7 Quick Takes Friday-Philadelphia Edition

August 23, 2013

7 Quick Takes Friday-Philadelphia Edition

1. This past weekend, we celebrated the nuptials of our dear friends, Scotty and Tina, in their hometown of Philadelphia. This marked Tony's third and final gig as a ring bearer this year (heads up, folks; if any of you out there are getting married and need a ring bearer, you'd better book my son now. Clearly, he's in high demand). It was a beautiful wedding, the bride looked gorgeous, it was wonderful to see our friends again after 2 1/2 years...but to say that the weekend went off without a hitch would be a big, fat lie. Allow me to explain.

2. On Thursday morning, we packed up the whole crew and drove 3 hours to the Dallas Fort Worth airport. (Trying to fly out of Shreveport with two small children would have been a disaster. An expensive disaster). The first half of our flight was pretty painless. Tony was thrilled to watch endless episodes of Bubble Guppies on my iPod, and even more thrilled with the millions of snacks I had packed in my diaper bag. I nursed Alessandra whenever she got fussy. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. The last hour and a half of the flight, both of our kids were fussy and restless, and Tony kept announcing, "no more plane! no more plane!" So. We finally get off our plane, get our suitcase and Alessandra's car seat, and then we figure we'll grab our rental car, maybe find a small, kid-friendly restaurant to have some dinner? Ha. Hahahahahahahahaha. I had forgotten just how much fun it is trying to drive 3 blocks to the rental car terminal (in the courtesy shuttle, no less). It's 7:30 pm, we are stuck on an un-airconditioned bus for half an hour trying to get to the Hertz building. Then we had to wait another 45 minutes at the Hertz counter for our car (and we had a reservation!!!). Both Tony and Alessandra had absolutely lost it at that point. We finally made it to our hotel, looking like refugees as we checked in. Alessandra screamed like a banshee when we tried to put her in the portable crib, so for the rest of the weekend she slept in the bed with me, while Will and Tony crashed on the pull-out sofa. Otherwise known as "mama and papa didn't sleep all weekend."

3. We had some time to kill on Friday before the rehearsal and the dinner that evening, so that morning we loaded the kiddos into our rental car and drove into the city. I have to say, everyone really enjoyed themselves, and it was fun to explore a new US city. I loved Philly's Italian neighborhood (big surprise, right?) and I had my very first cheesesteak. With provolone. This girl doesn't do cheese whiz.

4. So...the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was quick and painless, and we were all looking forward to the dinner at the lovely Italian restaurant Scotty and Tina had chosen. Well, the food was delicious, and the company was fantastic, but once again Will and I were on borrowed time with the kids. (They are normally in bed by 7:30, not sitting down to dinner). Everything went okay for a little while, then Tony started to lose it. Will took him to the entryway of the restaurant, so he could sit on the bench and tell him a story. I was hanging out in the main part of the restaurant, listening to Scotty give a speech, when...the fire alarm went off. Everyone stops what they're doing, looks around in confusion, and even the waitstaff looks surprised. I'm sure you know where this is going.

5. A terrifying thought crossed my mind. "Sweet baby Jesus, I'll be a better person. I'll pray the Rosary every evening. I'll attend daily Mass. I'll volunteer at that crisis pregnancy center, like I've been meaning to for the past seven months. I'll stop swearing at people in traffic. Just please please please don't let that be my 2-year old who pulled the fire alarm..." nope. I turned around and looked at Will, who gave me a look of sheer horror. There was Tony, standing next to the fire alarm with a devilish smile on his face. Oh dear God. This cannot be my life.

6. Thankfully, everyone was gracious beyond belief. The bride and groom were laughing hysterically, the groomsmen all wanted to high-five Tony (for "doing the thing they all wanted to do since they were little kids"), the mother of the bride gave me a hug and assured me it wasn't a big deal, and the waitress was telling me-in between her call to the fire department to let them know that the building was not, in fact, on fire-that little kids pull the alarm all the time. I was apologizing profusely for interrupting the evening, everyone was laughing, and Tony was shrieking in absolute delight as two fire trucks came racing up the street, sirens blaring and lights flashing. "Two fire trucks!! Red truck! Fire men!! MAMA TWO FIRE TRUCKS!!!" At that point, Will and I decided to get while the getting was good.

7. So. The wedding itself? Absolutely beautiful. Beautiful ceremony, beautiful music, beautiful bride, beautiful reception, and an absolute blast on the dance floor. Tony and his godfather (that is, the groom) were totally busting a move, and we actually had a chance to mingle, have a drink, and eat delicious wedding cake before the wee ones started to lose it. Thank you, Scotty and Tina, for allowing us to be a part of your special weekend, and for forgiving us for *ahem* bringing your rehearsal dinner to an abrupt halt. Wishing you all the best in your new life together!