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!