Day One

So far our trip is everything I hoped it would be. Insert record scratch here.....

The morning started out rough. I was rushing to get the last bits of our bags packed. Checking things off the lists & I still had dishes starring at me. HC was flying around the house with one of her push toys when she plowed into the kitchen cabinets. I really didn't think much of it until she started crying. Could she have smashed a finger? Didn't seem possible. Then she became hysterical. I knelt down next to her & she was sticking her fingers inside her mouth. Did she bite her cheek? NO! She had gotten hold of one of Gala's mini jaw clips, unbeknownst to me, & bitten it. Causing the clip to open & attach to the inside of her cheek. OMG!

I was trying to use one hand to keep her mouth wide open & the other to squeeze the clip. Have you ever used one of these clips? If so, you know how HARD they are to squeeze & how most times they slip from your fingers & go flying. Now imagine it wet & stuck to the inside of your child's cheek. Not only was I worried about never getting it open, I was freaking out thinking about it flying down her throat. It took about 4 tries & finally let go, all but one prong & I just yanked the sucker at that point. UGH! After about 15 minutes I got her settled.

I'm now getting dishes started when in HC comes to investigate the cooler. Her new favorite thing to do is climb the highest object in the room. Here she is, apparently playing "Queen of the cooler", when Gala decides she is "Queen". Off topples HC, head first onto the floor. And yes, this all happened so fast that I hadn't gotten my hands dried in time to prevent any of it. Now another 20 minutes go by before I can get her happy enough to set down.

The rest of the afternoon went as smooth as possible. At least it was until we headed out of town. We got about an hour from our destination when RD wanted to switch DVDs. For some reason the show she wanted to watch wouldn't play & in the process of working on it, I woke up HC. And right then & there HC started screaming, which woke Gala up, & it did not stop until we got out of the truck at our hotel.

But the real icing on the cake came when, about 30 minutes from the hotel, Gala started to look pale & sickly. She was quiet & whimpering. If you have carsick kids, like us, you know what's coming next. Petal to the metal, Daddy. Get us there! Now we have, one kid wondering "are we there yet", one screaming at the top of her lungs, & one about ready to spew & we are in heavy 4 lane traffic, looking for our exit.

If we can just make the exit, we only have less than half a mile to the hotel. And wouldn't you know it, Gala spews as soon as we take the off ramp. Now I'm buckled in but turned around as best I can with a barf bucket under her chin, HC is still screaming, & the GPS (annoying lady) is talking. Would you be able to concentrate as the driver? Yeah, my hubs couldn't either. Turned right when we should have went left. Tried to make a U-turn with no luck. Somehow circled around the block when the GPS states, "you are at your destination". We both look around. WHAT?!?! Ummm, yeah, I don't see a hotel a n y w h e r e. We make a U-turn when I see the top of our hotel. THERE! THERE IT IS!

It was so nice, no really, it was so nice to make it to our room......