A Weekend To Remember

from the mom

I attended a family wedding in Portland Friday night. Please take note: 5pm is not a good time for a wedding. Especially in a major metropolitan area. And especially when there are children involved. My grandmother had some diabetic difficulties and had to go to the hospital and so my dad and uncle went with her. We sat through the wedding wondering what was happening with her. (She recovered quite nicely.)

I tried to feed Kyri in the car before we went in but she was too distracted by being in the front seat. Just as the wedding was starting she realized she was hungry. We were in the last row and she started a quiet high-pitched noise as the bridesmaids came down. Just before the bride made her entrance, the quiet dropped off and she let out a good shriek. The bride came out and we exited behind her. I found a mother's room with speakers and a window to watch the whole thing. The glass appeared to be dark. I was not wearing nursing attire. We had just gotten started when a family walked in; mom, dad, and two little boys. Dad was not in any way bothered by the feeding session going on. Kyri and I were another story. I was feeling a little overexposed and humiliated. She couldn't focus with two little boys to watch. So we met with feeding failure again. After the wedding my mother discovered that the dark glass was in no way a barrier to anyone who wanted to turn around and observe what was going on in the mother's room.

Ben had slept for the 2-hour drive and he was both hungry and full of energy. Kyri was hungry. I was hungry. The dress thing wasn't working. So I stayed all of 10 minutes at the reception and then we headed to the parking lot where I left my kids in the car with my mom and changed my clothes. Then I fed my daughter AGAIN. By then Ben had smeared my lipstick on the steering wheel, dashboard, and his clothes. So I changed his clothes. When my grandma was released, my family went to get dinner and Ben joined them. Kyri and I went to the train station to get Mike and then 9 hours after I had eaten lunch, I finally grabbed fast food. I have vowed that I will not take my children to a wedding when my husband isn't present. The wedding was lovely. I think. I didn't really see/hear much of it.

We spent the night at my parents and my mom treated me to a raindrop (essential oil) massage the next morning. Then we drove to the Oregon Coast where some of our (Montana) family had a vacation rental.

We saw two single-car accidents on the way. The second one we came upon had just happened and the police were cuffing the driver. His nice Honda was up on its side with a case of Budweiser up against the window.

It was a blustery rainy day but the vacation rental looked out over the ocean. When the rain had settled into a "heavy mist" (M's words) I joined him for a wet walk on the beach. It was a nice walk.

We had a wonderful visit with family. Ben's third cousin Lindsey, a gorgeous blonde 12-year old, watched out for him as he learned about pillow fights. He loved playing with the big kids but eventually became so tired that Lindsey encouraged him to take a nap. She asked my mom later if he had asthma because he was "wheezing." (I didn't learn that until later.) Back at my parents, Ben started crying and we discovered he was having a reaction to something. We aren't sure what the trigger was but he did get a little popcorn with milk in it and that surely didn't help it. We were up with him a lot in the night and Mike slept with him to make sure his breathing didn't get too bad. He's still a little tired but doing much better.