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That is what I was telling myself as I packed the car for a solo trip to Oakdale. Solo as in one adult with the twins. The drive is 6 hours and previously there has always been an additional adult to hand out toys, bottles, binkers, books, etc. Now it was just going to be me, on the road. 

I started by making a list of every conceivable thing I would need to pack then threw it all into the guest room (AKA staging area). I had Tadd go with me to Costco to purchase a portable DVD player. Yes, I was going to break our “no tv” rule. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Since it is tax season and we never get to see the daddy I had to pack the car myself. (Side note: the kids think Tadd lives in the phone now. Because he usually leaves when they are still asleep or just waking up and comes home after 11 pm they haven’t seen him much but we talk to him a couple of times a day on the phone. The other I asked Loen where was dada and she went to the phone, even though he was in the other room) I think I packed enough stuff to survive Armageddon. I packed up the kiddie korral, the foam floor mat, a duffel full of toys, clothes, bottles, baby food, DVD’s, phone, camera and DVD chargers, water, snacks, diapers, wipes…..am I missing anything?? I was proud of myself until my father in law asked “What are you going to do if you have to use the bathroom on the road”. Didn’t think of that little scenario. I guess no fluids for me for 6 hours. I got up at 4:30 am and we were on the road by 5:30. It turned out well because the twins slept till 8 am. We stopped halfway to use the bathroom and change diapers. Derby had gotten a yucky cold from hanging out with some kids a few days previous. After watching him wipe his nose with his hand then lick his hand I decided to give him a little benadryl to dry him up during the drive. Added bonus was he slept almost the rest of the way, downside is his car seat is behind the drivers side where I cant see him. He was so quiet I kept freaking out and putting my arm behind to shake his leg to make sure he was still breathing. He didn’t like that. Toward the last 30 minutes of the ride Loen was getting crabby so I just started tossing all these things in the back. Like a ton of graham crackers and a cup of milk. I knew she would make a mess but I would deal with it later if it meant she was happy. The DVD player was a hit with Loen. She didn’t pay rapt attention to it but got crabby when I turned it off. I think it was like background music for her.

We got to my moms and it was excitement all around. Little Guy and Iain have grown so much since January. Iain was especially intrigued with the kiddie korral. We got out his Fortamajig and made it into a hidden hideaway. Loen liked that too.

Iain was helping my mom plant herbs….in the gravel. Cilantro is hearty, right?

Little Iain and Guy. Iain has been practicing his side smile

Guy has gotten so big and so cute!

Iain would pretend to be shy whenever I got the camera out

Nanci and lil Guy

My cousin Brandy came to visit. This was the first time she saw the twins. Unfortunately her kids were with their dad so I didn’t get to see Emma or Andrew.

She is letting him sniff the bouquet

Derby’s cold got worse and I got worried. I don’t trust my nursing instincts when it comes to my own child. So many things will run through my mind: “Is it a bizarre presentation of SARS, plague, pneumonia……” I called the advice nurse and I felt better / stupid all at the same time. I had to answer yes to all of the questions slowly realizing I was a hypochondriac when it came to the twins.

“Are they eating, sleeping, playing?”

“Ummm, yes”

“Is there trouble breathing, wheezing, high fever, constant green discharge”

“Ummmmm, no”

“Well I would keep an eye on them and call us back if there is a change. Remember plenty of fluids”

This is when I was glad that I didn’t mention I was a nurse. I would have lied and said I was a CNA! The day before I was going to leave Loen got really sick. The nice thing is it was the same symptoms as Derby. So he was getting better and Loen was getting worse. I was pretty sure in a couple of days she would recover. Unfortunately when I put her in the car to go to Target she screamed the entire way. A bad sign for a long car trip. I gave her an additional day to recover before we got on the road. My mom wanted us to stay longer but we had already been there 8 days and we were all missing home (and our own beds).

We took them to see the fountain down the street. I thought they would have liked it but they seemed a little afraid.

Before we left we tried to get a picture of all the cousins. Can you tell who the loud ones were in the group?

I love how Derby & Iain are both laughing

The car trip home was unremarkable. The twins did well and watched the new Baby Beethoven DVD that Brandy brought for the kids. I was SOOOOO happy to be home and see the dada. I don’t know if I will be doing that trip alone anytime soon.