A weekend away and four weeks to go

For those of you who read this blog for actual updates on our life and not my sarcastic child-rearing tips, this post is for you.....

For the first time in 7 months (7 MONTHS!!) since we brought our sweet loves home, Andy and I went out of town alone for the weekend. To say it was glorious would be an understatement. As we were driving away, we experienced a range of emotions from guilt (which was easily vanquished by a Starbucks stop) to elation, which did not dissipate until the ride home began.

For our weekend away, we went to Breckenridge. We walked around, ate, slept, and watched TV. While that may not sound exciting to you, let me tell you something: I did not have to tell anyone to wash their hands, I did not have to micromanage anyone's meal, I did not clean up any vomit or urine, I did not have to dress anyone except myself, I did not have to take anyone to the bathroom, and I did not  have to answer any questions that started with "Why?"

It was glorious.

And here we are in all our childless glory. Exactly one month from my due date (August 26!). I know you are wondering if I can get any bigger. Apparently, I will be able to continue to expand at the current alarming rate for approximately 4 more weeks. 

The way home provided a little adventure (and extended time away from home) when our car broke down. We sat by the side of the road for a good hour like this:

Traffic leaving Breckenridge was super heavy and even me being pregnant and standing on the side of the road with a clearly broken down car--> not.one.person.stopped. Not ONE! My stepdad recently was on the side of the road for much longer than an hour (more like a whole day) and no one stopped for him either. Is it the age of cell phones that has caused this trend?  Seems pretty sad if you ask me and it makes me want to stop and just see if people are all right. Maybe no one needs help anymore because they can call someone who can help, but how about offering a bottle of water or a granola bar? Or even just making sure people are OK. Maybe they just need to know someone in the world cares.  

Of course, my amazing husband had us towed to an auto parts store where he replaced our alternator right there in the parking lot while I walked to Taco Bell and indulged in a Doritos Taco. Have you ever experienced this slice of heaven? I don't even like Doritos and I could eat one of these things every day. And I just might do that until the baby comes.

I digress. My parents are amazing. They watched our kids all weekend. Fed, clothed, bathed, answered questions- all of it. And because of how amazing my parents are, we could leave and trust that our kids would be alive when we returned. I think my mom needs a drink (or 4), but she seems to be OK. We are so grateful to have this kind of help at this stage of our lives! 

Speaking of amazing- the other reason we could leave is because our kids are so amazing. Vaughn woke up on Sunday and asked Grandma and Grandpa if everyone could "clean the house for Mom." What?! Talk about a dream come true. Eloise slept in her own bed and didn't cry while we were gone. And really all that makes up for the fact that apparently, they dressed like this the whole time...

So thankful to come home to kids I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, parents who take care of their grown kids and a clean house. And now to tackle the last minute to do list before baby comes and shakes the whole thing up!