merry merry

since my dear lovely nancy asked (and i have been meaning to actually post more & stuff) we had such a very merry (and of course holiday stressful) christmas. i actually had vacation time so we packed up the kids & went down to stay with my sister & bil & my folks live about 20 minutes from them.
the short version- now bulleted:

• kids love to get sick right before or as you travel 5 hours from home. and as one gets better (although maintains a level of whine previously unheard of in our house) the other comes down with his first wicked cold
• babies teething multiple teeth at once, away from home, and with a cold = no bueno
• my parents are nuts. basic normal aw shucks but we love em anyway nuts- with a touch of they may actually be a little crazy too. we did not go to their house. my children have not seen it & probably never will. at least not in its present state- i don't want to lose them there.
• my dad is not in good health and even more upsetting it all seems fixable with a little effort on his part- except he just doesn't seem to care. which makes me even sadder than the hoarding situation.
• my folks are still amazingly loving and generous and spoiled both kids rotten & got to spend hours with them as we got to go to a movie for the first time in over a year. 
• car rides are really good for knitting
• car rides are really boring for toddlers who don't just sleep most of the way anymore.
• nothing is open on christmas day to stop & stretch your legs & eat except the wawa- which is actually so much better a choice than fast food- why did i not see it earlier!
• traveling and christmas can test the strongest of relationships & really turns already tired parents who are just barely holding their marriage together into 'one more bad word/yelling match/rude comment away from saying something really final'
• there are babies coming all around me next year & i just started making things- i hope i can keep up!
• my daughter tells the funniest toddler jokes ever. and hearing how her mind works is pretty amazing. oh- and she can count to 12. in order. and sings abc's at lightning speed missing only a random one in her zeal
• having a day to decompress after travel can save a lot of stress & ease a lot of hurts- muscles & hearts
• brothers-in-law both made we want to cry a little with their generosity this year. one for giving us time as adults away from kids and helping my hub help our parents so much; and the other for literally giving us his christmas bonus so we could spend it on ourselves/the kids. 
• which we then of course offered to the in-laws to fly them up so they can meet little bear & hang out with the bug girl pumpkin has become. video chats are great- but holding that solid smush of a chunka babe is something they (he) needs to do before health issues get worse. 
• the face is much better although still excessively odd to eat & be careful not to bite down  wrong or get food in the GAPING HOLES in you mouth. But the pain is nearly gone & i didn't need all that much of the pain meds they prescribed. the first 2 days were the worst & i was pretty much pumping & dumping anyway at that point. after that the ped. cleared me to nurse but suggested that i try to time any pain meds to right after i feed so i have the 4 hour window- which worked great since i only needed them for bed & he was already asleep (and stayed asleep!) at that point well past the 4 hour mark.

i did take a bunch of pictures which i will close with as it is late (almost 9.p.m!!!!) and i am enjoying 2 kids sleeping with a delicious beer and trying to wrap up my first baby blanky of the season. hope all was merry and bright with anyone that's still reading!

ready for the trek

with grandpa- resemblance- i think so!

too much christmas fun- she slept like this for an hour!

 

traditional post christmas clearance run

love this! she's giggling, but you'd never know it!

intent on presents

grandma in her traditional role of sweets pusher!

Ouch

All 4 wisdom teeth home. Right side is very sire, but left not too bad. I have to pump & dump which just feels wrong, but since I'm still napping on & off little bears not getting any of this! I just hope I am good enough for work Monday. Part week before vacation & so much to do!

the business

over a month since my last post- eh? sounds about typical these days. so- what is new?
nothing really - same work insanity. a lot of travel (most recently to the big apple city which i was able to bring the fam to- more on that below) lots to do, not enough time to do it. i am scared for monday when i get into the office to 100 e-mails on tasks to complete. wish i had an intern!
the fam is good (mainly) pumpkin is amazing me daily with her comprehension and language skills. she is talking in complete sentences, is extremely compassionate & caring, but also very demanding and kind of bossy. she takes care of her brother & their bond is evident already- and so touching to me. right now she is taking a moment from building her block skyscrapers to get him his octopus toy and telling him- it's ok C--- I'm right here- melt...
the hub and i are trying to find our even keel. we are harsh with each other, careless with our feelings and words to protect the kids from bearing any of our sleep deprivation and stress. which isn't good. which results in epic fights like the one trying to get out the door and on the road for this work trip. which resulted in a horrifically stressed and embarrassing first day for me and a miserable one for him. which i will get to. we both need time and resources we don't have to destress. the holidays don't hep, extra medical bills don't help- little bear finally has the all-clear on his final ultrasound: kidneys are fine, no need to do anything except a follow up in one year as a cya- we are thrilled to pay for such a 'wasted' test to hear good news, but still... we have to pay another medical bill on top of the pile we are already trying to deal with. now i need all 4 wisdom teeth out- thought i could do 2 with just local & yank, but now it seems i need to be sleeping and surgically remove the last 2 as well. which i need to get in before christmas which means i will be recovering while traveling to see the family since i literally have no additional vacation days to take which also really sucks. but it's the difference between paying a $35 co-pay and a $1000 deductible. what other choice is there? ***which brings my question- little bear is still nursing, mainly at night and we do have to supplement him daytime, but i am trying to keep as much milk as possible in his diet. i am ok with the general- can pump & dump (though I hate to) for that day and he is covered, but the painkillers they will give me... is there a preferred between vic.odin & per.cese,ts? i will probably get the super mot.rin too and may end up just taking that as my pain threshold is pretty high, but figured i would put it out there for my 'experts' to answer! thanks!!!

so- my trip was interesting and i was very glad to be able to have my family with me as i am pretty sure due to the fact that i was only able to pump 2x in 3 days for a grand total of 3 ounces that i would have severely dropped off supply to perhaps the point of no return otherwise. it was pretty nice to come back to the hotel to them and to see my daughter's face light up seeing the tree and the light display at sa.ks and the craziness of that area in general- she is a city girl and we literally stopped people in their tracks with the combined cuteness of these 2 in the double stroller. but it is exhausting to navigate with 2 and just to find a bathroom to change them in- epic.
the day we arrived i was running late thanks to unannounced tunnel traffic and ended up having to run 3 blocks in the rain. after 2-1/2 hours in the car and a full cup of coffee. and have i mentioned i have a uterine prolapse? can anyone guess where this is going? yeah- very embarrassing to realize you have just peed yourself and must now meet not only your boss, but his boss and a group of people for a day full of showrooms & meetings. thank goodness for vanilla hand sanitizer and a fairly close restroom + a long coat. i am not ready to repeat that one again.