I love going home. No other place in the world is as wonderful as home. It's ironic isn't it? I've travelled to so many places and yet my favorite place is the one I grew up in. Nothing compares to the sweet scent of oranges, the whistle from the train calling as it passes by, the victorian houses, the delicious avocados, coffee mexican food, etc and of course, the familiar faces that greet you everywhere you go. Redlands will always be home.
We had a fantastic christmas vacation! We mostly chilled with my parents at home in between going baby shopping and going to our favorite restaurants. We got to fly straight into Ontario this time, after a lay-over in Atlanta. Going through customs in Atlanta was a million times better than Los Angeles. Everyone was really friendly. Even though our plane didn't get in until 10pm and we were exhausted, we still stopped by In 'n Out on the way home to get a much desired cheeseburger. We ate at In 'n Out more times then I can count in the short time we were home. No burger compares to an In 'n Out burger.
My parents had the house all decked out for Christmas. My mom didn't fail to get a gorgeous Christmas tree that she spent days covering with lights and ornaments. Putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it at the Trad house is no small feat. There is a very specific system that must be followed, otherwise mayhem breaks out. I was thankful it was already finished when we got there. My parents have so many ornaments - some that are so old, we've had them forever. Many are older than me. The whole house just looked great. It really felt like Christmas, especially when we ate my mom's christmas cookies. mmm. Those went way too fast.
We managed to do a lot in the 2 weeks we were home. Highlights include:
- Shopping endlessly for baby stuff with my mom. One day we spent nearly 4 hours at Babies R Us. My mom had so much energy, I couldn't believe it! We brought a consumer report that gave details about all the latest products and which are the best and cheapest to buy. We called several friends with recent baby experience in between chatting up the people shopping there and working there trying to figure out which bottles really work, what kind of sling/baby backpack to get, etc. Finding the best stroller takes the cake. We don't have a car, we take public transportation everywhere and we walk a lot - so having a good stroller is essential. We went to numerous Sports Chalets and REI's trying to find a good all-terrain light-weight stroller. We still haven't bought it and decided we will just have to get it online. In the end we were torn between Baby Joggers and B.O.B's. Baby joggers have a line of City Strollers that are hard to chose from. They have one called the "City Mini" which is so lightweight, it's very tempting! But, we're afraid the wheels are too small and they wouldn't be able to handle the cobblestones. Anyhow, we are probably going to get the "Classic City Baby Jogger" with a few amenities.
*Baby stuff is MUCH cheaper in America compared to Prague. It's worth the hassle of lugging all the stuff over. We actually checked a baby swing as one of our luggage items on the way back. We love it and had to get it - it was so cheap and we aren't sure that baby swings even exist in Prague!
- Seeing old friends! We got to see a lot of people, some I haven't seen in years. It was fun seeing everyone, but it made me sad that we don't live closer and can't see people more often. Thank goodness for skype. GET SKYPE!!
- Christmas - it was truly wonderful
- Going to the San Diego Zoo with my parents. Being in a huge place filled with exotic animals from all over the world always makes me feel normal. Also, it was a great place to spy on strollers - my mom and I couldn't help but stop a few stroller pushers for questioning.
- New Years Eve! Casey Curry is awesome and so is his friends. There was a lot of drinking - in fact, my husband won the title of "King of Panama" for his incredible chugging abilities that neither of us knew he had. I didn't drink anything and had a fantastic time, I can be silly and stupid even in my most sober state.
- Jersey's Pizza. Need I say more? While we're at it I'd like to add Cuca's, Chipotle, Golden Spoon and Nubi Yogurt. I think I ate frozen yogurt every single day we were home. What can I say? It doesn't exist in the Czech Republic!!!! I don't know why it doesn't exist here, but it doesn't. So, consequently we spent most of our money on food - all the fabulous food we just can't get here.
- Hanging out with my parents... when we all got along. It was so nice to just sit on the couch and chill out with the family.
- Walking around Redlands - whether it was the canyon or downtown
- Coffee.. I just love the Fox coffee and the Olive St. Market. I'm so glad Olive St. Market has new owners that revived it to life.
- the 6x6 burger challenge between Casey and Nick. They both decided to try and eat a 6x6 In 'n Out burger (that's pretty much what it sounds like, but because they don't make them anymore they each had to eat two 3x3's = 6 burger patties, 4 buns and the works. Additionally, they each had to eat french fries and a soda. Nick somehow finished so quickly! I had barely finished my own double-double when we looked over and realized his food was gone. Then he drank a vanilla milk shake! Casey was hungover and had a lot of trouble. This was about 3 days ago and Nick still feels sick and can't eat much. I'm so proud of him.
Well, in my jet lagged state thats all I can think of. Sadly, both Nick and I have been awake since 330 am. It always takes me forever to get used to the time difference and having someone kicking me in the stomach while I'm trying to sleep does not help. Sleep, sweet sleep do not abandon me - unless I need to be awake, then please leave me alone. If only we had buttons to make us sleep and make us wake up.
