By the Numbers

Oh, August.  I am tempted to say I "hate" August, but I'm trying mightily to rid my vocabulary of the word since I don't want to hear it roll off Reagan's tongue, so I'll say I despise August.  It is undoubtedly my least favorite month.  Due to the heat making me so irritable I don't even want to sit & type, which typically is what I fly to do when I have a few moments of time, this will be the mathematical version of what I have to say, as opposed to the English major's version . . .





When Reagan was 3 months old, she went on her first road trip, a venture you can read about here if you're so inclined.  My mom & I took her to Dallas so we could all accompany Jessica around town while she searched for a wedding dress.  Last weekend, just shy of the 2 month mark, Henry made his first road trip - - to Dallas, naturally - - to visit his very pregnant Aunt Jessica, Uncle Heath, & their new home.


FIVE is the number of items you can fit in a buggy when you take 2 kids to Target, which I did for the first time last week in preparation for our trip.  I was, & remain, proud of myself.  Oh & also, note that the 5 items must be small . . . a bottle of shampoo, a toothbrush, stuff like that.

THREE is roughly the number of days I needed to get myself & my 2 kids packed & ready to leave Friday morning.  I guess a day per person.

FIVE is the number of large tubs of Reagan's clothes that we packed into my mom's Tahoe (they will soon be featured on Reagan's cousin, due October), along with some of Jessica's furniture that now has a new Dallas address.  Due to the cargo in the Tahoe, my new Highlander made its maiden voyage to Dallas along with Henry.  I drove, the kids (& their monstrous seats) occupied the 2nd row, & my wonderful mother occupied one of the seats on the 3rd row so that she could easily replace Henry's pacifier every 2 minutes.

One of the (few) benefits of her 3rd row seat was the view of Henry.  Thanks to my mom for these:

(((Zoom in))):

This little lady is an excellent traveler:

On her first trip to Dallas:

TWENTY is the number of minutes we were on the road before taking our caravan through a Starbuck's window. 

SEVENTY-FIVE (75!) is the speed limit on the Interstate in Texas.  I didn't take a pic of the sign since I was driving & my mom would have yelled at me had I tried.     

ONE HUNDRED & FOUR was the temperature when we arrived in the DFW area.

TEN was the number in our dinner party Friday night after meeting up with Aunt Donna, Jennifer, & Marykate.

This is what Reagan did when I told her to smile.  I'll work with her on the difference in "smile" & "pretend you just smelled something awful:"

TWO was the number of free ice cream scoops delivered to our table after the entrees were eaten.  Apparently only kid's meals include a free scoop.  After a long day of driving & dealing with kids in 104 degree heat, I felt no shame about helping myself to a heaping bite of Reagan's ice cream, & it was - - I am not exaggerating - - the best ice cream I've ever eaten.  I am not even an ice cream person.  It's not something I am willing to make myself sick over, like say, cookie dough or brownie batter, but for this ice cream I'd gladly welcome the stomach ache & regret.

Unfortunately I am tired & cannot remember the name of the restaurant that serves this ice cream.  

COUNTLESS were the number of attempts at getting a great shot of both girls.  When it's 104 degrees outside & everyone has just eaten a big meal, you naturally want to stand around & convince kids to smile & pose on cue:

For several shots, when I told Reagan to "smile," she would growl.  She watches a lot of Daniel Tiger.  I guess this might be put to good use in a few short weeks when, praise the Lord, August ends & football season begins.  Geaux!

NUMEROUS were the children at the outdoor playground to whom Reagan explained this was her house:

Maybe my favorite pic from the weekend:

TWO is the number of colanders I now own after finding this cute one at Home Goods late Friday night.  My other one is huge & I get tired of having to use it, & then wash it, every time Reagan wants some grapes or blueberries.  

ELEVEN seats were needed for brunch Saturday after Aunt Kathy joined our party.  We ate at Spoons in downtown McKinney, & the food was worth the effort it took to get us all up, dressed, & out the door before noon.

Henry snoozed through most of brunch.  Like his mama, he doesn't care to begin his day until well past noon.

FIVE is the number of minutes it took Reagan to locate toys & a lounging chair in which to explore them in Babies R Us.

TWO seats in the firetruck Papa used to chauffeur the girls around the mall.

ONE is the number of times I rode the merry-go-round with Reagan.  The girls were easily persuaded to walk away after only one ride thanks to the waiting fire truck.

ZERO is the number of copies of my August book club book (Dogwood) Barnes & Noble had in stock. 

ZERO is the the number of pictures I now realize I took as Saturday unfolded.  Not pictured are Henry's first trip to Weir's Furniture store (during which we all lounged on one of their living room displays & had a little family reunion on their sales floor &, as Jessa pointed out, may've cost them some sales) & dinner at Dave & Buster's.  In case it's not obvious, let me suggest to you that August in Texas is not the ideal time & place to load & unload, & then load & unload, small kids out of a vehicle.  I think next summer I'll just run a marathon like all my friends on Facebook seem to be doing.      

TWO is the maximum number of hours that lapsed Saturday night & into Sunday morning before Henry again insisted I nurse him.  After lugging him all over the DFW area in the August heat Saturday, he rewarded his mom by opting out of his usual 4 or 5 hour nurse-free nightly stretch.  Love you too, son. 

TWO is the number of pictures I took Sunday, & they are both of sweet Reagan in her new dress before church.

FOUR is the number of days it's taken me to load these pics & post this blog.  I am still tired from the trip.  And from caring for a two-month old, a mark Henry officially passed this week as this blog was in progress.  Tuesday, August 6, I took these pics of him lounging around his Aunt Donna's pool while Reagan swam:

And since I know you're wondering, yes, I again broke out Reagan's number puzzle.

One month old:

Two months old:

And because it's my blog & I'm a huge fan of my baby boy, a few more:

INNUMERABLE are the times I'll reread this blog when I am getting restless & start thinking it would be great to take the kids somewhere for the weekend.  Between 3 days of packing & the week needed to recover, a weekend trip quickly adds up to a time consuming ordeal. 

I close with this: 5:12 was the first time I saw the clock this beautiful Friday morning.  Mama (& all those who will cross her path today) thanks you, sweet Henry.  Oh, motherhood . . . when what you hope for is 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which means there's a chance everyone will make it out of their pajamas the next day.

    

AZ