My Little Blahg

I have not been blogging daily lately, and I'll tell you why... My husband wants me to spend more time with him when he gets home from work, and I guess that's a reasonable request. At first David didn't think that my "little blahg," (as he calls it) was a viable hobby or activity. He would harangue me about it quite frequently. But then he finally read some of it and realized that he liked it. He realizes that I do this for my kids to read someday, and for me to remember the goings on in the Whitt home. So often we forget the cute, little things. Or the insane moments of chaos we call life. I also write my "little blahg" because I want to get my writing legs up and walking again. It will probably takes years of progress. And I write my "little blahg" too so that people like my Mother, who live far away, can feel connected to me and her grandchildren. These are the things that are important.

So David and I have come to a compromise. I will not ignore him when he walks in the door after work while I am fervently composing my "little blahg." I will be sweet and heat up his dinner and have conversation with him about his long day. I do owe him that, and I do want to do that because I love him. And, in turn, David has promised me that he won't belittle and make fun of my "little blahg" again.

It was funny because while in Maine, around a serene campfire late in the night while David was alone in his thoughts watching the sparks fly and listening to the fire crack, he heard someone call out in the distance across the campground. The voice with a heavy Boston accent said, "Hey Bahb!! Did you finish your blahg?" See? I'm not the only one who has a "little blahg...."

Maine Vacation

Getting There

We left at bedtime to make our journey north. David began the trek after I packed the kids in to their carseats for the night. Haleah stayed awake as long as she could because she didn't want to miss a thing in case we arrived at our destination immediately following our takeoff. I tried to sleep with the kids, but it was rough sitting up in a seat with city lights glaring in. The kids woke up somewhere around midnight when we stopped for gas in Tennessee. And it was a chore trying to get them all back down, so we just put in a Calliou DVD, fed em lollipops and let them be.

By 6am, we were in Virginia and were pretty much fried. There was thick fog and David and I started bickering. It was cold out and we stopped at a McDonalds to get the kids changed, dressed and fed. Little did I know that I'd become at expert at cleaning and grooming kids in the minivan by the end of the trip.

The new day's journey was slow, and seemed even slower because David and I probably only got about 2 hours of sleep combined the night before, and the kids didn't want to stay in the car long after that. We had to stop at two different playgrounds during the day to let them get their energy out. Throughout the day we also encountered a lot of stagnant highway traffic, which proved to be maddening. By 4pm, the kids were going crazy. Kaelah threw up on herself and I said to David, "That's it!"

We stopped at an Econo Lodge outside of New York/New Jersey (who knows where?) and had dreams of being able to rest and recover for the next leg of the journey. Well, it turned out that that night in that hotel was one of the worst nights I've ever had. The kids were so overtired that they were screaming their heads off. I was afraid that people were going to think we were beating the snot out of them and were going to call the cops on us. Our room, stupidly, was right under a stairwell, near the hotel office and the street---the worst positioning possible. We heard every noise and creak. The kids wouldn't lie down. We bribed, we threatened, we reasoned, we spanked. Nothing worked. It was a nightmare I'll never forget.

The morning was terrible too, as we tried to get them showered (because the bath was too nasty for them to go in), and they each screamed the whole time too. Bekah was just a doll through all of this. But I couldn't blame my older kids. We had pushed them to, and then over their limits. We finally made it back into the car and then barrelled over to a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It was also a gross experience. They barely had a decent selection of food, couldn't speak English, and the coffee was nasty. I was ticked.

A highlight of this day, though, was when David came across the quaint ocean town of Havre de Grace, MD on our drive. We stopped and had a picnic there and stretched our legs. Haleah is featured below, near the water. It was a beautiful place. A nice piece of Americana.

Later in the day the navigational system took us through the Bronx in NYC, and it took all we had in us to trust that that thing was going to lead us through safely. We did make it through to Connecticut after journeying on some harrowing passageways. We made it to my Mom's house in the Boston area by mid-afternoon. My Mom wasn't at home though; she was in Maine waiting for us at her campsite. We stopped at her house for the night to recover from our drive. My brother, Tom, was there because the condo next door to where he lives burned to the ground a few days before and his unit had no electricity or water. So he was staying at my Mom's house.

The kids wanted to go to the ocean right away, which was about a mile from my Mom's, so we headed out, even though we were on the brink of exhaustion. I didn't bring a diaper bag with me, and of course Kaelah fell into the water with her clothes on right away, so we came back sooner, rather than later. Tom and his girlfriend, Lindsay, ordered us Chinese food and we enjoyed a nice dinner on my Mom's porch. Then we called it a night super early and spread our family out like butter on my Mom's living room floor. Rest at last.

I couldn't leave the Boston area without visiting my Dad in a neighboring town, so we ventured out to his house in the morning so that he could see his grandkids. We hung out for a while and then headed to his beach. The kids had fun. We then took an impromptu journey to my friends Jen and Jamie's house. We called ahead, but basically popped in on Jen. She was so gracious, and I was so glad to see her. We played outside with her kids and then she asked us to stay for dinner. We grilled out and she called our other friends, Jeremy and Joy over too. It was a great evening.

Being There

We made it to Maine the next afternoon. My cousin, Karen, was finishing her stay at my Mom's camp, as she does for a week every year. Her husband, Fred, came up to pick her up and we all had a nice dinner together at the site before they departed. It started off cold in Maine, and I heard that it had been raining quite a bit the previous week, but most of the time we were there, it was beautiful and sunny.

Among the injuries that our 1 year old, accident prone Kaelah got included the following:

1) Burned her hand on the grill, after a lesson was given by her Daddy not to touch it.

2) Fell off the playground train and cut open her nose.

3) Fell off 2 beds and a couch.

4) Skinned her knees on the gravel road a few times.

5) Had a clock fall on her head, giving her a knot on her forehead.

6) Fell into and under the lake water spontaneously, while Daddy was at her side.

7) Hit her head on the trailer door.

8) Almost knocked herself out on the picnic table.

9) Got her foot caught on a latch near her bed in the trailer.

I swear, Kaelah could hurt herself on dust without trying. She gets injured all the time, even though we literally watch her like a hawk.

The fun activities we got to enjoy included (but were not limited to):

Going shopping in quaint towns, eating at Dunkin Donuts as much as possible, enjoying fresh berries, going out for ice cream, going to a wildlife center, taking walks on the campground, reading books, building fires and making s'mores, going to the beach, eating lobster and other delicious food, finding playgrounds, talked with campers, played Rook, listened to loons on the lake, going out to breakfast, taking small rides to explore the towns, being with my mother, etc.

There were other things we wanted to do, but we realized that options were limited with a three year old, a one year old and 4 month old. I imagine that in years to come that options for activities will broaden. David and I did get out one night after we conned the kids to sleep in the trailer and left my mother to watch them. We drove down to a hangout on the water and had drinks and appetizers. I ate so much junk that night, that when I got back to the campsite, I threw up (sorry to add the gory details here). It was not worth it. I was so excited to get out without the kids for a while that I overdid it, I think. Live and learn.

It was so nice to see my Mom, as I only see her about twice a year now, tops. I could not have done this camping trip without her, and I'm sure we wore her and our welcome out by the end of the week. She cooked and cleaned up our messes and kept things running smoothly for us. And she willingly squeezed five of us into her small camping trailer. Now that's love right there! I wanted to go on this trip so badly, as I had been coming to this same campground, same site, #18, since I was a teenager. I have so many good memories there, and I wanted my kids to experience that too. The kids did real well for their first true camping encounter. I am proud of them and know they will love it as much as David and I do. I hope we will be able to make the journey again in years to come....

Going Home

As with the start of our journey, we left for home at nightfall, at the kids' bedtime. We had to stop at a bank for the incomperable toll money and at a Walmart for a part to the DVD player that broke (we couldn't be without it). And before we made it to the highway, I stopped for Dunkin Donuts coffee twice to get my fill, as they don't have them down south. And if they are in other places than in New England then they don't taste the same.

I began the driving journey this time, and I was determined to make progress during the night. The dang GPS took me through about 10 different highways, but I made it through 6 different states that night. I was impressed with myself. I sang songs to myself as I travelled and ate lollipops to keep myself alert. At 2am, I gave up. I am not as daring as I once was before kids. I was not going to risk sleepiness at the expense of the 4 other lives in the car I was driving. David took the wheel at 2am. He only drove till 4am, and stopped at a trucker's stop somewhere in PA. We all fell out asleep in the car until 6am. Then I got the kids assembled and we baffooned our way into the Perkins that was attached to the truck stop. We had a clueless waitress and made a big mess at our table. We spoke with a Heaven's Angel motorcycle dude and his daughter outside, got gas and then were on our way again. David drove for the remainder of the day, until we made it to just past Roanoke, VA.

We decided that this point, after the carseats had been peed in and all three kids were screaming, that we going to stop for the night. We decided to stay somewhere halfway decent this time, and settled on a Hampton Inn. I think this was, by far, one of the best decisions we made on the trip. The place cost a little more, but it was so clean and comfortable. It had an indoor pool where we swam, a refreshing shower and a lot of little extras. I would be a spokesperson for that hotel any day. Our experience went far better than the experience we had at the Econo Lodge at the start of our vacation. David and I each made a mental note about this to ourselves. The other lifesaver was the white noise maker that my Mom passed on to us. This way, we could get the kids settled down and then get up and maneuver around to do the things we needed to do without disturbing them. It made all the difference.

The morning came and we had a lovely hotel breakfast spread and took off on the last leg of our journey. David drove all the way, and it rained all the way from Virginia to Alabama. It must have been due to the lingering Hurricane Gustov or something... In light of everything, the kids did real well. We had enough fast food to choke a horse and our muscles were hardly operable by the time we made it home. But we did make it home safely just before dinner time. Our Alabama inlaws were there to greet us, and that was nice. All in all I believe this vacation was worth it. David said he didn't get to relax at all. But my question to him was would he have rested if we didn't go? No. Our job now is to be parents of little ones, which is exhausting no matter what. But adventure and courage thrown in now and then is good for the mind, soul and body of us all.

Call Me Crazy

Just over a week ago, I decided that I needed a vacation, and bad! And now, somehow, I am driving up north, 21 hours away with three kids, to go to a campground on a lake. If we can make it there without major incident, it will be a miracle.

This past week I have been planning meticulously and trying to get my house cleaned and things ready to go. It's been a little difficult, as I am picking up my niece from school in the afternoons and making dinner for the extended family each night. (And not to mention that my children are wearing me out these days too). We have been struggling with Haleah's tantrums and fit throwing and are working to find the best way to handle it.

Anyhow, back to the trip... We are borrowing a Garmin GPS system and an auto DVD player for the ride. We haven't invested much in the way of technological gadgets for our car, but something tells me these things will come in handy this time. I have also packed special toys for the kids and put them aside, so that they will seem more exciting to them on the ride.

We will be traveling, making our initial jaunt out at the kids' bedtime, a.k.a. 7:00pm. We will be driving through the night, and beyond. David and I will take driving shifts, and it will take all I have not to whine and complain and feel sorry for myself. I had to try REAL hard to convince David to take this vacation. I know he needs a vacation too, but to drive with three small ones this far? Not his idea of fun. But if we can make it to this campground, where my Mom has kept a trailer on a lake for the past nearly 20 years, then I will be happy. I know I probably won't be able to relax much when I get there, but I will be happy to breathe the fresh, cool air and listen to the loons calling on the lake. I am a camper in my heart and soul. I love the outdoors and the creation around us. I have not been on a vacation to enjoy such things in a long, long time. And I desire my children to develop the same appreciation as I do. So, here goes! I'm sure there will be lots and lots to blog about when I get home, and many stories to tell.

New Slates

The day began with me and my house in a shambles. I lost control from the get go. Haleah got her hair stuck in a toy train, and the toy won (see picture). By the time Cora and Gracyn arrived for their "last day of summer," before school starts, I was done. I called my hairdresser because I hadn't had a haircut in 5 months, and I was disgusted. I decided it was my last chance to get it cut while having the help of my nieces. So off we went...

It was interesting having an audience at the salon while my hair was being cut. The kids were all sitting in chairs, sucking on lollipops and wondering what on earth was going on with my head. I was going for the Meg Ryan look, the kind of cut that looks like she took two fingers and fluffed her hair just so, yet it probably took two hours of actual prep to get that tousled, no fuss look. I asked my hairdresser to cut it a little shorter than the picture I had too; and when I looked at myself in the mirror afterwards I said, "David is going to kill me!" It was indeed short, but I am impulsive, need a change, and figure it will grow again. My 20 minute time slot for the girls being well-behaved ran out; otherwise, I would have paid to have my hair styled as well. So I brought myself back to the house wet-headed.

Upon arrival, the bug man showed up to spray. I was horrified to see him with my freshly cut, unstyled sop of wet hair. But we discussed all the various types of spiders I had been encountering in my yard and in my house, and he seemed to sympathize. He was there to kill them off, and I was grateful.

At nap time, Cora styled my hair with the straightener and gave me tips on various hair products that I should buy. I was talking to my Mom on the phone while Cora was styling my hair, and I felt like a diva being waited on. After my conversation ended and I looked in the mirror at the creation Cora had made with my hair, I freaked out. It looked like a bad, boy bowl cut. I told her I didn't care how stylish it may be to her, but I hated it. So I will have to work this hair thing out on my own, which may take some time.

This afternoon, I took Cora to volleyball practice at her new school. I then took Gracyn to her school yard to see the posting of her new class list. I went to the door for Gracyn and took a picture of the class lists for her to see. Gracyn was super relieved that a certain little bully wasn't in her new 3rd grade class. And she was happy with the teacher selected for her. What a relief! She took a picture of herself (below), on the ride home, to show how happy she was...


It's been a nice summer with Cora and Gracyn. They have been a great help to me when they were in my house. They were around so much that my kids have recently started calling me Aunt Lara. I have learned a lot about Cora and Gracyn this summer too. I have learned that Gracyn is the "second" mommy and is wonderful with handling children. She also loves to cook and clean. Gracyn loves crafts, eating anything fruity and her favorite munchie is Whales. Gracyn loves to make tents and put on games and shows to entertain the kids. She has a big imagination and always strives to make things special. She also gets tired and loses her steam around 4 o'clock, just before dinner. Gracyn is an absolute sweetheart and I love her.

Cora is full of life and big ideas. She is extremely artistic and has a flair for color and style. For her age, she is very trendy and beautiful. She loves to be a lounge kitten on the couch. She loves to eat and eat and has a big huge sweet tooth (like me). She is very athletic and can pretty much take on any activity given to her. Cora is big into Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers and loves to sing and dance. She is very exuberant and can put on a show. She lives for bread and butter with honey, and ice cream with chocolate sauce. Cora always likes to be the first one to tell a story, and everyone usually listens. She is very passionate about life and focused in on own world. She is a special young lady.

Summer is over now, and I will my miss my nieces as they venture on to the next grades and new learning adventures. They are not leaving me, just growing up. I am glad that I get to be apart of this ongoing journey with them.

Apprehensions

Haleah had a doctor's appointment for her 3rd year check up. David took her, and Gracyn went along for the ride. I tried to prep Haleah about what would happen at the doctor's office beforehand by playing our scenarios with her toy doctor kit at home. David came back with her a couple of hours later, completely wiped out. He told me that Haleah threw screaming fits in the office, and the doctor hardly touched her. Haleah came into the house and told me herself, "I screamed my head off at the doctors."

Later in the day I had to take Cora (my niece) to volleyball practice. I wish my arms weren't so occupied with babies during this time, otherwise I would have loved to have had the chance to teach Cora some of my "mad volleyball skills" this summer. My skills will just have to stay dormant a little longer.

We stopped at the post office on the way to dropping Cora off so that I could mail some packages and just have Cora watch the kids in the car while I ran in. Well, I stood in line for over 10 minutes, looked at amount of people still in front of me and realized that I wasn't going to make it to the front of the line and out in time to get Cora to practice on time. So I left the line, drove Cora to practice and came back to an even longer line, barrelling all of the kids out to the line with me. Not my idea of fun. My plan for easy was foiled.

At home I made David's favorite dinner, Baked Chicken Parmesan, though he wouldn't be able to eat it until after his late shift. The rest of the extended family enjoyed it, however. After dinner it was mentioned by my sister-in-law that perhaps my niece Gracyn could ride the school bus to my house some afternoons after school this fall. I thought this was a great idea. Well, Gracyn liked the idea of coming to my house after school, but NOT the idea of riding the school bus. Poor Gracyn became super upset and was adamant to her mother that she did not want to ride the bus under any circumstances.

Gracyn has never ridden the school bus, and she has a fear of the unknown, which is probably typical for any typical 8 year old child. I tried to explain to Gracyn like just as Haleah was afraid of the doctor this morning, because it was an unknown, that she was afraid of riding the school bus. But in the end we don't have anything to be afraid of. We just have to try. And we can't always have things our own way (like my plan to run into the post office by myself). Sometimes we just have to go out of our comfort zone and just do it (like me running into the interminable post office line with four children on a hot day). Unfortunately, apprehensions get the best of us sometimes...

Things People Say

Since living down south over the past two years, I have melded into this new way of speaking, to some extent. I catch myself saying things like "y'all" and "I'm fixin to..." (do such and such). I also say "daggum" now too.

Haleah is starting to say funny things too. She throws words together to form crazy sentences like, "How the daggum heck does that thing work?" And sometimes Haleah is very contemplative. I guess she has been thinking of events that have taken place over the past couple of days and things I might have told her she was too young to do, because tonight she told me this:

"When I get older I will be able to light a candle, kill a wasp and mow, right Mommy?" I thought that was so precious.

Kaelah is funny too with her words. But of course she is just learning to group words together. Nowadays she is simply learning to assert her independence. When I ask her to do something she'll say, "Do it. Do it. I do it!" Or she'll say, "Nnn nnn. Play," (meaning, 'no, I want to play').

Most of the time I can figure out what my kids are saying, but sometimes I am really thrown for a loop. I remember when Haleah said, "A neat ah mal ah dee dee dahl..." over and over again for about a week back when she was just turning two. And to this day I have no clue what she was trying to tell me. But she said it so many times that I'll never forget the phrase. Perhaps some day she'll clue me in.

Words are funny things. And each day I strive to communicate better with my children and learn to listen to them as they seek to communicate with me and the world around them.

Snuggles and Blueberry

Today, after a few morning dramatics (ie. David helping a neighbor fix their fascia board that he mistakenly knocked off while trimming their tree, and Haleah knocking Kaelah's head into the corner nub of the coffee table), we ventured off to Build-A-Bear Workshop at the mall. It was cousin Lilly's 7th Birthday, and we were invited right at naptime, 12 noon. I fed the kids an early lunch and prayed for the best. We picked up Grandmama on the way, for reinforcements, and headed to the party.

My kids were the youngest ones there at Build-A-Bear, but they seemed to have fun for what it was worth. It was nice to be included. The girls each got to pick a bear to have stuffed, fluffed and certified. They got to each pick out an outfit for their bear and name them too. Haleah named her bear Blueberry (with the help of her cousin, Gracyn), and Kaelah named hers Snuggles, with help from me, as she immediately started to cuddle the bear when she picked it out.

The older kids played some games in the workshop then eventually meandered over to the food court for cake and drinks. I spent this entire time taking each of my children, one by one, to the family restroom to either nurse, change a diaper, or go potty. I started to feel hot and overwhelmed by the crowds that were there for the tax free holiday weekend.

All in all, my kids were very well behaved. David took them up and down the escalator towards the end of the outing, and this was very exciting for them. When we finally got home in the later afternoon, things were a little chaotic due to their tired moods, but we managed to get them fed, bathed and into bed. Then I made an delicious new recipe, a chili egg bake, for the church hospitality table tomorrow. I tried a piece and I seriously could eat the whole thing up right now, but I will contain myself.

This leads me to my final point: My diet isn't going too well this week. With all of these parties and stressful times (like I had yesterday, where I felt entirely defeated and run down by my kids), I just have to eat. I will try and get back on the bandwagon next week. I have got to drop these last 13-15 lbs.

Below are some sweet pics of the girls on the couch yesterday morning. It's moments like those that I cherish the most....