So I haven’t blogged in over a month.  I’d like to say not much has happened, but that’s not true.  We went on vacation for one thing, and when we get back I kept saying, “I have to blog about our vacation!”  Well, you know how that goes.  We’ve been home for almost two weeks now.  I have yet to blog about it, and let’s be honest, I’m not going to.

I actually had this great idea to bring along a journal and J and I could write down our vacation experiences.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, and the journal was, sadly, completely empty when we returned home.  I also had the great idea to bring a blank check record to write down all our expenses, so we could see exactly what we were spending.  That didn’t work out either, which led to a quite unpleasant shock when J checked his account balance halfway into the trip.

And why did these things not work out?  Well, we grossly underestimated how difficult a vacation with a 10-month-old would be.  We took a two-week road trip through Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, staying at five hotels in ten nights, and then with relatives at the end of the trip.  If you have kids, you’re probably laughing at us right now.  Yeah, we were rather ambitious.

Little J did not like the constant, on-the-go change.  Or being strapped into his carseat six times a day.  (Thankfully, once in, he usually fell asleep within ten minutes.)  And he definitely did not like being yanked out of his bedtime routine.  Our original plan was to put him to bed in his pack ‘n play, turn down the lights, and spend the rest of the evening quietly reading, talking, and (ahem) writing in the journal or updating the check recorder.

Yeah right!  The first night he spent about five minutes in his pack ‘n play before he realized, “This ain’t my crib, it’s awfully bright in here, and hey, Mom and Dad are right there!”  We spent the next few nights taking turns not sleeping, sleeping in various chairs with the baby in our arms, and getting kicked, punched, and pulled when we brought him into bed.  Breastfeeding worked too well – he’d be attached the whole night, and I couldn’t move.  J would get up at 4:30 and take him for an early-morning drive so I could get some sleep.

After a few nights, we found something that worked.  J would feed the baby a bottle, carry him on his shoulder till he fell asleep, then lie down with the baby still on his shoulder.  As a result, the pair of them would be fast asleep by 9 PM and I’d read for an hour or so.  (At this point I’d given up on either journaling or keeping track of the finances!)

So once we all started getting some sleep, and Lil’ J got used to the constant change, we had a pretty good time!

Hmm, I guess I kind of did write a blog about our vacation, after all.  Pictures to come soon!  ….maybe.