fourth of july fun, cookies and blogger meetups

The week before last was a rough week around these parts, and I was counting the minutes until we headed out of town on the Friday night before the Fourth of July to visit my inlaws in the Berkshires. Work conspired against me, and we didn't hit the road until after 10pm. Not ideal for a 2 hour drive, but I was terribly anxious for a change of scenery. I couldn't help but feel flooded with guilt all of last week, whether that makes sense or not, whether it is healthy or not.

Getting away to my inlaws' home, in the middle of nowhere, with mountain views from every window, and deserted roads for walking, and nothing to do but play with the pups and eat, was exactly what I needed. My inlaws were stellar to us, too. We went swimming at a local pond per my request, went to see Superman Returns at the drive-ins with a picnic dinner and big cushions to sit on while watching the movie. My mother in law baked chocolate chip cookies for me at 9pm at night, just because I said I was craving them. It was enough to make me want to never come home.

I have to admit, though, that the highlight of our trip was a visit out to visit Chris of Notes from the Trenches. Josh kept asking me what having 7 kids must be like as we drove over to her house, and as we were leaving, he told me that he never thought someone could make it look as easy as Chris did. Her children were beautiful, sweet, and incredibly well-behaved, to the point that we were wondering what she feeds them. There wasn't a single fight amongst them, and each of her adorable children was polite and friendly and chatty. After we'd left, we also marveled at how Chris and Rob can look so unbelievably young too! Josh kept asking me if I was sure that Chris wasn't in her 20's. It was fabulous to put a face to her hysterical posts, and meeting her felt like seeing an old friend. I can't wait to do it again!

After all that fun and inlaw pampering, it was hard to return to regular life in Boston. For some reason, everything is overwhelming these days, and I guess I just have to chalk it up to hormones. It doesn't help that both Tango and Murray have been putting us through the ringer with different stomach problems. Last week we were up all night with Tango throwing up, and starting this Saturday, we've been up and down with Murray and his stomach problems. I had to work from home today because Murray couldn't stop throwing up until the wee hours of the morning and we were terrified that he'd get dehydrated. I'm praying he is feeling better by tomorrow morning because I don't think I can manage another day away from the office.

Besides that, life is great. I've been feeling pretty good except for random headaches that I'm starting to think might be attributed to sugar. My belly is also starting to look actually pregnant instead of just chunky, and seeing myself in mirrors is a bit of a shock. I can't believe my body is actually doing this!

Anyway, sorry for the bloggy break, I'm going to have to kick myself back into gear and resume my regular blogging.