Post-vacation craziness

I thought it was only a temporary thing. That, because I had a trip out to California coming up, things were going to be a little hectic for a couple of weeks. And, boy, were they ever! It got to the point where there was just SO MUCH to do and set up and arrange and take care of before I left, I had to make "to do" lists just so I didn't forget anything. (Of course, there were SOME things I ended up not being able to do in time, like finish all the laundry or call my doctor with a question.) But I got the important stuff done, and that's what matters.

Then we left for vacation and I thought everything would settle down from here on out. Silly me.

The vacation itself was pleasant. My nephew's wedding was beautiful (my brother cried, the bride cried) and it was good to see family again. I hadn't seen them for over a year! Same with Jennifer. We all took lots of pictures, went out, shopped, talked and just hung out to visit. Everyone's excited about the baby and we even brainstormed for names. (Right now, for a boy, we have either "Luke Taylor" or "Dylan Taylor." My mom and I both like the name "Luke" but Jason isn't so crazy about it. Eh, he'll come around. LOL For a girl, I like either "Megan" or "Josephine.")

There is one thing I learned from my vacation, though. Travelling while pregnant is NO FUN, especially when you're in the first trimester and still coping with morning sickness. Nausea was my biggest enemy on my trip, and there was even one time I almost threw up in my sister's car! (In my defense, we were driving down a mountain, from Lake Arrowhead to Palm Desert, and the road was REALLY swervy.) You can bet I ate A LOT of crackers on my trip. (Keebler loves me! LOL) I am so grateful I never actually vomitted, though. That would have been embarrassing, especially if it happened while I had dinner with two sisters at The Elephant Bar!

But two other things happened after my vacation that are not so much of news to me. One is that, when going on vacation, you come back with MORE stuff than you left with! (Good thing I had extra room in both mine and my daughter's suitcases.) Another is that, when you leave on vacation, something is BOUND to go wrong at home. Actually, two things went wrong: I came home to an ant infestation in my kitchen (courtesy of dog food left in my sink by the neighbor's son, who watched my dog for me) and there was a parking violation on one of the cars, complete with the threat to have the car towed off if it wasn't moved! What's so bad about this? The ticket was issued on the day we left. AND! The car wasn't even WORKING. Uggh. Well, those things were taken care of after we got home, and I was just at least grateful my dog was still alive and not starved to death. Heh, I sure did worry about him while we were gone. Oh, and a deccorative fishbowl I have on my kitchen countertop, complete with pretty aquarium marbles and glass fishies, was cracked. There was water all over the counter. Oy. Good thing they weren't real fishies! The bowl ended up breaking; I held it over the kitchen sink for inspection and the bottom half broke off and dropped into the sink!

There is one other thing that is probably some kind of "rule" about going on vacations, though. After returning home, in addition to the "mini-crises" we returned to, there is still MORE WORK to do. More cleaning. More catching up on emails. More reorganizing/redecorating the house. More appointments, school stuff and writing-related work. Oh, yeah. It's definitely "March madness" in this house. If this keeps up on a day-to-day basis, I'll be needing another vacation! To Hawaii!!