True to form

I must have some wierd timer that tells me it's been a month since my last post because here it is, 29 days since my last post and I was compelled to sign on again.

Anyways, Japan is under our belt now and MAN was that a trip. On so many levels. Flight transportation there and back was the roughest 24 hours of my life. Then throw in a 2 hour bus ride to meet my parents & brother at the Ikebukuro train station, then another 30 minutes on the train (and one missed stop and backtrack later), then a 10 minute cab ride to my Grandma's house. Needless to say, E was D-O-N-E as were M and I. It's not entirely surprising how difficult air travel was with him. What can one expect? He's a complete energy ball being forced to confinement for close to 15 hours. It SUCKED like no other. And it's not an experience I am ready to try again for at least 6-9 months. Let it be known that M and I will *not* be taking E on another flight of any kind for at least . . . ok. . . 3 months. But we are definitely not taking him on a long flight until he's . . . 2. Maybe.

The hardest part about travelling is coming home because we royally screwed up E's sleep schedule which means we are going to pay in equal parts. E doesnt sleep, we dont sleep. It's not that we don't want to or are soft and go to him every time he whimpers. He screams in the middle of the night so that one *cannot* possibly sleep. So that took about 1 week to recover from and now, 13 days after returning, he is completely back on his little schedule. And we are all better humans for that.

In other news, today is a good day because I have been reminded of all the people in my life that really care about me. Who hates that?! And I'm also super lucky to have an amazing husband who, despite his innate abilities, tries hard to give me a good birthday. This year, unfortunately, he has to work and since I had to fly home from work at midnight, we didn't see each other and won't until tomorrow. Then M has knee surgery on Thursday. So, my birthday this year won't really be a big celebration (not like it ever is, given it's cursed timing), but it's understandable. At the very least, I'm very grateful to have such a healthy and amazing kid, an awesome husband and friends who take time out of their busy lives to wish me a good one.

So, on that note--till next year! Who knows, I might actually have time over the holidays to reflect a little more (and post).

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy new year everyone!