holding down the fort

Late last week, Blake took Caleb and Matthew with him on an extended weekend trip to Texas to participate in the wedding of his youngest sister, Brittany. I was sad to miss it, but because this pregnancy is progressing very much like the last three, I opted to stay behind in order to help reduce the likelihood of delivering a dangerously pre-term baby. Garrett and I missed them terribly while they were away, but there were a few undeniable perks to our time alone together. Here are a few things I particularly enjoyed:

Bonding Time with Garrett. When people asked me how I was enjoying my one-on-one time with Garrett, I told them the truth: it was wonderful. I haven't been able to do that in a very long time. Garrett obviously enjoyed it, too, which he made clear by the fact that he did not stop talking. Seriously -- with no one to interrupt him, he just kept going...and going.... I learned all sorts of random facts, such as that Jupiter has 63 moons, Ceres is a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt just beyond Mars, and basilisk lizards can run on water. Knowing his love for science, I requested the whale-centric DVD Big Miracle, which absolutely enthralled him as we watched together.

As man of the house, Garrett got to eat dinner from a "big plate."

On our first full just-us day, I took him into the city after school to take advantage of the pay-as-you-wish hours at the Children's Museum of the Arts -- because when Garrett is not busy being a scientist, he's cultivating his artistic side.

As if he wasn't having enough fun at the various stations in the Wee Arts room....

...he entered a sort of personal heaven when he discovered the large collection of recyclables. At home, this is his favorite medium, and I often find him sifting through the recycling for materials.

On Saturday morning, while the other half of our family gathered at the San Antonio temple for the wedding, Garrett and I went to the playground. It was cold and windy, and we didn't stay long, but for the first time in my memory it was easy to say yes when I was asked if he could bring his scooter. (One scooter is easy to transport from our third floor apartment to the playground; two scooters, a stroller, three children, and a bulging diaper bag -- not so much.)

After church on Sunday, Garrett found a recipe in the Friend magazine for Unity Bread that he wanted to make. So we did. (PSA: It was more fun to make than to eat.)

Reading through the recipe.

Mixing the ingredients together.

And then there was the moment when, upon returning from a quick trip to the laundromat to switch the loads, I found Garrett, decked out with the appropriate items from our collection of toy kitchen things, sitting in front of the computer and rocking out to "Popcorn" a la The Swedish Chef.

Awesome.

Or the time when he crawled into bed with me the night the wind howling through the streets kept our lonely selves awake most of the night. He may be growing up, but he's very much still my sweet little boy.

Favorite's Party! Since the house was mostly empty, I hosted a Favorite's party, both to help ward off the quiet loneliness as well as the general winter blues. Our theme was "In the Kitchen," and each person brought three of their favorite kitchen things to share with three lucky randomly drawn recipients. People brought everything from small kitchen gadgets to curry mixes. I brought little Brooklyn trays from Fishs Eddy. Just over a dozen of my favorite people came, and we had so much fun I completely forgot to take any pictures. (Which, in this photogenically crazed day and age, begs the question: "Did an event really happen if there's no photo documentation to prove it?") Even Garrett, who couldn't sleep for the noise, joined us. The party was such a success, I'm pretty sure we'll do it again in the future. I mean, the theme ideas alone are endless!

Resting and Nesting. As I hoped I'd be able to, I spent a lot of time resting, which in turn gave me enough energy to also get in a bit of nesting. I gave the house a good cleaning before the Favorite's party, and, since no one was around to mess it up, it stayed clean! Translation: I got to put my feet up a lot more AND I didn't have to constantly bend over to pick stuff up off the floor. I also managed to get all the tiny baby clothes washed and put away, so that's checked off my nesting to-do list. And I was finally able to tackle in earnestness the sewing of this baby's quilt.

Me Time. In addition to the resting/nesting variety of me-time, I was also able to sneak in a morning visit with my friend, Deborah, and in doing so was able to take the train without having to physically and mentally stress about getting small children and a stroller up and down subway stairs. I was also able to get an appointment with the dermatologist taken care of, and it was so nice to not have to strip down for my annual "crazy skin" check with my brood all watching.

* * *

But, oh, how I missed my three traveling boys; it was a real treat to get to pick them up at the airport on Monday. The first thing Caleb said to me when I found him, shivering as he waited on the curbside, was, "I want to move to Texas." Knowing that he'd spent a lot of the trip battling bouts of homesickness, I asked him why. "Because," he told me, "it's warm there."

Bitter temperatures aside, though, he was as thrilled as I was that he was back, and for his part, Matthew couldn't stop grinning.

Every time I looked at him on our way home, he was smiling.

Blake was kept pretty busy helping his family out with wedding preparations, but he managed to snap a few photos of their time together down south:

 Matthew eating at Wendy's.

 Outside the San Antonio temple.

 With Grandma Joyce congratulating the new bride.

Trying Texas on for size.

 At the reception.

 Abby, Aunt Kiersten, Uncle Eric, Grandma Joyce, and Lydia.

 In Grandma's backyard with Lydia. Apparently Caleb spent most of free time time out there. (Photo credit: Aunt Kimberly)

 Matthew with cousin Abby.

At the neighborhood playground.

* * *

Five minutes after everyone was home, the house was a messy disaster and we were all once again stepping on top of each other. But to have everyone all together made it more than worth it. It's good to once again all be under the same roof.

Matthew happily reuniting with his favorite toys.