Here I go again on my own.

As I reluctantly said before, my mom’s time with me has come and gone. But before she left (and before I begin my sad, lonely rant) we had a couple more visitors. My dad and grandma flew in for a short visit, to not only to see all of us, but also to attend a conference in D.C. they come to every year. I love that Grandma has joined my parents on these conference visits, so I can always count on seeing ALL 3 of them every September. 

Grandma Julie is such a wise woman, who I consider as more of a sister, or girlfriend. She is someone you can share clothes with (seriously, she wore my skinny jeans, and my pink heals while she was here, and they looked so great on her, I told her to keep them), split a Ritas Gelati with, watch Friday Night Lights with (and both agree that Tim Riggins is quite the looker), go running with, and we even enjoy the same bright red color of toenail polish. We can also talk about motherhood, recipes, and delve deep into the meaning of life. She happily played with the babies, and loved seeing how much they’ve grown. I am so happy that she is a part of their lives, even if we only get to see her once or twice a year. It still makes me sad that they won’t know their great grandpa, though Grandma and I both think he had a chance to give them a few words of wisdom before they arrived. I’m so glad she made the trip.

Dad is always a good time. He always likes to stock up on pop, and snacks when he comes, which is kind of a treat to us, since we generally don’t buy a lot of those things for ourselves. And I know mom was happy to have him here. They were busy with the conference on the weekend. On Saturday we made the trip to DC to see their booth where my mom was selling her book, and had a picnic. Besides the traffic, it was a fun little adventure.  During the couple days before and after the conference, we kept ourselves busy going on normal errands to Costco, or Aldi, and also ventured to Five Guys for a much needed burger. The babies LOVED the grilled cheese they have on the menu, and we are starting them off right, teaching them the deliciousness of French fries. They will never be satisfied with anything else, now that they have tasted Five Guys fries. (It was the perfect place to take the trio, with the loud atmosphere, and three high chairs waiting for us. It’s especially nice that they can now eat table food.  New opportunities open up with these babies every day. Though I don’t think we’ll take these babies out to eat with us that regularly. But at least it’s an option now.) Before they left, we also took a gorgeous walk through the Arboretum’s Herb Garden, played a rousing game of Farkle, and watched movies while eating ice cream cones at night. That is, until we all pooped out around 9:30. (I feel old.) It’s nice to have such fun company around to enjoy everyday life with. 

Now they are all gone and I’m here alone with my little cuties. Has it seemed like the time flew by to anyone else? I am confused at where it all went. I’ve been so spoiled having that extra help getting the kids in/out of the car, feeding them and cleaning up the mess afterward, entertaining them, bathing them, snapping, changing, wiping, holding, buckling. . .I could go on. One day, she even told me she was fine if I needed to just get out of the house caused I was feeling overwhelmed (I was only gone for a few hours, but it was a lovely few hours). She found joy in the babies’ successes with me, and laughed with me at the funny things they do. She is also GREAT company for me. I am so happy that we could all spend time together.  

It’s been a tiny bit of an adjustment getting back into my solo groove, and I am actually a bit apprehensive about going anywhere alone with the babes, even though I did just fine with them before. The babies have changed A LOT in the ways of mobility since she came here, so the one cart situation might not work out as well as it used to. But I’m going to try to step back into my independent lifestyle the best I can. I just need to get out with these kids to feel like a real person, and I don’t feel like getting a babysitter every time we need milk, or a change of scenery, so  we’ll make it work somehow. 

But I don’t have to get too used to being alone, since Lili is coming in a week or something crazy! That seriously saved me as I tearfully said goodbye to my mom. It always helps to have something to look forward to. I can’t wait for the fun to begin! Now, I better make use of this nap before it’s over. I miss you mom!