The Linda Family

This was a message I got from a friend today.  He was responding to all of the messages we had sent out about our activities the past two days.  It’s been a whirlwind of a week.  It started with dropping Ashleigh off with my parents last week actually.  Friday I relaxed and did some stuff during the day, but I really tried to lay low and enjoy the quiet.  Saturday Wes and I decided that it was time to clean out the closets.  This meant that we had 2 big bags of clothing to donate, so we called our friend Colleen and offered some clothes for the church clothes closet at the inner city church she works with.  We dropped it off to her yesterday.  Saturday afternoon was spent with some shopping.  WorldFire had some unexpected funds show up, and the desktop has been acting up.  So, to keep it running smoothly Wes & WorldFire did some upgrading.  We also found me some maternity clothes, and a jewelry box to help organize my mess of jewelry and allow me to condense to one box instead of 4!  After spending all afternoon running around we went out to Dave & Busters with some friends and had a blast.  Sunday I had a lunch at PF Changs with my co-leaders at La Leche League.  One of our leaders and her family are being relocated to PA and we had a going away lunch for her.  I’m sad to see them go, even if it is for “only 3 years” and I haven’t broken the news to Ashleigh that her friend Ellie is moving on Saturday.  We may get to see them tomorrow, but I’m not sure if they will be able to make the meeting.  So, after Sunday’s lunch Wes and I went to the Columbia Mall where there are real stores that carry maternity stuff   Most of the department stores have a Motherhood Maternity section, and well, Motherhood’s clothing is crap.  It shrinks, it falls apart, it’s a big waste of money as far as I’m concerned.  I was very excited to get to an Ann Taylor Loft Maternity and a Gap Maternity.  I got to try on lots of stuff and walked away with some new tops.  I was very happy.  We then went to church, and I ordered some pants from AnnTaylor.com.  Yay.  They arrived today.  Double Yay.

Sunday after church we headed out to dinner to celebrate with a friend of ours who had been baptized that night.  We had about 20 people taking over 4 booths at Ledo’s Pizza and we had a blast.  By the time we got home I was exhuasted from 2 long days.  Unfortunately I had jury duty on Monday.  Of course this meant I had to be up at 6:30 to be at the courthouse at 8.  We all know how well I do mornings, so of course, I didn’t handle it well at all!  I spent 2 hours sitting in the quiet room, getting work done on my laptop.  And then my number was called for a case.  Just my luck, my biggest fear came true.   I was called for a murder case.  This young man had about 7 or 8 charges thrown at him.  After hearing all the info they gave us and the questions they asked it seemed quite certain that they were throwing lots of stuff hoping something would stick.  After 3 hours they finally broke for lunch.  By this time it was 1:30, I had run out of water hours ago, I hadn’t eaten yet, and I was severly missing caffeine.   We were all so hungry we were ready to run out of the court room!  I headed to Subway, got a sub and headed back to the quiet room to check on email and orders before I had to be back in court.  Of course the judge and lawyers were late….so we sat there for about 40 minutes waiting. Finally at 5 PM they let the first round of people go.  Luckily for me I was in that group.  Who knew that a pregnant lady who doesn’t think just anyone should be able to carry a gun would be a bad juror for a murder case?  I came home and Wes and I grabbed some dinner and did a bit of shopping.  I headed up to bed as soon as we got home, and I had a full blown migrane shortly there after.  I was asleep by 9:30.  I slept right through the night and I had a full conversation with Wes that I have no reccolection of.   I was beat!  Tuesday I met a friend for lunch, and then Ashleigh and my mom arrived.  We hung out for a bit, and then headed to dinner.  Wednesday we did some organizing and cleaning out of stuff in the basement.  After mom left we headed out to drop off our clothes with Colleen and then we met some freinds at Dave & Busters again.

Ashleigh outlasted all of our friends.  By 9:30 – 10:00 everyone was heading home.  Wes wanted to bowl, so he bowled a few quick games (he bowled 6 games in 40 minutes!) and when he was done we headed home.  By that point it was 11 PM and while Wes and I were ready for bed, Ashleigh wanted to tell jokes and sing the whole way home.  Where did we get this child?

This morning Wes woke me up letting me know our friend Hillary had just sent out a tweet saying that she was taking the kids to the Baltimore Zoo, and asking if anyone wanted to join them.  I thought about the things I should be doing, and we decided the Zoo sounded like a much better idea!  We had a blast.  By the time we arrived we were all hungry, so we had lunch, and then visited the petting zoo area, and walked through the kid’s zoo.  By this point it was 2 and Hillary and the kids headed home.  Ashleigh was no where near ready to go.  She hadn’t seen the bears, lions, or elephants yet and she was not leaving until we got to see such animals.  We walked the rest of the zoo, minus the chimps and alligators, and headed home around 4.  She was still ready to go.  Wes and I wanted to take naps, but Ashleigh, she could go on and on!  She did have “quiet time” in her room while we sat in bed and relaxed.  She played with her toys and when she came out came bearing gifts.  She had a bucket of toys for Wes and a basket of books and shoes for me.  She was once again ready to play.  I am always amazed by the energy this child posesses.

Tomorrow we’ll be up bright and early to take Wes to jury duty.  Hopefully the long day will wear her out and she will go to sleep early.  We’re planning a full day on Saturday as well.  I think we’re insane.  But, I’m hoping to stay as active as I can.  The more walking around we do the better shape I’ll be in!

I do have photos from today, but I didn’t get them edited yet.  I’ll have to get those up for you in the next day or two.  I need to get to bed!

Yesterday was a very full day for us. While it was busy and crazy, it was a blast. We woke up early to take Wes to work and meet Hillary and the kids for a morning trip to the Science Center. I did take pictures, but they are still on the camera. You’ll just have to be patient with me. We spent almost 2 hours walking around and visiting the dinosaurs, then checking out the weather exhibit and watching a “tornado” form and fall apart over and over again. We were going to check out the physics area, but there was a big camp taking over that area, so we headed up to the kids area to play. It was different than our last visit because now Blake is walking. Instead of having 2 kids to chase after, we had 3. We only lost Owen briefly, and it turns out Ashleigh found him, she just didn’t bother to tell us. We weren’t too concerned, as I had been standing in view of the exit for the kids area, so I knew he hadn’t left. But, it was still a bit unnerving not knowing where he was.

After playing we headed to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Yes, we love that place. We also love the reimbursement for the secret shops there! Ssshh….don’t tell. We enjoyed a lovely meal, where the kids were very well behaved right up until the end. It was getting to be nap time, and all of us were wearing out. Including Blake, who fell asleep during lunch. It’s a shame I had put the camera back in the car! That would have been a great photo.

After we all had full bellies we headed back to the cars. Ash and I headed home to get her suitcase packed. We had just under 2 hours to get home and get her ready to go visit Grandma and Grandpa. We got Ashleigh packed and hung out for a bit before we headed off to get Wes from work so he could say goodbye. Ash is going for a last visit to my parent’s house before school starts and life gets too busy. She was very excited, but started to break down as we left to get Wes. She was going to miss Mommy & Daddy. It was also past nap time. We picked up Wes, he said his good-byes and she was all smiles to go meet Grandpa. When we got to the meeting location Ash was less than thrilled when Grandpa opened her door. She was not sure she wanted to go. But, we went inside to use the bathroom, and got her stuff transfered over to Grandpa’s car. She then remembered that she had saved some of her afternoon snack for Grandma and Grandpa. She had two mini marshmellows for Grandpa, and two for Grandma. After giving Grandpa his, she suggested they stop for Twizzlers on their way to Grandma. She LOVES twizzlers right now. So, Grandpa agreed that he did need to stop for gas, and since she knows Twizzlers live at the gas station she was VERY excited. She tuned to me, waved, said “bye Mom!” and went back to Grandpa. She heard Twizzlers and she was gone. Glad I’m easily replaced by anyone offering Twizzlers!

Grandpa and Grandma had some fun things planned for the long weekend, and Ash will be home on Tuesday with my mom, who is going to stay and help me clean out and organize more stuff. I don’t think she knows what she’s in for! I honestly am not sure where to start. Guest room or baby clothes? Hhhmm….the decisions. All I know is that for now, I have some work to do and need to get back to it. I’ll decide what to organize later!

Ok, I promised more updates. I’m sure you’re really interested in how the ultrasound and perinatologist and midwife visits went today, but you’ll have to wait for those……

The end of July was a bit of a whirlwind. On the 29th Wes left for Orlando for 8 days. This of course was a BIG change for us. He’s never been away from Ashleigh that long, I’ve never been the lone parent for more than 48 hours, and I don’t think Wes and I had been apart that long since before I moved to Maryland 7 years ago. Of course add the pregnancy hormones onto that and well, you have a big basket case. The day before Wes left Ashleigh made some artwork for Wes. She made 3 different prints, two we gave to him when he got home, and the 3rd we hid in his carry on bag. We used the Clementine Art Print making kit that Ashleigh received for her birthday. She loves it. She used it every day Wes was gone. She made prints for Wes, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, a few more yet to be delivered, and one for me. Here are the photos of the prints she made for Wes, as well as ones that we took the day before he left.

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Wes’s flight was at noon on Tuesday, so we had him to the airport at 10:30 AM, which left Ashleigh and me with a full day ahead of us. We came home, relaxed a bit, and of course, Ashleigh made more pictures. We met Hillary, Neil, and the kids at Chick-fil-a for kid’s night. Since she had refused to nap during the day she passed out in the car. The funny part was that she put her book over her face and then fell asleep. So, she napped with A Chair for My Mother on her face. You can laugh at her and enjoy the photos…

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The day after Wes left was Wednedsay. Wednesday happened to be National Cheesecake Day (did you know there was one of those? I didn’t). 2008 also happens to be the 30th anniversary year of The Cheesecake Factory. Of course this means that they had a big special. They had all of their cheesecakes for only $1.50! Of course we couldn’t make a trip to the Inner Harbor without something fun, so we went to the Aquarium. We’ve got to use those memberships while we have them! We hung out at the Aquarium until they closed, and then we headed over to Barnes and Noble to look at some books. We had forgotten all about a gift card Ashleigh received for Christmas. It had been in Wes’s wallet, and I had recently put it in my purse. I told Ashleigh I was going to stop to get a drink on our way to the book store. I opened the door to Chipotle and headed in. As soon as I did that, Ashleigh asked if we could have a pickle. Well, a pregnant lady never turns down a pickle, so we closed the door to Chipotle and walked next door to Potbelly. I have to say, I didn’t mind. I much prefer Potbelly’s food, but Chipotle was closer, so that’s where I was going to stop for a drink. We waited in line, and $2.50 later we walked out with a large pickle to share and a large Diet Coke.

We eventually made it to Barnes and Noble where Ashleigh got to pick out three books. I tried to help guide her a bit, but I did let her make the decision on her own because it was her gift card. She picked out It’s Wubbzy, The Little Mermaid, and Welcome To Your World Baby. I tried to talk her out of Wubbzy, but it didn’t work. I figured it was her gift card, so she should get what she wants. Unfortunately I am the one who has to read it to her!

We then headed over to The Cheesecake Facotry to get our names on the list. Hillary was meeting us for Cheesecake. I expected it to be an hour or so wait, so when I knew she was almost an hour out I went over. Little did I know they were going to tell me it was an hour and half to TWO HOUR wait! Geez. All for $1.50 cheesecake. Ash and I headed up to Pizzeria Uno to grab a quick dinner. It was nearly 8 PM, which meant it would be 9:30 – 10 PM before we sat down to eat! Yikes. We needed dinner before 10. We had a lousy meal with a horrid waiter. Hillary went to see how much longer our wait would be for The Cheesecake Factory, and we were told we were any minute. I quickly paid our bill and headed down stairs. One order of Avacado Eggrolls, two coffees, and three slices of cheesecake later we were all quite satisified and ready to head home. It really was a wonderful day, you can see those photos here–

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The next day we went swimming with our friend Erin from church, Ashleigh had a blast. It was a little cooler than any other day had been, so we didn’t stay that long. We had a lovely visit with Erin, finished with some ice cream from Baskin Robbins. We headed home to shower, and while we had planned on going back to Hillary and Neil’s for dinner, I was just way too worn out. We stayed home instead. It was nice to relax at home considering the few days we had had.

Friday found us heading to PA for the weekend to visit my parents. Friday night we headed to MusikFest. Mom and Dad had never “done” Musikfest. I had never made it to the end we started at, and the last time I was there was the summer of 1999. We had some food and walked around. We met up with Ted, and while we were waiting Ashleigh spotted an ice cream stand. That kid has radar, I swear. So, Grandpa had enough tickets left that Ashleigh got some ice cream. She enjoyed eating it while we waited for Uncle Ted to make his way to the giant ice cream cone where we were standing. We hung out for a while, and then Ted made his way back to the pavillion where his friends all were to watch a band. Mom, Dad, Ash, and I did a little more walking. We found a stand that had giant pickles on a stick, and it just so happened we had just enough food coupons left to get one. So, Ashleigh, Mom, and I shared a pickle on a stick as we walked some more and then headed back to the car. Mom teased Ashleigh about eating ice cream and then a pickle. Which one of us is pregnant?

Saturday we hung out during the day and then headed over to the stadium in Allentown for DCI East. We got to see The Dunneman’s, who are friends of the family who always come to the valley that weekend to see their oldest son Mason, who used to march, and now is an instructor with Phantom Regiment. I was worried about how Ashleigh would handle the show, beinc that she doesn’t like loud noises, and she hadn’t been to a show in 2 years. She LOVED it! The Phantom shirt she had was too small (12-18 mos) so Grandma had to take care of that! She got a new shirt, and she was very excited that it was red! She also enjoyed some pink and blue cotton candy as well as some funnel cake. When I took her to the bathroom she realized we were missing a corps. She was very upset to be missing the show. I was very impressed with how well she behaved, how nicely she sat, and how much fun she truly had. She suremade Grandpa proud!

Sunday was up for church, and then back to pack to head home. We made it home in time to get to church Sunday night and had Monday at home to relax and cleanup from the whirlwind week we had. Tuesday was Ashleigh’s first art class at The Painting Workshop. She LOVED her class. It was a blast. We were signed up for the Mommy & Me class. She painted Daddy a beautiful picture frame with a fish on it. It was a wooden Ikea picture fram with a wooden cut out fish that she selected from the variety of shapes they offered her. She had pink, orange, yellow, and red paint to use, and she painted the whole thing. the only help I gave her was holding it while she painted the edges. Once the frame was done she got to make a lovely spin art painting for the inside. She did great. the last part of class is making playdough. They have the kids help make it (no parents allowed) to get the kids used to gooey art stuff. She did great and had a blast. Unfortunately for us we were the only ones to sign up for the class, so that was our first and last class :’( We’re hoping to find a class that works for us in the fall.

Class was from 3:30 – 4:30, and Wes’s plane was due in at 5:15. Perfect! Too perfect….Wes’s plane was delayed almost 2 hours and he didn’t leave Orlando until almost 5. This left Ashleigh and I with not enough time to go home and relax, but way tooooo much time to just go to the airport. So, we headed downtown and visited the Science Center. We got to walk through the dinosaur area before they closed, and then we walked around the harbor and enjoyed some Rita’s. We headed over to the airport and on our way I got a text message from Wes letting me know they had laneded. I was kind of bummed that the flight was shorter than it was supposed to be, because that meant we wouldn’t be able to get to baggage claim to meet him! Well, lucky for us, unlucky for him, it took them 20 minutes to open the gate and let them off the plane. We were able to park, run across to baggage claim and walk down just in time to see his first bag come on to the carousel. I grabbed it and then saw Wes. Ashleigh hadn;t noticed him when I started dragging her around the carousel to where he was. We were able to sneak up on him, and Ashleigh gave him the picture she had made in art class and the Sweedish Fish she had put in her pocket to bring to him. And like a good sport he ate those Sweedish Fish. Blue Denim lint and all. We headed to Dockside, our favorite place to eat, for dinner, and then home to relax.

Wednesday was spent doing laundry and recovering from the week. Thursday night and Friday we got to spend at Hillary and Neil’s. They had an out of town wedding Friday AM, so Wes, Ashleigh, and I spent the night with Owen and Blake. It’s a big adjustment to go from one three year old and a dog to two three year olds, a one year old, and two dogs. It was exhausting, but we had fun. Ashleigh did NOT want to go home Friday evening.

This weekend we hung out and spent some family time. We enjoyed some time at the playground yesterday. I have some cute video on my cell phone. I’ll try to get that up tomorrow. Ashleigh taught Laci a new trick. You’ll get a kick out of it.

Today was spent on the new baby, but that will be a seperate post…

Ashleigh has always had a healthy imagination, however this week she has taken it a step further. She will now pretend to be a dog, and she will “bark” for people to pet her and scratch her ears. She has also tried to drink her water with no hands. Oh what a child! I usually pat her on the head and tell her what a good dog she is and go on my way. She loves it.

Today Wes asked her to play in her room for a while as we were both trying to get work done and she was trying to jump and climb all over me, which wasn’t going over well! She played for a long time up there. I was worried about what she could be getting into, but figured it couldn’t be that bad. All of a sudden we heard her crying for Mommy. Wes jumped up and went to her rescue. It wasn’t a “My leg is falling off and I’m about to die” kind of cry, more like a, “I don’t know how this happened but I want it to sto” type of cry. I wasn’t very worried about it, until I heard Wes laughing hysterically. I figured I needed to go check it out. I get upstairs to find Wes sitting on the floor of Ashleigh’s room next to her bed. Her room is covered in sheets and blankets. It seems she decided the cabinet side of her dresser looked better empty and the blankets and sheets looked better all over her room. I noticed that I didn’t see Ashleigh. I look to see Wes struggling with a laundry basket. Ashleigh is under her bed, with the top half of her body under the laundry basket. I picked up the bed and Wes got her free.

When we asked how she got stuck under her bed, her response was, “I was playing hide and seek with my kids!” of course….why else would a 3 year old be hiding under a laundry basket under her bed….it all makes sense now!

The weekend of June 6th – 8th Wes had a conference for work in Baltimore. As a part of the conference he had a hotel room at The Tremont Plaza Hotel. All the rooms are suites, and he was given a Chairman’s Suite! SWEET! Thursday night he stayed at the hotel alone, Ashleigh and I spent the night with friends who offered to keep Laci for the weekend. Friday we joined him. I dropped Ashleigh off at the hotel and then went home to repack and shower. Ashleigh called me to tell me about the wonderful hotel room. She had her OWN bedroom with her OWN TV and her own Phone! Oh, and it even had lamps! She was SO excited. The hotel was a 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom with a living room, dining room, and kitchenette. I think the kitchenette was about the size of the kitchen in my first apartment, minus the stove and dishwasher. The hotel room was larger than any apartment I’ve ever lived in. In our pre-kid days, we could have happily lived in the hotel room! Friday night there was a dinner at the Walter’s Art Museum as a part of the conference. We went and had a great meal. They even packed up left overs for us, since Wes had been their point of contact to plan the event. We went home with a huge container of crab dip, about 2 pounds of cooked beef, and a container of the chicken on a skewer appetizers. It was great! Saturday Ashleigh and I slept in, Wes came to wake us up with breakfast in bed. He brought some pasteries and fruit that were left from the morning break that was a part of the conference. It was a wonderful way to start the weekend. I looked out the window and there was something going on at Mercy Medical Center across the street. The morning started with some bag pipers outside of the hospital, it appeared they were setting up for a carnival of some sort. While Ashleigh and I were enjoying our breakfast we heard a marching band. We stood in the window and watched. She was VERY excited. She kept telling me over and over how she had never seen a marching band before, which isn’t QUITE true, but I didn’t go into further detail with her. While she has never seen a Marching Band, she has been to at least two Drum Corps Competitions.

We got up for the day, met Wes for lunch, and headed out to see the city. I wanted to see parts of the city that we don’t go to. The hotel was in Mt. Vernon, which is not an area that I have ever spent any time in. I had forgotten to pack sunscreen, so we went to the new SuperFresh and paid too much money for a sunscreen with too many chemicals in it, but such is life. Ashleigh and I headed up Charles Street in search of something fun. She requested that we go somewhere that sells kid stuff. The only store in the area that I had seen that had nay children’s items was The Women’s Industrial Exchange. We walked up to the next block and entered the store. We were greeted by a very plesant woman who welcomed us and asked us what we were looking for. I told her how we were walking around the city and Ashleigh and asked to see a store with kid things, so here we were. She thought Ashleigh was very adorable, but again, who doesn’t? We spoke with the woman for a while, and she started telling Ashleigh about the sock monkeys she makes. She even showed us what she was doing to make them. She was so impressed with Ashleigh that she gave her a monkey. I couldn’t believe it. She told us about what the Exchange does and who they help. I bought Ashleigh a headband, which I LOVE and I hope to get back and get her some more. They sell a variety of handmade items, all appeared to be great quality. Check out their photos for more of their inventory.

Ashleigh and I tried to go to the carnival that we saw, but apparently it was just the morning. When we walked by around noon it was gone. We tried to find something else kid friendly in Mt. Vernon, but unfortunately there was nothing geared for kids. We went to the hotel and changed to go to the pool. The water was FREEZING! I went in first, and while I tried to get used to the ice cold water Ashleigh was not so patiently waiting for me. I finally sucked it up, got my whole body wet and let her jump in. I warned her that it was very cold, but apparently she thought I was lying. She jumped in and proceeded to climb as far up my body as she could to stay out of the water. She decided she was done, and we went back to the hotel room. We got cleaned up and relaxed in the room for a bit. I got some cute photos of Ashleigh enjoying her own bedroom at the hotel. We went to see Wes for snack time, with her packed bag, and then headed downstairs to meet Nana. Ashleigh then left with Nana for the night and Wes and I had the evening to ourselves. After we got all of his conference stuff packed up we headed to the Harbor. We walked around to find a restaurant to eat at. We decided on J.Paul’s where we had a wonderful dinner. We sat outside, and as we finished the wind started blowing and the sky got dark. We paid our check and headed across the stree to The Gallery for some shopping and shelter. I was hoping to find some cute clothes at Gap Maternity, unfortunately the Gap there doesn’t carry maternity. Neither does the Ann Taylor Loft. I had a store credit certificate for the Gap, so Wes got a new t-shirt, and then the mall closed. We headed back to the hotel, praying the rain would hold out. It turns out it never rained, just looked like it was going to! We snacked on some crab dip and chicken from Friday night’s dinner and watched some tv before falling asleep. Sunday we were able to sleep in, which was wonderful. We packed up the car and headed to BayView to drop off all of Wes’s work related items. We stopped and home and dropped off our suitcases, then headed to Columbia to check out the Gap Maternity before church. It was nice to have some real time for ourselves. We were able to do as we pleased with no real planning. After church we picked up Laci and then picked up Ashleigh. We were glad to have them home. While we enjoyed our carefree time, we sure did miss the two of them!

Enjoy the photos of Ashleigh–

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