All systems are go for departure for Maryland this Friday. We were supposed to leave Saturday, but the tickets were sold out by the time I got around to ordering them. Eric will have to leave work briefly to drop us off at the train station, but it's only a few minutes from our house and his work, so that's okay.

Yes, despite the warnings from people who think I'm totally out of my mind, we're taking the train instead of the plane. This is partly due to my curiosity (I've never ridden on a real train before!), partly due to my strong desire to keep both feet planted firmly on or only a few feet off the ground, and partly due to the fact that Sam overheard us discussing the train and refuses to consider any other alternative means of travel. He got really upset with me when we stopped by the train station to try to buy tickets (thwarted by the fact that the station is unmanned) and didn't immediately hop on a train to head for parts unknown.

I need to finish packing. (Heh. I love the implication that I've actually started packing.) I need to figure out how the carseat thing is going to work; we'll need carseats when we get to my parents' house, but there's no checked baggage service on this train. Dad thinks they can borrow a booster seat, so that just leaves Gabe. I'll check whether we can just stash his seat with the stroller - the other concern.

Initially, the woman with whom I spoke led me to believe than anything we brought - anything at all - needed to be able to fit into the overhead compartment. I measured the double stroller, and then I measured the single stroller, and then I called back to loudly inquire as to what stroller in existence - or wheelchair, for that matter! - could possibly fit into a compartment whose largest dimension was twenty-eight inches. This new woman informed me that I could just bring the stroller onto the train and it would be stored with the wheelchairs, bikes, etc. That would have been nice for the first woman to tell me, no? Sheesh.

So we'll be in Maryland (western part of the state, for those that are curious) until April 3. I'm getting pretty excited, and I know my mother's going bonkers with anticipation. It'll be a long trip, but I'm bringing fun things for Sam to do on the train. I might even pack my old film camera and let him take pictures of his trip.

Boy, I'm going to miss Eric while we're away, though. We go through ups and downs, and since Gabe's been born it's been more stressful than not, especially with Happy Fun House Issues hanging over our heads to boot. Still, I've been feeling really appreciative of him lately, even when I'm too exhausted to do or say much about it. Last night, the man cooked Saag Murgh from scratch, complete with chapati bread (my sole contribution: having the dough made, rested and ready to go by the time he got home from work). He was still cooking when I was putting a tired and napless Sam to bed for the night, and when I came back downstairs, the kitchen was full of wonderful, exotic smells and I saw this:

How can your heart not melt at that sight?

I hate leaving him by his lonesome for two weeks, especially over Easter weekend, but he just can't get away from work for that long, particularly considering the new projects starting at work. He's consoling himself with ideas of bigger and better (and spicier) cooking experiments and being able to sleep in on the weekends. He'll be fine, if a little lonely. It'll make our homecoming that much nicer.

ME: Well, how was preschool today, Sam?
SAM: Um, pretty good.
ME: Didn't you have a party today?
SAM: Oh! I forgot!
ME: Well, what kind of party was it?
SAM: Um. What kind of party was it?
ME: Was it a Saint Clarence's Day party?
SAM: Oh! No! It was a Saint Patch-ik's party!
ME: And what did you guys do?
SAM: I played, and we went to the gym and ate snacks. You gave me green muffins and green M&Ms! And I showed Miss Sarah my leprechaun.
ME: That sounds like fun.
SAM: Yes. [fake coughs] I'm too sick to go home. I think we better go to the doctor!
ME: Oh, you are not sick, silly.
SAM: I am sick! Ah-ah-CHOOO!
GABE: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
ME: Oh, Sam! You scared Gabe!
SAM: I'm sorry, Gabe! I'm sorry, Gabe! It's not a monster!
GABE: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
SAM: Mommy, is there something wrong inside Gabe?

Must run and do laundry now. I'm not taking a full two weeks' worth of clothes with us, but we will need at least a few days worth, and I'm constantly observing that two kids use up substantially more laundry than two adults do.

Eric joked, "But if you're gone for two weeks, how are you going to get back here to wash my clothes?" Smart aleck.