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?

Three

Aiden is moving up to the next class at daycare on Monday.  They told me a month or so ago they were planning on moving his entire class up together.  This week they are taking turns bringing each kid over to the older class for a few hours so they can get used to the new room.  Aiden did GREAT, so he only went over for a bit on Monday.  Every day when I pick him up from daycare he tells me in disappointment that he "didn't get to go with the big kids today."  I keep telling him, next week!  You will get to go next week. 

On Monday, I stopped by the front desk to talk to the director about the move. She mentioned that it was the Pre-K 3 class. I had no idea it was a pre-Kindergarden class! I knew there was a pre-K class at the daycare, but I assumed it was for 4 year olds. Apparently they have one for 3 and one for 4!

After I spoke with the director, I went over to formally introduce myself to the new teacher and see the class room.  She said Aiden was super interested in everything on each shelf.  He was really bummed when he had to go back to the other classroom.  He loves his current teacher, so I don't think it has anything to do with her.  He just loves new toys and new kids.  Whenever we walk by the window to the older kids, he stops and stares in jealousy at their cool toys.  Aiden tends to gravitate towards toys for older kids.  Most of the things we buy for him say 4 or 5+ on the box. 

In the new class, Aiden is going to start learning the alphabet, numbers, how to spell his name, learn about Stranger Danger and more.  The class he is in now has already introduced him to letters.  He can recognize some, particularly those in his name.  If you ask him how to spell his name, he gets to the 'd' before he peters out.  I asked the teacher if he will have homework (I'm not ready for that!) and she said no.  She will periodically send home things for him to work on (like tracing his name), but none of it has to be brought back to her.  Apparently when he gets to Pre-K 4, they start turning in assignments.  Good god I had no idea we were this close to the time of homework!! 

I am so excited for him because he loves to learn new things.  I am also super excited about helping him with his homework.  I enjoyed school for the most part, so I look forward to doing this with him.  I just cannot believe its just about time for that.

Because he is moving over to Pre-K, his tuition will not go down at all in this move.  Now when I drop Aiden off, I will have to bring Aiden to his class room on one side of the building, then I'll bring Mila over to the baby-side of the building.

Speaking of Mila, she rolled over at daycare yesterday (back to front).  I am so sad I missed her first foray into locomotion, but at the same time, I know I will have many chances to see it for myself.  I gave her lots of time on the floor last night, but she didn't feel like showing off for me.  That girl has been SO DROOLY lately.  Gross.  She pulls her dresses or skirts up and chews on them.  Most of the time, the daycare has to change her clothes in the middle of the day because of all the slobber soaked into her outfit.  It's crazy.  The bibs help when she's just in a onesie, but if she's got a skirt on, she pulls that thing right over her bib to her mouth.  I give her burp cloths at home to chew on.  They said she doesn't like the microfiber cloths they have at daycare though. So weird. 

Last night while we were on the way home, Aiden asked, "What are you making for dinner tonight?"  I don't know why it was so cute.  Sometimes he pulls out these very adult things that catch me by surprise.  My beebs are growing up!

3 years old

3 months old

The Kids

Aiden can't stand having the sun in his eyes so he had to borrow my sunglasses one day. He had left his in the house.

Mila is learning to hold onto toys!

Sun-in-the-Face

Every morning when I drive Aiden into daycare, we have to face the sun head on for about three minutes. Aiden's not a fan of sun-in-the-face.

I solved the problem by putting my windshield sun visor up between him and the back of my seat. Aiden usually gets annoyed that he can no longer see me or or the road in front of us and attempts to kick down the visor. If he is not successful, he fusses until I make that first turn south and I take the visor down. If he is successful, then he gets mad about the sun being in his face again and tries to shoo it away by waving his hands in front of his face.

It makes me laugh every time.

Am I an evil mom? Is it bad that I find entertainment in the small struggles of my son?

If so, I guess I'll deal. Because it is hilarious.

Big Boy

Aiden's moving up in the world. Or at least up in height. Now he can see out the windows better when he is in his car seat. His feet have been jammed against the seat for a couple weeks now, so we decided it was time to get him a larger car seat. After doing a little research on consumerreports.com and reading the reviews at Babies R Us, we went with an Evenflo Triumph.

So far I like it, but we've only used it once. The only downfall is it is so tall that I can barely see the mirror I have on the back seat so I can see Aiden through my rear view mirror. It's nice to check on him to see if he is asleep, or to see what he might be looking at through the windows while we are stopped at a red light.

While we were at Babies R Us, we picked up a bath tub faucet cover. I can't wait until Aiden is old enough that we can put bubbles in it for him to use whenever he wants. Then again, that might not be a good thing. We are doing full on baths now. No more baby bath tub for Aiden! On Friday, he decided that he HAD to lay on his belly, so I let out a bunch of water and let him splash away. I may purchase a rain poncho to wear during bath time.

Aiden officially has two teeth now. Everyone I know has said that the second the tooth breaks through, the fussiness goes away. Which is why I am now convinced that there are at least 10 teeth trying to emerge all at the same time. I cannot describe the level of crankiness this boy has been exhibiting in the past 24 hours. It's unreal. He woke up twice last night screaming bloody murder. I have this fear that it could be night terrors that are freaking him out, and not his teeth or bowels. I don't have anything to back this up, it's just an unfounded fear of mine.

This weekend was interesting. I went out Saturday night for a college friend's birthday party. There was a big group of people who got together to play Pub Golf. In theory, it could be a lot of fun. But I am thinking I may be past that part of my life because it was a little hard on me. I was passing out on the drive there, since we were within an hour of my normal bedtime. We went through McD's drive thru to get a frappe to wake me up. In the end, I just had a headache. I had a good time in the beginning, but then the headache and exhaustion got the better of me. My DD, Travis, came to get me at about 1am.

Travis was awesome and let me sleep in the next morning - I was up by 9:30. But then, for some reason, my entire body felt like I had run a marathon. I didn't dance at the bars, so the only other conclusion I can come to is it was because I was walking in heels all night (flexed leg muscles)? And screaming over the bar music (tensed torso)? Not sure, but it was tough to get moving on Sunday. It will probably be a while before I will do anything like that again.