Wordless Wednesday a Bit Early

I'm posting wordless Wednesday a bit early since we'll be gone most of the day tomorrow...enjoy!!

Hmm

A while back I was contacted about participating in a study of families with spina bifida; at the time I thought it would be a great idea so I tentatively said that I'd do it. It was a relatively easy test, mostly just paperwork and a dna sample. I could do that, easily, right?

Well...not so much. Why not you might be thinking, it's very easy, you just said it yourself.

Physically this survey/study IS easy, emotionally not so much.

They send you the questionnaire so you can familiarize yourself with it before you speak to the researcher on the phone. It started out innocuously enough. Family history info, pregnancy details, general health of momma etc etc, but then they got to the harder questions. "Did you do x, y, z while pregnant?" "Did anyone in your family go prematurely grey?"(actual question-the answer to that one is yes :/) etc etc and it started to bring back painful memories from over six years ago.

I'd say that 98% of the time, I am completely and utterly at peace with Gabe's disability; I've stopped searching for answers and trying to find someone to blame for it. Long ago, I learned that there is NO sense in trying to find a scapegoat or someone to be angry with over our circumstances. Many nights after finding out Gabe was going to be born early (ON PURPOSE! Yikes) to have his back fixed, I tossed and turned worrying about the what if's and what did I do to cause this type thing. It was awful. It was quite frankly the worst part of my life and still continues to be to this day.

I have blocked out a lot of what happened in those few weeks after the diagnosis and the first few weeks of Gabe's life. I remember bits and pieces here and there, mostly because of what others have told me and from seeing pictures, which is both a blessing and a curse. Most of the memories of that time are NOT positive for me and I'm very glad I don't really remember them, but sometimes I wish I remembered more.

Reading all of these questions brought back the overwhelming grief and depression I felt when I found out about Gabe's diagnosis...and it made me wonder how long I'll be mourning what "could have been"? Like I said, most of the time, I don't even think about it because Gabe is a pretty damn amazing kid, but sometimes, just sometimes it sneaks up on me and I start to wonder just how things COULD have been and what I could have done to prevent all of this (and the answer to that question? Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. I took folic acid, I was very healthy, I had no fevers while pregnant, neither of us have a family history, I wasn't on any drugs while pregnant or even before conceiving him. Our doctor told us in some cases, spina bifida just happens and Gabe is one of those cases)

Thankfully these moments are few and far in between because I choose to focus on how amazing Gabe is and how he continues to astound all of us including his doctors continually. I focus on the positive and what HE can do, rather than what he cannot do...

A Good Day

We had such a good day today; I'm working more hours than I've worked in a long time, so I'm coming home from work and usually snoozing for an hour or two before getting into the swing of things around the house and with the kids (thank God Geo's on a mini vacation, I've been able to get used to being up at three a.m. four days a week again)

This morning, I came home from work, talked to Geo and the kids for a while, went up and took a shower and promptly started to doze off in the shower-WHOOPS. I took a two hour nap and then Geo and I took the kiddos out to the Texas Roadhouse for a nice big lunch. We had a gift card from Geo's aunt and uncle and were able to have a great lunch for three dollars :P

After lunch we headed over to see Geo's grandparents and their cat (I was reminded by both Gabe AND Bits that we were going to see Joy as well as great grandma and grandpa ha ha) They were in for a treat because grandma and grandpa were puppy sitting! Talk about heaven; we were able to catch up and then went and saw all the flowers sprouting in grandma's garden (I am *SO* jealous by the way. Makes my three tulips look rather pathetic :P)

We headed home and decided to play soccer, write with sidewalk chalk and plant some pansies. Earlier this week Geo treated me to a container of them to start my flower beds. They look so pretty; so bright and colorful. Thanks Geo :) We had a snack and settled in to watch some tv before bed. I have two snoozing children, a hockey watching hubby, and I'm heading to bed...three a.m. comes VERY quickly :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!!

We went egg hunting this weekend as well :P

Friday Five (a bit late)

Yesterday was an insanely busy day, so here's my Friday Five...on Saturday :P

1. What is your favorite blanket like?
It's a fleece blanket with Rusty Wallace on it; it was a gift to Geo many years ago from our friends Trav and Cindy and it's the best blanket EVER. I will seriously fight Geo to use it when it's cold; he always lets me have it even though it's *technically* his :)

2. What was the last thing you baked?
Baked Ziti and garlic bread

3. What television personality gets you most hot and bothered?
Anthony Bourdain, hands down. He's my cooking-traveling-even on Yo Gabba Gabba playin' the doctor-boyfriend.

4. When did you last burn yourself?
Last week on the stupid donut fryer *grrr*

5. What are your feelings about hot sauce?
Honestly, I'm indifferent to it; I don't use it but I know people who do *shrug*



We're talkin' 'bout the (hot)doctor, doctor, oh yeah we're talkin' 'bout the (hot) doctor, doctor

Thankful Thursday

This morning I am thankful for spring weather; the sun is finally starting to shine more, we had a gentle rain last night that is sure to turn the grass green, and flowers are starting to show themselves in our flower beds. I'm also thankful for spring break starting this afternoon when Gabe gets home and Geo having a few days off to spend with us while Gabe is off!

Baby Mine

More Thoughts on Food Revolution/School Lunches

I've been alternating between thinking about the food/health crisis we are facing in the US and the health care bill that recently passed. Rather than get too political (though, if you've read me long enough you KNOW how I feel about the health bill passing-no more lifetime caps on insurance, no more "pre existing" exclusions, insurance till the kids are 26-all good things for the momma of a special needs child to hear) I'm going to talk about food again.

I love to cook, I love to eat (hello big booty), I love to garden. There's not much about food that I don't love. Nothing brings me more pleasure than sitting down to a big meal, cooked from scratch that's sure to elicit "yummy" and "more please" from my family and friends. I grew up eating mostly farm fresh meat and eggs and fresh produce from the garden; certainly it was supplemented by store bought food, but what sticks out in my mind were the things raised by us, eaten by us. My grandmother even went so far as to raise our Thanksgiving turkey each year.

I think, society, as a whole, has lost respect for food. It's like being in a long relationship or marriage; yes we love the other person, but sometimes we get so comfortable that we take them for granted, lose a little respect for them and need a wake up call so we remember what it is that we love and appreciate about them again.

I watched "Food, Inc" on Netflix earlier this week; it was an eye opener. Yes, I realized that food was all processed on a large scale but I couldn't have even fathomed how large the scale was. One of the points brought up was this: McDonald's is the largest purchaser of ground beef in the US, as a result most ALL beef is made to fit THEIR standards, not our own. I'll let that sink in for a minute; the beef at McD and what you buy at the supermarket are one and the same (as a general rule) Do you think McD's beef is low quality? Heh.

Very few of us grow our own food anymore. A lot of people simply don't have the time, desire, or space to do so.(time and space are really just challenges to work around, in my opinion) Last year we built a four foot by four foot raised bed garden and were able to grow tomatoes, one lonely green pepper (ooh but was she tasty!) basil, and green beans. There was nothing more the kids loved than going out to find the reddest tomatoes or long skinny green beans. More than once, they would pop these finds into their mouths long before we got back to the house.

This year we're doing two four foot by eight food raised beds (at least that's the plan at the moment, they may end up larger) and a separate bed for pumpkins, squash, and bean tee pees. We figure it's going to cost us less than a hundred dollars to grow all the tomatoes, beans, onions, garlic, green peppers, and maybe even potatoes (not to mention squash and pumpkins) we'll need over the summer and hopefully they'll last into the fall as well. The advantages of growing our own food? For one, we know what's being put into the soil/onto the plants, we're saving money by not having to pay upwards to $1.69 a pound for green peppers (and even more for red!! jeez oh pete, red peppers are obnoxious...but oh so tasty!) and we're showing our kids HOW things are grown. I think most of this generation's children are completely out of touch with how things get to the grocery store. Showing them the process from seed to table is SO important. It'll teach them just how easy (or hard!) it is to grow food, hopefully making them more aware of the waste they are producing when they throw away food.

We're so lucky to live in a highly agricultural area; we can drive a half a mile in three different directions and be at a different farmers market. We have an apple orchard less than five minutes from the house, we have a vineyard ten minutes from the house, there are farms all over the place where we can buy beef, eggs, and milk. I wonder, if all schools, put a mandatory gardening or animal husbandry course into place if children would stop wasting so much food? If they'd appreciate the work and effort that goes into food? Would it make them more conscious of what they are putting into their bodies?

Before you scoff at my "lofty" ambitions I think it's important to say that I don't think we give kids enough credit. They are very bright and things we think they don't understand we are SO wrong about; they have an almost unlimited capacity for learning and understanding if we give them the opportunities to be exposed to them-opportunities which, of course, include healthy food options, whether at home OR school.

Just some things to think about...

It's just another manic Monday

Last night I watched Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" and LOVED it. For those who aren't familiar, Jamie Oliver is the "Naked Chef" He helped reform the school lunch program in England and is now on a crusade to help in America. He went to the unhealthiest city in America and is trying to help them get on track so their children won't be obese adults with a multitude of health problems.

I won't go into it further except to say that watching it last night, I kind of came to the realization that this is NOT a school problem (totally) it's a PARENT problem. These kids don't want brown rice and oven fried chicken drumsticks-why? Because they don't eat that sort of thing at home. Oliver asked the kids "what did you have for dinner last night?" Chicken nuggets, pizza, and cheeseburgers all topped the list

(a disclaimer: Friday nights in the Wit house are reserved for McDonalds-a bad habit, for sure, but we bowl and it's our "treat" for the kids. They eat well the rest of the week and are both healthy and happy-if they were overweight and had a multitude of health problems, then we'd talk about the problems with McD's once a week)

The schools give these kids "crap" food because their PARENTS give them crap food; don't get me wrong, chicken nuggets and french fries are NOT the devil, but they ought to be treated like other junk food-a treat, a once in a while food, not two to three times a week food. A lot of people say "well my kid won't eat anything else" (and I have a kid with food aversions, I get that) but there are simple changes you can make to healthier food choices.

Gabe doesn't eat a lot of meat, but he does eat beans, cheese, and low fat cottage cheese. His iron levels are great and he's probably eaten three chicken nuggets in six years. We love to eat spaghetti, but there's a ton of veggies in the sauce and we use fresh Parmesan for flavor rather than a ton of the canned stuff (which Geo loves, poor poor Geo his awful wife won't buy Kraft Parmesan canned cheese LOL) Quesadillas are a HUGE favorite around here---and they have grated veggies, lean meat, and vegetarian beans put into them to reduce the amount of cheese and up the nutritional value. Unsweetened apple sauce with a shake of cinnamon is a favorite around here, juice made from 100% fruit juice is all we drink (and even then, it's watered down) Potatoes are baked, not fried, including french fries. Veggies and fruits are a MUST at meals. The kids have their own water bottles and carry them around all day drinking from them. They drink 2% milk, chocolate milk is a treat and even then, it's not the premade stuff, it's what momma makes at home.

Until parents start accepting the bulk of the responsibilities for their childs' poor eating habits, the schools are NOT going to change what they are doing; they are simply feeding children what they are used to and what they'll eat...and what does that say about the parents of today?

Happy Birthday Nut Butt!

A very happy third birthday to my very favorite nut butt, Bitsy girl in the whole wide world, SarahAnne :) :) From an itty bitty baby girl to a big three year old, you're one of my two biggest accomplishments. Love you baby girl!

Thank you!!

A big thank you to great grandma and grandpa for their gifts to Bitsy for her birthday; great grandma is a quilter and has made all of the great grandchildren quilts. Bitsy's birthday present was a "dolly quilt" and it's GORGEOUS...take a look!

Friday Five

I'm going to try something a little different for Fridays; the ever so popular Friday Five. Questions are taken from www.friday5.org Since I'm just starting I am not going to be following the website, but rather choosing the most relevant or interesting (to me) questions!
Given yesterdays post, I thought these were appropriate :)

1. Of all the hundreds of sizes and shapes bread seems to come in, what is your favorite?
I like potato bread, sourdough bread, and my very own garlic Parmesan round bread. Please don't make me choose between the three because I can't do it.

2. What’s your favorite thing to eat with rice?
Chicken stir fry or beef and broccoli

3. What are your feelings about milk?
I rarely drink milk, since having Bits and not being able to drink it thanks to her milk allergy, I don't have a taste for it anymore. We don't drink a ton of milk anyway, a gallon usually lasts two weeks here.

4. What was wrapped in the tortilla you most recently ate?
Vegetarian beans and cheese

5. How many staplers are there in your house and where are they?(how in the hell does this fit with the food theme?? lol)
One, you can find it on my desk if you look hard enough.

If you do the Friday five, leave me a comment with the post and I'll check it out :)

School Lunches

It's been in the news all over the place; revamping public school lunches. They are laden with fat, high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients and colors, and they are slowly killing our children.

I recently discovered a blog written by an anonymous Illinois teacher about school lunches at her school Fed Up With School Lunch I started reading and looking at the pictures and was appalled. Are children REALLY being served this crap at school?

For those who don't know, before having the kids, I taught. I worked in a public school district for a year (never again) and then the private Montessori sector for many years. The lunches at the public school were pretty gross, but at least were prepared on site (Gabe's school trucks in lunches, twice a month for "fun lunch" otherwise there is no hot lunch at the school) The alternative to the hot lunch was bringing your own lunch which a lot students did. Some of them had actual lunches: sandwich, fruit, veggies, maybe chips or pretzels, juice and/or milk. Others were sent to school with a bag of Cheetos and a mountain dew (wait, what? YES, Cheetos and a mountain dew for an elementary aged child. Not a small mt. dew either, the liter size, not a small bag of Cheetos, but a LARGE family sized bag, for one small child) As bad as those lunches were, it was even worse when parents would bring in fast food every.single.day for their children. I was pregnant with Gabe and would literally gag because of the greasy smell coming from the office.

After public school I went to a wonderful, small private school where our menus were planned according to the continent we were studying and the children had a hand in participating in making lunches. We had all sorts of wonderful, fresh food. My old boss could cook collard greens like nobody's business and one of our parents was a former cook from Poland who made us the most amazing soups once a week and would also make kraut and sausage (which I craved when pregnant with Bits but cannot stomach now) homemade treats, and other lunches from scratch. We had teachers from different countries who'd make us traditional dishes from their countries and we always had fresh fruit on hand for anyone who wanted it. On more than one occasion, I brought in venison, processed by my father, to make dishes for the kids.

My final school (and thankfully the one I spent the least amount of time at) was another private school who trucked in their lunches. It was, in a word, disgusting. Lukewarm food, bland tastes, and barely nutritious. They had good snacks, for the most part, yogurt, string cheese, whole wheat crackers, but their lunches were sorely lacking.

Is there any wonder our children are failing in schools? In some school districts, the only meal some children get in a day are the hot lunches the schools provide them...and we're giving them a hot dog, cold veggies, lukewarm fruit in heavy syrup, and a chocolate milk? Is there a doubt in anyone's mind what is wrong with the system? How in the HELL are children supposed to learn with crap in their system? Never mind, that if this is the ONLY meal a child is going to get and they don't eat it because it's not appetizing, you've defeated the purpose of a hot lunch program.

Of course, the other option is packing your child's lunch each day and that's all well and good, for those who can afford it. For families living close to the edge, packing a lunch is just NOT going to happen. There's no extra money for anything, let alone to pack a lunch when they can get free food at school.

What can we do about it? Obviously, a change is not going to happen overnight, but it can happen. We need to, as parents, stand up and demand better for our children. We need to stand up and demand better for OTHER people's children as well. Gabe will be bringing his lunch every day next year because they don't offer lunch AND because he is the world's pickiest eater, but that doesn't mean MY responsibility ends there. In case you haven't noticed it, I believe that it takes a village to raise a child; just because MY kid is fortunate enough to eat a good healthy lunch doesn't mean others are. Never mind that if someone in his class is eating that crap, doesn't feel good and isn't performing up to standard, Gabe suffers as well.

What can you do in the meantime? Go to school with your child and have lunch; if you aren't pleased, write a letter to the school. Still not good enough? Go to the board. Get involved with your schools' parent government. Pack a lunch for your child with extra fruit/veggies so he can share with a friend who might have no choice but to eat the hot lunch at school. Ask the teacher if you can send an extra bag lunch for a child at school who eats the school lunch, maybe you could organize a luncheon once a month for the kids at school(or just your child's class) made with ethnic foods or locally grown foods. Ask your child/ren what they are eating at school, ask them what they like, what they dislike. Talk about good nutrition at home-sometimes foods, anytime foods, the whole bit.

The possibilities are endless...you just have be willing to actually DO something, not just sit back and bitch about it and expect someone else to do it. If not you, then who?

Thankful Thursday

This morning I am particularly thankful that the kids are close in age and will entertain one another quite often. Right now they are playing with legos and a tea party set, quietly without fighting each other and it's blissful.

I'm also thankful that SarahAnne is so darn cute and has a vivid imagination or we would have surely shipped her off to the gypsies already. She was playing in the mud in her NEW shoes (less than a week old, thanks Bits) I asked her "What were you doing in the mud?" She said "I don't know, I just got stuck!" "Where'd that mud come from Bits?" "I don't know, I think a guy put it there"
*shakes head* It's a good thing you're cute little girl...

Call Me a Sheeple, It's a Wordless Wednesday Post!

Was His Brain Turned?

Gabe, for those who do not know it, loves Abraham Lincoln; one might even say he obsessively loves Abraham Lincoln. He's always looking for new information on him and thanks to our good friend Jimmy (hey Sailor!) he's gotten quite a bit of info; even how his body was transported back to Illinois (on a train, the most exciting way, in Gabe's opinion, to travel, alive OR dead ha ha)

This morning we were discussing something (his shoes? art class? who knows?) and good ole honest Abe was brought up. Gabe said, "well you know, Abraham Lincoln (always Abraham Lincoln, he never calls him Abe or the Abester, or any variation, just ABRAHAM LINCOLN haha) was shot in the head" Then he made the head jerk motion that I suppose a person being shot would make, which was disturbing, not gonna lie, but anyway, as usual, I digress. I asked him who shot him and he said "John Wilkes Booth, did you know he was an actor?" I said yes, and then asked "why do you think Booth shot President Lincoln?" Gabe said "He didn't like him and he was very sick in the head" I said "What does that mean?" He said "I'm not sure, maybe his brain was turned and that's why he was sick?" I agreed, that maybe it was and it was too bad that he shot P. Lincoln, Gabe concurred then asked if we could go outside.

What a little weirdo; he can talk about Lincoln at the drop of a (stove pipe) hat and then go right back on to the next subject. I wish I spend even ONE hour in Gabe's brain, I bet it's the most fantastic thing ever. It would be going a million miles a minute and would be so entertaining.

This summer we are hoping to take Gabe to Springfield to see Lincoln's home and all the other various Lincoln things. We went through Kentucky on our way to see Geo's sister in TN a while back and at the welcome center we stopped at, there was a big sign proclaiming that Kentucky was the "Birthplace of Lincoln" Gabe couldn't read, but asked me to read the sign. He was VERY irate that Kentucky was trying to "steal" Abraham Lincoln's history and said "who cares, he grew UP in Illinois, that's where he's FROM, not Kentucky" and I swear, the child muttered for fifteen minutes about Lincoln and Kentucky. I just hope that a trip to Springfield doesn't end with us having a rail fence around the house and having to wear stove pipe hats; that would be unfortunate all the way around; none of us look good in those sorts of hats and rail road ties are hard to find :P

Holy Cow!

Gabe willingly allowed me to take pics of him this afternoon; I am still slightly in shock, especially since they turned out halfway decent! Of course, silly sissy had to get into some of the shots...but still! Gabe! in a picture! WILLINGLY!!

A Bitsy Photo Shoot

Gabe is still resisting pictures, however his sister is not...I wonder if she'd like some eggs with this ham??

Oooh What a Lucky Man He Was

Gabe saw his fancy-smanchy new urologist today (we've seen him once before, but it was a while ago) Gabe's bladder is relatively normal, of course he has some irregularities being that he has spina bifida and all, but all things considered-totally normal. He gave us some interesting perspective that I'm going to share with all of you...it pretty much blew our minds...

Out of all children with spina bifida, approximately 90% of them have OPEN lesions. Gabe has a closed lesion, which puts him in the ten percent of "luckier" children. Out of that TEN percent only 5-10% of those children can use the bathroom they way Gabe can. So, he's in the luckiest 5-10% of the 10% of the luckiest children with spina bifida...he's nearly one in a million (ok, not quite, but to us he is)

Pretty mind blowing, huh? That's what we thought!

Pass Me the Crunchers

Bits has her own language; she often substitutes words when she doesn't know the word to describe the item she's speaking about.

For example, popsicles are called lu lu's in our house. I have no idea why, but it's stuck. One day while grocery shopping, Geo yelled to "hey babe, do we need lu lu's?" Of course we do, we ALWAYS need lu lu's in our house.

The other day I was eating soup, WITHOUT crackers (Hey, why ruin a good minestrone with crackers, know what I'm saying?) Bits walked up, peered into my bowl and said "what, no crunchers?"

Listening to her speak is always an adventure, deciphering what she says is an even LARGER adventure. Half the time she talks I don't know what know what she's talking about and Geo has to decode or vice versa. A few nights ago we were talking about our favorite birds; SarahAnne said hers was a wood pecker. Geo, however, couldn't understand what she said. He thought she said weed whacker and was THOROUGHLY confused. I tried not to laugh TOO hard at him. After I translated he said "well that makes SO much sense than a weed whacker"

At least she keeps it interesting, right? Or as she would say "trestin" :P

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air in a BIG way in the Witkowski house; I've been spring cleaning-windows, neglected areas of the kitchen floor (that were previously covered by something), going through the kids' clothes for spring and summer, and you know, tackling a major painting project two weeks before having family and friends over for a birthday party for the kids.

Yes, I'm kind of insane. Scratch that, I *am* insane. SarahAnne has decided she no longer has a need for a bedroom upstairs with all of us. She's given up her sunny bright room, her ballerina clad bed, and her large closet to take up residence in the guest room *sigh* She's so strange. Of course, the guest bedroom IS nice. It's big with a high ceiling with a ceiling fan, a decent sized closet, and, best of all for her, a large queen sized bed. For whatever reason, the princess thinks she needs a queen sized bed to herself. For a lot of people this would probably be a no go, but since Bits rarely sleeps and has slept peacefully and for ten to twelve hours at a stretch since moving downstairs, I'm not fighting it...I'm just irritated that I had half of her room upstairs painted Tinkerbell green...

The upstairs bedroom is now a gorgeous pale slate blue. Almost a sky blue but with a touch of gray. I love it and can't wait to get white curtains and a border put up. Both of which will be done more than likely, this weekend, because as I mentioned above, we have company coming. Like I said...insane.

In addition to a double birthday party with approximately 20 people coming, I am also in the process of planning a large fund raising breakfast for the library. We're having it April 25 and anyone local who wants pancakes and eggs cooked by me (well, maybe, we haven't really figured out who is doing the cooking yet) should come on out!! We'll be having a silent auction with lots of goodies and you might even get to hear me read a story or two to the kiddos...fun fun. Support your local libraries people!!

And now...back to the never ending pile of laundry that is calling me...UGH

"You're My Best"

The other night, SarahAnne and I were having a bedtime snuggle; she was as close as she could possibly be to me without actually being on TOP of me (something she does frequently as well lol)with her nose pressed up against mine. She and I were chatting quietly when all of the sudden she took her nose off of mine, put her hand on my face and said "Mom, you're my best" I said "your best what Bitsy?" "My best fwend" she said, sweetly and quietly as she snuggled even closer to me.

Ah Bitsy girl, you sweet little thing...you're my best too :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for 36 degree weather, sunshine, and a chance to go to the park. We all needed to get out of the house and were finally able to do it! We're all feeling perkier and a bit more optimistic that spring is on it's way...finally!!

A Wordless Wednesday Post

Happy Birthday!!

Happy birthday to one of our favorite people, Great Grandpa Harvey!! Hope you had a hunka-hunka fun birthday :) Love you!!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

After a long train trip following an amazing weekend, I pulled into the metra station tired and sore. The tiredness only lasted a moment or two because suddenly a tow headed, gangly armed and legged six year old was running full force up to me yelling "MOM MOM MOM I MISSED YOU!" and tightly grabbed me around the waist (since when is he THAT tall??) He was followed by a smaller, female version of himself who yelled "MOMMA'S HOME" as she threw her arms around my knees. My hunky hubby stood back, surveying the scene, and as I walked, with two bags over my shoulders and two children attached at the waist and knees, respectively, finally gave me a welcome home smooch over the heads of my children, who very clearly missed me.

It was nice to get away, but even nicer to come home :)