Week's end

A few weeks ago Eric and I snuck off on a little getaway with our dear friends Brian and Lindsay. We met halfway between our two homes, in Asheville, N.C., where we spent the day at the Biltmore Estate. It is a magical place. In my pregnant state, I loved getting to see the room where Edith Vanderbilt gave birth to her daughter Cornelia, and where Cornelia later birthed her own two sons. Wouldn't it be incredible to be able to stand in the very place you entered the world, preserved exactly as it looked then?

Photography isn't allowed inside the house, but we spent some time walking around the grounds, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. From Seattle's Volunteer Park, to Durham's Duke Gardens, to Atlanta's Linear Park, Olmstead's parks have strung the cities of my life together. I'm guessing a lot of people can say the same. The whole trip, though just a little over 24 hours long, was restoring.

We returned home with gifts of old-fashioned candy and Biltmore grape juice for the kids, who had had their own adventures next door. I've decided that I'm definitely a short, but frequent person when it comes to getaways. No more weeklong trips every two years- I'll take handful of stress-free overnights anytime.

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Last night both boys had a birthday party to attend, so Eric, Marley and I seized the opportunity to go eat some meat without our two little vegetarians in tow. We headed to one of Atlanta's most famous places to eat: The Varsity.

When you walk in, you're confronted by a counter-full of impatient cashiers shouting "what'll ya have, what'll ya have!?" right in your face. Apparently that's the draw...I'm not sure why, but we had fun just being out together as a threesome.

Marley and I shared the double hot dog and fries meal, and Eric had the chilidog/ chiliburger combo with a side of onion rings. Then I remembered that I had once promised myself I would never again eat a hotdog while pregnant. Thank goodness for Tums...

After dinner we took Marley to Kohl's to buy her some much-needed new shoes. We scored the CUTEST little boots ever for 12$, thanks to my procrastination and Marley's willingness to wear sandals and flip-flops through half the winter. To top it all off, as we were paying for the shoes, I spotted a maternity store and "quickly ducked in" to look for some tops. Thirty minutes later, I emerged to find my very patient husband asleep on a bench with Marley running circles around him. I really do like him :).

We picked up the boys and everyone rushed to bed, so that Eric, little Eric and I could be well-rested for our "Sole-mates" race this morning. It was a 5K where, in honor of Valentine's Day, you could combine times and ages with your spouse. Eric and I had a combined age of 62 and a time of about 46 minutes, 28 of which were mine (and the baby's).

Little Eric AMAZED us with his speed! I reassured him at the start that I would be waiting for him at the finish line...but he was waiting for me! After I managed to catch up to him at the 1-mile marker, we ran together for most of the race, until he surged ahead at the end for a time of 27:27. He shaved FIVE minutes off his PR (the one other 5K he's ever raced), back in the fall. All in his Vibram 5 finger shoes- adorable:).