Two of Us

Some traditions are too sacred for anything, even National Novel Writing Month, to interfere. One of them is Faux Thanksgiving, our annual get-together with our college friends up in Madison. Unfortunately, there is one thing that trumps Faux Thanksgiving, and that's Continuing Education for my husband. He had to attend a conference this weekend, but this was the weekend that worked best for everyone else. So I decided I'd go anyway, bringing Alex with me.

We drove up Friday; I timed the drive to coincide with Alex's nap time. Our hotel was near West Towne, so after relaxing for a while, we had dinner in the Food Court. Then we had some gelato, played in the Play Area, and customized a stuffed wolf for Alex (the wolf was costumed as a train driver, naturally.)

Alex did much better sleeping in the hotel than he had in the past. Perhaps he wasn't so bothered by the noises outside, or perhaps it helped that we were in the same room and not in a suite. I'd made sure to get a room with a refrigerator, since I brought along food and snacks for him. He enjoyed eating Froot Loops for breakfast; I hope he doesn't start asking for them here.

Saturday we visited the Children's Museum. This was our first time visiting it in the new location. I think Alex enjoyed the train running in the stairway between the first and second floors the best, though he also enjoyed building with blocks in Possibile-opolis. I went to one of my favorite stores on State Street but didn't find what I was looking for. We drove around for a bit so Alex could nap before the big get-together. He was still groggy from sleep when we got there (I had to wake him up), and for some reason he kept bringing my things to me. He didn't eat much (though he kept taking cookie bars that I'd brought), but by the time we left, he was in a good mood.

We were supposed to attend a Sunday brunch with our friends, but Alex wanted to go to the bookstore instead. So I took him, and we wound up getting him a couple of toys. (I have to admit it's nice that they're distracting him from some of his other toys. He has some cheap model trains that won't stay coupled and have parts that keep coming off; they're frustrating for both of us.) Then I reluctantly left Madison and drove to my parents' house so they could have some quality Alex time. Alex wound up falling asleep on both legs of the journey home. Eugene was happy to see both of us again, and he'd set up a huge track layout to keep Alex and his trains busy. It should be interesting to see how well Alex sleeps tonight, especially with the end of Daylight Savings Time.

Although the trip was a bit demanding at times,  Alex did pretty well overall. I even managed to write when he was asleep, both staying up late and getting up early. Even so, I'm about twelve hundred words behind where I need to be for today. Hopefully I can catch up.