The day is almost here.  Finally.  After huge amounts of planning, a great deal of stress and lots of packing, we embark on our French adventure tomorrow.  I can hardly wait.  The day was not without drama, however.  Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t work drama.  Unsurprisingly, it was kid drama.

We are still having ongoing discussions with Sophie about how many – and which – stuffed animals she can bring with her on this trip.  She’s narrowed it down to five plus her pillow pet.  That’s about two too many.  We are going to have a very difficult conversation with her tomorrow morning.  I am dreading it.  She’s going to have to choose among Shirley the lamb, Bone-Bone the dog, Yoshi the Mario Bros. character, Waddles the Penguin and Uni the Unicorn.  I know, an impossible decision for a five-year old.  But life is tough, and she’s better off learning that now than when she’s 20 years old.

It wouldn’t be fair, however, if all of the drama surrounded little Sophie.  Chloe contributed more than her share as well – and in a way only Chloe could.  I got home from work at around 6:30 pm to find Chloe evidently upset and a little teary-eyed.  Her Papa was sitting next to her on the couch and when I looked at him with inquisitive eyes, he shook his head and gestured to her iPod Touch.  Yep.  A day before we leave for France, her Touch is broken.

But PinkMeNot mom always comes to the rescue, especially when it’s in her best interest to come to the rescue.  Getting nauseous at the thought of having to listen to Chloe moan and groan if she couldn’t bring her toy (and addiction) to France, I first tried to troubleshoot the problem online.  To no avail.  I then called Apple’s Tech Support.  Needless to say, since about 7 pm this evening I am their biggest fan.  They got me an appointment at our local Apple store, we were there by 9 pm and as quickly as you can say “Apps,” Chloe had a brand new iPod Touch.  Crisis averted.

France, here we come!