Vacation Hangover

With our recent return from a 6-day vacation, I should be all kinds of busy, but so far each night has found me curled up on the couch with a book. I've read five in the last week in a half, it's like a drug for me. I haven't even caught up on my DVR'd shows. I think I'm in some sort of post-vacation hibernating state. And now that I've sat down, determined to write something, I don't know where to begin.

The vacation itself was great. My mother-in-law drove me through-the-roof Crazy, but I was able to focus on her happiness over Landon and that helped. One problem is that she does not listen to me, ever, even when I'm talking about Landon. JP and I have very few rules with him- we have a basic schedule and structure in our house, but when he's with others we don't leave a 6-page list of instructions. He's an easy going guy and I trust in the abilities of other family members who have raised children of their own to generally care for him. On Tuesday, Landon went to bed very late and I knew he was just exhausted from all the travels and little napping. I asked that no one go in his room because he frequently wakes up for a few minutes in the morning and then goes back to sleep on his own. My MIL appeared to listen and then decided to sleep in his room, against my strong wishes, and picked him up out of the pack-n-play at 6 a.m. when he stirred. The next night JP told her than under no circumstances should she sleep in Landon's room with him, and at 2 a.m. I heard her walk in there and at 6 a.m. I woke up again to hear her taking him downstairs. This meant that Landon got 2-4 hours less sleep per day than he is used to (naps were all screwed up too). I was beyond irritated, as was JP, and each time we told to stop she'd just smile and nod and then do it again that night. And then she'd cry when JP confronted her in the morning. And then his dad would tell JP to leave his mother alone since it was her house (he's MY CHILD), and then JP would say, "this is why I hate coming here" and then it would all devolve further. On Day 4 I decided to just let it go- we visit them maybe once a year, Landon will survive, but I will absolutely name it as a reason we don't visit more often whenever she pesters me about it.

But other than that, the JP/in-law interactions went as well as they ever do. On Wednesday we traveled to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and Landon looooved that. Boats! Wawa! FISH! they were everywhere and I thought he was going to pass out from excitement in the first fifteen minutes of vigorous finger pointing. He thought we were pretty mean to not let him pet the fish, but other than that he had a marvelous time.

On Thursday I took the metro into D.C. to visit the firm's office and meet a few of the attorneys in my section. I nearly cried as I walked through the streets- wearing my suit and heels, feeling all lawyerly and beyond thrilled to be back in a city with public transportation and walking. I met two of my best friends from law school for lunch and it was so wonderful to just call them up and see them. I loved walking aimlessly around the streets of DC, passing famous sites right along with major agency buildings and shopping. I like D.C. quite a lot, it's too bad JP is determined to hate it.

He did suck it up to spend a full day there with me on Saturday before my friend's wedding. We checked into our hotel (an anniversary treat to ourselves while Landon stayed in Maryland with his grandparents) and then meandered through museums and a big angry protest. We met friends for lunch and then returned to our hotel at 3 p.m. to watch TV in bed and do absolutely nothing like two people with no to-do lists or toddler to tend; the indulgence of those few hours still leaves me feeling vaguely guilty. We walked to the wedding at 6 and it was hands down the most opulent event I've ever attended. The bride and groom are both UChicago law grads and the groom's parents (who hosted the event) are both partners at major DC law firms. It was a wonderful reunion of law school friends and the food, dancing, and open bars (with sangria! and patron!) made it all very, very fun.

Sunday was our one bad day - JP and I only got about 5 hours of sleep before we had to drive to the airport in Baltimore. I realized my debit card and all the cash had been stolen out of my wallet and taken to Hooters, though luckily the thief left my ID and other credit cards. Both our flights were delayed, Landon didn't nap, and he had a meltdown on the second, mercifully short flight from Dallas to Austin. We got to our house at 5:00, after traveling for 10 hours and had to pick up the dogs, unpack, buy food, do laundry, etc. Then I got a work email at 8:00 asking if I could proof an emergency brief we were filing the next morning in my biggest case, so that was super fun. I think I am just now recovered from that day.

Overall it really was a great trip. It reinforced the importance of family vacations and we have vowed to take one at least once a year whether we can afford it or not. I loved seeing so much of my little man and he loved being with us. I'm hoping to do a short camping trip now that the weather is cooling down. I think Landon would love it and it's an inexpensive getaway. Has anyone out there taken a 2-year-old tent camping? We need to ask for camping gear for Christmas, we don't even own a sleeping bag. I think I'll start making a list - I've barely recovered from one vacation and I'm already planning another!