Trip to Mommy’s

When I drive up to my mom’s house sans kids, it takes a little over three hours. This drive took me five. I stopped once to feed Eliza and twice for Ana to use the potty. Not bad actually.

But I also had our old couch in the back of the truck, which was sticking out so the tailgate was down. Shane tied it down really well, but for an over-anxious person like me, it wasn’t enough to keep me from driving below the speed limit the entire way and looking in the rearview mirror every few minutes.

Stressing can really wear a person out, so about an hour into our drive we had to make a Starbucks stop. I had my Poor Mama’s latte and Ana had this adorable cookie. She couldn’t even smile properly because she couldn’t believe how awesome her cookie was.

The first night at my mom’s was less than ideal. Ana slept on the daybed and I slept on the trundle bed below her. She kept spinning around and nearly fell on me a few times. Her head should be on the white pillow on the left.

And my mom’s cats kept waking me up with their random meowing and one of them decided my back would be an awesome place for a nap.

But at least Eliza went back to sleep after I fed her. I remember Charlotte wanting to hang out for an hour or so after every feeding. And by “hanging out” I mean screaming her head off.

Now that we have four kids, taking a little vaca with two kids was actually really nice. I had the two that hardly ever whine so that was helpful. I didn’t work on my doll, but I did get to read and most importantly I didn’t do any laundry or cook dinner or vacuum or scrub a toilet. And at this point in my life, that is enough to recharge the half a brain I have left.

How long do you have to drive/fly to see your parents?

What’s your usual Starbucks drink?

What wakes you up at night?

What is required for you to feel like a vacation is a vacation?