This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Family Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
For whatever reason, when my mom comes to visit from St. Louis, we always feel the need to pack her stay full of drama, chores, chaos and ageda, whether she has asked for it or not. Truth be told, drama, chores, chaos and ageda exist on a daily basis in our household whether or not she is present, but having her around to point it out to us always makes it more evident.
This particular time, the occasion was my daughter’s fourth birthday. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and left on Monday morning. Only a few short days. During her stay, however, Aline and I managed to keep her entertained with the following agenda:
Thursday Night:
Dinner
Wii Sports
Bath Time
Light Reading
Tantrum
Friday:
Breakfast (my famous coffee/brown sugar bacon and eggs, so I am now absolutely sure she has contracted Swine Flu)
LA Traffic
Face Painting
Ferris Wheel
Roller Coasters
Cheeseburgers and Quesadillas
More roller coasters, more Ferris Wheels
Vomiting
LA Traffic
Dinner
Bath Time
Light Reading
Tantrum
Saturday
Breakfast (Mexican Ham)
Frantic new bike shopping (why does every bike made have Tinkerbelle on it?)
Lunch
More frantic shopping
Babysitting and bubble blowing
Witnessing what is now referred to in horror as “The Broken Bird” slam into the glass door, then be savagely devoured by the household dog
Wii Music
Dinner
Light Reading
Tantrum
Gift Wrapping
House Decorating
Sunday (B-Day)
Breakfast (Pork chops and eggs)
Ice cream cake pickup
Frantic last minute trip to market for food to feed 10 guests, including kids (Don’t ask. We just forgot, OK?)
Walk around block with kid to prepare surprise
Balloon Drop (awesome)
Candle blow-out
Cake and Coffee
Cleanup
Bath time
Tantrum
Matt suffering stress meltdown after too many Dewars’ and inappropriately and regrettably yelling at his eight-month pregnant wife like a dumb jerk-face (Aline, I suck. I am sorry.)
Monday:
Breakfast (Again. Bacon.)
Starbucks coffee
Airport
In addition to all of this, she also put up with noise from construction on our garage AND witnessed an authentic Los Angeles-style drive by!
But regardless of how busy or disjointed everything may seem, or how I always feel like I never really got to spend any time with her, I want to let her know that its always great to see her, I always appreciate her help, and my daughter is always sad to see her go. Thanks, Nana, for putting up with our crazy life. We will all miss you.
-Matt
PS – Last chance to drop a comment here for your chance to win three free months of BookSwim’s book rental service for you and your family!
April 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Wow. I really liked this post (complete with tantrum and admission of your jerkishness, which I am sure is rare. Right?), but realize that I would go insane if I had to live there. and hey, it is easy to forget food for ten people; I do it regularly, albeit only for the five of us.
[reply]
April 29th, 2009 at 12:08 am
What a sweet post. How absolutely loverly. And manly of you to apologize. Good job all around!
[reply]
April 29th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
That’s a lot of activity. My mother would have left after the first day.
[reply]
April 29th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I like your mom despite the fact that she did not teach you not to tantrum every night, Matt.
At least she taught you to apologize when appropriate.
Hugs to Aline and baby.
[reply]