The past few days have been kind of hectic in my household. Over the weekend, I was out of town for one of my best friend’s bachelorette weekend. It was really fun. The beach, and the sun, and the wine, and the girl talk. All lovely and wonderful things. But, to be honest, my favorite part was driving three and half hours each way by myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much time just for me. And I listened to my favorite music loudly on the stereo, and talked to myself about some things, and yelled out the window of my car on an empty stretch of highway, and it was really nice to feel like an individual.

When I got home, Ton Ton was feeding Luki his lunch and he yelled out MAAA MAAA as soon as he saw me. Just like that, it felt great to be part of a family again. And, believe it or not, that feeling continued, even after his diaper exploded a few minutes later.

Everything seems to indicate that the explosion was caused by a tooth. It’s like Luki’s body says, “if my mouth has to endure the discomfort of a bone protruding from its gums, then I’m going to do everything in my power to bring discomfort to others. In the form of the nastiest, smelliest, stickiest poop you have ever seen.”

It’s perfect timing, really. Toxic Poop is just what we need on the plane when we’re on our way to Venezuela.

Wait, have I failed to mention?

WE ARE LEAVING FOR VENEZUELA IN TWO DAYS!!

That’s in ALL CAPS because I’m super excited. And also because I have yet to pack a single item of clothing. The best kind of excitement is the one tinged by intense pressure, methinks.

We are going to visit Ton Ton’s family and it’s great because they live in a city near the water so we get to go to the beach. And it’s not just any beach, it’s a Latin American beach where every twenty seconds a vendor walks by selling empanadas, or oysters, or corn on the cob, and I just lie there and say yes! yes! yes! and more please!

The water is crystal clear and the sand is like powder, but the food….THE FOOD IS WHAT MAKES IT TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Ton Ton’s mom, aka Mamacita, is super excited about this trip. She calls everyday to talk to us about the content of our suitcase. DON’T BRING THE BABY ANY CLOTHES, I ALREADY BOUGHT HIM EVERYTHING HE WILL NEED! NO NEED TO PACK HIS TOILETRIES, I BOUGHT HIM A BOX OF SOAP AND SHAMPOO! DON’T BRING ANY FLIP FLOPS, I GOT EACH OF YOU A PAIR! OH…AND I GOT AILEN SOME WINE, I KNOW HOW MUCH SHE LIKES WINE!

To which I can only say, yes! yes! yes! and more please!

I plan to take my laptop, but I’m not sure how much posting I’ll be doing from abroad. And the reason for that is totally the limited Internet access in Mamacita’s house. It’s got nothing to do with the wine.