So this is the test drive for the real vaca post that will come in September for our week long outing to Disneyworld. (Yes, more on that later.) But this is our annual long weekend pilgrimage to Oklahoma City to see my dad, step mom and brother. Sometimes we stop off in Fort Worth to see my old friends (I used to live there) and sometimes we barrel through. This was a stop off year.
So far, it's only been a little rocky. Primarily because, as I've written on many occasions, my kids smell events and plans and are allergic to them. Therefore, one or more become ill. The baby jump started this weekend. I got home late Thursday night from my sweet friend Stella's going away party (why my dear friend is leaving me for her darling husband to move to Australia I'll never know....), to a fevered baby. It wasn't scary high and he had no other symptoms so we marched on with our plans. The fever had returned that morning, but again, no symptoms and not scarily high so off we went. We managed an 8:30 am departure, not far off the 8 am intended goal, and the kids are major troopers when it comes to road trips. They've been going to the farm for years but 2 1/2 hours is a lot different that 4, 5 or 8 hours. Still, with me sitting in the back entertaining them with my bag of tricks (books, coloring, new stickers, etc.), all went well. The little man's fever went up and down, as did the bottle of ibuprofen, but spirits stayed solid. Lunch with an old friend even went without major incident thanks to a large patio area and the proprietor's not caring too much that the eldest had to go with out shorts because he'd soaked through the handy pair we had on the long trip (we only stopped once on the way to Fort Worth - note to self, must stop more with two year olds).
But last night was a little rockier. Bray and I weren't our normal perky selves because we've been a bit at odds and we were both sleep deprived from late nights and early mornings and the baby was incredibly grumpy and clingy. I called the doctor last night hoping they could call something in, but truth be told, we didn't know if it was 2 year molars, swimmers ear, or a bug of some sort. Another late night and early morning had us pretty fried for the remaining leg of the trip to Oklahoma City this morning. Yet another tremendous effort though by the kiddos. Some car dancing, yummy snacks, a decent walk around break, and lollipops made the trip whiz by.
Today has been so great post arrival. There's something about being at family's, isn't there? You can be sloppy or temperamental or frazzled and it's okay. You don't have to put on airs. You can just be that. We got in and everyone got to just be. We didn't have to rush off to an appointment or have lunch out or dress up. Everyone ran around outside and took NAPS and splashed in the water and caught up with my far away family. The only down side is that the eldest now also has a fever, higher than the baby's. Still no symptoms, but surely it's something contagious because they couldn't possibly both be teething simultaneously.
Coming here is the equivalent off staying at a fancy hotel - my dad and step mom MOVE OUT of their room and have closet space for us and fresh flowers by the bed and a huge air mattress for the kids. I literally do nothing but bring clothes. There's enough food to feed an army and there's no rush. It's the only time I'm not rushing. And we're here through Monday. With no rushing. I think all my rushing and deadlines and plans drive my husband up the wall so this weekend will be the next best thing to the farm for him.
These are my favorite lines so far: we stayed with friends that have a daughter also named Lily so my little bit kept saying, "there's LOTS of lillies!"; my dad has multiple mirrors in the bathroom so when Sam stood up to wash his hands he said, "there's TWO Sams!"; my dad had bought a pool for their backyard (yes, they always go overboard, pun intended) and when he took the boys out to see it, Will never even noticed it because he ran straight to the John Deere riding lawnmower and said, "GREEN TRACTOR!" and hopped on and stayed on (can you tell where his heart is?). Tomorrow is a low key morning and a late afternoon photo shoot - the first professional photo shoot with my dad since the divorce in the mid-80s. An early Father's Day present. And my very cool cousin's wife is shooting us - the icing on top. It's gonna be a good day. (But say a little prayer the boys are better - can't take another fevered day.....)
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