11 Questions Part 2

Yesterday I posted the first part of the 11 Questions meme.  Here is part II in which I answer Shasta's questions for me!  She had some great questions!  Here you go...

1. What products do you have in your shower? 

 I have 3 conditioners (one is empty), 1 shampoo, 3 bottles of body soap (1 is empty), 2 pumice stones (never use either one), razor, and a squeegee for shower door (never use it)
It sounds like I should clean out my shower.

2. What one frivolous (not essential to survival) thing would you want with you on a desert island?

A soft fluffy pillow.  Nights would be hell just laying on the sand.

3. What's your favorite throw-together meal?  

This is bad, but my throw together meal is actually calling in an order of fish tacos and queso dip to Baja Fresh and sending my husband out to get it.

4. If you could only visit one restaurant for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Baja Fresh...No - just kidding!  I really don't have a "go to" type of restaurant that I LOVE.  I would have to say The Office which is a restaurant on the beach in Mexico.  I wouldn't choose it for the food, more for the atmosphere - right on the beach, steps from the ocean, feet in the sand.  Aaaahhhh!

5. What color is your favorite pair of shoes?

I am not really a big shoe person.  I would love to say something cool and funky here, but my favorite pair of shoes are probably my black slippers.  I know, boring.

6. Dogs or cats? (Or, "other"?)  

We own a cat.  He's cool.  I have always been more of a dog person.  But I don't plan on owning one until the boys drive me crazy with the request.  (which I am sure will happen in a few years - they LOVE dogs!)

7. Describe a moment, however brief, in the past week when you felt joyful. 

Hmmm...this has been a very hard week, but I actually have many joyful moments to choose from.  The other day at dinner Brady took his cup and kind of suctioned it around his mouth/face and was sucking in - basically making farting noises.  I looked at him with this serious face, but then Parker started laughing and Ryder started laughing - and I am talking full on belly laughs.  Parker couldn't even catch his breath he was laughing so hard.  As bad as it is, I joined them.  It was such a joyful moment that I even had to take a picture - which I am sure reinforced this "bad" behavior even more.  Oops!
                                                  

8. You have an entire day off from responsibilities, but you can't spend any money. What does your free dream day look like?

Oh my gosh - I would lay in a hammock and read books, all day long!   (and it would be sunny and warm)

9. If you had $1 million to give to charity, what cause would you give it to?

That is a tough one.  I have had this conversation with God several times actually.  I always tell him that if he could just help me win the lottery, I would totally give some to charity.  But I haven't been very specific.  Maybe that is my problem.  There are so many good ones out there.  I am sure I would split it up.  There is a great local charity Children's Cancer Association (CCA), they do amazing things.  Also some to UCP of course, and then probably and animal rescue charity of some sort.

10. What is a picture that you wish you had? Either a moment in time that wasn't captured, a picture of a person passed or a place in the world? Anything you would like an image of.

This is such a good but tough question.  It is the last one I answered and took me days to think about.  I feel like I should say something very profound and meaningful.  But I can't think of anything huge.  What I do wish I had a picture of, however, just happened this weekend.  We were outside working in the yard.  Parker was laying on his tummy on mats that we had put in the yard, and Brady was doing various projects "helping" us.  He found a pile of wood scraps from building our deck that he was so excited about.  He grabbed a piece and ran over to Parker, layed down on his tummy right in front of him and held the wood out to him.  He was talking to him and taking Parker's hand and having him touch the wood.  It was the sweetest thing I have seen Brady do with his brother.  I grabbed for my cell phone to get a picture, but I couldn't get it in time.  It was such a sweet moment. 

11. Would you rather have a blanket made of the softest material imaginable with a stone bed or a rough, scratchy blanket with a gloriously soft and cushy bed?

I would for sure want a soft blanket.  It would be so soft and fluffy that I could put it under me as well.  I am a blanket person.


Don't forget to check out my other blog friends who I tagged! 

 Bloggers that I have tagged:

 http://doublethelove16.blogspot.com
http://www.brycemoline.com/
http://aboutthesmallstuff.blogspot.com/
http://www.motherofatoddlerandtriplets.blogspot.com/
http://jumpinforjames.blogspot.com/
http://cjengo.blogspot.com/

11 Random Things

Shasta from Outrageous Fortune tagged me in her 11 Questions post. The meme goes that you say 11 random things about yourself, answer 11 questions, ask 11 questions and then tag 11 other bloggers to answer those questions. I love these type of things.  However, I am new to the blogging world and most all of the blogs I read have already been tagged.  So I am only go to be able to tag a few new ones.  I hope that doesn't cost me something!

Like Shasta, I'll break mine into two parts. Today I’ll post my 11 Random Things, tag a few of my favorite bloggers and my 11 questions for them. Tomorrow I’ll answer Shasta's questions for me.  (If I can actually get a post out 2 days in a row - that would be quite a feat!)



The Rules

1) Post these rules.
2) Post 11 random things about yourself.
3) Answer the questions set for you in the post of those who tagged you.
4) Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5) Go to their blog (or email them or tweet them) and tell the people you tagged that you’ve tagged them.
6) No stuff in the tagging section about “you are tagged if you are reading this.” You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Now...

11 Random Things About Me:

1.  I have attended 6 universities and got degrees from 3 of them.
2. My favorite place to be is in my Grandma's kitchen with a cup of coffee as the sun is rising over the mountains.  Dogs are laying around my feet, cinnamon rolls are cooking and all of my family is near.  That is heaven to me.
3.  Both my grandma and my mom are AMAZING cooks.  I suck at it.
4. One of my most dreaded tasks is getting the mail.  In fact, we just got a not-so-nice note in our mailbox reminding us to pick up our mail daily.  I could easily go over a week without checking it. 
5. I am a morning person.  
6. I have a home-made tattoo on my foot made with a razor blade and Indian ink at the wise age of 16.
7. I love to plan parties, but I tend to stress out once they are actually happening in my house.  
8. I used to teach Health and had to teach "how to put on a condom" to 8th graders.  Did you know that there are 16 steps?
9. When I was little I took all of my dolls and stuffed animals (probably close to 100 of them) and brought them out to the living room on Christmas Eve so that they could experience Christmas with us.  
10.  I have always gotten water up my nose whenever I have tried diving or or jumping in water. So I have to plug my nose upon water entry even though it looks very "uncool".
11. I am copying one of Shasta's random fact ideas here - I have 204 emails in my inbox, 83 of them unread - and that is just one of my personal email accounts - don't get me started on work email.  (190 in my inbox there, but only 4 unread)....hmmm...sounds similar to my snail mail box.

Bloggers that I have tagged:

 http://doublethelove16.blogspot.com
http://www.brycemoline.com/
http://aboutthesmallstuff.blogspot.com/
http://www.motherofatoddlerandtriplets.blogspot.com/
http://jumpinforjames.blogspot.com/
http://cjengo.blogspot.com/

And here are your questions!

1. What is your dream vacation spot and why?
2. What was your favorite TV show when you were growing up?
3. If you could be a character in any book or movie who would you be and why?
4. What is the most daring/dangerous thing you have ever done?
5. If you had unlimited funds for one week, how would you spend it?
6. Who influenced you most  when you were a kid?  Who does now?
7. What is your favorite quote?
8. If you had a chance to go back in time for 24 hours where and when would you go?
9. If you could give up one household task, what would it be?
10. What is your best or worse memory from high school?  (you get to choose)
11. What makes you laugh?

Good Friends Make the World Go 'Round...And Make Dinner!

Jimmy's best friend from college is in town from Alaska this week.  Aaron is an amazing person.  He and his wife Kelly have always been so supportive of us as a couple and a family.  They have two sweet daughters of their own and their own hectic life to deal with, but they always check in on us and visit when they can.  They are dear friends. 

They also are the kind of friends who make us so comfortable and not stressed about hosting.  I truly am not worried if the house is not perfectly clean when they are here, I don't worry if I don't have a big home-cooked meal planned.  In fact the last time they visited (about a year ago) we just had pizza and salad! 

I can sum up the kind of person Aaron is by explaining how he arrived at our house yesterday.  He left Anchorage I believe around 12:30 AM (ish).  His flight got in to Portland around 6 AM.  He did not sleep at all on the flight.  So he has gone 24 hours without sleeping.  He gets in to Portland, rents a car, drives around a bit (so as not to impose on us early, which is funny because I have been up since 5), and then calls Jimmy from Fred Meyer.  He wants to know what he can pick up for us.  By this time Jimmy is taking Parker to an ABM appointment, so we just tell Aaron to come on over.  He comes over and the first thing that comes out of his mouth after I hug him is "What can I do?"  Seriously?  If I were him, the first thing out of my mouth would have been, "Where's my bed?"    But no, he didn't want to sleep.  He wanted to help me with the boys.  In fact, he told me that I could go back to sleep and he would watch them.  He is lucky I didn't take him up on that one!

We had a great morning of catching up and watching the boys play.  Then I sent him and Jimmy off to lunch at Red Robin.  They also were going to run to the grocery store because Aaron wanted to cook us dinner and needed to get some supplies.   Ummm....ok.  I got not problem with that.  Seems a little backwards, having your house guest cook for you, but carry on friend!  I did try to put up a fight, but I knew I wasn't going to win that one.   So now, not only am I going to get dinner cooked for me, but now I don't even have to go to the grocery store, which is one of my most dreaded tasks. 

They got back from the store, Aaron takes over in the kitchen, and Jimmy takes over with the boys, so I decide to go get a pedicure!  Sweet!  I haven't had one in a VERY long time (since before spring break) so it was a special treat. 

Aaron asked what time the boys would all be down and I told him 7:30 at the latest.  And at 7:32 we were being served dinner out on the patio.  It was like a 5 star restaurant.  We had candles, good wine, and a great chicken parmesan dinner.  It was spectacular!!  All of this and Aaron was now going on over 36 hours without sleep.  And did I mention that he also made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce for us to freeze?  And he made us a wonderful jerk chicken lunch the next day, AND he made us homemade meatball sub sandwiches for dinner that night.  AND he brought dessert and wine - two of my favorite things.  Clearly I hated to see him go, but sadly he has to go to his hotel for the week because his training is there and is intensive.  We are hoping to actually be able to take him out to dinner one night this week though so we haven't seen the last of him yet.



                                            

This is a good friend.  He is so generous.  He entertained the boys, went shopping for us, cooked for the boys, cooked for us, and shared stories with us.  We are lucky to have such good people in our lives.  It seems like whenever we start to get to the point of breaking from stress or pressure, along comes a good friend who lifts our spirits and helps us keep on keeping on. 

Thank you, Aaron, for being that good friend.  We love you!

Happy Mother's Day

(As usual, I started writing this a few days ago and didn't finish until just now.  So it is a litttle late.)

It's Mother's Day and I sit here in the silence with my cup of coffee and I remember not long ago how I thought I might never celebrate this day with children of my own.  It is interesting how something that was so devastating at one point in our life can almost be forgotten as time goes on.  I make a point to remind myself often of the journey we took to get our little boys and how lucky we truly are that we have them.  They are, without a doubt, three little miracles.  And I could talk about that for an entire post.

However, today I want to dedicate my post to my mom.  I am going to step away from my "mom" role and play the "daughter" role today.

I had a great childhood!  It was always filled with fun.  My mom decorated our house for every holiday, which I am sure is why I currently have an entire garage of holiday decorations myself.  (much to my husband's dismay)  We always had a sit down family dinner at the kitchen table.  On very "special" occasions, like when maybe dad was out of town, we could use the TV trays and eat in the living room.  But there was always a home-cooked meal.  There was nothing from a box, and nothing that came out of a can.  And although I loved most of her meals, I did bring my little purse to the table one time and filled it with some veggies that I didn't want to eat.  I am pretty sure she found me out though.  We always said our prayers before eating, and we asked to be excused when we were done.  If we watched TV at night, we did it as a family and I remember getting bowls of ice cream as a treat. 

We went on vacations every summer, which were really just camping trips or to visit relatives, but we LOVED it.  We always drove, and my mom would pack up the cooler with sandwiches and drinks for the road.  We would stop at rest areas and picnic along the way. 

We moved 4 times before I was a freshman in high school and my mom always handled it with grace and strength.  She never had her family close by for help - she and my dad just did it all on their own...and they were young!  I look back and think at my age now she would have already had my brother graduate from high school, my sister in high school and me in that lovely time called junior high.  I am in awe at how she did it all so well completely on her own (with help from my dad of course). 

I have looked back as an adult often and been so thankful for the mom that she was to me as a young girl.  She was strict with rules (which I was not thrilled with at the time), she wanted to meet all of my friends and boyfriends, I had a very early curfew and was terrified to break it (as many of my friends will atest to), and she called whenever I said I was going to stay the night somewhere.  She cared about my academics, my extra curricular activities, my social life, and my spiritual life.  We went to church every Sunday and I was raised with a lot of faith, for which I will be eternally grateful.  That is really what has gotten me through life.

You would think that the role she played in my young life would be the most important piece of her motherhood.  And by no means will I ever down play that.  However, the role that she plays in my life as an adult is even more important.  She, not only is my mom, but she is Grandma to my 3 boys. 

Now, being a grandma should be easy, right?  You get to come enjoy the kids on your own time.  You can spoil them with toys and good food.  You can give them back when they start crying or when they need discipline.  You should be able to get all the benefits of having children but not all the responsibilities, like paying bills, taking them to the doctor, dealing with their tantrums, buying groceries, making them meals, putting them in time-outs, cleaning up their throw-up, changing dirty diapers, or watching them late at night. 

Well, that is not the kind of grandma my mom gets to be.  She does not get to pick and choose the times she comes over to visit.  She has to come over almost every day because she is the one who takes Parker to most of his appointments (anywhere from 3-7 per week).  She also has to come over on Friday, because she watches the boys one day a week because we can't afford to pay a nanny 5 days a week.  She is retired, and rather than coming to see the boys whenever she has time, she actually has to check our schedule before she makes fun plans with her friends.  When making a doctor appointment for herself, she has to coordinate it around Parker's many doctor appointments.  (which is not easy) 

Rather than spending her retirement money on cruises to the Bahamas, she is spending her money on things for the boys like food, clothes, Thick-it (something we have to put in Parker's formula), and yes, toys!  She has also given us money to pay for therapy for Parker when our insurance has refused. 

My mom is what I like to call Parker's personal chef.  She makes full, delicious meals (spaghetti, roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, curry chicken fettucini, and butternut squash pasta are just some examples) and then she blends them up and freezes them in cubes.  She keeps our freezer stocked and he loves it!  He eats her meals much better than regular baby food (well, who wouldn't?) and has gained weight.  I always joke that he eats better than all of us.  But she doesn't just cook for Parker.  She always brings food for Brady and Ryder as well.  And they LOVED it!

On the off chance that my mom is just coming over for enjoyment (which she will tell you is every time she is here), she still is working.  She is contantly helping with all of the boys whether it is holding Ryder so he can get some attention, or helping Brady go potty, or working with Parker on the floor.  She is constantly doing something.  There is no rest for this woman.  She has cleaned up vomit more times than I can count and changes poopy diapers in a blink of the eye.  And to top it all off, she watches to boys for us at night if we go out.  Now, granted, we don't go out very often at all.  But when we do, it is so nice to have the peace of mind that my mom is with our kids.  And I know it is not easy for her to stay up until 11:00 and then drive 20 minutes home.  She also has watched them overnight when we take a respite night away.

As I mentioned before, she watches them on Fridays which helps our nanny expenses out tremendously.  Well, when I come home on Friday, I always find the laundry done, the kitchen cleaned and the boys happy as ever,  In fact, I will share with you that typically when I come home Parker actually starts to cry.  Oh, you think he is crying tears of joy because he is so happy to see me???  Nope.  He is crying because he knows when I come home, Grandma is leaving.  He hates to see her go.

Which brings me to my final point.   All of the boys truly love her and she works very hard to make sure they each get the right amount of attention.  But, my mom's connection with Parker is something special.   Why does he have this strong connection with her?  It could be her unwavering faith in his abilities.  It could be her eternally happy disposition.  It could be her quiet strength.  It could be that he knows a good cook when he sees one!  Or, it could be that he knows that she is his Grandma and that is enough. 

All 3 of my little miracles are so lucky to have a grandma like my mom.  She is loving, patient, caring, the most giving person I know, and tireless.  I hope that when I grow up I am just like her.  I am blessed to have her.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all of the amazing moms and grandmas out there!

Spring Break Part III - The Journey Home

If you read Part I and Part II, you now know that we had a great time on our vacation.  It was a wild ride there, but a wonderful week full of sun and good memories.  Then there was the travel day back home...yes, that was full of memories.  Good ones?  Not so much.  But at least I can look back as I am writing this and laugh about it now.  I actually cried at the time.

The last day of vacation I always get a little sad.  I think that is normal.  I also like to start packing things up and organizing things the night before we are going to leave, even if we are not leaving until 11:00 the next morning. (shocker)  However, our last night there we actually had a few too many margaritas, and I swear Gerardo was telling the bartender to make them extra strong because we had been drinking these all week long and never got even tipsy.  Well, not so on this night.  I should preface this by saying that my family had all 3 of the boys so for the first time on the vacation I got a little crazy.  I was running around with my friend making movies on her new Ipad.  We even played quarters (yes, with margaritas) for about 15 minutes until we figured out that we would end up on the floor if we continued.  I will spare you the rest of the details, but just know...I didn't get packed that night.  However, Gerardo got a very generous tip!

So the next morning my mom came over and helped me pack.  Packing up all of our stuff actually took a long time.  We also had to put the bedroom back together again and move all the furniture back in place.  It really took us all morning.  We had to get our 2 big suitcases packed up quickly because my sweet friends were going to take those back for us - which is even nicer than them bringing them because now they have to go through customs on the way home and it is a pain with a lot of luggage.  Thank you Jenn and Scott!

Then it was time for us to head out.  We decided to take a private taxi rather than deal with the stress of a shuttle with all of our kids and luggage.  Comically, this is where things turned bad.  Both Parker and Ryder decided to cry the whole 45 minute drive to the airport.  They were just as sad to leave Mexico as I was I guess.

We got to the airport and we told the driver we were flying United.  (sucky airline by the way)  So he dropped us off at Terminal One.  Let me explain a bit about the Cabo Airport.  There are 2 terminals, 2 very separate buildings about a half a mile apart.  And there is no nice breeze way that connects them.  You literally have to go back down to the main road and hike along that and to get to the other one.  So, you want to be dropped off at the right terminal, and we always have been.  It is never a problem...until this year.  So we are running late as it is because our cab driver took some crazy route.  We get dropped off, all the luggage unloaded, kids strapped in the stroller, Brady's harness clipped on and we go into the airport to the United line.  We are greeted by a big sign that say something like "If you are flying into California you need to go to the United counter in Terminal 2."   WHAT????  Are you kidding me?  Surely this is a joke.  It is so unbelievable that I go ask an agent.  Yes, we are in the wrong terminal.  Ok, don't panic.  But now, I am stressing.  My wonderful husband says that we can walk over there.  Again, WHAT???  Sure honey, we are going to walk almost a mile along the shoulder of a busy road in the 90 degree sun with all 3 kids and 4 carry on pieces of luggage.  Nope.  This is where I draw the line.  We go back out and I am about to cry already.  A sweet shuttle driver says he will drive us over there just for a tip.  Done!  I give him $5 and he gets us over to the other terminal.

I don't know if all airports in Mexico are like this, but this airport is always crazy!  It is hot - no air conditioning - and the lines are always enormous!  Always.  So we get there and my heart sinks because yes, the lines are crazy and we are so late.  But then a sweet little miracle happens.  We see a new friend that we had met on this trip and she and her daughters wave us up to their spot in line right at the front.  They had already told the people around them that they were holding a spot for us, so no one was mad.   (we saw them in the lobby and they knew we were on their same return flight)  Not only did they save us a spot but Carrie (the mom) took the car seat that I had been carrying on my back and her 4th grade twin daughters took Brady and Parker.  Aaaahhh...I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

I am at the counter now trying to get my boarding passes and surprise, we are having troubles!  I get boarding passes for all 4 of us who need seats, but for some reason they are having trouble printing one for Ryder who ironically doesn't even need a seat!  No joke, I was at the counter for a good 25 minutes and they still didn't get one printed.  They basically did a hand written one so we could get through security and they said they would meet us at the gate with his real one.   Only in Mexico can you get through security with a hand written boarding pass.   hmmmm...

So we got up to the gates and now we only have about 15 minutes before boarding - cutting it way to close for my comfort.  We need to try to get Parker and Ryder to drink their bottles.  And I should say that right about now in "real" life all 3 of the boys would have been napping for at least an hour.  So, they are getting extremely tired.  In fact, Parker fell asleep for a minute trying to drink his bottle.  I also went to the bathroom to change Ryder and see that they have no changing tables anywhere so I had to change him on the floor in the airport.

Everyone is boarding and we are still waiting for that agent to bring us our boarding pass.  He shows up, takes our passports and leaves.  That makes me a little nervous.  Then he comes back with them and a boarding pass for little man.  However, now I see Brady's, which was in his passport, is missing.  The agent swears he didn't lose it, but I see the panic in his eyes.  So he leaves again to try to go find it.  Now everyone is boarded and we are still waiting.  This is my nightmare.  I HATE being the last person on a plane.  Everyone always stares at you like "oh this is why were are delayed" and then there is never any room in the carry on compartments.  But at this point I am just hoping the plane doesn't leave without us.  Finally they printed a new one and rushed us out the door.  Let me explain one more thing about the Cabo airport.  You don't go in a nice short little tunnel to the entrance of the plane.  You go down a ramp out onto the tarmac and you have to walk to your plane outside.  Of course our plane is the farthest one away.  So we hurry along.  Now comes the challenge.  We have to give them the stroller and then get up the stairs to the plane.  I have Ryder on my chest, Brady can walk, Jimmy has Parker but we still have all of our carry-ons to get up the stairs which is difficult when you are carrying kids.  Then we do what feels like the walk of shame.  I put on a phony smile and we make our way to our seats, which someone has already sat in because they thought it was empty.  So he has to move himself and all of his stuff to his real seat.  Sorry sir, but we need to sit together unless you would like to care for one of my kids.

I am going to try to shorten this up by saying the flight was crazy.  Neither of the big boys slept and Ryder only slept for maybe a total of 30 minutes.  We got to San Francisco and what was supposed to be a 4-hour layover turned into a 5 1/2 layover.  Brady had a huge blow out in his diaper and I had no extra pants for him so he was running around in just a diaper until our sweet new friend, Carrie, fashioned him a pair of pants out of a sweatshirt!  Yes, you heard me right.  You will have to look at the picture to believe me!  Her and her family were amazing!   Seriously, we could not have made it without them.  At any given time Carrie was holding something of ours (Parker, Ryder or the carseat), one of her sweet girls was keeping Brady entertained, and her mom was walking with Ryder and singing to him.  I love these people!

Poor little Parker looks like a zombie here.

This layover felt like it would never end.  At one point there was talk of canceling our flight because we didn't have an airplane!  I think it was about 9:30 when we finally boarded the plane.  Please keep in mind, none of my kids have slept.  They usually take a good 2-3 hour nap and then are in bed by 7:00!  It is currently 9:30...you get the picture, right?  Let's just say the last leg of the flight was the worst.

We finally landed in Portland and I was so excited to be back in a good airport!  We said goodbye to our wonderful friends and headed out to try to find our ride home.  Don't stop reading here...this is where it gets even more eventful!

Our nanny was supposed to get our Honda Pilot (with the 3 car seats in it) and meet us at the airport.  Her husband was going to follow so that she could go home with him because our car can only fit 2 adults with the 3 kids.  This was a much cheaper option that paying for parking for 7 nights.  And I was even happier that we went this route because it was so late and I would have  hated to have to take a shuttle out to long-term parking at this point.  But wait...I see her pull up in her little Kia.  I frantically look around for the Pilot.  Surely it must be somewhere.  Surely her husband has it...surely.  Nope.  Apparently she left the dome light on in in when she took us to the airport and the battery was obviously dead a week later.  So she pulls up in her little Kia.  She was wise enough to grab the car seats out of our car, but they don't fit well at all in hers.  (and I am a car seat safety fanatic).   So that is what I am stressing about.  But then we realize, there will be no room for all of us in there.  She sweetly says that she will ride in the back, the small hatchback.  Seriously, I would never make her curl up back there, there isn't even room for our luggage back there!

I start running through the baggage claim area looking for our new friends in hopes they could help us with transportation.  I can't find them anywhere.  Then I get a call from Jimmy, "get out here, Ryder is throwing up!"  I had put the boys in the car seats because they were crying and I had hoped that they would fall asleep while we tried to figure this out.  Well, Ryder was crying so hard that he projectile vomited all over the seat, the window and himself.  Lovely.  The other 2 boys are also screaming.  They are all so over-tired it is not even funny.  Poor little bunnies.

Then another little miracle happens.  Jimmy sees the family of one of his students.  This is a student who we both know because she went through my school before heading on to Jimmy's high school.  He also coaches her in track and the family is so nice.  So he awkwardly asks them if they can take him and our luggage home.  Yes, of course they will!!

As we are pulling out of the airport, all 3 boys are still crying so hard I am sure there is going to be another throw up.  I tell Gen "just drive!"  I am out of my seat leaning over holding their hands trying to comfort them.  It is about 1:00 AM.  Finally after about 5 minutes of driving they are all asleep.  We get home about 45 minutes later and unfortunately we have to wake them up again to get inside, change their diaper, get jammies on and into their cribs.  More crying.  We finally get them to bed and they are asleep by about 1:45 AM.

Phew!  I have never been so glad to be home.

This trip home was definitely crazy and hard.  But luckily we had great people helping us again.  We are truly blessed. Would I do this all again after so much craziness??

Look at these faces.  You tell me.

Parker looks so relaxed here, he actually looks like a typical kiddo!

Why, YES, I would!

Spring Break Part II - And the Sun Rose

Before I get into the vacation part of our spring break, I feel the need to explain our resources for going on this trip.  We are not wealthy in financial ways at all.  We are both school teachers for crying out loud!  However, we bought this time share when we first got married with money that was left to my husband by his grandma.  So, to be honest, like it or not, we are stuck with it for the next 94 years.  So, we take this one vacation a year.  We skipped last year because I was pregnant with Ryder and also skipped the year that I was preggo with the twins, but other than that we do go.  All year long we charge everything we buy (even regular monthly bills) on our credit card so that we can use air miles for travel.  We also can get a companion pass ticket for $100 with each credit card we own.  We own two so that two of us can travel for $200.  I just felt like I needed to explain because we get a lot of financial support from other people in helping with Parker's medical needs.  I would never want anyone to think that we squander money or are using their money to live it up in Mexico.  Before our resort turned into an all-inclusive, we used to go buy a case of Cup of Noodles and a case of Pacifico beers at the local Sam's Club and that is what we ate and drank on vacation.  However, luckily our resort now has an all-inclusive deal and food and drinks are unlimited!

Ok, on to the fun stuff...

As you might remember from Spring Break Part I,  we left off with our night from hell.  And let me say one more time, that seriously, I think that is the worst night I have ever had since any baby has been born.  There was crying, sweating (couldn't get up to turn the AC on), wrestling around, baby swapping, and all the while still in my airplane clothes from the previous day.  We have never co-slept - and now I see why.  There was nothing peaceful and cozy about it for us OR the kids. 

But then the sun rose and it was morning!  It was a beautiful warm sunny morning and I couldn't wait to get our day started.  And yes, it started with all 3 boys crying at 6:00 AM.  That is ok - anything to get up and get out of that room! 

We got up and went out to the front room of our hotel room (we had a one bedroom, so that was separate from the living space).  We looked at the crazy mess and sighed.   As I mentioned, I like organization (although you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking in my closet).  I especially like organization on trips -  hence the many many lists.  When I arrive somewhere I like to get things in order, unpack the necessary things - put them in the kitchen or bathroom, etc.  But I had had no time for that the previous night.  There were suitcases open, clothes strung across chairs, things had been tossed about trying to find
bottles or formula the night before...I am not stressing...I am not stressing. 

We got showered and cleaned up.  Aaahh, to brush my teeth!   We got the kids cleaned up, bottles made and headed out the door to breakfast.  We have stayed at the place for many years and the breakfast is hands down my favorite time of the day.  They have an open air restaurant right on the beach.  You can sip your coffiee and watch the waves roll in while the sun shines on you.  I love it!  The boys were enamoured with the sunshine!  Coming from Oregon where the sun only shines about 4 months a year, they looked at the sun like it was a long lost friend.  (so did I) 

Ryder and Parker checking out the sunshine and blue sky!

   



Brady enjoying his breakfast



We enjoyed coffee, mimosas, and the most amazing breakfast ever all while listening to the ocean.  It was heaven!  And every morning after that was the same.  Good food, good coffee and amazing atmosphere.

Everyday we had the same routine (I know, shocker).  After breakfast, we went back to our room, put Ryder down for his morning nap and got Parker and Brady in their swim suits and lathered up with sunscreen.  Jimmy would take them to the pool while I cleaned up our room and read on the patio while little man slept.  This was the one time of day when I could read and I took advantage of it by getting through the second Hunger Games book. 

When Ryder woke up I quickly got him ready and we joined the other boys at the pool.  This was a great time of the day.  All 3 boys (4 including Jimmy) LOVED the water.  They also were all fearless in the water which makes mommy fearful.  So they all had floatation devices of some sort at any given time.  Brady wanted to be "free" so he chose water wings most of the time and he did really well with them.  Ryder and Parker stayed in their floaters most of the time and couldn't be happier. 



Jimmy with all 3 boys. 



We would spend about another hour in the pool before we all had to head in for lunch.  We would order our food and then had to methodically one-by-one get the boys out of the pool and dry them off.  There were always tears from all 3 when we took them out of the water, but especially Brady.   He was heart broken that he had to leave the pool every single time.  We walked back to our room and then our amazing waiter, Gerardo, would bring the food to us on the patio which I think I mentioned was like 10 yards from the pool side..  (he was our server most of the week and he took good care of us!) 

Now I should mention how we came up with a solution for the sleeping arrangement.  I am so sad that I didn't take a picture of it.  It just didn't dawn on me.  We moved furniture around in the bedroom that included moving a huge desk out into the living room along with the big heavy TV (circa 2003).  Then we separated the beds that we had previously pushed together.  And we put the 2 portable cribs on one side of one of the beds to act as a barrier so that Parker couldn't fall out.  Then I padded up the head board and other side (which was against the wall) and then built a pillow barrier at the end of the bed.   Parker had his own deluxe queen size bed - and he loved it!  Ryder and Brady slept in the cribs, which was also quite a sight because  poor Brady couldn't even stretch out.  He had to curl up to fit.  But he is a snuggler, so it was ok.  Then, Jimmy and I slept out on the pull out coach in the living room/kitchen, which was little more than a 3 inch pad on a couch.   But at least the boys could sleep peacefully and so could we...sort of.

Anyway, back to lunch time.  We would have a great lunch and then put the boys down for their nap.  They went down without a peep every day!  (even Parker who usually always puts up a fight)    I would usually hang out on the patio at this time and tell Jimmy to go enjoy some adult time at the pool with our friends and family or go down to the beach.  I am very content sitting in the sun reading, he needs a little more action than that, that is why I would send him off.  But sometimes we would just sit on the patio together.


Nap time always started out good, but it usually wasn't very long.  So often after an hour or so, Parker was already crying to get up.  Well, same routine.  When the boys woke up, we got them back in their swim suits and got another layer of sunscreen on them and headed back out to the pool and floated in the sun, played with mermaids, filled buckets with water, drank margaritas and snacked on sushi. 

 

And we wouldn't head in to our room again until dinner time.  Then it was almost a repeat of lunch time - dry them off - get them showered - get jammies on - eat dinner - have bottles - read books - and down to sleep!  Whew!  Yes, we normally do all of this stuff at home too, but when you are in a place without the comforts of home and have 2 kids who are not independently mobile, that is hard work!

Then Jimmy and I would look at each other like, now what are we going to do?  Not gonna lie here, we usually went to bed ourselves.  (and we are talking 7:30 PM)  Yep, that's right - we were so exhausted that we were not able to stay up to enjoy the quiet for very long.  One night we did order room service, but basically that meant that Jimmy went to meet them for the food because we didn't want them knocking on our door and waking up the boys.  And one night, I sent Jimmy out for a couple glasses of wine that we enjoyed together as we talked about our day.   But the other nights...asleep by 8:00. 

Ryder didn't even want his feet to touch the sand.

There were some exceptions in our daily routines.  For example, one day we decided that we need to go down to the beach so the boys could see what the sand and ocean were like.  Now, I already knew this had disaster written all over it.  We have one child (Brady) who is fearless and would run straight into the ocean, one child (Parker) who is sensitive about new things and cannot sit up on his own, and one child (Ryder) who is putting everything in his mouth (sand included).   But that is ok, I am going with the flow, right?  Not being a stressor.  Well, Parker was ok with the sand for a few minutes then wanted nothing to do with it.  Ryder immediately had a distaste for it and Brady loved it!  So after a whopping 10 minutes of obligatory pictures and sand play we took 2 of the 3 boys back to the pool and let Jimmy and Brady romp in the waves alone. 

     

There was also one exception in our night routine.  One night my mom came over to watch the boys while Jimmy and I went out with friends.  That was a great night!  We went to the 5 course restaurant at the resort and enjoyed lots of wine, good food, great service, good music and great friends!  At one point, there was no one else in the restaurant so we asked them if our friend could play on the piano (he is an amazing musician.)  So he played some tunes, we all sang along...and closed the place down! 



We were lucky enough to have my amazing parents, sister-in-law, her mom, and my nephew there also to help with the boys.  So even though our days were busy, at any given time at least 1 of the boys was taken care of by family or friends which made it much more manageable.  We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family.  I love them!  There is no way we could have done this trip without them.

There were also lots of little tidbits of fun/funny happenings all week long like...

• Having the "do not disturb" sign out on our door the ENTIRE time we were there because we didn't want a maid to either wake up a sleeping kid OR mess up our amazing display of beds.
•  Brady picking up rocks wherever we went.
• Brady shooting the water sprayer right in the face of little girls (we really need to work on his flirting techniques)
• Meeting some other amazing mamas of kids with special needs at the pool
• Seeing a family that I have taught/counseled at work on the one day when I maybe had a few too many margaritas.  Nothing like seeing your school counselor (past health teacher) drunk.  Seriously, we were there for 7 days and I was never even tipsy.  But the one time when my parents have the boys I went a little crazy with margaritas and THAT is when I see some past students! 
• Getting up earlier (5 AM) and earlier (4 AM) every day to reserve our spots by the pool.
• Feeding Parker his bottles while he was floating in the pool
• Ryder having 4 new teeth pop through over night!

Believe it or not, I am going to have to do a Part III for the travel home because it was the most adventurous (and humorous) of all!  I can laugh at it now, but at the time I wanted to cry.  Please check back to hear all about:

• airports in Mexico
• barely making it onto the flight
• sweet new friends
• 5 hour layovers
• diaper blow-outs
• projectile vomiting
• hitching rides with random people at the airport
• and getting  home and in bed by 1:45 AM... oh yahhhh baby!



 

Spring Break Part 1

Well, we just got back last Sunday from our week off in Mexico.  That's right.  We took two 2 1/2 year-olds (one with cerebral palsy) and one 10-month-old on a vacation to another country.  I was actually very anxious about this whole vacation.  But  one of my friends said, "it is not going to be a vacation - it will be a trip.  You will make memories."  This helped me put things in perspective.  Yes, it was not a vacation where I layed around by the pool as Gerardo brought me tropical drinks with fruit in them.  I did not walk in the moonlight with my husband on the sandy beach while the waves rolled in.  I did not get a tan, I barely read a book - but I did have fun!  This may be a long post but I really want to document this trip.  I think I may turn this blog into a way that I can keep track of our lives since I have done a HORRIBLE job at baby books or journals. 
Let me start by saying that I made a concerted effort and decision before we left that on this trip  that I was going to be relaxed and go with the flow without stressing.  I have always been a very serious (my husband might say stressful) traveler.  I want everything to  go as planned, because I have taken a lot of time to plan them correctly.  I want to be places early (not on time), and I don't want to be rushed!  Even before we had kids, I tended to get very stressed (I mean serious) about vacations.  So you can imagine how I might be with 3 babies.  I am on the phone with my sister as I am driving to work to print off my boarding passes and I tell her that this trip is going to be different.  I am going to be so chill and laid back, no one will even recognize me! 

Then, BAM!  I spend 5 hours on the  phone with United Airlines trying to figure out why I can't check in and print my boarding passes.  You think that I am joking or exaggerating, but I am not.  I got to work (it was a day off) and spent 5 hours dealing with the airlines.  As you may guess, being the planner that I am, I bought these tickets almost a year ago.  I made sure we had 4 seat assignments and that we were across the aisle from each other and I paid my 10% which is now required for lap infants.  I know the airlines well enough by now to know that if you don't have a seat assignment, you are basically flying stand-by.  I still don't see how they can get away with over selling flights.  Regardless, we have seats and we are good!  However, I can't check in.  At one point, I have 2 phones going (both on hold) in my office just to increase my chances of speaking to someone.  It was a little comical.  After 5 hours of being on hold and talking to some people who clearly were clueless I FINALLY reached a supervisor (which I had been asking for for hours) and he put me on hold.   Really?  When he came back he explained to me that we couldn't check in online because we were flying with an infant.  That is it?  No one could have told me this earlier? No one else knew this simple little fact?  I guess that is why he gets paid the big bucks. 

 And so it begins....I am not stressing.  I am not stressing.  I am not stressing.

I am a list lady.  I have lists upon lists upon lists.  So I started a packing list about 2 months ago.  I revised it often throughout the weeks as I saw things that I used that hadn't been on the "list".  I should preface by saying that traveling with kids, especially babies who need bottles and formula, and especially a child with special needs, is not easy.  There are MANY things to pack.   With Parker, there are things that if I forget them could be detrimental to  his health, including his main source of nutrition which is his very expensive formula that can only be purchased through a medical supply company.  It is not in the stores and you need a prescription for it.  It comes in a can and he needs 4 cans a day.  Sooooo...we had a suitcase that just carried 32 cans of his formula.  So there is that and his meds, feeding supplies, bottles, and food.  He eats blended food.  My mom makes him amazing meals (he eats better than all of us), blends them up and freezes them.  So we always have a great supply of food for him.  Packaged baby food is not only bland, but it is mostly water and therefore not nutritious enough for a toddler.  Soooo...that means we needed to take frozen meals (enough for 8 days) to Mexico as well.  Then there are the other basic necessities like clothes, some toys, books, music, borrowed DVD player, blow-up toys for pool, sheets and blankets for the portable cribs from the hotel, some diapers (we bought most of them when we got there), wipes, Parker's high chair (he has to be well supported while eating), a car seat for Parker on the airplane, snacks/food for travel day, Ryder's formula and bottles, really the list goes on and on.

So, back to my list.  I was like Santa.  I had a list and I was checking it twice.  (and three times and four times)  In fact, the night before we left I made a separate list from the master list that showed the last minute things I needed to pack the next morning (frozen food, etc) even though they were circled and highlighted on the original list.  I wonder if there is a mental disorder about list making.  If so, I would be in the medical journal describing it. 

Well, we get to the airport, get checked in at a kiosk, and my mom is even able to get a gate pass so she can help us through security.  It was a little funny/sad/awkward because the ticket agent at first looked at us when we asked and said, "We don't allow people to come to the gate just because you have babies.  Can you imagine how many people would be going through security if every mom wanted help with her kids?  We only allow it if there are special  needs or a handicap."   Ok, do I really have to pull the disability card?  So I said, "My son has cerebral palsy and we will need help."  She actually looked at us like she didn't believe us, but we did get the pass. 

TSA security was amazing!  They let us go in the employee/first class line which was much faster.  However, we slowed it down for sure!  (sorry employees)  The 32 cans of formula were worrisome to them.  Apparently, they only wanted us to  take what we would need for the day on our carry on.  We quickly explained that it is a prescription and if it was checked baggage and lost we would have no way of replacing it.  They understood, but we had to be screened more seriously.  No problem.  I wasn't stressing.  (really I wasn't)  I stood there and let them pat me down.  I let them take out every single item from all 3 of our carry-ons that I had so painstakenly packed and mess up my organization.  I let them take apart our stroller and even quickly pat down my baby, all with a smile on my face.

I am not stressing.  I am not stressing.

Here is where some of the comedy starts.  We get all settled at the gate.  My mom is feeding Parker his bottle, Jimmy is trying to get Brady to eat some fruit and drink his milk, and I sit down to feed Ryder his bottle.  I quickly take the cap off of it and go to tip it into his mouth and BOOOSH!  His little face and body gets flooded with formula.  Somehow I forgot to put the nipple in the bottle and didn't even notice until it was too late.  Good job, mom.  Sigh...I am not stressing.  I am not stressing.  So I quickly take off his coat which luckily took the majority of the formula and wipe him down. 

Now, all the  people at the gate who gave each other the "oh crap" looks as we walked up to join them with our 3 babies are saying to themselves "not only does she have 3 babies, but she is not so bright either."    I know they are dreading getting on a flight with us.  That is ok.

We actually had a great first flight to San Fransisco.  No one cried, and I wanted to say to all of the people, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"  But I didn't.  We landed in San Fransisco, did quick diaper changes and bottle feedings, and we departed from the exact same gate an hour later - very easy!  This flight however was longer and a little more challenging.  But with books and the DVD player, we pulled it off pretty well!

Brady watching Cars with "B"

We finally got to the hotel (Cabo is about a 45 minute drive from the airport) and the boys were just starting to have a little meltdown.  Keep in mind that they were up at 4 AM and only Ryder has had any sleep.  But we get to the resort and get checked in.  We finally settled on a room on the ground floor approximately 20 steps from the pool.  (after making Jimmy and our friend carry out luggage back and forth between 2 rooms) 

Our dear friends, Scott and Jenn, had already been there for a day and they scooped up the boys, got swim diapers on them and said "let's go to the pool!"  Thank God for them (for many reasons) but at that moment the last thing I was going to do was go to the pool.  I was thinking we should feed the kids or possibly put them down for a cat nap...but, hey - we are in Mexico.  It is sunny and warm.  So, we followed suit and joined everyone at the pool.  And the boys loved it!  We hung out, had a drink or two and sat in the warm pool soaking up the much needed sun and Vitamin D. 

Parker loving the water!



Our good friend Jenn with Ryder

Brady getting water on his face for the first time.





I have to also tell you why we are so lucky to have Scott and Jenn.  They took our 2 huge checked bags with them for the trip so we didn't have to deal with it.  They have 2 kids themselves, so this is not a simple task.  Luckily, though, their kids are a bit older and they were amazing!  Our luggage was waiting for us when we got there and they also took it back on the return trip.  We love them!



I will tell you that the first night was a night from hell.  No lie.  To say our boys were over-tired is such an understatement.  We had 3 full-fledged, crazy, non-stop melt downs.  We tried to put Parker in one of the portable cribs, but he was having non of that.  He doesn't exactly curl up and they weren't full sized, so he was not happy.  So we pushed the two full sized beds together and I held him in bed to try to get him to stop crying.  Ryder did fine in the crib, and Brady would have to but he saw Parker in bed with mommy and wanted in there too.  So, I am holding/rocking Parker trying to get him to fall asleep and Brady is crying because he is tired.  Finally Parker falls asleep.  I gently try to roll him off of me and onto the bed...and he wakes up - more furious then he was before.  I am not stressing.  I am not stressing.  Ok, I resign to the fact that he will be sleeping on me and I am not going to  have dinner or get out of my dirty travel clothes.  Jimmy also comes in because Brady is needing some attention himself.  Finally Ryder has fallen asleep.  And there we are co-sleeping to the best of our ability.  It is all a blur and to say that we were co-sleeping is really not accurate.  There wasn't much sleeping going on.  At one point Parker got switched to Jimmy and Brady came snuggling up to me with his sweaty little body.  All I really know is that I have never been so happy to see morning!

The first day of travel was a little wild, but the rest of the vacation was amazing! 

To be continued...