Today!

This is a Big Day. This is a Big Day because Blake is coming home! Finally, these two weeks of training are over, and somehow I survived!

Survived, yes, but thrived...not so much. Rory and I were doing tolerably well until Wednesday night, after some friends went home after a lovely evening of desserts. I got babycakes to bed and was reading a magazine, just about to go to sleep myself, when I heard someone fiddling with the lock on the sliding door in the master bedroom. Obviously, I was not okay with this, but told myself that it was the wind, or it was a squirrel. However, the noise persisted, a very intentional type noise. Occasionally the fiddling would stop and I'd hear a winding noise, like someone had a drill or something. That's when I called Blake and told him there might be someone trying to get in. He tried to convince me to call the police, but we settled on me calling his parents. Blake's dad was on his way over within seconds, and I got poor startled Rory out of bed, grabbed the shotgun, and stationed us in a strategic place upstairs. I was still hearing the noise, despite whacking the door and informing who/whatever was out there that I was quite aware of their presence. When my father-in-law got there, I got Rory and myself in his car, knowing that even if it was nothing, there was no way I was staying in my house that night. After a thorough investigation, Rich determined that it was unlikely a person had been in the yard, and that the culprit wasn't even an animal. It was a pair of June bugs. In my defense, I had yet to see a June bug this year, so the thought that it could have been them was not even in my head. However, the noises I heard were very consistent with the sounds a June bug trying patiently to enter the house would make- thwacking the glass, buzzing their wings against it, and even making the strange winding noise. And, for those of you who are not familiar with these disgusting creatures, they have a hard, beetlish outer shell that makes quite a bit of noise when it connects with a glass door. Rory and I spent the last two nights of Blake's absence at his parents' home, where we were safe from the June bugs. And I'm very glad I didn't go after them with the shotgun- that would have been a bit of an overreaction.

In other news, my sister-in-law had a birthday! I made her this super easy and mildly exciting ice cream cake. I'd say it was a success; in fact, I was commissioned to make another one for my father-in-law for his birthday next week. This time, I'm using coffee ice cream, caramel topping, and vanilla-caramel-brownie ice cream instead of what's listed in the recipe for a little variety.

Bethany and her swissroll cake!

Swissrolls, chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate ice cream!

 Speaking of cake, Rory went to the dentist for the first time this week! I didn't take her so much for her teeth, which look fine, as for myself- I've found that my daughter's oral hygiene is surprisingly unintuitive for me. Blake's uncle is our dentist, and he kindly demonstrated several ways to brush Rory's teeth, including a headlock and o variation where I pin her arms on the floor with my legs and clench her head in my lap. I think they will be effective, if I can just remember to brush...

How does she already know to be nervous?

I should get one of those lights for above her crib!

Now I'm trying to kill some time before Blake's expected arrival. I'm making ribs for dinner, which always makes me nervous. Ribs, corn on the cob, salad, and rice krispie treats will be the components of the welcome home meal! After eating airport food for two weeks, I'm sure he'll be excited. If the ribs turn out, that is...

Other things I'm doing to welcome him home:
- Making sure the house is clean, particularly the master bed and bath.
- Making sure the baby takes a good nap so she's not grumpy (she seems intent on foiling me on this one).
- Gave Aurora a bath this morning so she'd be a clean baby for Papa. Then fed her dry cheerios for lunch so she wouldn't get dirty. She may be grumpy afterall...
- Made the aforementioned rice krispie treats. However, I had some random cherry baking chips that needed using, so I mixed some in with the marshmallows. Thus the rice krispie treats (Blake's favorite) kind of look like a pound of ground beef. Lovely.
- Have the fan on in the living room and bedroom so they stay cool for him.
- Put on makeup and a shirt that he likes.
- Went grocery shopping and made sure the fridge has his staples: orange juice and cheese.

These may seem like insignificant and silly things, but I know they make a difference when he's been away. I like for him to get home and know that things were taken care of here while he was gone, and that we care about him enough to make things a little special in honor of his return.

What do you do to welcome back a long-away loved one?