Honor thy Mother and Father

...but did the 10 Commandments ever say anything about fathers-in-law??? I hope not, because surely I'm going to be in some big trouble. I just cannot do it anymore. I try. I really have tried. Every time we see him I pray for peace and strength and promise myself that I will excuse every stupid, inconsiderate thing he says for the sake of my husband and my child-soon to be children. But ya know what? I'm sick of it. I'm not going to let guilt consume anymore about this. I don't have to like him. I will never try to keep my husband or children from him--he is their father/grandfather and he is not an evil, bad person. We just don't click and his comments absolutely drive me crazy. The kind of crazy where I just become a different person.

Last night after dinner, he and Andy were going to eat a yummy looking cake that my husband made the night before. I opted to have my carefully measured 1/2 cup of Edy's light ice cream. My father in law looks at me and says, "Ice cream is fattening." I looked right back at him and said, "This kind isn't" and he said, "Yeah it is....there's all that sugar!" Ok, go ahead and keep eating that cake with the pound of frosting on it--much better for you! Argh! I should mention that I am 17.5 weeks pregnant and feeling HUGE....okay, enough with the fat comments to the pregnant lady, okay? Last time I was pregnant with Luke, I was eating a burger and fries at a restaurant and he called me "a chow hound"...This morning he told me I should do some exercises more often! And all he can talk about is how good it is that Luke "exercises" and that we should make sure he keeps it up! IT"S CALLED PLAYING NOT EXERCISING!!!!! Serenity now please! Can you tell I haven't let this stuff go?? Hence, the aforementioned bottled up guilt...spilling out now at a pace I cannot control.

Okay, I feel a little better now. Only a little. After all, I still have one and a half days to go. Please God, grant me strength and oh, just a little bit of that trait I never did find--patience.

Lions, Tigers, Bears, and Apples

Last weekend, Andy and I decided to jaunt on up to Boston for a weekend of apple picking and zoo visiting. Of course, a trip to Boston is far from a "jaunt"; rather it is 9 long hours driven overnight, no less. So, why would we embrace this madness for just 2.5 days?? Well, quite simply, we love the tradition of apple picking--we always get such nice pictures--and it's always so much nicer to do traditional type things with one's family. So, off to Boston we went. And I'm so happy and grateful that we did.

Upon pulling up to my parents' home, Luke started screeching with excitment and calling out his cousin's name, "Nanni!!!!" Once out of the car, it was obvious he had not forgotten the month he spent living there just 3 weeks earlier. He walked up to that door like he owned it! Yes, surviving on 3 hours sleep was definately worth it already.

Over the course of the next 2 days, we would visit a zoo in Providence, go apple picking, and drive 9 hours back home to Virginia! Talk about a busy weekend. While there were no lions or tigers, there was ONE bear and Luke and his cousins simply had a blast at the zoo. It was a perfect, crisp autumn day in New England. Luke just ran around screaming with joy and excitment. Needless to say, his first visit to a zoo was a success!

While our apple picking day almost got rained out, we weren't going to let a few clouds and some mud stop us from consuming caramel apples, cider donuts, and of course, the ardous task of carrying home 20 lbs of apples!

The afternoon only got better when we arrived home just in time to watch the Patriots play San Diego and WIN! What a great weekend...who could ask for anything more? And despite the fact that by the time we arrived in Baltimore, with 2 hours still to go, Andy and I both looked at each other and said, "are we home, yet?", we know we'd do it all over again in a heartbeat...and knowing us, we soon will!!