Family and Friends and free lodging....

We drove to Vegas the day after the snowy night drive and stayed with some old friends. We haven't seen them in years and it was so good to just see them again, meet their children and catch up.


We went out that Thursday night to see the Belagio fountain show. They have been living in Vegas for two years and after watching the (third) water show with us, they were saying it was the best one they'd ever seen there! (We watched three songs worth of shows, because just before the first one Avalon had a potty emergency and Patrick had to rush her off to find a bathroom. Made it in the nick of time! But he came back and we watched a third show so he could actually enjoy one too!)


Friday we drove into Los Angeles and meet up with my BIL and SIL and two of their kids. And by kids, I mean my nephews are now taller than both me...and Patrick... and are almost all old enough to be living on their own. It is weird to say that this big 'boy' who is a man - is your nephew - when you are just barely older than 30.

Our kids just love them! They hang on them and love on them, and beg for their attention to no end. On our end the age difference of the cousins is no problem. When we are all out in public I have so many extra hands and eyes to help out with the kids!


Plus, my SIL Kelli finally got to meet our baby - who will turn one next month! That was sweet.

They live a mile from the beach in a Santa Monica apartment high-rise. It is just them and their youngest sharing 800+ sq ft. For a few days though, their two oldest came home from college and the six of my family came to stay, so there were 11 of us sleeping in the two-bedroom house.


Fun, fun! Actually it all went really amazingly smooth - even the bathroom sharing! That is, until the wee hours of the morning our family was going to take off for Disneyland. It was 5:30 in the morning and Patrick had to run to the store for a plunger because the toilet was threatening to overflow! shnikes! (he saved it though!)

Thanks for letting us crash with you Dave and Kelli!!

Start of our journey

I had basically been getting us ready for three weeks. Slowly packing socks, tees, swimming suits.... as clean items came out of the wash I would tuck them away in suitcases so that there would not be a mad dash to pack at the end.

Slowly, I was trying to take our home that was turned upside down from construction, and try to get it into some order to come home to. (The model home perfectly clean dream was lost a few weeks ago) But at least if we died on the road people wouldn't think we were complete pigs....

The plan was to leave between midnight and 1am Thursday morning. Unfortunately, on Wed midday we heard a big snowstorm was supposed to hit the highway/mtn passes we were supposed to be crossing the next day. We changed our plans to leave asap. (ie: somewhere between 5-7pm) Thankfully we were able to pull it off since most the prep was done early instead of last minute. We pulled out of the driveway at 7pm! whew! Made it.

We stopped for chipotle. We had to eat right? And that was good eating. I was driving. I drove down hwy 115 in a snow storm. It was getting bad. You know when the snow just makes you go crazy trying to focus because you feel like you are driving in a bad space-setting video game flying at warp-speed???

Now we are in a canyon. It is snowing like crazy. There is the Arkansas river on one side of the car, and the opposite direction of traffic and a canyon wall on the other. At this point, all we can see is a few reflector lights on the guardrail next to us. We can't see the canyon. We can't see the road! We can't even see the yellow or white lines on the road. The road is completely covered with snow, but you can't even see tracks to follow because the snow is coming so fast. I feel like people could be dying out here tonight - but Lord willing it won't be us.

We have a GPS. At this point the weather is so bad we are driving blind. Seriously. Patrick watches the GPS while I grip the steering wheel. We have four little lives sleeping behind us. He says "the road curves a little left". I steer the car slightly left. "good, good, now straight" I straighten out.

This continues for about 15 minutes. Absolutely. Terrifying. I never, never, never want to do that again. We get out of the canyon and amazingly, as Patrick takes over the driving, the crazy snow stops.

I - get sick to my stomach. Patrick says it is nerves. Maybe. I think it is from food. Chipotle maybe? I mean, I love them... but maybe, just maybe something was off? Either way, Patrick crosses THREE mountain passes in snow and ice with me periodically making him pull off (on a mountain pass - in the snow and freezing cold) for me to get out of the car in the pitch black to get sick on the side of the road.

Wow. What a great vacation. Woo-hoo! This is fun. So glad I packed and prepared for this...torture. It felt like the dead of night would never end! We finally make it to a town. I see a hotel. I BEG Patrick to stop and spend the night. We do.

Horrible night over, good vacation begins. Thankfully, that first adventure was the only bad one.

This is the view of the end of those crazy mtns we fought with in the night. Good riddins mountains, good riddins!!

Vacation

We went on our first big real vacation since we had kids six years ago. Wow! Too long, but when you are constantly pregnant or nursing it is easy not to throw kids in the car and just drive.

So we went on vacation with four little kids, 6 and under, and I have to admit I was a little nervous about driving for four days (round trip) and hotel sleeping arrangements and naps....and.... you name it.

But the vacation turned out to be complete bliss. I was somewhat sick the whole time, but it wasn't anything adrenaline or excitement of the day couldn't keep me running on. Did that make sense??... um... still sleep deprived from our long days. Basically, I was not in perfect health, but could keep up with vacation pace and activities!! Yea!

We went to Vegas, Santa Monica CA, Newport Beach CA, Disneyland, and then home.

We have the most bestest kids EVER! I was so impressed with them. They were fabulous! I'm not kidding, and I am bragging. ;) We even had two people (that I can remember) tell us that we have "such well behaved kids"! (Such good words to hear. Let's face it, sometimes you wonder if you'll survive this or that phase of parenting, and wonder if you are even making a dent!)

The kids were put under a lot of change, a new city almost everyday, early mornings and late, late nights. Sleeping in strollers, the car and the floor. Eating out and eating the same meals in day after day after day...

And I tell you again, the kids were amazing!! My love for each of them grew and grew! It was fun to spend so much time with them and Patrick for 10/11 days straight, getting to see more of who they are and enjoying their personalities to the fullest!

Our trip was full of adventure of course... but I have a lot of catching up to do today, and I don't think I can start all that now (details). So I will catch you up on some of the most notable things in the days to come. For now, you know where I've been.

One last thing - it always feels so good to come home and sleep in your own bed no matter how good a time you had - doesn't it??? :)

Spring Break

I want to let you know that we are celebrating Spring Break early around here... and thus I will be focusing on my family and the kids and not on the blog. I will be back though!!

I am taking a one and a half week haiatus and then the posts will start up again - and I promise they will be entertaining!

In the meantime, this happened today:

I sitting working on the budget while my 4 yr old is chatting on the floor beside me.
"Mom, do you like racoons?"
"yep"
"Me too. ...Too bad one pooped in our basement."

Uh-huh... what??? Conversations with kids are never dull.

And no.... a racoon did not poop in our basement. Our life is crazy, but not that crazy....

Mothers

I got this in an email - thought I'd share it with you too, if you haven't seen it yet.

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
They don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up.......

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth
Is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of MaMa to Mommy to Mom to Mother.....

It's my job

I watched a special on TV last night about the current Oscar nominees. I love the Oscars. I think it is because secretly (or not so secretly) I have always wanted to walk that red carpet that night myself. Growing up all I wanted to be was an actress.

I even checked into the 'acting' program at a college once, but who was I kidding? There is no money (really) in an acting diploma. You either act - or you don't.

I might have gotten part of my wish. My husband thinks I'm always acting dramatic, and my kids think I'm funny! You take what you can get I suppose. ;)

As for my other skills: Last night I was loading the dishwasher. My hubs was in and out of the room, and when he came back he said, "Wow. You're already done? You're fast."

I said, "Thanks, but I do this for a living...so you know..."
I do this for a living??? I guess I do. No big red carpet for me. I turned out to be a dishwasher! ha!

I was on a friends blog yesterday and she had a color personality test thing linked to her site. I took it and here are my results. I think they are amazingly accurate...for a test taken by looking at colors. (although I think the order of importance should be flipped)

Best Occupational Category
You're a RESEARCHER
Keywords
Independent, Self-Motivated, Reserved, Introspective, Analytical, and Curious
Investigative types gather information, analyze and interpret data, and inquire to uncover new facts. They have a strong scientific orientation, enjoy academic or research environments and prefer self-reliant jobs. Dislikes are group projects, selling, and repetitive activities.
RESEARCHER OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are College Professor, Physician, Psychologist, Pharmacist, Chemist, Marketing Research, Inventor, Sales Forecasting, Project Engineer, Dentist, Identifying Consumer Demand, Chiropractor, Dentist, Medical Technician, Optometrist, Research & Development Manager, Respiratory Therapist, Real Estate Appraiser, Chiropractor, Veterinarian, Geologist, Physicist, Science Teacher, Medical Technologist, and Author of Technical Books.
RESEARCHER WORKPLACES
Task-oriented careers where you can become absorbed in the job, be original and creative, and not conform to rigid company rules will work best for you. Unstructured organizations, for example, that allow you to sail your own ship are vital.
Suggested Researcher workplaces are universities and colleges, home office positions, medical facilities, computer-related industries, scientific foundations and think tanks, research firms, and design laboratories.




2nd Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATOR
Keywords:
Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional
These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or whether they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

Here's your sign

There's an old Jeff Foxworthy song Here's Your Sign. It is all about stupid people and people doing stupid things. That being said, this story is funnier the farther away I get from it. It wasn't so humorous the day it happened...

It is last summer. I have a two month old baby with me in this little mom and pop store. She is in the carseat - but hanging right there on my arm.

One of the store clerks comes up to me. I have seen her in there every week for the last year and a half. She has seen me pregnant, and now, here I am with my baby.

She praises the cuteness of the baby. She looks at me. Oh! Are you expecting?? she exclaims.

Clearly not lady. Here, right beside me - this is the baby that fat was caused by.
No, I say politely. I'm not. (smile)

Are you sure?? You look about five months pregnant! (She RUBS my belly!!)

A lot of silent screaming ensues.

No, I'm sure. Here's the baby.

Well... we'll see...

No, we won't see. That is medically not probable. Here's your sign.

Out of the mouth of babes

My three year old is in the bathroom huffing and puffing. Then all of a sudden you hear, "Ewwww...........(silence) Poop."
That makes me laugh. She knew that was coming after all that effort, right??? Kids...

Then, Saturday, I was in my bedroom cleaning and the kids were in the master bathroom playing on the floor. One of them stood up and noticed that my sink was full of bubbles. (I was hand washing a few bras - they were soaking)

So they reach into the bubbles and discover there is treasure in there!! They call the other siblings over to see... and slowly pick up one of the wet pieces of material when someone shouts out, "That one of mom's BRAUBS!!" and they all go running and screaming out of my room. Again, funny. I don't think my 'braubs' (bras) are so scary... but you never know what will freak a kid out!;)