2 kids and a wedding

We have been so spoiled.

In the Bay Area and here to some small extent, we've structured our lives around an amazing community of other families that socialize together. If we go to more "adult" events, we'd get a sitter (oh, how we miss Mickey!). So when Chris mentioned that his friend Brian's wedding was going to be very family friendly, we didn't think twice about throwing them in the car and heading down to Providence.

Fortunately, Kalian fell asleep in the car. Liam still usually naps in the afternoons, but the wedding was at 12.30 - we figured it'd be short, we'd have lunch at the reception and then nap him (Brian said we could use their place) or tool around Providence outside.

Oops.

First off, since we're not church/synagogue goers, we didn't really have any formal clothes for the kids. I brought a jean jumper for Kalian to wear but didn't want to risk her tripping all over the place in a new environment, so I kept her in her pants, which was remarkably less formal than everyone else there. Fortunately, the tuxedo pants that I got for Liam two years ago miraculously still fit him, but I had to match that with the cleanest t-shirt I could find. We were misfits from the getgo.

But of course everyone fell in love with our adorable kids at the wedding - or at least before and afterwards. I spent the entire ceremony chasing Kalian around. My plan was to breastfeed her during the actual ceremony to keep her quiet. That worked for about 3 minutes before she wanted to run around. Liam was asking very legitimate questions - quite loudly in his sweet voice, so Chris had to hold him and quiet him down while I watched Kalian go up and down the hallway.

The wedding was outside, fortunately, which dulled a lot of the kids noise. It started about 45 minutes late - and we were all getting hungry. Finally, aftewards, we wandered upstairs to a beautiful room overlooking the river. Kate (the bride) and her mother were so generous with trying to make sure we were all set up - they even had highchairs for Kalian and for Miranda, Mike and Debbie's 8 month old. But Chris and I spent the first 20 minutes going back and forth between the bar and the table with yummy appetizers trying to appease our hungry and cranky kids.

Unfortunately, it took another 2 hours to serve the meal. We should have left earlier - but we kept thinking they'd serve lunch. Normally, I wouldn't notice at all, but rather than be able to mingle with folks, we ended up making sure the kids didn't disrupt too many people or the fine glass, furniture and wait staff, who were not too happy with the kidlets. It was so exhausting. Kalian kept wanting to shake down a delicate glass structure and climb up a set of stairs and Liam kept whining for something or singing loud renditions of Justin Roberts - poor guy was exhausted and bored stiff. We neglected to bring any toys. We generally don't because we usually do activities that keep them involved.

Chris and I had to take turns eating, which was not very pleasant. During my turn to eat, I envied Mike and Debbie, whose daughter (they only had one!) was taking her nap. Oh, and to think we had it hard with one!

I finally insisted that we leave. I was about to lose it. So we ended up following Brian over to his house, where they were having people over for more food. It somehow happened that although I was spending so much time corralling the kids, I kept worrying that I wouldn't get enough to eat, so I actually overate, and was stuffed, so the thought of more food was nauseating.

Lucky for us, Brian had the DVD "Free to be you and me" - and Liam happily watched that - though I requested (hmmm....it wasn't as nice as that) that Chris chase Kalian around. When we're together, we tend to play man to man defense, and I usually end up covering Kalian while Chris covers Liam. Now that Liam is older, it's a much easier job, so I just needed a break.

We had Liam's running bike in the car, so I suggested one of us take him out before we head home - so he gets a chance to expend some energy. I was so tired and full that I didn't want to do it. Chris was right, however, when he insisted that it would make me feel better. I went down with my feet dragging, but it did turn out to be very therapeutic - to be walking at a fast pace - which I need to do to keep up with Liam on his bike - outside in the fresh air - with one kid! It was utter bliss. To top it off, so many people we passed on our adventure were so nice - and said hello - and even smiled. Wow, it was so refreshing.

We had meant to throw the kids back in the car by 7pm, but, of course, everything takes longer than you think, so I felt like I had to rally everyone to go - which I also resented. The last straw was that I was trying to get Kalian - who was stuck on the other side of a door. I couldn't open the door because she was right in front of it, and she was crying for me. It was very frustrating because there were about 5 adults sitting in the living room just watching it happen - hello, could someone help me out here? Only after asking, did I get help. I wish I hadn't been so brisk with everyone as we were leaving but I had no energy for niceties.

Ah, the quiet ride home in the car was utter bliss. I don't know how my parents used to take us to so many weddings growing up - my dad's students were always inviting us. I distinctly remember loving the cake and the dancing. We had cake that we were feeding Liam so he would quiet down (I know parent no-no #23), but maybe what was missing at Brian's wedding was the funky chicken.