And we're back folks!!!

Well here we are vacationing in the Midwest and we are doing our best to relax. Unfortunately, it is difficult to travel with a baby and I am trying to chill out as much as possible. Given that I haven't really had internet for the last few days this may be a long one.

We flew in Friday evening. LM was ok on the plane, but was restless and didn't want to go to sleep. We finally made it back to my parents house after about 2 hours of driving and listening to baby screams for a good 1/2 hour.


Saturday Morning we had brunch with family and friends at the restaurant where Husband and I used to work/met. The food was good and it was nice to be in the old neighborhood again. We saw lots of old friends/co-workers and it felt weird to be around people who are still doing the same thing and existing in a life that you left behind so long ago. It made m happy that my life has changed so much....like I'm on the right track and not just doing what's easy and comfortable. I am getting more and more excited about the move to Portland and I think both Husband and I are in need of a new chapter.

Later Saturday we left for Minneapolis to visit Husband's family at SIL's house. The trip was trying and LM was not having the car seat. She hasn't been in cars much in her 6 months of life, but still I was a little surprised at her fits. We finally arrived in Midwestern suburbia around 6pm and said our hellos to the whole fam. In the past SIL and I have had our issues, but for some reason she is much easier to deal with when her husband is around....he and I get along great and he is hilarious. How he deals with her, but as guru says, every pot has its lid.

Now that SIL is finally pregnant she is a little easier to be around (and I can stop feeling guilty that my ovaries work better than hers), but at the same time she is somewhat annoying with her pregnancy perfection. She is one of those people who follows every pregnancy warning religiously no matter how minuscule the risk and you have to know all about her sacrifice. I guess it is partly because it took her 2 years to get pregnant, but still....when added to her judgemental, OCD personality it gets a little overwhelming.

Conversation we had during her last visit to NYC:
SIL: "I'm hungry"

Husband: "There's a hot dog stand. You want a hotdog?"

SIL: "I can't eat hot dogs!"

Me: "Really? Why?

SIL: "My midwife told me not to eat them because of the risk of _____(some very rare condition/disease related to eating bad pork).

Me: "Really?! I never heard that. I ate many hot dogs when I was pregnant."

SIL (in snotty voice): "Well, I'm older than you are and it took me two years to get pregnant, so I do what my doctor tells me!!!"

ok! jesus! Now I'm supposed to feel bad that I was born after you (and decided to start my family before 30 while you spent your 20's drinking yourself into oblivion) and that I have super ovaries? And I especially like the insinuation that I don't do what my doctor tells me because I am such a reckless mother....maybe I should have my baby drink some hand sanitizer to keep her germ free!

Sorry about that little outburst.....as you can tell, I have a little pent up aggression about the situation.

Anyway, the visit in Minneapolis was fun overall and it was nice to have LM spend time with MIL and GMIL (who was meeting her for the first time). We left Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon trying to outrun a large storm coming in. We didn't quite beat it and had to pull over at one point until the rain let up a little. Eventually we got back on road just in time for LM to wake up and scream for the next 30 minutes. We arrived back at my parents house in time for dinner and have been relaxing and eating our way through my home town....I know that it seems weird that living in NYC, I miss the food from a city with 250,000 people in it.

More to come...