And the Mother-in-Law of the Year Award Goes to...

...Judy Stevenson!

But real quick before I elaborate on why that is, I must share this sweet picture of Lucy with her grandmas. Both grandmas have given much time and energy since Lucy came home with us by preparing meals, doing numerous loads of laundry and spending time caring for Lucy so I could catch up on some sleep. Thank you both! You two are such wonderful grandmas and we all love you!

Darin's mom, Judy ("Grandma") on left; my mom, Gail ("Mama Gail") on right.

Now, on to the award ceremony:

So, this past week, Darin's folks spent some time with us in our home to give us a hand with Lucy and to spend some time with her! They had been with us since Wednesday, and on Friday, Darin's dad got called away to stay with their other grandbaby who was sick and unable to attend daycare. So it was just Judy, Lucy and Minnie the puppy, and I for the day.

No sweat. We were all pros by now. So when Darin left for work, he brought Lucy to Judy and let me sleep as late as I could. And boy, was I just taking in that sleep and enjoying it as much as I could. I didn't show my face until 10:00 AM! It was beautiful... life was good. For me.

Poor Judy might have described life a little differently at that moment.

I was descending from my restful second-floor oasis (also known as the bedroom) when I happened upon the scene in the living room. There was Minnie. She was wet, she was wound up, and she was looking rather pleased with herself. I turned the corner into the living room where my sweet three-week old was fast asleep in her bassinet and where all the chairs and miscellaneous furniture from the kitchen had been temporarily displaced. Finally I continued into the kitchen to see a sparkling kitchen floor and a pale-faced, wide-eyed mother-in-law.

Judy proceeded to spill the story:

After having ample "Lucy time" in the earlier morning hours, she decided to surprise me by cleaning my kitchen floor which was filthy (I hadn't managed to clean it since Lucy came). Lucy was a sleepy head so Judy laid her in the bassinet and decided to let Minnie run around in the backyard (it was a beutiful day) to keep her out of the way while she worked.

After putting much work into finding a vacuum (which didn't work quite right) and having to experiement with my cleaning products before finding the right one for the floor she was able to get the job done and could finally see her relfection in the black and white tiles.

Just as she was wiping the sweat from her brow, she glances outside to see how Minnie was doing. As Minnie was not obviously visible through the back door, Judy stepped outside to look around and call for her.

She scans around the backyard... no Minnie. Puzzled, she checked the gates... all are in place and securely latched. She scans again, more carefully this time thinking surely she just hasn't spotted her yet when her eyes catch a tall skinny gap where a fence board is missing. Her heart skips a beat as she realized that indeed, Minnie has made her way out into the wide world beyond her backyard fence and is "who-knows-where?" and has been gone for "who-knows-how-long?". Feeling sure that the little fur ball has already met her sad fate at the wheel of someone's vehicle or has run well beyond our ability to track her down, Judy's heart was then beating wildly as she envisioned me waking up only to learn that my beloved pooch is lost forever.

Knowing she just couldn't leave Baby Lucy unattened she sadly began to prepare herself to reveal the unhappy truth to me, when walking driveway is our sweet next-door neighbor Miss Jane walking next to ANOTHER neighbor with her dog on the leash. A mud-covered Minnie (only recognizable by her happy-go-lucky trot) was cheerfully following her new canine friend up the driveway and right toward the front door of her very own house.

Following the joyful reunion Minnie experienced what was probably the most thorough bath she has ever received. So ended her adventure in the wide world outside her backyard. I suppose we'll never know all the fun things she did on her little joy run. It will be her little secret and hopefully she'll enjoy the memories... because we'll be ensuring that it never happens again!

Thanks for your hard work Judy! You are the world's best mother-in-law!! : )