My Excuse...

Well, it has been over a week since I’ve written.  So…my goal to post at least once a week…already failed.  And yet I soldier on.  I had every intention of writing last weekend, but here’s why that never happened… 

Last Friday was my and Hansen’s five year wedding anniversary.  We celebrated by going out to Shogun, in Rockford, IL, for some sushi and hibachi-grilled teriyaki chicken.  Nothing quite says “romance” like raw fish and a guy in a chef’s hat tossing spatulas in the air and shrimp in your mouth.  Not to brag, but I was the only one at the table that was able to actually catch the shrimp.  I really try not to waste seafood.  Or any food.  We were both incredibly tired after getting up around 3 AM and then working all day, but five years is a legitimate milestone and we weren’t about to let it go unnoticed.   

I was going to stop and get him a card on the way home from work, but I was running late (story of my life) and didn’t want to make us lose our dinner reservations.  I also was going to get him a little gift, but when I Googled traditional five year anniversary gifts on my lunch break earlier that day, I was informed that the traditional gifts are either wood or silverware.  I was tempted to cover both of those bases and get him a wooden spoon, but…nah.    Hansen told me that he got me a card and some Werther’s candies, but I’ve yet to see either of those things, so I don't feel so bad for not getting him anything (yet).  Am I painting a good picture of our romantic evening together for you?  I’m not complaining.  It was great!  Sammy was with Granny and Poupon (grandma and grandpa).  We had a couple of hours to ourselves and some good food.  It didn't involve leaking diapers or spit-up.  But it wasn’t a lingering, peaceful evening of wine and candle light, either.  Truth be told, we were kind of in a rush all night.  Partially because of me being late in getting home from work, and partially because we had to get up early the next morning. 

By 9 AM on Saturday morning, we were up, showered, dressed, packed, and in the car headed to Michigan.  I had been asked to do special music at a women's Bible study kickoff event at my friend's church in Fruitport.  And Hansen, being the wonderful husband that he is, agreed to accompany me, both with his presence on the trip, and with his guitar during the special music.  Commence family road trip!

We have taken family road trips in the past.  Even with Sammy.  Just this past June we drove to St. Louis and back for a wedding.  And Sammy did great.  Maybe 30 minutes of crying total for the whole round-trip.  Sadly, we did not get a repeat of that blissful trip this time around.  I planned to start writing my next blog post in the car (maybe about something sweet...like how much I love my husband...because I do).  It was, after all, supposed to be a four and a half hour trip.  What else would I do with all those peaceful hours of driving, right?  And the plan might have worked, had I started writing sooner.

Just to expedite the whole process of relaying the weekend's events, I'll give you a quick summary of the next couple of days from that point on (completely devoid of appropriate grammar):

Driving (this is when I should have started writing, but, alas, I did not), driving , fussing, lunch (Wendy's...Spicy Chicken Sandwich combo with fresh lemonade...Large...Deal with it!), diaper change for Sammy.  Driving, fussing, change seats to be next to baby.  Driving, fussing, FUSSING, stop in random parking lot to nurse baby.  Driving, fussing, FUSSING, SCREAMING, stop in random parking lot to walk baby around the perimeter.  Driving, Chinese fire drill driver change.  Driving, FUSSING, SCREAMING, SCREEEEAMING, stop in random parking lot to walk baby around the perimeter (the kid loves parking lots...who knew?).  Driving FUSSING, SCREAMING, SCREEEEEEAMING, SCREAMING, fussing, baby falls asleep.  Pull into town where we'll be staying for the rest of the weekend two minutes later.

Visit briefly with friends, eat dinner (Wendy's again...don't judge...same meal, only small...because I'm not completely without virtue!), sing at women's Bible study event (lovely...there was chocolate...even lovelier), visit briefly with friends, sleep.  Wake, nurse baby, sleep.  Wake, nurse baby, sleep.  Wake, shower, church, sing, lunch (Qdoba...not Chipotle, but it'll do in a pinch.  At least they have guac), visit briefly with friends, pack up the car, drive home.  Driving, driving, driving, fussing, stop for dinner (Panera...Mmmm.  Also, baby's first experience with squash soup. Success!), diaper change for Sammy.  Driving, driving, driving, fussing, fussing, FUSSING, FUSSING, SCREAMING, SCREEEEEAMING, SCREEEEEEAMING, stop at Walgreens in hopes of finding miracle cure for teething fussiness.  Failure.  Driving, driving, pick up dog at Granny and Poupon's house, eat second dinner (because I never turn down BLT's), drive home, unpack the car, put Sammy to bed, and finally, finally, finally get to bed ourselves.

So...that is my excuse for not writing last week.  It was so great to see my friends this past weekend.  I love them dearly and hate that it had been 5 years since we'd last spent time together.  I wish we'd had a little more time to just hang out together, but I was still so grateful, not only for the opportunity to visit with them (and meet their children for the first time), but also to sing and lead worship for the Bible study event, and at their church service the next day.  However, that being said, I will think twice before ever again scheduling a road trip while I have a teething baby on my hands. 

Note:  Almost all of the fussing, screaming, and SCREEEAMING were courtesy of our dear little Sammy, though it's possible that mom and/or dad may have joined in briefly at some point.  But, just to prove to you that he's not always as crabby as this post makes him sound, here's an adorable video of Sammy giving fist-bumps to his daddy: