just so you know its not all doom and gloom

I was scrolling down through the blog posts, and felt like I was being slightly negative.  {aside from posting about Savannah}  The car and the hot water are not exactly positive things... and there have been quite a few really nice things going on. 

For example, we decided at the last minute to go to the Botanic Gardens for the Fourth, and we managed to pull together a delicious assortment of appetizers for our picnic... and then we got there before it started, but not early like the other million people there, yet we got amazing seats right next to the handicap section  {only problem was the big tree in front of us blocked the fireworks, so you had to move to see them}



Ethan loved the fireworks, and Savannah was totally laid back {no tears}... we had a really nice time.  Ethan even made friends with the kids next to us that had a lighted bubble gun.  He was so excited, and when he gets like that, his thoughts get way ahead of his speech, and it sounds like he is speaking Chinese.  Seriously.  Those kids were older, and I wondered what they thought of the strange giberish sounds coming from my little boy. 



We all had a very nice time drinking Faustino's mojitos that he made for us there, and snacking on our spread...{though Ethan only wanted sweets} I did manage to somehow sit in some of the food, so I was happy that it got dark and I didn't run into anyone I knew because i had an oily spot on the tush of my khaki shorts.  nice.




and then this weekend i took the kids down to longview {faustino was on call} and we had the loveliest little visit.

first lovely thing - the kids slept most of the trip there {now, there was the issue with the torrential downpour that I drove through for about 30 minutes that I was praying we lived through...} and Savannah never screamed for her paci or anything.  And when we got there, their behavior remained top notch.  Savannah hardly fussed and was passed around all evening.  I got to see all my extended family and eat my grandmother's chicken and dumplings {which are the noodle like dumplings, not the gross puffy things} and that is one of my very favorite meals.  ever.




and Ethan got to play with his cousins {well, my cousins' kids... his second cousins? first cousins once removed?? help me, people} and he had so much fun doing that... rough housing with the big boys.



also, Ethan ate four rice krispy treats because he was able to con people into giving him one after another. and another.  and another.  {needless to say, they were all gone when I came back downstairs after nursing snickerdoodle}


and that night, with all three of us in my old bedroom, Savannah slept beautifully in the crib {waking up at 5:15 to eat and then 7:00 to start the day,} and Ethan slept from bedtime until morning in bed with me, no problems.  I. was. shocked.  I fretted a little about how we would do, but shouldn't have.  It was so easy.


and then, I got a morning nap because my family wanted to play with the kids... ahhh....


and the trip home?  easy as well.


delightful.

oh, and I forgot to mention, my weekend even started off nicely with my husband surprising me by taking me to a movie and dinner and arranging childcare all on his own... nice, huh??

the plumber comes in the morning... so i will cross my fingers for the start of a good week! 

{p.s.  my husband let me know tonight -- no more smocking on Ethan.  I'm so stinkin' sad...}