The trip back

Look at me. 2 posts in a week.

Let's go back a few weeks and let me recap the trip here. It was eventful, to say the least. Isn't it always when you involve kids and any sort of travel?!

It took 3 days and a few long nights for me to get everything packed. I was interrupted a few times. :) I was trying to pack as well as possible since the lovely airlines have started charging $70 for the second bag. I think that's a little evil for international flights, honestly. Since my parents were coming with us and not staying long, they "gave" me one of their checked bags. That meant I could have 3 big bags without paying anything. I knew that was impossible. I was planning on paying for at least 2 extras. Guess I didn't pack that well. Between each of the kids' clothes for the whole year (you know that's a LOT for a newborn-1yr), cloth diapers, baby tent, breast pump, my clothes, and miscellaneous items we needed, I ended up with SEVEN suitcases. Woops! Oh well. We needed it all. So, imagine this picture: 2 grandparents, 1 momma, 1 toddler, 1 newborn, 7 large suitcases, 1 duffle bag, 3 rolling carry-ons, 1 backpack, 1 diaper bag, and 2 purses. Let me tell ya..it wasn't pretty at 5am. :)

So we drove up to KC from Branson in 2 cars, because we had to with all the cargo. My parents stayed at a hotel near the airport so they could park their car there and I stayed at a friend's house, where she let us park the other car. On the way to the hotel, Dad rear-ended me. Tiny damage, no one hurt. But ya know, just adds to the story. We ate at Chipotle one last time. I inhaled that burrito. We stopped to see the boys' new baby cousin as well. He and Malachi look quite a bit alike!

Then it was past bedtime. I planned on staying up late to try to get on China's time zone the next day. My sweet friend set up her house for the boys. She had toys, a pack n ply for Josiah to sleep in...the works. I tried to put Josiah to bed around 9.30, and he wailed. He was scared to death of the new room and new people. I knew then he wouldn't go at all, so I was hoping he'd just crash on the couch while my friends and I chatted. No such luck. He was awake until 1.30!! He wouldn't even sleep on a couch next to me. So we shared one; he was on one end, Malachi and I on the other. Needless to say, I barely slept. haha. I woke up at 3.30 to get everything and everyone ready to leave by 5.

As you can imagine, Josiah was a disaster with 2 hours of sleep. So glad my parents were there to help. Sadly, none of our seats were together. The flight from KC to San Francisco was going well until the tiredness hit Josiah again. He didn't want to keep his seat belt on. The plane was TINY. Everyone kept looking at us. My parents were about 4 rows up and couldn't do much. Finally, Dad and Josiah switched seats and we all got a little shut-eye.

We had a 2 hour layover in SF that turned into 5. Doesn't it always?! It was a frustrating wait because we were all getting even more tired. Josiah had several tantrums, but Malachi was an angel. Since I had him in a carrier the whole time, he was knocked out the ENTIRE trip. Quite a praise since he had been such a bad sleeper before.

We finally got on the plane and my parents were not only not beside me, but were also separated. Mom was 2 rows in front of me, Dad 6 rows back. Neither on the aisle (nor were we), so none of the people we were sitting by wanted to switch seats. Can't say I blamed them..everyone wants an aisle seat on those long flights. So, we did a lot of handing children over people so we didn't have to get out every time. Josiah slept just a few hours during the 13-hour flight. By the end, he didn't know which way was up, but still wouldn't crash. I finally handed him to my mom for the last hour and he was out cold. Only to have to wake up again!

Reuniting with Michael was blissful. Adjusting back hasn't been bad. Typically, Josiah takes the adjusting period pretty hard. He usually deals with it by not eating well..even foods he tends to love. This time, though, he jumped right in! I think it really helped that my parents were here for a few weeks. It kept a sense of normalcy for him. It didn't seem to phase Malachi that he literally slept for 24 hours. Maybe he was catching up?! He has been sleeping well at night since we arrived. A downright miracle!

Next post: I'll back it up even more and share Malachi's birth story!