Recovery

Sigh. So, you all read about our super busy, yet fun trip. I whole heartedly agree with Laura's comment. With the "vacation", comes the recovery.

When we got home, Davis and Mia were very happy to see us. Davis has been keeping a close eye on us since to make sure we don't leave again. The young man who was sitting for us did a great job. I Be Streakin', however, was pretty mad at us. Usually, if he hears the back door open, he nickers. He didn't say a thing when we went out to check on him. In the morning, he wasn't at the fence for breakfast. He stayed in his stall all day, glaring at us from the doorway. The farrier came today (he's known the horse for years) and noticed how awful he looked. I explained that as weird as it may sound, he was mad at us. He stood quiet with his head hung low the whole time we did his feet. Just tonight, he started hanging out at the gate again when it was time for dinner. I'm sure he'll get over it, but I have to admit, I've not met a horse who is so human. I'm sure if he could talk, he'd chew our butts.

Allen took Monday off from work to help get us back on track. Even though his lab totally fell apart and suffered major mutiny while he was gone (yes, they called and paged and left voice mail on my cell during the trip), he decided he was going to stay home rather than go to work. We talked on the flight home about all of the good stuff we would get done. HA! We petered out and took naps.

We put Lexi down at the usual time and she chirped and talked for about 30 minutes. Once she was quiet, we laid down. She was up only an hour later. Hmmm, I say. She should have been exhausted. Allen goes in there and before he even calls for me, I'm at the door. I knew exactly what had happened. Lexi had taken her diaper off again. Usually, she does this after she's woken up. This time, she did it before she fell asleep. She also went poop. When Allen went in (I'm almost too ashamed to even write about it) she was kneeling in crusty poop and had peed all over the bed. Obviously, she had slept in it. Allen whisked her to the bath while I tried my best not to touch anything gross while stripping the bed. Everything including pillows, blankets, and babies went into the washer. I washed it on hot and twice. Allen scrubbed her clean. He asked me, "How do you do that when you're all alone?" Well, after pulling good amounts of my hair out, crying for about 30 seconds, and controlling my urge to beat the child, I put her in the bath and then get the bed done. "That must suck." You said it.

I was still dragging since I didn't get a chance to fall asleep for the whole nap thing, but Allen needed to get the oil changed on the car. He took off to do that and I asked him to pick up pizzas for one of my visiting teachees who I owed dinner since she just had a new baby. While on the trip, I had organized the rest of her meals (12 - is that a lot?), but had decided to do my part by making someone else cook and simply deliver. Allen got home around dinner time and he and Lexi ate. I wasn't feeling the Rice-a-Roni and chicken tender fare, so I opted out.

While in CA, I did 4 loads of laundry. Because of my lovely backside, I can only wear pants, capris, or other bottoms once because by the 2nd wear it looks like I've had an accident in my pants. Since I only have 3 bottoms, we did lots of wash. Allen and I thought we had it pretty much under control seeing as I did so much laundry at LaNell's. Amazingly, my closet is leaking laundry. It's like the blob. I put one shirt in and 3 come out. I can't believe it. In my house, the laundry has a way of getting washed, dried and folded. For the most part, that is the end of the cycle. We often lack the "putting it back where it belongs" part. The good thing about having so much laundry is that I don't have enough baskets to simply let it sit at the end of the bed until it's empty and start over. So, I put the laundry away. Lexi has gobs of clothes from our shopping trip AND Laura always offers her stuff from the girls that I readily accept since it's always so cute. Her basket is literally over flowing with new stuff. I'm sure we'll try to conquer even more tomorrow so that eventually I can see the floor in my closet again.

The chores are pretty standard so I guess I shouldn't complain about them too much. The pooping was awful and could have happened anywhere, anytime so the trip really isn't to blame. I guess what makes the normal stuff seem more daunting is the exhaustion traveling can bring upon someone. I'll admit: I'm feeling more tired than ever. I'm not sure if I've become a total weenie or if I'm just older or what, but I have zero energy. I've already started getting the ugly swelling from pregnancy so my legs and feet hurt something awful. Lots of people have said when the summer is over, it will get better and I hope so. If I am this bad at just barely 5 months, I'll look like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka by the time this is all said and done. I asked Allen if he was feeling good and he said he felt great. Yeah for Allen! He looked at me and said, "You're dead, huh?" Um, yup. Feeling pretty crummy.

As anyone who's traveled with kids knows, you don't really get a break. You just do your normal chores in a different location. Lexi did all right, but had a few (ok, at least a few a day) meltdowns. Mostly, she was overwhelmed and really sought out quiet time for herself at the end of the day. Everyone was very nice and understanding about it, but being away from home is hard for any kid looking for their normal comforts. I wouldn't call the trip restful. Productive? Yes. Allen really enjoyed his time. For him, the routine was different. He didn't have to go to work or worry about working in the yard. Even though he helped a lot with Lexi and was awesome to let me nap a lot, it was different for him so he got a break from the norm. I know that refreshed him. I don't mean to sound negative, but I won't go so far as to say I felt refreshed. I felt supported, but it was the same stuff, different day. I really enjoyed seeing my friends and family, though.