A Brief Hiatus

So, after 35 days of blog posting, it really did feel pretty weird not to have posted a single thing for a whole 3 days.  And it isn't like I didn't have anything to say, but really, I did need a little break from, you know, thinking.  And so, a blissfully thought-less weekend ensued.  Sort of.  Action packed, and requiring very little thought, may be a better way to describe it.  And it was good.

I've now officially entered way-beyond-old-married-folk status.  Steve and I celebrated our (gasp) 19th wedding anniversary.  I used to have a hard time remembering if it was the 5th or the 6th of November, always reciting the Bonfire Night rhyme, "remember, remember the 5th? 6th? of November," and getting even more confused, but it turns out that it is not on Bonfire Night, and Bonfire Night is the 5th, so, by default, our anniversary is on the 6th.  Glad to clear that up.  I think it's kind of like how I used to not know my right from my left when I was taking horseback riding lessons back in 7th grade.  My instructor would tell me to turn left, then, upon watching me deliberately point the horse's nose to the right, would sigh, exasperated, and tell me, "No, the other left."  Not really the same at all, but it still reminds me of that innate, very difficult to remedy, confusion.

This weekend was also jam packed with other stuff.  Saturday morning, as Steve was out at work, I dressed Samantha in some fall-appropriate attire and sent her outside to play (woefully inadequately dressed in the name of fashion, hoping she wouldn't catch on and tell me how cold she was) so I could get some shots worthy of this year's holiday cards (remember Shutterfly's bloggy special to get 50 free photo cards?).  I succeeded, and have a beautiful design sitting in my Shutterfly shopping cart, just waiting for me to hit the submit button. 

I also hosted a playdate on Saturday morning consisting of 5 adults and 6 children (ranging in ages from 3 mos. to 5 years) crammed into my little house.  The party ended abruptly with a crash and the tinkly melody of breaking glass when Samantha reached for a bowl of fruit from the counter and forgot to catch it on its way down.  I have learned immense patience since she was born, not because she does many things that require it, but because I have learned that the little things (ie. the proverbial spilt milk, or broken bowl in this case) just don't matter.  Samantha was upset not because we reacted to the broken bowl, but because we reacted to a concern for her safety around the glass.  I hope she understood that.

Saturday night Steve and I got a rare night out and attended a friend's surprise birthday party at a winery out in the country, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  A lovely way to celebrate both her wonderful day and our anniversary.  The next morning brought yet another road trip, out to the Shenandoah Valley, to a place called Dinosaur Land.  Wow, what an interesting place!  Photos will follow soon, once I get a chance to unload my SD card.  Steve had run across it a few times while travelling out there for work, and thought it might be fun for Samantha.  We weren't there long, as it was probably the coldest day of the Fall so far (does the fact that Samantha actually asked to wear her knit hat tell you how cold it was?  You know, Samantha?  Who refuses to keep anything on her head for more than a few seconds?), but I'm certainly glad we went.  It definitely is a testament to Samantha's growth over such a short period of time as the last 6 months, that we wouldn't have thought her old enough to appreciate a place like that back then.  But we didn't even question the idea now.  Samantha knows what a dinosaur is (roughly), and has become more positively affected by each new experience (okay, so don't go running back to my post about the Pumpkin Pick in September and call me a liar, okay?).  I chalk it up to that whole new level of sentience I blogged about recently. 

I had thought that I may get a teensy, tiny little break in our weekend activities once Summer left us high and dry (and super-chilly), but it's beginning to look like the fun has only just begun.  Little Miss Popular has not one, but two birthday parties to attend next weekend.  One is for a little boy in her "typical" preschool class.  I'm pretty excited for this.  I think I won't be obsessing about this party as I have done at others in the past, comparing her abilities and activities too closely to those of typically-developing children.  I have seen so much growth in her, both physically and socially, over the past year that I feel pretty good, and more confident.  Not to mention, these are children she knows, and interacts with regularly.  The dynamic should be pretty fascinating.  I'm also looking forward to meeting some of the other parents of the children in that class.

Enough for now.  Must get this posted before I get too sidetracked and set it aside for another few days of slackerdom.