Meanwhile, back in Australia

"The best time to travel with kids is never" - Jim Gaffigan

(aka: my absolute FAVORITE comedian ever, yes, I even read his book 'Dad is Fat' during the early stages of labor for distraction)

So we ventured to the US for Christmas after our epic journey to the middle of the earth in search of a passport for Brielle, down in Sydney for one day a few months back. Once it came, we booked our last-minute flights home. I'm not saying it was a mistake, but I am saying, with 20 thousand miles travelled (literally, 20,000. That is not a misprint. 20K) the girls are alive and well.
Mission accomplished.
I'll be totally selfish about it too, after that flight and the jet-lag and and absolute nightmare of traveling that far with 2 very young kids, we were not about to go hopping around from house to house visiting anyone. Sorry, but that ship has looong sailed. Anyone is more than welcome to break out of their driving boundaries and make it all the way to Marshall or GR for a visit if they wish. I mean really there is no comparison: 20 THOUSAND MILES, 8 FLIGHTS, 8 AIRPORTS, LAYOVERS, DELAYS, BLIZZARDS, 15 HOUR TIME CHANGE, WITH CHILDREN!...oh my word, what were we thinking?!
Alas, it's over and it was an amazing time seeing family, once we were there.

One thing I will continue to say is that we are a schedule family through and through. I decided to can it after our flight and just demand-feed Brielle because with all the family and circumstances, it wasn't exactly easy to just tell your grandma that you're "sorry but she can't see the baby because she needs to sleep at this exact moment even though this is the only time we'll be seeing you." So she went from sleeping 9-10 hours at night, to 5-6 hours, to 3. Are you kidding me?! That is absolutely unacceptable for my sanity and unless she is sick, there is no reason she needs to feed every 3 hours around the clock. So, once we were back, I went back to the 'schedule' and the first night she slept 4 hours, the second night was 5, the third night was 6, etc. I swear by the schedule for normal, healthy babies. As you can see, it doesn't harm her one bit. :)

Bina loved spending time with her cousins and of course, Meeko! It was great seeing her interact with her Aunts and Uncles and grandparents. She is growing up quickly! Too bad we had to drag her back to this hot weather, she seems sad about it, yes? ;)
So maybe we lost power for days and froze ourselves out and tried valiantly to play in the snow that was above our knees with a toddler who didn't know what boots were...it was Christmas, it was magical and if I can erase the memories of the actual mode of transportation to get to and fro, it was one of the best Christmases we've had.