Off the grid

So, I've been off the grid for the past few weeks, enjoying the heck out of Grammy's, Uncle Nick's & Papa's visits from Chicago.  Grammy was supposed to fly back a week & a half ago, but was sweet enough to extend her trip to take care of my little sickling, Reese. 

 

We were having a blast over the weekend Papa was visiting when Mike commented that Reese felt warm.  Fast forward to the end of her nap & she had a 103 temp & felt miserable.  I've never seen the bugger feeling worse.  Thank goodness Grammy was willing to stay because we've missed a lot of days of work over the holidays from sicknesses.  Sick kids is what stresses me the most about being a full-time working mom.  When we notice a fever, we both look at each other like, "who's missing work tomorrow?"  I've not been able to build up a great vacation bank since taking nine weeks of maternity leave & the constant, random days I take with sickness, holidays, etc.  But, Reese is MUCH better & she had a week of bonding with Grammy!

There was tons of fun in between all the visits with plenty of game playing,



Reese experiencing bowling for the first time,

 a rare, kid-free outing with our friends,

sneaking out on a weeknight date night,

playing hooky from work to spend the day on the water & go on a dolphin watching boat,

enjoying a girl's lunch at high tea where Reese got her own little kettle & cup,

 and walking, walking & walking some more.  Grammy decided to pick up a Fitbit Zip like mine & we made sure to get 10,000 steps every day.  Sunday we went for a nearly two hour walk!  It was such a fun excuse to catch up & get some exercise.  

Grammy rescheduled her flight to Monday evening but it ended up getting cancelled because of the extreme cold in Chicago.  I dropped her off this morning & was very, very sad to see her go!  She's such great company & amazing help, so I cry every time she heads back.  I had a good cry in my car, driving back... I'm an emotional mess!  And today is my last Wednesday off for the next month as I cover my co-worker's medical leave.  We'll be severely short-staffed so I have tons of anxiety over the upcoming weeks.  I've been spending my day, cleaning & organizing like a fool which always helps ease my anxiety.  An anxious Allison always equates to a tidy home!  Anyway, hope you've all been doing well over the past few weeks!!