Better Together

My closest companion for the last three years, my near-daily mamas-and-babies playdater, my social chairman, my cruise director, my park benchmate, my Bunko organizer, my fellow museum marathoner, my confidante, my holiday hostess, my partner-in-crime at the Chick-Fil-A, my pinch hit babysitter, my carpool partner, my pool buddy, my preschool advisor, my most frequent caller, my encourager--my dear, sweet FRIEND--left today.  

For Georgia.  

For good.  

She will be where she needs to be, she will love being there, and yet, she will be so very, very missed here.

As will be her precious girls, who are my children's cherished friends.

{this one stolen from Friend's blog}

Our mama tribe had one last night of Bunko, in our social chairman's honor, and Friend mentioned that she was worried I'd never leave my house again.  The other girls laughed that idea off, but they didn't know me before I knew Friend, back when I was lonely in my role as a homemaker and overwhelmed by this babies in the city life.  Back then, I went many, many a day without leaving the house.

Friend and I met when I was, as she describes it, at least 88 weeks pregnant with Buddy Boy.  We had a couple getting-to-know-you mama dates, and then I went off to have a baby and recover from such. A month later, she called me and said, 'It's time.  We're going on a walk.  We don't have to go far; we don't have to go fast.  But you have got to leave the house.'

Not only did Friend give me the gift of her friendship, but she gave me the gift of the rest of the mama tribe.  Not only did she make me go along on daunting city adventures with the children in tow, but she taught me to enjoy the challenges and to seek them out.

Some mornings, in advance of our meeting times, we would call each other and offer warnings about the children we were about to inflict on one another.  Rashes.  Runny noses.  Whiny voices.  Crankiness beyond belief.  Inevitably, we would agree...let's do it anyway.  It's always better together.

And it was.  It always was.

Walk-a, Walk-a, Walk-a

Baby Girl took her very first steps a few weeks ago, one Sunday morning.   They came just minutes after the Mister walked in the door from a red-eye flight, which had returned him to us after two weeks in California.  And they landed her squarely in his arms.  

Her excitement just bubbled up and spilled out in steps.

We didn't see any more walking for a bit, until the Mister came home to us at the end of five-week stretch, where he had spent four weeks out of town.

The next morning, Baby Girl once again made a run for her Daddy's arms.

This time, it stuck.  Ten steps in a row, a graceful bend to her knees, a little clapping for herself, followed by the sign for more.  And more and more.

Houseparty

The Mister's fierce travel schedule over the past month had left me with about $64 in OnDemand charges and a baseball-sized dent in a jar of Nutella when my completely awesome friend showed up with her two girls for a visit.  What a fabulous time of rejuvenation!  Something about throwing another mama and a couple more kiddos into the mix turns lots of long days into one long party.

My friend is as sweet as they come.  As I told the Mister, she is steadfastly and untiringly the mother I hope I am on my good {best} days.  She is so patient, so careful, so intentional.  When we reached the end of each day together, I'd be scuttling my children off to bed, beyond ready to clock out, and I'd come out to find her fitting in a little more back-scratching and story-reading with the girls.  She amazes me.

It's no wonder that her girls have inherited her sweet spirit.  They are gentle and caring, and a pure delight to be around.

The children absolutely loved playing with their houseguests.

We took them to a farm, of course.  :)

And we really, really tried to get a good picture of all five of them together.  Best we got!  Baby Girl is making a run for it!

The nose bleed section.

The highlight of the trip was these horses.  All the big kids--some with a little more trepidation than others--fed the horses the tall grasses.  Huge excitement on both sides of that fence.

Although the boys did not scream even once about the chickens this time, we were eventually forced to call it a day because Buddy Boy simply could not handle the extremely frightening flies and the terribly ferocious gnats.  Nuclear meltdowns over every fly-by.  And I do mean nuclear.

So...NAPTIME!

After which, we took an evening stroll to the fountains at the Capitol.

The wind was just right for maximum bubble production!

And this bench was just right for popsicle eating!

The next day brought a visit to our favorite local haunt, the National Building Museum.

Which was followed by a little quiet time at home, dinner al fresco, and a walk to the White House.

{Can you hear her screeching???  Everyone else can!  ;) }

We enjoyed one more evening together, and then these lovely ladies were on their way back home.

The whole visit was so much fun...five little ones happily squished into our kitchen, making gigant-o messes with spaghetti casserole; every bed and crib full at night; two strollers, double- and triple-stacked, touring the city.  One of my very best friends, who has known me over so many years now, with whom I did some of my best growing up, sitting right there on my sofa every night, ready to chat.  Parenting side-by-side and subbing in for one another throughout the day, getting to really know each other's children.  It was all just wonderful.

Anytime they want to come back, the boys are ready to hit the air mattress!

early one b&w morn'