Reality Bites

We fell in the door a little before midnight on Saturday after another long travel day.  International travel with children is not for the faint of heart.  The girls actually did as well as could be expected - better, even, I'd say - but there is just so much waiting-in-line you can expect from the six-and-under set, one of whom (ahem, Jemma) whines to be carried after about three minutes on her feet.  They both mercifully fell asleep on our second flight and slept adorably on us right up until the minute the plane landed, at which point Annie marched stoically and cheerfully through the airport, even gamely towing one of our suitcases behind her after we'd retrieved it from the baggage area.  Jemma, on the other hand, remained in a half-asleep stupor where she tried to punch my face while I carried her, her blankets, my carry-on, and her carry-on through the airport.

We awoke Sunday morning to the annual leak that develops around the ice-jammed roof above our kitchen.  We've had people put up flashing, explored heat tape options, tried to prevent the ice from forming there in the first place, but, sure enough, every February right around this time, there's a telltale drip coming from that upper right-hand cupboard.  Old houses are special that way, I guess.  So now we have a plastic tub catching the leak on our counter, plus a little more water damage to add to last year's and the year before.

We also awoke Sunday to another one of Jemma's special "I Picked My Nose in My Sleep and Got a Bloody Nose Which Stained My Pink Sheets" mornings.  I love starting the day down in the basement, scrubbing at those sheets with freezing cold water and a variety of stain-removal agents.  Then, for good measure, it happened again this morning.  Happy Valentine's Day!  My pink sheets have red bloody drips all over them!

Also, I think I can go ahead and safely declare that I have killed the plant Connie gave me for Christmas.  I plead guilty to general neglect and to not watering it at all since late January, specifically.

Yeah, it's officially not vacation anymore.