We survived

Just barely. It was a hard trip. Even though he hasn't said it, I can see the "I told you so's" rolling around my husband's mind. But lucky for him, they have yet to roll off his tongue. He knows I can hear those words in my mind.

Trip to Colorado:
Sit in a window seat, carseat in the center, old fogey on the end. Not an ounce of help from the flight attendents. Leif screams during takeoff. Barbara Walter's would flip, old fogey on the end would certainly flip, but in order to quiet the Leifster, out comes the boob. He is out for the 1 hour flight to Salt Lake City (and will.not sit in the carseat). We land and once again, not an ounce of help from a flight attendent with the carseat or anything. We hurry to the next gate on a different concourse. I stop for a yogurt smoothie on the way.

Check in at the next gate... not a single spare seat available, it is overbooked. (Not what the Delta rep told me.) So carseat goes down to be gatechecked and we are reseated to the aisle, near the front of the plane. When you have a baby (not yet a toddler), don't sit in the aisle. The aisle is my preferred place to sit normally. Best to have the window where you can prop and entertain said child. Sitting next to another old fogey, very close being on the side with only 2 seats. Leif has a fit, try to nurse in the aisle seat, but he is having none of it. Scream, scream, scream. We land and he has just fallen asleep.

Get the bags, mom comes up and grabs him, fussy boy wants nothing of that. :(

The week went by... Monday stay at the house to help fussy boy calm down and get used to stuff. No babyproofing at all, so we are busy fielding Leif, but he has the best toys ever... 2 cats to chase.

Tuesday we went to the mall in FC. Boring, but I found a few things to buy, of course. Lunch was Indian buffet and Leif entertained the tables around us. The Indian buffet was good, but not as good as the one that just closed here locally. Great grandma arrives.

Wednesday to the zoo. It was a long, hot, day. The zoo was great, seeing the kids was super, seeing my sister was good, as was my BIL. But it was WAY too long to be without a place for Leif to nap and in the heat. He had a mild fever, probably from teething. We left my mom's at 9am and got home at 8pm. Ugh. Leif had nowhere acceptable to nap all day, other than the car. Did I say it was hot? We got back to mom's and Leif had a complete and utter meltdown. He was NOT going to take his Nystatin, nor his Albuterol, nor Tylenol, nor teething tablets. I was at my wits end, with no help. Severe frustration and "why the hell did I do this?" set in. Couple that with family bickering.

Thursday after no sleep, we stayed at my mom's to let fussy boy try and recover.

Friday we ventured to Olde Towne FC, my old stomping grounds. Driving down College Ave I felt a sense of calm. I can do this. It was a great morning. We strolled Olde Towne, went to the Cupboard where I spent near $100 on goodies. Went to the Children's Mercantile where Leif got new Robeez and sunglasses. Went to the Aveda salon to stock up, hit the Right Card and down the street for sushi. Yum. However, Leif didn't care for the sushi place and meltdown ensued. We dealt. Back home, he would.not.nap. At 5:30 we headed out to dinner, after convincing everyone Leif does fine at restaurants. Well eat my words. Ok, he does fine if he can entertain people. Set us where he can't entertain and he melts down. Why are we here? Where are the people? You want me to put that in my mouth? Bah.

Saturday mom takes us back to the airport. The Delta kiosks we were "encouraged" to use despite my questions about the flight (is it full, do I have a spare seat near me, should I take the carseat or check it). No help whatsoever, I check the carseat.

Once at the gate I went to check the stroller and the wonderful rep there reseated us in the first row, with a window seat and a spare seat in between us and the next person. Heaven. Even the kid who sat in the aisle was wonderful. He was a college student and he picked up binkies, retrieved the diaper bag and helped me out, yet didn't want to chat the entire time either. So, so cool.

Land in SLC and am starved. Go to Pizza Hut and Leif and I share a cheese pizza. Find a "playground" and ignore the grime and potential germs on the toys. Repeating to self... "Leif is happy and playing, ignore the grime and germs..." Coat him in antibacterial liquid upon leaving. Board the plane, itty bitty thing back. No such luck of having an open seat next to me, but I have a window.

The poor man next to me got to SLC and his flight to Germany was cancelled. So he was flying home since he would miss his meeting by the time they could rebook him. He was happy. Until he sat next to Leif and I. Leif konked after a short nurse time. I figured the guy next to me had a 4 and 7 yo, he knew what boobs were for and how kids were. I nursed Leif. We are landing. I am a touch nauseated for some reason. I focus on the horizon. I now understand that statement of stomach in throat. It wouldn't go down. We land, a slightly bumpy landing, I know I will be fine now. Relax. Oops. Up comes the Pizza Hut lunch, all over Leif, all over puppy, all over armrest.

I am dying. No airsick bag in my pocket, nor the man's next to me. I can smell it, it stinks. Did I say I was dying? I was. The thing about now being a mom, I have the means to clean up any mess. I clean up Leif (no longer sleeping), wipe off puppy. The plane is deboarding and the man next to me runs, fast and far. I put my pouch on knowing that it is the only thing to cover my vomit soaked shirt. I am last off, get the stroller. Hans is waiting. He leans in to kiss me, "umm, I don't think you want to do that".

I am home. Sweet home. I love my house, my family, my dog. We are all back together in a babyproofed house.

Now if I could just get the apartment complex behind us to shut their damn irrigation water off (on for 8 hours yesterday according to neighbors) and quit flooding my backyard all would be super.