Hotel Grandpa

  I could hardly talk about the lovely time that Carl and I had together without giving props to my dad for watching the girls for us.  This summer my dad finished building a new house and this trip was the first that we would get to stay there.  We spent one night with my dad and the girls before leaving them the next day.  Yes, I cried.  Yes, it was only for one night.  Yes, my dad had to shove me out the door.  Yes, my husband was pulling me at the same time.  Do you wanna make something of it?  I can count the number of times that I have been away from my children overnight on ONE hand (that is in 7 years!)  It is always a bit rough at first...but then it gets much easier.  Too easy.

I am so grateful for my dad's care for the kids and his encouragement to "go and have fun".  The girls are absolutely in love with him, and we counted down the days until our time with him for a month! I just wanted to share a few pictures from his house and have a little fun at his expense. Shall we? (keep in mind that my dad lives alone.)

  

First off, here is his bedroom.  What you are looking at is the biggest "princess and the pea" mattress you have ever seen. He said so himself.  It is as least 24 inches thick!  Pretty sure that I counted at least 6 pillows too!  What you cannot see is the large flat screen TV mounted to the wall just opposite of the the TV. This girls slept on the floor in there and were happy to crawl in bed with him in the morning to catch some cartoons.

Moving onto the closet.  This is where it gets good.  I cannot fully represent the vastness of this space, but just try and wrap your mind around approximately 500-600 square feet of wall-to-wall, color-coded shirts (I cropped out the sleeveless, frayed, denim Harley Davidson shirt just to preserve his dignity)...

 

shoes, (just the dress shoes, tennis shoes and boots were in another space)

 

pants, (also take note of the 15 gray hooded sweatshirts)

 

and more shirts,

I was pretty impressed by his decorating ability.  Everything was shiny stainless steel, dark chocolate leather, or rich maple wood.  The walls were painted with earthy tones of butter, sienna, and sage green- not "builder's white."  Nowhere were there piles of dirty clothes, muddy shoes, or even dirty dishes to be found.

In all seriousness, it was almost unnecessary for Carl and I to leave for a luxury getaway...we were perfectly comfortable just lounging at Hotel Grandpa.  He made so many efforts in the planning of this house to accommodate us.  Most everything is kid-proof.  There is not much to worry about- just relaxing,

 

that- and some movie watching on a surround sound stereo system.  Oh, and trail mix with M&Ms!  Thanks Dad!  Your new house rocks!

Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 08:03 AM

I feel as though I am attempting each new task, entering each new scene the way that Kramer did on Seinfeld- slightly crazy, but playing it cool.  A lot of helter skelter going on. Between homeshooling, housework, babies (3 in the last week!) and sleep (not much of that actually)...time escapes me. 

I have been wanting to share bits of my trip away with Carl last weekend. Thanks for waiting.

 

We stayed at the Salish Lodge which overlooks...

 

Snoqualamie Falls.  Lovely huh?

The accommodations were beautiful, the service superb, the food...well the food was other-worldly.  Really, if flavors like those are available here on Earth, I cannot imagine what awaits our senses in heaven!  There were all kinds of little details that enriched our experience.  After dinner (and our favorite bottle of wine) we were treated to a couples massage.  At one point during the treatment, I broke the silence and told my husband that I never wanted to leave! It was almost too much.

 

Our cozy room was appointed with fluffy white robes, a bubbly jacuzzi tub, a crackling fire and lavender filled pillows.  See I told you...heaven!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we headed for breakfast.

 

(pastries and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice)

 

(pancakes and fruit with Devonshireire cream)

     

(steel cut oats with almonds, raisins, apples and vanilla milk)

 

(eggs, hash browns, bacon, ham and biscuits with honey)

An espresso nudge, a spicy bloody mary, 4 courses and 2 hours later...sadly, it was time to go.

Thankfully I had these sweet faces to come home to.  And flowers too!

   

So yes, I am having some difficulty re-entering the atmosphere, but the weekend is in sight and I am hanging on!  Hope you are too.

stopping for tea

Its been a week.  A busy week.  A week of firsts.  A good week.  Our first day of lessons began Monday.  Bit by bit we are settling into a rhythm, and my confidence grows.  The girls seem to be loving it.  I still cringe a little when I see the school bus pass by, often asking myself, "Am I really doing this? Can I really do this?"

To offset the three R's (reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) I am trying to add in some really fun things. This is absolutely essential for Hannah (5), otherwise I start to lose her.  As part of our Charlotte Mason curriculum we are studying the poetry of Walter de la Mare, and I thought it would be fun to include a little tea with our verse.

 

We dressed up ( yes- we) in our fanciest, most jeweled fluff and sat for some reading.  It is amazing how much the girl's manners improve when they are served like "real ladies".  We're talking napkins on the lap and all!  Both older girls chose a poem to memorize with the hopes of reciting it at a family gathering later this fall.  Our little tea time was fun and I vowed to make it a weekly event.

So all of those August/September babies seem to be arriving right on time- three in the last week!  This has proved somewhat challenging as I try to juggle midwifery with homeschooling (and homemaking, and gardening, and canning, and...).  Funny enough, a long night spent away welcoming someone else's baby makes me all the more anxious to get back to my own.  I am thankful for my Husband and my friends who have filled in all the gaps for me.  And after the deliciously chubby, 10#  large headed, baby boy born last night...you won't hear me complaining about much anytime soon!

In fact, I am in a semi state of bliss right now.  In a matter of hours I will find myself alone with my spouse of 10 years now, receiving spa treatments, eating gourmet food, sipping fine wine, wearing plush white robes, soaking in our own private jetted tub, and eating the chocolates left on my pillow.  Can you even begin to beat that?  Don't wake me!

I'll be back next week!