Worst Trip Ever!

I was thinking (I'll wait while you get over the shock) that the funny part about this blog is that I spend so many words updating what we did and how we've grown, but that what I fail to capture -- what may be impossible to put into a post -- are the moments I treasure the most. Those little, quiet moments that aren't the ones "I'll remember forever." Laying next to E's toddler bed as he drifts to sleep holding his little hand as it twitches a little in the start of whatever 2-year-olds dream. Or J's stretched grin as she reaches, touches my nose, and then her nose -- gaining some fundamental human understanding --  after we read The Nose Book. Or sitting on the front porch at 6AM giving each dog their post-walk pet, whispering in their ears what good boys they are and how much they're loved. Or laying in bed at night with Lisa -- it's way later than we intended to be going to sleep -- but still chatting about our days or the funny things the family said.

I wish I could bottle all these moments into a blog entry, not for you to read, but for me to relive, over and over again. Yet, like I said, impossible. Even those snippets above are just descriptions and only live up to my (limited) vocabulary. What encourages me is that these moments shape me into who I am. And so while I can't live in them forever -- or even remember them between trying to get kids packed or dishes washed -- I'm an overall better dad, hubby, and human because of them.

Ok. Done with the sap. Now on to the updates!

February started with a two-by-four in that Lisa and J came down with some horrible respiratory virus -- high fever, aches, the works -- and at the same time I was commuting for a work-related class in San Francisco. Luckily, Oma and Opa took E for a nearly a week (to keep him healthy and keep me sane) while I focused on Lisa / J. We got through it and everyone -- knock on wood -- is healthy now. (So much for knocking on wood.  Everyone may have been healthy when this was typed, but not by the time it was edited - E came down with his second stomach bug of the year this weekend - not fair!)

While E was there, I guess Oma joked that Opa was a "wine snob" and E thought it was hilarious. Later he told Papa about it on FaceTime and Papa said that he was a "wine connoisseur." Now it's become a running joke in the family. For instance, E is an "apple snob" -- he'll hold an apple up and ask if it's a Gizdich. Or he'll tell me that I'm a "soda connoisseur." It's cute, but the thing I find amazing is that we now have our first family joke and E gets it.

We're in the process of picking out a preschool to send him to next year and I always thought it insane how parents we knew stressed over it when they were faced with that question. It's preschool, folks, not college. Right? And now that I'm living it. Holy Cow. It feels like we're picking a college. In fact, the application to one took almost as long. And there are so many different programs and philosophies...how many days should he go? For how long? Public? Private? Catholic? *head explodes* In the end, I keep reminding myself that it is preschool and while important, he's going to have a blast and learn a ton wherever he goes -- or gets accepted.

J has hit the phase where it seems like she's learning something new each blink. She high-fives. She waves. She does the E.T. finger touch. She gives hugs when you ask, complete with her own, "ahhh" sound. When she's focused on something else, she can stand on her own for 10-15 seconds. She's picking up some sign language too (or "sign lay-metch," as E calls it): all done, bath, cereal, more, and she does the cutest "doggie" -- which is more of a whistle, but melts my heart.

Valentine's Day was a relaxing and fun day around the house (and much needed). See if you can spot the theme: breakfast was pink heart-shaped pancakes, activity/snack was heart-shaped cookies, and dinner was heart-shaped pizza. And while not considered overly "romantic" by many, we'd be hard pressed to design a better day to spend with each other.

For the past week and a half, I've been taking my final two weeks of paid family leave to spend with the kiddos while Oma & Opa take a much needed vacation. In fact, I decided to be such a SuperDad, that last week, I even watch goddaughter G too. Actually, she (an 8-year-old) was such a help in keeping the kiddos entertained while I cooked, cleaned, etc. The only issue was coming to an agreement for what to watch on TV. Eventually, they agreed upon Care Bears and all was in harmony. In fact, E became a big fan and Oma found their kids' old play set. And in possibly one of the most E things I've ever seen, he had them all playing on his car hauler semi truck. He's really becoming a cuddly gear head.

Some of the highlights from my week solo with 3 kids was a personal pizza making party, trips to the park, an omelet station, getting the house reappraised, lunch with G's dad, and several successful naps (all 4 of us). It was a blast, but hats off to all those stay at home parents (and Omas / Opas).

On Thursday, Nana & Papa arrived (+ Belle & Beau) to team up for more babysitting fun. As always, the adventures have been a blast including trips to Curi-Odyssey (an awesome, if small-ish, zoo / discovery museum in San Mateo, the Hiller Aviation museum, and a day on the CalTrain stopping at any of the towns which met our fancy.

Recently, E also had a blast going to the Sharks game at Levi's stadium. He pretty much passed out in Lisa's arms after the first quarter, but when he woke up as they left, the first thing he asked was if we won (we didn't). It was a late night...and a lifetime memory.

We did have a slightly sadder day on Monday, when we had a final dinner with the Balyons before their big move to Oregon. We've been friends with them for almost 15 years now, were in each other's weddings, lived within a couple miles of each other, and have kids within a year (C and E are a week apart). Needless to say, they are some of our dearest friends and will always remain that -- though it'll be strange to have them missing from the area.

So I've been trying to come up with a more horrible trip that I've experienced than this past weekend to north shore Lake Tahoe and I'm having trouble. We booked a cabin at Northstar to share with Nana & Papa for the weekend. I pretty much didn't sleep for 2 days getting ready for the trip. With all the kid stuff, we had to caravan in a couple cars. E was a little whiny before we left and barely ate lunch, but he was exhausted (as I was). At noon, we picked up Lisa in Fremont. A little later E woke up and was very lethargic. In Davis, we checked his temperature: 102 degrees. I almost turned around, but we decided if he was going to be sick, at least it'd be in a beautiful "vacation house" as E has termed VRBO rentals. 

About a mile later, we hit major traffic in Sac for about an hour. J woke up and started screaming...the only thing that soothed her was Lisa leaning over the car seat trying to nurse her (thank goodness for all those years of yoga). Finally, out of traffic, I thought we were in the clear...until just outside Donner Lake -- say, 30 miles from Northstar. E threw up. All over him, his special blankies, and the car seat. I pulled off at the first place that was safe and we tried to clean him and the car up in the freezing wind of a coming storm. 

We'd lost my parents and by the time we'd called them, they were a ahead of us. Just as we were about to get back on I-80, we got a text from my mom that traffic was at a dead standstill...as in, people were turning off their cars, etc. At this point, J is screaming again. E is crying and saying all he wants to do is go home. We tried taking a side road around the stopped traffic, but every time we tried to get back on the freeway, there was a line of cars to stop us. No one knew what was going on. The one gas station I found to ask, the snotty kid working there just said, "Dude, I'm inside. How would I know?" Finally, we found someone who said they were setting up chain control and it could be 10 minutes or 2 hours for them to reopen. It had really started snowing. J was hoarse from screaming, no matter how far Lisa tried to stretch into a good backseat-nursing-while-driving-position. At 5:30pm, I said, "Screw this." We turned around and headed back. Moments later, my parents texted and said traffic was moving at 50mph. But I was done. We told them to enjoy the cabin and the snow (which accumulated over a foot while they were there). We made a fast pit stop in Auburn to get coffee and change the kids into PJs. The farther we got away from Tahoe, the smoother things got. Both kids passed out. No traffic. E's fever started going down. At 9:30pm, we pulled into our driveway. 

Other than that, we're just trying to stay afloat and plan J's first birthday (quick aside: there's no way she's almost a year old) while facing a house refi, upcoming work travel, long weekend trips, and general mayhem.