Friday
We got up, had breakfast, viewed what Brian termed a “Midlife Crisis In Tow,”
and headed out a half hour late - only to return for our pillows. Fortunately we were still getting gas when Heath called and she lives just around the corner.
But, we finally got on the road. I wasn’t really worried about how the kids were going to do because they both did fine on the way down.
I will admit though that I was really kind of dreading this trip when we planned it. Not because of anyone we were going to see, but because the three of us had to drive 5-6 hours to get there. I knew my sister could handle it, but she’s notorious for having more patience than I have.
Actually? It was even a little enjoyable. L threw a couple of fits on the way home, but they weren’t severe enough to wake up E - who slept for probably four hours - so I just kept trading him toys to assuage the pain of being almost three and stuck in a car seat for another two hours.
Finally when he was getting pretty pissed off, we stopped and I gave him the chance to go to the bathroom. He did beautifully. I covered the eye and he pushed a SILVER button to make it flush. THANK GOD.
He really wanted to run around, so I let him out of his car seat and he sat in the front while we ate our lunch. Then we headed out again. He was kind of whiny, but he had everything he could possibly want on his tray so I just kept turning up the music. Finally I looked back because he was pushing the tray into a strange position and I realized that he WASN’T STRAPPED IN.
WHAT THE HELL!
Luckily there was another rest area a few miles down the road and we got that taken care of so we could move on.
L was grumpy from that point on. He was so tired, and he wouldn’t eat or sleep, so I set him up with the portable DVD player and he watched videos the rest of the way home. That is, until the battery died. But by that time we were 10 minutes away and we all came away unscathed.
I think what I enjoyed most about both the trip there and the trip back was asking Liam what town we were in. He’d always say, “Wewe in Oakwahoma, Mama!” even when we weren’t. And on the way home, he thought every town was “Bwackweww.” We’d come to a small piece of civilization and he’d yell from the backseat, “Look, Mama! Der’s Bwackwell.”
Unfortunately when we got home, L’s mood did not improve. AJ was not impressed. We put L in bed at 6.30 and E didn’t make it much longer.
I’m exhausted, but I’m happy. I do love a good trip, but I’m always glad to get home.
