The Trip: we did it! (we did it, we did it, yeah!)
Look, I'm as surprised as anyone.
Maybe it helps to be a pessimist by nature. I thought the trip was going to be tough, and possibly even horrific.
I had good evidence for that assumption: our spring trip to the 'nati almost ended in bloodshed. (Actually, I think singing Elton John's "Can you feel the love tonight?" at the top of my lungs to a screaming infant in an enclosed space, does in fact, count as bloodshed.)
Mela works on her Dora-style map for the big trip:
One last book (and snuggle) with Grandma:
And the day started with all the elements of a disaster in place: exhausted parents (stayed up late to watch "I love you man" and don't regret it), exhausted kids (the bed-car transfer didn't exactly work as planned), heavy hearts and driving rain (pathetic fallacy: the heavens wept for us).
But with a healthy dose of coffee, a few veteran tricks (wrapped presents!) and a portable DVD player (which we didn't even use that much), things actually went really smoothly.
Dare I say, it was even kind of fun.
Mela takes a cat nap (luckily, she's still in her pajamas):
I was on constant alert and continually checked each child for hunger/boredom/sleepiness and acted accordingly. Every hour or so, my watch would beep and Mela would get to unwrap a new present, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
(Thank god so many people live below the global poverty line and are willing to slave all day in factories so I can buy my possibly-spoiled child 20 cheap fun toys at the dollar store. *said facetiously*)
Mela plays with her first gift while the rain hammers down:
Nate enjoyed the wrapping paper:
Yes, this is an unflattering angle:
Anyway, it was great. There weren't really any long naps so the kids were wired with exhaustion by the time we got to our hotel for the night but we timed the stopping point well and avoided any major meltdowns.
Hey, Mom! You're here, too?!!
SO happy to see our beds:
Heeeeere's Mela!
Nothing like clean-from-the-bath snuggles:
Mama, Mela vewy, vewy tiwed:
Nathan woke up about ever hour or two that night (yes, I'm sleeping in the same room with you - get over it!), which was the last thing we needed so I ended up pulling him into bed with me, which very nearly ended in disaster:
He fell off the bed (into my watchful arms) about 5 minutes after I took this picture:
We plied ourselves with ample coffee in the morning, though, and powered through.
Mela doesn't let the car seat get in the way of her need to dance to the music:
Scenic scenery:
And low and behold, somewhere around Truro ... the sun came out. And shone warmly on our road. And we sang Biscuits in the Oven and the family song. And the kids laughed at the Old Macdonald finger puppet.
And it felt brighter than it had in a while.
Nathan does some last minute prep work by reviewing family photos:
The last couple hours in the car were a bit dodgy but we put on the Little House on the Prarie movie and gave Nathan unlimited bottles of milk.
Mela listens closely while the mama tells the dada, "My home is where you are." Interesting that we grow up surrounded by stories of women leaving their families to follow their man.
We got to Grammie and Grandad's house in the late afternoon, much earlier than expected.
The weather was warm and sunny and Mela got out of the car and ran up and down the hill next to their house, delighted with her incline windfall.
Nathan gave some hard stares to the "strangers" and then decided anything was better than being in the car.
We had a lovely dinner with family and in no time, felt right at home.
Maybe it helps to be a pessimist by nature. I thought the trip was going to be tough, and possibly even horrific.
I had good evidence for that assumption: our spring trip to the 'nati almost ended in bloodshed. (Actually, I think singing Elton John's "Can you feel the love tonight?" at the top of my lungs to a screaming infant in an enclosed space, does in fact, count as bloodshed.)
Mela works on her Dora-style map for the big trip:
One last book (and snuggle) with Grandma:
And the day started with all the elements of a disaster in place: exhausted parents (stayed up late to watch "I love you man" and don't regret it), exhausted kids (the bed-car transfer didn't exactly work as planned), heavy hearts and driving rain (pathetic fallacy: the heavens wept for us).But with a healthy dose of coffee, a few veteran tricks (wrapped presents!) and a portable DVD player (which we didn't even use that much), things actually went really smoothly.
Dare I say, it was even kind of fun.
Mela takes a cat nap (luckily, she's still in her pajamas):
I was on constant alert and continually checked each child for hunger/boredom/sleepiness and acted accordingly. Every hour or so, my watch would beep and Mela would get to unwrap a new present, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever.(Thank god so many people live below the global poverty line and are willing to slave all day in factories so I can buy my possibly-spoiled child 20 cheap fun toys at the dollar store. *said facetiously*)
Mela plays with her first gift while the rain hammers down:
Nate enjoyed the wrapping paper:
Yes, this is an unflattering angle:
Anyway, it was great. There weren't really any long naps so the kids were wired with exhaustion by the time we got to our hotel for the night but we timed the stopping point well and avoided any major meltdowns.Hey, Mom! You're here, too?!!
SO happy to see our beds:
Heeeeere's Mela!
Nothing like clean-from-the-bath snuggles:
Mama, Mela vewy, vewy tiwed:
Nathan woke up about ever hour or two that night (yes, I'm sleeping in the same room with you - get over it!), which was the last thing we needed so I ended up pulling him into bed with me, which very nearly ended in disaster:He fell off the bed (into my watchful arms) about 5 minutes after I took this picture:
We plied ourselves with ample coffee in the morning, though, and powered through.Mela doesn't let the car seat get in the way of her need to dance to the music:
Scenic scenery:
And low and behold, somewhere around Truro ... the sun came out. And shone warmly on our road. And we sang Biscuits in the Oven and the family song. And the kids laughed at the Old Macdonald finger puppet.And it felt brighter than it had in a while.
Nathan does some last minute prep work by reviewing family photos:
The last couple hours in the car were a bit dodgy but we put on the Little House on the Prarie movie and gave Nathan unlimited bottles of milk.Mela listens closely while the mama tells the dada, "My home is where you are." Interesting that we grow up surrounded by stories of women leaving their families to follow their man.
We got to Grammie and Grandad's house in the late afternoon, much earlier than expected.The weather was warm and sunny and Mela got out of the car and ran up and down the hill next to their house, delighted with her incline windfall.
Nathan gave some hard stares to the "strangers" and then decided anything was better than being in the car.
We had a lovely dinner with family and in no time, felt right at home.
Comments
FIY- your son is enormous.
So weird to think of you there, since I have no point of reference other than my brief visit to Truro. Must come visit you immediately so that I can picture where you are when I am thinking about you.
Good luck with the house hunt!