Mike and Oliver Visit

Sunday night Mike and Oliver arrived all the way from Arizona with gram and poppy's moving truck. We spent the evening chatting with them and then they stayed the night at gram and poppy's house. I think they enjoyed having their own space and not having to share living space and bathrooms with my crazy crew all the time.

Monday Mike worked from home (from our parent's house) so for his lunchbreak, Oliver and Mike came to Scarlet's Park with me and the girls. The weather was really lovely and it was so good to get out. Oliver was nice and hung out a bit with Ruby- they both enjoyed the zipline and swinging together. Mike was nice and played some volleyball with Lucy. 

After Mike finished work we went to work unloading the moving truck for Grams and Poppy. Ben and Steven were big helpers and when Tyler finally got home, he was able to help too. Their home now seems extra full but I am sure once they get a chance to unload things and put them in their proper places, it will feel more like a home for Grams and Poppy. Ruby was very excited by the Paw Patrol Table they brought.

Monday night Ben was working at Dairy Twist so we all went to support him (and of course to get ice cream!). I was an embarassing mom and took his picture and shouted "hello!" to him. We all ate far too much ice cream but it was delicious. Steven got grumpy because they gave him his in a cone instead of a cup so I had to be the adult,lol, and ask for a cup. Such an easy solution.

Tuesday Mike was going to go in to work at the Proving Grounds in Milford with Tyler but Oliver had a rough night- his ear was aching- so Mike ended up needing to take Oliver to Urgent Care. Poor Oliver did end up having an ear infection and came back with some antibiotics. Meanwhile, I took Ruby to storytime at the library. She still is a bit naughty- not great at sitting- but she loves it and its a nice, free way to get her out of the house.

After storytime I had the joy of taking Ben to an orthodontist appointment and Ruby came with us. It was a long appointment because they had to redo one of his pictures and then had troubles getting it to upload. Seemed like they just wasted our time trying to upload that, but whatever. By the time they went over treatment and cost, Ruby was getting quite antsy and noisy so my focus was not quite there. I mistakingly got it in my head that the numbers they were showing me included the cost of Penny's treatment and was thinking "wow! the math ain't mathing but I love it!" ha! Of course it was just the payment plan for Ben's treatment. Anyways in the end I figured it all out and basically we are going to be in debt for Penny and Ben's treatment for the rest of our lives...or maybe just 4 years. So many other things I would rather do with money but at least they will have pretty smiles when all is said and done.

Wednesday Mike went to GM in Warren and Oliver hung out with us for the most part of the day. Oliver still wasn't feeling well so he mostly just gamed on his computer. He even said "no" to my attempts to bribe him with treats at the Dollar Tree. He said he had too much candy already. Such a good kid, lol. My girls took up the bribery and went with me though. They are so candy obsessed. I also needed to get Ruby sunglasses because ever since she went forward facing in the car, the sun has gotten to bright for her. 

Wednesday night everyone was busy with various things- a senior year mtg, an extra archery practice, church activities and volleyball. Mike and Oliver ended up going to volleyball practice with Lucy, Ruby and me. It wasn't the most exciting practice to watch but they were good sports about it ;) Tatiana was also there, Lara has practice right before Lucy. She chatted a bit with me about her upcoming move and her regrets about not being closer friends with me. We have always been friendly but we are also very different personality wise so I think it's ok that we weren't closer. Not everyone is a perfect fit for a close friend. I will still miss her family though, it will leave a hole in our already small Ward.

Thursday Mike was able to go to work with Tyler at the Proving Grounds in Milford and Oliver was stuck with Ruby and me for the day. We ended up taking him to the Michigan Flight Museum. A random museum I found through googling plane museums. It was about 35 minutes away and I managed to get us in free with library passes. I am not sure it would have been worth going there if it had cost money and been further away. It was a nice museum with some cool planes but it was not very big. Their was a cockpit Oliver and Ruby could sit in and Ruby did not like that Oliver was able to make her steering wheel move- it totally creeped her out. Ruby did like this little machine they had that sucked in balls and sent them flying up though. Oliver said there was a plane he had never seen before so I think that was his favorite thing. The bummer thing was that they had these flight "simulator" things but they were all turned off because they said they had a field trip coming. Lame. If we had paid for our tickets I would have complained.

After the museum we went and got lunch at Chick-Fil-A. They enjoyed their nuggies and then Ruby wanted to play in the play area. Oliver was nice and played with Ruby and tried to convince her to go down the slide. She said she didn't want to go down because she had poop- she was not lying. Stinky girl. 

Thursday night I took Mike, Oliver, Penny and Ruby to Chuck E Cheese. We had a coupon for a cheap pizza and Mike was nice and got a cookie pizza for everyone as well. They both cost a total of like $3 thanks to the coupon and membership. We really squeeze our membership for all it's worth. Oliver spent his play points really quick because apparently he was a fan of the "gambling" games ;)

Mike was working from my parent's house on Friday. After the girls finished their school work, I took Oliver, Penny and Ruby out to a car museum (Roush Museum). This was another museum I found by googling- this time googling for cars. It was free and only 25 minutes way. Once again, I wouldn't have traveled far for this museum or paid money to go there, but it was a nice for a free outing to see some cool cars. Ruby did not love that she could not sit in any of the cars (especially the small go karts that were there) so she was a bit whiney. But we were all a fan of the Bat Mobile car that was there and it was fun to see all the different ads on the race cars.

Friday evening Steven was working and Tyler had to take the other 3 to the temple for baptisms. That left me, Ruby, Oliver and Mike at home. We decided to go to Chuck E Cheese again. Oliver liked that he would get more play points this time. I also had another great coupon for extra play points, tickets, free dip n dots and 50% food. We all got some dip n dots and Mike got some churros and drinks. Oliver used the extra tickets to get some cotton candy on his way out.

It was a really nice evening until we got back to my house and realized the power was out because of the high winds we had been having that day. I had just sat down at the kitchen table with Ruby on my lap in our super dark house when she suddenly started vomiting. Everywhere. We had no lights, and no water and a massive mess to clean up. I was very lucky Mike was there to help out. It would have been so much harder by myself. We got everything cleaned up and then Tyler came home with the kids and was able to get the generator on. We all had a very cold night- the house was 55 degrees when we woke up, not my usual 70.

In the morning, Tyler had to leave early with Steven and Ben for the State Archery Tournament. Mike went with them. With sick Ruby I didn't want to head out too early so I was going to meet them there. The morning was a bit of a disaster. We all shivered as we got ready and then left...but then I had this thought that I should probably bring extra clothes for Ruby and plastic bags in case she was still sick (divine inspiration!) So we turned around- adding about 10 minutes to our drive, not bad. Then we headed out again but we were about 20 minutes out when Mike asked if Oliver was with us. Orginally he had planned to go with them so I had assumed he was with them. He was not. We turned around and added another 40 minutes to our drive. Now, with Oliver, we were on the road to Lansing again. It is an hour and 10 minutes to get there. We were half way there when Ruby threw up all over herself in the car. I ended up pulling off the highway to clean her up. It was cold outside and changing her clothes was not fun. When we finally got there, we picked up Mike and Steven and headed to Horrock Farmers Market. The kids love the candy selection there and spent plenty of time picking out treats (treats that Mike was nice enough to spoil them with). And then we all met Tyler and Ben at Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

After that, Tyler and Ben went back to the tournament and the rest of us made another stop at Preuss Pets- just so I could feel like the awful drive out there was worth it. It was fun to see all the different pets and we even saw axolotls. They were only $50 so now it looks like that has just been added to my kids long list of pets they want. After that we drove back home with no incidents.

We came back to a cold house and hung out around the generators plug so kids could charge their devices and I could try to absorb some of the heat from a space heater. I do not like the cold. Then it was time to take Mike and Oliver to the airport. The moment we left, the power came back on. We were so glad we got to hang out with Mike and Oliver and hope they weren't scared away by my vomiting toddler and our power outage.

Life Goes On

 This week I still feel like I am adjusting to being a mom and living in real life again. Sometimes I miss our life in Italy. I know vacation life is not a life one can live full time, but man it was a good break from all the things.

On Sunday I thought I would not like being back in Sunday School but it was surprisingly nice to not be in primary anymore. I didn't have to worry about helping any little children stay reverent. I was able to just sit and be. After chuch we had a Zoom Relief Society Presidency Meeting. It was long because there was a lot to cover but in the end, my responsibilities were very manageable. A sign up sheet for a Relief Society Activity, and setting up a facebook page for the Relief Society Sisters. I like being the secretary because I feel like less rests on me. I think I am going to like this calling.

On Monday Julie and Asher came over. It was nice to chat with Julie but Ruby was having a hard time sharing with Asher. Near the end they fought over control of the Toniebox. Typical toddler behavior on both their parts, although I think Ruby was a little more fiesty than Asher. Also on Monday, Ben had his first day back at Dairy Twist. He was really nervous but I think it ended up being a good first day. It wasn't too busy so he was able to easily gain his footing again. They don't pay well but they are very accommodating with his soccer/archery schedule so it feels like a good job for him for now.

Tuesday, while the girls were in school, Ruby and I went to library story time. Ususally she is one of the most well behaved toddlers there but not this time. She kept standing up so others kids couldn't see the book, a group of toddlers went running and she followed and there was a grandma and her grandson sitting off in the corner of the room that she kept bugging. Then when it was done and it was time to go home, she threw a fit. It wasn't the best. 

Tuesday night I went over to Grace's house. We had a good conversation about religion. While I was talking with her, I brought up how I had begun scripture discussions at the dinner table with my family again and she talked about how she missed having those conversations with her family. It was one of the first times in awhile that I had heard her say some positive things about religion and we actually had a pretty positive discussion after that about religion. It was really nice.

Wednesday Penny had her first orthodontist appointment. They took x-rays and pictures and scanned her teeth. In a month she will be getting braces and an expander. I am sure she will be miserable when it actually happens but a lot of her friends have braces already so for now she is excited to be joining them soon. I also set up an appointment there for Ben. He really needs braces and I am hoping we can make it work financially so that they both can get their teeth fixed this year.

Wednesday night we had kids in 3 different places. The boys were at the Hess home for young mens, Lucy had volleyball and Penny needed to be at the church for young womens. I ended up taking Penny to the church, and Ruby came with us. My tummy was bothering me so I had the joy of taking Ruby into the bathroom with me while I died. Thankfully our young women were the only ones at the church so at least no one was around to listen to Ruby talk to me about my poop issues. Besides the issues, Ruby had fun joing in with the yw making bracelets. She liked looking at all the cool beads they had brought.

Thursday morning we hit terrible traffic on our way to the girls' school. Our 20 minute drive took 40 minutes (even with us taking a slightly illegal shortcut) It was awful. The girls still made it to school on time since we leave so early, but we were at the back of the line which stresses the girls out. Afterwards I took Ruby to the Great Lakes Crossing Mall. I was on the hunt for Easter dresses for the girls, a sweater vest for me, and an italy lego postcard. I think that while being away I had forgotten how awful shopping with a toddler is. It was not a fun day like I had imagined in my mind. Mostly it was me wrangling a toddler who did not want to shop- she just wanted to play in the play area. At one point, I was looking at some dresses, and when I looked back at Ruby she was on the ground by her stroller taking off her pants. She had gotten some food on them and had decided she did not want to wear them anymore. When it was finally time to leave, she decided she did not want to leave and I had to throw her into the stroller kicking and crying. I feel too old to deal with toddler tantrums.

On Friday I decided to do some thrift store shopping while Ruby was sleeping because I needed retail therapy after all the retail trauma the day before with Ruby. It was a good choice because I found a few fun things for a good price, including some dresses for the girls (I hadn't had luck finding them at the mall the day before). That night Lucy had another middle school dance. Mostly she goes to these so she can get dressed up and hang out with friends. She also likes the snacks. It seems like she had a good time with her buddies. When I dropped Lucy off, Geli's mom -Cherish- was there as well and chatted with me for a long while. I think she might be lonely and maybe I should invite her and her husband to the game nights we do with Grace. Cherish also talked about how much her girls and her like our church and how they should come more often. I encouraged that line of thinking for sure ;)

Geli came home with Lucy after the dance and spent the night. Geli didn't stay too long the next day. I am not sure if she gets tired of Lucy or just tired of people in general. 

The weather Saturday was nice and warm so we got outside for a bit to splash in the puddles. Lucy did one big splash and was so soaked she decided that it wasn't that fun to splash in puddles, lol. Clearly Lucy is not a toddler anymore.

Rome Part 2 and Home

Sunday we had a little slower of a morning and didn't head out until just after 9. We decided to take a bus to the Porta Portese Market. It's a market full of cheap wares that is only open Sunday mornings. It was a regrettable choice for me. The bus was almost 20 mins late so we basically had the next group of people at the stop too and we barely all fit in the bus. I was literally smooshed against Tyler in the front and had some random ladies butt cheeks smooshed against me in the back. Nobody seemed to ever leave and more people just kept trying to cram on. It was a really uncomfortable half hour ride. 

When we got to the market we started strolling and realized we had messed up. Most of the booths just took cash, that's why the prices were so cheap, and we had spent the last of our cash the day before. I also thought there would be more food booths mixed in but it took awhile to finally get to a booth where I was able to grab a super healthy sugar doughnut for breakfast (thankfully they took credit card). There were so many people there and so many booths- the market just kept going and going. I later found out it is just over 2km long. Most of the booths sold cheap clothes, you could also find booths with books, toys, luggage and housewares. It was very full of Italians- I think many of them do there shopping there. There was a dress I might have bought if we had cash but really not too much else I was inspired to get. Tyler and I did say if we went to Italy again, we should just pack nothing and then go buy our stuff there (most things were under 10euros). 

When we finally had enough strolling, we decided to hop a bus home, but the closest bus was running late again. There was a nearby Trolleybus that Tyler thought would take us back so we ran to catch it since it seemed nice and empty and like a good solution. It did not take us back home, it was the wrong line (It also started with an H like the right line, it was just a different color. Confusing!). Instead it took us the wrong direction and then basically back to our starting point at the market. Fail. We ended up just walking back to our bnb because we were not in the mood to catch another bus and potentially be squished again. It was kind of long and crabby walk for us both. The whole morning had kind of put us both in sour moods.

On our way back to our bnb we grabbed a panini at Fuorinorma. I was trying to eat something safe since my bowels had started acting up again. We took it back to our bnb to eat and then after a short rest it was time to meet up for our golf cart tour. Once again, we had lucked out, and were the only ones to sign up for the group tour. We had Luca all to ourselves. A golf cart tour is really the way to go and we should have probably done it on one of our first nights so we could have gotten an overview of everything. It was so nice to rest from all of the walking we had been doing (roughly 8 miles a day) and Luca was a native to Rome so he had lots of fun facts and information to share with us. Watching him drive though, gave Tyler and I confirmation that we never ever want to drive in Rome. There doesn't seem to be a lot of road rules. Lane lines seem to be a suggestion and there were a few times that he just stopped and was out in a lane and it was just no big deal. He also got uncomfortably close to pedestrians (unless there is a street light, you just have to push your way into a crossing and even when there is a street light, people still go as soon as traffic clears).

One of our first stops on the golf cart tour was the Colosseum. Of course we had already been in it but he gave us some new facts- like how the Christians tried to make over every pagan thing so they added a cross in front of it. He also took a picture of us both so know we have something that is a step up from the selfies we had been taking.

Next he drove us out of the busy city, past the Caracalla Baths and to the Catacombs of St Callixtus. More specifically, he took us to the Catacomb of San Sebastiano. It had been a warm day so I didn't have a jacket and I had regrets when we arrived at the waiting area to go into the Catacomb- it was very chilly. Thankfully once we went down, it was a little warmer. We learned about San Sebastian- he was a soldier for the Emperor and was shot with arrows and then beaten to death when the Emperor found out that he was a Christian. We saw the catacombs which had been robbed so all that was left was really just a bunch of empty holes where bodies had been. We also saw 3 pagan burial rooms that had once been covered by the dirt that was removed to make the Christian catacombs. We were not allowed to take pictures of the catacombs. This tour was all done by a different person than our golf cart driver. He said he would just get lost in the catacombs and so would I if we didn't have her. It is a literal maze down there.

When we finished in the catacombs, we went up to the chapel and then were back on the golf cart. He drove us past some things and then stopped at Apian Way to take a picture of us. It is one of the most oldest and most vital roads because it connects Rome to Brindisi. 

Our next stop was a chapel, Santa Maria in Palmis. Legend has it that at this spot, that St Peter was fleeing Rome to avoid martyrdom and met Jesus walking to the city. He asked Jesus where he was going and Jesus said "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" so Peter turned around to face his fate.

Our last stop was The Orange Trees Garden. This was not part of the tour but we had some extra time so he took us there. It was pretty and it had a nice view of Rome. He also taught Tyler how to properly drink out of the fountains that you can find everywhere in Rome. You plug the hole and it streams out in more of an arc from the top.

That night, after our golf cart tour, we went on a walk to get our last few souvenirs. We went to L'Artigianato so Tyler could get some fun chess pieces. He ended up with a cool set that has Roman and Greek Warrios. I also got a fun ceramic plate that says La Mamma. Then we went back to the journal store, Manufactured in Italy, because we decided we needed to get the boys a journal too. 

When we finished spending our money on cool things, we were hungry, so we decided to have our fancy meal in Rome. We ended up at Osteria dell'Anima. I picked it because they had pear filled pasta and I had loved that so much in Florence. It ended up not being great. We started with some deep fried veggies but they were just greasy and pretty tasteless. Then I had my pear filled pasta but it was not at all like the pasta in Florence. It was pear pieces, not pear puree, and the pasta was tough. Not a fan. Tyler, however, thought that the chicken he had there was magical. I am glad one of us liked the fancy meal. 

On our way back, we stopped by the Trevi Fountain. This fountain is a Lego set so I felt obligated to see it. And now I feel obligated to buy this lego set. It really is a beautiful fountain. For a grand price of $2 each, we were able to get in front of all the crowds and properly see it. Well worth the total $4 we spent. We threw a coin in the fountain and that means we will return there someday. We also drank out of the fountain at the side of it so now Tyler and I will be together for an eternity. Love all these superstitions.

On our way back we also stopped at Captain Candy where we bought some interesting candy (like a few gummies that were spicy (hot!) and a giant banana gummy) and we also stopped to get gelato- we really loved our Italian sweets.

Monday was our last day in Rome and we had no real plans. We had a very lazy morning and then went and grabbed some pastries at Regoli Pasticceria. 

Then we walked to Villa Borghese. We hadn't walked in that direction yet and it was much less peopley and the area looked very nice. It was really nice to see trees and be away from the crowds. There were some nice fountains and "temples". There was also this really fun lake that you could go row boating in but Tyler didn't want to wait in line to take me out. I think it could've been fun. Instead we ended up meeting the "European Forrest Gump" who made me quite uncomfortable. He looked shady and kept telling us about how too many people are worried about time and let it control them. He told us how he doesn't want to stay still but just wants to walk forever. We ended up looking him and he was legit but I still didn't enjoy feeling cornered nby him. He probably wanted us to give him some money or food or something. 

When he finally walked away from us, it was time for us to head back to our bnb. We decided to stop by the Pantheon on our way. We didn't have tickets and I tried to get them online but for some reason my phone was not working so we ended up just waiting in line to buy tickets. The line went quickly and we got to go inside the famous ancient temple. It has the worlds' largest unreinforced dome and an open ceiling oculus. 

When we finished looking around the Pantheon we were both needed to pee and were very hungry. There was a McDonald's nearby so we tried to go to the bathroom there. Tyler had success but I did not. There was a line of like 20 people for 1 stall and it just wasn't moving. I felt like the 35 min walk to our bnb would be faster. I also was feeling indecisive about food so we just started walking home. I felt miserable and crabby and it was not a great walk. I just wanted to cry. When we were about 10 mins away from our bnb, we found a pizza joint- Pizzeria Della Madonna dei Monti- that had good reviews so we stopped. This was a good choice. It had a bathroom and the pizza was really good. It was just what I needed. I was feeling so much better that I decided to get some dessert. I got a strawberry tiramisu because I was sure it was be strawberry flavored and not soaked in coffee but there was coffee on the bottom. So gross. I felt obligated to eat it all because it was very small. I will not be a coffee drinker anytime soon.

After that we pretty much were done with the day and spent the rest of our evening packing up and resting up for travel home the next day.

Tuesday our trip had come to an end, it was time to go home. We left our airbnb and decided to get one last croissant at a bakery we passed by on the way to the train station. This place we randomly stopped at was a total fraud and charged us $20 euros for 2 croissants and a soda. I guess that's what I get for not researching where to eat. After we grabbed our overpriced food, we went to the train station and then waited for our platform to be announced. They waited until the last minute and then we had to rush to our platform. There were no assigned seats on this train but it was pretty empty so we were able to sit in a 4 seater spot and put our bags on the empty seats. That was nice.

We got to the airport 3.5 hours early because I just can't help myself. It was a really nice airport and everything went smoothly, no line to check in our luggage and a very short line for security. It's so nice that you don't have to take your shoes off or liquids out anymore. Then, just like the trains, we found out gate numbers aren't released right away. Ours was not going to be released for another hour and a half so we got to do some more waiting. I got a sandwich and a drink and wandered for a bit at some point but mostly I just sat and waited. Tyler wandered a bit too and came back with a panda bear and giant lollipop for Ruby. She is spoiled.

Once the gate number was released we had a long walk to the gate. On our way there we saw a smoking room which I thought was just crazy, but I wasn't really surprised because a vast majority of the population in Italy seems to smoke or vape. The night before we ended up changing our seats from a row near the back, to row 6 since we didn't have much time to get to our connecting flight. It was a wise choice. The flight was short and went smoothly and they even gave us a sandwich. But when we landed we literally had 15 minutes before our next flight started boarding so we had to book it. Of course our new gate was on the other side of the terminal. It was such a long walk but at least the line for exiting customs was short. The only hiccup was that I tried to go up to the window with Tyler but the guy said to only come one at the time (that was opposite from how things went in Amsterdam, hence my confusion). I was bummed that we didn't get to hang in the Paris airport because they had some fun shops but we just barely made it in time for our flight. I was also bummed that I didn't have time to grab some food for our long flight.

For our last leg from Paris to Detroit, we had changed our seats so that we were behind the divider/wall. This was another wise choice because it really did give us a lot of extra leg room and we could prop our feet up on the wall. That was great. The only bummers for this flight were 1- I had started my period and had to use the claustrophobic bathroom more than I like. And 2- they never fed us! We were on the flight for almost 7 hours before they finally gave us food. We probably could have bought dinner but we didn't, because I figured there would be snacks. Seriously there were no snacks and no food for 7 very long hours. Only drinks. I reminded myself that I have fasted longer with church but when you are just sitting around- it feels like forever. When they finally fed us, they gave us a little bag with a sandwich, muffin, and yogurt drink. It felt like the most amazing meal in the world. Other than those 2 things the flight was fine. I spent most of it binge watching "Shrinking" which makes me cry and laugh in equal parts. It's a good show.

At 7pm we landed in Detroit. We had essentially been up since 1:30 am Detroit time so we were exhausted to say the least. This time, at customs, they wanted us both at that window. He was sassy to me about not coming up with Tyler and so I explained about Paris. He was like, "Well obviously we're not Paris." Super helpful. Anyways, our luggage took a bit to come down but Tyler's parents' timing was perfect. They got there right as we came out. When we got home Ruby gave us a good squeal and ran to us. She was my buddy again. It was nice to feel loved because she gave zero cares about us when we video called while we were away. The other kids seemed glad to have us back too. I think they had taken over a lot of the care for Ruby and she can be exhausting. That night Ruby woke up crying and to be honest. I think she was worried we were going to leave again. She clung so hard to me. 

It has been hard adjusting to real life. Cooking, cleaning and doing laundry for a whole family is not super fun. I had hoped to have my friend clean the house so I could come home to a clean house (I was going to pay her) but Tyler's dad said he would take care of it. His idea of taking care of it was moving all the kids toys to my parents' garage and vacumming. The rest still needed a good cleaning when we got home (and I had to bring the toys back). I am not upset that he didn't do it, just upset that he told me not to have my friend come and clean. I should not have listened to him. 

Jet lag is real and I have been pretty exhausted the last few days but I am finally starting to have more energy. Lucy also decided to take down Ruby's crib and make her toddler bed a couple days ago so that's another fun adjustment. We have to put up a baby gate so Ruby can't get into her sisters' things and another baby gate to keep her in the room. Super fun. But actually fun, Tyler got his company car, a GMC Acadia and it literally has all the trims. It is so fancy! I am so happy that he finally has the nice car in our family- he deserves it! Also fun, I got to hang out with Grace and it was so nice to see her and catch up on all the things. She really seems to care about the things I care about. She is a good friend. And other than that life is just being life.