Our First Weekend Away

Since I became pregnant with Matthew, we have basically hunkered down and not traveled too far away. Once I hit week 13 in the pregnancy, we didn't venture anywhere! So you can imagine how I was a little nervous to up and leave our house for the weekend! Not only was I nervous, but I was dreading packing for Matthew. I know exactly what Michael and Claire need and packing for them is a breeze. But packing for a baby!! It has been so long and I was worried that I wouldn't bring everything for Matthew. But soon, all my fears were diminished and we were on our way to visit Damien's family. The weekend was great and all the kids did well. The only hiccup was that because Matthew slept so soundly on the 2 hour car drive, he temporarily mixed up his nights and days which led to some really long hours walking in circles in the middle of the night.

It was nice to be away from our house. I felt in a way that I was finally released from the crazy circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. Finally being able to travel cut any remaining ties that held me down and I felt free again!!

The weekend was packed full of fun family events. We celebrated Marlene's birthday, partied with our darling niece Megan as she turned 1, and just enjoyed being surrounded by family. It was wonderful for us and even more wonderful for our kids who had been troupers during the long pregnancy! I know they were thrilled to finally get away for a while. Some of the highlights of the weekend were: Damien's sister, Heather, buried a treasure for all her nieces and nephews to uncover and Michael in particular was blinded by the wonder of it all. While we there, were also able to introduce Matthew to Damien's grandparents, which in itself was a thrill. We met Damien's sister, Rosie's fiancé- as they were swinging through California from their home in Nebraska. And lastly, we got to see little Megan as she celebrated her first birthday and immersed herself in her little birthday cake.

It was wonderful to get away for a while. And although I had some minor anxiety about leaving home and bringing everything I needed for Matthew, all went well. I guess I am not as rusty in the baby department as I think.