July 3, 2008

• Vacation Time!

  First, I want to thank everyone for all your concern and support after my last entry. Not only did you leave comments here, but I got a number of caring emails and comments on Facebook, too. I haven't had a chance to reply to everyone, but I am really appreciative. It was a like one giant group hug!

  I was feeling shaken up for a few days after the incident, but am doing better now. My foot is completely OK; I've even run a couple of times this week, just short runs -- 3.5 miles and 2 miles -- and I've done one session of Bar Method. I haven't taken Jack to the park because it's the workweek, but we might go this afternoon, in which case I'll drive.

  I'm wrapping this up at work today. We get out early this afternoon, and then it's vacation time! Yay! We haven't gone away on vacation for quite a while. In fact, I haven't taken vacation since I got back from maternity leave in November. It may not be the best timing, considering the fact that I only have a month left here, but I've earned the time, and we need to have some time off for a variety of reasons! Tonight, we fly the red-eye to Detroit. When we arrive, we will pick up our rental car and drive four hours (I love road trips!) to my in-laws' summer home in the woods in northern lower Michigan. It's a very relaxing place, with nice people, and it's beautiful. We'll be right between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake, so there will be a lot of lounging by the "beach." I plan to read (I picked up two Jodi Picoult books yesterday), eat ice cream, spend lots of quality time with family and friends and keep up with my half-marathon training (at least half the time!). It will be a full house. Besides my in-laws, Chris and Victoria will also be there with our niece Maddie, and our friends Shannon and Will will arrive Sunday with their daughter Audrey. The three babies are meeting for the first time. Audrey is 16 months old, Jack is almost a year old and Maddie is almost eight months. Fun!

  I was up until 1 a.m. last night, packing and cleaning the apartment. It's amazing how many things I had to pack for Jack. Don't make fun of me, but I made a spreadsheet yesterday to organize my packing list. Down the left side, I listed each day that we would be gone. Then I had two columns going across the top, one for me and one for Jack. In each cell, I listed the outfits and things Jack and I would need each day of the trip. I then had a category at the bottom called "Miscellaneous," where I listed the things that we might not need on a specific day, but were sure to need at some point, such as sunscreen, hats, bathing suits, swim diapers, recipes (for the things I'm making for Jack's first birthday party), etc. I'm so glad I made the list, because there were definitely things I would have forgotten otherwise. It also helped me pare down the things I was going to bring. For example, I went from 10 pairs of shoes to five. You might wonder where Johnny comes into play. He was in charge of his own packing ... I don't micromanage to that extent!

  OK, I'm going to share a few recent pics of Jack. Enjoy! I'll try to update while I'm on vacation, but I may not be able to comment much.

  Jack enjoys his favorite summer snack: Whole strawberries!

  

  We got him his first birthday present early, since we can't lug this to Michigan: The bounce and spin zebra! I've wanted to get this for Jack ever since I saw that Shelly's daughter Hannah had one. I remember a video of her bouncing on it and saying "Uh-oh!" and thought it was SO cute. Jack's not to that point yet, but he really loves spinning the toys and making the zebra play music.

  

  Giddyup, Horsey!

  

  

  

  After all that excitement, it was time for a bath.

  

  I love this goofy face

  

  Happy early Fourth, everyone!

  • 12:26 pm
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