Otac na sluzbenom putu, or Murphy's law of (Ruslan's) travels

As Ruslan mentioned in the previous post, somebody in our household is bound to get sick when Ruslan is on a business trip. As if it was not difficult enough to handle a healthy child (two since January!), caring for a sick toddler can be quite tasking (especially if you happen to be pregnant, say). Colds, runny noses, ugly coughs, vomiting--somehow it all tends to strike when the capacity is low in the household. Of course, it inevitably results in nasty phone calls and a lot of frayed nerves on both sides :)

It's all made more difficult by the fact that, being expats, we have no traditional network to fall upon: no grannies, aunties, cousins and neighbors around to call for help and occasional babysitting. At least we are lucky that my Mum and sister can often come to plug the gaps; it must be real tough for friends whose parents are thousands of miles away. I hate to think about what it will be like if we move even farther away, and it seems like we might have to (or choose to) sooner than we thought... but more on that another time.