Fun, Food, and Family... Fast

My parents left for home a over a week ago. I was going to write prose about their stay, but given the shortness of time, and the quantity of things to do this week (new windows! clean the house! get ready for Easter!) I shall descend into bullet points.

•  Jon and I got away for a whole 24 hour! We stayed at a hotel! We ate fantastic food (including Rioja)! We visited Denver's Art Museum! I had fun, can you tell?! For 24 hours I felt like my pre-mommy self. It was freeing refreshing, and when we got back I had renewed energy for my kids. Result: Will increase frequency of date nights/ afternoons.
• New favorite cocktail: French 75 
• Caribbean cooking class with my mom and various female in-laws. Result: Shark and Bake (tilapia, mango chutney, pita), chicken skewers, callaloo (greens, squash, coconut milk), mango and jicima salad, coconut rum cake, rum punch.
• Chocolate cheesecake versus caramel cheesecake. Jury is out.
• Total pounds gained: 1.5     Totally worth it.
• After much thought and discussion, Anna and Isaac were baptized. My parents, Jon's mom, and his aunt were able to attend the service, and it was quite lovely. Jon read a lovely passage of scripture, and it was all quite meaningful. Most importantly, no child cried or had a tantrum or swatted the pastor.
• Trip to the aquarium was a bust. Isaac came down with a horrid stomach bug. Instead, Anna went on a special outing with her grandparents to the mall. Result: lunch and Cinderella p.j.s.
• Colored my hair grey & blue. I wanted thick silver stripes, but after talking to the stylist it seemed that a "flash" was the best way to go (i.e., it would be cheaper and faster). The silver turned out light blue, but I think the effect is rather nice. Waiting on dark blue for the fall.
• My teeth are falling out. Well, ten of the bottom ones according to the periodontist whom I finally had time to visit. It will cost many thousands of dollars to fix them, since my dental insurance runs out after the first three. Maybe I can do three teeth a year, but I have to call the insurance company, and the dentist, and blah blah blah. Result: Loss of money, loss of time, and general impression that dentures may be the way to go.
• Getting two new windows. A grown up decision, because what I really want is a gas range. Which I suppose is also grown up kind of desire. This means I am boring.
•  Saying goodbye to grandma and grandpa sucks. Anna cried and Isaac still asks for them. The transition was made harder by Jon's concomitant overnight absence at a church retreat. Everyone was here one minute, and gone the next. And then Jon was gone again this last week, not returning until midnight on Friday. A very last-minute, I-guess-I'm-going-to-D.C.-tomorrow kind of trip.
• Jon has upcoming tripa to San Francisco and Florida on business. I am not sad than I will not be joining him. Not one little bit. *sniff*

To sum up: We love my parents and we love it when they come. We're all excited about visiting them in Calgary this summer. Goodbyes are hard, but the hellos make it worthwhile.

Ugh

What a crap couple of weeks. Not to say there haven't been some good moments, but I have to say this has not been the best of times. And to top off this two-week anniversary of crap, I am sitting here at 6:30 a.m. when I could still be asleep, since no children are awake (Isaac had a 5:30 a.m. shout out, which I could not recover from).
But let's first focus on the positive, shall we? To begin with, while Jon was cavorting in Miami for work, I had a lovely afternoon visit with some dear friends who were visiting the area. We had not seen each other since graduate school, and it was so very nice to catch up and meet their adorable baby girl. Meanwhile, Anna had a wonderful time at the Renaissance Fair with her grandma and did her share of cavorting with the resident princesses and faerie.
Other positive events included a visit to the zoo, getting formal pictures of the kids, and finding out there are more babysitters in our neighborhood than I had thought (always a good thing). Surprisingly, I will also put Jon's four day absence in the positive pile, since we managed to keep busy and had no major breakdowns (children or mommy).

The negative comes down to the soul-sucking nature of illness. To begin with, Anna caught a nasty bug while Jon was away, resulting in a spectacular display of fluid projection. Luckily, the carpet was unscathed. Alas, the toilet was also unscathed. The poor thing was so sick, but managed to be up and about the next day, despite some minor dehydration and some mental scars (i.e., she now "feels like I'm going to throw up" about once a day.)
My own illness has been less dramatic but more tiresome. Now let me be clear: I rarely get seriously ill. [Case in point: when Anna was about 7 months old she got a horrid stomach virus while we were on vacation, which required various trips to various ERs in various countries. This virus managed to spread to Jon, my parents, and my brother with shocking speed, reducing each of them to quivering, vomiting masses for about 24-48 hours. My own symptoms included mild sleepiness and a nap.] So finally going to the doctor last weekend was a big deal, made bigger by various tests and a CAT scan which will cost us hundreds of dollars. The kicker is that there's was nothing obviously wrong. Frankly, I don't think I should have to pay (as much) for expensive tests if they don't turn anything up.
Anyway, my only choice is to wait it out. So I'm waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting...

Back to the positive. My parents are coming on Tuesday! I'm so excited! Anna and Isaac will be thrilled with all the attention, and it will just be nice to have them here. An added bonus: Jon and I will be able to take off for a full 24 hours! We haven't had 24 child-free hours since before Isaac was born. We're not going far, but will be staying in a nice hotel and perhaps even get a hike in, or a massage, or just breakfast in bed. It boggles my mind.