Sally's visit to Massachusetts

Sally Russell, my maid of honor, came up from Atlanta to visit us this past weekend. Grant loved her because she would pat his bum while holding him and he would fall asleep in her arms every time. Natalie loved her because hey, let's face it... she's a fun gal. In fact, twice now she said to me, "We are sad because Sally left." Yes Natalie, we are.

We had so much fun. Saturday, the five of us went to the New England Aquarium. Natalie said her favorite part was the penguins. They were SO cute. It was feeding time when we were there, so that was really fun to watch. I really like the big tank in the middle of the aquarium with various sea life swimming around. Big sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, big fish, small fish, and we even got to see a few humans floating around in there, strategically placing lettuce here and there for the fish to nibble on. There was also a great little tidepool touch tank for kids to touch sea stars, hermit crabs, snails, and horseshoe crabs, among other things. And, in typical 2 and a half year old fashion, she also liked to run up and down the ramp that surrounds the exhibits. She just wanted to run. She wasn't running to see anything. Just wanted to run. ("Ready, set, GO!")

Saturday evening, Sally and I went out to the Chateau at Dudley Pond. This place is hysterical. It's kind of a dump, but this bar serves the most AWESOME burgers and other pub fare. It was an old speakeasy long ago, and is set at the edge of Dudley Pond, right in the middle of a neighborhood. It's very random. I don't know who's in charge of zoning for the Town of Natick, but it definitely seems weird to have a bar/restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood! Every time Todd and I have been there, we have pretty much been the only people in there. Well, it gets packed with townies on a Saturday night! So after we ate and had a drink, we went to Cheesecake Factory for some dessert (red velvet for me, and PB Fudge for Sal!) and another drink before heading home around 10:30. We are SO old.

Actually, we came home because I'm nursing Grant and needed to "pump and dump." My left boob was really hurting, and I thought I would get some relief after I pumped. But it still really hurt afterwards. I was shivering when I crawled into bed... but an hour later, under a down comforter, I was still shivering! Something wasn't right... my left boob was warm to the touch and it felt rock hard. Because of the shivering, I knew I must have a fever or something. I also wound up throwing up in the middle of the night! So it turns out I had a nice little case of mastitis. I've got my antibiotics now, and I'm doing much better! Very strange. I felt better by Sunday afternoon and I took Sally to Friendly's. If you're in New England, you have to eat at Friendly's at least once. It's pretty similar to Frish's Big Boy (if you're from the midwest, you'll know what this is). They also have kick butt ice cream, which we also enjoyed! Todd stayed at home with the kids... and he did NOT enjoy the Pat's loss to Baltimore!

Sunday evening, Sally and I went out to see The Blind Side. Sally went to Alabama, who just won the National Championship in football... boo... War Eagle! We really liked this movie. I think 90% of New Englanders just wouldn't understand some parts of this movie... like how Sandra Bullock's character HATED Tennessee. It was fun to see cameo's (and some more than cameo's!) from Tommy Tuberville (wearing Auburn gear of course... not Texas Tech), as well as Nick Saban. Even though Nick was wearing LSU gear... Sally still had to cheer because he's Bama's coach now. It was a GREAT movie. Highly recommended.

On Monday, Sally and I went to Cambridge to eat at Bartley's Burgers across from Harvard Yard. DEELISH! (And they score mega points with me for having yummy Diet Coke!) Here is a pic of Sally and Grant in Harvard Yard after lunch. Sally and I kept joking that we felt very dumb compared to all of the smart Harvard kids! We didn't spend much time outside because it was REALLY cold out (highs only in the 20s) so we went back to Natick and went to the mall. I picked up a few pieces of yellow jewelry (a nice bracelet and some earrings) for Cory and Brianna's wedding. (I'm a bridesmaid!). Sally got a nice new sweater and some earrings herself!

Sadly, Sally went home on Tuesday. We are hoping to win the lottery so she can move into our house and become our nanny. Although I think she might have to fight Todd's sister Kathleen for the position, ha ha ha!!!