Mama Escapes!

ATTENTION EVERYONE! MAMA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!!

And didn't come back for 2 nights!! WHOOO HOOO! Mummy and Toby held down the fort and took care of each other, plus the two dogs, two cats and numerous fish. Mama and BF Dawn packed their bags and headed to The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport (http://www.sylviabeachhotel.com/). We've been here numerous times. We stay in the womens dorm room where there are 8 bunks and communal shower/loo. It's hard to say what was the best part...sitting in the library reading for hours on end and staring at the ocean in between chapters, working on the insanely difficult puzzle in the communal kitchen, walking around Nye Beach and sampling mochas in all the coffee shops, getting to see our long-lost friend Michelle who is back from traveling the globe and is soul-searching while living in Newport (a dream in and of itself), spending hours with Dawn, calling my wee family and talking with an almost two year old about the "beach," or just plain getting away.

Toby and Mum had a WONDERFUL time and Mama was hardly missed. I'll let Mummy tell their adventures.

On Friday evening T and I chilled out, enjoying the house to ourselves. He didn't seem to miss Mama too much at all - although we had been talking about her going away for days, so I think he knew what to expect. I was a little worried when I went into his bedroom the next morning and had to tell him that he was stuck with me, but he took it well, and didn't say "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, etc." like he usually does when I go in to get him up and she is sleeping in.

On Saturday afternoon T spent a couple of hours following his buddy Jonah around all the equipment at Riverplay Park. We could have stayed longer, but the boys decided to play on one of the water structures with the big kids, and since it was only about 60 degrees, we decided that soaking wet toddlers should not stay outside in wet clothes.

On Sunday T and I took a trip down to Alton Baker Park to Mile 23 of the inaugural Eugene Marathon. We were planning to be at Mile 7 about 2 hours earlier, but it took us about an hour longer than anticipated to get out of the house. Of course the boy loved it, since running is his favorite activity. What better way to spend a Sunday morning (if you are not running yourself) than watching runners. We cheered on all the runners and I had to drag the boy off to brunch with friends. It was hard leaving the runners, and the boy had his first meltdown of the weekend as we headed back to the car. Thank goodness that Brunch turned out to be just the antidote. He was surrounded by friends who were adoring him, making him laugh and in turn laughing at his silliness.

We both missed Mama, but it was good to know that we could make it on our own for a weekend.