Since this blog is like a diary or journal for me, I wanted to account for the past 16 days, so I can remember all that went on...
We got the call that my daughter's water had broken at ~ 1:30am Sunday morning, May 8. It was Mother's day. We had had a dinner party with friends that Saturday night and I had just gone to bed at 12:30. We, my daughter Kelly and I, thought about getting in the car and driving down to Florida when we got the call, but I knew we would already be too late, and I was very tired and needed sleep. We packed to go that Sunday morning and Drew and I, Lincoln, Kelly and Carter, made the 7 hour drive and got to the hospital at 6 pm for visiting hours. Auntie Alex stayed behind for work and also took care of my 3 pups, thank you Alex! We got to see the new baby and my daughter and sil that Sunday evening. Little Nathan was perfect and so small at 6 lbs 11 ounces. We stayed for a while and then we headed back to their house to spend the night. We all stayed in Orlando and visited with them until Tuesday and then the others left to drive back to Atlanta and I stayed to help the new family out. Since this was an emergency C-section, they weren't completely prepared with everything they had wanted to do before the baby came home. So I vacuumed and cleaned, did laundry and changed sheets, went food shopping, and got the house ready for the baby's homecoming.
Wednesday through Saturday morning... I cooked and cleaned up, helped with the baby, and tried to stay out of their way enough for them to also have some private time. Thursday was my birthday and we had a special visit from Tricia and Greg, all the way from Puerto Rico, for a yummy pizza dinner. So good to see them! They may just have caught a bit of "baby fever" while they were here.
Saturday morning I hopped in the car and headed over to Vero Beach... as our original plan was to fly into Vero, spend the weekend there at the Vero Beach Hotel and drive to Orlando on Monday for the baby's scheduled arrival. My flight plans had changed, but my husband still flew in as planned and we had a wonderful weekend at the beach, celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary. We drove back to Orlando together on Monday morning, Drew flew back to work on Tuesday morning at o'dark thirty, and I stayed.
Tuesday through Friday I was back to food shopping and cooking, cleaning up the dishes, helping with the baby and taking him for the morning shift so my daughter could get a couple more hours of sleep. My sil came home Monday evening from work, all excited about putting the house on the market so they could move to a bigger house. That was all the inspiration I needed to help them "stage" the house. I rearranged furniture, built shelves, cleared the clutter, and put the house in show ready shape.
By Friday we all needed a bit of relaxation so we got out of the house and went to Winter Park for a nice outdoor lunch. It was May 20th, my daughter's 30th birthday and my 33rd anniversary! After lunch, we food shopped for a special birthday dinner meal, and cooked up a storm when we got back home. Beef tenderloin on the grill, Crab Cakes with remoulade sauce, Boursin cheese scalloped potatoes, grilled asparagus and zucchini and triple chocolate cake with whipped cream icing for dessert, yum! Dinner was shared with friends of theirs, Lindsay, Mike and baby Parker, 2 months older than Nathan. The day wore Krisitin out and off to bed she went. Saturday everyone slept late and we had a lazy day. I ran a few errands and bought some more food to cook some dishes to freeze and leave behind, Tortellini soup and Chicken tetrazini. Sunday, we all got out of the house, went to the park to take family pictures and then had Ryan's Mom and Brother over for dinner. That night I took care of the baby from 9 pm until 12:40, in between feedings, so they could get some sleep.
Monday I flew back home to Atlanta. It was a long time to be gone, 16 days, but I loved being there with the new baby and I was happy to help them out. My daughter and I said a tearful goodbye at the airport, but I know I'll be back soon and often.
