Now we wait

We got home yesterday. I didn’t really want to come home at all. I forgot how much I loved the desert.

Which is sort of weird considering I’m midwestern through and through. But when we lived there, the desert just grew on me. We got a chance to go to our old stomping grounds and see lots of folks we have missed.

And of course, to see the miracle doctor. Both of our embryos survived the thawing process (yay!) and were transferred. This next part, the waiting, is the hardest. I’m still on some serious medication that makes me feel like crap (including a daily shot, which is no fun at all) but it feels good to hope a little bit.

Now I just have to readjust to life here. The humidity hit me like a brick wall when we got off the plane. WordPress changed the dashboard and it’s irritating the crap out of me. I have to tell the pregnancy center where I teach the classes that I really meant it, and no, really, I am not teaching any more. I have to get ready to move. Whine whine whine. The escape to the desert was nice, but now it’s back to the grindstone. The good news is that I’ll be busy to help distract myself. Here’s one more picture, this one actually of the place where we lived. It’s considered “high desert” a little different than the saguaros above. How can you not fall in love with this place?

“Gramma’s House”

We went away this past weekend for a little overnight vacation. Charleston is one of my favorite Southern cities, second only to Savannah. We hadn’t been there in 5 years, so it was good to be back. We visited the aquarium (and guess what, our local zoo is reciprocal, so remember that membership dh got? It got us half off!)

Since it was Easter weekend, we even managed to catch an Easter egg hunt for the dutchkid, which was loads of fun, even if we did almost get trampled! I tell you, parents are vicious when it comes to getting Easter eggs for their kids! (we only got 5)

When we rolled up at the hotel, the dutchkid announced that it was “Gramma’s house”. I didn’t really think much of it, given the fact that both of her “Grammas” live in different states and we don’t see either very often. But when we got into the room she got very upset when dh switched on the TV. “No daddy, Gramma’s TV”. Ditto for me trying to lay down on the bed. “Get UP! Gramma’s bed!” I was waiting for the meltdown when we couldn’t produce a Gramma in the flesh, but thankfully that never came up.

As we drove away the next day, she said cheerfully, “Bye, Gramma’s house!”. Evidently Gramma now lives at the Residence Inn.

Everyone should have one of these

3.14.08

Originally uploaded by dutchican

I asked for a hammock stand for Christmas this year. I was so tired of having zero trees in our yard to hang our beautiful hammock on. The weather’s been nice and so dh set it up yesterday. Oh. my. The dutchkid and I spent all afternoon out there playing in it. It’s like a mini vacation without going anywhere!

More photos of the voyage

Just a few more from the rest of the trip:

Back home in Michigan:

petting the calves on the farm

In DC:

going up some serious steps

The reflecting pool

the WWII Memorial

One last one of the little geocacher

Photos of the voyage

I have almost got all the laundry done, which means I had enough time to get around to the rest of our photos from the trip. So here are some random offerings:

A few more of Maine:

the view from the cottage deck

where we bought our lobsters from

a view of the cottage from the shore

on the rocky seashore

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

My house never looked so good. Even with 2 feet of tall grass in the backyard.

Were the dogs ever glad to see us! They appear to have survived being at the kennel for nearly a month without any ill effects. My older lab did get a little skinnier, he doesn’t handle separation very well.

Now if I can just get the dutchkid to sleep with some reliability again and dig my way out of the piles of laundry from the suitcases I’ll be good. I’m thankful we have the weekend before real life comes crashing down on us.

The Greatest Generation

The final day of our vacation here in DC. This morning we went to see the WWII Memorial.

The monuments and memorials are what I love about this city. I don’t think I’ve ever toured a single one without a lump in my throat. The last time we were here the WWII memorial wasn’t finished yet. I remember hearing about people worried about its location, how it would break the symmetry of the reflecting pool between the Lincoln and Washington monuments.  No worries there. The brochure said it perfectly, it represents how the freedom and liberty begun by Washington and protected by Lincoln was preserved by the victory in WWII.

I couldn’t look at it without thinking about my Grandpa, who has since passed away. I wished that he could have seen it and I wondered what he would have thought. My dh commented on how he couldn’t believe how long it had taken for it to be built. Congress didn’t introduce legislation for it until the 1990’s. Then it occurred to me: the previous members of Congress who “overlooked” the fact that no memorial existed were the ones who made up that generation. What incredible humility.

It makes me profoundly sad, not only to see the gold stars on the memorial that represent those who gave the ultimate sacrifice but also to realize that the “greatest generation” is quietly slipping away.  I hope that the memorial will help us to remember not only their sacrifice and heroism but also the lessons they had to teach us.

Army Ten Miler

We made it to DC today, and I’ll admit, it’s nice to be back in the land of the high speed internet connection. We had a good time in Michigan, really nice weather and quite a bit of relaxing as well as catching up with our extended families. I’m ready to get through the next challenge, though, are you ready for this? I casually mentioned to my dh several months ago that we should run the Army Ten Miler. He took me up on it! He registered us. I may not be a hiker, but I’ve dabbled in running since college. I have been training for it, but I haven’t ever run that far before. I’m really more of a 5K runner. This ought to be an interesting exercise in endurance, but then again I did have my 9 pound daughter without an epidural. Let’s hope it’s not that bad, because drug free labor is not something I’m sure I’m signing up for again.

Just to make things really exciting, when we picked up our race packets today it turns out that they are having a staged start and my dh and I are going to be starting 5 minutes apart (him first). And MP3 players are not allowed – WAH! So I’m taking all prayers, positive vibes and thoughts I can muster. The race is Sunday, here we go!

At long last, some pictures!

Asleep on the trail on Cape Cod
The Maine shoreline
A view of our cottage

When Life Happens…

We got an email a few days ago from the extended family we were supposed to be staying with in DC (the third leg of this vacation extravaganza).  Some family drama and a home repair disaster has made it not possible for them to have visitors.  So our arrangements (we leave this Friday) have become more tenuous.  We’ve been calling friends in the area and trying to find a rental car, hotel rooms, etc.  We love these folks dearly, and I’m more worried about them than I am our vacation plans.  It’s just a headache, to be sure.   Particularly with only a dial-up connection. 

It’s always at about this point in our travels that home starts to look better and better!  Traveling with a toddler has been a less than relaxing venture.  My dh has decided that he is going to need a vacation from our vacation.  I told him that he was just getting a taste of what my daily life as a stay-at-home mom is really like!