Weekend in Ohio

James and I decided to go with my mom to visit my grandma in Ohio (Cleveland) for a long weekend. My grandma will be 88 this year. She is still very active but lives alone and is starting to move slower. The talk has begun of selling the house that she and my grandpa built in the 1940s. This is hard for all of us, obviously, though, most especially for her. I can understand that. However, it is not a safe place for an elderly woman living alone (long sets of stairs, nothing modern, etc.). Anyway, James and I went along as Mom was meeting a realtor at the house over the weekend to try to get things moving.

We left Friday morning at 10 a.m. Traffic was very light and we reached Breezewood for lunch. After lunch I pulled out the portable DVD player and James watched a LOT of Little People. Then he never napped. Oh, wait, he did nap, but only for 25 minutes. GROAN. Anyway, we got there around 4:30. We set up the pack & play next to the bed where I would be sleeping. James IMMEDIATELY figured out how to climb in and out. That became a game. Cute at first, and then, eye-opening: Crap, he could do this ALL. NIGHT. LONG. He went to bed pretty easily and actually slept through the night, so that was good.

Saturday morning we hit Wal-Mart and got far more than needed: bouncy ball, new DVDs, a nursing bra for me (hey, $8 is $8). Saturday, however, he REFUSED to nap. I was exhausted. Finally I took him for a ride and we shared a Blizzard at the local (read: sketchy) Dairy Queen. It was delicious. Then we got some pastries at a local bakery and filled the car up with gas. Still, no sign of napping. Oy.

We had another yummy dinner that night, thanks Grandma! :) James again went to be easily, but crawled in with me around 2 a.m. Wouldn't have been a big deal but it took about an hour for him to re-settle down. Just kept on lifting his head up and down. Up and down. Again. And again. I was beat.

Sunday morning Mom, James and I drove over to see Katy and Pete. Katy and I are sorority sisters and Pete also went to William & Mary. Their son James is a year older than our James. It was wonderful to see them and their house and to meet James. Katy is a pediatric resident, I'm really impressed with how well she is doing. The visit/brunch was lovely until my mom somehow slipped down an entire flight of stairs - she just kept rolling and tumbling. At the time, it was frightening, although of course I told myself that Katy was a doctor so it would be okay. Thankfully, nothing was hurt but Mom's pride. And after the fact, I told her it was an awesome fall, worthy of a movie stunt and/or a soap opera fall (that inevitably leads to a miscarriage). She was a little bruised up but we were both grateful it wasn't me - again, Katy is a doctor, but I am 25 weeks pregnant and that would have been enough for me to worry about things.

Sunday afternoon we had our big meal and my birthday dinner. Grandma fixed pork roast and mashed potatoes. YUM. And we had this praline/caramel/apple pie thing for dessert. WOW. Oh, something funny about the weekend: James REFUSED to sit in his booster seat (oh, and another side point, I thought my grandma was going to faint at the amount of stuff we hauled in - my mother nearly did -- I told my mom that while I was sure in their days all kids needed was a pot and a wooden spoon, these days we have to prepare for a lot more! Although I have read that all these toys kids have are really silly compared to wooden spoons and pots...but I digress). So anyway, James sat in a stool for every meal. And every meal was HUGE. Someone replaced my child with an eater - he ate and ate and ate. His meal, my meal, my mom's meal. It was awesome. I swear he gained a pound over the weekend. He tried everything. I guess I don't make enough varied food or trust him to eat more than his usual favorites. So new challenges exist. Oh, and the booster thing has now carried over to home. Sigh.

My uncle went home on Sunday after our big dinner. He lives about 30 minutes away. The ideal plan is to have him and my grandma move into a large, 2 bedroom apartment near his work. Then she wouldn't be alone but she'd have her privacy. Anyway, we just hung out Sunday afternoon. Again, no nap. Transfer from Katy and Pete's was unsuccessful.

Monday Mom and James and I again hit Wal-Mart. Exciting. We got new Match Box cars, another nursing bra (I loved the one I bought), a nursing nightgown (so cool) and some other stuff. Oh, a bubble machine. God forbid James play with the two bags of toys I packed. He did find a fairy toy in Grandma's garage that he played with all weekend. I didn't bring it back, thinking Greg might not like it. :) James also colored ALL WEEKEND. My mom is a good drawer, so she drew him cats and dogs and balls and horses and cars. His language skills have really taken off in the past few weeks too, it's amazing.

James did nap on Monday, but in the car. I sat outside with him and read a book. It was actually quite pleasant. That afternoon we went to a park like Clemyjontri in Northern Virginia. James loved it. It was very lovely outside so we all enjoyed fresh air.

Yesterday, the 8th, which was also my 33rd birthday, we drove home. Again, light traffic. James did nap, but it was early, so the second half of the trip was tough. The portable DVD player is great, but James kept on asking for different DVDs. Ugh.

Here's a photo of James, my grandma and me. :)