Day 7: We arrived!

Today we arrived! This moring we checked out of our fancy B&B and headed for the Seattle area. We stopped at Snoqualmie Falls along the way. It was lovely. The area here is so beautiful!

I'm so tired I can barely write about our day.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking. The apartment is very nice except for the stairs, which O has tried to hurl himself down several times. (Note: put baby gate on list.)

Also, the crib and highchair we were promised are not here. We'll have to call about that, but we have the playpen till then. Otherwise, the apartment is great and it's a relief to be somewhere other than the car. The homesickness is still there though.

Tomorrow we're off to explore the area nearby and find a store.

Day 7 summary:
Miles: 127
Number of stairs: 15
Minutes spent trying to find correct building number in apartment complex: 13

Good:
Being here.

Bad:
Being here.

Stress level:
Moderate

Day 6: Today sucked

Today sucked. We did a lot of boring driving and there wasn't much to see. The highlight of the day was stopping in a little mountain town (Wallace, Idaho) for pizza and ice cream. The kids were crabby, but have mostly gotten the hang of sleeping in the car.

We made it to Washington today, but there just weren't enough hours to make it all the way to our final destination.



There were far too many bad points, so, a summary:
*d asked to go home 8 times.
*d didn't nap and was SUPER crabby.
*Getting lost on on a backcountry road looking for a motel and gas. (Motel: $250 a night - no thanks. Gas: none. Crap.)
*Gaslight being on for 30+ miles while I freaked about running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
*Camping, or ATTEMPTING to camp in a furious windstorm. Nightmare!

We literally had the tent tied to a tree and the van and it still seemed that it would blow away with all of us in it. At 11PM I told D to give it up and we agreed we should leave. (1 guess on whose idea camping was.)

The only motel with vacancy was an hour away. It was a fancy and super cute B&B. It was almost sickenly cute. Not for kids so much, but we stayed anyway. All of the old people there just looooved the screaming and tantrums at breakfast. *sigh*

Now Baby C has a fever. Normally, I'd be calm about this, but being across the country with no pediatrician makes me panic.

Tomorrow we get there! Praise!

Day 6 summary:
Miles: 597
Times I wished for home: 7

Good:
Pizza and ice cream.
A jacuzzi tub at B&B.

Bad:
Almost everything else.

Stress level:
Low to VERY! HIGH!

Day 5: d says

Today, d asked to go home. He said - after our attempt to convince him of all the cool stuff to see - "FINE! I'll see the mountain, but then I want to go home." Poor little guy.

All in all, today was rather boring. We drove across Wyoming and part of Montana. Beautiful but desolate in many places. All I could think was how the winters must be.

Rocky Mountains in the distance.

The weather is very nice here. Not at all hot, compared to what we're used to. The only thing of interest we saw was a small town city park we found with GPS help. We bought a lunch and ate and the kids played in the park. If you're ever in Sheridan, WY you should stop by. A very cute little town!

I'm starting to feel yucky from eating out so much. I can't wait till we get there and I can cook again! On a related note d had a few choice comments about me.

As we were eating, D asked d if he didn't want to grow big. If he did, he needed to eat something. d replied, "Mama ate all her food and now she's bigger than you!" D kindly pointed out, "But Mama had a baby, remember?" d replied, "Yes, but C came out and then Mama ate and ate and ATE and now she's bigger than you!"

Ouch.

Tomorrow we should hit Washington!

Day 5 Summary:
Miles: 462
Ego busters: 1

Times d had to potty between 5 & 6 PM: 4

Good:
Fun park.
Beautiful scenery.

Bad:
Boring drive today!
Beautiful scenery lasting hours upon hours.
Feeling homesick.
Getting called out by 3 year old.

Stress level:
low to moderate

Day 4: halfway

Today was long. I realized that we're halfway there and all I want to do is be finished.

Here is what South Dakota looked like on the GPS. Interesting, huh?

Actually, it was really beautiful!

We spent the whole day in South Dakota. We stopped at Wall Drug - where I bought a contact case because I had lost mine and it cost me $8.49! For a contact case! At a drugstore!
We also saw the Badlands and stopped at Mt. Rushmore and a little drive-through wildlife park.

The kids are exhausted. They're napping, but not well, and we can't seem to get them to bed on time AND make as many miles as necessary.

d had a fever today and hasn't eaten much at all, even for him. I worry that he's getting sick. O is getting all 4 molars and he's miserable. The baby is doing well, but I feel like he's not getting any face time stuck in that carseat carrier all damn day.

Worst of all, our neighbor that volunteered to take care of the pets called today. *Just 4 days into this 2-3 month commitment, he wants us to find someone else. WHILE I'm 1000+ miles from home. Nice.

Tomorrow we're off to Wyoming.

Day 4 summary:

Miles: 457

No Vacancy motels: 5

Glasses of wine wished for: 3

Good:

Mt. Rushmore

Seeing bears.

Beautiful, cool, weather.

Bad:

Horrible, public, 3 year old tantrums.

Teething, screaming 15 month old.

1000+ more miles to go.

Flaky neighbor.

Stress level:

Morning: moderate

Evening: high

(*update: One of my friends, who lives about 3 minutes away, volunteered to take care of the pets. I have a backup too.)

Day 3: An explosion

Today started off kind of slow - due to some poor planning on someones part. We got on the road about 9AM and had some time to make up, due to our lazy day yesterday. However, D moved some things around in the van so I could climb in the back instead of stopping the car every time I needed to get something for the kids. (approximately every 15 seconds...)

We drove about 2.5 hours and stopped and picked up lunch and visited with my aunt and cousins, who happened to live along the way. We stayed long enough to eat, change diapers, nurse and run around and then we were off again.

We managed to drive from K.C. to the outskirts of Omaha before stopping again. There was a potty accident that involved wet clothes (with suitcases packed away very inconveniently) and a soaked carseat. *Note that upside down diapers make a good alternative to actually washing and drying a very wet carseat.*

Everyone was awake after that so we pulled over at a Bass Pro Outdoor World (woo) and D took the older boys in while I nursed Baby C in the car. Then we checked out the fish and realized they had a restaurant in the store. It was dinner time and we were already stopped, and t-i-r-e-d of fast food - so we gave it a shot.

Luckily for us, the food was good and service was great. (By great I mean fast and the kid's food came first.) Not so luckily, O was in a screaming mood, which, coupled with his dipping obsession, made for a messy and annoying time. C was crying as well, which is unusual for him unless he's hungry or dirty. I knew he wasn't hungry.

Do you see where this is going?

I didn't. I picked him up only to find that not only was he dirty, but had exploded about 8 lbs of his body weight into his diaper. Needless to say, it wasn't all in his diaper. It was, however, everywhere else.

This was a "NEED A BATH" kind of a problem. No baby wipe in the world would stand up to this mess! Also, white onesie? Now mostly yellow.

And, even better, I hadn't brought in a change of clothes or any diapers or ANYTHING. I nonchalantly laid C back into his carseat and proceeded to wolf down my food. (what?! Don't look at me like that! It was delicious fresh veggies and grilled tilapia. After days of McD*nald's I wasn't giving that up!) D raced through his too, and we tried unsuccessfully to get the kids to eat something other than honey mustard and applesauce.

We paid for our dinner and rushed over to the kid's section and bought C a new onesie. On a whim, we bought the other boys a shirt too. You know - to remember the moment.

Clean up ensued in the car. It was interesting. I'll spare you.

Doesn't he look pleased with himself?

The rest of the day was rather uneventful in comparison. We drove on to Sioux Falls, stopping along the way at a park to let the kids play. We spent the night at a fancy pants hotel, where I was afraid to let the kids touch anything. Luckily, being that it was 10PM, the kids went straight to bed. Tomorrow it's off to Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore.



Day 3 summary:

Miles: 526

Times climbing into backseat: Eleventy billion

Baby wipes used: 35

Outfits bought: 3

Good:

Seeing family.

Eating vegetables with dinner.

Bad:

Explosive diapers.

Peed-on carseats.

Crappy drivers who try to run you off the road.

Stress level:

Morning: low

Evening: high

Day 2: Travel Break

Today we decided to spend the whole day with my family in Bighairycow, MO. We napped and ate and went to a little park. Then we went swimming and went to lunch with my parents and my 2 nieces.
The kids spent all day playing with each other and getting into trouble. (ages 5, 3, 3, and 15 mo) I remarked to D that the only thing worse than having one 3 year old was having 2.
Honestly, they weren't so bad really...
We also got to see my brother and his wife-to-be, who's GREAT with the kids. We also saw a cousin, an aunt and my grandparents and we got to meet future SIL's family. Then it was pizza, more swimming and off to bed. Tomorrow we're back on the road.

Day 2 summary:

Miles: 0

Visits to the pool: 4

Kids: 5

Good:

Swimming

Family time

Bad:

Too busy chasing kids and keeping them from drowning to visit with family much.

Stress level:

Low

Day 1 - We're off!

We packed up the car and left the house by 7AM. We stopped for breakfast and at the ATM, but then we were on our way.
After numerous stops, we made it to Dirtycity, TN around 11:30 AM. This is usually a 3 hour drive.
We ate lunch with BIL and new SIL, A&C, and saw them for the last time before they move to Sunnycity, CA and before C goes off to officer training. I'm unspeakably sad that they'll be so far away, but excited for them.
By 1:45 we were on the road again. Naps are always hard to come by in the car for the 2 older boys, but they slept off and on. O had finally stopped screaming and fallen asleep when we got pulled over. O immediately started screaming again. D was going 70 in a 55 and got a "state ordinance," which is basically a speeding ticket. The policeman said that it wouldn't go on D's driving record or our insurance, but it's still $150. Nice.
In D's defense, there were no clearly posted speed limit signs and it was a wide 4 lane road. Still, speeding is speeding I suppose. You'd think a couple of screaming kids would be good for something, but apparently not getting out of a ticket.
After a couple more stops; nursing C, potty, dinner, gas, park and several "I must have that thing on the floor or I will not stop screeeeeeeeching!" stops - we finally made it to my parents motel around 9PM.
The drive from our house to theirs is typically 8 hours, but we did it in 11. (13.5 if you count our Dirtycity stop.)
d was pretty good in the car; a little whiny, but sometimes I was too. C was great, basically only crying when he got hungry. O was OK - and that's being generous. Ever since he was a newborn he's had a strong dislike for the carseat. Now he's just louder. Let's hope that gets better as the week goes on.

Day 1 summary:
Total miles: 504
Stops: 14
Movies: 4

Good:
Seeing A&C again.
Listening to d & O entertain each other.
A fun park we found.

Bad:
Eating McDonald's 2x.
Screaming instead of napping.
$150 un-ticket.

Stress level: Moderate

I'm back!

I'm sure you're all thrilled. hehe
I'll be writing about our trip in 7 installments, I kept a daily journal while I was offline. Stay tuned!

Tick Tock

The clock is ticking on our move. By Sunday I will be on my way to a place 2500 miles from here. It should be an adventure and I don't expect to be back in The South till late October/early November.

My stress level is very high right now, but we found an apartment yesterday and I should know today when the movers can come. Yes, we're leaving Sunday at the latest and have NOTHING packed and JUST found a place to live.
Way to procrastinate!!!

Unfortunately, once the movers come I won't have internet for a while, at least until the 28th of July or so. Possibly longer.

Until then, a few random things to share:

* Baby C is 16lbs 7oz at 2 months old! That is not even on the chart!

* A lot of women who are breastfeeding don't get their "little friend" back for months and months. WHY am I not one of those women?

* I found out about an awesome deal at www.winkflash.com where you can make a photo book (I made 8x10) and use the coupon code FLATRATE88 to get it for $19.95. You can make it up to 100 pages long! I've spent the last 2 days working on it for my mom's birthday and ended up ordering one for myself too, it was so nice. It normally would be around $70 for a 100 page book! Check it out! Offer ends July 29th though.

* D's company pays for our apartment while we're in Seattle, and we found one we love, but he is STILL calling around and checking prices. I say we go with the one we love, because the company is paying for it. He is addicted to being cheap.

MeMe

Mommy Daisy tagged me for a meme! Here it goes:

The rules: Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…
(15 years ago I was 11, almost 12, so keep that in mind.)

1. I met my husband, D, in high school. We dated and then were engaged for 5-ish years and then got married. We've been married over 6 years now and together for 11.
2. I have a B.S. in Elementary Education and taught Kindergarten for a couple of years before we started a family.
3. I have 3 beautiful boys, ages 3, 1, and 2 months.
4. I'm a stay at home mom and it's the most challenging thing I've ever done.
5. We don't live near any family and it's a blessing and a curse.
6. I plan to go back to work someday, but want to find something part-time so I can be home with my kids when they get home from school.
7. I don't know if I want to go back to teaching.
8. I don't know if we'll have more kids, 3 is a handful right now.
9. I used to think I really wanted a girl, but now I think I can feel complete with my boys, though I'll probably always mourn the loss of that mother/daughter relationship.
10. I have 3 nieces and hope to have more nieces and nephews to spoil soon.

wordle

Well, shoot. I can't figure how to make it bigger, but if you click on it you can see the full size version. It's funny because it really is fairly accurate of my life. I'm just surprised the word PREGNANT didn't appear in big 'ole letters right in the middle. heh

She's putting a hole in him!

C & O had their 15 and 2 month check ups today, respectively. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of needles.
I had warned d ahead of time, because I didn't want him to get too upset at the babies getting all those shots. At the time, he just seemed glad HE wasn't getting any shots.
However, when the first shot was given, d looked up at me with wide, incredulous eyes. "MAMA! She's putting a hole in him! That's DANGEROUS!!" It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Then, when he saw that there was blood and a lot of crying, he looked sternly at the nurse and said, with all the 3 year old attitude he could muster, "He probably needs a Band-Aid!"
His love for his little brothers is heartwarming.

Valley Momma Boutique

Thanks to Semi-Desperate Housewife, who gifted me a gift certificate over at Valley Momma Boutique I just got some great stuff. I emailed back and forth with Beth, who was so sweet, and finally decided what I wanted. I got my package in the mail today and I love everything!!
I got 3 little toddler size pillows for the boys, because ever since d was born I've been looking for some!
d picked his out, the cars. The blue monkeys are for O, because he is one. (a monkey I mean. Not blue. Or 1, well he is but, oh, nevermind.) The jungle animals are for C, because O's room is currently a jungle theme and they'll likely share someday or C will just inherit it. Plus! Super cute!

For size comparison:

Perfect toddler or travel size!

I also got a mini diaper bag for me. You can put some dipes and wipes in it, but I'm going to put my wallet, phone and keys in it so I don't have to take the whole ginormous diaper bag into the store when I have the kids with me. I typically just shove that stuff in a pocket somewhere. I can also use it as a mini diaper bag when I go somewhere with just one of the kids, which happens more often than you'd think.



So, thanks ladies! I'm loving the stuff!!!

Baby Borrowers

Have you guys seen this show? Last night was the toddler episode and I laughed my booty off. (well, not really. Wouldn't that be great?!)
There were 2 year old tantrums, toddlers refusing to sleep and oh, so many potty accidents. Some of the teens actually did pretty well, while others did NOT. In any case, as the show says - "It's not TV, it's birthcontrol."
Tune in! I mean, how often do teens (or adults) get the chance to "try before they buy" with kids?!
The Baby Borrowers

7 weeks

Random city

* We have mostly decided that we will probably drive to Seattle. It sounds crazy but I think it will be good at least some of the time, which is more than I can say about flying. Plus, we'll get to see a bunch of my family (who we haven't seen since Thanksgiving or before) and some cool stuff along the way. D's company will pay us for expenses for 7 days of traveling so we can take a whole week if we like.

* I need to lose weight! I've lost about 22 lbs since Baby C was born, and I need to lose 15 more to get to my pre-pregnancy weight. Then I want to lose 35 more so I've got a lot of work ahead of me. I started writing down what I eat and walking again so that is a start. I've got a boring weight loss blog for writing down my inches, weight and goals. My 1st short term goal is to lose all my baby weight by the time we get back from Seattle and my long term goal is to fit into my wedding dress by my 7th anniversary. (June 1st)
My mom's group just started a Fit Club (my suggestion!) so that will be extremely helpful. C and I are being accountable to each other too, so I'm going to be so entangled in accountability that I won't be able to slack off!!!

* I bought a Shark Steam mop a few weeks ago - and this might make me lame, but I LOVE it. ADORE it. Totally worth every penny.
Plus - it's green! - no chemicals and reusable floor pads!

* I keep reading about everyone hating WalM*art and I have a confession to make:
I shop there on a weekly basis. I wouldn't say I love it, but it's close and it's cheap and it's one stop shopping. The store I go to is clean and nice, even if the workers sometimes suck and they NEVER have enough cashiers working. So, I don't hate WalM*art. There! I said it.
Of course, it goes without saying that if T*rget wasn't all the way across town, I'd go there instead.

* We spent the entire weekend cleaning, staining the fence, painting and doing all sorts of little things. Last night we decided to do something fun for the kids so we went and bought a few fireworks and got ice cream cones. It was O's first and I wish I'd had my camera. He kept biting it because he apparently doesn't know the fine art of licking. BIG mess, but so cute. Bruester's is awesome because they give free kiddie cones to kids under 40" tall. Awesome!! And their ice cream is soooo good! I recommend the Blueberry cobbler. TO. DIE. FOR. Except they only have it occasionally, which sucks.
O, our little daredevil, was scared to death of the fireworks. The baby kept getting mosquitoes on him and d was more interested in riding his bike.
Fireworks: bust
Ice Cream: hit
Moral: Next time skip the fireworks and buy more ice cream. (could this be why I need a weight loss blog?)

6 weeks and then some

Baby C turned 6 weeks on Saturday and after 3 attempts to have my 6 week check up, I finally got to see the Dr today. Everything is good.
A few issues that this has brought to the forefront:
Issue 1 - There is no satisfactory birth control for nursing women. There are barrier methods, which someone around here despises and tries to get out of using, so those are out. There is a non-hormonal IUD, but frankly, those scare me. I have 3 friends who have had to have theirs surgically removed. Yipes! That's in the last year, not my lifetime. Also, I'd just rather not think about something floating around in there. I know I'm weird.
Then there are the mini-pill, the shot and other progestin only methods. My OB/GYN is not a big fan of the shot and I've heard rotten things about it as well so that's out. What does that leave me with? The mini-pill.
Pros:
-It's more reliable than our "let's pray we don't get pregnant" method.

Cons:
-It's not reliable if you don't take it at the same time every. single. day. (Seriously, you're supposed to use a back up method if you miss it by 3 hours!)
This is a big problem if you sometimes don't remember to brush your teeth till noon.

-It's supposedly less reliable if you're overweight. Hello?! Aren't most nursing women at least a LITTLE overweight?!!
Regardless, I am. I need to lose a good 50 lbs probably and so this makes me nervous.

-It can make you gain weight or make it harder to lose weight. Just what I need! NOT!

Anyway, getting pregnant again certainly won't make me lose weight so the pill is what I chose. I figure that when Baby C reaches 6 months I can switch to something else; I've always wanted to try the ring.
I just don't have the energy for charting and abstaining and all that right now. D's no help with being good about that form of family planning. (reference: Baby C)

So. Birth control options suck. Big surprise.

Issue 2 - Picking a Dr who has a solo practice can sometimes kick you in the butt. So, if you are caught in the exam room with a lovely paper gown on and THEN find out you have to reschedule AFTER WAITING OVER AN HOUR, don't say I didn't warn you.

Issue 3 - I've been paying special attention to my emotions and reactions this last week. I think I'm doing OK. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed - but who wouldn't be?!
I have times when I want to snap, but I'm working on it. I'm getting out more and trying to loosen up some. I think I was wound up tighter than a spring, so I'm working on that too. D and I talked, briefly, and he thinks I'm fine. (not that he's Mr. Observant, but he can usually tell when I'm being bitchy grouchy.) As of tomorrow, I'm going to start exercising again and we're working really hard on eating healthier and I think that will help.
I think my hormones and emotions are definitely wonky, but I'm not sure enough that it's PPD to want to take something for it. I mostly think it's just postpartum stuff but, if things get worse or not at all better as a little more time goes by, then I will do something else.
Right now though, I think things are pretty much how they should be.

Not my contest but still cool

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)
Since we're into contests, I thought you should know about this one!
If you're into babywearing - you need to enter this contest!! You can win several great slings and wraps! Go!!

The Left Coast

Some of you may remember a while back when I was talking about a temporary move to the Seattle area. I've avoided talking about it since then, because I've avoided thinking about it.
The thought of moving all the way across the country - over 2500 miles & 37-ish hours, to be exact - was enough to put me into panic mode. P A N I C!! It made me crazy just thinking about it.

However, the time has come to take my head out of the sand. D is supposed to report to work there on July 28th. We're trying to work out the details right now, but we're figuring out whether we want to drive or fly.
WHY would we DRIVE all that way when we could fly, you ask? Let's say that our experiences with flying haven't been super pleasant. Also, there is a LOT of cool stuff in that 2500 miles that we could see. I've always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, and this would give us that chance. D's company will pay for us to drive there as well, just as they would pay for our plane tickets if we choose to fly. They'll pay mileage, gas, hotel and food. (they don't pay for the ear surgery to correct our hearing after all that screaming though.)

It SOUNDS like fun too. A road trip! We can stop whenever we want! Watch movies in the car! Eat road trip food! See the country!
And if there is screaming (there will be) at least it's only us who are annoyed. We'd get to see my family who just happens to be on the way and we'd be able to bring a lot more of our stuff with us than we would if we had to stick to the 3 bag limit. Plus, no schlepping through the airport with 3 kids and 3 car seats and a double stroller and etc, etc.
The only plus I can see to flying is that it's faster, but in this case that is a big plus.

However, am I CRAZY?! Yes, the airport and plane riding experience might be hell - but it would be ONE DAY of hell. The driving experience could be 4 or 5 days worth of hell. Of course, it could also go very well but I have to at least consider that it won't, in both cases.

What would you do? Keep in mind that d is probably going to be good on the airplane, and most likely in the car. O doesn't travel well and has an ear piercing scream - enough said. Baby C's just along for the ride.
Am I crazy for even considering driving?