Visits with Family

For blog two, I am going to go over our journeys last Thursday and Friday. You see, Meme, Papa, and Aunt Shannon all went to Pittsburgh for Aunt Shannon’s bridal shower. This meant Mommy stayed home with Kasey on Thursday and Friday so that Daddy only had to take off Monday.

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE spending time with my kid, but it is exhausting. To add to it, I had to get ready for my trip to Los Angeles (blog 3). Thursday wasn’t too bad. The plans WERE pretty simple. I had two conference calls I had to call in for and I had to be in Plattsburgh sometime after 2:00 to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Reyell. No prob, right? HA!

My first conference call was at 11:30, so Kasey ate lunch a little early and I sent him upstairs for a nap. Around 12:45, I was done the conference call and I heard Kasey trying to get out of his room. Now this is against all of the rules, so I went upstairs to tell him to get his butt in bed. Well, I opened the door and his room was trashed and he had pooped. Great… Did I mention that my next call was at 1:00? Yeah. So everything was cleaned up and the little terror was back downstairs. I dialed in for my call, but I wasn’t able to say anything because Kasey was being REALLY loud. Oh well. By 1:30 everything was done and I was packing Kasey up to go to Plattsburgh.

Kasey and I ran a bunch of errands in Plattsburgh and headed to my grandparents’ around 4:00. Well, they weren’t home. I had told them at Easter that I would be there after 2:00 and they were MIA. Oh well, I figured that we would just go to my parents’ house and hang out there. So, back in the car we went and I got to my parents’ just to realize that I took the key for their house out of my purse during my packing spree earlier in the day. No prob! I would just get the spare key. Well, guess what? That was missing, too. So, Kasey and I had to play outside for 45 minutes until Daddy showed up. Too bad Kasey was dirty and soaked by the time Keith showed up. So, we cleaned up, ate a great dinner and headed for ice cream. Later that night I talked to my Grandpa Reyell and he said that they thought Kasey and I were coming up for lunch. So, he asked me to come up on Friday instead. I hadn’t really planned on driving all the way back to Beekmantown again, but I love them both dearly, so I said yes.

Friday was sheer hell. I got up around 7:15 and got in the shower ASAP. Kasey and I headed to my work to pick up a few things I needed for my trip. While we were there, Kasey scored a Nutrigrain bar and a peanut butter cup. He was so happy to see everyone. He chattered about it all the way to my Grandparents Garrant’s house.

Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa Garrant’s, Kasey was even more excited. You see, Great Papa had the motorcycle out. Needless to say, Kasey didn’t even want to go inside. Great Papa let Kasey sit on the bike and even took him for a little ride around the yard. They both looked like they were having a blast. Once we pried him off the motorcycle, Kasey ran and called “PAPA!” Of course Grandpa followed him and let Kasey do whatever he wanted. Finally we went inside and Kasey promptly trashed the place. Around 11:30 we headed out to have lunch with my other grandparents.
At about 11:45, Kasey and I showed up and Grandma and Grandpa Reyell’s house. Kasey took off for the lawnmower (he calls it a tractor) immediately. After quite the fit, he was dragged into the house. He instantly forgot about the lawnmower and went running to the living room. The first thing he said was, “Hi Gramma! Where’s Papa?” Got to love kids! Once Kasey realized that Great Grandpa was in the garden, he started asking Great Grandma about everything he could think of. It was cute. Kasey ate really well at lunch and he was awarded with a ride on the “tractor.” Now I love my grandpa, but I think everyone agrees that he lets us kids drive tractors along a bit too young, as my cousin Kait pointed out. So, Kasey drove all the way from the garden back to the house by himself. Of course Papa was right there the whole time, but still…

Finally, we hit the road and went back home. I managed to keep Kasey up until we got home (he doesn’t stay asleep between the car and the house and he won’t go back to sleep). I carried him upstairs, put him to bed and I went to lay down myself. I had most of my packing done and the house was somewhat clean. Kasey didn’t fall to sleep, but I dozed off a bit. Keith came home early and we had pizza for dinner. Then, we walked to my tanning appointment and got ice cream before returning home. I was able to finish the laundry, finish packing and I was in bed by 9:00. Too bad I didn’t fall asleep until almost 9:30. At 2:00 am, the alarm woke me up for yet another cross country trip, but that I will save for the next blog.

I love the fact that my son is lucky enough to have three great grandmas and two great grandpas. I don't think he realizes how lucky he is, but I I know that he loves them all and knows what's special about each of them. I hope he is as blessed with family as I was growing up.

Christmas Time

Santa Claus was mighty good to the Kane household again this year.

Christmas started out sort of rocky, however, as I was supposed to get out of work at 11 a.m. on Christmas Eve. The company, however, made a mistake with our checks and I waited until 1:30 p.m. hoping to get mine. But, they didn't end up coming until 3:30.

Needless to say, some people were not very happy.

I ran up to the house and packed up the car while also picking up Erika for her parents Christmas Eve party. We picked Kasey up at my parents and went over to the party. We usually have a pretty good time spending time with family and friends.

Kasey got his first Christmas present from her grandparents - a little car that he loves.

We left around 8:30 and sprinted home to get Kasey ready for bed and prepare for the arrival of Santa. We forgot our camera and video camera at her parents, though, so Erika drove all the way back to get it so we could have some photos of Christmas morning.

I was pretty anxious about the next morning because I went a little overboard this year for Erika. She purchased me a Wii last year - so I thought I had to get her back.

Before I ran up to bed, I got one of her presents of the garage (that her dad had delivered earlier for me) and put it on the porch for the morning.

Christmas morning came and Kasey got a ton of presents from Santa and mom and dad. He got a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys, and of course the grandaddy of them all - his tricycle.

I had a very good Christmas as well - Santa Erika got me three Wii games (Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Wario Shake It and Lego Batman), a new wireless sensor bar and a cool new gaming chair (which I am still trying to figure out).
Erika got a Nintendo DS and a Mario Kart game for it, a case for it, the David Cook CD, an American Idol Wii game, slippers and a brand new bike. She had been throwing hints for awhile now that she wanted one - so I thought it was time. I think she enjoyed her gifts. And now we are even.

After tidying up a bit, we bolted to her parents for Christmas there. Erika's brother got us a very nice Steelers portrait that we need to find a place for. We also got a corner desk for our computer, once we get the room situated. Erika and I both got a Penn State beach towel, while Erika got a Penn State blanket and a new purse. Kasey got a ton of stuff - including some Little People gear and Sesame Street, well everything.

Then we rode up to her grandparents for breakfast (I was starving at this time) and some more Christmas. Kasey received some more cars, some books and a t-shirt. Erika and I got some money, while I got some movie passes.

Finally, we headed to my parents house for one final Christmas with my family. Kasey got a huge bouncy horse which I am trying to have stay at their house. And we are all going to see Elmo in Sesame Street Live. I got Sonic Unleashed for Wii, Scrubs Season 7, the new Indiana Jones movie and Dark Knight - and a new Steelers long sleave shirt..

I guess that's it. It was an amazing, yet tiring day. It always seems to be.

Have a great new year.