Whirlwind Weekend in Wetlanta

Y'all, we've been on quite the ride this past week. Quite the ride. It's been equal parts fun/excitement and stress/uncertainty. Let me back up to ten days ago...

Thursday late morning, my momma and stepdaddy flew into town. Kaiser and Porter were jumping out of their skin with anticipation of seeing Oma and T-Pa. They knew that they'd be getting their grandparents all to themselves for the weekend while Mommy, Daddy, and Malone headed down to Atlanta. After picking them up from the airport, we went straight home to eat lunch and play for a while before naptime. 

Practicing math in a workbook they brought along for him.
(I requested no toys, as they would have to be packed up soon!)

Getting some quality time together before we stole the girl away.

That evening was cra-zy. In addition to getting things together for our early-morning departure, we had three (count 'em, three) people coming over to purchase items we had posted on Craigslist. (Basically everything in our house is for sale; just make us an offer!) Amidst the packing and cooking and selling, the little people were having fun. We tossed Maloney B in the tub with her brothers so that she would be clean for her big trip to the South.

She's finally caught onto the fun of splish-splashing.

Once all the kiddos were tucked in, there was still quite a bit more work to be done. I wish I could say I was a great hostess to Oma and T-Pa, but I was kind of running around like a chicken with my head cut off, spouting off random reminders about the boys as they came to mind. I finally crawled into bed about midnight, my alarm set for just a few hours later...

Friday we rose well before the sun to make our 6:00 flight out of the Burgh. Our tiny traveler was cooperative as can be, considering I woke her about three hours earlier than normal. 

"Where we headed, Mommy?"

Fortunately, we had a direct flight that got us to Atlanta by 7:40. Between nursing, playing, and then eating her bananas and cereal, Malone did a great job holding it together, and only squawked a few times. 

Plastic cups are pretty entertaining to a 7 1/2 month old.

Someone's sleeeeeepy.

We managed to navigate the insanely huge Atlanta airport, and after a slight hiccup with the rental car, we were finally on the road. The first item on our list (after a quick stop at Starbucks for a pick-me-up) was visiting the preschool where the boys are enrolled next year, which is in downtown Decatur. I had emailed with the director several weeks ago and let her know that we expected to be there around 10:00; we were surprisingly just about on time. 

Happy once again after dozing on the car ride.

I'm thrilled to say that Brett and I love the school, and we feel confident that Kaiser and Porter will feel the same way when they start in August! A sweet member of the office staff gave us a tour of the classrooms, and we can't wait for our sons to start learning and growing there. It seems like such a caring, creative environment. We left feeling so incredibly blessed!

 One of the 4 year old rooms.

And a 2 1/2 year old room.

After our time at the school, we had a 12:00 appointment to view a townhome. Then we were hungry, so we went back to the downtown Decatur area to eat lunch at the Mellow Mushroom, where I decided it was time for our big girl to try out sitting in a high chair for the very first time!

"This is a lot different than the Bumbo!"

After eating her sweet potatoes and apples, we had yet another new experience when she was given her first Mum-Mum! Her brothers loved these rice biscuits, and I'd hoped she would, too. Sister wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so most of the pieces ended up on the floor this initial time.

We did figure out they were food, eventually.

Though we were eating at the Mellow Mushroom, I wouldn't really use the word "mellow" to describe our Baloney Girl, who was bouncing on her hiney and shrieking throughout our meal. Here's a short clip of her makin' a ruckus: 

From there, it was time for some more driving around/exploring before two showings we'd scheduled for later that afternoon.

"Let's go find a place to live!"

Our appointments went well (or at least, we thought so); we submitted a rental application for one of the houses, and were feeling really excited about it. We still planned to see as many homes as we could the rest of the weekend, though. By 5:00, we were all dead tired and ready to change into our pajamas and relax, so we drove to our hotel in downtown Atlanta.

Had to pose for a pic to send to Cousin Ellis back in OKC!

While Brett walked a couple of blocks to pick up Mexican food from Ninfa's, I enjoyed some precious time with this dumpling. She had been such a fantastic trooper all day, but you could tell she was elated to finally just hang out and play on the floor. 

"How bout we read some books?"

Girl wants to crawl so stinkin' bad.

Giggle-fest on the fluffy bed.

Just in case you'd like to see the Giggle Monster in action:

By the time Daddy returned with our yummy food, our travelin' baby was finally starting to lose steam. She ate her dinner, got changed into her jammies, grabbed her hippo lovey, and hit the hay pretty hard. We were able to set up her pack 'n play in the closet; though the doors didn't close completely, it was dark enough that she stayed sound asleep, even while we watched TV just a few feet away from her. Soon the busyness of the day caught up with us, too, and it wasn't terribly long before Malone's tuckered-out parents decided to call it a night, as well. 

Saturday morning Malone realized pretty early that she wasn't in her regular comfy crib, and she was ready to be outta there by 6:00. Less than ideal, but we dealt. The three of us hung out in our hotel room -- Brett and I searching Craigslist for more rental home postings and plotting out our destinations, the lil miss taking an earlier-than-usual morning nap -- then ventured out for the day. We drove around to look at a few places that had caught our eye. A couple were just not in the right area for us, one was straight up weird inside, and one was super cute and in a great location, but we didn't have any luck getting ahold of the owner. :( We also made trips to and from the spine hospital and the boys' preschool, just to get a feel for how much time we'd be spending in the car every day. Oh, and I must mention that the weather was not exactly conducive to house-hunting; it was cold and pouring down rain, all day long. (Our hotel valet apologized that we were having to experience "Wetlanta" instead of "Hotlanta".) 

A bit after noon, we headed back to downtown Decatur to eat at Victory Sandwich Bar. OhmygoodnessIaminlove. Seriously, our lunch was delicious. I had the Mile High Club, Brett had the Hambo, and we split the chick-pea salad and a chocolate chip cookie. It totally hit the spot, and left me feeling satisfied, not stuffed. One thing's for sure: Next year is going to be filled with lots of good food! There are so many restaurants right in the area that look and sound phenomenal. 

This chica happily dined on peas and Mum-Mums.

After lunch, we were so sick of being out in the rain, and Malone was clearly zonked, so we drove straight back to the Ellis, where we all took naps. I'd hoped she would stay asleep for longer, but by 3:30 or so Sister was ready to rock 'n roll again.

Instead, we brought her into bed with us...

...where she snuggled her daddy...

...and was a rollin' fool.

About 5:00, we decided to leave the confines of our cozy hotel room for dinner out. Unfortunately, we'd forgotten our umbrella in the car, and rather than ask the valet to go retrieve it, we thought it would be better to walk in the rain to our restaurant, which was several blocks away. (In our defense, we were under the impression that it was much closer.) 

"Let's do this."

We arrived at Max Lager's wetter than we would have liked, but eager to dig into dinner. It was good, but nothing over-the-top exciting; I had quesadillas, Brett had pizza, and Malone had prunes for the very first time. By the end of our meal, our tagalong was in a daze and clearly ready to be put to bed. 

Daddy strikes with the bunny ears.

As expected, Maloney was out like a light shortly after we got back home, and Brett and I spent most of the rest of the evening watching Breaking Bad on the iPad (which took about 3x longer than it should have, because we had such a crummy wireless connection in our room). 

Sunday we rallied early and checked out of our hotel at 8:15. Brett and I were pumped up about going to Passion City Church's 9:00 service that morning. Ever since learning that he had matched for fellowship in Atlanta, this has been something we've looked forward to most about living in the city. Passion City's pastor, Louie Giglio, actually played a huge role in Brett's and my meeting. I distinctly remember him speaking at One Day (a Passion conference that we both attended) in Sherman, Texas, back in May 2003. After hearing Louie talk about God's command to us to "go", I knew I was supposed to sign up for a mission trip to Acuna, Mexico, two months later. And of course, that's where the Braly love story began... :)

Anyway, back to church. It really was as amazing as we'd imagined/hoped. From the moment we drove into the parking lot and were guided into a spot near the entrance for Bloom (the ministry for babies and young children), to the conversations we had with volunteers while registering Malone and dropping her off, to the worship (We like it LOUD, we got it LOUD!), to the powerful sermon about generosity -- all of it left us floored. I ended up getting a text about halfway through the service letting me know Malone was ready to eat (which I totally anticipated); after nursing in the mothers' room, I decided to keep her until it was time to go. So, this sleepy sweetie and I caught the rest of the message on the TVs in the gigantic lobby. 

Sorta fragile, but she held it together.

We left refreshed and revved up; I think it's safe to say we plan to make PCC our home for the upcoming year. Then we went to -- where else? -- Decatur again to grab lunch before a few more showings we had scheduled for that afternoon. 

Hope to log some time in this Square soon.

By noon, the skies cleared, and it was absolutely gorgeous. 

Of course, someone was too tired to appreciate the view.

We decided to eat at Brick Store Pub, which had been recommended to Brett by the manager of a Mad Mex here in Pittsburgh. Again, we had a great meal -- a turkey burger and a veggie sammy -- and could see ourselves going back (especially my beer-loving husband). After a 1:00 appointment to see a house, then a 2:00 appointment to see another house, and finally an unexpected walk-through of yet another house on the same cul-de-sac, we were exhausted and d-o-n-e with the hunt. Brett suggested that we head to Starbucks for some caffeine, and since we had some time to kill before our evening flight, we took a leisurely stroll through Piedmont Park. At the tail end of such a dreary weekend, we were thankful for some time to be out in the warmth of the sun and just enjoy the city that will be our new home! 

I could get used to this. 

Walks are so much more fun when you're not getting soaked!

A little before 4:00, we headed back to our car to drive to the airport. Our plane didn't take off until 7:30, but we wanted to make sure we had more than enough time to return our rental, get through security, etc. We had time for Malone to nurse, then to play for a while, then to grab a bite to eat before boarding. 

Our Baloney was in a chipper mood. 

She started to fade during dinner.

I knew that we were risking a major meltdown flying with an over-tired baby that late in the evening, but at the time we booked our trip, we didn't have much choice. Malone definitely made her unhappiness known (quite loudly) a couple of times while we were in the air, but eventually did fall asleep for a decent stretch in Mommy's arms. When she awoke, she was very irritated, so Daddy carried her to the back of the plane and bounced with her for the rest of the flight. It was pretty much lights-out for the lady from there on out. She barely cracked her eyes as we got her tucked back in her car seat, put her in the car, and pulled her out of her seat when we got home shortly after 10:00. When laid down in her crib, she snuggled right in without making a peep.

Of course, Brett and I wanted an update from Oma and T-Pa on how the last three days had gone with the boys. We had chatted on the phone while we were in Atlanta, but we got some additional details about their time together playing at the park and the mall, riding bikes in the cul-de-sac, watching movies, and eating treats. The only glitch in their weekend was a dead battery in the minivan on Sunday, which kept them from a return visit to the playground and going out to dinner, but they rolled with the punches and improvised at home. It sounded like their two grandsons kept Oma and T-Pa pretty entertained...and maybe wore them out a bit, too? :) Then we shared more with them about our semi-successful trip, showed pictures and statuses of the houses we'd seen, and explained that we were waiting to hear about the house that we'd applied to rent. Dr. B had to be at the hospital early, so he said goodnight, but I stayed up talking with my mom and catching up on balancing our checkbook, unpacking, etc. 

Monday I was so happy to see my little dudes' faces again! I gave them both tight squeezes and kissed them all over; they didn't seem too phased by Mommy's return, and instead proceeded to tell me all about the fun they'd had with Oma and T-Pa. :) That morning Kaiser went to school, but I had sent an email saying that he wouldn't be attending extended session, since we had family in town. We picked him up at 11:30, then headed to the playground by the North Park Boathouse to eat lunch and soak up some sunshine (which the Burgh had gotten plenty of while we were away, fortunately).

"I'm in a glass case of emotion."

Happy to be back in the swing of things.

Kaiser and Mommy crossed a bridge to "go exploring" (and throw acorns).

This nature guide may not have all of his facts straight, but he acts like he knows what he's talking about. 

Porter came over to join us on our exploration.

Taking T-Pa on a tour of the Great Outdoors.

Not sure that dandelion is ready to make a wish...

Enjoying some snuggles from Oma.

They're crazy about her.

That evening after the kiddos woke up from their naps, we had plans to go out to eat at Burgatory, one of our faves. Brett had hoped to join us; however, he ended up having a crazy day at work and couldn't make it. We were told upon our arrival that it would be a 15-20 minute wait, but only a few minutes after sitting down, we got a phone call saying our table was ready.

Had to take advantage of this photo op while we waited.

Showing off his ability to jump on one foot.

As always, we had a fantastic meal. I'm not even a huge burger person, but theirs are pretty darn good. And don't even get me started on their truffled gorgonzola fries and caramel pretzel milkshake. Mmmmm...

Happy tummy, happy face.

No burgers for this beauty, but she didn't mind.

His "my lips are so cold from this milkshake" smile.

Soon after finishing, he said, "I wonder if there's a Burgatory in Atlanta?"

Needless to say, we all left the restaurant completely stuffed. Since it was already so late when we got home, I told the boys we'd skip bath and head straight to bed. Things were going well until, right as we were finishing our bedtime routine, Kaiser started talking back...and it was all downhill from there. I'm sorry to say that Oma and T-Pa's last night with us ended with them witnessing some horrid behavior from their grandson. Lots of tears from the boy, who didn't finally fall asleep until nearly 10pm. Some venting (and maybe some wine-ing) from his stressed-out mother, who had reached her limit. It wasn't pretty. :(

Tuesday Kaiser and I were happy to have a fresh start, but sad that we'd have to say goodbye to our special guests. We needed to leave for the airport at around 9:00 to get Oma and T-Pa to the airport, so our time left with them was short. You know what comes next:

Next time they sit on this couch, it will be in Georgia!

Oma & T-Pa,

We truly cannot thank you enough for taking the time to come hold down the fort while Brett, Malone, and I were gone. Kaiser and Porter were so spoiled blessed by the time with their grandparents, and we know they treasure the special memories you were able to make together. (Our only wish is that we'd had more time with you ourselves!) We can't wait until we are settled in Atlanta and you can come visit us there. Thank you, thank you, thank you for always loving us so well! Love you muchly.