on traveling so dang much

We were home for the week, and now we're about to head back out for the weekend for a birthday party and baby shower. Then we'll be home another week before traveling again. 

I always have fun while we're visiting family and friends; it's the whole week after that messes me up. And when we're coming and going several weeks in a row, it really messes me up. I don't feel like cooking (as much), it takes longer to get the house clean because exhaustion catches up with me and Hannah Grace becomes excessively whiny without all the extra attention. 

When we were home for six weeks (February through the middle of this month), I got into a great groove of maintaining our house and cooking dinner each night. I allotted myself a certain amount of money to take Hannah Grace out for breakfast one day a week and lunch another. I meal planned on Sunday nights and grocery shopped on Monday. By the middle of April we will have been gone five weekends in a row, plus two full weeks. It's really hard to get into any kind of groove when you're gone that much. I've told several people that when the baby comes, that kind of traveling will stop. I need routine, Hannah Grace needs routine, and the baby will need routine. John simply benefits from any sort of routine we have going on (i.e. home cooked meals when he gets home at night and a somewhat tidy house). 

But for now I'm going to enjoy spending time with family and friends. I really do have fun, but I am definitely looking forward to getting back into a routine (or as much of a routine as one can have being seven months pregnant with an almost two year old). 

and i'm back.

I did not have any intention of going three weeks without blogging. I never do, but this is the second or third time it's happened.

A whole lot and a bunch of nothing has happened over the last three weeks, so I'll just give a run down and hopefully write a normal post in the next day or two:

-Celebrated four years of marriage with John (March 8th).

-Drove to Franklin to spend a couple of days with John's parents.

-Found out the first morning we were there that John's grandfather died (this was fairly expected), so we made plans to drive to Foley, Alabama the next day. We were able to grab dinner with our friends Michael and Amber that evening.

-Drove to Foley, Alabama Tuesday, the 13th. On the entire nine hour trip (Yes, nine hours for what would normally be a 6.5-7 hour trip. Welcome to traveling with a toddler), Hannah Grace cried less than two minutes. Praise God, but it is definitely work to keep her content.

-Spent roughly 48 hours in Foley, where we were fed tons of food, got to see John's sister Amy and his brother (and his wife) Stephen and Laura, spent an hour at Gulf Shores (Hannah Grace liked the sand but not that water, but it's still an improvement from last year where she hated both), rocked in rocking chairs, and swung on porch swings (Hannah Grace loved those last two things the most).

-Stopped in Montgomery on the way back to visit Stephen and Laura. Stephen grilled some chicken and corn for dinner, and Hannah Grace was able to play on a nearby playground.

-Arrived at my mom's house right before midnight on the 15th. Shopping, eating at Fulin's and Jason's Deli, and playing with my niece all took place over our two and a half day stay there.

--Drove home on the 18th.

-Cleaned all day yesterday so that I could go to Jo-Ann and sew some today. I made it to Jo-Ann, but I'm WAY too tired to do much of anything else. I have days of great productivity (like yesterday) and days like today. . . hoping to feel much more energized tomorrow because there is SO much that needs to be done over the next twelve weeks!