VACATION: Traveling, part one.

Ed and I have taken, oh, three vacations now since we got married. We just got back on the 17th from the third! We went to Wyoming to join Keith up on a mountain at my parents' cabin. It was quite the adventure. We left here on the 7th, flew to Chicago, then caught our connecting flight into Billings, Montana. I should mention here that I HATE to fly. Hate it. We're talking almost hyperventilating. Gin gets me through flights usually. So anyways, we're flying. Because it's a 3 day drive to Wyoming, and that's with one kid. Not two. Henry had his own seat (which he sat in his carseat in... the same carseat we had to drag through all the airports in order to get it into said airplane seat)

(see the carseat on the back of the stroller?)
but Caroline got to sit in our laps. She doesn't sit still very well. and I don't cope well with a baby who wants to look out the window.

I mean, we're pretty high up! I don't want to look, but I can't not pay attention to her, because she's not too steady on the feet. Ed usually ended up looking out the window with her, while I dug holes in the armrest with my fingernails. So we're on the connection to Billings. That was an OH SO FUN flight. It's one of those small planes - not a propeller plane but the next size up. So small that Chicago's airport doesn't use one of those tunnel thingys to get to the plane. INSTEAD, they make everyone gate check their carry ons which are bigger than, oh, a purse and THEN make everyone walk down some steps and out onto the tarmac. Oh, it was pouring when we were in Chicago. Especially while we were on the tarmac waiting to board the plane. And there were some issues, so we couldn't board the plane. Instead we enjoyed the rain for 20 minutes. Caroline was screaming, Henry was shivering, I needed a drink... you get the picture. So we get on the plane, the plane takes off, Henry falls asleep, Ed takes Caroline, and I order a gin & tonic. It was only a two hour flight, so fortunately it went by pretty quickly. That is, until the pilot said we were starting our descent into Billings. And then, a few minutes later, the pilot came back on and said that there were severe thunderstorms right over Billings that he wasn't going to fly through, and we only had enough fuel to circle Billings for 20 minutes so we might just be diverting to Bozeman. THAT announcement almost put me into cardiac arrest. So we fly for a minute or two (I swore it was more like 19, but Ed says it was just a couple) while I try to figure out how exactly the pilot knew that we only had 20 minutes of fuel - was there a low fuel gauge up there? Were their calculations right? What exactly happened if we ran out of fuel 10000 feet above the ground? All of this was running through my head while we were flying in some nasty turbulence. It was not a fun time. I think I told Ed that I was going to be moving to Bozeman, or Billings, or wherever the hell the plane landed because I was D.O.N.E. done. Then the pilot came back on and said that we were, indeed detouring to Bozeman to get fuel. So we go to Bozeman, land, get some gas, take off again, and fly the hour to Billings. I still haven't figured how a quick detour because we only had 20 minutes of gas turned into an hour return flight, but whatever. We landed, TWICE, in one piece. I was pretty impressed. I was also impressed that *I* was not the poor person who's final destination was actually Bozeman, which is about 3 hours by car from Billings. I overheard that poor soul at the baggage claim on his telephone. He was, how should I put it, not a happy camper.
Finally, we were off the plane. My mom's friend who had been staying with them was leaving in the morning, so she had driven their car up to Billings to meet us. We dropped her off at her hotel and then got on the road to the mountain. Fortunately the kids were exhausted (it was about 8pm Mountain time - 10pm Eastern! They go to bed around 7pm!) The road from Billings to Sheridan (I-90) is long, and straight, and boring. And the radio stations don't come in too well, and if they do you usually end up driving out of range pretty quickly. So we drove, and drove, and drove. We took highway 16 out of Buffalo, and then had to start paying attention to the directions. The directions said something like this:
Drive 27.4 miles out of Buffalo.
Turn onto state road 123.
Drive until you see a dirt road.
Drive down the dirt road 1.2 miles.
Don't drive through the fence, but instead go through the gate.
That last bit of directions is important. I'll get to it in a minute. So we're driving down highway 16, which is a windy highway up the mountain, and all of a sudden there's a tornado warning on the radio. And said tornado is in the county we're in. According to the radio, the tornado was outside of Story, and was going to be at mile marker 212 on highway 25 at 10:20pm, mile marker 224 on highway 25 at 10:23pm, mile marker 234 at 10:27pm, and so on. I know, you're thinking where in the hell is Story and all these mile markers? Don't worry, we didn't have a clue either. We were just crossing our fingers it was nowhere where we were! Fortunately, it appeared we were nowhere near Story or any mile markers on highway 25. We finally found the road we needed to turn on off of 16, and then found the dirt road. They weren't kidding - it was a dirt road. And dirt roads don't have streetlights. About this time (which was about 11pm), the skies decided to open up. No, it wasn't a rain storm, but instead a hail storm. So I'm driving down a dirt road with no light in the mountains of Wyoming in a hail storm looking for a fence and a gate. AND, the odometer on the car doesn't appear to have tenths of a mile on it, and we need to go 1.2 miles. After we drive what I'm guessing is just over a mile, I see a fence. And then we look, and it's a gate! So I stop. Ed's staring at said gate, I'm staring at said gate, and we're both thinking this can't be the gate. So I drive through the fence and keep going. A little while later Ed and I are discussing just how far we think we've driven, and he says he sees lights that look like a cabin, but they're behind us. So I turn around. I drive BACK to the fence and the gate. And I stop with the headlights pointed at the gate, and we stare at it. After a minute or so, I say "Ed, I think that's a horse corral."
(The daylight version of said horse corral, complete with horses. See the gate? I almost drove through that!)
So we decide not to drive through the gate, but to go through the fence again. I start down the road again, and Ed says "oh look! They sent help!" A car was coming down the mountain to find up - I guess they were watching our headlights going back and forth and my cousin's husband decided someone needed to rescue us. We drove toward the lights, and lo and behold, there was a fence. AND A GATE! And it was a serious gate - no horse corral here. Keith and my dad and my cousin's husband were there to greet us, and send us up to the cabin. Finally, a little after 11pm, we had made it! Stay tuned for the next installment :)

It's my party and I'll...

mop the floor! That's right folks, it was my birthday yesterday! I'm 29. For real. Don't check with Keith though, he'll lie to you and tell you I'm older than that. Anyways, it was a good day. Henry has figured out how to talk so he's been jabbering to make up for the last 2 years. All day he'd come up and say "Mom, it's YOUR birthday?" like that was the strangest thing he had ever heard. Keith was so excited to give me my present. He kept telling me how much I'd love it, how great it was, so I had to open it first. Guess what it was... a Swiffer Wet Jet! So, and I quote, "you don't have to use a BUCKET when you mop the floor anymore, mom! You just PUSH A BUTTON!!!!" Gotta love kids - how sweet is that? Now, if it was Ed who gave me a mop for my birthday it wouldn't have been as cute. Caroline gave me a giftcard to the book store, and Henry gave me, to quote Keith again, "a box that you push a button on that wine comes out of." Gotta love Henry. I think the little guys had a bit of help from their father. AND I got a midwifery book that I've wanted for a while from my parents, AND flowers! I haven't gotten flowers since I had Keith! So we spent the day mopping the floors. I guess that's what moms do for their birthdays! Oh, and I almost forgot - a former client of mine called the day before my birthday needing to hire me - my first repeat client! So all in all it's been a good birthday!

Wow... how time flies!

Where have I been? It's been 2 weeks since I last posted! Oops! Caroline turned 7 months old on the 12th. She's crawling, has 7 teeth, pulls herself up on stuff. I'm taking bets as to when she starts walking. I'd post a picture but Ed has the camera. Henry started talking in sentences yesterday. That one blew me away. Up until, oh, the day before yesterday I was pretty much the only one who could understand him, and I couldn't even understand him too well. Then yesterday he came in and said "Mom I want chocolate milk. Caroline bumped me in the head." Umm... WHAT? We went from "I choc mik" to a whole sentence in less than 24 hours? Go figure! I'll take it though. I attended a birth last week, and I'm on call for a couple more. So I might disappear again - births can take a lot out of you! So that's what is going on here... pretty uneventful.

I was on CNN!

How funny is that? Actually, a tweet from twitter of mine was on CNN, but Don Lemon said "Amy" and was referring to *this* Amy. And my picture was on there. Just ask Keith! And what makes it even better is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CNN. I could watch it 10 hours a day. I probably do lol.

Why you should keep important documents in a safe place

So, my purse has been missing for a week or two. It was a nice purse, too. In it was my license and my social security card (you know, the one that says don't carry in your purse? That one? Yeah.). I applied to get my kids on CHIP for health insurance since Ed is unemployed and we have no health insurance and we have a Henry, and they needed birth certificates, ID, and social security cards for the whole family.

Oh my good lord.

I am NOT organized AT ALL. So I tracked down the kids info (they've only been on the planet for a few years - I haven't had a chance to lose their stuff yet). Ed had his ID and social security card, but no birth certificate. OH, and he changed his name in 1997 and didn't have THAT piece of paper, either. So he spent the day on Friday going from the courthouse in Wilmington to the birth certificate place in Newark, back to the courthouse, and had to go back to both this AM. Got all of his info.

Then there's me. My wallet and purse have been MIA for a couple of weeks now. I kept thinking they'd show up.... yeah. They haven't. Have you EVER tried to get any type of ID when you don't have any? It's downright impossible. The DMV wanted my social security card, social security wanted my driver's license, the CHIP people wanted my birth certificate and proof of my citizenship (which, according to them, my social security card is NOT. According to social security, it IS. And my consular paper? That would be MIA.) So we got Keith on the bus, piled the little guys into the car, and headed off to Media to the DMV. I had spent the morning on the phone, and they said that I could get my license if I bring in my vehicle registration. I didn't know that a vehicle registration was any type of ID, but whatever. I get there, get in line, and wait. 45 minutes later, I'm at the front of the line, and the guy comes out and says that they can't give out licenses because the system is down. I ask if I can get just a photo ID and deal with the license later, and he says to wait for the girl at the window. Somehow she manages to get me a duplicate of my license. I don't have a clue how it worked, because the systems were still down, but I took it. Then we went to Chester to the Social Security office. Note: DON'T go to Social Security on the day after a holiday. One hour later, I got a printout with my social security number on it, and a note saying that yes, it was proof that I am a citizen, because I had proved my citizenship to them 15 years ago (I was born in France). THEN we went to the CHIP people. Somehow I managed to skip the whole long line. I wasn't going to question that, either. So I unload my pile of birth certificates, social security cards, proof of income, you name it on the lady. I told her that I didn't have my birth certificate, I had to deal with the French Embassy to get it, and I had applied for a new consular form but I wasn't going to have it by tomorrow (when they need it). She said someone would get back to me. So I get home. I fill out the paperwork for the State Department and it's ready to mail in the AM. Then I called the Embassy. I speak French, but it's a bit rusty. And, unfortunately, they told me I would have to call the town hall in the town I was born in to get a copy of my birth certificate. I called my dad to see if he would call them because his French is better than mine, and he thought that he might have a copy of my birth certificate and my consular paperwork. He called me back and he had the original of my birth certificate and a copy of my consular paper. CHIP only needs a copy, so I'm in luck!

Do you think this is a sign I should get organized?!?

Decorating the Christmas Tree

So yesterday we put the Christmas trees up. Yes, I have two. One is in the living room and one is in the dining room. I have two big windows in the front of the house, and they just needed two trees. So yesterday was the day. We got them up, got the lights on, and decorated. Decorating with Henry is an experience. Keith was so excited - he did most of the decorating...

And Henry "helped"...

See the bowling pin in the tree? The one right above the child picking his nose? That was Henry's contribution.

Henry's other contribution was to try to eat the lights. The child thinks EVERYTHING is food.

Caroline thought all the decorating and eating of lights was great fun...

Henry did not like other people decorating the tree though. I wish I had a video camera - this picture was taken during one of his famous "NO NO NO" rants complete with fingers. As parents we're trying to nip this "no" crap in the bud, but the little exorcist child is kind of funny.

And to finish off our day of holiday decorating was the perfect ending... snow!

Update on my luck

So, I went to the Apple store with my computer tonight, because, as my dad said, my computer was pretty fried. I'm not even going to talk about the drive, during rush hour, to get to Christiana mall. I'm sure you know how much I love Christiana mall. Anyways, so I took the computer to the Apple store. And they said...

yeah, your hard drive appears to be missing.

Where that hard drive WENT is beyond me. There appears to be some sort of hard drive graveyard around here somewhere. So I said "Can you get my files off of it?" and the nice young Apple genius dude laughed at me. Er... yeah. So he told me what they would do to fix the hard drive (that would be replace it) and he said he was going to try to reinstall the operating system which might work, might not. If it worked, woo hoo, and it would be a lot cheaper, but I would have to hang out in hell, (read: the mall) for about an hour. Cheaper is always good, so I said lets try that. And I asked if THAT worked, could we save my files.

He laughed louder.

I think he was thinking that I was NOT computer saavy and my files were long gone. So, in about a week I'll have "a brand new brain in my computer body." Hmm... sounds kind of kinky, huh?

Woo freaking hoo. But, it could have been worse. He could have laughed, then told me the only solution was to buy a new iMac.

Oh, and if anyone out there happens to have any pictures of my kids, or my business files, or, well, my checkbook register, feel free to send them to me!

My luck, part 459

So, have you missed me over the past couple of days? Well, let me tell you about them. On Monday, Ed was driving to work and this deer.... no, I'm just kidding. No cars were harmed (finally) in the making of this post. Computers, however, are a different story. Tuesday I woke up, got my cup of coffee, sat down to check my email, and my computer froze. Now, I have a Mac. When I bought said Mac my brother told me, and I quote, "don't get the service plan. MACS NEVER DIE." Emphasis mine. So I think nothing of it freezing. Turn it off, wait the required 15 or so seconds, and turn it back on. And the Mac starts flashing a question mark at me. Now, I'm not a computer genius (if I was, I wouldn't have listened to my brother's computer shopping advice), but even *I* know that flashing question marks are bad news. So I called my brother. Surprise, surprise, he doesn't answer the phone (this is nothing new). So I called my dad. He was busy, but was able to bring me a laptop Tuesday night. Unfortunately, I had no clue how to get the wireless internet in my house to work. He came back Wednesday afternoon, hooked up the wireless, and took my computer to work on it and hopefully save my files on it. So I'm back, for at least a little while. Still no computer of my own, but a computer at least! And, public service announcement of the day - BACK UP YOUR FILES!!! And, remember, NOT on the hard drive like someone I know! I *DID* tell you that I'm a bit computer stupid, right?!?

What's the luck?!?

So I went to Target today. I had to pick up some wrapping paper for Henry's presents, so it was a quick run in, get a mocha, get some wrapping paper, run out trip. When I got back to the parking lot, I walked up to my car, and this lady came up to me. "Is this your Toyota minivan?" she asked... "Yes" I answered....

"I ran into it." she replied.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???????????????????????????????????

Who has that kind of luck?!?!? So the back corner of my van is all banged up. It's not too bad, considering that we've totalled two cars in the past four months, but still. My insurance agent is going to rue the day he ever sold me insurance!!!!!

Since Meg hates me....

I'll pass it along lol!

Tagged

Rules:
1. People who are tagged need to post these rules, and 8 random habits/facts/quirks about themselves.
2. At the end of the post you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.


Ok, 8 random habits/facts/quirks

1. I eat frosting out of the can. Yes, I know what's in it (or isn't!), no I don't care.
2. I haven't had a W in my name in almost a decade, but it's still in my email address.
3. I don't eat the last bite of a hot dog. Drives Ed crazy.
4. I don't drink coffee from the bottom of the pot. That's just common sense lol.
5. I went to a women's college.
6. I was going to be a parole officer.
7. I don't drink milk. Ever. It's gross.
8. I am a HUGE supporter of homebirth... but you all knew that, didn't you?

So 8 people to get tagged (sorry guys! Blame Meg!)

1. Jessi
2. Jamie
3. Anita
4. Heather in AZ (b/c you're not busy enough!)
5. Val
6. TK
7. Michelle
8. Nik

And yes, if you think I'm talking about you, I am :) If you don't have a blog (shame on you!) leave your 8 in the comments!

Eight years!

Today is the day - Ed and I have been married for eight years. Where did the time go? If you had told me ten years ago that I'd be sitting here, married to someone I hadn't met yet, with three kids, I would have told you that you were off your rocker. Yet here I am. And for all the ups and downs over the past eight years, we've still come out ahead. I mean, there haven't been any homicide charges filed against either of us, so that's a plus, right?!? I would post a picture, but we got married before the days of digital cameras. HA, just kidding - but all of the copies of our wedding pictures I had on a computer weren't on *this* computer, so I have to scan some. Maybe I'll post some next year!

Numbers

The other day Keith came in and asked to see the number on my stomach. I looked at him blankly and asked "number? What number?" and he said "you know, from when I lived in your stomach. What number is on your tummy?" I had no clue what he was talking about. So a day or so later he came in and said "Since Caroline was the third baby, did she put a number three on your stomach?" I, being the caring mom I am, said "what are you talking about? There are no numbers on my stomach!" to which Keith replied...

"You know, you keep saying all of us kids put a number on your stomach."

And all of a sudden the lightbulb went off and I asked "you all DID a number on my stomach?" to which he replied "YES!"

Priceless.

Meeting Darth Vader

So, about a month ago I got an email from Pottery Barn Kids. Usually I delete them, but I think the subject was Star Wars, or at least something catchy which prompted me to open the email. Lucky I did, because it told me that some of my favorite Star Wars characters were coming to a mall near me and I should get myself a ticket so as not to miss out. So I did. The next day I dragged the whole family to Christiana Mall (on a weekend, no less) to get tickets to see my favorite Star Wars characters. Actually, I could have cared less, but Keith absolutely loves Star Wars and hey, it was free. So today was THE DAY. Keith, Caroline and I packed ourselves into the van and headed back to Christiana Mall. On a weekend, again. (Side note - I worked at malls for 7 years at Victoria's Secret, so it takes A LOT to get me to go back into one. Especially Christiana, also known as an absolute madhouse.) The Star Wars characters were going to be at Pottery Barn Kids (did you see the Star Wars room they have?) from 12pm until 2pm. We arrived at 10:30am, and there were already 6 families in line. I dragged Keith to the bookstore to finally buy Twilight because there was no way I was waiting in line without something to do, and by 11am we were back and in line. I think we were family #11. So we waited. I read. Keith waited.

About 11:15 the PBK manager brought out the Imperial Cadet Training Manual for the kids (I'd tell you what was in it, but then I'd have to shoot... er, lightsaber you):

and told us parents that the characters would be signing autographs and PBK 'just happened' to be selling Star Wars books. So, being such an awesome mom, I had some other mom who gave up her Saturday to stand in line with her child keep an eye on Keith and I ran in and got him a Star Wars book for the characters to sign. Fortunately looking through said book kept Keith occupied for a while.

I was only asked ten times "how much longer?". Not too bad, considering we were waiting for Star Wars. Keith made friends with the little boy in line behind us.

That kid was quite a talker and knew every single bit of Star Wars trivia known to man. And now, *I* know every single bit of Star Wars trivia known to man, because the little boy felt he must share his information with me. Finally, noon arrived. PBK set up security, opened the rope, and let one family in.

I thought Keith was going to die. I managed to point out that there were only ten families ahead of us and approximately three hundred (yeah, I'm NOT kidding) behind us, and he kept it together. Finally it was our turn. We were let into the store, and there they were. Darth Vader and his three Stormtrooper sidekicks. Also known as Keith's very favorite characters ever, thank the Lord. He got their autographs and then got his picture taken with them.


He was thrilled, and made me promise to get the pictures framed to put in his room. At 12:15, we were done. On our way out we passed the three hundred other families waiting for their five minutes with Darth Vader, and Keith said "Man, mom, they're going to be waiting until midnight!" And you know what, I think he's right.

Guess who is Keith's homeroom mom???

Why, yes, it IS me!! And no, I DON'T have a damn clue as to what a homeroom mom does.

Everyone's still alive!

Today is my first day alone with three kids. I am proud to say everyone is still alive with half the day down! We even got into the van and buckled in and all the way to Kennett without losing anyone and with everyone staying out of traffic. I am so impressed! I must say, though, my mei tai from www.divasnbabes.com is a life saver. I thought it was a life saver when Henry was born, but that was nothing! I had two hands and two kids then - now I have two hands and THREE kids, one of which is 21 months old and hasn't figured out the whole listening thing.

Feel free to hate me!

I guess I paid my dues in pregnancy with this little one. Last night we got home from grandma & grandpas around 8:30 and Caroline and I went straight to bed. And then, I woke up for the day at 6am. Caroline woke up every 2-3 hours to eat, but we cosleep and breastfeed so I barely had to wake up with her. No screaming, no socializing, no wanting to hang out and chill at 3am. I feel like a million bucks! And she's just now thinking about waking up to meet the day. What a great way to start a Monday! Oh, and to make matters EVEN better, can we just say "regular clothing"? Yup - you got it. I can wear my jeans. It's amazing how exciting it is to be able to button and zip a pair of pants. Now I can pack the maternity clothes away yet again. Having two babies in less than two years has made those maternity clothes a bit too familiar.

We're off to the pediatrician this morning to check in, so we'll have a busy morning. Fortunately Keith is at grandma & grandpas - he spent the night - so I only have to figure out how to get two kids changed, dressed, and out the door without losing one or missing my appointment. And Ed is around to help me out, so we can double team the little guys. Thank goodness.

Pink... such a wonderful color!

So, if you know me, you know that I HATE PINK. With a passion. Never have liked it. The first house we bought, the owners before us LOVED pink. When we were looking at it, Ed and the realtor kept saying 'Look past the pink, Amy. See the potential." There was even pink wall to wall carpet in the bedroom that looked like it had come out of my great-grandmother's house. Fortunately, the owner was so in love with said ugly pink carpet that she ripped it up and took it with her. Good - save me the trouble! There was pink in the kitchen, the dining room, the bedroom, you name it. Then our second house (the last one) had a pink kitchen sink. WHAT?!? Who makes pink kitchen sinks?!? We got rid of that pretty quick, too. But now, things are different. I freaking LOVE pink. It is amazing how much pink stuff has made its way into my house in the past five days, and I'm not complaining in the least! Hell, I want MORE! I think Miss Caroline is even going to have her room painted, wait for it, PINK! This is a big deal, because I'm sure sometime in my life I said that hell would freeze over before I had a pink room in my house by my own doing. It is just amazing what having a little girl will do to you. She's currently wearing a pink onesie and brown pants (thanks Regina!) and pink booties (thanks Jess!), with a whole line up of pink clothes to change into should the need arrive.

Did I mention that I LOVE pink?!?

New car, here I come!

I just got off the phone with my insurance company a little bit ago and my car has been declared a total loss. I thought the bumper in the backseat might have given that away, but it's still nice to hear it from the people with the money! I get to go pick up my check this afternoon and then go buy my new minivan this evening! I picked it out on Saturday and I've just been waiting for the go ahead from the insurance company. It's a beige Toyota Sienna - I have now made it as a mom. Where are the soccer games, because I'm there! I'll post pictures when I get home :)

Baby didn't get the memo.

Yeah. That's all I have to say about that. 8/11/8 maybe? I give up.

I have to say

I think today would be a cool birthday. Hopefully baby agrees with me.