Girls' Weekend

This weekend was girls' weekend!  Daddy took a couple of days out of town for a much-needed break, which meant big things for Hip Chick and Mommy.  This was the first trip Daddy has taken since Hip Chick's diagnosis, which also meant the longest amount of time Mommy has managed Hip Chick alone with a cast.  

First order of business was Friday night dinner. Luckily, one of Mommy's friends called with a generous offer to babysit, intending to give Mommy and Daddy an unexpected date night.  With Daddy out of town, we capitalized on the opportunity for a girls' night out!  

While I have treated our little hippie to mommy-daughter meals in her cast and/or wheelchair before, it has always been at unusual mealtimes, when I was primed for greatest success.  After navigating Friday evening traffic and eyeing the full parking lot as I assembled the wheelchair, I was thankful to be meeting a friendly face.  Hip Chick ordered her favorite meal and Mommy brought a couple of small sticker books to help with diversions.  As a sweet end to our meal, our friend had an excellent dessert suggestion... a pizookie!  It was girls' night out... how could we say no?  She was a little fragile by dinner's end, but I viewed dinner as a grand success.

While we had enjoyed an extra night or two of sleep this week, restlessness returned last night.  Both awakenings were mild, however, and averted the dreaded screming fit.  I considered this a gift.

Today was the big day.  With Hip Chick's upcoming cast change, I was uncertain as to whether we would be able to pull off trick-or-treating on Halloween next week.  Our favorite arboretum offered a full menu of autumn fun this weekend, and so Mommy grew determined.  

When I initially planned the weekend, it was uncertain as to whether I would have assistance.  The Rocky theme song grew stronger in my mind with each passing day.  Visions of multicolored pumpkins danced in my head.  An extended arboretum visit with the wheelchair, a spica cast, and a Halloween costume, swarmed by hay bales, a plethora of pumpkins, and ambulatory children? Could I do this?  

How could I not do this?

Fortune sided in my favor and I did have an extra companion for the outing.  It still required smart planning on my behalf.  My car was packed the night prior and we opted for a drive-thru breakfast for ease.  (Yes, I said "drive-thru."  Scandalous.)  We arrived prior to the arboretum's opening, to prevent a reprise of last year's parking debaucle- story better left untold.  Early parking and a smart space enabled me to assemble the wheelchair and my casted cowgirl in time to be in line when the gates opened!  Score for Mommy.

Wait... did I say cowgirl?!  You bet!  Just because she sports a giant cast doesn't mean she can't dress up.  Hip Chick has been emphatic about her character of choice for the past few weeks.  After a few strike outs, I found a Melissa & Doug cowgirl set which claimed to fit up to a size six.  It worked!  Hip Chick exclaimed "YEEHAW!" all day in the pinkest cowgirl fashion.  And she has a costume with which to play dress up for the next few years.  Score two for Mommy.

Thanks to our early arrival, we shared the pumpkin village with few others.  We had time for photos and a climb into Cinderella's carriage before the trick-or-treat stations filled with costumed characters and candy.

Soon, we were able to follow the candy corn stations through the gardens for our holiday treats!  Cinderella herself gave Hip Chick her first handful of goodies.

Most of the stations were accompanied by storybook presentations of holiday-themed history.

We bid the pumpkin village farewell just as the crowds began to swell and snuck away to other areas of the grounds.  Our highlight was the new children's' garden.  Our family had missed its opening due to its proximity to Hip Chick's September surgery and Mommy was determined.  Were we to come all this way... giant cast and wheelchair... and miss this "nationally acclaimed" spectacle?  I think not.

It was truly amazing.  We enjoyed the smells and sights of the eatible garden immediately after our entrance.  Hip Chick asked why corn stalks were correlated to gas pumps and wanted to see an oversized artichoke sculpture open and close.

Soon, we snuck away into the "Secret Garden." (Snuck?  Well... with the wheelchair, it was more akin to elephants stomping through a clearing- but that just sounds less poetic.)

We turned and twisted our way through tall hedges to reach an interactive display.  Hip Chick could not resist!

As she turned the crank, the sculpture above spun against a cloudy sky.   

We snuck past dragons to discover their guarded treasure: a very famous magical spectacle!

Could It be?

Who could resist?

We wound through the remaining displays to spy our solar system, a cave, waterfalls... we must return with Daddy and Big Sis!

We stopped at one of the on site restaurants for Hip Chick's lunch- a very smart move, as she had reached her limit.  Rainclouds began to creep over the gardens just as we reached our car.  She napped only for our drive home, which led to a slightly more volatile afternoon.  Floor puzzles, storybooks, sticker books, cartoons, check-ups, and more filled the later portion of our day.  It is nearly 10pm and she just recently relented for bedtime.  

As for Mommy?  I feel accomplished. And hopeful.