Day Two: On The Road, Part Two

It is 12:30. We are in the parking lot at Target.

Things are not going well.

Day Two: On The Road

I am making this post quick. I am actually hoping to shower and get out of the hotel in the next half hour. My husband took the Ladies down to breakfast and QT has fallen back asleep.

To say that the Ladies were excited to get here would be an understatement. I have never seen so much exuberance over a hotel room. We didn't get here until 11:35 and they both woke up, ran around the room, smelled all the soap and shampoo and jumped on the bed. We put them on the pull out couch together, which was at first a tangle of feet and nonnies but at some point after 12:30 they must of fallen asleep. This was of course after the Little Lady once again insisted she had to go to the bathroom when in fact, she did not.

QT slept until a little after 3, so at least I was able to string over two-hours of sleep together. We still have a few stops to make (first stop: Dunkies) and then we will once again be on our way.

Still on the road. . .

It is now 9:43. We just passed by Dorney Park after making a pit stop at Wendy's so my hubby and I could scarf down a burger and I could feed QT,who made it abundantly clear that he was ready to eat.

I have to say it really wasn't that uncomfortable to feed him in the back of the van while my husband shuttled both the Ladies to the potty, the Little Lady insisted that she had to go, and my husband brought her in two separate times only to have her return with no pants on and having not gone at all.

We are probably about two hours from our hotel room for the night but considering my hubby is manning the wheel I am sure there might be a minute orvtwo shaved off of that estimate. I am super psyched though because I googled Dunkies in the area and there is one down the road! I am hopeful that I will be adequately caffeinated for the rest of the ride tomorrow.

For now QT and the Little Lady are sleeping. The Lady passed out around 7:50 but woke up right before we stopped and is now watching Strawberry Shortcake for the eight millionth time and is singing one of the songs at the top of her lungs.

We really have no musical talent in this van.

On The Road

It is 7:24 and we are about ten minutes into our two-day, seven plus hour road trip to somewhere in the depths of Western Maryland. I am thinking Blair Witch territory but I am not 100 percent sure. I am just going to allow my husband to drive and hope we don't hit too much traffic on the way.

I am going to try to keep you updated as we go because I am sure driving in Minnie-Ru with the Ladies and QT will be totally drama free.

If worse comes to worse I am made to feel better knowing that there are like six dozen fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in arms reach.

Wish me luck.

What's In My Bag?

Many of you know of my US Magazine addiction. I have said it before and I will say it again, it is a half hour of brain candy that gives me a bit of a break during the week.

One of their "articles" is called "What's In My Bag?" (Click on the link to see what is in your favorite celebrity's gazillion dollar handbag) Basically, it is product placement in a fancy bag.

For the last few weeks we have been living at the beach. We have moved in as much as we can, but it seems that my handbag has become a catch all for anything and everything. I am about to share with you what is in "my bag."

Here is a photo of my super trendy LL Bean, medium sized tote bag with extra long handles so I can toss it over my shoulder.

As you can tell it is pretty packed. While the stars in US Magazine have $200 sunglasses and Chanel nail polish, I have the following:

• My "Plan Ahead" address book that has not been opened since QT was born.
•  (1) Princess Ariel hairbrush
• House keys to our condo
• (2) size 1 Pampers, one with Elmo, one with Cookie
• (1) Conair hairbrush (this one is mine and I have had it for quite a few years)
• A random envelope with a grocery list from the first week we were at the beach on the back, stuffed with outdated coupons
• A handful of bills that I should probably pay
• State of Connecticut Department of Public Health Parent Notice with all of QT's info for the birth certificate (I guess I should go pick up the actual birth certificate at the Town Clerk)
• Random coupons to Babies R Us and Carters
• A receipt for QT's first visit to the doctor
• A receipt for QT's one month visit to the doctor (did I tell you there was a fire alarm right after the doctor left the room? Thank goodness he sent the nurse in to give him the second Hep-B shot so I didn't have to go and wait in the parking lot until the alarm stopped)
• A $25 gift card to Babies R Us. I am planning on using this towards an actual diaper bag, since this tote also plays that role
• My tax bill for the condo
• A direct mail piece from Weight Watchers with Jennifer Hudson looking all kinds of good on the front, offering  membership for $1 until August 6th.
• A baptism card for my godson (more on that adventure later) that I haven't sent yet
• My wallet
• A sticker with all the info for my prenatal vitamins that I have to refill
• Two checkbooks
• QT's Tri-Vi-Sol vitamins (which reminds me I should give him these when he wakes up)
• A small change purse that has no change in it at all, but is full of partially used gift cards and a random photo of my best friend's kids
• A pair of the Lady's sunglasses
• QT's comb (it appears he is losing his hair and that male pattern baldness is setting in so I am not sure if I will actually need this)
• A receipt for Stop&Shop from June 29th
• A receipt from CVS for shampoo from June 9th
• A Ziploc bag with breast shields and a nipple guard
• Part of a Star Wars Light saber toy from McDonald's that belongs to the Wild Man and somehow made its way into my bag
• A pair of QT's monkey socks
• Concealer
• Lip gloss that belongs to my sister and I am pretty sure we both used for my cousin's wedding in June
• My running watch that has never been used because I am waiting for the OK from the Dr. to start working out again
• (5) Books of stamps that I bought in advance of QT's birth to use for announcements that I have yet to make since I don't have a photo of all three kids together
• (6) hair bands of various sizes and colors and (2) flower barrettes
• A reorder form for my checkbook
• (5) pens
• (1) tube of Chapstick
• (1) black Sharpie
• (5 1/2) Crayola crayons, (1) sky blue, (1) silver, (1) melon, (1) midnight blue, (1) spring green and (1/2) thistle
• A phone number and e-mail for a cleaning woman that I have never used but that I really should
• A post-it note with the number of the Stamford Department of Health so that I can call them when I see workers from the market in front our house cutting vegetables with what can best be described as a machete on a piece of plywood outside of the store
• An empty straw wrapper from Dunkies
• (1) paper clip
• A Pampers gifts to grow sticker
• (4) Dunkin Donuts receipts totalling $23.02
• $1.09 in assorted change

Not quite the celebrity bag full of imported mints and Swarovski encrusted smart phones, but this little exercise just got my bag cleared out and I think that Dunkies, Crayola, Sharpie, Weight Watchers and Pampers should expect a little bump up in sales from all the free publicity I just generated!

What is the strangest thing you are carrying in your bag? It would be nice to know that I am not the only one out there walking around with baby vitamins and enough stamps to make the Post Office proud.

Busy at the Beach

I can't believe how quickly the past few weeks have gone by. Tomorrow QT will be one month old! A photo shoot will be forthcoming.

We have been busy at the beach. Here are a few pics of our most recent adventures.

This is the actual Fourth of July. Note that the Lady is missing. She had passed out in the car on the way to the BBQ and was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, while the Little Lady and the Big Man enjoyed some mini-cupcake topped parfaits. This photo doesn't do the parfaits any justice, they were delicious and very pretty to look at, but I just had to include it to show the Little Lady's face and her little brothers apparent lack of interest.

QT just hanging out on the couch. He does have a bit of baby acne, but I am not going to stress over it.

Sailfest fireworks. This was the only time these kids sat still. They barely even watched the fireworks, they basically ran around and whipped each other with the glow sticks.

I am loving being within walking distance of the beach and being able to take little walks in the evening with everyone. Granted, QT is usually crying by the end but the Ladies are able to ride the carousel and have some ice cream.

The Ladies. About three hours after this photo was taken the Lady woke up from her bed with a high fever and then proceeded to puke all over the couch and her Dora blanket. I will give serious props to my husband for cleaning it up.

QT chillin' in his stroller.

It was super hot at the beginning of the week here. There is only one AC unit and it happens to be in the bedroom that my sister is in. We were lucky to be heading home for a night so that my hubby could play softball (yes, his injury is healed enough to continue to play) and so that we could cut our drive to LI the following day in half.

I will say that there are four things I miss about our home.

1. Central Air

2. Washer/Dryer on the main floor

3. Water pressure in our shower

4. Lionel--there really is nothing like a king-sized bed

However, after spending about 15 minutes in our kitchen/living room with three kids and a ton of stuff, I would have gladly given them all up (well maybe not Lionel--he is super soft and supportive) for a bit more room.

The next day we headed out to Long Island to visit my college roommates and have a bit of a playdate. To say that there were a few kids there would be an understatement. . . 

We are back now and today I even made it to the beach! We are waiting for the Wild Ones to arrive this evening for more fireworks and fun.



Parenting vs. Pedicures

I have to keep reminding myself that I have a 3-week old baby.

This is especially hard when you are spending your summer steps from the beach and have two very active, slightly demanding older children who aren't used to having their mother perpetually seated on a couch with a baby attached to her boob.

This is also hard when you feel like you should be starting to get more active, get out of the house and be more involved in all the activities that are going on around you.

So, when my cousin and I made plans to hit up the Nail Spa II, a fabulous little nail place where they basically give you a spa pedicure that includes paraffin and a hot stone back massage for the price of a basic pedi, I was excited to get out of the house and have a little time for myself.

Why is it that these things always turn from a relaxing little hour escape into a two-plus hour anxiety fueled stress fest?

The plan was to pick up my cousin at 3, but her husband was running late to watch her kids so at about 3:30 we left to pick her up from her place. He still wasn't home, but after waiting another 10 minutes or so he returned and we were on our way.

I had left the Ladies and QT in the capable hands of their father, who was suffering with a softball related leg injury (yes, he drove home mid-week specifically for a softball game but was thankfully back by 8:30 am the next morning, coffee in hand), that required some soaking in a bucket of ice water but did not limit his ability to parent. Besides both QT and the Little Lady were sleeping and I figured that we would be back in about an hour.

We got to Nail Spa II around ten to 4 and were surprised to find that all 12 pedicure chairs were filled and that there were 4 people in front of us on line. We were told it might be a little wait but to choose our colors and take a seat.

I decided on a dark blue called "Ski Teal You Drop" and the three of us settled in.

Have I mentioned that I had to order new pump parts for my breast pump and that instead of doing this before QT was actually born, I just did it this week? Oh, well there was no milk for the little guy and I had last fed him at around 2:30. If he was a bit older or formula fed and on any sort of a schedule I might have felt a little bit better about the minutes on the clock ticking by, but he is a strictly boob on demand kind of guy and I started to get a bit antsy.

Still, things seemed like they were moving and we were finally moved into our respective pedicure chairs. I turned up the massage function and tried to relax. More time passed and we wondered why they couldn't even put the water on for our feet to soak. (On a side note, my feet were filthy, between the bottom of the flippies I have been wearing and spending the majority of the day barefoot on wood floors that are cleaned regularly but attract so much dirt it looked like I had been living in the slums of Mumbai or some other equally dirty cityscape where people walk around barefoot and don't have regular access to running water.)

Anyway, Nail Spa II employs a lot of male nail technicians and finally one of them comes over, turns on our water and begins to give my cousin her pedicure. Another nail-male starts the pedi on my sister while I sat there, feet soaking and clock watching.

Eventually my guy comes over. My cousin is already on the paraffin wrap of her feet and the clock now says 5 o'clock. I have been sending periodic texts to my husband to make sure that all is going well at home, but the level of anxiety I am feeling is directly affecting my enjoyment of the foot rubbing I am (finally) getting.

To make matters worse, I am pretty sure while he was scrubbing my feet my guy said something about how dirty/roughly callused they were to the nail-male doing my sisters french pedi and then her guy asked her if I was her mom. Ugh.

It seems like this guy was either really taking his time or was totally Johnny Inexperienced. All the relaxation I was feeling between the massage chair and the foot rub was quickly exiting my body and I could feel my shoulders tensing up. Both my sister and my cousin had now moved to the "drying" area and has been given a nice shoulder massage by their respective nail technicians. At 5:15 my guy finally goes for the "Ski Teal You Drop."

Normally, the actual polishing takes the least amount of time during a pedicure. However, either not many people have chosen "Ski Teal You Drop" and the bottle was old or old Johnny Inexperienced wasn't well versed in the application of toenail polish. He finally put a few drops of nail polish remover in the bottle and was able to finish the second coat.

At 5:23 I get a text from my husband saying "He's awake and the Little Lady is smacking me. . . get home soon."

I am in full-on panic mode, my boobs are starting to hurt and I am worried that I will be walking into pure chaos when I finally get home.

At 5:30 I finally get out of the chair and move over to the "drying area" the guy comes over with the hot stone and I have to refuse him. I hand him my credit card and then watch him try to actually ring up the transaction. This takes entirely too long, but it does give my now very blue toes a chance to dry.

I tip him, tear off the toe separators and we all head for the door. By the time I drop my cousin off and we pull into the house it is almost 6 o'clock. I can hear QT through the open windows and I break into what constitutes me sprinting at this stage post-pregnancy.

Luckily, he had only been crying for a couple minutes, but any bit of rejuvenation or recharging that I had hoped to gain from an hour or so out of the house had completely vanished. Granted, once I start pumping it will be easier to go out without feeling such overwhelming guilt and without being so preoccupied with what is going on at home, but still can't a girl get a few minutes for some foot rubbing and a little chatting with her fam without having to stifle panic attacks?

I guess there will always be that feeling of trying to make sure that my children are taken care of while at the same time trying to make sure that I am taking care of myself. I know it will get easier as they get older and once again I will remind myself that I have a three-week old and that for now he is completely dependant on me. It all goes back to the balance I seem to be ever searching for in my life.

So now my toes are polished but my feet are once again pretty dirty. All the kids are sleeping (for now)--check that I think I just heard QT upstairs so off I go. . .

Blogging from the Beach

WTF?

What day is it?

Have more than two whole weeks passed since I have last updated this blog? Let's see a few things have happened since then. . .

We brought home little QT, not sure how excited he was to leave with us!

We went to the Lady's first dance recital

And we celebrated Father's Day

We moved to the beach and the Lady started "college" with her cousin

The Little Lady spent some time eating yogurt and playing in the pool

We headed to a sock hop and the Little Ladies posed for the camera

Ice cream at the sock hop, before everyone headed out to fireworks

We got together with our cousins, we are missing a few here, the Lady had just woken up from a nap and QT wasn't quite big enough to be held by the older kids

We got decked out in our Fourth of July gear

And QT took his first real bath

Phew. It has been a crazy couple of weeks.

More beach blogging to come. . .