Memorial Day week

Friday night we were supposed to leave, but we got a call from Grandma saying her power was out. We delayed until the following morning, and I was glad because I hadn't quite finished laundry and packing and the baking I had promised to do.

Saturday morning was our first long car trip with X. We had to stop a few times, but it wasn't too bad. K was amazingly patient -- even when X was screaming, he just looked sympathetic instead of getting upset. He loves visiting Grandma and Grandpa, and he's been so good with X lately. He stared out the window for a while, slept a while, and we played games to get us through the final stretch.

Saturday afternoon the family arrived for the traditional birthday dinner (JW and two other family members all have birthdays around then). My contributions were the apricot almond tart from Joanne Chang's Flour bakery cookbook, which I've been baking my way through for a while now, and this strawberry cake. I was surprised that the cake was not that great, but discovered after the fact that I messed up by putting the berries on the bottom and batter on top instead of the other way around. The tart, which I made without the top crust or the slivered almonds that are supposed to be sprinkled on top, was a huge hit and I promised to make it again for the 4th of July. Even though everyone protested any changes, next time I'd use more frangipane, less jam, and I'll add the almonds and the top crust.

Sunday, JW and I drove down to a barbecue with some of his high school friends. We brought X, who obliged by either napping or grinning at everyone, delighting the wives. (This party consisted of lots of orthopedic surgeons, their wives, and the three of us. I asked one guy, "Aren't there any female orthopedic surgeons?" He shrugged and said it had always been a male-dominated field.) K stayed behind and had a great time splashing in the lake with JW's cousins and their four kids. It was lovely being relatively kid-free adults for a day, hanging out on a friend's deck, drinking a beer and laughing. The wives, who were all young and cute and wearing little sundresses, were reassuring the one pregnant one among them that even though everyone says that your life is over when you have kids, that's ridiculous. And then they all looked at me and frowned, because I wasn't joining in. "Having kids is rewarding, but you do give up a lot of freedom," I said, since they were all expecting me to say something and I couldn't bring myself to be even more of a downer to a new mom-to-be. "But you can still get out, right? I mean, you're here." I refrained from telling them how rare it is that we have a day like that and how much coordination it takes since we live nowhere near our family. Instead I said, "Your kids get more independent over time, so it doesn't last forever." They still didn't like it, but we moved on.
 
Monday we took a trip into town, where K acquired a magic wand (actually a Girl's Cheer Baton from Rite-Aid, but he hasn't noticed the label yet) and I bought a mirror and a casserole dish from the Red Barn, a country store and antique shop. I know I'm getting older because I was very excited to find just the right casserole dish. JW's grandmother came for dinner.

Tuesday I unpacked some and got the guest room ready for my brother, who arrived that night for a conference in Boston.

Wednesday I went to the conference to see my brother do his presentation. He's always speaking at these things, and since I was on leave, I was excited to get the chance to see him in action. I had a little bit of a meltdown that morning, because I was exhausted after a rough night and after our trip, but JW encouraged me to go and volunteered to drop off K at school so I could make it on time. Once X and I were out the door, it felt so good to be out of the house in the morning, dressed and going somewhere, like a normal person. We took the bus to Boston, caught the presentation (which I thought was very impressive even though I didn't understand all the words he used), and had breakfast with my brother. He said he'd be free for lunch, so I stuck around for a while. I rarely go to the Prudential Center, and it turns out it's a great place to spend a day with a baby. We spent some time in the courtyard, took a walk with a friend who works at a law firm attached to the mall, and I read about a third of Tina Fey's "Bossypants" at a bookstore while X napped. Then we met up with my brother again and went to Mike and Patty's, a sandwich place that's been on my to-try list for a long time, and headed back on the T. I grabbed K from daycare and we arrived at home just as the rain started up again. I had been in a rut at home, and this turned out to be a successful day out.

Thursday flew by. I decided not to worry about getting anything done and just do whatever I felt like. After dropping K off, I took a long walk to the local Carter's outlet and bought K's entire summer wardrobe. I napped during X's afternoon nap, and picked up K early from school and played superheroes with him. I ended up accomplishing about as much as I do on a to-do list day, so my plan is to continue resisting my impulse to have a list of chores for each day.

Today I'm supposed to have lunch with my next-door neighbor, who I've been hoping to become friends with for a while now and who just had a baby herself. She has a three-year old girl and I thought she and K could be playmates, but they've barely met for some reason. Hopefully there will be playdates in our future. It's also crossed my mind that we could do a nanny share when I go back to work, if they're willing -- in fact, their nanny just told me unprompted that she's used to taking care of three or four kids at a time, and just two seemed like a light load for her. Anyway, we finally exchanged phone numbers this week, so progress has been made.

And over the weekend, JW will be away at a meeting and it'll be me and the boys. K asked to stay home today and I said no -- I don't think I can deal with a three-day weekend with both kids. I don't know how real stay-at-home moms do it.