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I realize I haven’t blogged in a while.  I’ll explain why.

The first week of August was spent getting ready and finalizing all the plans for an absolutely amazing surprise for my mom.  I had stuff to talk about but I was so excited and consumed with the surprise that I didn’t want to accidentally give it away in my blog since she reads it.

The second week of August was spent surprising my mom and that involved no computers.

We went home.

Stephen and I packed up Olivia and the dog and a few suitcases and drove the 600 miles to St. Louis to surprise my mom for a week.

She was floored.  It was awesome.

We’d been planning this trip in cohoots with my step-dad for a month.  How I managed to stay quiet about it, I have no idea.  It was SO HARD not to tell her we were coming, especially when she’d mention on the phone how sad she was that she was missing Olivia’s firsts and wasn’t going to get to see her until the fall.  I’d basically try to sound as sorry as possible all the while chewing on the inside of my cheek to keep from bursting out with the confession.

It was worth it, though.  She was so happy.

We spent a week on her farm and I got to see my brother and his family.  The cousins all got to meet for the first time.  My step-dad got to meet his granddaughter for the first time.  My mom dragged out photo albums and my baby clothes so I could take some clothes for Olivia and coo over pictures and compare them to my daughter.

Now, when I say no computers, my parents do own a computer – my old tower actually.  And they have internet.  Stephen even brought his laptop and hacked his phone so he could tether.  I just didn’t want to get on the computer.  I wanted to soak up as much time with my family as possible.  A week sans technology (except my phone) was pretty nice, actually.

I am ridiculously homesick.  I laugh at this because, when I was 18, I could not wait to leave home and get as far away as possible.  Here I am, twelve years later, longing to return so bad it hurts.  It affects my mood, which I hate.  I get grumpy or emotional and I know I can attribute it to my homesickness.  I see a commercial with a mom and her grown-up daughter and it makes me cry.

I’m such a girl.

Does this mean we will move to St. Louis?  Maybe.  I’d like to.  There are several hurdles to overcome before we could, though.  Stephen said he would do it, which makes my heart so happy.  I know it would be so hard for him to leave his family.  It would be hard for me, too.  His family is amazing and wonderful and you could not ask for better in-laws.  Seriously.  And they are ridiculously in love with Olivia – it would be heartbreaking to take her away from them.

Seeing Olivia with her cousins, though…

And her with my mom…

And seeing my brother again…

The obvious solution to this issue is to figure out how to fold the United States so St. Louis and Atlanta are right next to each other.

Or find that suitcase full of cash so we can have a house in both cities.

I like the folding idea better.

Aren’t my brother and I and our kids adorable?

On another note, aren’t I adorable?