Road trip 2011

I just realized that I'm in the house with both kids napping and Mike's at school. It's almost like being alone!

The kids and I drove to Amarillo last Thursday for the long Labor Day weekend. A drive that would normally take me 9 hours (with no speeding) turned into a 10 1/2 hour drive because of all of the pit stops you have to make for little bladders. We hit every McDonald's with a play scape between here and Amarillo. The kids actually did remarkably well being in the car that long.

It was so nice to spend some time with my parents and my brother but I have to say it was exhausting as well. You know how you imagine taking your kids somewhere and how you feel everyone will be blessed by their presence and you will leave them thinking "we really miss those kids. they are so darn cute!?" Well, I'm afraid that might not have happened this trip.

Emma Mae has hit the terrible two's with a vengeance. If I had a dollar for every time she has looked at me since March 12th and said something like "NO! I don't want to" I could fund a much needed long weekend away all by myself. It is really embarrassing when she acts like this in front of other people. Because I don't feel comfortable spanking or marching her to time out multiple times in front of others. So instead I find myself arguing or trying to reason with a very unreasonable two year old. It is pointless.

Poor Jake got sick while we were there so he was a little more emotional than usual. A more emotional than usual Jake is kind of like a teenage girl being denied her rights to the telephone and chocolate. Yikes.

Anyway, we did all manage to make it out to the Amarillo zoo one day with no major incidents occurring. The kids had fun and Jake asked me on our way back home if MeMaw and PePaw could come live with us. I said "sure! just as soon as Emma Mae turns three."

Speaking of the trip home. We stopped in Sweetwater for lunch at Schlotsky's. The kids were both asleep but I had to get gas and we needed to eat or else we wouldn't be able to stop for another couple hours at the next McDonald's. So, I committed the ultimate sin. The biggest mistake any parent can make. I woke up the children. It did not go well. Remember, Jake was sick. He did not want to get out of the car. He cried. And he cried. And then he tried crying. I walked into Schlotsky's carrying him on one hip and sort of dangling Emma Mae off the other hip because we all know two year old feet cannot walk by themselves.

We headed straight for the bathrooms. This particular Schlotsky's location is always very busy. There was a line for the bathroom about six people deep. Now I don't know about you, but if I witnessed a poor, tired mama carrying two kids who are old enough to walk on their own accord and heard the larger child sobbing loudly that he didn't feel good, I might offer her my place in the bathroom line. But let's just say that didn't happen. We waited there about ten minutes with everyone looking at me like "why can't you make that child stop screaming?" Finally we made it into the bathroom and I was able to look Jake in the eye and say "you need to learn some deep breathing techniques child. Breathe in slowly through your nose and out slowly through your mouth." After about three times, it totally worked. He calmed down enough to stop crying and do his business. Then we actually had the most enjoyable lunch together with the children laughing and having the cutest conversations. And now I'm thinking I will sign us all up for some yoga classes because I think we are all high stress individuals who need to learn ways to calm ourselves down.

Wow, this is long. Anyhow, we made it home safely and only had to drive by one of the fires burning in the state of Texas. And now I think I will keep us all at home until March 12th 2012 when Emma Mae turns three.