There is a funny story at the end...

First of all, happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you all feel extra loved today!

How was your weekend? Mine was...well...I guess exhausting is the nicest way to put it. You see, our family was supposed to go out of town this weekend to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. Towards the end of last week the baby had several rough nights in a row. He woke up pretty bad on Friday morning so we made the game-time decision that my husband would stay home with the baby.

My first instinct when we decided to make it a girls weekend was that it would be a great experience for Emerson to get some good mommy-only time. No baby brother to steal the show. Then I realized how much easier it was going to be to travel with her and not have to drag all the baby stuff along. Then I realized that it also meant I would get two full nights of sleep! As disappointed as I was that my family would not get to see the baby, I was genuinely excited about the decision and looking forward to some time alone with my girl.

I picked Emerson up from school on Friday and we were on the road. The drive down was uneventful other than the 4 pit stops we made during a normal 3.5 hour drive. I was still up beat because pit stops were no problem with me and the big girl. In and out. Easy peasy. Once we got to my dads house, the downhill descent began.

This weekend was truly one big experiement. You see, Emerson has been acting out lately in her own way. She is definitely not acting out as horribly as some toddlers do but lets keep in mind that she is a very well behaved child who really likes to follow the rules (aka brown noser). So, when she has been blatantly yelling at mommy and daddy and telling us "no", that is some serious acting out for her. I just naturally assumed that it stemmed from being jealous of Ashton. This weekend proved that wrong.

She had mommy all to herself all weekend. And let me just tell you that she was only bearable for half the time and the rest of the time she was down right awful. Just awful. It also didn't help that she was super short of sleep. She won't nap in the car anymore so Friday she had no nap. Saturday we had to leave for the birthday party super early so she only got about 45 minutes and then on the drive home today she missed another nap. So, that is a total of 45 minutes of nap when there should have been 7.5 hours of naps in 3 days. Huge. HUGE. deficit.

Let me give you an example of the fun...When I woke her up from her nap Saturday I told her that we needed to get ready for Mimi's party and we needed to sign her birthday cards. She popped right out of bed and was excited to do this. I had her valentines' day outfit all laid out (appropriate since we were celebrating Mimi's birthday which is on Valentine's day). I started to get her dressed and she flipped out. I mean screaming and crying because she didn't like her shirt. It was too big. and ugly. and she refused to wear it.

Normally I would not even mess with this battle. I truly believe in picking my battles, and clothes in my mind, are generally not worth it. Problem was that her valentines outfit was the only party outfit I packed. The birthday party was at a place with a dress code. All the other clothes I packed her were play clothes. We had no other option.

This long story to say that this was a tough weekend. Mommy is tired. Emy is tired. And we were both super glad to get home to the boys. She went to bed early tonight. And she probably will tomorrow too. She needs her sleep. And so do I.

I am also realizing that I feel like I have been complaining a lot lately. Sorry. I promise that I am normally a very positive person. I guess I have been using this as a place to vent. Oops.

To end on a better note, here is one funny story. This was the highlight of my weekend. Let me set the stage for you...Saturday evening we were celebrating the 80th birthday at my grandmothers retirement community. Our family dinner was being held in the residence dining room. (This is a super fancy place- not your run-of-the-mill retirement community). Anyways, it was still early when we got to the dining room and there were not a lot of other people down there yet. Our party got seated and we went about our business. Emerson was being really well behaved. She was sitting in between me and my mom and was coloring. I was in a conversation with someone across the table when she grabs my arm to get my attention. I turn to look at her and she has tears welled up in her eyes. She is completely frozen. I thought she might have peed in her pants or been embaressed by something. Here is what happens next:

Me: "Emerson, honey, what is wrong?"
Her: silence. just tears.
Me: "Emy, tell me what is wrong. Are you okay?"
Her: leaning in and whispering to me. "Mommy, I don't like all the old people. They really scare me."
Me: really trying to show compassion and not completely laugh in her face

Not kidding. I cannot make this up. I guess she had turned around from coloring to see that the dining room had filled up and was indeed filled with old people. Of course, many of them had eyes on her because she is young and so adorable. It freaked Emy out to say the least. For the rest of the night she sat in my lap and refused to even walk through the dining room without being carried. She was terrified. I hope she does not carry this fear with her throughout her life like people do with a fear of clowns.