Hit the ground running
The wedding of my brother-in-law to my new sister-in-law was on Saturday. I don't have much to say about weddings. I don't like them, honestly. There is something about me that refuses to apppreciate the ceremony that is invovled, which is weird because I have pagan leanings and I should thrive on rituals. As far as wedddings go, I think it was fine. There weren't any major catastrophies that I noticed, although Phoenix, my nephew, did moan and fidget all the way through the vows. (Funny stuff, if you are childish like me and my mother-in-law.)
The kids did very well. I mean, if I had to be at a wedding all day in clothes I shouldn't move in on an empty stomach, I would have lost my mind, but they were champs. Liilly had her hair in rollers and Phoenix rocked his tuxedo. (You had to say the whole word, otherwise he got cranky.)
Most of the time I felt like the Pied Piper. I was followed by all of the kids. Mostly the nephews, since the only girl in the family on that side is Lilly, now. At least there were only six of the kids at this weddding. I wouldn't have been able to manage all of them and stay pretty AND eat AND keep Adam company while we talked to everyone on the planet. I had a Mary Poppins bag of toys and treats to keep them quiet. It worked. I am still in shock.
Saturday night marked the first time we were alone with Phoenix and Lilly since before Emilee, the new stepmother, came in to their lives. I was a bit petrified that they were going to freak out at the prospect of staying the week here, but so far it has been fun. Wonderful, really.
Phoenix wants to be like Uncle Adam when grows up. He is four. I can remember him being a fetus, fighting to get out of his mom's belly. I can remember when he wasn't anything at all, just a story that Stefanie would tell herself to get her through the rough bits of their marriage. Unfortuantely the rough bits just turned in to a rough marriage and they fell away from each other.
We spent Sunday playing and laughing. There have been a few tough moments. Phoenix, in particular, won't stop mentioning Mazzy. He remembers her and we have pictures of her up and he wants to know why. Why did she die? Didn't she know that we were good parents? He wouldn't die if we were his mom and dad because he wouldn't want us to miss him. Or be sad.
Lilly, well, she just clings to me like a monkey. She is three years old and so sweet, but definately in a needy phase. She has experienced so much change in her little life. Her biggest complaint this morning was that she didn't want to go to school because she wanted to stay with me all day. "Because yesterday was fun."
In a little bit I will be having my usual standing playdate with Seth. I am pretty excited, if tired. It is silly how draining doing nothing can be. It takes a lot of energy to talk as much as the kids want us to talk. I didn't know how quiet we were until they came around.
I can't believe that it is only Monday. We have a whole week of this! I know, parents do it all of the time, but you ease in to it. There are stages and you can build up your endurance. Having a four year old and a three year old dropped on your lap out of nowhere isn't so easy to adjust to.
My only (tiny) complaint is that the new wife updated her Facebook on her honeymoon, but no one has checked in on the kids. Is that just me? Are they better parents because they aren't bugging us? I don't know. Not everyone has the issues that I do.
The kids did very well. I mean, if I had to be at a wedding all day in clothes I shouldn't move in on an empty stomach, I would have lost my mind, but they were champs. Liilly had her hair in rollers and Phoenix rocked his tuxedo. (You had to say the whole word, otherwise he got cranky.)
Most of the time I felt like the Pied Piper. I was followed by all of the kids. Mostly the nephews, since the only girl in the family on that side is Lilly, now. At least there were only six of the kids at this weddding. I wouldn't have been able to manage all of them and stay pretty AND eat AND keep Adam company while we talked to everyone on the planet. I had a Mary Poppins bag of toys and treats to keep them quiet. It worked. I am still in shock.
Saturday night marked the first time we were alone with Phoenix and Lilly since before Emilee, the new stepmother, came in to their lives. I was a bit petrified that they were going to freak out at the prospect of staying the week here, but so far it has been fun. Wonderful, really.
Phoenix wants to be like Uncle Adam when grows up. He is four. I can remember him being a fetus, fighting to get out of his mom's belly. I can remember when he wasn't anything at all, just a story that Stefanie would tell herself to get her through the rough bits of their marriage. Unfortuantely the rough bits just turned in to a rough marriage and they fell away from each other.
We spent Sunday playing and laughing. There have been a few tough moments. Phoenix, in particular, won't stop mentioning Mazzy. He remembers her and we have pictures of her up and he wants to know why. Why did she die? Didn't she know that we were good parents? He wouldn't die if we were his mom and dad because he wouldn't want us to miss him. Or be sad.
Lilly, well, she just clings to me like a monkey. She is three years old and so sweet, but definately in a needy phase. She has experienced so much change in her little life. Her biggest complaint this morning was that she didn't want to go to school because she wanted to stay with me all day. "Because yesterday was fun."
In a little bit I will be having my usual standing playdate with Seth. I am pretty excited, if tired. It is silly how draining doing nothing can be. It takes a lot of energy to talk as much as the kids want us to talk. I didn't know how quiet we were until they came around.
I can't believe that it is only Monday. We have a whole week of this! I know, parents do it all of the time, but you ease in to it. There are stages and you can build up your endurance. Having a four year old and a three year old dropped on your lap out of nowhere isn't so easy to adjust to.
My only (tiny) complaint is that the new wife updated her Facebook on her honeymoon, but no one has checked in on the kids. Is that just me? Are they better parents because they aren't bugging us? I don't know. Not everyone has the issues that I do.
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