Turning up the heat in Palm Springs

My dear friend Carolina got married this past weekend, which meant a quick (and I mean quick) jaunt down to Palm Springs for me and Stew.

 

I don't think I've ever actually flown somewhere for just 24 hours before, and it was definitely a whirlwind. But it was just enough (almost too much!) time for our first overnight away from our precious baby boy. My parents came up for the weekend to stay with Ryder, and even though I knew he was in extremely capable hands I was so anxious about leaving him. And I missed my little angel terribly!

 

Although we did still manage to have a blast.

 

It was 104 degrees in Palm Springs on the day of the wedding. Stew and I spent the afternoon lounging at the pool with friends, because it was really too hot to do anything other than stand in the water while downing blended margaritas. Happy vacation to me...

 

The one photo I managed to take with my nice camera, which I then neglected to bring to the wedding. #fail

The wedding ceremony and reception took place at the super glamorous Viceroy Hotel & Resort in downtown Palm Springs. It's a small, boutique hotel with a ton of charm, very "old Hollywood," and it was such a perfect location for Carolina and Eren's wedding.

 

Chilled champagne during the ceremony made the heat just a little more bearable.

 

Cocktail hour by the pool... open bar and a big night out for us!

 

The one photo I managed to get with the absolutely gorgeous bride! I'm so happy we have remained good friends after all these years... (PS see that guy in the background at the top right? That's Joel McHale, host of The Soup!)

Leaving Ryder for the weekend, even though it was just overnight, was definitely difficult. But it was amazing for me and Stew to get some uninterrupted, adult time together. And frankly I was really looking forward to drinking to excess and sleeping through the night for once. However, I came down with a horrible sore throat the day before we left, which meant I wasn't really up for excessive partying during the reception, although we did stay out late (for us) and had a fantastic time.

 

What I did forget about was PUMPING.

 

Ah, yes. How I initially failed to realize that I would need to pump all weekend is beyond me, since I pump all day at work when I'm away from Ryder and then get up all night to nurse him. But even though I had to wake up in the middle of the night to suction my ta-tas, sleeping in until almost nine the next morning was still a luxury!

 

This trip definitely taught me the ins and outs of Traveling While Pumping. I now know what it's like to lug a breast pump disguised as an ugly mini backpack around as my carry on, how to pump standing up in an airport bathroom stall, and what it's like to wake up at four a.m. wondering if my boobs are actually going to explode. It literally hurt my soul every time I had to dump all the milk I pumped down the drain (that stuff is liquid gold!) but unfortunately I had no way to transport it home safely, and it was probably contaminated by all those adult beverages, anyway.

 

We were so happy to be there to celebrate with Carolina and Eren, but equally excited to get home to our Mini Me. Although I'm still not certain he actually missed us...