Spring cleaned my little heart out and now I can't find anything

It is another grey and rainy day in Paris and I wanted to go to a playgroup this afternoon but I can't find the raincover for Georgia's stroller. I had packed it away in the fall because I figured that between the hood and the foot muff, Georgia was fully protected from the elements. But where did I put it? It so big I don't see where I could have hidden it away. And I don't see how it could have gotten mistaken for a random piece of plastic and put in the trash, since it is so stiff and impossible to fold up. It has GOT to be somewhere. But where?!! There are not alot of hiding spots in our teeny tiny apartment.

And missing this playgroup is out of the question. Its been a battle to keep this group going. There was a nice group last spring, but I think three of the moms moved back to their home country and since they were three regulars, it really shook things up. Suddenly there were only two of us who went regularly. Then this fall, it seemed to pick up and then suddenly, there were quite a few moms who went back to work, which makes the group suddenly much smaller. Now, its spring again and with all the holidays and school breaks, its been impossible to get on a regular schedule. Before Georgia was born, I didn't know if I would be interested in joining a playgroup because I already had a group of mom friends, which had been my original goal when I joined after Ella's birth. But now I realize that it adds a bit of structure to my week and gets me out among people which sometimes doesn't happen when I am busy at the house, lost in the eternal struggle to get Georgia napping and fed. It bums me out when no one seems interested in hosting or meeting up. I don't take it personally, because I get it. Somedays, its just hard to get your shit together and even to commit to something fun. But I do wish that there were atleast a few people willing to make the effort.

Which is why I cannot miss today. I have been harrassing the group with emails every week and now that someone else is hosting, I need to actually go, rain cover or no rain cover. I'll wrap the stroller in SaranWrap if I have to.

Hmm, I wonder if all this angst over a rain cover is not a sign that I am in more desperate need of that beach holiday than I originally suspected? Must keep doing the countdown in my head as we FINALLY have everything booked: On the 29th we leave for a week's holiday at this gorgeous hotel!

Last week was a rollercoaster trying to finish booking everything, and probably 50% of the reason that I need this break. I would find a hotel and be ready to book and then discover a reason why it was totally the wrong place for us or something else would go wrong with the booking. I even had to borrow my FIL credit card (I was like being 15 again! 'which hotel? are you sure its a real hotel and not a scam to get my credit card number? how much does it cost? Are you sure that it is a good price? what does it include?' and on and on.) due to a last minute snafu. BUT I think it will all be worth it- there is a Kids Club! and a nursery! and babysitters! and a heated pool! and a spa! and a family room so that we don't have to sleep next to both girls snuffling and flopping around all night! Which all means, this may actually be relaxing.

I'm not even going to do a quick comparison with last year's 'vacation' to Crete, organized by my dear clueless husband. I just want that experience to fade from my memory as quickly as possible. Booking the hotel this year nearly sent me into PTSD and I had to force myself to push through the panic and trust that no vacation could ever be as bad as that one. (For one, the girls cannot get the chicken pox a second time, right!)

So now all that I have to do is pack our bags. And pray that our favorite Icelandic volcano calms down- although I have already looked into the ferry routes to Sardinia because I am not kidding when I say that I am going on vacation come hell or high water.