Rad & Jen are Wed

Whew! It's been a busy last four days as you can tell since I haven't posted an entry. I did have good intentions since there was wireless in the hotel room but it just didn't happen.

As I mentioned previously, on Friday morning we headed up to Detroit. You don't know how thankful I was to have Duncan with me for a flight FINALLY. Calleigh and I have previously flown alone five times and the last time was extremely stressful. I felt a wonderful peace knowing I wasn't alone this time. And it all went off pretty much without a hitch. She fell asleep on the boob for about the first half of the flight (so what do people without a boob do in these cases??) and the second half we fed her and tried our best to entertain her. She still was suffering from her diarrhea so at one point I had to go to the bathroom and change her. Ever been in an airplane bathroom? Now imagine trying to change a poopy diaper of a wiggly 13-month old in a space that is essentially the size of a tin can. I had to stand her up on the toilet seat to change her. When I came out, Duncan says "You saw that changing table that you have to pull out on top of the toilet, right? Nope! Anyway, right at the end of the flight I had her on my lap and moved her for a moment and noticed a dark stain on my pants. Sure enough, she had gone again and it had leaked through. It went nicely with the big yellow cheese stain she got on my shirt. I tell you, I felt like a real mother walking through the airport smelling like poop with my matching stains.

Okay, I'm may need to cut back on the detail of this trip or we'll be here all night. We got to the Holiday Inn Express in Grand Blanc (about an hour northwest of Detroit) in our rented Honda Accord. Everyone in the family (30+) was staying there. We had a room with Shawn and Camille. At $120 plus tax a night, we decided to share accommodations. I booked a suite with a "separate room" which in my mind meant that it would have a door blocking off the bedroom. That would make it a lot easier with putting Calleigh to bed, etc. But alas, it was two rooms joined together. This would prove to be costly. The first night, she fell asleep very quickly and she woke up very briefly a couple of times without any big problems. The second night, she was awake from about 11:15 to 4:15. Thankfully she wasn't bawling or anything but she was tossing and turning and moaning and every now and then, emitting cries. I brought out the boob twice and even that didn't have a lasting impact. I'm not sure if her rash (which had spread up her body) was bothering her or what. Sunday night, it wasn't quite so bad but she woke up for some long stretches at 1 and 2. Needless to say, I was very tired when I fell into my own bed last night. I don't know how badly it bothered Shawn and Camille but it bothered me just knowing it could be bothering them. I'm happy to report that she had a perfectly normal night of sleep last night in her crib.

The one thing hat bugged Duncan and me was that the room was too quiet and we couldn't sleep. At home here, we have an air purifier that we turn on - - no, no, we aren't paranoid about unclean air. We just let it run for the noise. In fact, we haven't changed the filter in years. We can't stand silence when we're trying to sleep. And that is exactly what was going on at the hotel. Sadly there was no setting on the air conditioner to have the fan run continuously. So my sleep pattern went like this - - Fan on, fall asleep for 10 minutes; Fan off, wake up for 10 minutes. Repeat. Okay, so I'm exaggerating just a little but honestly, I was having a difficult time. Saturday night I was desperate for a little fan for the room but with the sun setting so late and our engagements for Saturday night, I couldn't get anywhere to buy one. In my desperation, I went on to iTunes and bought a "white noise" download. Keep in mind, I was purchasing this at like 1:30 am because I couldn't get a break from Calleigh's issues long enough to purchase it. After several re-arrangements around the room, we finally got the laptop situated next to our heads so we could hear (volume doesn't go up that loudly). And then, as it turns out, we put the air conditioner down as far as it would go (60 degrees) and it ended up running continuously. All that work for nothing! But come on, I know we aren't the only ones who can't sleep in silence, right? Right??

As far as how the weekend played out...Friday evening we went to the church for the rehearsal dinner. Neither Duncan nor I were in the wedding but all of the out-of-towners were invited for the dinner that Aunt Lori and her helpers had cooked. It was fantastic. Calleigh ran into a couple of other little girls, including Mia, so she had fun playing with them. And of course, we had fun just showing Calleigh off and all the new skills she's learned since she last saw everybody.

Sabbath morning we went to church. We didn't make it to Sabbath School beforehand. The sanctuary was undergoing construction so we met in a big separate hall which of course, didn't have a mother's room. I was concerned about where we would go but I needn't have worried. Calleigh went with Gigi who held her against her bosom and she was asleep in no time for entire service. She was dead to the world. I must admit, Gigi does have a nice bosom.

After church, we went to a local park for a big potluck. It was a beautiful day. Calleigh had a nice time walking around and a couple of different people took her for a ride on the swings. The only thing that marred the event was an unfortunate frog incident involving Gigi. If any of her work people are reading this, be sure to ask her about it.

Saturday night Duncan and I both attended bachelor/bachelorette parties while Gigi babysat. I must say, Jen's event was unlike any bachelorette party I have ever attended. I told Alison she should be taking notes for Shannon's some day. It was beautifully decorated with tea lights and they served yummy desserts. For a game, we had to bring thong underwear that represented our personality. The underwear was hung up around the room and everyone had to guess whose was whose. And then Jen tried them all on for a fashion show. No, no, just kidding!

Sunday morning we went out for breakfast at a local restaurant and then after a short nap, it was on to the wedding at 2 o'clock. Another gorgeous day. You couldn't ask for a better one for a wedding. We sat in a row with my mother and I immediately scoped out the mother's room. But my mother says "No, no. She's going to make it." I politely disagreed. Sure enough, after about 5 minutes, Calleigh started saying random names like "Mimi" really loudly. We stuck her binky in and then she proceeded to hum very loudly. Since it was my cousin's wedding I figured Duncan could be on baby duty this time and off he went. So he really didn't get to see much of ceremony as Calleigh was a real pill the whole time (must have been her very short night of sleep.) Anywho, the ceremony was beautiful and went off without a hitch. I can't believe that my little cousin is married. Mind boggling. I don't know Jen that well but from what I do know, he is very blessed. I do know Rad very well and I can say that Jen has gotten herself one of the very best guys I know besides my husband and brothers.

The reception was at a nearby Country Club and once again, we a great spot. We sat at a table with my parents, the Perkins, and Camille. The meal was a pasta bar and we all enjoyed it, especially Calleigh. And even more exciting - - she ate cake!! I was so excited. Perhaps her fear is officially gone. After she was done eating, she started becoming very antsy. I let her out of her highchair to walk around and naturally, she wanted to go up the stairs. So we went up the stairs and down the elevator and then up the stairs and down the elevator too many times to count. Finally we called it a day and left. All and all, it was a truly wonderful wedding.

Sunday night Calleigh spent some time in the pool with Gigi and a few others. The water was pretty cold and her teeth started chattering. Duncan would get her out and put a towel around her but then she would start crying to go back in with Gigi. This was repeated about four or five times. She just wanted to be in the pool with Gigi. After the pool, she finally got to bed and I hung out in the room with her while the others went to Qdoba and Cold Stone. We did watch the end of the Sox/Yanks game that sadly ended in defeat for our boys.

Monday morning, the rest of the Braces left very early to drop Ricky off at the airport and then to drive home. We did a late checkout and then killed some time in downtown Detroit by going to the General Motors building to walk around and have lunch. Our flight left just before five. Calleigh was all over the place once we got on the plane but after about 15 minutes, she fell asleep on the boob and slept until we landed. We were so relieved (well, except for my butt which was dying by the time we landed).

So that brings us back to today which was a pretty normal day. The only special thing we really did was to take Calleigh to the pediatrician to get her rash looked at. They were afraid she could have strep throat but the test came back negative. We just have to let the rash play out.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of anecdotes from the weekend. I'll have to add them later...

Okie, dokie. I'm off to the tub. Yes, I am taking baths again and it is MARVELOUS.