A break.

It's just something about January. I always find it difficult to blog in January. Maybe that is because for us here at the House of Hadron, it's THE planning month. And when two somewhat OCD-anal-retentive-science-minded people designate a month as THE planning month, it's not to be taken lightly. There are official meetings over coffee, Excel documents and coding involved. And a few pie charts. And once almost a powerpoint. What can I say, logistics is our game. 

And now somehow, we're getting ready to turn the calendars to April. The Phillies open today. Oswin will be 6 months old in a week. Soon Doc and I will be celebrating our 32nd and 34th birthdays. And let's not forget about the upcoming Paques celebration and planting season in our little village. Trips to the market, trips to cities and countries near and far, we're ready for spring and summer adventures, wherever our legs and wheels can take us. 

But not right now, not today. I don't want to even so much as see our luggage bags or even a purse that could qualify as a luggage bag for at least two weeks. We got back from our annual trip to the United States yesterday, Oswin's first trip to the Motherland in fact, and we are all far too jet lagged to think about traveling. Right now I'm putting our washing machine to task, as three weeks of traveling with an infant has created an urge to do laundry like I've never felt before in my life. If I could say one thing about traveling with an infant via plane, it's thank the Heavens for plastic bags. 

That being said, we learned a lot from this most recent trip abroad. First and foremost, once a baby is involved trips home are no longer vacays. Maybe it's just because this was Oswin's inaugural trip, or maybe it was the 8 flights we took in 21 days, but this trip was chock full of stress. There were so many people we saw/wanted to see, but only got to about half of them. Le sigh. So it is with these kinds of trips I guess...

That being said, Oswin was a total rock star on this trip. It took about 5 days for her to adjust, but after that she was great. The flights didn't seem to bother her one bit. She didn't cry once. There were definitely days where she was pushed beyond her limits, between SO many people holding her, and having not much of a schedule. We're so proud of our little jet setter. 

So, we're home. It's gorgeous out in SwitzerFrance today, sunny and in the 60s, but today Oswin and I will be recuperating. Stressful or not, our trips to PA, NJ, and Nebraska were totally worth it. They always are; just the same, today will be filled with lots of snuggles, lots of coffee, and maybe some Netflix. Definitely pyjamas. Tomorrow we'll go play in the sun. 

Traveling soon with an infant? As I slowly unpack I'm making a list of everything we used, what was most helpful, and what could be left behind in the future. I'll post on here once the "Surviving 3 Weeks of International Travel with an Almost 6 Month Old" list is completed. What worked for us might not work for you, but it's always good to share ideas. After all, sharing is caring. 

A la prochaine friends...

Honey