We Went to Lakeview

It's very true. We did. Back in early January the women of the Mitchell Clan decided to get together in the summer to get to know one another better and to let the kiddos play. We settled on June since we had to wait for one of the kiddos to get out of school. Well, we waited and waited and then June finally rolled around. It was a long drive from here to there, but I think it's a good thing we did it.

Our first day there everyone was quite busy. I wasn't always sure what they were busy doing, but here are some examples.  (At this time I'm going to refer to everyone from C.G.'s perspective while narrating from my point-of-view - don't get confused.)

Aunt Rachel's dog, Indo, came. C.G. loved it when he barked and licked.
Here he seems to be busy sleeping.

C.G. loved being pushed in the swing, especially by C.
 I think the business is obvious here.

Aunt Liz holding D. Busy comforting baby.

Here F is busy digging in the dirt.

You can't see it, but T was busy playing with a ball.

Grammy was busy sanding and staining her table.

Grandpa was busy removing....stuff?

Aunt Rachel was busy getting ready and being mad at me for taking pictures.

Yep. Lots of business going on up there. I, obviously, was busy documenting the business.

One day we went to the park in Bly to visit Great-Granny Fruits.

When they're all grown-up they'll be on a synchronized swing team
 - and they'll be much more synchronized.

He enjoys swing time.

He didn't enjoy it so much.

C loved it when his mom (Aunt Rachel) did underdogs.

T was playing Davy Crockett and was in his element at the park.

Great-Uncle Mike and Great-Granny Fruits.

First time on the slide - you can't tell, but he really liked it.
Thanks for helping with the picture Great Aunt Mollie.

After we had planned our trip we found out that Uncle Joey's girlfriend is pregnant; we decided to work in a baby shower. The pictures didn't upload in the correct order at all, but I'm too tired to rearrange 20 pictures on Blogger. It's a pain. I did activities, Rachel did food, and Liz did decorations. For those of you that do Gilmorisms: This was my first pancake, and I think between the three of us it turned out pretty darn good.

Chanel - the honoree.

After the shower Aunt Liz had to leave town and so we decided we needed to get a picture of all of the Mitchell grand babies. As you can see, not everybody was thrilled about the idea. I bet they'll get a kick out of this series of pictures when they're older.

I love the way C.G. looks at T in this picture.

By the end of the week I think everybody was pooped. We should have taken a picture before when we were all fresh, but you'll have to settle for the picture when we're ready to pass out.

I promise I looked much better - and I did not wear the Hollister shirt whilst hostessing.

Anyways, thank you Liz and Rachel for humoring me when I suggested meeting up in Lakeview. It was great getting to spend time with you and your kids. Thank you Harry and Annie for opening up your home to the craziness. Thank you to our extra helpers who made the shower run so much more smoothly.

Is This Insomnia?

I'm having trouble sleeping. It is almost 2 in the AM and here I am wide awake at my computer. I have difficulty falling asleep, I toss and turn all night, and then it seems that I finally get into a fantastic sleep right when my son decides to wake up. Then I'm zombie mom until his morning nap, at which time I force myself back to sleep, and am still ready to completely pass out when the babe is done napping. I'm not really sure what to do. I think part of my problem is that I think too much, but how does one stop thinking? People tell me to meditate: breath in for five seconds, hold for five seconds, let out for five seconds. You know what I'm doing during those 15 seconds? Thinking. How about the next 15 seconds? Thinking. The 15 seconds after that? You got it: thinking. My brain is whirring about things that are currently weighing heavily on my mind and things that don't matter past the next morning. I'm contemplating, problem-solving, dreaming and scheming, worrying, and wishing I could pause life. I'm worried about my abilities as a mother if I can't function during the day because I'm too stressed out to sleep at night, and then I'm too stressed out to sleep at night because I want to be the mother my son deserves. Vicious, vicious cycle. How do I just stop worrying about things I'm genuinely concerned about? How do I stop thinking about my to-do list? How do I stop dreaming about the things we would do if we weren't broke? Now, don't you go getting all concerned here. I'm happy. I'm happy to be in my own home with my own precious family. I'm happy to have a car that is currently functioning. I am beyond happy that I have a handsome boy who makes me smile more times than I can count in a day. I am incredibly happy that I have a husband who loves me, and thinks I'm beautiful, and encourages me to follow my dreams and spoil myself. I'm happy that we can find joy in a family walk. Perhaps I need Bing Crosby's ghost to come and remind me to forget counting sheep and count my blessings instead, but then it's just more thinking. Has anybody experienced this? I am desperately tired, but far from sleepy. I'm dreading the morning, but know that I have so much to do, and I can't call in sick to motherhood. Mr. Mitchell says I need to get to bed earlier, but do you know what that means? He gets up and is out the door by 7:30am. C.G. is typically up at about 8am. We have our day and then Mr. Mitchell gets home at about 5pm while I'm making dinner. We have a small chat once dinner is ready and I scarf my food, and then I have to go pump for the kiddo while Mr. Mitchell feeds him his solids. Then I go work from 6pm-10pm. That's the earliest I can go to bed, and it means that my only interaction with my husband for the day is 15 minutes at dinner. So, naturally, I stay up late talking with him, and then we hit the sack, but my brain is still firing away and I find myself awake and writing to no one in the stupid blogosphere after 2 in the morning. What to do? What to do? I think the only reason I'm writing this is for cathartic purposes in the hope that once I post it my brain will feel release and go to sleep. Wish me luck.