The Wedding

Wow, I was gone a lot longer than I expected to be. Our trip down to Florida went very well. Besides some traffic in Georgia things went smoothly. Connor slept a lot of the time, we made a few stops for him to run around, and he watched Bolt (his current favorite) many times on the portable DVD player. When we finally arrived, it was great to get out of the car but there was lots to do. 

My mom was doing a lot of the preparations for the wedding which kept her pretty busy. So, one of my sisters, Melissa, and I spent the bulk of the time watching the kids. There was Connor, Alex and Isaiah (all 2) and Liliana (6 months). The boys had a lot of fun playing together, but I think we said "You need to share." and "Don't fight." every couple minutes. By the time the kids were all asleep I was exhausted. I fell into bed soon after. I have new respect for moms with multiples. I don't know how they do it full-time. 

Finally, the wedding day came and we rushed to get ready. Of course the ceremony was perfectly timed with the boys' naps so they fell asleep on the car ride to the beach. We had to wake them up and then carry them down the makeshift aisle while a couple beachgoers hummed the wedding march. The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes and then it was time for some pictures. My sister Jen's 6-year-old daughter cries "I didn't want you to get married!" My mom calms her down and we head to the reception. 

The clubhouse in my parent's community was beautifully decorated with the beach theme. There was even a playroom for the kids. But, the back doors opened to the pool area, which is also where the food was. When the boys all saw the pool they took turns trying to get in. It required an extra watchful eye to make sure they didn't get too close. Soon after dinner, the exhausted kids became very accident prone and we decided to take them home. They fell asleep pretty quickly. It was a great day, but a lot of time and energy went into it and I couldn't wait to fall asleep. 

Travel Necessities

There are a few things I do to prepare for a road trip that I think are key to a successful ride. 

I pack a cooler with food and an activity bag for Connor. 

Since this trip is longer than our usual ones, I'm taking along more food than I normally do. I'll pack dry cereal and fruit for breakfast. String cheese and more fruit for snacks, sandwiches for lunch, juice boxes, raisins, these small milk cartons, crackers, and a bottle of frozen water. This prevents stopping just for food, not to mention the high price of a restaurant or the unhealthiness of a fast food place. 

The activity bag is even more important because it keeps Connor entertained during the times he is awake. I pack a few of his favorite books, a couple matchbox cars, color wonder markers and paper (no drawing on the car doors!), a couple figurines, and my favorite thing, a wooden tray with paths for a duck, a train and a car. The paths are cut-out lines in the tray that let the car move along it. It's part of a larger activity set but it detaches from it very easily and is great for playing in the car. You could make something similar with a metal baking sheet. Make roads on the sheet with masking tape. Attach magnets to the bottom of some toy cars and voila, you have your own play road. 

There's one new thing that we're taking on our road trip, a portable DVD player. A friend let us borrow hers, so I packed that and some of Connor's DVDs to use in case of emergency. He's usually pretty good in the car so I don't know if we'll need it, but it's certainly nice to have. 

We're probably on the road by now, so I will let you all know how our trip goes when I get internet access again. 

Road Trip

Connor has taken many road trips with me before. His first was at 2 months old. Since then, we've driven up to NY from Virginia at least a dozen times, if not more. The trip takes about 7 hours with minimal stops. I try to get on the road around 4-5 am so Connor sleeps most of the trip. He's awesome in the car. 

So, we're taking a road trip down to Florida for my oldest sister's wedding. Hubby won't be joining us unfortunately because he has to work. It's a 15 hour trip that we're breaking up over 2 days. I plan on getting on the road at 5 am Sunday morning so that Connor will sleep for the first part of the trip. When he wakes up we can stop, have breakfast and find a park for him to play in for a few hours. Then around lunchtime we can get back on the road and he'll be able to take his nap in the car. We should arrive in Jacksonville around dinner time, where we staying for the night with a friend we haven't seen in a while. The next day we'll get back on the road for the next 4-5 hour leg of our trip before we get to southeast FL where my sisters and parents live. 

It should be an interesting trip and definitely an interesting visit. My 4 sisters, 2 nephews, 2 nieces, 3 grandparents and, of course, my parents will all be there. It will be the first time our family has all been together in a year, and the first since my 6-month old niece was born. So, yeah. I'm expecting lots of great stories next week. 

But in the meantime I'll let you know how our preparations for the trip go. 

Grandparents are Awesome

The best part about traveling is there is never-ending fun for Connor. Everywhere we go there are new people, new toys, new houses to explore. I bring minimal toys, just some cars and crayons in my purse and his favorite bear, because both sets of grandparents have some just for him. Yet, he is always busy exploring and therefore learning. 

The bad part about traveling is there is never-ending stimulation for Connor. So of course, bedtime is seen as a punishment even more than usual. It means no more fun for the day. Even though he's exhausted and I already let him stay up later than normal, there's still more to do. He ends up screaming for 10 minutes until I can calm him down. By then he's so exhausted he can't help but fall asleep. 

But coming to NY is always worth it. He gets to spend time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles. And pretty soon, he'll have a cousin to play with too. This trip was a wonderful learning experience for both of us. Connor finally learned to say some of the grandparents' names. None of them wanted to be just grandma and grandpa; instead we have Nana, Grumpy, Grammy, Pop-pop, Mimi and Boo. He also got to play in the snow for the first time; he loved to stomp it and make a crunching sound. And I got to spend some baby-free time at the shower. 

A wonderful visit but now it's time to go home. 

Traveling

Yesterday I woke up at 4am, by choice. 

My sister-in-law's baby shower is tomorrow, which required a trip to NY. It's typically a 7 hour drive and I've made it several times so it's not a big deal. But there's one thing I've learned in the past two years from these trips, drive as much as you can while the kid sleeps. 

My son always falls asleep in the car even if it's not his typical nap-time. I once left right after work (6pm) and drove straight through, arriving at 1am. Connor slept pretty much the whole way and was then wide awake when we got to NY. So there I am, ready to pass out, and he's ready to play. At 4am he finally fell asleep again. I don't recommend it. 

Now, I try to wake up early so that we do as much of the drive as possibly during times he's normally asleep. It works out much better for everyone involved. 

Take my advice, if you have to make a long car trip, drive while they're already asleep.