Mini-Vacation

Tuesday afternoon, after I got out of work, I headed over to Ariel's. I didn't want to get Aiden and bring him home since we'd be stuck inside due to the shelter-in-place. It ended up getting lifted right after I left home, but I had already decided to hang out with my sister for the afternoon, so I stuck with my plans.

I ate the lunch I had already packed for the day, then Ariel gave me a change of clothes so I could help her in the yard. She's in the middle of being taken over by sticker burrs. I know this is going to sound strange, but clover burrs are my favorite weed to pull. If you get the whole thing in your hand you can pull it out by the root. Since it's such a large plant, it clears out a lot of space all at once. It's very satisfying.

It was nice to get a little sun on such a nice day. A news chopper kept flying overhead. Still not sure what that was about since it was before the hotel collapsed. Maybe documenting the effects of the drought? Eh, not sure.

I picked Aiden up and got home before Travis, so we hung out in the yard for a bit before I started dinner. As soon as Aiden was in bed, I was out helping Travis lay the pipe for the drainage system. We got about half of it done.

Wednesday, I ended up leaving an hour after I got to work because the electricity was out on part of the island - the part of the island where Aiden's daycare is located. They called and said I had to come pick him up. Since we had the whole day ahead of us, I didn't want to run straight home. Travis had some drainage pipe leftovers in his truck that he was planning to return after work, so I headed over to his work to pick that up.

There is a really nice playground over by his boss' house, so Aiden and I ran by there.

Of course, 30 minutes after we got there, Aiden dropped a deuce in his diaper. I was stuck 20 miles from home, with no diaper bag and a poopy diaper. My solution was pretty horrible. Please promise not to call CPS on me. I keep a bag of wipes in my car at all times, so I wiped his butt and threw the poop in the trash, then put the same diaper back on him.

I am so mortified about that, but I didn't know what else to do! I've thought about keeping an emergency diaper in the car, but I don't know what the Texas heat would do to a diaper. Anybody know? Gah.

After I "cleaned" Aiden up, we headed to Home Depot. I made the return and picked up some more pea gravel for the drainage system. When we got home, I cleaned Aiden up for real, we ate lunch and then I laid him down for a nap.

Then I did something I haven't done in years. I laid out. In the sun. In a bikini. With a book and a glass of sweet tea. It was amazing. I haven't been in a bikini since I was pregnant! I was probably out there for about 45 minutes when I couldn't take the heat anymore. I moved into a chair in the shade of our Live Oak tree and continued my break. It was so strange to not be stressing about getting something done around the house. I guess I figured since I would normally be at work not getting stuff done at home, I wasn't losing chore time.

When Aiden got up from his nap, we each ate an Easter egg. Aiden loves those things. And honestly, I think this is the first year I have enjoyed them. I wanted to keep the free-day-fun going, so I popped Aiden in his stroller and we walked down to McDonald's. We each ate some ice cream, then I let him play with the kids in the Play Area.

When we got back, I set up the sprinkler to help cool Aiden off. He didn't quite grasp the concept of playing in the water spray. He just kept walking up to it, then getting mad because the water was getting in his face. After about 10 minutes of trying, I shut the thing off and handed Aiden the hose. He loves to water the plants, but I don't let him do it very much because it seems like a waste of water. Because he also likes to spray the grass and the tree and the house and the sidewalk... I figured the hose wasn't any worse than the sprinkler and he enjoys it more.


When Travis announced he was on his way home, I picked everything up and led Aiden into the backyard again. While he played with his trucks, I started dinner. When Travis got home, he grilled turkey burgers on his new grill and then we sat outside to eat the meal. We had corn on the cob (still left from Frohberg's farm!), burgers, Ranch-style beans and watermelon (from the Easter fruit basket Ariel and Robert gave us).

It was the perfect summer meal. Hopefully soon we will be enjoying it on our new patio!