Another visit come and gone. This was only the second time my dad has been down here in almost 4 years (I go up there once a year, so it's not so bad). They say traveling is half the fun, which for me is still true on some level, even when dragging a two year old behind me (or more often, carrying him, his carry on, my carry on, and if I'm lucky, something to eat for each of us), but I cannot imagine is still so for my father who travels at least once a month by plane to some place or another. It's always very sad to see him go, or anyone who comes here to visit, for that matter.

Ju is very psyched to travel up there in July now. He is totally fascinated by all forms of transportation. When we took him up last June, he was sick and not happy and under rested. This resulted in a tantrum reaction to each instigation of "okay, now we have to go get on the next plane" (there were only 3 airplanes involved, thank goodness we flew into Chicago). I am hoping due to his better comprehension of time and language that he will be as excited about the trip as I will come the end of the school semester. Also, he will be three by then, and may be less likely to wander off in the airport (although only slightly), so traveling as a solitary parent won't be so overbearing. Maybe he will even carry his own suitcase.

I will have to get my head out of the future for a bit though, and enjoy the present. I always seem to do that - get all excited for the next trip to where ever. I wonder why...

I have not been kidnapped by the kidnapper doll ;)

My father is visiting here in Brasil for a couple of weeks, so I have been off having fun with him. So far we have taken him on a sunny city tour, shopping for a Brasilian speedo (because you can't wear swimming trunks without being marked as an American - another sure sign is to bring a towel to the beach), to drink beer in our favorite bars, to see the sunset, to a relatively out of the way neat beach area where a river runs parallel to the ocean front and you sit at your tables in the middle of it (Ju loved this because he could swim without any floating device and there were lots of kids to interact with), and to Itaparica island where we stayed at a friend's house that was so full of people that dad had to sleep in a hammock under the mango tree - which is surely something that he will tell as a great story at the office.

Today yet, as soon as we finish the translation for a sushi restaurant that was due last Friday, we are going to Coco Bahia restaurant where there is an open playground for kids, live ducks swimming around in the pond/water fall out front, and various live birds and their ecological bios posted around the all natural, dirt floor, plant and vine covered building. We also plan to (before Thursday when he leaves) go to our favorite North beach to spend a morning and have a little grill party in our garage area, but considering the amount of sun I got this weekend, I'm not sure I need any more beach time. I am now almost the color of the locals.

Ju has some kind of stomach thing, possibley rotavirus, and is pukey, feverish, and generally cranky and whiney. We travel tomorow; 18 + hours on planes, 4 airports, to go visit my parents for a month. I hope we can deal with the issues. It's too bad, because he is usually wonderful on flights, one of those kids who everyone sees and dreads having on their flight, and then compliment his behaviour afterwards. He doesn't want to eat much, and won't really sleep very well either, and generally cries a lot. He has been drinking pedialyte out of a medicine dropper because most things won't stay down, but we won't be able to take it with us on the plane, so I am not sure what we will do for him.

At the moment he is laying passively on the couch, watching Looney Toons. I am not an advocate to plugging your kid in, but when he's this whiney, it's a life saver to have him loose his focus on the uncomforable feelings he's having and just veg for a bit so I can type or pack suitcases. I'm not sure how much of his whining is due to genuine pain and discomfort and how much is due to the fact that he has percieved he is getting a lot more attention since he's been sick. Yesterday he got to be in my lap the whole day and slept in our bed with me and has been carried around all day. He's getting spoiled.