Our EPIC Minnesota Trip!

I drove up to MN with the kids earlier this month for a bit of a surprise visit. It was hard at times but so worth it. We left on August 3rd and drove to York, NE, leaving at 9:15am (mountain time) and arriving at 8:45pm (central time). Along the way, we tried to stop at parks so Charlie could have a chance to run around while I was either feeding or nursing Alanna. It didn't always work out that way, but we did stumble upon some fun playgrounds. This one is in Kearney, NE. It was a little too muggy for the slides to be any fun, but Charlie managed to have a great time climbing and running anyway. Charlie watched a lot of movies in the car, and I kept passing back snacks to keep him fed and occupied (so when we stopped, he wouldn't have to sit down and eat). String cheese, crackers of all kinds, fruit snacks, "squeeze box" (caprisun juice!), peanut butter buns, licorice, etc... all bets are off when you're traveling. Especially traveling alone with two littles!

Most of you know we came and probably don't need to rehash the details, but I'd like to keep a record of our trip, so bare with me on the next few posts. :)

Our hotel in York - a Hampton Inn. Aren't these two yellow siblings so sweet?

Our hotel experience in York was quite the story. When we left Kearney, I felt like it was feasible for us to drive one more hour to York before being done for the day. At that point, I called ahead for a hotel reservation, making sure to ask for a pack n play (since I forgot ours!). After arriving at 8:45, I couldn't bear to give the children baths and put them to bed. We were in the car too long to just call it quits for the day! So, I did what all normal mothers do at almost 9:00pm - I took the kids swimming! After everyone had swimsuits and swim diapers on - ok, not me on the swim diaper! - we hit the pool. Charlie wore arm floaties and played around on the stairs into the pool while I was holding Alanna. I also had a baby floatie in the pool with us, one with the leg holes for more support. Alanna was in it for a bit, and Charlie spent some time in it as well, kicking his legs around to get where he wanted to go. Charlie jumped in a few times and was kinda getting the hang of 'swimming' by himself, using the floaties to keep his head above water. After an hour in the pool, we called it quits at 10. We climbed out of the pool, gathered our floatie, pool towels and room key, and headed to our room to take baths before bed. We get back to the room, and just after I said, "Ok, kids, time for a bath!", I go to put the children IN the bath and realize that our hotel room only has a shower.

What kind of hotel room only has a shower?!? Thankfully the shower was big enough for us all to pile in there where I thought that I could plug the drain with a washcloth and flood the bottom of the shower enough to simulate a bathtub. Great thinking, except our darling daughter pulled the washcloth up and started sucking on it immediately after being set down in the shower. There goes plan A. Plan B? The ice bucket! I thought I could fill up the bucket and basically sponge bathe the kids, using the shower to rinse them off at the end. It worked out ok, but I ended up just holding each of the kids in the running shower water and quickly washing them down. I held Alanna up with her bum aimed towards the shower head just to make sure that her girl parts were actually getting clean. I'm sure we looked ridiculous, but it worked. After getting the kids bathed, I - still in my wet swimsuit, mind you - went to lay them down to get diapers and jammies on. Before I could even blink my eyes, Charlie starts peeing on the carpet! I grabbed a hotel sheet and laid it over the pee, laying Alanna down on top of the sheet. She then proceeds to spit up apricots for only the 4th time in her entire life. (Seriously, she has only spit up a total of 5 times to date.) Are you serious, kids? I JUST GOT YOU CLEANED UP. Work with me, please! After all the shower and body fluid drama, I assumed that the rest of our bedtime routine would be a breeze. Nighttime diapers on. Jammies... jammies?!

Thinking I was so smart, I packed an overnight bag for the three of us so I wouldn't have to haul in 2 big suitcases AND 2 children into the hotel. In my infinite wisdom, I forgot to pack pajamas for the kids - UGH! What else could be done except run outside to the van, in my wet swimsuit, open up the hatch, pull out the stroller, dig to the bottom of the kids' suitcase and pull out two pairs of jammies before zipping the suitcase shut, reloading the van, shutting the door and racing back inside? Luckily our hotel room was only four doors from the end of the hallway, and I had parked the van two spots away from the outside entrance. Yep, I left the kids alone in the hotel room for all of 2.5 minutes while I went out to the van. Wouldn't you have done the same thing? What was my alternative - bring the kids with me outside, at 10:45pm, in only their diapers? No thanks. I'll take my chances and dart out there myself.

I eventually got the kids in their jammies. Next up? Nursing Alanna. Nurse our babe while sitting in a wet swimsuit? No way. I took the world's fastest shower; or my fastest shower anyway; while the kids played in the hotel room. Alanna in the pack n play, Charlie running wildly about the room. Once I finally nursed Alanna and actually got the kids into bed, it was 11pm. Whoa. That was the hardest hour of my life. I called Matt and told him that very thing. I've never missed the help of my husband so much as I did in that hour. There wasn't anyone I could ask for help. I have a new level of appreciation for single mothers.

It was epic.

I'm sure throughout the above sequence of events, my mothering skills have been questioned. What would you have done? Asked for a hotel room with a bathtub? Don't worry, I'll do that next time. :) I felt like I did what I could with what I had to work with. The rest is laughable. Now, anyway.