Mommy Mondays: A Helping Hand

Most of the time I don't think about the fact that the majority of my family lives about as far away as possible (without leaving the continental US anyway; and then of course there's the French contingent, and at one point Sarah was in Australia and Aaron was in India and honestly, it's a little crazy around here). But then a relative will come into town (most notably a grandmother) and I realize how nice it would be to have family around for a change. There's the free babysitting, of course, but we're also talking about someone who still thinks it's fun to do bath time or bed time or even poopy diaper time, because they get to do it so infrequently.

Since John abandoned me for two weeks of language immersion, I invited his mom out to visit and spend time with Jack before we move to Russia in 2.5 months. Patti is awesome about doing the things I don't particularly enjoy, like playing outside in the heat for hours on end, or splashing around in the ocean, or chasing him around at the park. Turns out I'm really rather lazy.

I may have discovered the secret to Edward's hair: sea water.

 And then there's Jack singing John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" with Patti:

I'm excited for Russia. I really am. But I'm also really going to miss the occasional, brief relief only a grandmother can provide. And just so my mom doesn't feel left out, here she is with Jackie on our recent trip west:

Thanks to both my mom and Patti for being awesome grandmas (and moms). Love you both!