Just to be the Mom Who Drove 1,000 Miles to Fall Down at Your Door

(Sorry if that silly Proclaimers song is now stuck in your head. Oops.)

I'm back. Physically, anyway. Mentally, I'm still trying to get back on track.

Wow. What a week. Remember how I said it was going to be a relaxing week? Well, I take that back. The trip was full of lots of activity that translated into lots (and lots and lots) of time in the car between where my folks live now and where everyone else lives in the Triangle (our total mileage for the week between the round trip from Atlanta to NC and all our driving in between was 1,098. I felt a little queasy when I added that all up.). Peanut did not take a lot of naps and was also up early each morning. We're still trying to rectify the sleep deficit. Just when I think we're doing better we have a tired-induced meltdown about which bib he's going to wear during lunch. Fun, fun, fun!

Some highlights of our trip:

• New nicknames: Peanut's "little funky," his Uncle J's "big funky."
• Indoor bounce houses. Giggles (and sore glutes) all around.
• Cousins holding hands.
  
• Playing guitar with his Opa.
  
• Peanut totally losing it at lunch with Nana and Aunt M. Nothing like witnessing and dealing with your toddler's worse meltdown in months. In front of your mother-in-law. In public.
• Peanut peppering his Nana with kisses (post-meltdown, post-grilled cheese ingestion).
  
• Squeezes for EVERY ONE!
  
• Flirting with all the ladies at Grandma's office.
  
• Hand prints in clay with Gran Pam.
  
• Restaurant booth Olympics with Aunt J and his other Uncle J.
• Story time with Grandma.
  
• Tickle time with Grandpa.
  
• "Bye-bye, sweetie."
  
• Mama Dip's.
  
• New toys.
  
• Cupcakes.
  
• Play dates with college gal pal's little ones (really, could Izzie and Jonathan BE any cuter, ladies?! Carolina girls make adorable babies!).
• Seeing peanut's eyes light up after a week away from the hubby.

It was a long trip, in more ways than one. But for right now, we're just glad to be home in our own beds, in our own routines, all three of us back together. Exactly where we should be.