Sunday, August 05, 2012
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Day 3
Today was a real clusterfuck in a woe-is-me-my-problems-aren't-real-problems kind of way.
We finally got to check into our real resort today, which was exciting since we could unpack the car all the way and get our little beastie baby into a vacation routine for the week. We were thrilled with the hotel lobby and grounds. Nothing says vacation like rows of blue umbrellas on the beach, cabanas, and bar service to your pool chair. Imagine our horror when the front desk guy showed us to our suite. Which was just a room with a king size bed and couch and a weird mini sink in the corner and a bathroom with a shower but no tub. WTF we asked. He pointed out the ocean view. We pointed out the three other people we had to share the room with and the print-out of our online reservation that spoke of a bedroom, a living room, and 2 bathrooms. He was like, sorry man, the hotel is booked solid. WTF we asked again, louder this time. We launched into a good cop/crazy hormonal cop routine, where Ben acted really bummed about driving from Wisconsin to this shitty room, and I started yelling and calling other hotels. Luckily the good cop worked because everything else was booked! We now have 2 huge rooms and 2 huge bathrooms. And we're on the 7th floor and I hate elevators, so my vacation exercise plan got that much easier!
Harry and Jack love a good breakfast buffet
I tried to hand Cooper a muffin, and he attacked.
The other part of my exercise plan involves long walks on the beach with my baby. Also, the humidity is giving me lunch lady bangs.
They love the water
He wanted me to take a picture of him sticking his head in the ocean. Um, ok.
Ben offered them $5 if they cold catch a fish with their hands. Jack is contemplating.
Cooper ate so much sand and really suddenly. He'd be fine and I would turn my head for a second, and I'd turn back around to find him lying on his stomach eating the beach like dog food.
He liked the view from dinner.
Harry and Jack are driving us nuts by bedtime, so our goal for tomorrow is to put everyone down 90 minutes earlier and in the same room so we can watch Big Brother. Party animals.
We finally got to check into our real resort today, which was exciting since we could unpack the car all the way and get our little beastie baby into a vacation routine for the week. We were thrilled with the hotel lobby and grounds. Nothing says vacation like rows of blue umbrellas on the beach, cabanas, and bar service to your pool chair. Imagine our horror when the front desk guy showed us to our suite. Which was just a room with a king size bed and couch and a weird mini sink in the corner and a bathroom with a shower but no tub. WTF we asked. He pointed out the ocean view. We pointed out the three other people we had to share the room with and the print-out of our online reservation that spoke of a bedroom, a living room, and 2 bathrooms. He was like, sorry man, the hotel is booked solid. WTF we asked again, louder this time. We launched into a good cop/crazy hormonal cop routine, where Ben acted really bummed about driving from Wisconsin to this shitty room, and I started yelling and calling other hotels. Luckily the good cop worked because everything else was booked! We now have 2 huge rooms and 2 huge bathrooms. And we're on the 7th floor and I hate elevators, so my vacation exercise plan got that much easier!
Harry and Jack love a good breakfast buffet
Friday, August 03, 2012
Day 2
We got to the beach a day early, and our resort was booked solid, so we are at a neighboring Omni for a night, paying the sucker's rate because we booked it on the fly as we drove out of the Smoky Mountains this morning, sharing one bathroom between the five of us, Cooper asleep in the bedroom, kids on the sofa bed, Ben and I huddled quietly around our computers. I told Ben this felt a lot like camping. He was not amused.
All three kids love the cloudy, warm Atlantic. Harry likes to wade up to his waste and duck under waves as they break over him. Jack stays close to the edge of the wet sand and throws himself in the dirt like seal, letting the waves carry him a few feet. Cooper buries his fat hands and then laughs out loud when the water topples him backwards into my legs.
Vacation with 3 kids is kind of a lot of work. We might need another vacation when we get home.
Early this morning at a mountain rest stop (no makeup or hair do because Ben rushed us out of our gross hotel before a line of storms)
Harry was so happy to leave the car and run.
Beach.
Turn down services brought the kids milk and cookies and I told them they'd have to wait to eat them until tomorrow because it's bedtime. Then I ate the cookies. MOTY.
All three kids love the cloudy, warm Atlantic. Harry likes to wade up to his waste and duck under waves as they break over him. Jack stays close to the edge of the wet sand and throws himself in the dirt like seal, letting the waves carry him a few feet. Cooper buries his fat hands and then laughs out loud when the water topples him backwards into my legs.
Vacation with 3 kids is kind of a lot of work. We might need another vacation when we get home.
Early this morning at a mountain rest stop (no makeup or hair do because Ben rushed us out of our gross hotel before a line of storms)
Day 1
As we drive, Ben is having me keep a list of gas prices by location. We are not both sure this is the best use of my time.
We cancelled our reservation at a nice hotel about 6.5 hours from home yesterday, and decided to pull 14 hours in the minivan and shave a day off our drive time. This was a lovely idea until everyone fell the fuck apart at a Wendy's around 6:30 last night and then Cooper slept the whole way to the hotel, meaning he didn't really sleep at all AT the hotel. The hotel, one of those extended stay suite places, even though we are only staying like 9 hours, is fucking gross, by the way. But there are 2 bedrooms and a bed in the living room, so we could all enjoy some personal space. Except for me and Cooper, who spent 6 restless hours intertwined. Can't wait to brush the previous occupant's dog hair off of me and take a shower in one of the bathrooms-- the one that has either rust or blood around the drain because vacations are for risk taking, right?
Cooper tried french fries from 2 different fast food chains. MOTY.
Last night around 9:00 when it was pitch black and we were driving through mountains for the first time ever and Harry and Jack had fight number 55 about who got which iPad, we questioned our decision to pull such a long day. But waking up today to show the kids their first mountains and their first glimpse of water that looks like it stretches forever, we're starting to agree with our optimistic, Starbucks fueled selves of yesterday afternoon.
The journey begins:
Packed like sardines with all of their worldly possessions (Right before we left, Harry looked at his pink Build-a-Bear bunny that he's had for 2 years now and said, "Huh. I made a girl toy.")
Luckily, we have Cooper with his Baby Driver to give us a hand.
Ben is so pissed at me in this picture because I failed to properly display my I-Pass and got a $1 fine at an Indiana toll plaza, and we had to push the help button and talk to a toll worker to get through. Fucking Indiana. It really made me apreciate the awesomeness of Illinois' open-road tolling.
Harry finally learned the proper way to deal with boredom in the car.
We cancelled our reservation at a nice hotel about 6.5 hours from home yesterday, and decided to pull 14 hours in the minivan and shave a day off our drive time. This was a lovely idea until everyone fell the fuck apart at a Wendy's around 6:30 last night and then Cooper slept the whole way to the hotel, meaning he didn't really sleep at all AT the hotel. The hotel, one of those extended stay suite places, even though we are only staying like 9 hours, is fucking gross, by the way. But there are 2 bedrooms and a bed in the living room, so we could all enjoy some personal space. Except for me and Cooper, who spent 6 restless hours intertwined. Can't wait to brush the previous occupant's dog hair off of me and take a shower in one of the bathrooms-- the one that has either rust or blood around the drain because vacations are for risk taking, right?
Cooper tried french fries from 2 different fast food chains. MOTY.
Last night around 9:00 when it was pitch black and we were driving through mountains for the first time ever and Harry and Jack had fight number 55 about who got which iPad, we questioned our decision to pull such a long day. But waking up today to show the kids their first mountains and their first glimpse of water that looks like it stretches forever, we're starting to agree with our optimistic, Starbucks fueled selves of yesterday afternoon.
The journey begins:
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
More family visits
We completed the kids' tour of their great grandmothers this week and stopped by Ben's grandma's house for lunch. Clearly, the kiddos had a terrific time.
I don't know why I haven't been posting lately. I think it's because our summer has been so boring and lazy. Which, I gotta tell you, is exactly how a summer should be.
We are about to embark on a little adventure, so I hope to have stories to post about soon.
We are about to embark on a little adventure, so I hope to have stories to post about soon.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Legendary
Still dieting. Still kind of pissy about it. I have lost 4 pounds, which means I am 10 pounds out from my pre-Cooper weight. Almost a year later. Ben is dieting with me, and he has lost 14 pounds to my 4. He eats 2000 calories a day. I eat 1400. And exercise 5 days a week. And breastfeed round the clock (because Cooper is turning out to be my best ever breast feeder-- not a supplemental drop because he will only! drink! breast milk!, but I won't have to pack a thermos of BM in his kindergarten lunch because I can just go across the street and nurse him. Kidding. Hopefully.).
But this is not about me and my baby weight. Thankfully.
We went to Des Moines last weekend to see my grandma (who comments faithfully here as Bomma) be honored as a Playhouse Legend by the Des Moines Community Playhouse. You can read all about it here. It was so cool! I have been watching Bomma in plays for years, and it was great to see her get recognition for being a wonderful actress. Her old next door neighbor Peter Hedges wrote a beautiful letter (my favorite part was when he said he still didn't feel comfortable using her first name and called her Mrs. Silverstein), and she got a tremendous standing ovation. Then we went to Noah's, a favorite restaurant since my mom was a little kid. We had a lovely time.
Usually when we stay in hotels, we put all the kids to bed in the bedroom, meaning Harry and Jack get a king-size bed, and Ben and I huddle on the fold-out couch in the living room. This time, we took the bed, and the kids got the couch, and they complained that the hotel had small suites. Ha! They did love room service and the pool. It is so tough to be them.
We had a terrible ride home, culminating in a horrific potty accident that required us to do unspeakable things with baby wipes and plastic bags in the parking lot of Menards. Makes me really happy to be embarking on an 18-hour drive pretty soon. Yum.
I had tons more pictures, but my computer sucks and is so, so painfully slow that I can't upload them, which is why my family picture blog is bunk. New computer soon, but I can't decide MacBook Pro or Air?
But this is not about me and my baby weight. Thankfully.
We went to Des Moines last weekend to see my grandma (who comments faithfully here as Bomma) be honored as a Playhouse Legend by the Des Moines Community Playhouse. You can read all about it here. It was so cool! I have been watching Bomma in plays for years, and it was great to see her get recognition for being a wonderful actress. Her old next door neighbor Peter Hedges wrote a beautiful letter (my favorite part was when he said he still didn't feel comfortable using her first name and called her Mrs. Silverstein), and she got a tremendous standing ovation. Then we went to Noah's, a favorite restaurant since my mom was a little kid. We had a lovely time.
Usually when we stay in hotels, we put all the kids to bed in the bedroom, meaning Harry and Jack get a king-size bed, and Ben and I huddle on the fold-out couch in the living room. This time, we took the bed, and the kids got the couch, and they complained that the hotel had small suites. Ha! They did love room service and the pool. It is so tough to be them.
We had a terrible ride home, culminating in a horrific potty accident that required us to do unspeakable things with baby wipes and plastic bags in the parking lot of Menards. Makes me really happy to be embarking on an 18-hour drive pretty soon. Yum.
I had tons more pictures, but my computer sucks and is so, so painfully slow that I can't upload them, which is why my family picture blog is bunk. New computer soon, but I can't decide MacBook Pro or Air?
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Hurricane Cooper
Well. We have reached that stage. The one that will last for the next 2 years or so. The one where Cooper needs TOTAL SUPERVISION AT EVERY MOMENT.
When he first started to crawl and stand, Cooper was adorably reticent, and he stayed close to our legs at all times, content to paw through the tupperware cabinet and the kids' dishes cabinet and leave the rest of our stuff alone.
Then he started to fall in love with outlets. Then with the breakable bakeware cabinet. The the pantry, where he loves nothing more than to throw glass jars of baby food on the floor. The he started crawling everywhere all the time, meaning the floors are always streaked with drool and speckled with fat baby hand and knee prints.
No drawer is safe, no basket left untouched, no cabinet in tact. I turned my head for two seconds while getting dressed the other morning, and he sucked on a perfume bottle and had Coco breath til lunch.
And the food! I love trying to tempt his palate with new tastes and textures (plums: yes; peaches: yes; cottage cheese: yes; watermelon: yes; cherry tomatoes: bitch, please), but every meal is a little messier than the one before.
The kid is a disaster.
Teeth (huge ones, top front) are messing with his sleep, so I have been joining him for his second nap. But that means I have to get all of my housework done during his first nap, which is nearly impossible because there is so! much! more! work!
Behold: photographic evidence:
When he first started to crawl and stand, Cooper was adorably reticent, and he stayed close to our legs at all times, content to paw through the tupperware cabinet and the kids' dishes cabinet and leave the rest of our stuff alone.
Then he started to fall in love with outlets. Then with the breakable bakeware cabinet. The the pantry, where he loves nothing more than to throw glass jars of baby food on the floor. The he started crawling everywhere all the time, meaning the floors are always streaked with drool and speckled with fat baby hand and knee prints.
No drawer is safe, no basket left untouched, no cabinet in tact. I turned my head for two seconds while getting dressed the other morning, and he sucked on a perfume bottle and had Coco breath til lunch.
And the food! I love trying to tempt his palate with new tastes and textures (plums: yes; peaches: yes; cottage cheese: yes; watermelon: yes; cherry tomatoes: bitch, please), but every meal is a little messier than the one before.
The kid is a disaster.
Teeth (huge ones, top front) are messing with his sleep, so I have been joining him for his second nap. But that means I have to get all of my housework done during his first nap, which is nearly impossible because there is so! much! more! work!
Behold: photographic evidence:
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