Sweet Distraction

Jarrett comes home tomorrow evening after being away on business for nearly two weeks. Now I know that many people have to deal with their spouses being away for this amount of time on a more regular basis, and I am very sorry for all of those people out there. Especially after this experience. Two weeks is just entirely too long, and Elsa, Merckx, and I are so ready to have our dear daddy and husband back home. I have had to deal with a shredded tire (and the purchase of two new replacements), doggy diarrhea all over the back room, and a child who is rebelling against the absence of her father figure by acting out more, not eating much, and not sleeping as well. So I am ready to share all of this fun with him again.

Thankfully his time away has not been completely void of activity on our end. Elsa and I escaped the homefront last Wednesday afternoon, and headed to my parents' house in Charlotte. We stayed there through Sunday after lunch, and had a lovely time eating meals together, shopping, and just generally hanging out together. My mom and I even got out to a movie together (The King's Speech is fabulous, and I totally recommend seeing it if you have not already). And on Saturday morning, after dealing with the previously mentioned shredded tire on the side of a very busy highway (praise God we did not get in an accident, though I was driving 70 miles per hour on a flat), we had a fun excursion via the Charlotte light rail ("biiiiig train") downtown to the Midnight Diner for a late breakfast/early lunch, complete with milkshakes as the finale. Elsa was thrilled with the train ride, despite being ready to get off at every stop. And even with the Saturday morning busyness of the diner and, therefore, somewhat slow service, it was a very enjoyable time out. After Elsa's nap on Saturday, we headed up to the outlet mall in Concord and met up with Jarrett's mom for a quick visit over a Mexican dinner and some maternity clothes shopping for myself. Grandmom Helms also enjoyed rides on the little train and carousel with Elsa, which was fun for them both.

Breakfast at the house

Passenger on the train

Riding the train with Grandpa

Diner hat

Waiting for the train

Sampling Mommy's chocolate milkshake

On Monday morning, after having returned home the evening before, I hosted a brunch at our house for a group of my girlfriends and all of the kids, with the special guests being my good friend, Jenny, and her sweet almost-two-year-old, Josephine. Jenny and her husband, Sean, moved to Austin, Texas, a few years ago, and we have missed them dearly. It was wonderful to be able to catch up with Jenny and see the very cute Josephine running around in person.

Christian and Finnan

James

Jude

Mommy Marian and Harris

The lovely Josephine

We have continued to enjoy the lovely weather this week, with today being especially nice. We met up with Alison and Jude this morning for a walk, stopping off at the local coffeeshop for a little pick-me-up, and a quick stop to deliver coffee and give a hello to Kate and James. We then walked on to the Oakhurst Community Garden, and the kids enjoyed playing in the sandbox and generally running around, while Alison and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the sun and taking in the perfect temperature. As the sun was still calling my name when we got home, I decided to uncover the patio furniture, and Elsa and I enjoyed a nice lunch outside.

It looks like the rain will set in tonight and through the weekend, but I have a feeling Jarrett will bring a little sunshine into the house upon his homecoming tomorrow evening.