life with WE

People watching on vacay.

Hey, I saw this lady on vacation.  Guess who she reminded me of?

 

Yeah, that's right - Magda from "There's Something about Mary".   (I couldn't quite catch her full on hot pink lipstick, but you get the idea.)

Whatever, I'm going straight to hell and I know it.

And listen, before you judge me - know that years ago I would have thought her tan was freaking awesome.  But that was before I was a 30, and a parent and started worrying about skin cancer, and then subsequently "laying out" with SPF 70 on.  You know so I can have the old feeling of laying out but not get tan.

Oh I'm a hot mess.  Just not that kind of hot mess like above.

Home again home again.

We're back.

And W is not going to school today.

STILL with the stomach flu.

More later after I get E to school and have a moment.

TGIF? Let's hope so!

"I'd never named a boat before, but there was only one name i could think of. 

The most beautiful name in the whole wide world. "

You know what this vacation needs more of?  Dirty banana daquiris delivered to me poolside by the poolboy.  And by poolboy I mean my brother in law.  And by more, I mean at LEAST ONE MORE THAN THE ONLY ONE I'VE HAD ON THE DAY NO ONE HAD A FEVER AND WAS PUKING OR HAD DIARHEA.

Poor poor me.  I know you feel my pain.

Here, a couple more pictures from good times.  And there were some - in between motrin doses and whatnot.  For reals.

For instance, Downtown Disney turned out to be awesome.  Screw you Disneyworld (shaking fist)!  (And really, only screw them because I can't afford them.)

The Lego Store.  "This store is SOOO awesome!" (Warren of course said that.)

And then there was the princess store.

 

Upon leaving this store with 2 items, Elaine declared that it was indeed "the most wonderful day of my life!"

And there has been fun with my favorite nephew and favorite Eastern time zone neice.  (I have to declare them by time zone, because Megan and Amanda are my faves in the central region!)

 

This boy here... is fantastic!  He's a reminder as to why we block out the ages 18 months through 3 years.  He's great fun!

 

This is the sweetest girl in the world.  And she and Elaine are like peas and carrots. 

Cousin love - ain't nothin better!

 

And before you ask - no we don't know what Warren did to his head.  He did that before we left and he "doesn't want to talk about it."  And Elaine's leg bandaid?  A small scratch - aka a 9 1 1 emergency!

Now, I'm going to go pound some dirty bananas before we begin our long journey home Saturday and Sunday.  Think if I'm hungover Mike will drive the whole way home?  Sa-weet!

The motrin high lasted a whole day and then...

So Tuesday, was a really good day.  And I was too lazy from said good day to edit pictures and post a blog entry.  I mean I am on vacation you know.

Then Wednesday was off to a pretty good start.  We all semi-slept in and the sun was shining and we went to the pool.  All was good.  Until we came back for lunch.

Warren seemed to weird.  And when I asked if he was tired and wanted to nap, he said no but he did want to lay down and do nothing.  And then his stomach hurt.

You know where this is headed don't you?

Yeah, he fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the afternoon with all the lights on and chaos and whatnot.  And when he awoke, he was burning with fever.  So we dosed him with motrin and moved him to his bed.  He passed out for awhile and the woke up puking.  Good times good times.  More motrin and the fever won't break.

We plan(ned?) on driving to the beach today but we'll have to see how W's doing. 

Any guesses on how long after we're back home that I contract this freaking virus?  I'm trying to my damndest to avoid it.  My hands are bone dry from all the washing...

Sometimes motrin is a wonder. For a little while anyway...

We have managed to have some fun while Elaine's on a motrin high.  Witness in these pool photos...

In other news, we have now combined the fever with diarrhea and her cousin has pink eye.  Rock on!

Best Hotel Ever

We made it to Marietta Georgia late Friday night.  And checked into a Drury Inn which Warren declared Saturday morning as "the best hotel we've ever stayed in".  

Mike and I thought it was kind of sucky.  The bed dipped horribly.  The hotel was packed and busy and loud.  But Warren jumped from bed to bed, ate dinner at 9:30 PM and had a free breakfast the next morning which makes for THE BEST HOTEL EVER!

 

On the road again...

Today we begin our journey to Florida.  We're driving to Atlanta and stopping for the night because neither Mike or I can handle being in the car that long.  The kids - they'd be fine.  But not us!

It's making me remember family vacations as a kid.  Early on, when it was just me and Jessie, we had a brown camaro.  We rode in the back of there from St. Louis to Hot Springs Arkansas.  Caravan-ing with my mom's siblings the whole way.  The biggest treat?  Breakfast at McDonalds and the fruit rollups my mom had stashed in the glove compartment.

Later when Jackie came around, we had the station wagon.   And miraculously, we'd just wake up lying in the back of it.  My parents would put us in the car while we were still asleep and we'd take off in the early morning.  We'd dress in the car - clearly before seat belt laws.  All of our luggage was strapped to the top of the wagon - Griswold style!

And still later - we added Missy.  And Mike and I got married.  And we drove in the same caravan to Hot Springs with Jackie Jessie and Missy. 

All of those trips I have fond memories of.  And there were more - tons of them.  I'm hoping my kids will have the same kinds of memories of these kinds of road trips.  Which basically means that I'm hoping their memories are of fun in the car and the hotel and not of crabbiness and exhaustion and multiple potty breaks!

The place we're staying in has wireless internet access.  So here's hoping I can blog while I'm there.  I know you can't wait, can you?

How awesome, or how weird?

How awesome are these earrings?  They're on ebay.  I WANT THEM.

Mmmmm bacon.

Me, hiding in the corner.

I'm here.

I know I haven't been a great blogger as of late, but it's been eh and blah and hectic here to say the least.  And then there was yesterday.

Yesterday was a horrid crappy day.  Full of normal bad kid behavior but apparently I lacked any calmness/patience/kindness.  Because, well... I lost it.  I talked sternly.  I demanded excellent behavior.  I threatened/cajoled whatever you want to call it.  And they were... kids.  Elaine couldn't stand that it was Warren's checkup and wanted attention.  W was pissed he had to get a chicken pox booster.  Elaine was mad Warren got his sticker first.  Elaine was freaked that she'll be getting shots at her five year check up.  You see where this is going, right?

Next up the library where I had to pay 19.99 for a movie we lost.  And by we, I mean Elaine, who is SO not bothered by the ordeal, but I had flashbacks to losing The Giving Tree back in the day.  We picked out new stuff.  Elaine pulled movie after movie off the shelves while I grabbed her firmly by the hand, sat her in a chair and told her NOT TO TOUCH ANOTHER MOVIE FOR THE LUVOFGAWD.  Warren had to use the bathroom.  Elaine had to block a kid in at the computer so she could stare over his shoulder.  There was some sort of a battle as to who would place the books on the checkout counter, and a tipped over chair, and on and on and on until...

I lost it.  In the car, but I lost it.  I completely lost my shit.  Judge me if you will, but it can be no worse than how I judged myself yesterday.  I calmly and in my most filled with vile voice said, "you two are done.  I am furious."  And I went on to drop the f*bomb and mention jerks.  During which Warren cried and Elaine?  Oh she giggled.  Which of course added to my fury.

Then back home and more fighting and more being sent to the rooms.  And let's go out to eat because I can't stand it.  Or, let's sit down at Applebees only to have Warren freak out about his stomach hurting and then we left.  And we got home and everyone cried.  Everyone except Mike who had to pull it together for all of us.

I apologized.  But most likely, the damage is done.  And un-doable.  And I remember when my mom would lose it.  And I know we all lose it, and I didn't lay a hand on them.  But the verbal... oh it can hurt just as bad.   I apologized for my behavior to Warren and then to Elaine.  I said that I did not react well to their poor behavior and that I was sorry.  Sometimes moms make mistakes.  Just like kids.

And then I spent the rest of the night feeling like a shithead.  A failure.

We leave for a family vacation on Friday.  And boy do we all need it.  We're driving to Florida to see my brother in law and family, and my mother in law.  And we'll have a week of no school, no work, all of us together.  Generally, this would stress me out.  But part of me cannot wait.  Cannot wait to reconnect, relax, and replenish.  Perhaps live down the failure of Tuesday.

Sleep, don't sleepwalk!

I know Warren isn't great with transitions.

I also know that Warren sleepwalks and has sleep "attacks" (that's my scientific name) on occasion.  Generally he has these when he is deliriously tired, in someplace new, or worried about something.

Recently, after much talk and planning and postponing, we swapped Warren's room with our spare room.  This gave Warren a MUCH bigger room.  Also, we had not painted or done anything to his room since moving here, and Elaine has her purple princess paradise, so it's only fair.  So Warren's grand gold great room (yeah, his favorite color is gold) was completed on Sunday.  He loves it.  LOVES IT.  Elaine loves it too.

Sunday  night he expressed concern about falling out of the bed.  This is the first time his twin bed is in the middle of the room - not pressed up against a wall.  He went to bed at 8 pm and was sleep walking to the bathroom by 9:30.

Last night - bed at 8 pm again.  All is well, except that when I leave his door cracked, he realizes it isn't nearly as bright in his new room as it was in his old room.  (If you ask me, this is a GREAT thing.  I love dark while I sleep!)  I get him a night light and leave the door cracked wider, and that's that.  Until 9:33.  Sleepwalking to the bathroom and then back to his old room where he sat himself in the middle of the guest bed.

By the time we get him acclimated to his room, we'll be leaving for our spring break to Florida.  And then we'll have to start this all over again!

PS - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  Set your leprechaun traps and see what you catch!