Life Lately & Baby Motion Sickness

Sorry for the lack of blogging over the past few days. We had a wonderful trip to Kansas City and I've been getting back into the swing of things. We saw my husband's cousins that we are close with, my sister, my BFF and her daughter, and my mom-idol + her two kids. We ate scrumptious food that A)I didn't cook and B)I didn't clean up...it was lovely. The hotel was nice, and though it wasn't horrible sleeping in the same room as G, it definitely wasn't fun. The flight there was fine. G got a little ancy but thanks to my foremomsight, the Elmo Calls app ($0.99) got us through. I'd highly recommend it for those times you need a little something to occupy the kiddo in a pinch (re: 4 hour flights).

Then there was the flight back to San Francisco............

It was actually going even better than the flight out until about an hour in. Literally out of nowhere, G started throwing up. My poor husband, who was holding her, looked at me, like...do something STAT. I had a mini-freak out as time moved in slow motion, but the puke did not. Both of our trays were down, and I tried to fumble with them while grabbing for those little white bags--you know the ones. There were none to be found, and in the mean time, more puke. I pushed the flight attendant button, hoping they'd come running. Unfortunately our flight attendants weren't too interested in us. The guy took care of a few things before heading our way (I could see him the whole time). When he got to us, his face when white and he was like...oh, okay, I'll be right back. More puke. G had stuffed herself full of treats and watered-down-juice; and we were seeing it all again. Absolutely lovely. My poor husband got the worst of it--his whole lap was covered. He is a way better sport than me--he didn't ever complain. I apologized a million times to him, though I had no control over the incident.

The "best" thing about throwing up, typically, is that it can be cleaned up, those involved can change, and life can move forward. Not.on.a.plane. Despite our best efforts to clean ourselves and the baby, the scent remained, the seat belts were stained, and we couldn't change clothes (therefore, were still cold and wet). The plane was too small for our carry-on bags, so they were gate checked and we were left clothes-less. Thankfully, G had a change of clothes in the diaper bag (which we had with us).
G didn't look too good for most of the 2.5 hours remaining. It was the longest flight ever, but we survived and changed as soon as we got our baggage claimed. I think it's one of those memories that will live on forever in our family. G has flown 4 times and although this was the only one that she's gotten motion sickness, I'm still scared to ever fly with her again.

Since my last personal post, G has {pretty much} gotten over Hand Foot Mouth Disease and is back to being her regular, cheery self. Her little toes are still peeling and she has some mild scars on her thighs that I bet will fade away. Her finger sores have already peeling (sooo gross) and new skin has covered her finger tips. I'd say it was definitely the worst illness she's had, but I think it 'cured' her of being a thumb sucker. We kept baby socks on her hands to keep her from irritating the sores on her hand. Thankfully, she accepted them and didn't try to wiggle them off. I haven't seen her suck her thumb in days and occasions when she used to do it (riding in the car, when tired, while snuggling) are so weird to witness now! She may or may not still do it at night, I guess we won't really know.

So being back in the midwest made me miss it even more. I don't feel sad being in the Bay Area, and I really do like it...it just doesn't feel like home. I don't think it ever will because our plans are to eventually end up there again. I miss less traffic. I miss more green spaces and less people. I miss Hy-Vee and Super Target. I miss Sonic. I miss a church that has a mom group. I miss Parents as Teachers. I miss Lifetime Fitness. I miss being in the same time zone as my mom. I miss being a few hours drive from a number of family members.
On our flight back (before the incident), I was talking to the guy next to us. He is a Marine stationed in Hawaii with his wife and four kids. I gushed that it must be nice living there, but he said, "It's a nice place to visit. That's it. It's too expensive to live."

That's exactly how I feel about San Francisco Bay Area. It's got a lot to do and see. It has beautiful views and skylines. It's ridiculously expensive and it's too far from home. It's a nice place to visit. My heart will always be in the midwest.

ps. Fittingly, I've redone the blog design a bit to reflect our life lately....hope you love it!