Low-carb Coke??

Is there nothing sacred??!

K. So, moving on. Going on a camping trip to Yosemite with a One year old who you've only known for three weeks....? Not such a stellar idea. Inviting the Ex to go with? Priceless! Not that I didn't have a very fabulous time and not that I'm not grateful to the Mistah L-L crew for including us in their shin-dig but sheesh! A few things I realized from this particular excursion:

1) The single most traumatic sound in the entire universe is the whimpering sound of a Baby who hasn't had a nap in 13 hours and who FINALLY fell asleep an hour ago, who is just about to wake up screaming in a tent shared with a six year old and her other co-parent, in an otherwise crowded campsite, after everyone else in the valley has also finally gone to sleep.

2) The single most horrific realization vis a vis the aforementioned circumstance -- that the bottle/formula is "outside" in the "bear locker" (lest they smell the sweetness and come investigating) and that the keys to the car are somewhere in the tent (possibly in CP's wadded up jeans) under the two other surprisingly still sleeping occupants.

Yup. These are the moments when you hope God realizes that all those things you said you'd do if the Baby would just please go back to sleep...? You were just kidding. Mostly.

Trip was not all horrible though. Yosemite is beautiful and it was hot and we found a stream/tiny beach that was amazing... Plus Mistah L-L and crew were wonderfully sweet and accomodating. I think it's just a matter of scale. Drive out was a bit too far, camping party was a bit too large, expectations for relaxation a bit too unrealitic, etc. etc. We're hoping to try again at the Russian River (45 minutes away) without the CP, with a bit more preparation vis a vis baby sleeping habits in unfamiliar places and with a modified Mistah L-L crew (meaning fewer people to annoy by having to constantly alter plans due to child readiness) sometime in July.

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In other news, both little girls had their first days today. Boo is ensconced at an Fabulous summer camp wherein she will learn to swim! (Know what one of the best things about your kid starting summer camp is? Flirting with all the tanned and beautiful 24-something camp counselors so they'll be especially nice to your child! What up Jorge!) Sparkle spent her first hour-and-a-half at the DayCare she will be hopefully calling home for the next 4 years and she also did wonderfully. She was a teeny bit tired due to lack of morning nap plus week-end excitement but all in all she handled herself like a trooper! I was dispatched to a cafe to while away the time whilst she became "acclaimated" which was fun because I actually got to write some real letters/stories to some peeps. The kind with paper and envelopes and stamps and stuff! I know!! I'm being sent away tomorrow morning as well so I may just continue this writing rampage...!

{sigh} Right now though...I'm tired. I woke up at 5:00am on Sat. to get everything assembled and packed for the Yosemite trip. Didn't sleep Sat. night due to unhappy Baby-ness and bizarre half-sitting "sleeping" position which needed to be maintained all night so finally-sorta-sleeping Baby would not get joggled/re-awakened, and woke early this morn to get the troops ready to start their collective new adventures. Tonight, though...! Tonight, I sleep...!