We got a later start than planned (as always) on Sunday - I think we were in the car by noon, which was only about an hour later than we'd hoped to be out the door to head to my grandparents' house. It seems like there's always just "one more thing" that somehow morphs into three one-more-things, and by then there's a hungry baby or a dirty diaper, etc. such that by the time we do leave to go anywhere, it feels like a miracle that nobody's crying. :-D

I like car trips of four hours or less, and this trip usually takes us about three. If both kids fall asleep, DH and I have some uninterrupted quality chat time, which is hard to come by these days. We took a stack of CDs of our choral performances from our college days, but the car's player refused them all, so there wasn't even that in the background. (It's hard for me not to slip into singing along.)

I don't remember what all we talked about, but it was just good to talk. Linebacker baby slept the whole way, and little one was agreeable. They're both good travelers, thank goodness.

When we arrived, my brother materialized (I never see him walk up) at the side of the car, and a moment later, my grandfather stepped onto the porch. There's something about the sight of him that just grounds me in a comfortable place. Little one ran up to him and hugged his legs, then walked into the house like she owned the place. :-D It was good to see that she didn't need any warm-up time with them this time.

DH promptly disappeared into my brother's room with the laptop, as per usual. Once everything is unloaded, he pretty much only comes out of there at mealtimes or if I ask him to do something with one of the kids. (Longstanding disagreement)

My grandmother immediately dragged out every toy she could find for little one's perusal and insisted on making sure that linebacker baby, who sits fairly well now, didn't fall on the "hard" floor (hence the pillow parade). I know better than to argue with her on things like that. I can't win, and it makes her feel needed/helpful, which at her age is one of those things that sometimes drifts away. Also, she's not a very vocal person with affection and stuff, so these little things are her ways of showing how she feels. (She always turns down the corner of my - our - bed there every morning, too.)

A short while before supper, my mom and stepdad came over. There has been some ugly stuff between him and my brother in the past (which is ultimately what led to brother dearest moving in with our grandparents), so those two basically don't talk to each other, even if they're in the same room. We had a good supper anyway - little one loves my grandfather's mac 'n cheese (think Giada-style) and so do I! He followed our meal with a magnificent pecan pie.

After supper, we watched a bit of football. Little one apparently didn't approve, because she got great pleasure out of putting a pillow over the tv screen and listening to the grownups yelp about doors vs. windows. She just grinned and did it again. :-D The game I'd been interested in was already over at that point, so I didn't mind as much as the others did (and *ahem*...Go Cowboys! :)).

The kids went to bed fairly well, and I thought I would be able to sit and relax a bit with the laptop, maybe poke around on SC or the mom board before linebacker baby woke for his next bottle. Unfortunately, my brother's wireless network refused to cooperate. It's very weak on a good day.

Skipping over a bit here, as it deserves its own post not riddled with quite so many links.

I made it to bed around 2 or so, but with linebacker baby sharing a room with us, I don't think either of us slept well at all. Every little rustle made us shift and peek at him. It was kind of a moot point, though, because at four, he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. DH handed him off to me at five (not that I really slept much in that hour; I should've just taken the baby from the get-go). That was a very long morning.

Everything got better once my grandfather woke up. He insisted on making breakfast for me and for little one, who was already awake by then. You don't do anything to keep him out of his beloved kitchen. Besides, food I don't have to grab and scarf with a baby in one arm? Yes, please! :)

After that, little one and I headed out to the yard with Granddaddy...yep, pecan hunting time! Little one had so much fun trying to figure out this contraption! She just loves the outdoors anyway. I took lots and lots of pictures of her following my grandfather around, picking up pecans and handing them off.

This is my dogwood tree. And here (where there's one branch on either side of the trunk, near the bottom of the picture) is where I and my childhood best friend used to sit and talk and laugh for hours on end. Grandma gave up on telling me I was going to fall and get hurt somewhere around my second grade year, I think. One time, the city was going to cut the tree down, because the telephone line goes right through some of the upper branches, but I raised so much hell that Granddaddy convinced them to leave it alone.

Isn't it beautiful? :)

As we pulled out of their driveway yesterday afternoon, both of them waving and shouting farewells, it occurred to me that I wasn't as tense as usual upon leaving. I wasn't thinking, "You know, this could very well be the last time I see one of them." Instead, I was just content. I think I made peace with something there this time, something I can't even name. (My next post might shed light on that.)

There are ugly things about the trip that I should probably get out at some point, but this is long enough already. ;-) Oh, and this is what happens when someone small attacks Mommy mid-picture. :-D