Cold Spaghetti

Clarita — our new favorite babysitter!

Will runs around wearing Clarita’s hat.

Jonas shows Will the cricket(?) he’s caught in his bug catcher! Jonas later delivered the bug to safety outdoors.

Wednesday was a fun day in Ann Arbor, meeting up with friends.

BREAKFAST: Bruegger’s Bagels. (New Orleans is a bagel-deprived city.)

UNIVERSITY: Walking visit and seeing Marcia (mentor and coordinator of the conference I attended) and setting up time to see Deb (another mentor) later that day

LUNCH: Adam and Jodi. We met them at their BEAUTIFUL home in Saline and had a fun lunch at the Saline Inn. Will ate a veggie omelet!

AFTERNOON: Smoothies at Rendevous Cafe on University with Deb Schild (very close to the School of Social Work on campus). Deb gave Will a squishy apple toy, so we spent much of the visit listening to Will say “Apple!” Deb also listened to my disseration plans and ideas and gave great support and encouragement!! (I miss having her around for sage advice and wisdom!)

DINNER: Play date with 13-month old Evie , daughter of friends Scott and Bethany (Bethany was in the dual MPH/MSW program cohort with me at Michigan). We predict Evie to be a future linebacker. Her hugs knocked Will right off his feet! We oohed and ahhed over Evie’s incredibly beautiful nursery and awesome toys (and asked ourselves, “are we bad parents?”) The kids had fun and enjoyed pizza and oranges for dinner and we had a great time visiting!

EVENING PLAYTIME: Running around like a madman at Millard and Violet’s. Chasing cats, playing the marcaras, dancing on the scratching post, putting hand prints on the back window, climbing the stairs. New word compliments of Violet: COOL!

Bethany, me and the kids! (Evie posed sweetly with us… Will couldn’t resist the lure of the TOYS!)

Evie makes a big happy face on her rocking horse!

Me, Deb, and Will outside of the School of Social Work.

Fun cat, Tiger, is in the window!

Our whirlwind trip began Tuesday morning.

DEPARTURE: From home at 10:00am for our 12:30 flight from New Orleans to Detroit.

MORNING STRESS: That morning, we arranged for a babysitter, which made things so much easier as we finalized our packing. (We had given Margarita the week off, which ended up being more stressful as I was franticly trying to finish coursework and Paul was trying to get in work hours. Note to self: NEVER cancel a babysitter!)

PIT STOP: En route to the airport, we stopped and picked up a pair of shoes (ones that I wore to my own rehearsal dinner almost 5 years ago) which were being cleaned at a repair shop in Metairie.

WILL: Slept in the car to the airport and dozed through the airport. So, he was awake and rambunctious for about an hour of the 2 hour direct flight, but not obnoxious or loud. (Still, a sleepy baby is the best thing on an airplane. And yes, I use drugs — both to open up his ears and make him sleep.) Some may balk, but the multitudes of parents and travellers who approach me after flights to compliment and ask for tips makes me feel that I’m doing something right.

RENTAL CAR: New Chevy Malibu (including remote start – new one for us) with child seat.

FUN WILL MOMENT: While Paul was installing the car seat, Will jumped out of my arms, climbed into the open door of the front passager side seat, went through to the driver’s seat, sat down and started turning the steering wheel and pressing buttons on the dash. (We were in total awe of him!)

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: We drove to Ann Arbor and met up with friends Millard and Violet Elder, who were our old neighbors. They provided home and great company during our stay.

DINNER: Chia Shiang. Will was a little fussy at dinner (understandable considering how much he’d sat that day.)

EVENING FUN: Millard, Paul, and I took Will to our old neighborhood park for playtime before bed.