The second half of November saw an EPIC Star Wars birthday party for my young Jedi Princess. She had recently discovered the power of the force and it was pure torture planning such an epic geeky shin-dig knowing Matt wouldn't be there. Part of our investment into our future was making REALLY sure that he and I were headed somewhere permanent before I brought him to the girls. Boozer and Bucket had been through many changes in the past year and with their dad's recent engagement and them expecting a new baby in the spring, I didn't want to throw more people into their lives unless I intended to keep them there.
November also was a waiting game for girl-Adrienne. Her parents were planning a home VBAC and I had agreed to come attend her labor... in Portland. Matt and I also had a trip planned for Portland to see Springsteen and get away and just *be* for a day. Enjoy a long drive with no "are we there yet"'s and sleep in a bed that isn't full of pull-up clad preschoolers and a nursing baby. The question remained: would girl-Adrienne arrive before our trip? Or after? Or *gulp* during?!
The answer turned out to be "before". RIGHT before. Maureen's labor kicked into gear on Monday afternoon, prompting my distance-doula-partner, Sean, and I to hop in her Subaru and head out! I brought Baby along for this birth because she was still so little and wear-able, and Maureen was fine with her presence. We rolled into her driveway after midnight and Maureen was still in early labor. Sean and I took shifts, sleeping and sitting with the Maureen. Her labor as a VBAC'ing mama had an extra level of emotional challenge for her and her team of midwives, doulas and her amazing husband kept her grounded through the night and the better part of Tuesday. She delivered her daughter into her arms in the birthing tub in her living room and it was an absolutely spectacular birth! Sean and I packed up and headed back home, with her dropping Baby and I at Matt's apartment just after bedtime on Tuesday. I slept like a corpse and was able to get up and head up to pass Baby of with her dad in the morning. That was it! We were off!!! Portland or bust!
The trip was beautiful... we checked into our hotel, got all gussied up and went wandering around the city in search of a good place to eat. The running theme for the past week had been that Mr. Scroodge-Matt "doesn't like" Christmas... and as luck would have it, Mr. I-Love-Beer-Matt and I stumbled across a Holiday Ale Fest a block from the hotel. We found a lovely place with amazing food and drinks for dinner, hopped a cab to the concert and I showed him the amazing concert skillz of The Boss. Afterwards, we attempted to find a cab back and then decided that we could easily walk the 1.3 miles back to the hotel. It was lovely exploring the city in the dark of night. The next morning, we found a cafe for breakfast, packed up the car, wandered the city a bit more {stopping at VooDoo} and took a slow route home after checking in on Maureen and girl-Adrienne. It was a *perfect* trip. In the span of 72 hours, I'd driven to Portland and back twice, and both were for such lovely reasons, that I've now associated that stretch of I5 as a lovely bit of land that leads me to happy things!
November also was a waiting game for girl-Adrienne. Her parents were planning a home VBAC and I had agreed to come attend her labor... in Portland. Matt and I also had a trip planned for Portland to see Springsteen and get away and just *be* for a day. Enjoy a long drive with no "are we there yet"'s and sleep in a bed that isn't full of pull-up clad preschoolers and a nursing baby. The question remained: would girl-Adrienne arrive before our trip? Or after? Or *gulp* during?!
The answer turned out to be "before". RIGHT before. Maureen's labor kicked into gear on Monday afternoon, prompting my distance-doula-partner, Sean, and I to hop in her Subaru and head out! I brought Baby along for this birth because she was still so little and wear-able, and Maureen was fine with her presence. We rolled into her driveway after midnight and Maureen was still in early labor. Sean and I took shifts, sleeping and sitting with the Maureen. Her labor as a VBAC'ing mama had an extra level of emotional challenge for her and her team of midwives, doulas and her amazing husband kept her grounded through the night and the better part of Tuesday. She delivered her daughter into her arms in the birthing tub in her living room and it was an absolutely spectacular birth! Sean and I packed up and headed back home, with her dropping Baby and I at Matt's apartment just after bedtime on Tuesday. I slept like a corpse and was able to get up and head up to pass Baby of with her dad in the morning. That was it! We were off!!! Portland or bust!
The trip was beautiful... we checked into our hotel, got all gussied up and went wandering around the city in search of a good place to eat. The running theme for the past week had been that Mr. Scroodge-Matt "doesn't like" Christmas... and as luck would have it, Mr. I-Love-Beer-Matt and I stumbled across a Holiday Ale Fest a block from the hotel. We found a lovely place with amazing food and drinks for dinner, hopped a cab to the concert and I showed him the amazing concert skillz of The Boss. Afterwards, we attempted to find a cab back and then decided that we could easily walk the 1.3 miles back to the hotel. It was lovely exploring the city in the dark of night. The next morning, we found a cafe for breakfast, packed up the car, wandered the city a bit more {stopping at VooDoo} and took a slow route home after checking in on Maureen and girl-Adrienne. It was a *perfect* trip. In the span of 72 hours, I'd driven to Portland and back twice, and both were for such lovely reasons, that I've now associated that stretch of I5 as a lovely bit of land that leads me to happy things!
 |  |
RSS Feed
