me- even tho R had been wonderful, we had been blessed with empty seats next to us, and we were safe- I kind of flipped out over doing it all solo, not being home for the day, needing to get Sam over to his holiday home, and having to go back to the airport for my stuff...I also just felt bad for my girl- having been strapped in all day and still facing another hour+ of driving! To her credit, Rebekah talked to her feet and kind of sang to herself most of the trip. I was also blessed by an airport employee helping me with my 2 huge bags (we filled one with hand-me-downs from Emilia) and carseat, as I carried Rebekah- and "Roscoe," let's not forget!
Well, it is all done now and I am marveling at the day...my natural inclination to focus on the bad instead of the good and my penchant to worry over things I have no control over, yet to not think thru so many situations where I am in control!
Well, it's done for today- I have almost packed us all to start over tomorrow- this time Dallas!
