Visiting the Grandparents...

Last week, the kids and I ventured off to Fredericton to visit the grandparents.  It was an unexpected trip, and one that I didn't know was really happening until the night before.  It started because Nancy was away last week, so it was supposed to be the five of us at home during her vacation.  As you know, Danny and I are in the process of getting the house ready to be listed for sale.  There's lots to be done, so I said to Danny, "Would you get more done if I packed up the kids and headed to New Brunswick for the week?" He yelled "yes" like an excited little school boy, without even having to think about it!  Apparently the kids and I are a distraction to his man-work!  I flip-flopped the idea back and forth in my brain for a few days... did I really want to pack three kids, three years and under, into a car for a 6-hour "joy" ride?  If the drive was horrendous, I would have to do it all again in order to get home again... was I willing to risk that?  Apparently I was!  

I packed the bags, cleaned out the car, made enough snacks to last us a week, and loaded everyone into the car early Sunday morning.  I told the girls we were headed to church, and prayed to God that Jax would stay sleeping until our lunch stop in Sackville, NB.  The ride itself wasn't all that bad.  Jax cried the last 45 minutes of it, but who can blame the boy after being trapped in a car seat for 5 hours!!

The trip home was equally uneventful, and I realized that I could totally do this drive by myself again in the future, if I wanted to... which I don't!!  Being at Nanny and Grampy's for a week showed me the good and bad of being close to grandparents...

The Good:  I didn't have to lift a finger if I didn't want to.  "Grampy, do you smell that??"  Grampy changed all the poopy bums for a whole week.  

The Bad:  The girls realized who to go to if they wanted something done... "Grampy, can you lift me up super high so I can jump off the roof?  No, it's okay, you don't have to ask my mom."

The Good: I didn't have to cook for an entire week.  Not one meal.

The Bad: I put back on all that baby weight I lost.  Burgers, and french fries, and a seafood buffet, oh my!

The Good:  When the kids were being rotten, I would send them downstairs to Grampy and Nanny to deal with and make happy again.

The Bad:  Grampy always made them feel better! "Mommy, Grampy gave Ella two popsicles, even though you said she couldn't have any because she didn't eat her supper!"

The Good:  Bedtime with three children is much easier when you have three sets of hands to help!

The Bad: Jax, who had previously been sleeping from 7:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m., decided he didn't like he new accommodations, and wouldn't sleep anymore than three hours at a time the whole week we were there.  Freaking babies!

The Good:  We all got spoiled.  From restaurant meals, to trips to the splash park, to an entire new wardrobe for Gracie and new shoes for me.

The Bad:  Eventually we had to come back home... and nobody has bought me dinner yet!

It was a lovely week in New Brunswick, and it was nice to surprise Grampy and Nanny with our visit. The drive wasn't nearly as horrible as I imagined it would be, and the girls loved spending time with their grandparents... especially since mommy tried really hard not to say "no" to all the popsicles and icecream being served to them!

Grampy and the grand-kiddies

The girls got along great, and had a great time at Grampy and Nanny's house!