Long Weekend OVER!

We made it! The long weekend is OVER! When I was working I never would have thought that there would come a time when I would be happy to have a weekend over. But that was fairly exhausting! Thursday night we went to Fireworks in Mineral... my mom, my sister Liz, my friend Lisa, Ardyn and I. We got home sometime around 11pm. Friday we had a 1pm cookout at Evan's Grandma's, but lots of people arrived late, so we didn't eat until like 3:30 or 4pm, by which time Evan and I were both STARVING because we hadn't eaten yet that day. Then Friday night we came home after 7pm and RELAXED... washed diapers, dishes, etc. Saturday there was an unexpected flat tire on the van. The SAME tire that was patched two weeks ago when we got a flat. Of course I had everything, including the baby, the camera, the diaper bag, the food we had made, packed up to go to a pool party and cookout... and had to call Evan to come back and get us and change the tire, which was stuck on the rim and had to be pounded off later with a sledgehammer... so we had to unload everything into Evan's vehicle, and install his car seat, etc etc in order to go to the party. And they had a crazy day over at Evan's parents too, with the golf cart not starting that morning, and a hose breaking on their brand new pool. So we finally got there (2 hours later than we intended) and Ardyn and I ate lunch. Then Ardyn took a nap and Evan took a nap, and I settled in to read the paper and my book. I got the book open and Ardyn woke up. Ugh. So we swam, and then we cooked out. It was nice! We got home around 7pm that night too, and Ardyn and I relaxed and stored up for the next day.

Sunday I was sewing her Fireworks tank top to wear to the fireworks that night and with just the hem left to sew in, my machine started acting up. It messed up the hem (loads of knots and loops on the bottom thread) and I had to tear the entire hem out. Then I tried to complete it and my machine was totally haywire. It must need serviced and cleaned. SO I called Evan's mom and asked to borrow hers, and she was generous enough to say YES but it wasn't at her house but at her sister's, so I called there and Evan went to get it while Ardyn and I ate lunch and took a bath and got ready for our NEXT cookout. Then Evan brought the machine back. It is WAY newer than mine (only two years old) but much more complicated because it is a White, so it doesn't thread like a Singer does (which are all the machines I have experience with) and the bottom bobbins are not only different (which means I had to rewrap my thread) but also go in on their sides and require you to take pieces of the machine off to get to the bobbin, also unlike a Singer. So it took me almost 40 minutes to get it threaded and sewing right. Then it took about 5 to put the hem into the tank top and adjust and secure the straps appropriately. Ugh. Looks like my machine needs to get serviced soon because I don't think I can be without the comfort of your own sewing machine for long. But I am eternally grateful to have an alternative to get me through.

So Evan wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so we loaded up and Ardyn and I headed for my cousin's house for a cookout and fireworks. Of course by myself, that meant that I had to carry everything by myself. I had to park down the street a ways, and then carry everything up the hill to their house, and up lots of steps to their front deck. So I carried (in one trip) The Diaper Bag, The Camera Bag, Ardyn, a folding chair with no bag, A bowl of crunchy cole slaw, the dressing for the cole slaw, a sippy cup, the van keys, Ardyn's Blanket, Ardyn's Pooh Bear- and her Star-Spangled Headband. All with two hands. Down the street and up about 25 stairs. Yeah. Eventually a very nice little girl came and asked if I needed help, and she carried the cole slaw into the house for me. Thank God.

So we had the cookout and watched Fireworks there, and didn't get home until almost 11pm. Then I put Ardyn to bed and went to sleep right away myself. Today we get the van in for a new tire, and to have the passenger side door and the passenger side window serviced. Thank GOD for that.

So really, it was a crazy weekend. A long weekend in which we were SOMEWHERE every single day. It was lots of packing and planning and getting cleaned up and dressed and getting the van loaded and unloaded. And then throw in the flat tire and the sewing machine breaking.... and it was pretty hectic feeling. I think that overall I maintained a pretty positive attitude, and only felt stressed a couple of times here and there.