Assessing the Damage

Our vacation comes to an end tomorrow. Travelling with a 1.5 year old and a 3.5 year old is both exhilirating and exhausting! I don't think I have been able to stay up past ten o'clock a single night.

This was Jiro's first trip ever and our first trip with two children. We've been to San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, and Ventura. We've stayed with Warren's parents, Warren's brother, our friends Liz & Vanessa, and Warren's sister. Most of these abodes were child-friendly if not child proofed. However as I type this, both boys have black eyes as well as various other bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes.

The boys have caused some destruction of their own, nothing too major. Just enough to put our parenting on display and have our gentle discipline techniques questioned (even by ourselves).

Satchel threw a rock through Warren's parent's bathroom window on our first day.

Every time we entered a new house, no matter how many toys were in view, Jiro immediately made a beeline for the TV (and/or stereo system). Once he was pulled away screaming, he immediately located the various remotes and temporarily rendered the television, DVD player, VCR and/or stereo useless.

Satchel, who has been potty trained for over a year has been busy marking his territory all over the state--specifically on Warren's parent's futon, Cathy White's bathroom floor, Vanessa & Liz's brand new air mattress, cousin Natalie's trundle bed, and various beaches.

As much as we've enjoyed the beaches, mountains, family and friends, we've also missed some of the comforts of home.

Cosleeping has been much less appealing on the road. I have gone back and forth from sharing a twin bed with Jiro to sharing a queen size bed with Jiro, Satchel, and Warren. (There have been a couple nights of having a nice big bed with only Jiro next to me.) I've been popping ibuprofen daily to numb the pain in my neck.

We've acquired more crap than I ever thought possible. We have piles of toys, new (to us) clothes from second-hand stores, shells, rocks, dried seaweed pods...you name it. Most frightening of all, Satchel has somehow acquired five pairs of shoes. (More on that later...)

I will never travel without a laptop and a wireless high speed connection again! I've had blogging withdrawal! (But it is nice to have a bulging notebook full of scribbles.)Expect a slew of vacation reminiscences once I return to the office next week as well as a vacation picture flood! Also check past vacation posts for new pictures!