The Land of Cotton...and humidity

A couple of weeks ago, Claire and I went off on an adventure. This may not sound brave to you, but I felt so valiant and mighty...by taking off for Alabama with my 2-year-old BY MYSELF. 

You should know that traveling (by plane + car) from Boston to Alabama takes almost half the time that it takes to drive from Durham to Huntsville. Shocking, isn't it? It's a ten-hour drive from door to door. Isn't that crazy? 

Lucky for me, my in-laws live about halfway between my house and my parents' house and are always kind enough to let us stop over for the night. You bet your bottom dollar that I did. Both ways.

Our drive from Durham to Johnson City was lousy, weather-wise. It rained profusely the whole way. The kind of rain that keeps you from seeing more than 15-20 ft in front of your car (technically, it only rained that hard for 3 hours, but it did rain the whole way). That, AND the fog on the mountains around Boone made visibility even worse. It was just not fun. Although, Claire was kind of a dream child during that drive.*

We got to JC in time to visit for the afternoon, eat dinner, and for me to join my mother-in-law and her friends at a Kelly Minter event. It was definitely a nice break from the rain. Unfortunately for Claire, she wasn't able to go and visit her beloved CWEEK (creek) in the backyard...because, as she pointed out, it had become an OCEAN! Complete with ocean ducks floating around.

The next morning had us up and going bright and early with NO rain! But with tons of fog! Yay (except not). It was still unbelievably foggy by 10:00 am. I thought fog was supposed to burn off by then (?). Finally (FINALLY) we arrived in Madison and were able to chill and relax (for about 18 hours). We got back into the car the next morning (Claire was starting to sense a pattern, and she wasn't too thrilled about it...and I was getting weary of it myself, truth be told) and headed to Anniston, AL.

The purpose of our trip wasn't rest and relaxation (I'm sure you've figured that out, based on all of the car time). We actually headed south so that we could help my mom and aunt with preparing my Granddaddy's house to be listed. He passed away last year, but they haven't had the opportunity to do all that needs to be done to prep the house. It's a big (and emotional) job, so we all pitched in the best we could. For me, this took the form of sorting through closets and boxes and creating piles to be thrown out, donated, or sent home with a family member. For Claire, this meant spending time playing with my dad's mom (Grammy) and having a ball running around. 

I'm happy to say that we accomplished a lot at the house and had a good time visiting with one another, even if the task at hand wasn't the most uplifting.

Back in Madison, after more car riding from Anniston, we were able to visit with two of our favorite friends, Senora Romine and Mrs. Tidwell. It was a nice way to wrap up our trip! Bonus: both visits involved food from some of my favorite North Alabama food joints. 

The drive(s) back to Durham were loooong. And not much fun, what with sitting with my car in park on the interstate just outside of Chattanooga for an hour, changing a dirty diaper with Claire standing up in a regular stall because of the absence of a changing table (and no room to change her in my car), more torrential rain, and smoke/fog on the mountains that had me struggling to see the end of my car's hood (um, yikes, and HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE UP THERE??). But, we made it. And Brad, who we had left to write his term paper in peace, was very happy to see us. I'd say the trip was a success all the way around.

*I'll write a post about my neurotic planning for Claire's entertainment and amusement for anyone who may be interested. It was a trip in and of itself.

My pictures are a little scattered/random/etc. I was kind of busy the whole time, so we're lucky I got any, folks:

Playing with Ray Ray and having a blast.

Watching The Magic School Bus (dvd-playing device not pictured) with Grammy. And holding hands.

Going on a walk with Grammy! On our way to Target for a quick, mid-morning popcorn break.

Watching something with Poppy.

Taking turns riding in the car with Rosemary.

Posing for a "multi-generational" shot. That's my cousin playing in the same car about 25+ years ago. We've (the cousins) all spent our fair share of time playing in that car.

Having a blast bouncing on Nana's bed.

This was supposed to be an adorable shot with my parents. Unfortunately, mom committed the unforgivable offense of holding Claire's hand so that she'd stop waving it around. We were rewarded with this face. Heaven help us.

Around here, lately

The other day, I was working on chores around the house and letting Claire play on our kitchen step ladder. We worked in companionable silence for a while, until Claire turned to me and said, "Mommy, I wuhking laundry." I looked over and saw that she had hung some necklaces and dishtowels over the handle of the step ladder (as if they were freshly washed and drying). That girl loves to help with laundry. (And, no, I don't usually wash necklaces. I think she just found them really drape-y.)

Brad was gone last weekend (for the third weekend in a row: Boston, Dallas wedding, Jackson wedding), leaving Claire and me to our own devices. For me, this involved watching more tv shows (in bed at 8:30) than usual. For Claire, this entailed...ahem...other things.

Last Saturday, I was setting Claire up with my Kindle to watch Curious George while I showered (yes, this is my method: I set the Kindle on the closed toilet seat, set Claire on the bathmat, and I can see everything she does from my glassed-in shower. Coping. That's what it is.) While I was prepping the scene, that little Bear went and LICKED THE TOILET. Licked it. WHAT?? What would possess a creature to do such a thing? It looked like she just wondered what it would be like, tried it, and decided it wasn't for her (you know, after I shrieked and sprayed her down with Lysol). Noro virus, party of one. I'm expecting it any moment now.

Shortly after The Licking Incident, I was drying my hair, thinking that Claire was still peacefully watching George...until she yelled, "Mommy! I wet!" That's how she tells me that she needs a diaper change. Except, this time, she wasn't just wet. She was the "other," and it was smeared all over the front of her pants. HOW?? I start emergency diaper change maneuvers and realize that she didn't have a blowout. <Light begins to dawn> 
Me: "Um, Claire, did you put your hand in your diaper?" 
C: "Yahhhh!"
Me: "Um, did you wipe poop on your pants?"
C: "Yah yah YAH!" 
Me: "Ok, new rule: we DON'T DO THAT."
At least she's honest, I guess.

This past Sunday, I ended up taking Claire to church by myself, since Brad was still out of town. I had no idea how this would play out, as Claire has been unpredictable on Sunday mornings for the past 8ish month. As Sunday was Palm Sunday, we had our palm branches during the service (which she loved), and we said, "Hosanna in the highest!" a lot. Apparently, she really liked this, because she began saying, I mean shouting, "HOSANNA HIGHEST!" at random intervals throughout the service. As in, during quiet moments of prayer or during scripture readings. On top of that, she seemed to feel that the communion liturgy was the appropriate time during which to sing, I mean shout, the alphabet song. No amount of threats could stop her, either. She is a force.

In the spirit of Palm Sunday, as we walked through the parking lot of Costco yesterday, she shouted, "HOSANNA HIGHEST!" to all the cars in the parking lot. Maybe she was thinking that if she didn't praise Him, the rocks, trees, and parking lot full of cars would cry out? 

And, this morning, Claire put on her own shoes. On the correct feet. Such a big girl.

What a week.