So glad it's Monday! We've had such a pile of hectic days! I need some regularity, routine, mundane work to cleanse my system.

We went to Schlitterbahn on Friday with my mom, my sister, and the kids. It was good to have several adults, but really, now that the kids are older we didn't have to keep up with them. We just told them to check in with us every few hours. Hazel seemed to enjoy the water and the people watching and did beautifully throughout the eleven hours that we were out. We had a full house both Thursday and Friday nights, five extra bodies. On Saturday morning my mom and Leah took all the kids except Hazel out to Burnet. I finished decorating cakes, Brian and i gotnout forba run, then drove up to Round Rock for the McCutcheon-Evans reunion. We had some catchup time with the Evans cousins and visited the Hutto farmhouse. There was a barbecue and speeches made by the old folks. It was a two day event, but Brian and i decided to skip the Sunday morning breakfast and go to church instead. We needed to rest and we needed to spiritual food.

We went to lunch at Trudy's after church, then came home and lounged around the rest of the day, watching Hazel and cat napping on the couch until Mama brought the kids back.

I've had big plans to do some sewing and some painting projects, but I haven't been able to find a decent size chunk of my day since Hazel commands more and more of my time now that she's crawling and getting into everything. She doesn't nap regularly and when she does, her naps are short which only leaves enough time for me to tidy things up. I've been wearing her on my back in the Ergo if she just won't nap, but there are just some things that can't be done while she's attached to me.

I haven't been away from Hazel for more the two or three hours in her life. I know that's really not that odd, but with my other kids I was able to offer them something to fill their tummies in place of mommy and therefore go out on a date with Brian, even go over night, or just spend some time out running errands without baby. She's so different. If this was five or ten years ago, i'd probably resent the clinginess, but since she's the child of my old age, I cherish it. I am in no hurry to push her away. That said, I have dreamy thoughts of when Brian and i will be able to have our room to ourselves again, or go away on an overnight trip, just us.

Well, she's finally asleep in the other room, so I'm going to try to get a few things checked off my list.

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Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.
-Jacques Maritain