So, I drove out of the Tri Cities today for the first time. It’s the first time I drove longer than half an hour, just me and my babies. Ball & Cross Books in Moscow is closing its store so I went there to use a couple hundred dollars of store credit a friend (who owed me money) left for me.

It took me about 3 hours to get there. The last hour, Rinah was screaming so hard I could hear her throwing up and choking on it but there was nowhere to pull over so I just had to listen and pray. She was crying like she was scared. When I finally pulled over, her lips were purply-blue and she was shaking all over. I held her and tried to comfort her a bit before getting back on the road.

While I was in Moscow, I got to meet some friends I hadn’t seen in way too long, Rinah’s lovely godmother, and the wonderful family I boarded with. It was great but I only got to spend a few minutes with each of them. Not enough time at all. I wanted to stay longer because there were so many more people I wanted to see, but I left so I could get home before dark.

My sweet little girl, who is usually so calm, cried for over 2 hours on the way home. Not just cried. Screamed. It didn’t help that she’s teething. All her molars, top and bottom, right and left, are cutting through her gums. So I was speeding and I got pulled over and got a HUGE ticket. It cost as much as my “free” books. At least the policeman was really nice. His last name was Smith. Ben just told me our car insurance is going up because of this.

Now I hate cars (and myself) more than ever. If we were in a train in Tokyo, I could have been holding her, playing with her, reading to her, nursing, walking around, pretty much whatever I wanted. I think this means I am not meant to get out of the the Tri Cities … especially with another one coming so soon. AUGH. One baby screaming is bad enough. I can’t imagine how horrible it is to listen to 2 babies screaming in the back seat.

Except for meeting some friends, today was just a really, really bad day … 6.5 hours of driving and almost 3.5 hours of screaming. I miss everyday life in Mitaka and Kichijoji so much. Here are some pictures of a really good day we had last summer in Mitaka, 40 pounds ago. She has her daddy’s wrinkly forehead and my nose-wrinkly smile.

We’re back home and she’s back to her happy self, running around, giggling, singing, babbling, dancing, and playing with daddy. She is going to be a really talkative little girl. Actually, she already is, I just have no idea what she’s saying most of the time.