Weekend

It was a pretty good weekend for the most part. The kids had a fun time and I guess that's all that matters.

On Saturday, we took the kids to a local high school to check out their open swim. It was a pretty cool little place and we decided that we would hold Aaron's birthday pool party there instead of the previous location. It is smaller so it will be easier to see everyone but still has different pools for all different ages and swimming abilities. It is also WAAAYYYYYY less expensive, which a very good thing right now.

If you read my last post, then the coming commentary will make more sense. In background...MY family has taken an annual trip to a local pumpkin patch for quite a few years now. It is a day we all look forward to and it always ends up with several picture of tons of cousins lined up with doughnuts or pumpkins. As a matter of fact, my boys have already asked when we're doing it this year (not for a few weeks). As a result, my mother in law, in one of her many jealous moments, aslo insists on meeting us a pumpkin patch. So this is what we did yesterday.

Here's the thing with my MIL. There's ALWAYS an agenda. And it is usually an agenda that is meant to make me feel about two inches tall. And this was indeed the case again yesterday.

As we were pulling into the pumpkin patch, I started developing a small dull headache. Nothing unmanagable so I didn't think much of it and we headed in. We were supposed to meet there at 12:30. About 12:15 we got a call from my MIL saying they were going to be a little late. After much discussion, Steve and I decided to go ahead and get tickets for our kids so the could participate in the many activities there.

And they had a pretty good time.











Finally, about 1:25, we get a call that they had finally arrived. My MIL comes up first, saying my FIL was parking the car. My headache had begun building this time and I was starting to feel kind of dizzy too. But I pressed on.

The kids did a few more activities with their grandmother with them and then my FIL caught up to us. After quite a bit of complaining about the long walk from the car, he managed to say hello to everyone but me, but I'm quite used to that. After all, I AM a devil woman. At that point, I mentioned to my MIL that I had purchased tickets for us but that they would have to go get ticktes so we could all go pick apples. She suggested we go get doughnuts and cider first.

At this point, my head was truly POUNDING. I couldn't even look up without my eyes hurting. I had mentioned to her how I was feeling, but rather than giving me a break, the entire walk to the doughnut place was a MAJOR lecture about how I am failing our family (obviously, I KNOW our problems are my fault) and how I'd "better get going on something". I managed to just get through this lecture and we found a table.

At this point, I really was almost in tears (I think I actually was but it was hidden behind my sunglasses) and decided to make the long trek back to the car for Motrin. As I got back, my MIL started in on the next agenda item...Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania. After she got going a little, I finally said, "You know, I really think this conversation would be much more productive when I am not in such pain" but she responded with as much snotty tone as she could, "Well, you never call me so when should we talk about it Kristi?" Well, it you weren't such a nasty woman I would be happy to call you. Anyway, the conversation just went more sour from there and by the time doughnuts were gone, they were up and heading out of the orchard with a mere wave, deciding NOT to join us for apple picking after all. Apparently the agenda had not met their satisfaction.
So glad we wasted ten more dollars of gas and an entire Sunday afternoon to join you for apple picking! We could have gone to the apple orchard by our house that we love, done activities for free and picked apples that the kids could actually reach.

Needless to say, after they were gone, the stress seemed to fall and the four of us got an a wagon to head out to pick apples.

From then on, my headache started to subside enough to function and we were off. They took us to an area that had an extremely small number of apples left, which was very disappointing, but we managed to fill our little bags that were included in the admission price.


Then back on the tractor, we passed a corn maze. Steve was feeling kind of tired by this time, having suffered a strained muscle at work last week, but I still really wanted to go and so did the boys. We actually ended up finding our way through (with the help of a girl scout troop ahead of us who kept finding dead ends and announcing them before we got there). By that point, my head was starting to pound again and we had been at the orchard for four hours.

Definitely time to go home.

As we were driving home, I wondered about this terrible pain. Was it the stress of in-laws? Or was it the fact that although I am diet coke addicted, I hadn't had any (read...caffeine) in three days. So we stopped right before we got home and I downed a big diet Pepsi from speedway. Sure enough, headache started to subside. I know this is a bad thing, but I don't have the energy to beat a caffeine addiction right now on top of everything else.

The funny thing is this. While we are talking about the day with the boys, they had a great time. They talk about the fun activities we did. No mention of the grandparents who were sitting in the background plotting their attack, so we're trying to push that out of our mind as well. We have yummy apples to make applesauce and cute pictures too.

I'm not sure what will happen with Thanksgiving. After yesterday, Steve knows VERY CLEARLY how I feel about the trip. But now I have to put it into his hands. Will he put us through this turmoil, or will he do the right thing and save me the pain of more personal humiliation?

Meanwhile, I can look forward to the REAL orchard trip with my family in a few weeks.