Bad car trips...chapter two

I hope everyone's Christmas was great. Ours was great in some ways and absolutely awful in others.

Apparently, we are cursed with having bad car trips. This is the second installment in our Traveling Sucks Journal. Click here for the first installment.

We left home at around 4:30p.m. on Monday, the 22nd. We drove to somewhere in Kentucky and stayed the night. We woke up early Tuesday morning to drive the rest of the way to St. Louis. It should have been a 5 hour drive. Then the ice storm hit and a car in front of us slid off the right side of the interstate, then back on, hitting a tractor trailer in the process. We all stopped. Everyone was fine. The roads were a solid sheet of ice. We drove 30 mph the rest of the way until a bad accident caused the entire westbound side of the interstate to come to a complete stop for about 30 minutes. These things combined made our 5 hour drive an 8 hour one. Not so good for little Ben. Danny handled it ok, but Ben cried himself to sleep at one point. Not happy.

The visit with Kevin's family was terrific. We loved seeing everyone and had a great time, despite the fact that Danny doesn't handle big groups of people well and had a small meltdown on Christmas Eve during which time he missed the annual visit by Santa Claus. Also, Danny needs his sleep. He sleeps a solid 10-11 hour block every night. He goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00. St. Louis is in central time, so the 9:00 visit from Santa was actually 10:00 to poor Dan. He wasn't in a good mood. But we got through that, no problem.

We left to come home on Saturday, the 27th at around 4:30 or 5:00 with the plan being that we would drive 4 or 5 hours to Louisville, Kentucky to stay the night. About a half hour into the drive, torrential rain started coming down. I'm not exaggerating that I was looking for tornadoes. It was raining sideways and the wind was blowing the car all over the road. I was feeding the boys grapes and milk to try and keep their little minds off the terrible storm, when Ben started throwing up all over himself. We stopped the car at a gas station and I took him inside in the pouring rain to clean him up. The car seat wasn't too bad, so we just cleaned everything the best we could and started out on the road again.

A half hour later, more barfing. Rapid fire, like 5 times in a row. He was crying. I was crying. He threw up on my arm at one point. The car seat at this point was hideous. Vomit in the cracks and crevices. The car reeked. We had to stop early. No hotels anywhere. We checked the Garmin. No hotels for 25 miles. Except for one little, crappy, very creepy Budget Inn somewhere in Illinois.

We stopped at this place, hoping against hope that they would have a washer and dryer to put the car seat cover in. No luck.

I washed the car seat in the sink as best I could and laid it across the heating vent hoping it would dry by morning.

That didn't happen, so the next morning, we put garbage bags and grocery bags all over the thing, then covered those with t-shirts and packed everyone up.

We drove the 9 hours home in a car that smelled of puke. It was way too long of a drive for Ben, especially considering he didn't feel well. We all felt kind of sick from being in that car.

We made it home. Ben seems to be feeling better. No one else has been sick...yet...please God, don't let us all start barfing. I hate being sick like that.

I'm almost afraid to plan another trip to St. Louis. Maybe we should start flying.

HELP!

I. can't. stop. eating. puppy. chow.

You know what I mean, right? The cereal snack stuff with the chocolate and peanut butter, or whatever...I don't know...it's just delicious.

Not Clark's food.

That's Ben's problem...every time Clark's food is down on the floor, Ben can't resist nibbling it. How can it taste good? Clark doesn't even want it and he licks his own rear end, for crying out loud. He has tried to eat dirty diapers before. He prefers garbage to his own food, yet Ben wants kibble.

Now, don't get me wrong...Ben would eat M&Ms 24-7 if he was allowed. I'm just saying...he likes dog food.

Ben is the most un-picky eater I have ever seen. Danny survives on a diet of peanut butter, fruit and white milk. Ben eats everything. We had a Christmas dinner for the teachers and staff the other night and he ate cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, lettuce...stuff Danny never ate. Ben is like my dad. My dad will eat ANYTHING! Enthusiastically. My dad works up a sweat eating...he loves food.

And we love him!

We are so blessed to have the parents/grandparents that we do. We are supported, befriended and loved.

The best Christmas gifts!

Now, back to that puppy chow!

JOB DESCRIPTION: PARENT

I didn't know this was what my job would be like when Kevin and I decided to become parents. This is funny!

POSITION : Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :
The rest of your life...
• Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5
• Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly
• Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf
• Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers
• Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects
• Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks
• Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next
• Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices
• Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst
• Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product
• Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :
None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you...

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :
None required unfortunately. On-the- job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :
Get this...You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

NO RETIREMENT IS POSSIBLE.

Danny's Thanksgiving party and Ben's big boy bed

Danny's preschool class had their Thanksgiving party. Here's my precious boy reciting his prayer before snack:

Singing a turkey song:

Ben recently moved out of the crib and into a big boy bed. My dad and John, a family friend, made this gorgeous bed for him. They also made one just like this but with the drawers on the opposite side for Danny when he moved out of the crib! Eventually, we hope they will sleep in the same room!

So sweet!

Now, if he would only sleep in it. Actually, he's been doing much better lately! He loves his new bed!

What is wrong with me?

I still haven't unpacked since my trip to Charlotte.

The suitcase sits on the bedroom floor full of now-wrinkled clothes.

There are two other bags with random travel items in them, still sitting there.



What is wrong with me?

Big trip, snow day and sleep!

I went on a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Alone.

Without my boys.

I cried the entire first half hour of the trip and called Kevin, who said something like, "Put your foot on the gas pedal and drive...you deserve it...you haven't gone anywhere for four years."

True, but still...

I went to visit Mary Kathryn, Jon and Andrew in Columbia, SC, and then MK and I went to the National Orff Conference in Charlotte. It was great fun and we had a blast. I was gone from Wednesday last week till Saturday. Check out pictures on MK's blog.

I really did have a nice time, getting a break from everything at home. And, it was very hard saying goodbye to MK and her adorable little Andrew.

Then, when I got home, we got a snow day treat on Tuesday!

Danny and I made a snowman...there wasn't much snow, but here's our little guy:



We had a nice day together. We made chocolate chip cookies, played outside and spent a lot of time enjoying each others' company.

And, for some reason, this week, Benjamin has slept through the night...ALONE...several times. OMG...it's a miracle.

Trick-or-treat

Danny, the astronaut and Ben, the alien getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

Apparently, they were already tired:

Daddy and Ben:

The scene in front of our house:

Cool Halloween arch (Danny and Luke are getting candy; Denise, Will, Kevin, Ben and I were a little slower):

The boys posing for a group picture:

Seriously scary horses and riders from the horse farm right behind our development:

Kids were absolutely crying when they saw these guys (our boys didn't really seem scared, though):

Our good friend and neighbor, Gordon always gives us lots of Yum-yums (M&Ms), especially at Halloween:
The last house we went to (Moments earlier, Ben sat down in this driveway--he'd had enough):

Let's see what we got (this is only half of what they got...the other half had already been taken inside):

Danny got some scary teeth:

Ben anticipating the flash:


We carved pumpkins too.
Here's a cat on a fence:

Bats in the belfry:


Winking face:


What a fun, fun Halloween! We all loved it!

Pumpkin farm

Danny's pre-school class had a field trip to Rich's Farm last week.

Look at all the pumpkins:


Danny riding the little train thing:


Danny on the train in the distance:


Danny and Ben getting on the merry-go-round:


Daddy and Ben on the merry-go-round:


The hayride:


Ben fell asleep on the hayride:


Danny picked some corn:

Nice view:


Fun was had by all.

It's Danny's birthday!

My due date for Danny was November 12, 2004. He was breach, so I had a version (where the doctors try to turn a breach baby into position for delivery) scheduled for October 22. Kevin, my mom and I went to the hospital at 8:00 a.m. that Friday morning and waited through ultrasounds, examinations, other moms in labor and various personnel changes until around 11:00 a.m. when the doctors attempted the version. Needless to say, it was uncomfortable and it didn't work. Danny's little bottom was wedged into my pelvis and he wasn't going to move.

I had been having pretty strong Braxton-Hicks contractions for a while prior to the version attempt, but immediately after the procedure, the contractions were pretty regular. They didn't think I was in labor, but they wanted to make sure, so we stayed in the hospital, hooked up to monitors for a few more hours.

At this point, I was starving. The kind of starving where you consider eating your hospital gown. I wasn't allowed to eat anything at all that day prior to the procedure or during it in case I went into labor and had to have a C-section. Finally, we were discharged and decided to go to the Boston Beanery so I could seriously chow down.

While we were sitting there, I noticed my back starting to ache. I said, "Hmm...my back is hurting." My mom perked up, "What do you mean? Because that's how I always knew I was in labor...my back started to hurt." I said, "It's like PMS cramps, but I know I'm not in labor...I was just at the hospital and they said everything was fine." So, we finished our lunch/dinner and went home.

I decided to have a nap after the exhaustion of the version procedure, so I went to sleep in our bed. Kevin fell asleep on the couch, watching tv. A few minutes into my nap, I rolled over, then stood up and realized that my water had broken!

PANIC!

My baby wasn't supposed to be born for almost another month...I wasn't ready, mentally. I know that sounds crazy, I mean I knew I was having a baby, but I thought I had a little more time.

I went to the bathroom and tried to clean up a little, but anyone who has been in this situation realizes that it's not possible to clean up. I ran out to Kevin..."Kevin, the baby's coming...wake up!" Kevin jumped up, "How do you know?" I was like, "My water broke...look at me!" "OK, I'll get the car...I'll pull around to the front!"

Off to the hospital we went. Kevin started calling people. My mom, Arlene, Heidi, and Mary Kathryn all came to the hospital. I couldn't stop crying...I was so nervous. I was afraid of the epidural and the C-section and I was freaking out about becoming a mommy.

I can remember praying that Danny would be healthy and that everything would go all right with the delivery. I was so desperate to see his little face.

The epidural was great. I wasn't in full-out labor, so I wasn't really feeling uncomfortable contractions, but the feeling of weightlessness was awesome. I loved how I didn't feel so heavy! Also, I loved the anesthesiologist. His name was Curtis and he was so great. I was crying and he was trying so hard to ease our fears. He kept saying, "Why are you crying?" I said, "I'm just scared." He said, "Don't be scared...we do this a couple times every day." He held one of my hands and Kevin held the other while the surgery was happening. He said, "Count back from ten and your baby will be born." He took the first pictures of Danny.

Those first pictures...Danny with his mouth wide open, screaming for all he was worth, covered in yucky stuff, but so absolutely gorgeous! He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I couldn't and still can't believe that we were blessed with such an angel.

Danny's birthday party

The birthday boy:

Rocket cake with Diego as the astronaut:


Such a beautiful smile:

Ready to blow out the candles:


Time for cake:


And presents:


Thanks to everyone for the great presents, but most of all, thanks for spending the day with us

Chicka chicka boom boom

So, yesterday at pre-school, Danny finished his work and was allowed to go pick out a book to look at. He picked the book, Chicka chicka boom boom, which we read at home all the time! He loves the book and we say it in a real rhythmic way with some singing interspersed every once in a while. He pretty much has the whole thing memorized and says it along with me at home. So, yesterday, he picked the book and started "reading" it aloud. Well, Mrs. Kellar said that he "read" the whole thing to the class (rhythmically and with the singing) and everyone kind of stopped what they were doing and listened to him. She said she's never had a kid do that before. I think this is hysterical.

He's definitely our son...loves to be the center of attention (like Daddy) and in full-blown teacher mode (like Mommy). I'm so proud. I really am. I can't stop smiling when I think of it.

The gift of parenthood

I have been given so much as a result of having children: Love, joy, affection, gratitude, humility, hope, wonder, fun, compassion, selflessness, friendship, courage, relief, confidence, purpose, determination, pride.

Here are some things that have been taken from me and that I would like back:

*My bed.
*The opportunity to eat a snack alone.
*Naps...I'm pretty sure I haven't had one since 2003.
*Being able to eat dinner at the same time as everyone else, not 10 minutes later after everyone has been served.
*My hairbrush...why is Ben fascinated with it?...why is it always in the living room?
*A long, hot bath...alone..."No, do not put that truck in here, I mean it...no you cannot get in here with me!"
*Clean counter tops...everything we don't want Ben to have is piled on top of the kitchen counters.
*My tv...it is now a vessel for the Wii or Noggin.
*Solo bathroom trips...I don't prefer having an audience...there were times when Ben was a baby, that I was holding him and talking to Danny while sitting on the toilet.
*My sanity.

Play date!

Finally, we got Heidi's, Mary Kathryn's and my babies in a room together! It's been a long time coming. We had so much fun!

What the...?

So, I came home from school one day about a week or two ago and began pouring milk for the boys. Ben took a pan out of the cupboard to the right of the stove and kind of turned around to walk toward me. As he did so, he barely tapped the front of the oven door with the pot. I swear he only tapped it. And then, this happened:

The glass on the front of the oven door broke into a million tiny pieces. Kevin and Danny were in the living room, Ben and I were standing amidst the pieces. No one said a word. No one moved. We all just stared at the thing. Finally Ben started to whimper. We just couldn't believe it did that.

Don't you think oven glass should be a bit stronger than that? I mean, honestly, should it break if you barely tap it?

Well, we ordered new glass and my dad came and fixed it. Now all is well, but I guess I have to make sure Ben doesn't graze the oven door with anything. He is single-handedly destroying our house little by little. We're still shaking our heads over this one.

First day of pre-school!!!!

Danny started pre-school last week! We are so proud of him! He has been doing so well.

His teacher, Mrs. Kellar, said that he has been so well-behaved and has followed directions perfectly. He has gone to the potty by himself at school several times (big accomplishment for him).

He was the first one in his class to be able to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, so he got his name put up on the wall and he got to lead the class in saying it. When all of the children can recite the pledge, they are going to have a party!

Getting ready to go:


Walking in the front door:

Finding his hand print:

Doing some seat work:

He even got to be Mrs. Kellar's helper on the second day of school!

Mrs. Kellar told me a funny story about snack time. She's trying to help the children learn to clean up after themselves, throw their trash away and put their lunch boxes back into their backpacks after snack. She said something like, "It's important for everyone to clean up after themselves so we can use our time wisely and keep our room tidy." Danny stood up and put his hands on his hips and said, "Yeah...Mrs. Kellar, why should you have to do everything?" in a very exasperated voice. Too cute!

He's had a very good time so far...I just hope things stay this great and this isn't just a "honeymoon" period! I'm a teacher...I know of what I speak!