back from the dead (not quite, but still....)

so now it's been 9 days since our household has been sick. Josh was late to the party and only got sick 3 days ago. By sick I mean, we all have the flu, Chloë has a persistent double ear infection, a cut on her cheek (not sick related, but it adds to the misery) and while Chloë and Josh seem to be on the mend (barely), I've had a temperature now for 7 days. You would think it could not possible get any worse. Right? I mean, what more do we need? We can barely function and I'm surprised Chloë is still living with us and hasn't decided to move out because we are just so out of it. I half expect that any day now she's going to grab the diaper bag (which she loves to do anyway) and skip her way on out. But no. She's still here, and as of last night I now have conjunctivitis. It is beyond gross and it only adds additional steps to our normal every day things to do that already feel like herculean tasks in our condition.

This is a sneak preview of our day:

-7am wake up as Chloë whimpers because her ears hurt and she's also hungry.
-Cannot go nurse her immediately because I have to change my clothes in case I stuck my finger in my dirty, germ infested eye, and then slathered it all over my clothes.
-Douse myself in purel.
-Nurse Chloë--may or may not get the chills.
-Josh comes to help with breakfast in case one of us collapses. Whoever has the lowest temperature gets the baby.
-BLUR for the next few hours as one, or both of us attempt to entertain Chloë until her nap time. Again, depends on how sick we both are.
-NAP TIME. A happy time...we all sleep.
-Lunch time...Chloë wake up, nurses, same routine as above is repeated to ensure no nasty conjunctivitis germs will get to her.
-On to her lunch...she barely eats, because you know, she's sick too, I almost forget.
-ANOTHER BLUR BLOCK OF TIME.
-NAP TIME. Same as above.
-Chloë wakes up, countdown to bedtime begins so we can all curl up in bed again.

So, yes, I'm still very much surprised Chloë is sticking around with us. We did sanitize the entire house a few times, so with any luck we should be feeling better soon. For now, I'm going to crawl back into my rock.

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nana's visit!

In between the hectic and chaotic month that we've had, Nana Karen came to visit and it was a great time!! We went for picnics, and lunches, and ice cream, and like any good grandma she also babysat while Josh and I went to the movies (yay for date night!) Thankfully, I only got sick (really sick..) on her last day here.

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because sometimes life gets in the way...

...and I wish there were more hours in the day.

Meanwhile, while my wish sits in the wishing well, here are some things that keep me sane.

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teething sucks

and that is why I now understand exactly why Chloë was so whiny and clingy all of Saturday. Three of her top teeth just popped through. When I looked on Friday, nothing, come Saturday night, they were all there, with a fourth on the edge of breaking through. If I had three teeth piercing through my gums, all at the same time, I might be a little bit cranky too.

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beach vacation part II

After recovering from a nasty stomach bug we thought we'd left behind, we were all ready to start enjoying the California sun by Thursday afternoon. What we ended up doing on Thurday pretty much repeated itself on all the days we were on vacation. And that's a GOOD thing. We laid out by the pool, played the sand, stood by the water's edge as the water splashed us, and had nice outside lunches, and relaxing dinners. Chloë LOVED the pool, and the ocean even more. Though getting the sand off of her took days, as we kept finding little grains of sand EVERYWHERE. How is it possible the sand got INSIDE her diaper? I will never know. What I do know is that I would be getting her dressed for lunch, and as I wiped her clean I'd look, and oh look! there's more sand near the folds of her thighs. Oh, wait! And what is THAT? Yup, sand in her ear.

Despite all the sand (eveywhere!), the California sun treated us well. That is, until Saturday evening when thinking he was in the clear, Josh was hit by...yup-you guessed it. THE STOMACH BUG. That one we thought we'd left behind, only to find it upon our arrival. That one we thought we'd finally gotten rid of on Thursday. That same one managed to give us all enough time to think we were free, allowed us some enjoyment during our vacation, and on Saturday night showed its claws, full force and took hold of Josh. It hit him at around dinner time, so thankfully by Sunday late morning he was all good. But still! We can't get over the fact that we managed to bring the bug with us from DC, and it survived for days until tagging the final member of our little pack.

Thankfully we did not infect anyone else with our special bug, and despite having been accused of bringing the plague with us to our nice family vacation, we kept it contained, and some people were even contemplating how to get our bug thinking they might use it to their advantage and lose a few pounds!

All in all, it was a trip to remember. If anything, Chloë's sheer joy at seeing the ocean for the first time, and playing with the waves and the sand totally helped me forget (am I seriously admitting this?) the hours of whining and whimpering in the plane and have me almost convinced those were just minor blips during an otherwise fantastic vacation. I could even almost be convinced to take another 5 hour flight with Chloë before she turns, oh say, 10 or 11 years old. We'll see.

Now, enjoy some pictures from our trip.


Chloë contemplating her next move at the playground by the beach.


Chloë looking all sunned out.


Us girls hanging by the pool. Chloë dressed like a nun as my mom pointed out.


Vovo with Max and Chloë.


Family picture on the beach (note the camera was propped up on a sand castle or something similar.)


Chloë very Jackie O-like.


(Mis)behaving at a fancy restaurant in Santa Monica.


Sunset in Santa Monica.

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our beach vacation (that almost wasn't) part I

staying true to form, Chloë almost managed to derail our vacation plans (again!) replaying scenes similar to those prior to our Christmas vacation. This time on Friday before our Wednesday night departure Chloë was diagnosed with an ear infection (yes, the same exact scenario as before...) but Dr. S. was confident she'd recover by Wednesday.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I went about my business over the weekend packing, planning, preparing, and getting all the STUFF we needed to bring with us together. There is an obsene mount of STUFF. I can't even begin to get into it, but if anyone is curious, I can send you my multiple packing lists which include: Diaper bag packing list, Carry-on packing list, and suitcase packing list.

Come Tuesday afternoon, Chloë got the green light to get on a plane for 5 hours, despite my increasing panic over how she'd behave. Our appointment with Dr. S. was at 4:45pm. We got home at 5:30pm and I was feeling good about getting a good night's sleep and departing the following the day. By 6:20pm Chloë started making some weird burping sounds, and as I sat her on her highchair for dinner, she spared nothing within a few feet and proceeded to projectile vomit EVERYWHERE. That lasted until about 10pm, when on an empty stomach, we put her to bed and I checked on her every half hour. The doctor on call said there was a stomach bug going around, that it would likely last 10-12 hours, and we should be fine to still make our flight. She had an uneasy night and barely slept, waking up every hour or so. She finally managed to nurse a little at 3am,and again at 5am. She woke up at 8:30am, and while she didn't seem sick anymore, she wasn't as hungry as usual, and wasn't her normal self. We called Dr. S. who said that if she managed to keep her breakfast and lunch in her tummy she was good to go.

We spent a nice leisurely day, playing and packing, and by 5pm we left for the airport. Chloë was a trooper and only got annoyed once we had boarded and she was starting to get overly tired and sleepy. She kept us busy for the first 2 1/2 hours of the flight, but surprisingly she passed out after whimpering for a while, and slept for the other 2 1/2 hours. She was happy as a clam once we landed, and even played with everyone once we arrived in LA. We got to the house at 11:30pm and by midnight I had nursed her and she was back asleep. All in all, not bad night, one would think.

Fast forward to 2:30am, less than two hours after I managed to fall asleep, and I woke up and was greeted by Chloë's stomach bug, you know, the one we thought we'd left back home. Suffice to say, it was not a fun night. My saving grace was knowing that within 10-12 hours, I'd be fine.

And thus began our vacation.

** More to come later...while we've been back for several days, things have been hectic, and hence the lack of blogging. I promise once life gets back to normal, I'll be offering more regular updates!

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in celebration (of world breastfeeding week)

August 1-7th is World Breastfeeding Week, and while I'm on vacation in California, enjoying the sun and beach with Chloë and Josh (pictures to come upon our return later this week), I'm still happy and proud to support WBW. I'm especially happy that I'm still nursing as it was an invaluable tool in helping calm Chloë during our 5 hour flight from DC to California. It has also been wonderful to be able to offer her some comfort and a link back to her daily routine while she adjusted to the time difference, the different crib, the multiple activities and the various people clamoring for her attention. She's been nursing often, and eagerly, especially when she gets uneasy, tired and confused about where she is and what we are doing so far away from home.

We go back home tonight, and there'll be lots of pictures to sort through, and stories to tell, and in between all of that, Chloë will continue to nurse.

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