This weekend, M and I had the very rare treat of taking a weekend to ourselves.  Oh, the freedom!

My mom and stepdad arrived on Thursday for a visit and to stay with the kids.  Thanks to impressive recall and liberal use of Skype, the kids had almost zero adjustment time when they got up from nap to see Grandma Annie and Brucie.

And then, Friday morning, M and I hopped in the car and away we went! Wahoo!  The wedding was on Long Island, so we drove through Connecticut with the requisite stop at Rein’s Deli.  Yes, the weekend completely trashed my weight loss for the week, but that Corned Beef Rachael was worth it.  Foliage was a bit past-peak, but made for a lovely drive.

The wedding itself was lovely.  Small, not too formal, and tons of incredibly good food.  Including a tower of cupcakes and an ice cream sundae bar instead of a regular wedding cake. (Again with the weight loss sabotage.)

Reports from my mom were universally positive.  She took them up to her sister’s house on the north shore, and the kids got to play with my cousins, throw rocks into the ocean, and generally have the undivided attention of about seven people.  No complaints or upset to speak of, they handled the new-ish people and a sleepover at my aunt’s house with no problems at all.  I did not attempt to talk to them on the phone.  At this age, I think it was just as well, as a phone conversation would have had minimal benefit and potentially unpleasant fallout.  And while the adults were generally too busy to take pictures, I did get a funny video courtesy of my aunt’s phone.

We came home late Sunday afternoon, and I braced myself for the meltdown.  We all know how it goes with toddlers.  They can be on their very best behavior with other people (seriously, my mom and aunt and stepdad couldn’t stop with the glowing compliments), but as soon as mommy returns, they lose their minds.  Clingy, acting out, all of the stuff they were holding in while you were away.

Or, you know, not.

They’ve been great. They didn’t turn on my mom the way they did on my mother-in-law last June (once we returned from our weekend in Maine, Rebecca refused to talk to her grandmother for the rest of the trip).  They were not in total meltdown mode for the rest of the night, or even the next day.  They’ve been totally within the normal range of their day-to-day behavior.

Anybody else want to get married?  We’ll be there. Without the kids.