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the district

04 March 2014

I'm going to do it.
I'm going to put you through another trip recap.
I'm a sinner - you're a saint, I know!


Theo feels you.

After this trip I solemnly swear that I am not leaving the house for an extended period of time until luh-hoooong after the baby is born. So ... you're just going to have to suck it up and hold on tight or click out.

The last time I was in DC was a few months before our wedding for a bridal shower (and I really wish I had been big on capturing every blessed moment on cellular camera back then like I am today because my team was totally robbed of first place in the toilet paper wedding dress competition and I would've liked to offer photographic evidence for you to validate my retroactive cries for justice to be carried out) .... so it was kind of crazy flying in almost five years later with Patton child number three to my left and Patton baby #4 in my person on Sunday morning.

That's right.
We crushed Titan.
Simon got off work Sunday morning with ample-ish time to come home, change into his fancies, scrape the Odyssey down, and drive 30 MPH through the storm to the port where we did not miss our flight.


Nothing brings out the nervous in Simon like an airport and security lines and if I had a dime for every time I heard, "where is my boarding pass?!" .... when it is sitting in his right hand ... right where he left it 0.3 seconds ago ... I could treat you to a tall latte. He's starting to rub off on me and so we were a fun bunch to usher through security with the car seat and the stroller and the liquids that had to be tested and the laptop and and and and AND .... I don't know how we didn't just crumple up and cry when we brought three kids through back in September because one child was enough fun for a lifetime.

But we made it.
The security guards guessed that Theo was "2 or 3?" and tried to have a full on conversation with him. The 14 month old mute responded by gnawing on the security badge sticker they presented him and we just politely laughed and went on our harried way.


Just call me Aspiring Grace.

There were 80 empty seats (we were told on 80 different occasions by the gate attendant) so we let Theo have one of them.

Speed it up Grace - you haven't even touched down.

Basically with Simon off at his various conference duties and the snow dump that went down on Monday ... I've been pent up in our hotel room with terrible views ...


And angelic friends that risk their lives to trek through the snow to keep me and Theo company during this time of hardship.
 

Is it just me or is he looking retirement age all of a sudd?

I've been lapping up the television with channels and Oscar coverage like a little puppy ...


And Simon forced me to take some touristy photos this morning before he dashed off to his meetings on the big bad Hill.


Simon calls that his ball gown length coat.
I call this collage the "Capitol photo of the year" ... throw it in a contest and watch it dominate.


There.
Feast your eyes.

The big kids have been home loving life with my mom where they've been treated to trips to the grocery store with permission to use the little carts ...

(my mom reported that Sebastian just tossed whatever "looked good" into his cart and Julia didn't understand that you can't push the cart AND hold hands at the same time. I rest my anti-little cart case.)

Play-doh, Shirley Temple, Bambi and the list goes on, I'm sure. I keep telling myself they miss me but a brief chat with Julia on FaceTime tells me otherwise ...

Grace: "I love you, Julia"
Julia: "mm hmm"

And a little sampling of the texts from my mom who has proved herself a saint ...

"where are the attachments to your vacuum?" (no clue)
"do you have any vinegar?" (I'm not sure)
"does your garbage disposal work?" (no)
"where is Sebastian's tooth brush?" (Simon accidentally packed it)
"do you have any rags for cleaning?" (they're called baby wipes)

... I'm guessing my love for deep cleaning has become abundantly clear back at the homefront.

And now I'm off to not have a Holstein over the onslaught of emails from Southwest that keep pushing and pushing and pushing our flight back late into the night and then sending a, "just kidding! on time!" email to Simon who thinks I've certifiably lost it with my, "we're never leaving" texts.

Pray for Southwest. Or me. And Simon.

Thanks for riding it out.

(... we still have a few hours of trippage left so if you're in the mood for more Patton fun in the notsun and maybe a shot of Simon in his finery on the flight that may or may not take off ... go here here here)

25 comments:

  1. March forth! Can we just tell that to everyone all day today until someone gets the connection!?!

    Hold hands and push the cart - bless her heart....and I hope Bash thought the cuties "looked good" cause that is a mountain of awesome right there.

    Safe travels!! :)

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  2. love love love your blog! After reading one of your linked posts from yesterday (the almond butter whole foods excursion) - i stumbled across this blog post today and thought I should pass it along! Enjoy!

    http://www.hitherandthither.net/2014/03/making-maple-almond-butter.html

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    1. Great recipe!! Thanks Rachel! And agreed love love love Camp Patton!!

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  3. Haha, I love your mom! I'm traveling to Florida with my 16 month old on Saturday ALONE for the first time, and I'm NOT looking forward to it. I just imagine meltdowns at every corner, and she might also have a tantrum. I don't know.

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  4. Is it just me, or does Theo look a lot like Julia in that tub photo?? Maybe it's just because he's bogarting her fave expression. =)

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  5. HA! Thats what baby wipes are for hilarious and true but we'll keep that on the down low.

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  6. ...they're called baby wipes... hahahaha! I remember those days! I actually miss having a large tub of them always around because they sure did come in handy - for cleaning everything!

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  7. We're packing up our now 18 month old in the spring to move to VA, from where I will be flying back to CT with the kiddo by myself quite often. I have already bookmarked this and others from your travel posts for inspiration and encouragement!

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  8. Welcome to D.C.!! Glad you came in all our glory. :-) I'm surprised that the meetings went on, what with the whole city shutting down at the mention of snow!! Hope you enjoyed the quick trip!

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  9. hope you have made it home safely since this post!

    http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2014/03/chocolate-chip-cookie-redux.html

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  10. Love the Grace Travel Blog and your mama is a SAINT! I left my three with my mother for a work trip once - two lousy days - and I thought she was going to have a stroke before I got back. And mine were all potty trained and fairly self-sufficient by this point.

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  11. This blog post really made me chuckle, I only came across your blog this morning (new to all this blogging) I've since spent the majority of my day catching up on your life - lovely blog, lovely family!

    http://pixieronn.blogspot.co.uk/

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  12. Man...can you guys travel more often because this is highly entertaining!!! And that regal tub that king theo is bathing in is kind of great! Grandmothers hail from saint hood and I am sure when they watch our children they think to themselves, did I raise her in a barn? Because mine seems to think my house needs a deep clean, or a team of deep cleaners here on the regular every time she visits us in the tundra! What-ev-er!

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  13. Oh I'm so glad you guys were able to go on a trip together, just the three of you. I LOVE all these pictures of Theo, what a baby bear!

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  14. Baby wipes! I am glad to know I am not alone on this one!

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  15. Of course you came out here when it snowed! We had snow days Monday and Tuesday, and the government was shut down on Monday (look at those empty streets). Well, I hope you had a nice trip even though there was much less to do than there usually is.

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  16. You're too funny...and you know, that little guy does sort of look retirement age (all of a sudd--ha ha) in that photo.

    I also had 14-month-old boy children who looked 2 or 3. And 2-year-old boy children who looked about 5. I used to want to tell everyone their ages when they were misbehaving in church, so they wouldn't get so many disapproving stares.

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  17. i stumbled upon your blog and i'm laughing and oohing and awwing and loving every minute of these adventures with your precious kids :)

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  18. Leaving home with kids is nice in theory but stressful in practice. Example: My boss wanted me to go on a work trip to Charleston back in January. Okay sounds great. Charleston is beautiful. The hotel is awesome (and we were even upgraded to the concierge floor). But really. Really??? The two big girls were divided (and conquered) between my parents and his mom. The 3 month old bebe had the blow out of all blowouts on the way down. Said bebe was brought to several work related events (thanks Beco) and Papa manned her for the 2.5 hours she could not be attached to my person. Said bebe did not want to go to sleep and was walked up and down the halls during the final dinner. On the joy ride home, hubby decides to run the van down to a mere 10 miles before seeking out a gas station… after midnight. First exit. Nada. Second exit. Not a mile to spare.

    All that for one night away? Ummm….. I think I'd reconsider in a heartbeat.

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    1. ha!!! that does sound awful.

      I do love getting out of the house and I'm SUCH a sucker for hotel rooms .... so much clean!!!!!! But ... it's not always a blast with kids ;)

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  19. I'm sad to admit that I just discovered your blog but I am oh so glad that I did. Don't mind me just chuckling the afternoon away over here.

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  20. oh! i would so love to meet you, but i am sure that sounds stocker-ish. we live on andrews about twenty minutes from the capitol.

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  21. Aw! This made me miss DC! I don't really miss the snow... but, the pics of the Pencil, er Washington Monument, and Capitol make my heart swell. I used to drive into to DC almost every day for work and would be so proud to pass the Pentagon and then see the WM. I just love DC! :) Glad you had a good time!

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