Last Minute Change of Plans

So this morning I was rushing to finish packing for my 11:30 pickup to LAX when I got a call from my boss. When he asked me "Did you check your email?" I figured there was some piece of software I was supposed to make sure to bring. But then he told me that there was an email copied to him saying that my trip was cancelled. It turns out that the person I was supposed to work with in Germany had to make an emergency trip to Malta, and my visit needed to be postponed. Although I had told them on Wednesday that the rest of the week was a holiday in the United States so I would not be at the office, I also expected to check my email from home before leaving. However, due to some problems on a borrowed laptop, I almost left for Germany where I would have been unable to complete my trip goals!

The upside of this situation is that I got to spend the rest of the day with Andrea and Garrett. We spent the afternoon at the house, steralizing and putting away broken swings! Andrea used the breastpump for the first time. Her comment during the process was "this is absurd", and I definitely understand her feeling. However, we both feel that having a bottle as a backup is important.

Our second attempt with a Graco Swingomatic was only marginally improved. The motor in this unit did not automatically shutoff; however, rather than maintain the swinging motion, this one only slows the decent, so after 5 minutes the swing is going slowly and after 10 it has completely stopped, not what I expected at all. I have boxed it up and we are trying to decide if it would be worthwhile to try a third time, or if we will give up on a "full size" swing.

The full story on our favorite travel swing, the Fisher Price Open Top Take-Along Swing, will come when I have a chance to turn my notes from Thursday and Friday into the full posts. However, the end result is that unless the opened box unit had a damaged motor in addition to the missing screws, this swing is not for us.

The Fisher Price Aquarium Take-Along Swing is too flashy, plus it is more expensive than the Open Top Take-Along, but it has one important feature that the other seems to lack... it works! Despite our feelings about the look of the swing, the rocking works well and Garrett likes the lights and sound on the upper bar. Unless another contender presents itself soon, his response to it will outvote our feelings.

We spent the evening with Danielle and Justin, as Andrea had planned to do when I was supposed to be in route to Germany. Toby and Liv, who we also spent dinner with last New Year's Eve, were invited to dinner and Danielle and Justin made enough food to include me after we learned I was staying.

Garrett enjoyed his Aquarium Swing during dinner, but soon after was ready for bed. Andrea fed him and snuggled with him, although Garrett did let her break long enough to have desert, home made pies, before they both went to bed. I watched the last half of Matrix Revolutions with Justin and Danielle before calling it a night, and I was the only one to make it to the end without falling asleep. As the credits were rolling I looked at my watch and realized that it was approximately the time that I would be landing in Frankfurt if my plans had not changed. I am very thankful for every extra moment I got to spend with my family today.

I repeated tried to wake Justin before retiring for the night and learned an important lesson: you do not wake the sleeping bear!