BC Part Two

We are home!

Ah, its good to be back.

The rest of our trip was great. We did a lot of visiting with friends, play dates, thrift store hunting, and eating out. Malachi and Coral had fun playing together...for the most part. They loved having each other around, but at a distance. We found that when you put two toddlers together for 13 days, there is bound to be a lot of fighting. Toddlers are silly, and only want what the other one is playing with. Both Malachi and Coral spent a lot of time in the corner during our visit, but they always came out of the corner ready to give hugs and kisses. Christy and I would laugh because it usually took so long for us to finish our conversation because we were always stopping to deal with the toddlers. Ah, the joys of being a mommy.

As the trip was winding down, and Matty had returned home (Mr. Malachi was thrilled beyond belief to see his daddy) I got sad to be leaving BC. Well not the provence I guess (although BC really is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen..especially where Matty and Christy live, right on top of a mountain. The view is amazing), but the people. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends there, and so many of them too. I was glad to be coming home to my own house, my hubby who I hadn't seen in 17 days, my friends, and my family, but I couldn't help but think that I was saying good bye to some really good friends, and for a really long time this time. Especially now that Coral is getting closer to the age where we would have to pay for her to fly. So saying good bye was really hard this time around (although some of you have made promises to fly out and see us this time, and Im holding you to that). 

Now, lets talk about the flight home.

Oh West Jet, I have grown to hate you over the last few weeks.

Remember my flight there? No tv, no snacks, screaming baby.

Christy and I had gone out to Walmart the day before I left, to get some new delicious snacks for Coral, and a toy incase the plane didn't have television. I ended up getting her a leap frog laptop (in pink of course) that teaches you animals, songs and letters. I saved it and didn't let her play with it until we got on the plane. She also got special treats, like dunk-a-roos for the plane (Coral is a dipper, so I knew dipping cookies in chocolate would be like a dream to her).

The flight from Abbotsford to Calgary went great. Coral had a snack on the way up, and down, and then played quietly during the rest of the hour and fifteen minute flight. WHEW, I thought, this is going great. Now I just have to get through the long 3 hour flight and were home. 

I checked my flight and gate number when we arrived in Calgary as we didn't have a long layover  (just long enough for me to change Corals bum, go pee, then change her bum again...why do babies always like to poop in a clean diaper?). I found my gate, but the screen said we were landing in Winnipeg. Hmm thats odd, so I asked the lady who was calling for pre-boarding. I was informed that I was in the right place, and that my plane would be stopping first in Winnipeg, then in Thunder Bay, then finally in Toronto. 

WHAT!!!!!

Que Laura Hodgson tears.

I started crying, right then and there.

I was told that because it was the same plane that I would be on from Calgary to Toronto, and even though we would be landing in two other places, and I technically didn't need to get off the plane at those places, they don't put those two stops on the flight information while your booking it. Great. Thats awesome. So, I had already been on a plane with Coral for 1.5 hours. Now the next plane, that was already boarding, I was going to be on.....wait for it....a grand total of SIX hours straight. My three hour plane ride had suddenly turned into six hours. SIX hours! All I thought about was how awful Coral had been on the flight there, and I had no clue how I was going to contain her on my lap for six hours.

I sent some text messages asking for prayer, prayed a little myself, and off we went.

The hardest part was the take off and landing. But by the third time around, we had a system going. Coral would get a special snack on the way up, and a special snack on the way down as well. Coral knew the routine on the plane so well that when the flight attendants stopped at our row she would ask for her "bits, apple juice" and they already knew to give her a red straw and two packages of bits and bites. Thankfully, Coral did great on the plane. She was a typical toddler and was climbing all over the seats (using the arm rest for a horsey ride), but she wasn't crying. She played games, did crafts and made a heck of a mess. I got off the plane with her in both Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, and let her run up and down the terminal. She knew exactly what was happening as we boarded the plane again and again (each time we said good bye to the place where we stopped and to all the workers, then we shouted "alllll right" as we took off). By the end of our 10 hour day, she was pooped, and when our plane landed in Toronto she said "all done"....my thoughts exactly Coral. 

I didn't have the best welcome home either. After an exhausting day of flying, I came home to a very dirty house. Not messy, Hodg tidied up before I got home, but dirty. Ya see, I have a problem with dog hair. A HUGE problem. Especially on my bed, and on the carpet. Hodg, its not so much of a problem with him. In fact I don't even think he notices the dog hair. So, I had a lot of cleaning to do when I got home, and while I was cleaning, I noticed our house had become infested with maggots. Yah...gross. I spent the whole next day bleaching our entire house. Normally when I clean, I never use cleaning products or chemicals. This time, chemicals were used, and a lot of em. Our house smelt like a swimming pool.

Just wait folks, my story doesn't end there.

So the maggots are now gone. My house is looking and feeling spotless.

Then a new bug decides to show up in the middle of the night.

The flu.

Only I caught it, thankfully. It only lasted through the night, and by yesterday afternoon I was starting to feel like my usual self, only a bit exhausted.

And now ya'll are up to date. 

Given the intensity of the last couple of days, we have decided to take it easy this weekend, and not travel to the farm or Port Rowan for Thanksgiving. We plan on having a nice relaxing weekend at home. Coral is so excited to be spending three whole days with her wonderful daddy. Don't worry Nana, you will still get a Thanksgiving craft from Coral (which we have been working on today)....stay tuned tomorrow to see what it is....