1747 Up to now

Saucy Scale: 10

What a busy weekend!

Thursday night we were supposed to take off on our roadtrip at 6pm.  That didn’t happen, however.  I received a last minute invitation (from my dad’s boss) to attend a dinner party they were hosting in honor of my daddy’s 20 years of service to the company.  It was held at a really yummy seafood place in town &  I thought it would be nice if I put in an appearance.  My daddy was totally shocked when I walked back into the private room where they were celebrating. 

Everyone at the dinner was a guy.  No chicks.  As each one introduced himself to me, I pulled out one of my better skills…names.  These are names my daddy has used around the house for 20 years.  Never talking about them on a first name basis, but always using first and last names: Andy Smith

"Hi, I’m Andy"

"Andy Smith, right?"

"Hi, I’m Dave"

"Sure, Dave Jones.  Nice to meet you."

And these dudes were taken aback.  I’m such a good little trophy wife.

I wasn’t able to stay more than an hour, but that was enough time to eat some appetizers & crusty sourdough bread…and be very envious of the dinner they were about to enjoy!

My mommy used to hate going to these business dinners.  Being the good and proper wife.  I really kind of dig ’em.  It’s not just that I enjoyed getting some yummy shrimp & adult conversation, either.  I’ve always enjoyed these events.  Which is why my former career in philanthrophy (which involved much wining & dining of really rich folks) was a really good fit for me.

So, I begged out of the yummy dinner & went home.  We didn’t really get going until 9pm, which meant a midnight arrival at the grandparents’ house in Iowa.

Friday morning we had an early morning appointment with Gusser’s foot specialist (remember he has a clubfoot?).  Just his 6 month check-up on his nearly perfect foot.  Everything looks fine. 

Now that his foot is treated, I really feel obligated to chat with parents in the waiting room.  Some of these babies have huge casts on both legs which go all the way up their thighs.  I feel like a few words of encouragement might reach the right ears.  I like to make a simple comment, "see, it won’t always be so hard.  I promise it will get easier!" and most people can’t even imagine that my son’s perfect feet weren’t always so perfect!

Anyhoo…

The other reason for our trip was our annual visit to TBU’s alma mater for Homecoming with his dearest pals.  It’s always a good time visiting with this group.  I did make a special request this year.  Every year we spend the night on a crummy air mattress (and try to corral 2 kids who have a hard time sleeping away from home).  I REALLY wasn’t looking forward to these sleeping arrangements in my current state of preggo belly.  I also didn’t want to spoil TBU’s fun with the gang.  So, the boys and I spent the night at a hotel.  TBU was able to hang out, talk, & play cards to his heart’s delight.  I shared a king size bed with my 3 year old.  He slept sideways…literally.  I was hanging off the bed all night.  Still, it beat an air mattress on the floor!

We even managed to have our house shown twice!

Sunday we entertained The Grandparents and their various friends at church.  Followed by the loooong ride back to our house.  Yeah, we pretty much destroyed their sleep patterns this past weekend!

What a nice treat it was to have TBU home with us on Monday!  He’s never had Columbus Day off before, but those crazy Canadians he works for thought he deserved a holiday.  I wasn’t about to argue with them.

We had a nice quiet family day together.  We made our annual jaunt to the Pumpkin Patch!  Picking out pumpkins, gourds, squash, apples, and a gallon of apple cider – Happy Fun Time!  Last year we started a new tradition.  We buy a little pumpkin for the nice older lady who lives next door to us.  We sneak it onto her porch when she isn’t looking, but of course… knows the source.  Gus thinks it is TONS of fun!

We received a postcard in the mail yesterday.  It was espousing the virtues of early voting.  TBU reminded me how miserable it is to drag the boys with me to our polling place.  (It’s a long skinny hallway in a local public school with really inadaquate traffic flow in and out of the voting booths.)  I think I might take the plunge and just vote early.  It’s not as if I actually like either candidate – nothing they can say at this point will change which one I’m planning to vote for either.

The boys and I are enjoying a nice quiet day at home on this rainy day today.  We’ve got our sitter coming over in a few hours.  TBU is taking me on some super secret date this evening!

Ok, I’ve got a surly little boy who is long on screeches and short on words trying to get my attention.  I think a snuggle is in order.