Sunday and Monday with the Baby

On Sunday morning, we got a slow start, mostly because we were waiting to hear from my brother for when they were up for having us come over. Of course, an essential part of this plan would be for my mother to have turned her cell phone on, so it was only when checking my e-mail whilst my parents were next door visiting the art gallery that I found a message from my brother, who had called hours before. {Sigh!}

So we went over to my brother's house, and mostly spent the day playing with Emily and taking a break in the afternoon to watch the Blue Angels buzz the house. Lots of fun and a free ticket to an air show!

At one point in the evening when Emily seemed calm and everyone wasn't doing much, my mother suggested that we make a quick trip to TJ Maxx to see if they might have any dresses for me (as I'd been complaining that I needed more dresses for the many black-tie events I go to). Indeed, when we got there we found a few niece pieces, including one lovely blue-and-green silk dress....except in a size just a bit too small for me, the back of it just wouldn't zip up!

My mother argued that it was so nice, we should buy it any way and I'd just have to really start hitting the gym harder (something I need to do anyway, it was mortifying that the dress didn't fit, given that it was in a size that I really used to wear), but I hesitated to buy something "on spec" like that, as who knows if it would fit right even if I did lose the weight? Plus, the whole point of going shopping had been to look for dresses I could wear now... It's my entire problem that I seem to have gained weight and now don't fit so much of my wardrobe! Oh, but it was such a beautiful dress...

So sadly, I insisted that we couldn't buy the dress, but said that we should make one last quick look through the racks to see if the same dress a size larger had possibly been mis-filed in with the wrong size. Long shot, right? But still worth a shot...

Imagine my absolute delight when there, in among the size 2 racks (somewhere I really don't look all that frequently!) was the dress. In a size larger. And so I raced back to the dressing room, compared it against the smaller dress (yes it was the same!) and voila, it zipped!! I absolutely did a little happy dance right there in the changing room, it was such a perfect dress. Looked absolutely beautiful on. I came out of the changing room still so happy, that the changing room attendant couldn't help but share in my delight. "It worked? I'm so happy you found what you were looking for!" I think I had to have been the most exciting thing to happen to that changing room attendant that night, I was so happy to have found the perfect dress!

Excited and thrilled to have had such a successful outing, we then went out to Flatbreads pizza in town, and got some takeaway pizza for dinner. My sister-in-law was having a night out with "the girls" in the neighbourhood, so we could have something with dairy (off the menu for my sister-in-law due to my niece's milk allergy), and we just had a lovely evening in!

On Monday my brother had to work (but luckily it was the bank holiday for me!) so we went over to my brother's house when my sister-in-law called at around 10 AM, and we decided to attempt a quick shopping trip at Target. My niece wailed at the top of her lungs the entire way there, and was quite fussy for the entire trip. Luckily she settled down by the time we got back, and so my mother and I decided to go shop for a new pair of trainers and pick up some groceries.

I was pleased with the trainers I got, and on the way out we noticed a donation bin to send one's old trainers to Africa. I had a half-moment's hesitation about donating my old shoes, but then realised it would be selfish to hang onto shoes I didn't really need when they could be used for someone else. So into the bin they went!

In the evening, my cousin Katie arrived with her dog, Davey. We had originally been planning on going to a park for a picnic, but Katie arrived so late after work that it was already getting late, so we decided to have a "bug-free" picnic, i.e. a picnic indoors!

I felt a bit bad for Davey though, who was banished to the front porch, as he was obviously suffering from some separation anxiety. I think he was also a bit worried as Katie fussed over the baby, realising that there might be someone cuter and more adorable in his master's affections! Ah well, I've said it before, that while I know my cousin loves her dog to bits and he's a hugely positive influence in her life, the more I see her with him the more I realise how much having a dog limits what she can do, as she always needs to take him into account.

Still, late in the evening, we finished up our dinner and my cousin headed home with the puppy in tow, who seemed quite relieved that he was no longer competing with the baby for her attentions!

Just at the end of the evening, as everyone was feeling tired and ready for bed (the baby was already asleep upstairs), my brother and sister-in-law were joking around, and as my sister-in-law gave him a hug, my brother started pretending he was the baby, craning his neck to look up at the ceiling. This made everyone laugh, and so my sister-in-law started patting him on the back the way she would with the baby. So my brother decided to continue the joke, and started mouthing on my sister-in-law's shoulder, "eating" her collarbone, the way the baby often does. Although at this, my sister-in-law shrieked, giggled and pulled away, saying, "But the baby doesn't have a beard!!" So funny...