Twenty Two

Twenty Two...
That is the number of hours I spent in the car with my husband and three small children this weekend. We made the hike up to NY to see my family.
I must say here, in a bit of mommy-braggadociousness
( ** new wordage alert... Mommy-braggadociousness, to make a proud statement about one's child in a purely humble way, not an in your face your kid bites kind of way, cause that would be mommy-stuckupitybragging. Getting the two confused can cost you time and friends...oh, and the term bite was not literal in its use there, sorry for any confusion, as the mom of a former vampire, I would never joke about that.)

So, my three little stinkers were so good in the car. I have always been very opposed to DVD players in the vehicle. I want my boys to have to read and play and color, not sit and zone out in couch potato mode... BUT alas... Kohls had too good a sale to pass up and we got a portable DVD player for the trip.
Well, I am proud to say, that it was not over used at all. We were on the road a good 5 hours before we ever used it, and when I broke out Peter Pan, still wrapped in its cellophane, I knew, this was a good cave on my part.

Here is the picture... and yes, that is my kids laying down on the floor. We are bad parents who lay down two of the second row seats so they can get out and stretch a bit. I have determined that any sheriff or child advocate group that wants to condemn me can travel across country with my kids and see how they fair if they are never allowed out of the booster seat, AKA Car-Jail.

This was also Alden Angel Baby Status test time... would he turn into a shrieking banshee on the road? Would his normally calm demeanor vanish when tied down for all those hours? Nope! He was great and I was so happy. He did have an allergic reaction to the borrowed pack and play we used and his little eyes swelled almost shut, just like Em's do. We think it may be a dog allergy, but who knows? I was just glad the swelling went away (eventually) cause really, it ws not such a cute look for him.

So, seeing my family was good. Saying goodbye was no fun. The trip home was uneventful save this little story...
We are driving along, only a couple hours from home. If you have ever traveled with children you know that you could feasibly stop every fifteen minutes to use the bathroom. Well, having boys is a good thing here because they can, well...
Oh, let's just be honest here everyone...

Boys can totally pee in a cup and save you the stop.

Mind you, you must be prideLESS enough to hold the cup, keep the urinator standing still and say "Keep that thing pointed DOWN!" So, we have had two such recent "fill ups" in our old take out cups. They are waiting for dumpage at the next stop. (what did you think I dumped them out the window while driving...ewwww, and how would you explain that littering to a cop?)
Now, I wake from my motion induced sleep and see Micah switching lanes and some car getting, well... ticked. They come charging up the right hand lane, only to be met with the back end of a semi. Um, hello??? Did you think that semi was going to move for you and your little two door red car? So, the guy in the passenger seat waves a water bottle at us...

Huh?
Are we now offering drinks as a form of car cursing?
"Well, take this Pepsi you Coke loving tailgater!"
"Drink my poison Evian you slowpoke!"
"Gatorade to YOU!"

Whatever, waving the water bottle was weird at best.
So, several miles later, she, the driver, is back on our butts and now, my Micah is grinning and just staying right alongside the semi.... Box Out Style.
"Really, dear, are you doing this on purpose?

"What?" he asks, shocked. " I am just keeping with the flow of traffic. Am I being Vinbedient?"
DOH! My own words coming back to get me!
So, he moves over to the right lane and as small red car speeds by, the guy waves his water bottle out his window at us, dumping its pitiful remains out.
Dude, if we want to dump car beverages, we have so got you beat with our little pee bombs here...
Not to mention, our car sits like 10 feet higher than yours, so unless you know something about gravity we don't, that was the weakest from of road rage ever.
The best part???
The "Baby on Board" sign prominently (and proudly???) displayed in the back window...
Very nice.

Here are some recent Scrapations. (**double whammy today on the wordage alerts folks... scrap + creation = scrapations. I like it.)




And a little book reviewage. I just finished "These is My Words" by Nancy Carter. It was of course a recommended read from THE LitChick. I really could not put it down. It is a fictional diary set in the late 1800s in the Arizona territory. Great characters and the author really makes you love the main ones. I think one way I judge a book is by the way my imagination responds to it. Am I picturing the settings, the characters faces, etc. This was a good one for sure!