My family took a very short vacation yesterday. Josh has a job in Belton, Missouri that he needed to check on so the rest of us tagged along. We dropped him off at the worksite and then the kids and I went on to do a little shopping and have some Waffle House for lunch. Unfortunately half-way through the day I got a pretty bad headache and so the kids who were really looking forward to swimming at the hotel had to wait because I was not up to taking them. We did check into our room at the Inn by the Way of the Road and the kids played on their DSes and watched tv. Well, they tried to watch tv, but there really wasn’t anything of interest or appropriate for them. We watched parts of Witness, Monk, Hauntings and Deadliest Catch. Around 6 Josh was finally finished with his work and we went out for what should have been a very nice dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse. The food was quite good, but the kids…not so much. I filled up on so much of their wasted dinners that I was unable to order one of the very tempting desserts. 
They did, however, bring me a complimentary birthday sundae (my 4th this week!) which Josh and Elena scarfed down. By the time we made it back to the hotel it was nearly the kids’ bedtime and neither Josh nor I were up to taking them swimming (and their behavior earlier had not earned them any privledges) so we let them stay up a bit and watch the end of Mouse Hunt on tv and promised that if they went to sleep without more problems then we’d take them swimming in the morning. This morning went fine and the rest of the trip was fine and we are now safely and happily back at home. NOW, let me tell you about the crap hole we stayed in! The room was small and dark and the bathroom was way small and laid out such that when you opened the door it hit the toilet seat. The toilet leaked so every time it was flushed a small stream would appear across the floor. The cable channels sucked and EVERYTHING all over the hotel bore the labels of other hotels! The iron in our room said Super 8, the ice bucket said Days Inn, and the little sign on the inside of our door had a sticker that said Grandview Hotel covering the original name on the sign–neither name being the name of where we were! The only redeeming factor was the fridge and microwave available in the room. Or so I thought until we realized this morning that the fridge had shut off somehow during the night and so our pop was not cold and our half gallon jug of milk, yogurt snacks, and left over chicken and steaky goodness would need to be pitched! They touted a “hot breakfast” and after sleepily stumbling the almost mile it took to reach the breakfast area from our room I found three hot pans. One with biscuits, one with gravy, and one with instant eggs. YUK. I saw some cold cereal options and went for them until I realized that the big machine holding the milk had a temperature gauge on it that read “Freezing” on one end, a couple acceptably cool temperatures in the middle and “DANGER” on the other end. The marker was in “DANGER.” So I turned to the bread for some toast. The toaster wouldn’t stay down to toast. So I had a waffle. Now I do like waffles, and it was pretty good, but the handle on the machine was difficult to open and so my waffle burnt while I was trying to get to it. All this while, two employees were walking around the area arguing about whether to put out more food or not because supplies were running low and there was still an hour left before breakfast was to end. They were also making comments about whether or not someone had come into work that morning and been taken away by the police for being accused of rape. It’s a good thing the management had a sign on the outside wall by the parking lot that said guns were not allowed inside, or I might have felt unsafe. ! After breakfast we finally took the children down to the pool. I was a few minutes behind Josh and the kids and when I arrived I saw a very small sign on the door that read “Pool not heated. Heater is broken until further notice.” They had gone in anyway, so I entered. Immediately my nostrils were filled–not with the usual overwhelming chlorine smell that you come to expect at a hotel pool, but with the dank wreak of mold and mildew. I mean it was strong! There was random standing water in areas that probably shouldn’t have even been wet. Josh said he saw bugs in the water. It was gross. The kids swam for about 10 minutes before we pulled them out and said it was time to leave. They were so cold they didn’t even argue with us. OH! And I completely forgot to mention the beds!!! Hard as freaking rocks! In fact, I think the pillows WERE rocks! Worst sleep I can remember! (Dreaming about being chased by lions didn’t help.) But Josh agreed that he even sleeps better on the Wheelers’ loveseat than he did in the hotel’s queen-sized bed. Seriously, we will NEVER go there again! (And I strongly urge the rest of you to steer clear also.)
Archive for May, 2008
I did some figuring and this weekend I think Chris and I literally smoked an animal. We smoked 40 lbs of Loin for the catering. 14 lbs of Brisket, 16 lbs of pork Butt (Shoulder) and another 8 lbs of Chicken. Throw in the 6 hot dogs and you have right around 80 lbs of meat. This is crazy, no wonder Chris and I were worn out.
Well, here it is again. The date that forces me to accept that I am getting older. 
Oh sure, we’re all getting older every day, but we don’t have to raise our descriptive age number every day. Today, I do. But rather than go on a long rant about fears, regret, and denial, I’d like to say “thank you.” Thank you to everyone who took part in my big birthday weekend o’ fun! Thank you for the cards and emails. Thank you for the gifts. Thank you for the phone calls. Thank you for thinking of me. Thank you for traveling to see me. Thank you for dinner. Thank you for playing games with me. Thank you for cleaning for me. Thank you for watching the kids for me. Thank you for spending time with me. Thank you for fitting me into your holiday weekend plans. Thank you for the nice thoughts and intentions. Thank you for going (and not going 
) to bed on time without a fuss. Thank you for cooking. Thank you for coordinating with others to benefit me. Thank you for telling me I looked good. Thank you for letting me sleep in. Thank you for all for being part of my life and for appreciating me.
I am a Harrison Ford fan, as well as a Indiana Jones Fan. So I braved the Midnight show. The kids, 18 year olds (I know that sounds old), were loud and obnoxious.  They stayed that way until the movie started, but at the end our opinion was the same. So I know many of you will not rush out and see it, but when you do I would like your opinion.Â
This is not political.
The question I’m polling is “Should Josh take Friday off?”
Now, allow me to give you just a bit of information so you may make an informed decision. Two months ago Josh had me put on the calendar that he would need to be out of town overnight May 20-21 for work. So this I’ve had in mind, no big deal. But on the 19th he came home and said that since his meeting was first thing in the morning on the 20th, he really needed to leave that night. Then yesterday he called and said that he now had meetings there on Thursday and would need to stay over another night. Now I’m sure he’ll probably get in his 40 hours no problem, but he hasn’t been around here to work on other work projects which he’s thinking now he’ll need to do on Friday. And if that were all there is to the situation then I would say nah, he can work it. But tomorrow night he has class, which means that he will basically get back to town just in time to go straight to school and still won’t be home untill around 9 or 10 pm. And to celebrate my birthday, we’re having company this weekend–some who have never seen our home before, and they’re all arriving Friday. I’ve been alone with all four kids all week. It’s the last week of school so they’ve been filling my dinningroom with all the crap they’ve cleaned out of their desks etc. There are still lots of little projects we need to finish around the house. The house is a mess.
Ok, so technically Elena is still not yet three, but I have some experience with three year olds and I can tell you that she is definately ACTING like a three year old. Just moments ago she was playing nicely downstairs and I took the mail out to the mailbox. In the less-than-minute that I was out of the house she got upstairs, closed the front door, and LOCKED it! UGH! Now technically I was not locked out. I could’ve gotten in the back door, but I was barefoot and our grass is rough and it was just the principle of the thing. So I stood outside the front door like someone in a tv show incessantly trying the doorknob and bending over to peek through the sidelight gesturing and trying to explain to a three year old how to unlock the door. While I was waiting around (because she was REALLY not getting it, and I knew the older children would be home from school any second and they would automatically go in the back door and then I could get their attention and have one of them unlock the door) I untangled our sad looking little welcome flag and discovered a tiny wasp nest built on our door that I promptly destroyed and then had to dodge from the large angry wasp that at just that moment had come back with something to build up his nest and was not happy to see it not in its place. I took up the little flag for defense and swung wildly. Seriously, the whole episode was like something you might see on a sitcom. Not to mention that I was in a black top with the sun beating down on me and I already said that I was barefooted, so you can imagine how good the burning wooden planks of our front “porch” felt. >SIGH<
So I’m driving home from the dentist with all four kids in the van and I hear a familiar riff coming over the radio. You know, one of those moments when you’re already a little annoyed, but then you hear the unmistakable first few notes of what promises to be one of your favorite songs and your mood instantly lightens. Yeah, so I had that moment, only to lose it mere moments later. I’m driving with the radio on and I unconsciously turn the volume up when I detect the beginning of “Werewolves of London.” So I’m all geared up to bounce and sing along–until the words actually start. Then a moment goes by and I start consciously thinking wait a minute, did I mess up? Am I confused? This is the “Sweet Home Alabama” tune, not “Werewolves of London.” But either way it was too late. It had already been made painfully clear to me that I was not confused, in fact, the song was. It was not a beloved song, but rather a new song HEAVILY sampling from my old favorites. I’ll admit, its an interesting mix–Werewolves and Alabama, but then you throw in some dissappointing Kid Rock lyrics and the mood is lost, the magic is over. Now, yes, I eventually grew to tolerate and then even enjoy Rhianna’s Tainted Love tradgedy, but this is too much and I do NOT expect to change my mind on this one. No personal offense to Kid Rock, but I really hope this song does NOT become popular and frequently played on my radio because I will really get tired of having that moment of expectation and then being let down over and over again. Not gonna lie, it’ll piss me off.
Thursday we drove down to Burlington, Ia, so that Josh could attend the Bachelor Party for his sister Laura’s fiance. We had a hotel for the night and we arrived a little early so we took the kids swimming before Josh had to leave. Josh had fun with his brothers and getting to know Robert (the fiance) and his brothers, brother-in-laws, and friends. They drove go-carts and played lazer tag and lots of video and virtual games at a place called Fun City. Meanwhile I attempted to have dinner with the kids and get them to bed. When Josh got back to our room around midnight, Elise had JUST fallen asleep. Friday morning Josh went into Nauvoo early with Jason so I was on my own with the kids again for breakfast and getting everyone dressed and ready and packed and checked out of the hotel. Of course we were running behind, but it was made worse when we got to what I had forgotten was a toll bridge across the Mississippi at Fort Dodge and remembered that Josh had taken ALL of my cash the night before! While I dug around in my purse for any loose change the lady in the tollbooth said that we were all dressed up very nicely and I said yes, we were running late for a wedding, so she accepted the $.97 that I could come up with and let the last $.03 slide because a boat was coming and she didn’t want me to have to wait that much longer! (It’s a drawbridge.) So when we finally caught up with Josh I let him know that he really owed me! I was pretty stressed, but the newlyweds looked really happy. 
Unfortunately my stress levels were not releived when on the way back to Muscatine for the reception Elise spilled grape juice all down the front of her dress! So we stopped in at my folks’ place to try to get her dress clean and Jacob fell off a swing in the backyard and grass-stained his white pants! Then on the way over to the church, Cameron wet himself while sleeping in his carseat. It was really the last straw for me. I just knew I couldn’t handle all the kids at the reception so we took them back to my mom’s and she agreed to skip the reception and keep the kids at home. All but Jacob who really wanted to go, so he came with us and basically spent the evening entertaining his cousin Charley. Oh yeah, except for the few minutes it took for him to catch the garter! 
The next day was Josh’s brother Steven’s birthday. But with all the wedding comotion no one was really into planning anything else so after waiting around for several hours to find out what we would be doing to celebrate with him Josh finally told me just to go out with my friends. So I had a lovely evening with the Pregos (Jeanna and Danaka) and Josh and the kids went to Happy Joe’s with the rest of the family for Steven. Then Sunday morning Jacob woke me up nice and early so that the kids could present me with flowers and a card that they’d all helped pick out the night before. The card was fun, it was one of those musical cards. Then Josh let me go back to sleep and he took the kids to church. We had a nice lunch with my parents followed by one of my favorites–rhubarb coffee cake! Then we went back over to Thraps to be a part of the phone call to Brian who is serving a 2 year church mission in Brazil and is only allowed phone calls from home on Christmas and Mother’s Day. It sounded like he’s doing pretty well. Then finally it was time to come home, and it was SOOO nice to sleep in my own bed! Oh! And aside from lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles from all of the children, Elise gave me a special present for Mother’s Day–she stayed dry! And this morning she said she’s going to try to do it again! So, I had a good night of sleep (complete with bizarre dreams, but not restless ones!) and now I have another 5 days to do laundry and prepare and repack for our next big weekend next weekend!
So this weekend was my sister-in-law Laura’s bachelorette party and bridal shower in Muscatine which I had been asked to help hostess. Now, I know that was really more of a formality to include me, but nonetheless I was looking forward to some celebrating. But then we learned that on the day of the shower the kids were to be having their formal dance pictures taken here in Ankeny, so I reluctantly backed out of the girls’ weekend in order to take care of all those neccessary photo details. The morning of the photo shoot I had the kids shower and I sewed elastic onto Jacob’s hat, and hemmed his pants that were WAY to long! And I tightened Elise’s armbands and put their names in EVERYTHING, then set to the task of Elise’s hair which had to be an exact certain way as per dance director instructions. It was not easy. As soon as her hair was finished it was time to apply her make-up (which we’d tried practicing the night before with sketchy results! I’m talking red lipstick smeared all over–even on her teeth!) I thought we had plenty of time but I had been reading my watch incorrectly so when Josh pointed out that we really needed to be there in 10 minutes and I still wasn’t dressed I started freaking out a little and rushed around like a chipmunk on coffee. We made it! I pulled into the parking spot at exactly noon and we ran inside and started to unload all the costume extras when I realized that I wasn’t seeing any of the other kids from their class and I knew we couldn’t be the first ones there! So I looked around more carefully and found a piece of paper taped up next to the bathroom that had the *NEW* photo schedule printed on it. Apparently the times had been changed and my kids’ class took their photo around 10:30am. So we missed it completely! I felt AWFUL for my kids and I was pretty pissed-off myself. The teacher said they could still have their individual pictures taken and I said forget it, I can take those myself and save the small fortune! So when we got home the kids and I had our own quick photo shoot in the one costume they already had on and we’ll take more at the time of the recitals. And I doubt the teacher would hugely appreciate exposing them here before the recital, but here are some of the adorable pictures we shot!
Yes, it is that time again, what time is it? It’s potty training time! Two days ago I had a bit of an anti-diaper meltdown. I’m sick of buying them, I’m sick of changing them, I’m sick of having my garbage smell like them. And last weekend Elena just went through them like tissues! Just taking one off for no reason to have a different one put on! And since I recently pulled out the next stage of clothing for Elena including several pairs of underwear, I figured it was time. So after she insisted on going to the bathroom with me and I got her to pee on the potty, I put her in a pair of underwear and went over all the basics with her. You know, the where to go and where not to go speech. Within minutes she had soaked two pairs of underwear and within a half hour she soaked AND pooped in a third! By the time she went to bed I think she’d gone through 5-6 pairs (that’s 5-6 pairs of underwear between 2:30pm and 8:00pm)! It was not a pleasant evening. But the next morning I insisted on putting her in underwear again–she insisted on a diaper, but after a bribe of a Happy Meal for lunch, I won. With lots of encouragement she managed to stay dry all day! That is, all day until Josh came home and I asked him to bring her up to use the potty and he was distracted by other things and put it off and then I found her wet. But that wasn’t until almost 7pm. First thing this morning she brought me a diaper and I stuck it under Josh’s pillow and encouraged her to put on underwear. The argument was much shorter than it had been yesterday and she got excited about some pretty underwear and proceeded to pick out her whole outfit (which didn’t match completely but it was close and my neurosis really wanted to fix it but I restrained myself and let her enjoy her clothes.) When I picked her up after my walk she was in new clothes, so she’d obviously peed, but all the clues suggested that she did try to go to the bathroom and perhaps ran into some difficulty once inside the bathroom. That was around 11:30am. She has been dry since then–so far! Like I said, that first day was ROUGH! But now I am trying to be very calm and understanding and encouraging about the whole thing and I really hope she’ll get the hang of it soon. For all our sakes!