Vacation Part 2

The only bad part about my vacation was J had to work a normal week. And baby M was on spring break which meant he was being babysat...at the house....all day long....every day. We all know how I feel about children. Despite the fact that I do love this particular child, that love does not equate me wanting to watch the child. So, I was glad that I didn't have to worry about taking care of anyone but myself.
J woke me up before she left for work on her first day back to work to let me know should would be leaving and that the babysitter was there so I wouldn't freak out when I got up and found the dude watching Spongebob with baby M on the couch.

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I waited a little bit after she left, looking out the window at the sun shining on the palm tree outside, before I finally rolled out of bed. Which is really baby M's bed. I call him baby M, but he's 2 and his bed is a normal size twin. Which to me, is not normal size, but I didn't fall off of it during the night and my feet didn't hang off the end so it wasn't bad. And it was super skooshy.
I walked into the living room and saw baby M watching Spongebob on DVD on one couch, and babysitter L on another couch. I said hi to L and then decided to relax and watch Spongebob with the boys. Which is what we did every single day. Except when we watched Dora the Explorer instead. I don't like that show so I tried to read or go for a walk or just anything to not watch that show.
I think Tuesday is the day I decided to explore the city since I had nothing but time. So after sleeping in blissfully late, I hopped in the shower and was more then just a little excited to put on a skirt and tank top with flip flops and call it good. It's been a looooooonnnnng time since I didn't have to worry about layers and warmth. I told babysitter L I was going for a walk and would be back sometime and headed out. I had no clue where I was headed but I had hopes of finding a beach within walking distance. As soon as I stepped outside I was happy. The sun was shining, there were no clouds in the sky, and it was warm. I miss warmth. As I walked out of the apartment complex and to the street I soaked in the sun. I smiled at the sky and might have skipped a little bit. Anyone that saw me on that walk thinks I'm a crazy person.
Of course we all know...that is correct.
I turned right when I made it to the main street and walked to the first light and then turned right again. Then I just walked straight. I stared at everything. The trees, the chirping birds, the Amish men and women riding tricycles around town.

J happens to live among Amish country down there. From what I hear she used to live right in the middle of it but now she's an outsider. It's weird seeing them all over. I'm outside enjoying the sun in a short skirt and tank top and these guys are running around in long sleeves and long pants (long dresses for the women of course) and no flip flops for these folks! I don't know how they handle it. And how they all manage to still be tanner than the Oregonian.
Instead of seeing mice* and squirrels scurrying around, there were lizards and turtles. Which blows my Oregonian mind. I love lizards so every single time I saw one on a tree trunk or running across the sidewalk or hanging on someones screened in sun porch (which basically comes with every single house down there), I smiled and possibly did a little excited jump. Yes. Every time. I am a dork.
Eventually I needed a break. After an hour of walking and not seeing any water, in a place that is surrounded by water, I decided to shop. Although, I only made that decision because the bus stop I used as a break station was right in front of a couple of consignment stores.
While I'm on the topic, the bus system down there sure has an interesting name.

Good ole Scat.
Anyway, I walked into the first store (Diva's somethin or other) and perused around for a little but it didn't take long for me to know this wasn't the store for me. Strike one was when I walked in the store and the sales associate was on the phone. Now, I don't care that she was on the phone. She even set it down for a second to greet me when I walked in and complimented my purse. What I didn't like was that the whole time I was shopping, I could hear her conversation and really, even that wouldn't normally get on my nerves, but her conversation was all about how the people that shop at this particular store don't know name brands so whoever she was talking to should just save the nice stuff for a different store. Seriously? While looking at a sparkly shirt, I thought the place had some cute stuff so maybe it wasn't all bad, but then I saw the shirt was from Old Navy and was being sold for $18. Plus tax of course. $18 for a used shirt? It probably cost the same new when it was at Old Navy. So I left. And went around the corner to a thrift store. I had fun looking at all the fun things they had for sale and I really almost bought a whole set of miniature decanters. I wanted them...but I had to think about how I would get them home and I definitely didn't have room in my suitcase...so I had to pass. Ah well.
I left the store after drinking free water from their fountain for about 48 minutes, and turned left instead of going the way I was earlier, or turning back towards the apartment. I only walked a block before I decided I was done with this adventure. I'd have to walk another hour before I made it back, and without asking for directions I would never know how to get anywhere. Plus there were the 17 blisters I had just gotten from walking in flip flops for so long and the sunburn that was getting redder by the minute. Definitely time to head home. Thank the lord I had my iPod with me. Walking home with kick ass music makes it way easier.
I was locked out by the time I got back. Which may have caused a tiny freak out in my brain, but that went away as soon as L opened the door. I went inside and inspected my blistered feet and then relented to more Spongebob.
When J got home we decided to check out a Mardi Gras parade going on in town and packed ourselves into the big blue monster. It was always a process, whatever we wanted to do. Baby M always made things interesting. This time was no different. He didn't want to ride in the stroller so he thought running into the street would be a good idea. Luckily, we were on a side street and there was no traffic but for some reason I still ran to catch him like he was about to die. Whatev.
We headed to the circle (we have the square, they have a circle) to find the parade but didn't see any sign of it. We window shopped along the way and kept seeing people with fancy masks and beads. As we walked past a restaurant a small band of about 8 people walked by us playing their trumpets and drums in crazy fun sparkly colorful Mardi Gras outfits. That was the parade.
We went in a few shops to look at dresses and hats. Baby M wanted to get out of the stroller, so he kept trying to get our attention by grabbing at things. And making a lot of noise. I think my biggest issue with children is the fact that they just don't understand how things work or why they should listen, and I really hate repeating myself. Don't grab things means don't grab things. Not grab other things.
We found a great little jewelry store to shop in and even though it was kind of crowded and we had the non listening child with us, we ended up finding a few cute things. The store was full or really nice looking stuff and it was all really reasonably priced. There were of course some pieces that were a bit more expensive but you can't get mad about a $7 pair of earrings. J even talked me into getting a toe ring. Which is oddly enough, kind of a big deal for me. But seeing as how I knew I'd be wearing my flip flops basically until I went back home, I figured I might as well. It has a froggy on it.
After that store we knew it was time to head home because baby M was getting cranky. Which is no fun.
I decided to stay in the next day and let my feet recover from the walk. We watched the same Spongebob DVD, and I played building blocks with baby M for a few minutes. But I had to quit because every time I built anything I was proud of, baby M knocked it down. And laughed. I read for a little bit. Basically, I just lounged around. It was heaven.
The whole time I was down there, everyone was so worried that I wasn't having a good time because I wasn't doing something eventful every day. The reality is...when I picture myself on vacation, I'm not doing anything. I can sleep in every day. I don't have any responsibilities. I'm completely free to do as I please, and sometimes what I'm most pleased to do is absolutely nothing.
I spent most of my time trying to keep baby M from hurting himself.
"Don't climb on that M."
"But why?"
"Because you will get hurt"
"ok"
5 minutes later
"M, I said don't climb on that"
"Why? Because I get hurt?"
"Yes. Because you'll get hurt. Now please get down."
"Ok"
10 minutes later
"M. I thought we talked about this already"
Then I gave up and just started pulling him off of things and setting him down safely on the ground.
Wednesday night, when J got home from work she set down her purse, said hi to me and baby M and then went to work on dinner. We had planned to have chicken enchiladas and were both excited for them because we'd been talking about them all day. As I leaned on the wall and watched her cook the filling we heard a loud thump in the living room, followed by serious crying from baby M. I turned the corner, and he was laying in front of the couch on top of one of his arms, crying. He had been climbing on the arm of the couch again, and this time, he got hurt. We picked him up and checked him out. He seemed to look ok, but when the crying didn't stop J had to take him to the doctor. She rushed out the door with her poor whimpering child and I took over dinner making. Which went off...with many hitches. Damn it. But, they ended up being decent...if not oddly sized. I'm apparently a terrible roller.
With the house all to myself, I decided to watch a couple of movies that J had and I hadn't seen yet. I lounged on the couch and watched movies waiting to hear from J. When I finally heard that baby M had indeed broken his arm, I felt a pang of guilt for assuming he was fine when he first fell. Really, how could I have known? I'm not known for my child care skills, so I didn't feel too bad. But I know J must have been going crazy. I can't imagine how hard it is to see your baby in so much pain.
They got home pretty late and baby M's arm was in a temporary cast until they could get a permanent one the next day. He looked so small and fragile at that point. He struggled at first trying to figure out how to use only one hand and when frustration hit, so did a crying storm. He had some medicine and conked out for the night.
J needed some time to de-stress after such a rough day, so we watched the second Sex in the City movie...which we had both waited to watch until we could watch it together. Because we're awesome like that. (I'm not going to review the movie, but we both enjoyed it much more than most critics)
J went to work like normal in the morning but planned on leaving early so they could go get a cast for baby M. Instead of waking up to baby M and babysitter L watching Spongebob, I instead found baby M watching Spongebob with brother J and sister B. I sat down to wake up before accomplishing anything like eating or showering and realized they were watching the same Spongebob DVD as the past 2 days. I now knew all the episodes on that disc by heart.
It wasn't too long before J was home and they were all getting ready to go to the doctor. J extended an invitation for me to tag along, but I chose to stay put. Doctors aren't really my thing. Also, I'm unsupportive.
We kept things mellow for the next couple of days. We hung out at the house watching movies, and playing Wii, which J had bought as a "sorryyoubrokeyourarmandareinpainIloveyousoverymuch" type of thing...along with a bubble blower and bottles of bubbles. And a giant teddy bear. If I break my arm will you get me a Wii mom?
We checked out the beach of course and it was absolutely stunning. Completely different than what I'm used to here on the Oregon coast. The sand was white and super soft. The shoreline was covered in millions of tiny seashells

(why didn't I bring even one home with me?!). The water was a beautiful shade of light greenish blue. The birds were of course exotic to me. They flocked around just like the seagulls here but they were smaller and didn't sound the same. They definitely scared J though when they flew right by us. It was incredible how close they got to us. I coulda smacked one in the beak if I wanted to.
The wind was blowing and both J and I were in dresses so it was dangerous for us to be there, but I loved it. Sure, the wind cut the warmth down a bit, but it was still warmer than Seaside. It smelled different there too. Not like the beach smell here. I think it was less....salty. It seemed so calm and peaceful...even when there was a flock of birds flying around our heads. I fell in love the second I set foot in that soft, white sand.
Then the sun started to set, and my heart stopped. Every sunset there is absolutely breath taking. And of course, the pictures I take do them no justice. Like, at all.

 

After M headed to bed, J and I started playing Epic Mickey on the Wii. I so want that game! I like video games...usually childish ones like Spyro or Mario and when I'm feeling brave...Tomb Raider and GTA. So Mikey was right up my ally. And the Wii just makes it better. I was instantly addicted and actually got pretty far in only 2 days. It was easy to get away with playing when baby M was around because he liked to watch Mikey to see what was gonna happen next in the story. See? I can get along with kids just fine, thank you very much.

*I have absolutely no idea why I wrote mice. I don't see mice scurry around on a regular basis.