Back to Reality...

Well, it has been 12 weeks since we brought Gavin home from the hospital. In late July, October seemed a lifetime away. And I have to say, I have really enjoyed my time off with the kids, with the exception of the complications I suffered and the extra surgery I had. But once that was behind me, I was able to get out and enjoy my time with them. And the bonus from the discomfort of that is that I got some vacation time back because I had to file a new short-term disability claim, so instead of going back to work with 1 day of vacation, I will have 11 days left when I return. While I considered extending my leave into November, I have always had it in my mind that I had to return on October 24th, so I arranged it with my boss that I would return for 1 full week of work, and then use my remaining vacation to work short weeks the rest of the year. Because of the holidays, it works perfectly, and I will even be able to take the week between Christmas and New Years off as well. So with the exception of this week and the week of November 7th, I will be taking every Friday off. And I have to say, that lessens to harsh feelings I was having about going back to work full-time.

Once that was settled, I focused on spending as much time as possible with my kids. Last Thursday, we went with my mom, sister, and nephews to Pigeon Roost Farms, which is a pumpkin patch and all-around Autumn playground. We didn't bring any pumpkins home (I am hoping we can get back there with Duane to do that), but Rachel had so much fun playing in the fun center with her cousins. It was a chilly day, perfect autumn weather, and I just had a blast watching her romp around.
Saturday Gavin and I went to my cousin's wedding, so Rachel had a sleepover at cousin Caden's. Judging by her crankiness when I picked her up on Sunday, she had fun. I enjoyed spending time with my family, and they were very helpful with Gavin so I even got to dance with my dad and brother.
Sunday, we attended Nolan's 1st birthday party! His mom did a Halloween theme (I don't know what she would have done if she had a kid that wasn't born around a holiday), so I made a pumpkin cake (actual pumpkin cake decorated like a pumpkin) and smash cake. Seriously, check out the video on Kim's blog. I have never seen a kid have that much fun with a smash cake.
Tuesday was my last real day of maternity leave with both kids, so I tried to get outside and spend some quality time with Rachel. I hadn't been able to do a lot of that, and I regret it, but we spent an hour outside blowing and chasing bubbles, playing in her car, and just generally running around.

Wednesday, Duane, Gavin, and I dropped Rachel off with the sitter and headed to Florida for Lori's wedding. I wish we could have taken Rachel with us, but I knew two kids would be a lot to handle for both of us, let alone the times when I had to do wedding things and couldn't be around to help. And because I am nursing Gavin, I didn't want to be away from him that long. So Rachel got to spend some days with Grandma and Hoppa, and we headed to Boca Raton.

The vacation was really fabulous, even though we didn't get to do much. Gavin could not have been better on the airplane. He fell asleep every time the engines kicked on. When we got there, we picked up our rental (a mini-van, much to Duane's chagrin) and drove up the coast from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Boca Raton. It was gorgeous. There were so many yachts and mansions lit up in the night. Duane was instantly in love. Apparently we arrived during a beautiful pocket of nice weather too. It was 70s and sunny every day! Not even humid!

Our hotel was situated right on the beach, and I splurged on the ocean view room with a balcony, so we spent every morning sitting on the balcony just staring out at the ocean. I drank my coffee, and Duane just stared. We left the door open and listened to the waves crashing on the beach as often as possible. This was the view from out balcony.
And the wedding was probably the most beautiful wedding ceremony I have ever seen. Lori was gorgeous. I hope she doesn't mind if I post this picture.She is beautiful under the worst conditions, but as a bride, she was simply stunning.

She and Mike were married at a private club, in front of a pool with a fountain. As she came down the staircase, Mike started to cry, and I almost lost it too. The night could only have been more perfect if Duane and Gavin had been able to be there, but Gavin was extremely fussy and Duane sacrificed his evening so that I could spend mine with my friends. Everything was amazing. I am so happy I could share the experience with them.

So amazing that we really didn't want to leave on Saturday when the time came. I had scheduled a late afternoon/early evening flight to give us time to putz around on Saturday, and putz we did. Duane tried to convince me to go get Rachel and bring her back...permanently. He is already job hunting down there.

For now, we are just planning next year's vacation. I got some great tips from the woman who did my hair for the wedding. So I hope we can spend several nights in Boca and a couple in Orlando visiting a giant mouse and his friends. Until then, we may have to buy Duane a CD of ocean waves, crashing on the beach, to get him to sleep well at night...