weekend trip to g-town

This weekend I planned an impromptu trip to visit my parents.  Col stayed home and dog sat for another one of our friend's dogs, also named Buddy, while I had plans to make strawberry jam with mom and go through all of my leftover childhood stuff that was still stored there (the rents are forcing it out now that we have our own house). 

First on the agenda: homemade strawberry jam.  We got the strawberries from a local stand, and went to work!

Now it's really saying something that I got this pic of us, as my mom usually shies from the camera
(thanks for letting me take this mom!).  I really wanted to get us in our aprons, but I was laughing so hard because she was shoving that cracker in my mouth while I was trying to take the pic!

Double batch - yum!

Next on the agenda: two trips to the hardware store to fix a leaky kitchen sink, where the nice man and my mom went back and forth with each other about what should be under her kitchen sink but what she was actually seeing.  My mom is the handy one in our family, so I believed her, but it was funny watching her try to show him a picture on her tiny non-smart phone and him explain his side of things.  After vowing to take pics on my phone and come back with what we found, we went home, took apart the sink, brought back the parts, and the guy was blown away by the fact that it was indeed different than usual.

Aside: on our way out of the hardware store the first time, we stopped by a beloved consignment boutique.  Mom found some gender-neutral onesies, which then led to a cute puppy bib that I had to get.  First purchase for future baby Leathersich: check!

Half the reason I came down: I tackled the one closet that I had stuff in at my parents' house.  You know, it didn't look like a lot, but once it was all out, man oh man!  Why do I have so much stuff!?  It was full of all that childhood memorabilia that you feel is important but as time goes on are able to part with.  I had fun looking through old papers, letters, notes, and school work (what a nerd, why did I save my school projects and work dated back to the early 90's?).  Then, I had to go through all the toys that I had purposely saved for future use when my parents moved to G-town 6 years ago.  Again, I was able to pare down what I still wanted by more than half, but it was sooo fun to go through (ahem, play) with them again.  Mom and dad made fun of me as I said which horses went with what tack or accessories, which Polly Pocket was my original, and we had fun pulling out old Barbies (with their hands partially chewed off from mice from their stay in the shed before my parents moved.  We had to pick an old mouse nest out of one Barbie's hair...needless to say, she didn't make it to the garage sale pile). 

Ah memories.  It felt kind of weird, and I didn't know where I fit for a bit.  Here I am, in the process of adopting a baby, buying my first baby-related items, and then going through old memories and toys.  I felt like an adult on my own with a husband, house, and dog, but then like a kid in the transition of childhood still living with her parents.  It was fun to do though, and I'm happy that while I did bring home a decent amount of stuff, I know that it's gone through, holds special importance, and will hopefully be used by our children someday!

Sunday after church I helped mom with the house while dad was at a benefit walk, and we trimmed, raked, and power washed the house.  It was a pain getting the stinkin' ladder where we needed it, but mom was happy with her power washing results, so that's what matters. 

Lastly, we were able to Skype with Zack and go through some of his old clothes.  It was hilarious holding articles of clothing up to the computer and seeing if he wanted to keep them or not.  We laughed a lot as our video feed kept getting stuck and looping us into ridiculous back-and-forth rapping motions.  It was probably one of the best Skype times yet.

I headed back early Sunday evening, and was enthusiastically greeted by hubby and pup.  While unloading my car, Mendon hopped into the front seat, and plopped down.  She refused to get out the entire time we were taking things into the house, and we eventually forced her out when we were done.  I guess someone wasn't happy with me leaving for the weekend without her!