Without Marlowe, life was weird. Eric and I sat around trying to figure out what people without kids do. 18 months ago I was not pregnant or a mom— what did I do? How did I entertain myself? We tweeted, facebook, and texted asking what other people do. I mean, every weekend is relatively busy for us– but we wanted to try new things— things we can’t do with a baby. I wouldn’t call it the hugest success. Basically: we ate a lot of crap, stopped by a fruit festival, drove through the neighborhood looking for homes, watched excessive hours of LOST, ate more crap, went to a bar, played photohunt erotica until last call, more LOST, more crap, and some sewing. Sure we did a few things, but for the most part it just felt like we were sitting around, waiting for time to pass. We peeked into empty playpens and protected our plates like Marlowe was there. We were confused by the silence around us while watching mindless TV and searched for other distractions, like just sitting and watching TV was no longer enough.

Here is a bit of what we did:
We started with breakfast followed by a fruit festival.Β The fruit festival was weird. I was emotional &there wasn’t a lot of fruit. I put on a happy face, swatted bugs, and bought a bag of lychees– you know, all the things one is supposed to do a fruit festival.
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same outfit as before. why? why not! I like it. shirt: anthropologie. shorts: american apparel. shoes: sperry purse: grandmothers. hat: stolen from eric.
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the lipstick tree
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I was attacked by bugs. Always. Sigh. I know, I’m just so sweet πŸ˜‰
We headed back home &decided to do what most baby-less people probably do… First: eat junk without little hands reaching for plates (chili hotdogs and fried plaintains). Second: get in bed, and watch LOST.
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We had a beer together, of course while watching LOST.
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Β IΒ got dressed for the night— aka I left the same outfit on from earlier, but I put on boots and even some eyeliner. And of course: Eric was there to convince me everything would be fine and to entertain with goofiness. Went to see some music, drank another beer, or two, played photohunt, yawned, whined, cried, &went to bed.
The next morning life was filled with biscuits and gravy, couch time, and you guessed it… LOST. There was puppies and sewing and not much else…. a sore throat, a stuffy nose, &just a lot of waiting &clock watching. 3 hours left. 2 hours left. 1 hour left.
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And then the best thing happened: she returned. Eric came over. I cooked dinner in the kitchenΒ (potato broccoli soup)Β while hearing lots of giggles in the other room. I peeked out to watch Eric playing with Marlowe, &once again, life was basically back to normal.
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12 Comments

  1. Awwm such a sweet post! I have no clue what the hell I did before I had kids, but I can tell you one thing… I don't want to go back. =)

    And? I love LOST!

  2. You are an awesome mama. Marlowe is so lucky to have you. And you are so lucky to have found a good man like Eric. There aren't too many of those left, sadly. It melts my heart to see how sweet your family of three is. I am glad you have your baby girl back and hopefully overnights will not be an issue for a while.

    #teameric

  3. how much lost did you actually watch in one day? steve and my record is 8 shows i'm pretty sure. so damn good.

  4. It's true … children change you. I am not even a mom, but I'm in a relationship with a dad, and I can't remember what I did on weekends before they revolved around Ethan. I can't remember having inside jokes that didn't revolve around a two-year-old's vocabulary or antics. We are taking a day "off" this weekend to attend an adults-only wedding, and I'm sure it will be strange.

    Marlowe is so young, I think it's good that the overnights won't be happening again for a while. You must be relieved!!

    I don't think it's that life is empty before children, it's just that once they arrive, they change you so much that your new normal doesn't match up with what your prior normal was, you know?

  5. Looks like you had a great weekend even though you missed Marlowe. It's always good to miss them and then have them return. πŸ™‚

  6. LOST is such a great show. the series finale is so disappointing though. they definitely should have stopped with season 4 or 5.

  7. When I look back on my life before my daughter, I can't help but think it was empty… No matter how full your life is, or no matter how much you love it, have a child makes everything else less important, less vital. Whenever we get a "break" from our daughter, we miss her and talk about her the whole time! Hahah. The whole weekend must have been tough, I still haven't wanted to be away from my 2 year old for a weekend!

  8. the good new is, you made it πŸ™‚ and double yay to no more over-nights for a while.
    I just had a weekend with out violet AND jake. totally weird.

  9. I never know what to do with myself when I'm without my baby. I was so happy to read the part where you said "the best thing happened, she returned", because whenever I am away from my baby for a day, the best part is coming home to see her.