Coming home is never straight forward

So I'm home. It was a great 5 days away with my friends in the Big Smoke. The flights were good - on time, without issue. Even the "red eye" on the way there, where I flew through the night. Thank goodness for the neck pillow that I bought the day before I left. I would have been one cranky traveller without it. The twist in the tale on my return journey was this:

A FLAT TIRE

I have definitely learned my lesson about flat tires. If the car sounds or feels in any way funny, stop the car and check for a flat. The funny thing is that I did stop and check and thought it was fine. So I carried on and of course, managed to wreck the tire. At least I stopped in time to not damage the rim. So there I was, in the pitch dark, on the side of a highway, getting set to change my very first tire, when a good samaritan stopped and did it for me. Thank goodness for kind husbands who know a wife in distress.

So I made it to the next town on the spare and called Papa to confer about my decision to stay the night and get a proper tire in the morning. A bit of a downer after travelling all day to get to this point, but a better and safer decision. So I was up early this morning and home by 10am with a new, used tire on the back of the car.

Everyone was happy to see me. Bean's focus was getting his surprise. Schmoo's focus was showing me all the surprises she had made for me (many drawings and muffins) and then getting her surprise. They were both pleased with the toy and stickers that I brought home for each of them.

We had a pretty quiet day. My friend D called just before lunch and offered to come and get Schmoo for a lunch date with C & H. What a treat! Bean was feeling kind of warm so it was nice to get him settled for a good nap. I even fell asleep with him in his little toddler bed. It is definitely time for an upgrade so Mama can give him a good snuggle. Schmoo came home around 2:30pm and we had a quiet afternoon. Auntie E arrived around 5:30pm with her crew to hang out for the evening with me while Uncle R is teaching. The kids played well, having fun running around together. Schmoo was so proud of herself when we took a group picture and she got to hold Baby R.

Schmoo's Favourite and Not Favourite Part of the Day

Favourite - Mama coming home, getting her surprise, playing with C & H and having candy

Not Favourite - none...and really with so many favourites, how could you have any not favourites

Thoughts on the Day

So tomorrow it's back to the grind. My trip away was great. I spent most of the time talking, as girlfriends do and it was nice to catch up with everyone. We did manage a trip downtown for some big city shopping, dinner out at a Thai restaurant and a movie. We stayed at a hotel downtown too, staying up way too late talking. It was just like a slumber party. I was ready to come home to my family though. Especially since we were staying at my friend M's house with her kids, it made me miss mine more than when we were in Mexico. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet month now. Time to get back on track with my eating and exercise for the final push to spring time! It did feel great to go shopping and buy a size 8 jeans though!