Top 10 reasons, Part 1

So this was probably the most spur of the moment thing I've ever done. On Friday D, John Paul's Godmother, called and said she really wanted us to come to Orlando for a few days to hang out with her while P was attending a conference at the nicest hotel I've ever seen. Ken looked up some flights and they were wide open, Saturday to Wednesday. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and try to go down there by myself with both kids and stay with them. We really had a great time and I'm so glad I went. I am really proud of myself for doing it! I probably heard about 100 times, "You're traveling by YOURSELF with BOTH of them???" by people in the plane, airport, hotel, etc...

D is the best, there is no way I could have done this without her.

So here's the first of our two-part series on this trip:

Top 10 reasons why no one in their right mind would travel across the country with a 2 year old and a baby.

10. Dragging 2 kids including one who doesn't want to sit in the stroller, 2 bags and a big suitcase through two flights, a layover, and a shuttle ride is physically exhausting. Not to mention holding a very squirmy baby on the plane while entertaining both of them for hours!

9. Fits were thrown. Two memorable ones in particular. The first one was after several warnings, Madeleine still wouldn't stop going into the closet and getting into stuff. I told her if she went in there again I would put her in time out in her crib. She did it, so I put her in her crib. She started screaming and throwing everything out of her crib. She threw her stuffed bunny out accidentally and then threw an even bigger fit ("My bunny! I want my bunny!") We were trying really hard not to laugh! The second one was on the plane on the way home. She was doing her puzzle and kept dropping pieces. I couldn't pick them up while holding John Paul very well. I told her not to drop any more and then she threw 3 pieces on the floor on purpose. So I took her puzzle book away. Then she started screaming (they passengers LOVED us!). I told her to be quiet or I'd take her silky away. She kept screaming so I took her silky. Then I took her stuffed bunny. She was screaming, "I want my silky! I want my bunny! I want my puzzle!" So I got out my phone and said, "Let's take a video of this so we can show Daddy." Then everyone around us gathered around to watch since they thought that was hilarious. She calmed down once she got an audience. She spent a lot of time in time out the first day. (After that she was much better.)

Time out in the coffee shop.

8. No one got any sleep. John Paul decided the first night in the hotel that 3:30am was as good of a time as any to wake. up. for. the. day. No one else agreed. I tried unsuccessfully to keep him quiet for about an hour and a half, and then D ended up taking him downstairs to the lobby and rocking him for a while. She is the best. They bonded and after that John Paul loved his Godmother.


7. This is a continuation of number 8. John Paul and I shared a queen bed. It's impossible to sleep with that kid! If he was a superhero he would be called "The Encroacher." I woke up 20 times a night hanging off the edge of the bed with him smashed up against me. I moved him over and he just came right back. Madeleine's crib was too small for her too, but she was a good sport!


6. Again with the no sleeping. After D and I were up all night with Bud the first night, we were hoping against hope that the kids would both sleep at the same time so we could get a little nap in. Apparently that was asking too much. Bud got to sleep, D and I laid down and told Madeleine to lay down and take a little nap in her crib. Well the child decided it would be a good time to test my patience. She started randomly screaming and making loud noises. She pooped in her diaper so I changed her. She would NOT be quiet. She woke up John Paul and D. I decided to take the kids for a long walk in the stroller so at least D could get a little sleep. Of course both of them were asleep in the stroller 10 minutes later.


5. We paid $55 to go to mass on Sunday. What. the. heck. We even told the cab driver lady that we had looked up the closest Catholic church so we could get the cheapest cab fare. She neglected to tell us that going to another church (the shrine) was a contracted cab fare of $13. We also think she took the long way.

4. D and P are adopting a baby in January. The quote of the week, "I used to hope our adoption would go through. Now I'm scared that our adoption will go through." Nice going, kids!

3. I missed probably the best Colts game of the season. We beat our rivals, the Patriots, by 1 point in the last few minutes of the game. I totally could have watched it too, but I think I fell asleep by 9pm that night (see numbers 6, 7, and 8!)

2. The incident report. I should have known my kid would cause an incident report to be filed at least once during our visit. We were playing in the sandbox, which has a stone wall around it, and a rope in front of the wall. Signs were clearly posted that said "No climbing." I told Madeleine not to climb but just to play in the sand. She decided she was going to climb on the rope anyway, and fell and hit her head on the stone wall. There was a lot of blood, a lot of first aid workers, and I had to fill out a report. She was fine, and she got a stuffed bear out of the deal.

1. Poop. in. the. pool. (This one is disgusting, you've been warned.) The very first time we went in the pool, she had pooped right before we went down. I only had two swim diapers for the whole trip (luckily John Paul's swim suit has one built in) so I decided it would be fine to conserve. She was in the pool not 5 minutes when she announced to all the people in the hotel, "Mommy! I pooped in my bathing suit!" I grabbed her out of the pool as fast as I could and took her to the bathroom. I peeled off her wet bathing suit. Poop fell all over the floor. She stepped in it. I sat her naked, shivering little body on the toilet, picked up the poop, and then had to wash her bathing suit and swim shoes out in the sink.

Coming soon.... Top 10 reasons why I'm so glad we went anyway!