Inevitable Lessons of Traveling to Grandma's House

I recently traveled to my parents for a Thanks-Christmas-Giving Event. It was appropriately named so by my sister-in-law because we had Thanksgiving Dinner and then later that night had Christmas. Sounds a little bit out of sorts, but due to circumstantial timing, it had to work out this way. I have been meaning to post all week, but haven't found the time without Kid 3 clawing me while typing. There is so much to say, many of those relating to what I have learned over the years about traveling. I only hope this enlightens those who haven't been there or done that yet.

LESSON 1: "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's".
LESSON 2: While traveling in the car with a sleeping potty trained child who suddenly wakes up screaming, is inconsolable, and can't tell you what they want, immediately pull over to use the restroom. Otherwise, the immediate silence, followed by "Mommy, I just went pee pee in my pants" may be more of a mess to clean up then one cares for.
LESSON 3: It is inevitable, totally predictable, that when around 20 other grandkids, you and your kids will come down with at least one illness, if not 5.
LESSON 4: Don't expect to sleep while away. Kids will stay up later, but somehow manage to wake up at precisely 7:00 am every morning. The next week at home will be a very difficult one, as kids will now be whiny, tired, and SICK; as will you.
LESSON 5: Bad habits such as kicking, biting, pulling hair and pushing, that maybe your kids didn't fully embrace before, will now be fortified by the response of cousins, and your kids in turn have learned these methods are their only defense.
LESSON 6: When lots and lots of cousins are around for your kids to play with, your kids will somehow manage to stay out of your eyesight for an entire day, despite searching and searching for them. The beauty of this is that they are somehow more entertained, not needing you to do it for them.
LESSON 7: Kids won't eat when other kids aren't eating. Kids will eat what other kids are eating (even if that means eating straight butter or putting your finger in the cake-again and again and again-who needs utensils, right?).
LESSON 8: There is no traveling "lightly" with kids.
Lesson 9: Despite the fact that you and your siblings were all raised by the same parents, parenting styles will differ dramatically, and so will their kids "acceptable and not acceptable" behavior. This is true with ones' sense of time, ones' standards, and one's ability to clean up after themselves.

Here are some pics of our recent trip. We had a fun time. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at the church since we are now of extremely large numbers. We played some lightening basketball while there. We then went and had Christmas. Later that week,we had a birthday party for a number of the grandkids followed by Santa Claus coming to the house. My parents also had their "Farewell" talks, but don't leave for their mission until Jan. 7th. It hasn't fully hit me yet that they are leaving. I am better of not thinking about it.

Relief

It is absolutely amazing how quickly I have forgotten what it is like to get 5-6 hours of sleep in a row. Kid 3 has slept well the last few nights. She has slept from 8 pm until 5 am. I can't complain. It makes me realize how uncomfortable she was and how much pain she was probably in with her ear infections. The last couple of mornings she has woke up kind of yelling out instead of standing at the side of the crib in a full out battle cry. No tears rolling down the cheeks with snot dripping all the was to her elbows. I guess I didn't realize the extent of it all. I am just glad it is over.

26.2

Usmagazine.com
www.nydailynews.com
I read these articles on the Internet last week and the more I think about it, the more ridiculous and irritating I find them. It has to do with the NYC marathon. The winner, Paula Radcliffe, finished the race in 2:23:09. The big debate arises with the fact that she did this just 10 months after having a baby. Let's not forget that Katie Holmes, also giving birth less than a year ago, ran this same marathon in 5:29:58. It irritates me that this professional athlete got grief for her training while pregnant. They say she ran up to an hour a day, until the day she delivered. Kudos to her. I can't imagine that she did any of this training without close supervision on her baby. I guarantee she wore a heart monitor and took the necessary precautions to ensure the baby was "safe" and that she also ate better during this time, monitoring calories and eating healthier than any one of us who has ever been pregnant can lay claim to. I know there is some controversy surrounding excersing while pregnant, but she was in shape before she got pregnant. It wasn't like she started going to the gym, running for an hour, doing extensive training so she could win a marathon when she had her baby. This is her 7th WIN. Don't think she didn't pay the price for thinking she could get moving too soon either. She started running just 8 days after having the baby and ended up with a hairline fracture in her back. I can relate (ok, not to that extent). I know there has been times after having a baby I do more than I should, thinking I am right back to my prepregnancy state. It is easy to forget joints and ligaments are still loose from those hormones floating around. I just found the fact that not one thing about Katie Holmes running the marathon was said other than, hooray, a Hollywood star ran a marathon (not to mention all the media coverage). I am not taking away from the fact that she ran a marathon. It is way more than I have ever accomplished, and I know that she did it with only 2 months of training. I am just stating that a professional athlete got criticized for working while pregnant. I think of all the times I hear of someone from Hollywood exercising/working during pregnancy and right after having a baby and no fuss has ever been made. The media is sick. I think of all the things that Paula Radcliffe could have been doing: sitting on her haunches gaining weight-not exercising, smoking, drinking, eating unhealthy, etc. etc and all the media can focus on is the fact that she actually exercised, while she was pregnant, gasp. I just didn't feel like they gave her credit where credit was definitely due. Congratulations to Paula Radcliffe for winning the NYC Marathon.

It Continues

I have started a few posts at various times this past week and have run into a slight problem. Kid 3. She has continued to run a fever for the last week and has required me to hold her whenever on the computer. It makes it difficult to type when she feels the need to throw in a few letters of her own. I took her back to the Dr. yesterday and her ear infection has progressed, and not only is it in one ear, it is now in both. She has not been sleeping good, I even resorted to co-sleeping last night. I think the fact that she also has a new trick, pulling herself up, doesn't help either. She thinks she is so cool that she finds the need to pull herself up when she wakes up in the middle of the night. So, we pulled out the big guns yesterday and gave her a shot of antibiotic instead of doing another round of oral medication. I have to take her back tomorrow for another shot, but I am hoping it will do the job. I could use a little bit of freedom, and sleep.

All Smiles

A Mother Knows Best

Kid 3 has an ear infection. I must admit, I have never been up all night with a sick kid, other than what I take care of at the hospital. I have been truly blessed. Kid 3 has had sleep patterns the last couple of nights consistent with a newborns, up every couple of hours. She even was awake from 3:00-4:00 am the other night, bouncing between me and B, slapping each of us just enough in the face every few minutes to surface us from the light sleep we were drifting into.
It has always been hard for me to decide when to take my children into see the Dr. I have always been taught to identify the source of infection, so when I had Kid 1, I was quick to rush him to the Dr. to "identify" what it was. If it was viral, great, I knew it; if it was bacterial, even better because there would be an end in sight. With each kid, I have come to learn that most things are viral. I no longer see the need to take them in with every little fever. I can play the waiting game. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I have played that game before, waiting with each child for their unpredictable entry into the world.
My dilemma comes when I think they have an ear infection. I think it all stems back to when I was a child and suffered ear infections frequently. I can still remember two of them quite vividly. Both of them were when my family was on trips, and both of them brought so much pain on my little body that I can remember laying curled up so tightly in the fetal position with warm washcloths on my ears, crying. I even ruptured an ear drum with one of those infections. I think if I can help my kid to avoid any such pain, I will. I know the current literature on ear infections states that treatment is not necessary, but I beg to differ. If I had to make any comparison to the kind of pain I had when I ruptured an ear drum I would have to compare it to that of my post-op tonsillectomy course. And that is pain I don't want my own children to suffer.
So with time, I have come to trust my "maternal instinct". Every mom knows when there kid doesn't feel good, and they want to make them feel better, by nature. If it requires a little extra TLC, so be it. If it requires a trip to the Dr. or ER, it will happen. If it requires asking a mother at the bedside of a patient what she thinks is going on with her own child, I will listen. But more than anything, if it requires trusting that inner feeling, that is the source I will be trusting. They don't call it "A Mother's Intuition" for nothing.

Goose Flesh and Fantasy Football

http://www.mostbeautifulman.com/athletes/tombrady/pages/pic03.shtml
susanbartlett.ca/photos/tomBrady.jpg

It seems every couple of years I get suckered into playing Fantasy Football. I must admit, I enjoy watching football but know very little about ALL of the players. I know enough about the top guys, but when it comes to knowing which ones to pick come round 9 for my back up running back, I just take a name that sounds good. We did a live draft this year and I had the last pick. Can't say that it really mattered. My team is currently in 2nd place, but I don't know how long that is going to last. My saving grace has been Tom Brady. I must admit, I don't know that I took him based on just his football skills (ladies, you all know what I am talking about). He has the most fantasy points thus far out of any one. It feels good to make such a great pick. If I can only keep it going enough to make it to the play-offs, I have a feeling Tom Brady won't let me down. As for my team name, Goose Flesh, it was the first thing that came to my head, and B says it is a must for fantasy team names, hence his team name: Toe Nail Fungus. We might just be a little twisted.

My Absolute Very Favorite Dancer

This was requested by one of Kid 1's fans. He loves hip-hop and loves to "break it down". It makes me laugh and was difficult to film. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do. It was inspired by our B's brother and his wife's blog. I was checking it out one day and "Sexyback" was on and Kid 1 was quite disappointed when I turned it down. I must admit, he gets his rhythm from his dad.