Traveling with one kid was sometimes bad enough, but
now traveling with two...? OMG!! Every day I somehow miraculously manage to get
the boys in the car and to daycare! Ok I only have two kids I know people have
more kids and pets that they somehow get ready and taken care of in the morning…
but my two still make me feel like I conquered a marathon most mornings! Most
days I’m battling my toddler to get his shoes and coat on and in the car,
(recently giving in to letting him bring random toys to daycare—sorry Carri… I
am weak!), I’m pleading/bribing the baby to please not cry by giving him toys
and binkies (he cries anyway, he hates the car!) BUT it is only a 5 minute trip
so I get through it, the way you get through any stressful situation… I put a
little Bailey’s in my morning coffee and eat a special brownie!! (Rule #3 totally
joking…I don’t put Bailey’s in my coffee.)
So I’ve conquered (or survive) the 5 minutes to and
from daycare, but long distance traveling…? Well it is even more eventful than
my morning routine (if you could imagine that.) and with the holiday season we
are sure to add some memories to our crazy traveling adventures. When we had
just one kid it was a lot of packing yes, and a few extra stops but as one
parent was driving the other could keep the kid entertained, but with two, (and
now with the oldest now potty trained… i.e. Trained to potty pretty much as soon
as he tells you he has to go!!) preparing mentally and physically has been much
more difficult!!
First of all, packing for a weekend trip… you’d
think we were leaving for months!! (I
know I’ve worried my sissy that we were movin’ in when I’ve taken 4 trips to
the car and back and unloaded 9 bags into her spare room….OR I guess I unload
the bags all throughout her house and pretty much take over all her space
during the short time we are there! Sorry ‘bout that!) With the bumbos, pumps,
extra clothes, snacks, rice cereal, coats, shoes, diapers, wipes, toys, movies,
ice chest for frozen bottles…blah blah blah the list goes on and on!! It is a
good thing we got a bigger car… otherwise we would have to paper rock it to
decide which kid would get left at home with a water dish and money for pizza.
So the packing is one thing but trying to plan the
best travel time based on feeding schedules, nap times, and happy hour is quite
difficult!! On a recent trip to Seattle we decide to leave after work! Ahhh
perfect! We can eat on the way feed Brody before we leave (unrealistically
hoping that would hold him over until we got there! HA! Because clearly by the
looks of Mr. 98 percentile he is ok with skipping a few meals!) Yeah great plan…UNTIL
Becks throws a fit because he doesn’t want to stop…stopping to eat dinner just
REALLY pissed Brody off that he didn’t get to eat and the last half of the trip
ended with me wedged between a large car seat and an even larger car seat, playing
ABC games on my iPhone with my toddler and nursing my baby (Mom, don’t worry I
didn’t get Brody out of the car seat… I simply just leaned over the car seat
and fed him!! It’s ok it’s safe… I saw Kourtney Kardashian do it once!!)
While in Seattle we had to make a mini trip down to
Olympia. Something magical happened on the way back from this adventure. BOTH
KIDS WERE ASLEEP AT THE SAME TIME!!! UGGGHH Why do they have to do this to me
now… We were supposed to stop to see a friend. A good friend… a GREAT FRIEND!!!
This friend may very well be my last chance to ever be asked to be a
bridesmaid!! I have to stop and remind her how good of friends we are. I share
my dilemma with my husband who basically tells me that is the most ridiculous
thing he has ever heard and we can’t stop because they boys will be grumpy
pants the rest of the day if we do. Uggghhh FINE!! I continue to lecture my
husband how this is ALL HIS FAULT!! If I wasn’t so smitten with your charm and
good looks at age 15 maybe I could have built stronger and more bridesmaid
worthy female relationships… DAMN YOU HUBBY FOR MAKING ME ALWAYS A BRIDE AND
NEVER A BRIDESMAID!!
On the way home we decide leaving during naptime
will definitely be the best strategy. WRONG-O!!! Yeah.. that was a great idea
until we stopped for gas and my hubby got a hankering for some sushi. The
combination of the two stops was too much downtime for the boys to stay asleep.
We were forced to bribe Becks to stay happily in his car seat for the next two
hours with funyuns and bug juice! (Parents of the year right here!!) This
bribery worked out well until Becks shouts from the back.. I GOTTA GO POTTY!!
And anyone who has a three year old knows, when they say they gotta go… you can
tell them to just hold it for the next 40 minutes until you can make it to a
clean and well lite secure location and they will be perfectly able and happy
to do so… HA!! JK you have about 3 minutes!!! We take the next exit and find
ourselves at a shady dark dirty gas station. The bathroom is in a dark corner
in the back… it has a loud toilet and a loud hand dryer (those thing even scare
me!). While we are waiting our turn Becks tells me he’s scared and doesn’t want
to go in there (ME EITHER DUDE!) My quick thinking self does what any mom would
in this situation...I lied to him!!! “Beckham… this is a super hero bathroom!! Only
super heroes can use it!” That gets him in the door but he is still freaked out
by the toilet and now confesses to having to go poo poo too!! Oh man well now
for sure we aren’t leaving…he is not getting back in my car until he gos. “Ohh
this is a super hero toilet too… If you go poo poo in this toilet it will make
you a super hero!!!” Pretty sure I just told my son even his poop is super… Oh
no is that the same as like teaching your kids ‘your sh*t don’t stink!’ Did I
just teach my son he is better than everyone else? “I DID IT MAMA!” Ohhh well
it worked!!! :-)
So traveling as a family of four is definitely
different and vacations are not so much as vacations but test to our patients, planning,
packing, and organization skills BUT… they are way more fun and eventful to say
the least!! So I look forward to the crazy, stressful, exciting travels to
come!! So I wish all of you my fellow super hero moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas,
aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and any other travelers this holiday season to
enjoy every moment you get out and about. And REMEMBER next time you are to
your breaking point, pulled over on the side of the road with a baby blow out,
you’re out of wipes, your toddler is pissed you won’t let him have his toy back
that he threw at your and landed in blow out-poopy mess so he’s opening a
present that isn’t his to try and find it and it’s pouring down rain…… You will
never get these days back!!!!! So try to enjoy them as much as you can!!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
SAFE TRAVELS!!
