Photo Updates

Well, I've spent the last couple hours updating pictures on here and I've gotten all the way up to October! Hope you all enjoy them. Tomorrow we have a big day. I'm taking my car in to get the timing belt replaced, Quinn and I are going to a Halloween event at the library, Jalal has a chiropractor appointment, then we're all going to the Marriott together. Jalal has a meeting, and he wants to show off Quinn. If all goes as planned, he'll still be in his Halloween costume, so I'm sure the girls there will enjoy that. I'm not sure what we're doing on Friday, but I'm sure it will include plenty of candy (which Jalal and I will probably eat). He just bought four bags of mini candy bars, and I'm praying we get enough trick-or-treaters to eat it all!
So the weather is getting pretty chilly here now. Last night we had a freeze warning and tonight a frost warning. Jalal lit the last Duraflame log in the fireplace last night (which we've had since we lived in West Ashley). I'd love to say we spent a romantic evening together, but really we ate a pint of Phish Food while watching The Biggest Loser before he fell asleep on the floor and I got up and worked during commercials. So sad. We need romance intervention. Or a babysitter. Any volunteers? Well, I'm going to get back to work for another 20 minutes before it hits midnight and I turn into a pumpkin. Love, Us.

The Big Wedding

Yay! My sister is married! Our trip to Tallahassee went very well. We left Tuesday night and stayed in Macon, then drove the rest of the way the following morning. We got to spend a couple days with Trish and Wade, did some shopping for Quinn (still looking for cold weather clothes), and even went to dinner at Wade's parents' house. Shirley and Mike are so sweet, and Mike really loves Quinn. He took him out to see their goats after dinner. On Friday, Jalal left really early to go down to St. George Island and spend the day fishing with Wade and his best man. Turns out, a whole day fishing isn't Jalal's favorite thing to do. He's just not that outdoorsy. His face got really red, too, but thankfully it faded by the next day.

While the guys were fishing, I went over to Trish's house with Quinn to work on stuff for the wedding. Unfortunately, just before we got there, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Quinn had thrown up a little. I wiped his mouth and thought that I got it all. But when I went to get him out of the car, there was a little on the seatbelt clasp. I went back up front to grab a wet wipe, and he proceeded to throw up, significantly, two more times before I could get him out of the car. It was so bad, such a mess. It took me (and Trish) forever to get him cleaned up and then remove the car seat and take it completely apart to clean it. What a mess. So we were waiting for my mom to get into town. She was going to take Quinn for the evening while Trish and I went down to St. George to meet a couple of her friends for a "girls' night out." She only got lost once on the way to Trish's house. We put together some favors before Trish and I finished cleaning up the car and the car seat. We sent Mom (with explicit directions) to check into her hotel, after which she would meet me and Quinn at our hotel. Then I was going to drive back to Trish's and we'd leave for St. George. Quinn was starting to get hungry for lunch (it was already after 3, but he'd been sick), but I decided I'd let Mom take him when she got there. At least 45 minutes later, I called to see if she was close. She was lost. Why on earth she doesn't call one of us when she gets lost is beyond me. Instead she just drives around for a while I guess. Anyway, Trish got her back on the right path, and I went ahead and picked up something for Quinn to eat. By then, it was 5:00, past the time we were supposed to leave for St. George, which is almost 2 hours from Tallahassee. I kept calling Mom, but she got stuck in traffic, and it eventually took her an hour and a half just to get from her hotel to mine. I was so frustrated, and I felt especially bad for Trish. She couldn't catch a break. We finally made it down there, picked up Ali, and went to get something to eat. The girl who convinced Trish to have this girls' night didn't even get to the island until 10:30! Trish was supposed to stay with her and her husband that night at a family cottage on the island so she could be there first thing in the morning. Well, when she gets there, she calls Trish and says it's really bad and Trish probably won't want to stay there. This is where we were supposed to get dressed and take pictures before the wedding. So there are no rooms available at the only hotel on the island. Wade offered to let her sleep in the back of his truck in the campground (what an offer!!). She ended up staying with Ali and David and the girls (her flowergirls). Mom and I finished putting together the favors on our way down to the wedding the next day.
Getting ready went fine. Trish looked absolutely perfect in her dress and veil. We ran a little later than we'd planned because we had to wait for the friend who was doing our hair. But we (Jalal, Quinn, Trish, and I) arrived at the park at a few minutes before 4:00. As we were waiting for Mom, Aunt Jacquie, and Uncle Marcus to be seated before we walked up to the boardwalk (where we could be seen by everyone), Uncle Marcus got a call from Uncle Joe, which he gave to Trish. As if she wasn't stressed out enough, Uncle Joe said they were on the way and could she hold the wedding for 30 minutes!! She asked us, "What do I do? I have almost 100 people sitting on the beach waiting for me." I told her I didn't see how we could make everyone wait, especially considering they were out in the open and the sun was blazing. We just had to go ahead without them. I know that was tough for her, since Nani wasn't there, Aunt Linda wasn't there, Uncle Jay had called a couple days before to say he wouldn't make it, no other cousins were going to be there except Briana (who was with Uncle Joe and Aunt Polly), not to mention the fact that Dad wasn't there (in person). But Wade probably would have freaked out if he sat there for 30 more minutes. So we went ahead. Quinn was supposed to walk down with the girls, which he practiced pretty well that morning. But when the time came, it was Elizabeth, the younger flowergirl, who didn't cooperate. Addilyn tried to keep both kids in hand, and Quinn just followed along, but they weren't heading down the aisle at all. I had to come down the aisle again and bring Quinn and Addilyn with me while Elizabeth stayed with her mom. The rest of the service went great. It was very windy, so I had to keep adjusting Trish's veil to keep it out of her face, but otherwise it was perfect. I know I got teary a few times. The reception was very nice. Trish's new sister-in-law and brother-in-law provided the food: barbeque, beans, slaw, etc. They made two giant key lime pies for the "groom's cake" because that is Wade's absolute favorite. When I say giant, I mean they bought those giant clay platters that go under large flowerpots. They were probably two feet across. The wedding cake was beautiful. Her friend Louie made it for her and it was so classic and elegant. It also happened to taste great! So, altogether we had a great time. I will get pictures up as soon as I can, but as it turned out, we didn't take any with our camera because we were all involved. I'll get some from Trish's photographer when she gets back from her honeymoon, which is tomorrow. I can't wait! I have missed her so much. I want to hear all about the cruise they went on, which was 5 nights to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Man, I need a cruise after everything I've been through. If anyone wants to donate a cruise for us, just let me know!! Love, Us.

Anatomy of a Bad Day

So this is obviously much overdue, but I've been meaning to write this blog post for almost two weeks. Some catch up first: Our weekend in Charleston was nice. The worship was just what I needed, though it was bittersweet--and not for the reasons you would expect. That Sunday was the one-month anniversary of my dad's death, and the last song Tim and the band played was "I'll Fly Away," the song we had my dad's musician friends play at his funeral. So that was tough. I'm sure everyone thought I was just upset about West Shore closing, but it was so much more. Afterward, we had a huge lunch with a ton of people at a Mexican place and it was very nice.

The following weekend, on Friday, Quinn and I packed up Trish's wedding dress, two giant glass beverage jars, a "cake" made out of dish towels on a glass cake server, two strollers, a suitcase, a backpack, and 25 diapers. Then we attempted to drive to Tallahassee. I say "attempted" because this was by far the longest day you could imagine. We got off early, and though I hoped Quinn would sleep through the first couple hours, that most certainly did not happen. He was cranky and would throw everything I handed him, from toys to blankets to sippy cup. He even threw his pacis, which I really hate to give him anyway. So we got about halfway to Tallahassee before we stopped in Macon for lunch. I found a Cracker Barrel and pulled Quinn out of the car just before locking my keys in the backseat. Seriously? (Redeeming factor: Quinn, and my cell phone, was with me and not locked in the car.) I went inside and got the number for a locksmith. When he finally got there, it only cost me $45 of the $55 in cash I had on me. After a quick lunch, we got back on the road. Quinn did sleep a little after lunch, which helped time pass a little faster. We got to Thomasville, pretty close to the state line and Tallahassee, when I failed to move over a lane for a stopped police car. That's a nationwide law now, by the way, which if you knew, don't tell me. Jalal didn't know either. A very nice young policeman pulled me over. Aaargh! Quinn was quiet as a mouse the whole time, which was wonderful to not add to the stress. The cop explained what I did wrong and ran my license while I prayed and tried hard not to freak out. (Pretty successful, I would say.) The redeeming factor there was that he only gave me a warning, not a ticket. Whew. I swear that it will never happen again and pull away carefully. I call Trish, tell her what happened, and she said, "Are you ever going to get here?" I said, "No, I'll probably hit a moose next and total the car." (It was a pretty desolute area, so that wasn't outlandish.) Not two miles down the road, and still on the phone with Trish, I hear and feel what sounds like a rock caught up in my undercarriage. Then my battery light comes on. I tell her since I'm only 20 or 30 minutes from Tallahassee, I'll just keep going as long as it doesn't change. Then the check engine light comes on and the car begins to overheat. I pull over at the next possible place, a chained up gas station swarming with lovebugs. I'm on the phone with Jalal at that point, losing service as I say, "What do I do?!" I turn off my car as the steam/smoke begins to pour from under the hood. The short answer is that my serpentine belt broke (not a rock). Trish called her fiance, Wade, down from a roof somewhere and they both drove up separately to pick me up. It took forever to get my car up on the tow hitch because it sits about 2 inches off the ground. But what a nice thing to have my sister and Wade there instead of some sweaty tow truck guy. It was just about dark before Wade figured it out. Wade and Quinn got to ride back to town together while Trish drove me. So Quinn got his first truck ride and first front-seat ride. Wade and his buddy Roy fixed my car over the weekend, which was awesome, while I did bridal stuff with Trish (and my mom, who arrived Saturday morning). Quinn did not sleep well in the hotel, partly because he doesn't sleep if someone near him is awake. On Saturday, he had such a great time all day, even though he was only going on about a 20-minute nap. I was so impressed, until he melted down at dinner and we had to drive back to the hotel by ourselves while the others packed up the food and brought it to the hotel. Our trip home on Monday went really well. Quinn slept for a freakishly large portion of the trip, I found pretty cheap gas right when I needed it (but before I got desperate), and I only ate about 600 calories worth of candy to stay awake. Whew, what a trip. Remind me not to travel alone with Quinn ever again. It doesn't seem to work for us. And that is the "anatomy of a bad day."
Love, Us.