Never Again

Whoopsie!  I totally forgot to post about our road trip to Illinois.  It was pretty horrific, so honestly I think I was just trying to block it out for sanity reasons...

The drive TO Illinois wasn't anything extraordinary.  We left the area by 7, after a full day of work.  Ariel, Travis and I were supposed to share the driving responsibilities, but an hour into Ariel's first turn threw that out the window.  She got pulled over because the license plate lights were out on the truck (we had no idea).  She was mugged a while ago and has never gone back to get her license renewed.  I don't really understand why, but that's how it goes.  She's been using her Passport as a photo ID in the meantime.  When the cop pulled up her driver's license on his computer, it turned out her license was expired.  He was really nice and let her off with a warning, but that took her off the drivers list.  Less sleep for Nikki.  We stopped at the first truck stop we passed and bought replacement bulbs so we wouldn't get pulled over again.  The entire trip took us 17.5 hours.  Before kids, the trip took us 16 hours, so I didn't think that was so bad.

The drive back was a horrific nightmare that easily competes with the Hurricane Ike evacuation.  Here's a quick overview of the Ike drive: 4 humans, 3 dogs, 3 cats (One of which was mewling incessantly and peed all over herself.  After the Benedryl she drooled all over her cage as well.)  Two hours into our hungover ride back, all the luggage fell off the roof rack into traffic on the Interstate.  Imagine all the headache/nausea-ridden people chasing down suitcases before a semi ran over it.  Good times.

But this trip may have been worse.  I think it was because it lasted three times as long.  The drive back from Illinois took us 22 hours and here's why:  We left at 5 pm and I was the first to drive.  It was POURING rain, so we had covered the bed (with all our Christmas presents, luggage and Ariel's new moped) of the truck with a giant tarp.  The radar on weather.com showed a giant red rain cloud over our entire route.  We decided to change our path so our entire drive would not be in rain.  

Two hours into our trip (still in Illinois), all traffic was being directed off the Interstate.  All of it.  No cars going, no cars coming.  We stopped at a gas station for dinner and to see what was going on.  When we got out of the truck, we noticed the tarp had split in half and all our belongings were soaked.  No tarps for sale at the gas station.  Traffic was being redirected because there had been a hazmat semi accident/chemical spill TWO DAYS PRIOR and they were still cleaning it up.  I remember saying, "Starting this trip off with a bang."  There was no advance warning about what we were supposed to do.  How hard is it to get a road sign out there?  We were redirected onto some tiny two lane road without street lights.  Because it was so late, it was mostly 18-wheelers out on this winding, dark, wet road.  SO SCARY.  Three miles later, we were back on the Interstate headed to the nearest Walmart for a tarp (20 miles away).

It was 45 degrees out and we weren't up for spending the remainder of the trip soaking wet, so Travis picked up some rain ponchos when he got the new tarp.  My hands were numb by the time we got the tattered remains of the old tarp off and the new one on.  That stop took us an hour and a half.  Three hours later we stopped for gas and noticed the second tarp had tore in half as well.  We gave up on it at that point. 

Travis and I took turns driving 50-60 mph in the torrential down pour.  It finally let up when we got to Mississippi.  We made a stop for gas at some point.  Aiden had to use the restroom so I took the time to check Mila's diaper.  At some point unbeknownst to us, she had a complete poopy diaper blowout.  I couldn't believe none of us smelled it.  Maybe it was packed under her well enough we didn't notice?  Maybe we were all too stressed to notice anything aside from the task at hand?  Thankfully I had an extra set of clothes for both kids in the cab of the truck.  I threw Mila's clothes directly into the trash since I knew the stain would set before we made it home.  I didn't want to carry her through the gas station, so she got a bath by baby wipes in the parking lot.  Between cleaning her and her car seat I think I used half a pack of wipes.

Back on the road again... I think it was 7 am when we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House.  The kids were both awake (Aiden didn't sleep much) and I wanted to give them a chance to stretch their legs.  We had a greasy breakfast, refueled the truck and got back on the road.  About an hour after breakfast, Aiden decided it wasn't sitting well with him and regurgitated the entire meal.  Thankfully he complained first so I had a bag handy, but some of it made it down his front despite our efforts.  Stop #352.  Wipe bath #2.  Hoping there were no more stops for clothing changes or our kids would drive the rest of the way naked.

That was it.  I think.  Travis, Mila and I were all on the tail-end of horrific colds during the drive.  Ariel was on the front-end of her's.  Aiden made it through it all without ever getting it.  We hadn't slept all week because Mila was teething, so she thought waking up between 4 and 5 every morning was necessary.   Needless to say, it was the worst drive of my life.  I was absolutely exhausted and thankful I had taken Monday off from work to unpack and do laundry.  I was hoping to take a nap that day, but of course I didn't.  I took a couple breaks to read though.  

I think, at this point in the kids' lives, the longest road trip we will tackle is 4 hours.  When they get older, perhaps we'll try it again.  I remember taking lots of road trips when I was a kid and I remember them fondly.  Though most of them were in an RV, so we had room to sprawl out.  No different than being stuck inside on a rainy day at home, really.

See why I was blocking it out?

More Training

I had more training all last week.  I learned a lot for my job and I think it has made me more confident. This training was local, though it was still rough to plan out.  The training center is 40 minutes north.  Travis was a trooper and helped me with the kids all week.  He drove them south to Galveston before heading to work north of our house every morning.  Since my class started at 7:30, I was able to get back down there at the end of the day to pick them up right before they closed.  I feel really bad that the kids spent so much time at the daycare last week, but it was only for one week.  Well, I guess there was one day I wasn't able to pick up the kids on time.  Thankfully, my friend Linsey was able to get them for me.  She already has a big kid car seat in her car for her son and we leave Mila's car seat at daycare every day.  I felt bad asking her for that help last minute, but Linsey was totally cool with it.  It worked out that I got home right before Linsey got to the house.  

The training itself was pretty interesting.  It focused on chemical handling and disposal, various safety issues, First Aid and CPR.  I swear, CPR rules change every time I get re-certified.  They're either changing the number of compressions, number of breaths, or taking out giving breaths altogether.  Although it looks like they recommend doing that again. 

It was a big week for Mila.  Her second tooth broke through; right next to the other on the bottom front.  She was a little cranky, nothing extraordinary.  So different than Aiden.  She also has taken to sitting up on her own!  If she has to lean over to reach a toy, she usually topples over, so it's not 100%.  I feel like she is growing up so fast!

At this point in our lives, Travis and I have begun to lean towards not having any more children.  We aren't throwing out the idea entirely.  At any rate, if we do have another it won't be until Mila starts Kindergarten.  We plan to move to a different home before then.  That means we would have to store all this baby stuff  for five years and move it to a new house.  Meh.  Not worth it to me.  So now we are storing all the things Mila has outgrown (except for the clothes I've been giving to a friend) in bags marked "Garage Sale".  This will be the first garage sale we've done as adults.  I recall my parents having a few, but I was just a wee one with no responsibility.  Honestly, I find the idea a little daunting.  But it should be worth it.  It can't hurt to earn a little cash back on all these items!

Casa del Suerte

Oh what a wonderful weekend!  Our friends, the Luck's just bought their first home.  They planned a housewarming party for next weekend that we are unable to attend due to a prior engagement.  I really wanted to see the house, particularly before Mila is born, so we made the trek to Austin this past weekend. 

We originally wanted to leave Friday after work so we would have all day Saturday to hang out, but as the day approached, we realized that neither of us were capable of staying awake that late (it's a 3.5-hour drive).  So instead, we woke up and got on the road first thing Saturday morning.  We arrived right at lunch time.  Logan and JR were on their way back from Logan's teeball game, so Sara gave us the grand tour.  They had the home built almost to their specifications, but left a few details to change themselves in hopes of saving some money.  They were hoping to finish everything before we arrived, but ran out of time.  It was okay though because the place looks great!  I think they've done a great job with everything.

JR got home before we got to the second floor so he joined the tour.  After we had seen everything, we headed out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  Everyone partook in a few spirits.  I was very jealous of Travis and JR's beeritas.  I want to try one so bad.  It will have to wait a couple more months though.  I am sure if I drink one of those soon after having Mila I will be severely plastered with just one.  The food was good, and the kids entertained themselves with Aiden's toys.

After lunch we went back to their house and a couple of their friends came over.  The guys went off to play disk golf in the gale force winds while the ladies stayed behind with the kids.  At first I was annoyed at the prospect since I thought I would have Travis around to help me with Aiden.  I am just SO tired lately.  I have no energy.  But!  It turned out great because Aiden had Landry and Logan to play with - and all of Logan's toys.  In fact, that was such a relief all weekend.  I didn't have Aiden constantly hanging on my leg.  He always wants me to play with him, or he wants to show me something.  All of which I appreciate and I do not ignore, but sometimes it's nice to just sit.  Particularly when you are 30 lbs heavier than normal.  Yes 30 lbs.  I'm probably going to hit the 40 mark in the next month.  Poo.

One of Sara's friends has an 8-week old son.  He reminded me so much of Aiden.  He was so sweet.  It really made me look forward to having Mila.  Though things will be a little different this time: 1) We have a better idea of what we are doing.  2) We're having a girl this time, so the clothing situation will be different.  Ahhh!  I can't wait!!  Well, I'm not particularly looking forward to the birthing process, but the end result will be awesome, I'm sure.

For dinner, we went back out for Mexican food with everyone.  That meal turned out to be a little stressful.  Aiden didn't take a nap that day AND we left for dinner when Aiden would normally be going to bed for the night.  Sara, Landry, Aiden and I ended up leaving before everyone else.  I got Aiden to bed as soon as we got home and he passed out immediately.  Sara and I stayed up chatting until the guys got home.  Travis passed out immediately as well.

Sunday I slept until 7:15.  Travis and Aiden got up around 7:45.  I would have preferred to sleep later than that, but it was way better than getting up at 5.  Blech.  Travis and JR got us donuts and kolaches for breakfast, then we went to the playground.  After the kids had played on everything for a bit, we walked over to the community pool.  It was so nice.  I really appreciated having other kids around for Aiden to play with.  There was a kiddie pool that didn't get any deeper than a foot and a half, so I didn't have to get in and hold up Aiden the entire time.  The water WAS freezing though.  We eventually had to force the kids out because they were all turning purple.

For lunch we went to Steak 'n Shake - a favorite of mine from Illinois.  I ate SO much.  It's no wonder I've gained 8 lbs in the past two weeks.  It's just that I'm SO hungry ALL the time.  It never seems to go away!  I didn't have any trouble losing weight after Aiden, so I'm not horribly worried about it.  I'm just worried about not being able to get around because I've gained so much.  Meh.  Only five weeks left now.

We decided to just head home after lunch instead of sticking around for Aiden's nap.  Aiden and I slept for two hours on the drive home.  It was AMAZING.  I was exhausted after a weekend of doing nothing.  I guess I'm just tired all the time.  We got home just after 7, so we fed Aiden dinner and unpacked.  Aiden went right to sleep with only a couple hiccups.  Then we laid in bed and watched The Rum Diary.  I didn't really like it, but it was nice to finish the weekend with more relaxing.  A thunderstorm rolled in before we fell asleep and it persisted through the night.  I've started using a sound machine and the only one that helps put me to sleep is thunderstorms.  That means real thunderstorms = sleepiness. 

FABULOUS WEEKEND.  Thanks so much Sara and JR!!

Imbeciles

Yesterday when I was driving home from work with Aiden, I had a moment of road rage.  I was in the middle lane, coming up on a PT Cruiser that was following a big rig in the right lane.  RIGHT as I was about to pass them, the PT pulls in front of me.  No warning.  I slam on my brakes and mutter, "Really??"  I check for cars over my shoulder in the left lane, see no one coming, so I pull over into the left lane.  The PT pulls in front of me AGAIN.  "REALLY?!  UGH!"  I slam on my brakes AGAIN as the PT driver looks at me in his side mirror.  I check over my right shoulder for oncoming cars, I flip on my blinker and as I'm turning back forward the PT SLAMS on his brakes.  Dude.  Are you trying to kill us? 

At this point, I have to swerve into the middle lane to avoid an accident.  As I'm passing the wacko on the right, he throws the car into the left exit lane.  GAH.  So glad we made it out of that alive.

A minute later, I'm in the right lane two miles from our exit.  There's almost no one in that lane, so I decide to pass on the right.  No reason to cross two lanes to pass a guy in the middle lane, just to get back over in that right lane for my exit.  But as I'm getting ready to pass the guy in the middle, he speeds up, so I can't pass him.  At the same time, a truck pulls onto the entrance ramp.  I try to gas it to avoid both vehicles, but there wasn't enough time.  So again, I have to slam on my brakes. 

From the back seat: "Really?"

Aiden decided to put his two cents in about all these dumb drivers.  EXCELLENT.

I swear, I am not usually a brake slammer.  I generally drive about 70 mph.  I know that is above the normal posted speed on the interstate of 65 mph, but in my defense, at least a third of the other vehicles on the road are staying up there with me.  I just had a particularly crazy drive home.