The Life of a Running Momma: Auntie Ang Comes to Visit and Mother's Day

My best friend, Ang, was scheduled to fly in during the afternoon on Saturday, May 9, to visit us and meet Elise. Her plane was supposed to arrive around 4:30. We had lots of rain and thunderstorms, delaying her arrival until 6:30 which was extremely disappointing and left me feeling antsy. My dad had to work graduation in the morning and then he and my mom came to visit and stay at Thomas' house so we could be together for Mother's Day on Sunday. Ang was supposed to arrive before them and we'd all go out to dinner in celebration of Ty's birthday which was the following weekend, but we would be visiting his family so my parents wanted to celebrate with him early. They arrived and we quickly headed out to dinner so I could eat and then leave for the airport to pick Ang up. It was getting close to when Elise would wake up to nurse so I took her with me and Carter stayed to finish his dinner.

We got to the airport and found where Ang would walk through. Right as I set up camp to wait for her Elise woke up hungry so I headed over to sit down and nurse. The plane had landed and people were walking through to baggage claim. I was so excited to see Ang I kept hoping Elise would hurry up and finish eating so I wouldn't miss giving her a hug as she walked out. Miss Elise is one to always have perfect timing and was finished eating before Ang was off the plane. When we finally saw her walking up I couldn't help but giggle excitedly until she had reached the area where I was allowed to walk up. I got a big hug that was much shorter than usual because Ang was anxious to get a good, long look at Elise. Then we headed to baggage claim where it turned out Ang's bag was not. They ended up sending someone with it to our house because it hadn't made it onto the plane. She didn't get it until the following day.

Elise meeting her Auntie Ang.

Ty's birthday was celebrated with ice cream from his favorite ice cream place, opening presents, and sitting around talking. We ended up staying up a little too late but how can you not when your best friend is visiting and you haven't seen her in months! My parents headed over to Thomas' house to spend the night, Jeremy went home, and the rest of us got ready for bed. The next day was Mother's Day. Thomas had been talking to Carter about Mother's Day to which Carter said, "Carter is Mommy's friend!" I thought that was so sweet! We had a relaxed morning. Ang and I played with Carter and did a little bit of Kid's Cosmic Yoga on Youtube. Carter is absolutely hilarious doing the yoga moves! As lunchtime approached we met up with my parents and Thomas to eat lunch at Taco Bueno per my mom's request as she wanted to try a taco burger. We'd been talking about them the night before and she had never heard of one. We got home in time for Carter to take his nap. When he woke up we decided to put on our rain boots and take a walk. We went in search of puddles because it had been raining all day. The highlight of the day for me was splashing through the water with Carter.

Once home we headed out to dinner. This time I got to pick so I chose McAlister's because they have an absolutely amazing Pecanberry Salad with candied pecans, strawberries, and blueberries. Plus they have really good iced tea and I've been on an iced tea kick for whatever reason. Dinner was delicious and then we opened presents. Ty surprised us with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. I'd been randomly telling him how Dairy Queen ice cream cakes are my favorite a couple weeks beforehand because he was telling me we were getting a Dairy Queen in a town near us. He special ordered it just for us! At one point during the day Carter had peed through his diaper onto my pants while sitting in my lap and then Elise spit up on my shirt. It was a true Mother's Day moment! Before the day was through Carter danced with me to "Born to Love You" which was a Mother's Day tradition we started last year. I went to bed happy.

My mom and me with our special Mother's Day boxes of chocolate.

I was excited for Monday as I had all day with Ang. After a bit of a late start we headed to the aquarium and then she treated us to Panera for lunch. It was so nice to have her with us to chat and enjoy the kids with. Carter really show off for her by throwing a fit at the aquarium. He wanted me to carry him and I couldn't because I had Elise in the baby carrier. I don't mind carrying him for a while when she's in the carrier, but I wasn't about to carry him the entire time and he would have nothing to do with Ang carrying him. We finally got him to walk, but he continued the fit in the parking lot by sitting on the ground and refusing to climb into his car seat. It was quite the ordeal. Once he had food in his belly he was in much better spirits so we both decided he must have been a little bit hangry which caused his jealousy to flare up.

Ang and Carter ready to go into the aquarium.

Carter touching a star fish in one of the touch tanks.

When Carter woke up from his nap we went to the grocery store. I enjoyed going up and down the aisles while talking with Ang. She was impressed by how cooperative Carter is while shopping. We got a few things to go with the dinner I had prepared before Elise was born, froze, and then recently pulled out to thaw. We invited Jeremy and Thomas over to eat with us.

Ang needed to leave to visit her in-laws on Tuesday. They live a little less than 2 hours away and they planned to come pick her up and drive her back. Ty suggested I drive her instead and we could go visit Erin on our way. I didn't plan it out or figure out logistics, but knew it would mean an extra 2 hours with Ang talking to her in the car so I agreed. Elise had her well check at the doctor's office that morning so Ang went with me and we left straight from there. We drove the 2 hours to Erin's house and stayed visiting for about an hour and a half. Then we drove 45 minutes from Erin's house to Ang's mother and father-in-law's house. We ate lunch there and Carter played on their outdoor play equipment for about an hour before we left around 2:30 (an hour and a half after naptime) to head home. Carter napped the entire way home and was ready to play in the backyard immediately upon arrival. I was exhausted because Elise had a rough night of sleep the night before and the driving wore me out. While I sat holding Elise in the backyard I kept nodding off to sleep so I asked Ty to come straight home rather than stopping to run like he normally does. When he got home I laid down for about 45 minutes with Elise while he and Carter played. It was so nice to see Ang and we enjoyed her visit so much! I was already missing her the day after she left. Our time together is never long enough!