A better Mama

This weekend was a major milestone for me since Via was born.I'm calling her Via now. It is Riv's creation. I got to bust out and have an evening out. I truly believe I am a better mom to my kids & wife to my hubby when I take this time away to re-charge. I am very blessed to have a hubby who understands this side of me & encourages me to take the time. Without it I feel extremely isolated.

So, Saturday night I busted out with my best friend from high school. I was feeling trendy & artsy, so we ventured to the Southside for an art opening at the bicycle bar. There we met up with her brother - who actually is a biker, and a friend of mine who was displaying a piece of his art. Time passed quickly, I quieted the voice in my head that usually makes me feels guilty for such outings. Jamie and I came to the conclusion that bikers are indeed a different breed...bacon on a triple layer PB&J sandwich. Really? Why would you do such a thing?

Family adventure this weekend - Toy Story 3! Yes we all went. Gav loved it. Riv enjoyed what he saw. Via was quiet the whole time. I had tears fill my eyes at the end. Jayce fully appreciated the technology to make such a movie come to life. We only temporarily lost Riv's shoes. A major feat for the Tost family!

Weekend Survival

With Jason heading out on his annual guys trip, the decision to be made was:

1. Me stay home with the kids until Sunday, then pack them up and head to Pappy Tost's on Sunday or...
2. Head to my parent's house in Uniontown, hang out with the family, swim, maybe sneak out for coffee or an adult beverage with an old high school friend, and then head up to Pappy Tost's on Sunday.

Needless to say option two won. The promise of a refreshing dip in the pool & seeing Rhonda out wayed the stress of me trying to figure out how to put three little ones to bed on my own, which is a very daunting task.

So, Pap Softcheck got to hog baby Livvy. I think Grandma got to hold her for all of 30 minutes the entire weekend! The boys & I, with the "help" of my niece, Kaylee, went for a swim in the pool. Gavin enjoys the pool but has a reasonable amount of fear to keep him from jumping in or straying too far from an adult. River, on the other hand, was convinced he could swim on his own & didn't need the help of his mama. So, mama let him slip under briefly to show him that we still needed to perfect his swimming skills. Aunt Terra took Gavin to the movies, which he consumed an entire Hershey's chocolate bar! Argh. Quite a shock to his system since he's never had more than a bite size piece of chocolate at any given time. Finally, my family got to see the consequences of the sugar overload. After much kicking, screaming, tears, and a calming time out, I headed out with my best friend from high school, Rhonda, for beverage or two. We only lasted an hour and a half out, but it was filled with catching up & planning camping/canoe trips. And if this wasn't enough for our weekend, Sunday morning I am tapped on the shoulder by Gavin saying "You ready to wake up mommy? We have lots of people to see today!" Which he was absolutely right & we couldn't get out of bed until we named them all.

Coffee in hand we pile into the van & head up to Pappy Tost's for a Father's Day/Birthday/Reunion with Daddy celebration. Plus Livvy is meeting her Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Rebeccah, Uncle Seth & Aunt Lydia for the first time. She, of course, charmed them all & looked very content having her Uncle Jeremy feed her a bottle. We look forward to spending more time with Jeremy & Rebeccah since they have moved back to the farm. A delicious spread was consumed. Stories were told. Boys running around & playing could be heard all afternoon, with only minor tifts & only a few tears were shed. An impromptu hay ride (minus the hay) was taken. Croquet was played. Star Wars figures were found in the shed! Pictures were taken. The event was very well documented. Anyone that knows the Tosts' know that they are a bunch of shutter bugs.

So, exhausted & on my second cup of coffee this morning, I survived the weekend without my hubby. I missed him dearly. Intrigued, I am looking forward to tales of the annual trip. Tidbits I have heard include a rabbit dinner & an abandoned circus. Hmmm, maybe ignorance is bliss.

Vacation 2010

Before I dive into vacation stories, here's an adventure just days before we left...

A few days prior to leaving for vacation Gavin jumped off the couch & cracked his head off of the corner of our coffee table. Now, I wished there would have been a camera rolling to view the chaos after this happened. Jason was not home – in Apollo picking up Ben’s bike. Gavin jumps, heads his head, begin with “I’m ok!’ then a frantic “Nooo” I immediately put my hand on his head to cancel the pain, on to feel the ooziness of the blood. At this point River decides it is appropriate to strip completely and run around the house laughing holding diaper the entire time. Olivia is screaming on the couch because her nursing session has been halted. I get Gavin to the kitchen, which I thought was a nice central location with floor that could be easily cleaned. I then proceed to call the pediatrician & Jason – who brilliantly suggests I take Gavin to a Med- Express place instead of an ER. Pediatrician agreed & assured me they would do a thorough evaluation & send him onto Children’s if they felt necessary. This poor pediatrician has already seen River & Olivia for their well appointments, guess Gavin felt left out. End result – a little bit of glue (Derma-bond). This was decided only after the doctor felt the need to clean & enthusiastically show me the difference beside Gavin’s laceration & one that needs stitched, have I mentioned that I am known to faint at the site of blood. The love of my child kept me conscious.

My Brave Boy!

Now vacation...This past week we made our annual trip to Rehoboth Beach. I am blessed to have an aunt that allows us to use her beach house for our vacation each summer. We were also blessed to have Ben & Allison join us. They were a tremendous help. Despite having a rough start, vacation was a good get away for us all once I stopped trying to plan things.

First news about vacation – no AC for a very hot & humid weekend! Jason always said that if I were a super hero heat & humidity would be my kryptonite.

Instead of boring you with a day by day replay, I will summarize our trip with a game Jason & I used to play called Hi/Lo – taken from the movie “The Story of US”

• Lo – River getting sick
• Hi – seeing the kids run around & give a tour of the hotel room we stayed in on the way down
• Lo – being stuck on the Bay Bridge for 45 minutes
• Hi –watching the kids play in the sand & be brave enough to get their feet wet
• Lo – Gavin getting sick
• Hi – walking up and down the beach with Olivia
• Lo – discovering the place we really wanted to have a date at was closed for the night
• Hi – stealing away an hour a day to read on the beach without the kiddos

Enjoy a few pics!