Holiday Recovery

So much happened on our vacation, and though we really had a great time, I'm very happy to be home again.

Dec 22: We set out from Indy to Philadelphia, a 10 hour drive with only stops for gas and bathroom breaks, at least 12 hours with children. Arabella found the dvd player to be a huge improvement, and Michael and I could talk. Sabine was a good traveller, but we found she has only about a 9 hour tolerance for road trips. She began to howl when we were still at least 2 hours from Philly, and though we stopped to feed her, she was really unhappy about being put back in the car seat, and continued to cry. Being the turnpike, there were no places to get off for 70 miles, and by then she had cried herself to sleep. We kept going. When we arrived at our exit, I realized the ticket had gone missing, and it had slipped through the back of the cup holder into the dashboard. We pull up to the toll booth, and tell the attendant the problem, and he says "WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS ..." and proceeds to tell us in detail, at top volume, how we have to pay the maximum, but can get a refund if we submit some paperwork he has, but hasn't yet given us. As he launches into the explanation for the third time we hear a little grunt-whimper that signals Sabine is waking up and we quickly ask him to speak softly, he is waking the baby, and he responds "HEY, I GOT TEN KIDS AT HOME, DON'T TELL ME, I COULD REALLY YELL NOW" I thought 'and what, they're deaf?' while Michael thought 'hey, man, it's not my fault you can't keep it in your pants.' Welcome to Philadelphia, city of brotherly love.

Dec 23: recovery. There is much grandparently running about and cooing over the girls. Mommy knits madly to finish presents.

Dec 24: Santa (aka cousin Owen) arrives, and Arabella tells him she wants a watch for Christmas. "Really? says Santa, "what color watch?" Pink, she says. "No way!" says Santa, "I happen to have ..." and he reaches into his bag and pulls out a pink cookie monster watch! Arabella was impressed, and it made Santa's night. He later related that many kids he had visited that night had wanted things not in his bag, like Wii, or Island Princess Barbie. The Island Princess Barbie girl had actually thrown the gift from Santa to the floor saying, "NO! I want and Island Princess Barbie!" Poor Santa.

Dec 25: Now that Arabella is not waking at 5 am, it is easier to put off the present frenzy. She sleeps until 8, wakes to find Uncle Jim in the diningroom wrapping presents. I "find" the nutcracker that Santa left for her, and then we eat breakfast. Having slept with the cookie monster watch, she is not as impressed with the purple night glow timex from Grandmere, but spends the next week living in the purple bath robe from Memory (her name for Mimi, her great-grandmother). Christmas dinner at her other great-grandmothers house is much smaller than usual, and Arabella and Sabine are the only people at dinner under the age of 20.

Dec 26: Mommy and Daddy have a date. Michael and I leave the girls with Grandma and Pop-pop, and drive up to New Hope. We stop in at Twist (where I get some delicious aubergine yarn, enough for a hat), and then proceed into the town where we walk around, hang out at Starbucks, shop without purchasing anything, eat chocolate, and go to the Triumph Brewery for a late lunch. Michael has the lamb and feta sliders, which he says are delicious. I have a huge and yummy cheeseburger.

Dec 27: Arabella and Pop-pop go outside to play, but as it is muddy, they don't stay out long. Arabella uses her mittened hands to go digging for worms, reducing the brand-new, coral-pink fair isle lambswool/cashmere/cotton mittens from Fairly god-grandmother Nancee to what Pop-pop calls "worm mittens." I swish them around in detergent and cold water and return them to their previous pinkness, maybe a little less pristine but perfectly clean. Whew.

Dec 28: Drive to Pittsburgh. The longest bathroom break ever: the packed turnpike services, then A wants lunch but Burger King is out of everything, then S has a massive poop, then ... ugh. We get back on the pike, and it's an uneventful drive until we reach the outskirts of Pittsburgh. At rush hour, in a big rainstorm. And ... get lost. Get found again, get to Brian and Marie's house, everything is good.

Dec 29: Brian and Marie's son, Casey has his birthday party. It's a really fun day. Discover the camo knitted hat I made for him, despite being rather large, is not large enough for his big noggin. Unbind, and resume knitting. We try to remove Arabella's stitches (Brian has some Veterinary training), but never gets close.

Dec 30: Drive from Pittsburgh to Indy. Have to stop 10 miles from home to feed a hysterical Sabine.

Dec 31: Arabella has to have the stitches in her chin removed, so we go to urgent care where they were done. There is much screaming, crying, and struggling. And that is before the stitches come out. A nurse and I hold Arabella in a full-body lock while a 3rd nurse clips and pulls. After, Arabella says, "I still don't like it"

Jan 1: Snow. I make Hoppin' John, pork chops, green beans. We have a great dinner at home. I love being home with my family.