NC Visit

Like mentioned in my previous post, after my sisters left my parents' house on the 28th, my little family there stayed an extra week. 

I got to spend a day in Charlotte with Bec on the 28th, shopping at IKEA and helping to organize her new kitchen. She just bought an AMAZING house and it was so fun to see it and spend a few more hours with my sweet nephew! 

Then, on the 29th, Greg and I got to have a New Years Eve date while my parents babysat the kids. And yes, I'm aware that this was a few nights early. But my husband has a standing date with my dad on NYE. (Weird, I know but I will explain later). So, Greg and I went out to an italian restaurant and then saw "The Hobbit" in 3-D. I was weary of seeing a movie that l.o.n.g in 3-D, but it was really good and did not give me a headache. We are both "Lord of the Rings" nerds, so it was a good time!!

...That is, until I turned on my phone after leaving the movie. I had a voicemail from my mom at 10:30 pm telling me to call her. I knew it wasn't good because she is usually in bed right after she puts the kids down.

She told me Nate had been throwing up since 9 pm and she thought he had the flu. I heard him crying in the background saying "Mommy, Mommy" and my heart just sank. I felt so bad that I had not been there!!!! She said he even asked if she would drive to the movies and come get me :( Pitiful.

I will spare you the details, but I slept with Nate (and a small trash can) that night, and then my poor dad woke up at 4 am with the same thing. But much, much worse. Nate only threw up for 3-4 hours, but my dad did for close to 24 hours. And everyone knows how pitiful men are when they're sick ;) I still feel so so bad that my parents had to take care of Nate (and wash Lord knows how many sheets, blankets etc), and then to top it off, my dad got sick.

And then 2 days later (New Year's Eve), I got sick at 11 pm. And then my mom at 5 am. And then Greg later that afternoon (New Year's Day). Needless to say, our new year did NOT get off to a good start!!

By the grace of God, Abby never got sick. I am still in shock actually! She was such a trooper during all of this, because obviously we had to cancel a lot of "fun" plans and stay inside a lot. When I told the kids that Daddy was sick as well, poor Abby looked at me and said "Who can I hug now!?) :( So pitiful. We were all trying to stay away/not breathe on the kids but that is hard to do!

In between days of puking and laying on the couch and complaining about body aches, and sipping on soup & ginger ale, we still managed to squeeze in some fun.....

Storytime with Poppy

 Hugs for O'Malley (Abby is obsessed with that poor dog!)

 Striking poses

 Warming up by the fire

 Playing with Christmas toys

Leapster & Leap Pad love 

Making masks out of paper plates (?!)

 Driving through the Festival of Lights at Tanglewood (one of my favorite traditions; did this as a kid!)

 (someone likes being out of her carseat!!)

 Goofing off in Mommy & Daddy's 3-D glasses

 I was so so happy that everyone was (relatively) healthy on the same day and we got to go ice-skating! I loved doing this as a kid, and was anxious to see if the kids would enjoy it as well. Nate surprised me and starting walking around/balancing on his skates really well. He couldn't wait to get out on the ice!

And then there's this one.....for some reason, this is her new pose....

 Ready to hit the ice! (Greg was the self-designated photographer since he is NOT a fan of ice-skating)

 This was the way Abby preferred to skate, but oh my did this kill my ankles! I am getting old!

When Nanny's back had had enough, Greg put on her skates (ha!) and tried to take a lap around the rink. TRIED being the key word. Bless his heart, he is just not a skater!! :) I appreciated the effort though.

 I was super proud of both kids....both had a ball and didn't cry or get too frustrated! Nate even let go of my hand/the railing a few times and tried to skate on his own! I think I pushed him a little too hard towards the end, because he ending up falling and knocking his head a bit. He was just so exhausted! The only way I could get him to smile when I reminded him that he had done 6 laps and Daddy had only done 1. Boy is he competitive!

And here's where Greg's NYE date with my dad comes into play. For several years now, they have both participated in the "Running of the Lights" 5K race at Tanglewood Park. It is only for crazies, because it's held on midnight on New Year's Eve. Which, of course, is when I am usually already fast asleep. (Or this year - puking in the bathroom). As a joke, I bought both of them headlamps this year for Christmas. Greg actually wore his, and loved it, but my dad was unable to race at the last minute b/c he was just not fully recovered from the stomach bug. But he still went to watch/cheer on Greg. What a trooper!

 Our last night in NC, we all mustered up the strength to leave the house and go out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. No one ordered alcohol - a new record - and most either got a kids' meals or soup. It was pretty pathetic. After dinner, the boys headed to a WFU basketball game (Nate's first!) and Abby, Mom, and I headed home for a "girls night." Of course Baby Alive was included as well.

Us girls got in our pjs, had ice cream and watched "Cinderella" by the fire. When Abby woke up the next morning, she asked when our next "girl party" would be. So sweet! And Nate had so.much.fun at the Wake game. Greg said he would not wipe the grin off his face the whole time!! 

 Despite passing around the stomach bug, we had a great time with my parents in NC! We had a relativey easy drive home, and are now enjoying the last few days before it's back to the "real world'....school starts on Monday. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!!