A Diversion: Code BROWN

We're taking a slight diversion from the Vacation tales. These pics have nothing to do with the story, they are just cute ones I wanted to share.

Today's posting is not for the faint of heart! In fact, it is quite grody. It may be the grodiest thing you've read in a while. (sidebar: I am well aware the word 'grody' is straight out of late 80s Valley Girl speak, and I am well-aware that 'grodiest' is probably not even a word. But isn't it fun to just keep reading those two words and saying them in your head?!)

So, last night we had a pretty normal evening.. get home from work (oh- it's hot as all get out here- heat index of over 100 and half the city lost power last night- but not us Thank Heaven) around 6. Play with Eileen a little.. get some water boiling for pasta.. get a bottle made for her.. watch some news.. sit her down in her high chair to eat while Daddy finishes getting our dinner ready. Lately she just clams up and decides she just doesn't want to eat unless it's yogurt or cheerios. I decided maybe it was the highchair - bc the whole time we were gone and she ate on the floor or stroller she didn't once protest!- so Daddy drug out the portable highchair to see if the change of scenery helped.

Eh, it did a little, she decided she'd allow me to feed her some more. So then we're eating, and she did several poots. Eh. it's cute when a baby poots. Then it became evident that she was actually pooping b.c her face gets the color of a late summer tomato! So we let her do her thing and we finished dinner. Then I thought maybe she'd want to eat more since she'd made room in her tummy! She ate a little more and then she was done. Time for a tubby!

THAT turned out to be the understatement of the year! I unbuckle her, pick her up, and OH MY WORD. There is a mound of greenish brown POO in her chair. And on her leg. UGGGGGGGG. So I pick her up and have her at arm's length and am moving at mach speed to get upstairs to the bathroom to just dump her in the tub.

Thank Heaven we have hard wood floors.

So I am running thru the den, Josh right in front of me so he can start the water. In one nano second, but also in extreme slow motion, I hear ever so slightly 'PLOP' and then feel my flip flop sliding around on the floor. I freeze. Oh Lord, no. But Oh Lord yes. More POO fell smack out of her diaper and onto the floor! And there was splatter to go along with it! And to top it off Gracie was at my heels and then was fascinated by the mound, and evidently decided it would be a great after dinner snack. So there I am holding Eileen at arm's length, she's dripping poo and crying, and I am yelling at Gracie to get the hell away from the POO! Josh hadn't yet realized any of this was happening, and then was getting upset b.c I was yelling at the dog!

At this point I just laid her down on the floor. There was now poop on her toes! Those precious toes! I just start stripping her down, so thankful for easy to clean hardwood, Josh gets the dog locked in our bedroom and the tub running. Poor Eileen is crying and scared and can't figure out why I've just unceremoniously stripped her nekkid in the middle of the living room! I am somewhat mopping up the mound - at least the size of a baseball- with baby wipes and cloth diapers. Those things rock. I can't imagine using them as actual diapers- but as cloths/rags- fantastic! Those two however, went straight to the trash. I wasn't even going to begin trying to clean them. Oh, and my shoes. There were footprints of poo where I had danced around trying to figure out what the hell to do. I did have the foresight to take those off before heading up to the carpeted 2nd floor!

She and I made it upstairs and into the warm waiting water. Whew. Poor Josh was downstairs cleaning up the rest of the floor, my shoes, and portable high chair. And poor Gracie didn't know what to think; she eventually showed up at the tubbie with Piggie in mouth - bringing us her favorite toy to make it all better.

The whole event probably lasted all of 5-6 minutes, but it felt like ages. Once we got done with the tubby Eileen was back in high sprits, and I broke my 'no wine during the week' rule.

So, that was our eventful evening. Who said life in the burbs was boring!?!?

And no complaints about the ickyness level of this entry, you had fair warning!

Day One...

We are usually the nut jobs that take the morning flight at the most ungodly hour available~ usually the 5:45am flight out! This time, however, I did manage to use what is left of my brain power and book us on a mid-morning flight. Even with packing as much as possible the night before, and even with Josh and I being up at 5:30 am to allow plenty of time to get ready and finish packing, we were still somewhat rushing out the door to get to the airport in time!

I was obsessed with the TSA site to make sure I had everything packed properly for carry-on. I had my one-qt ziploc bag of my own liquids (yes, we checked bags. But I have a fear of getting stuck somewhere overnight so I always pack some essentials in my carry-on!), none over 3oz. Then I had Eileen's bag of essentials - also none over 3oz. And of course there was a separate ziplock bag of her formula (2oz bottles) and juice (4oz bottles) and benadryl (6oz bottle!). It was OK for me to have some of her liquids over the 3oz limit, and all were in orginal unsealed packaging - but even still- not only did it have to go thru the xray, it was also photographed. The TSA folks were very nice about it all- I am sure it helped b.c of my obsessive preparation- but this is an example of why it takes ages to get thru security- b.c the TSA people have to take pictures of Benadryl and Apple Juice. (of course, I of all people, understand why this has to be done, and I am certainly not knocking security measures, but it still boggles the mind).

We made it thru security, hung out in the terminal. Let Eileen crawl around as much as possible to try and burn up some energy! Josh was quite excited to now be part of the early boarders - "those with small children who may need extra time to board the plane." Flight from Knoxville to DC was a small plane, slightly cramped, but a good flight none the less. There was an 18month old in front of us who provided Eileen with a lot of entertainment.

In my booking prowess, I somehow only allowed 45 minutes between flights in DC. But Luck was on my side! We actually landed in DC early. That was cool..we could see the Capitol building, the Washington and Lincoln monuments. We flew over Arlington and the WWII memorial. I have not been to DC since I was 13; can't wait to take Eileen there someday. So we scarfed down some airport food (my $8 turkey sandwich was just divine) and had a quick diaper change and were off to the next flight.

The beauty of the DC to Boston flight was that it was the commuter shuttle. So you have a planeful of people who travel regularly. Translation: they know how to get on and off a plane quickly and effieciently. They know NOT to get up to go to the restroom as the plane is taxiing out of the gate (and therefore stop all action as we know it). They know not to use cell phones and ipods during takeoff and landing. Really, a pleasant experience. We had a whole row to ourselves which was nice for spreading out. As you see in teh first picture, Eileen passed out in my arms. That was right after she learned she could raise and lower the window shade. Mommy stopped that little activity right away b.c it was loud and I didn't want to be that parent!

We made it to Boston, got our bags amazingly fast. Grandpa and Beanie had already gone on to the rental car place and were heading back to the terminal to get us. Delta managed to lose Grandpa's luggage (but not Beanie's- how does that happen?!).

What should have been a quick trip to New Hampshire turned into a traffic jam, but we eventually made it there. Eileen got a tad fussy but nothing a bottle couldn't fix! Granpa and Daddy went to the store to get some baby food and beer (nice) and of course I forgot to tell them to get diapers. I mean, that's like forgetting to get gas at the gas station!!! At least I had enough to get through to the morning. We went on to the rehearsal dinner.. I really didn't know if we'd stay long b.c I wasn't sure how long Eileen would hold up.

HA! She's a regular club kid! She was in high spirits.. fascinated watching her older cousins run around.. fascinated by Uncle Dick - he appears to have hung the moon in her world! She had a blast hanging out with Nick and Dan (bottom picture). Nick tickled her and made her giggle just like his dad used to do to me when I was a baby! Funny how things go in cycles like that. Nick (who will be 15 in November) said he felt old b.c he sees how big Jack (5) and Emma (also 5) are. HA! I remember when Nick was born, and now he's taller than me by a head and has a girlfriend. Talk about old. (heehee.. but his dad is still older than me! love ya Bob!) There was a big dance area and Eileen had free reign to move all around the floor (while managing to avoid the 5year olds running around!). She also was a fan of crawling UNDER the tables. That was stopped as quickly as it was started!

Anyway, it was well after 10pm by the time we got back to the hotel. Eileen was no worse for the wear. She was still giggling and ready to play! But the minute I put the bottle in her mouth, she passed out. She was not a fan of sleeping in the pack-n-play provided by the hotel. Since we had a king-size bed, we let her sleep with us. Sometimes it's just easy that way. And it's just so sweet to wake up and she's next to you. And now, in the middle of the night, she has a habit of rolling over andputting her arm around my (or Josh's ) neck. Words really can't to justice to how sweet that is.

So that was Day One. Up early.. plane rides.. car rides.. meeting most of her extended family on Grandpa's side... and then crashing with Mommy and Daddy in a really really big bed. Does it get any better?!

The Trip!

Whew. We're home! This will be a short posting. I'm at work - even tho I was only out two days, AND I kept up with emails while gone- I am still catching up to a load of stuff. And there's so much to tell, and of course so many pictures, that the blog about the trip will just have to encompass several postings!

But I will say, it was a fantastic trip. Eileen was so good it bordered on freaky. I just keep waiting for the other foot to drop. She was amazing on the flights- no need for the Benadryl. On the last flight yesterday, she slept the whole time - even through the landing! She was good in the hotels, at the rehearsal dinner - which kept her out partying past 10pm, at the wedding, and on our day in Boston. She missed a lot of naps and was nowhere near being on routine, but she didn't seem to be phased by it. Amazing.

We had a blast, loved getting to see so much of the family. Its fun to get to hang out with Cousins, Aunts, Uncles... we get to see them so little!

Here are a few of the (over 200!) shots we got while on the road...

Pooh chilling on the plane. Eileen fast asleep (with Pooh of course) smack in the middle of the king size bed in the hotel.

Grandpa & Josh in front of the Black Rose (also known as the main hangout of Boston Based IRA!) - not sure if you can really see Eileen's face, but it's hilarious.

Josh, Eileen & I on Aunt Sharon's balcony, which just happens to overlook the Boston skyline.

You can, of course, take a sneak peak at the pics at www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com

Tune in for more later...