Here we are at the end of the last weekend before Neal comes home. Last weekend was pretty quiet, spent mostly doing chores and running errands with a nice walk thrown in, and I did enjoy it. But had it been as quiet for me this weekend, I probably would have driven myself crazy, knowing how close I am to seeing Neal.
Friday night was pretty usual – I did a little bit of cleaning after Claire went to bed, chatted with Neal on the phone, and then watched “Downton Abbey” – or, at least, I tried. The episode went on a bit of a fritz, and because it was getting a little late (for me), I decided to give up and try another time.
On Saturday, I got up around 7:30 but I let Claire sleep until 8 a.m. because I knew she would not be having a nap due to our afternoon plans. I tidied the house up a bit, gave Claire breakfast when she got up, and then Hannah, the teenager from across the street, came over to watch Claire while I went to Hyundai to get the winter tires put on and the oil change taken care of.
I probably could have gotten my neighbours to watch her, but Nina’s Christmas party is the same night as mine, so we won’t be able to watch each other’s kids. I’ve booked Hannah to watch Claire that night, but since Claire doesn’t know her, I thought it might be a good idea to have them together for a few hours during the day before Hannah has to tackle bedtime. It was an hour-and-a-half wait at the dealership, but that was what they had prepared me for. There was a guy in there with his two sons aged 7 and 9 who had been told the wait would be less than an hour, and it was definitely more than that. The kids were bored stiff and started getting pretty rambunctious, and watching them and the father made me VERY happy that I hadn’t dragged Claire there. Instead, I got to drink some free tea, and read and write for awhile.
After my appointment, I stopped to get a very nutritious lunch at McDonald’s for me and Claire (snort – I rarely feed her McDonald’s but sometimes you are just in that much of a rush!) and filled the car up with gas, and after we ate and I changed Claire’s outfit, we headed over to Sherry’s for Breanna’s seventh birthday party!
Claire had a BLAST. She warmed up to George more than ever, which I think made him pretty happy – his height probably helped as he could lift her up so she could touch the ceiling. She got me to pick her up at one point and started reaching toward the ceiling. I laughed and put her back on the floor telling her to go find Uncle George, which she did!
It was pretty loud having a bunch of six- and seven-year-olds, but it was good noise – laughter and squeals of joy.
She even took part in pin-the-nose-on-Sponge-Bob!
On the drive home, the lack of proper nap and a fun-filled day took its toll on Claire. She not only fell asleep in the car, but she was conked out. I was able to get her out of the car, upstairs, take her shoes and coat off and sit her in her chair without waking her.
All partied out
