Road Trip(part 1)

Sit back, crank up the music, and buckle your seat belts, because a road trip for a mom with 3 kids is NOT the same as your typical road trip. Only the truly brave can survive.

Back in the day when I was single and free from responsibility other than paying my rent and going to work, road trips were easy. You and your best girlfriend get in the car, fill up the cooler with sodas and snacks, grab your favorite music, put on comfy clothes and hit the road. Bathroom breaks were only taken upon necessity and you talked about everything under the sun. Your families, your other friends and yes, men and what possibly could be keeping you from finding "Mr Right". You eat until you can't possibly eat another bite, then you see the sign for your favorite frozen yougurt at the end of the trip and you stop and fill up again. Money was no worry, you had just been paid, the rent was paid and you had nothing to worry about.

But NOW road trips go something like this:

Yesterday for our road trip I woke up at 6 am. The baby was still sleeping but I knew most likely not for long. My little early riser loves to greet the sun. So in a mad dash I grab the laundry I put in the dryer the night before. I sort out 3 outfits for each child. My son does not get why HE NEEDS extra clothes, but if I did NOT take it, he would need it. I get these outfits packed into the diaper bag which is about to burst because I have already put diapers, wipes, to containers of premeasured formula, a bottle of water and 2 bottles in it. The diaper bag also contains powders, creams, wipies and various other things that might be needed for cleaning little bodies and faces. There are toys, crayons and paper. Ahhhhh the nice feeling of having a full diaper bag. I then grab my wallet, my keys and my cell phone and put them on top of the diaper bag so they will not be left behind. I lay an outfit on the couch for each child to put on when they get up. I go to the kitchen knowing I have to be out of the house no later than 7:10 am because my husband has to be at work. Now......breakfast. I go for easy albeit not nutritious. I grab two ziplock bags and put two poptarts each in for the older two kids. Christopher MUST have Cherry and Hannah MUST MUST MUST have chocolate. Put them on the table withe a caprisun. Then I make the baby's bottle of formula adding baby oatmeal to the bottle since this will be an on the go meal. She would much rather eat her food in solid form, but this morning a liquid but filling meal must do. I hurriedly get dressed, amazed that my usually wakeful children are still asleep. This must be a good sign. I even get to use the curling iron for a few moments to add a bit of a flip to my hair. Then I hair it, the tell tale sound of a mini air raid siren. The baby is awake which means Hannah is not far behind. So I get the baby and Hannah and walk into Christopher's room and wake him up. He is looking at me like I have lost my mind since it is only 6:45 am. I remind him we are going on a ROAD TRIP. This gets him on his feet quick. He LIVES for adventure. I supervise potty time, dressing and get the baby changed. Hmmmm she hasn't done her usually morning deposit to the diaper....which means it will come later somewhere during our trip. YIKES, not good. The kids are begging to eat their poptarts NOW despite the fact I am trying to tell them they can eat in the car. A VERY RARE treat! It is now 7 am, and my husband emerges from our room fully dressed. I have the kids, myself and the bags ready. All in one hour! He only had to dress himself. Hmmm, isnt that interesting. We get the kids, the diaper bag(snacks included) and the walker in the car. AT 7:08 am a full 2 minutes early we pull out to take Daddy to work and go on our road trip. The baby sucks away contentedly on her bottle and the kids are happily feeding their faces the sticky poptarts. (I am already tired and we haven't even begun). We get to my husband's work and everyone must be kissed at least twice and hugged because after all daddy is staying at work. Then we really begin. The kids are done with their poptarts and Jennifer is bopping her bottle on the side of the carseat furiously because it is empty. But I know she has had plenty and I defnitely do NOT want puking to begin. The kids start clamoring for music. NOW these same children insisted they take their music in the house so we only have 1 kid music cd in our car. They must listen to this one and of course it is NOT the one they want. By this time I am remembering the fact I did NOT drink my coffee or feed myself. I can not get over to the lane leading to Macdonald's and chalk it up that I dont need the extra calories anyway. I hear from the backseat some binky sucking and realize the baby blessedly is going to sleep. YAY...one down and quiet. Two still arguing. She is looking at me mom, No I am not I am looking at the window says Hannah. Sigh..."If you do NOT stop arguing I will turn off your music". Then they quiet for a bit and are most likely glaring at each other. Soon I hear.....mom how long will it take. I tell them a LONG time. Finally Christopher turns on his leapster for a while and Hannah sings to the cd. I am wishing we had dvd player in our van but alas we do not have this wonderful invention. Then I hear Christopher start complaining his leapster is NOT working right. It has fresh batteries but apparently it is not working. I tell him to put it down and look at stuff out the window. apparently that is too boring. So I try to get them to sing. Nope it aint happening. They argue some more about who is in whose carseat or who is touching who or whose got the most pop tart left and numerous other things that make no since. Blessedly, that sweet baby girl, she is still sleeping. YAY. Finally, we get to about 30 to 45 minutes away from our road trip destination and I hear it. MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMY, I need to go POTTY! Okay so all I see are cows and houses. Hmmmmmm, wonder how kindly these farmers would take to my pulling up knocking on their door and asking for a potty and while they are at it a cup of coffee. LOL. It is still early mind you. Finally I see a sign in the distance. Drats...it is a circle K.....a little gas station store kind of excuse to sell gas at the highest price around. I have to pull in. Mind you these stores are not know for the cleanliness of their bathroom facilities. But what am I going to do, after all I have a newly potty trained child, a 6 year old and a baby whom I now smell is quite ripe in the southern regions, albeit a sleeping smelly baby. So I pull in and get the older two unfastened, get the baby, the diaper bag, my purse and a blanket to put the baby on to c hange. I ask for the bathroom and get pointed in the general direction by a very sleepy, apparently cigarette deprived clerk because she is hanging out the front door puffing on her cigarette while trying to watch the store and not break the law by smoking inside. I go in what is supposed to be a bathroom. Well it has a toilet, a sink and a door. and some cheap tp. I have to get Christopher in near the sink, put Hannah on the potty, while balancing the baby on my hip and then squeeze myself and the diaper bag in. I do that, expecting to hear a pop as we squeeze in this tight place. Now, Hannah is on the potty, with her feet on the diaper bag, Christophher is pressed against one wall and I am pressed against the door. So I lock it, spread the blanket on the floor thinking oh Lord let my baby not touch a thing. and I proceed to change a wiggly baby in a minute space while making sure Hannah doesnt touch anything as well. Christopher is rolling his eyes and needing to go, but then there IS only one potty. I get the baby changed, put her back on my hip, swing hannah off the potty and christopher in front of the potty. although he must stand on the diaper bag and help Hannah wash her hands while I balance the baby and try to get the diaper bag from under my son's feet and repack it. (unknown to me at this time, my small bag of wipes lie undetected on the floor under all our feet). I get Christopher washed and then I squeeze us all out that door. WHEW........did I hear an audible pop as we burst from the door. I get me a much needed soda and we get back on the road...........TO BE CONTINUED..........the baby needs me.