Off the Grid.

I haven't blogged in a few weeks, but I have a good excuse...we spent 10 fabulous days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We've had this trip planned for a few months now but with the way our schedule has been (3 months of non-stop traveling... East Coast > Midwest > Baja California plus a whole lot of preggo appointments in between), it's been a little crazy trying to maintain some sort of a consistency on the blog. I'm happy to say that we will be home for a while and I don't plan on traveling much of anywhere via plane.Our trip was incredibly relaxing. We packed the bare minimum, which is so unusual for me. I usually overpack and regret it so this time I left all electronics (with the exception of a cell phone) at home. I chose not to bring my DSLR camera for a number of reasons...one being the fact that I just wanted to enjoy my trip and not feel pressured to constantly document it. I did, however, bring my film camera along which as served me well on previous travels. I loved that I spent my days makeup free and lived in flops and sundresses. I brought along my Bible, a book, and some watercolor paints which served as recreation on our off days. We spent a lot of time just lounging around the pool, seeing the city and hanging out at the beach. We stayed at a little inn which was several blocks from the tourist area. It was the best decision we made for the trip. It was a family-operated inn with amazing reviews on TripAdvisor and the service was way more personable than our last night at an all inclusive (they didn't have our last night available which is why we switched hotels.) We had homemade breakfast every morning and we slept in our own bungalow. The manager went out of his way several times to make our stay comfortable by doing little things like buying Kaiden baby-anti-mosquito lotion or building Ethan a carrying case for his new fishing pole.I'll probably share more about the trip once I get the pictures developed. (That's the only pain about film...I probably won't get them for a few weeks.) But if you want to see more pics from the trip, be sure to follow me on Instagram >> @dianne_j. I'm constantly posting pictures from our every day life and this trip was included. I wish I could say I'm at home feeling refreshed from the trip, but Kaiden and I are sick with a pretty gnarly cold so I'm hoping to feel a bit better sometime soon.I hope you all had a merry Christmas!

My (Minor) Experience with Super-storm Sandy

We spent three days without power, plumbing, heat and light after the Superstorm Sandy hit Ethan's family's house in Pennsylvania. This meant candles and flashlights, no flushing the toilet and lots of layers! At the time, it felt like forever until we would get "normal" back but I know there are still families suffering from the effects today and so I'm grateful our experience was minor in comparison. It was definitely a miserable at times, as Kaiden and his cousin Avery had trouble sleeping because it was so cold. The whole family stayed in their fireplace room for the majority of our time there and we spent our moments together swapping stories and reading books...we even played "Killer Wink" haha. It felt like someone hit rewind and we were in one of my favorite time period movies.Although, I could easily complain about not having flushable toilets or hot water for a few days, I realized during this time that my temporary reality was a permanent reality for many. There are many without power or plumbing on a daily basis. Of course, it's natural to want it more when you're priviledged with having every day but it reminded me to continually count my blessings. I'm  thankful for the hot showers and the fact that I can shower daily (even hourly!) if I wanted to. I'm grateful for the privacy of a personal, flushable toilet in my own home (in fact, we have three at our base house.) I'm blessed to have light at the flip of a switch...heat at the push of a button...cool air at the push of another button. God has been teaching me lately about how much excess we (and most other Americans) live in. In comparison to some American families, we do live quite simply BUT on a global standard we are extremely wealthy. It always used to bug me when I would hear such comparisons because I realize that their normal may not necessarily equate to our normal, but let's face it -- if we can afford iPhones and a data plan than we are living above our means.All this to say, the minor devastation we faced confirmed a lesson God has been teaching me these past few months. I plan on sharing in more depth about it later but in the meantime, check out some pics of what the superstorm did to the tree line behind their house. It's crazy to think that these trees have so much history behind them and one storm could take it down in seconds! 

Worst Conversation Ever.

I had just gotten off a flight to Minnieapolis and had to get Kaiden and I across two terminals with a stroller, a backpack and a toddler carseat. By the time I got to the gate, boarding had begun and I was told Kaiden and I couldn't sit next to each other. I explained to the lady why I needed to sit by my two year old and finally made my way on the plane. After struggling to carry Kaiden's carseat through the tight airplane aisle, I finally got us situated. Kaiden started kicking the seat in front of him. I kept telling him to stop, making my attempts obvious to the person in front of us. She huffed a bit and then turned around and gave me a look, which was totally understandable."Kaiden, you need to stop.""Knock it off."I then turned to her and apologized."I'm sorry he keeps kicking. He should calm down once we are in the air."No response. So typical. All throughout the day prior, I made several apologies for Kaiden acting like the toddler he is and I noticed that most people never acknowledged me when I would say something. Kaiden kept kicking at random and I had no idea what to do. I don't blame him. He had just gotten off a super long flight, only to be put in a stroller and then transferred into a carseat. While waiting for people to board the plane, what else does he have to do? I still attempted to stop him. She then turned around, and there began the worst conversation in the world. Now, let me just be clear, normally under confrontation I freeze and don't say anything. I am not one to speak up and defend myself but in this moment I was both physically and mentally exhausted. Toddlers are a challenge. Toddlers on a plane with people who don't want toddlers to act like toddlers are an even bigger challenge...as I 'm sure some of you may know.Woman: Listen, I know you are trying to get him to stop kicking but I feel really sick.Me: I understand but I'm sick too. I'm 7 weeks pregnant and super nauseous and I'm trying to take care of my toddler. I'm trying my best to get him to stop. I don't know what else I could possibly do at this point.She didn't say anything. The guy next to her jokingly said, "I was kicked all on the last flight and I can take it again. Let's switch seats. I have knots in my back that need fixing, anyways." They switched seats and then she burst into tears.Woman: I just left my dad's funeral.There was silence. I didn't know what to say. Her last line trumped my pregnant card. Sure, I was stressed and actually felt sick but her sickness was something felt much deeper. How was I to know? Out of all the comments and reactions I received for Kaiden's actions that day, the one time I decided to say something...Kaiden fell asleep as the plane took off (and didn't kick the rest of the flight) and I silently let tears roll. I had an extremely rough morning but I'm sure she had an even rougher week.At the end of the plane ride, I went up to her and apologized . I told her that I didn't mean to be insensitive towards her situation and added that dealing with a toddler on a plane is just very difficult. All she said was, "Yep," and walked away. Had I known her situation prior to our conversation, I probably wouldn't have said anything but had she known mine, perhaps she wouldn't have either. If there is anything I could take away from this, it would be the reminder that everyone indeed, is fighting a different battle.