The Cranky Threshold

Seems like Christmaspalooza has finally taken its toll on Babe-O. She was up much of last night and fussed all morning.

We fueled up on Dunkin' Donuts (which we can't get back home) and McDonald's (which we can). After that, we packed our girl up to go for one last visit – a long-distance buddy of Mom-O who happens to live very close to my folks. When we got there, Babe-O was delightful, but with a very short fuse. She was tired and a little irritable, but did a good job meeting people and interacting with two very friendly, very cool dogs. I felt bad, because we ended up having to leave after quite a brief visit, as our meltdown warning light was flashing bright red after we had been there for about a half an hour. The poor girl was just overwhelmed and was simply not up to seeing anything else new – not today anyway.

So it was a short visit, but well worth the trip. We had a good time and ended up leaving with a half box of diapers our host's baby had outgrown and some clothes that will fit Babe-O. Coolest of all, we left with a very stylish pink beret that was hand-crotcheted (not pronounced "krotch-it-ed", I'm told).

We are scheduled to head back home dark and early tomorrow morning, so hopefully we can get her back into her old routine and feeling a little more secure about life in general.

Despite being a little on the strung out side, Babe-O was allowed to stay up past her usual bed time to meet some extraordinarily good friends of mine that I've known since grade school: the dad, the newly married guy, and the single guy – all in one room for the first time in years. It was a super quick visit, but it was outstanding to see them. Plus they brought me an enormous bottle of beer, which is always a nice gesture.

After they took off, we considered jumping right in the car and driving through the night, but thought better of it after Babe-O started sleeping soundly and I started eating myself into a donut coma. Babe-O had transitioned into all-out sick mode, with a slight fever and a runny nose, so we didn't want to risk robbing her of some good hours of sleep.

I set an alarm for 3 a.m. and stretched out on the couch. Wish us luck on the road!