Bad Mommy

Hubby had a wedding to go to/be in over Memorial Day and we decided that it'd be too much for baby Lu'au and I to go along. He went to play in the Mediterranean and we went to see my family in Michigan.

We had tons of fun with my family. We went to the beach (I love Lake Michigan) I went fabric shopping. It was very relaxing and good. Until... my mom got pink eye. Yup, Lu'au's Grandma got pink eye. You know, the one who had been holding her and playing with her all the time? Great. So she washed her hands a ton and didn't hold Lu'au for 2 whole days. Then... on the day we left, Lu'au got pink eye in her right eye with a vengeance. All the while, I got a sore throat. I thought it was due to drier air or something, and focused on baby girl's poor eye.

I'm not sure what exactly happened, but Lu'au's pink eye spread to the other eye. And she got whatever congestion junk I have. And the other day she had a fever. Fabulous. So she has to have eye drops every 4 hours. And off-brand "Tylenol" (Tylenol is bad due to the recall). Her nose runs so I have to suction bulb it clean. All things she HATES. She has trouble sleeping and eating. Aside from her eye drop/Tylenol regimen, there's not much I can do.

Oh, and did I mention she's only gained about 1/2 a pound since her 4 month appointment and she's now a few weeks over 5 months old?

I have a headache, an achy ear (do I have an ear infection?), and am tired from my own sickness and staying up with her...

I tried to call Tricare to set an appointment to get her ears checked (and mine too) for ear infection, but their computers are down.

Mommyhood = fail.

Oh Meijer, how I love thee...

A while back ago, Swiss Ms. was kind enough to send me her favorite Swiss treat (Choco Bananas!!!). I savored them (aka didn't even share them with CO) and cherished every bite. And then guess what I saw the other day - Meijer has them! Who knew!?!?!

Swiss Ms, I guess this is good news for when you come back to the states! I still like them from you better!

It's a small world...

Yesterday I was watching the morning news while getting ready and one of the stories talked about Michigan. They did the little tag and mentioned violence in Michigan. I rolled my eyes, thinking CO had more fuel for his Michigan teasing, but kept the tv on that station, my curiousity piqued. As it turned out, there was a story about a little town called Grand Rapids (lol) and a pillow fight held there over the weekend. I kept watching, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. How strange to be in Melbourne, hearing news about GR!

And then, yesterday on the train, I sat next to a couple of Brazilian women and their children. I got to practice my Portuguese. I'm getting kind of rusty at speaking - the words don't come to mind as quickly as they used to :( but I held my own and could converse pretty well. Funny that out of a whole train, I sat next to them!

Pics: Blueberry Picking

Before we left Michigan, my sister and I went blueberry picking at our friend's parents farm.

Different types of blueberry bushes... who knew?

Cannon to scare off the birds

Thanks guys!!

MMMmmm! These were some of the best blueberries ever!

Northern Michigan Escape

We traveled North from Petoskey to see the Mackinac Bridge - it was a beautiful drive!

Petoskey and Little Traverse Bay

Petoskey

One of the weirdest places ever - look it up.
A Polish guy carved everything out of wood and put it in a hotel.
Very strange.
It's kind of like Shrine of the Pines, only in hotel form.

One of the coolest places - Sturgeon Bay

Crystal-clear water

DH and I :)

The Mighty Mac

Visiting the Upper Peninsula - DH's first time!

Lol... Ironic, eh?

DH showing where we are
(he did this without prompting from me!)

Me eating a pasty

My beautiful Lake Michigan :)

Anniversary Trip

DH and I went up to Petoskey for a few days to celebrate our anniversary. We loved the town of Petoskey - it is adorable!! We had fun walking around downtown and eating at a good restaurant. The sunset was fantastic!

Petoskey

Berry Picking!

One of my favorite things to do in Michigan during the summer is pick berries (picking apples in the fall is great too!). I went today with my sisters and my nieces - so much fun!

She found it was as much fun to pick flowers as it was to pick berries

My new favorite thing - black raspberries!
They're soooo addicting!

Fourth of July Parade

The town where I grew up is known for its great 4th of July celebrations. 2 years ago, 11 days before we got married, I went to this same parade with my mom and sister. This year, we went again - in a 2 car caravan! What made it better was that we brought along a four year old and a two year old, as well as Marge's Donuts!! (It brought back the good old days when Amie and I used to skip weight training to go get them. LOL!) MMMMMMmmmmmm!

Chocolate with chocolate sprinkles

Creme filled Bismark - my favorite!

We take our parades quite seriously in Western Michigan

The girls

Time with Dadda

Isn't they the cutest little patriots?

Waiting for the parade to start...

Here it comes!

Silly Uncle!

Sisterly love

Apparently I'm very excited about the free candy!

Rich with "Captain Jack Sparrow"
(who we think was a girl)

Me with the Stanley Cup :)
Go Red Wings!!
(well, a fake one held by the Buffalo Wild Wings mascot)

In all, it was a great parade and everyone had a lot of fun.