Less is more

As parents, we tend to over do things. Birthday parties, toys, dressing them to the nines, extravagant vacations etc. After our short weekend trip to St. Louis, I found that less really is more. 

The car was stuffed. 2 huge suitcases. 2 big bags of food. The double stroller. The emergency medical box. A big bag of toys and books. The diaper bag. The traveling high chair. A cooler filled with food and drinks. Toys for the pool. The iPad. A Pack’n’Play. 

All of this for 36 hours in St. Louis. 

We took the 8-9 (should be about 6) hour trip down to St. Louis for our good friends birthday. The trip down was pretty good. We got stuck in some traffic but all in all, the kids did a great job. My husband and I have our routine down for driving…

• He drives first until he’s tired. But we can’t stop until both boys are awake and cranky (which means they are ready to eat or get out of the car for a bit). 
• I take the next leg of the trip while my husband takes a nap. Or tries to nap in between the boys crying and/or yelling. As long as he gets 20 minutes, he’s refueled. 
• For the next leg of the trip, I ask him if he wants to drive. Normally the answer is yes because by this point, he has no patience to deal with the crying and screaming. The passengers job is to keep the boys happy and occupied. If he tells me to drive, I always make sure to remind him he is in charge of the boys. He almost always changes his mind!

When we got to the hotel, we brought both boys upstairs to the room then my husband went back down to get our stuff out of the car. I didn’t realize how much stuff I packed until he brought it up. Did we need all of it?! Nope. Absolutely not. I never was a great “bring only what you need” packer. Now I have 2 boys to pack for too. It’s even worse now! 

I learned that you don’t need 10 toys for the baby. He will play with the same toy for hours. I also learned that you don’t need 10 outfits each for the boys. It’s only 2 days and they don’t care what you put on them (yet) so one outfit for each day and a back up in case of an accident is sufficient enough! The 15 books I brought, now those were a must. Big Bro went through all of them in the first hour. He loves books and they keep him busy for a short while. Jeans? Not needed when it’s 90°+. All of the snacks in the 2 bags and cooler? It’s a good thought but we all know that we like to buy snacks at every stop we make on a road trip. No? That’s just me? Ok. You’re all weird! We did eat some of the snacks I brought but a small bag would have been more reasonable. 

After we got all settled in our room and changed into our jammies, it was around midnight. I tried to get 2 queen beds so my husband could get some sleep in a bed of his own but all they had was a king. I love to snuggle with Big Bro but the only time he sleeps in bed with us is when he’s sick or when we are in a hotel. There is nothing better than your child laying next to you and asking you “Mama, I hode (hold) you?”  Of course I say yes and then he wraps his tiny little arm around my neck. Although my face is being pushed into the pillow and it’s hard to breath, I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel then headed off to the St. Louis zoo. I do love the Milwaukee zoo but this zoo put ours to shame! It is absolutely beautiful. From the landscaping to the big, steel animal sculptures at the entrance, it is very well taken care of. It was about 10:00am and already 85° when we got to the zoo. I try to be a positive person but in my head I was already hearing the boys whining and crying while me and my husband are getting frustrated with each other as the sun gets hotter and hotter. To my surprise, the boys did fairly well. We were all hot, sticky and sweaty. My husband and I did disagree on which way to go when trying to find the exit (he was right). Big Bro did get cranky when I made him hold my hand. Little Bro did cry because he didn’t want to be in the car seat any more (I don’t blame him. It’s a black seat and he is a chunky guy so it couldn’t be too comfortable!). It could have been a lot worse! We didn’t get to see much because it was just too hot but we had a great time and seeing the smile on Big Bro’s face is always priceless! It was also nice to go to the zoo with my husband since we normally go in the middle of the day while he’s at work. He just loves these boys and I love seeing him make memories with them!  

   
After the zoo, we were off to our friends birthday party at her mom’s house. This was the main reason we made the trip. Her mom’s house is beautiful. It’s in a gated community and she has a backyard oasis with a gorgeous rock waterfall that leads into the pool. I did some coaxing (which didn’t work) then finally picked Big Bro up and took him in the pool. Once he was in there, he loved it!  

 Hanging out with Auntie Mel…  

This was Little Bro’s first time in the water and being that he’s the second child, I forgot to take a picture…

We swam, ate and visited the night away! Such a great day of adventures and friends! 

We left St. Louis around 11am and got back to our house around 7pm. We only had to stop twice on the drive home so that was nice!

So whether it’s one king bed compared to two queens or a short weekend trip with friends compared to a week long Disney vacation, I truly believe that less is more! All 4 of us had an amazing trip and the memories we brought home with us are something I will always cherish! I will leave you with a montage of us trying to get a (nice) family photo… 

 
Hope you are all enjoying your week!

When Daddy leaves

All hell breaks loose when Daddy leaves. Well, not really but when he leaves on a Friday night for a work trip and Little Bro comes down with a fever a few hours later, that’s kind of what it feels like! It doesn’t help that my dentist gave me a prescription for my tooth and it has not agreed with my stomach. 

I’ve had a lot of help from people and I am thankful for that! My friend was a saint for running out to get me some children’s Tylenol on Friday night. The last thing I wanted to do at 9:30pm was pack up both kids to go get it myself so she came to my rescue! Of course I had 5 bottles of children’s ibuprofen but Little Bro isn’t quite 6 months yet so they didn’t want me to give that to him.

I had a dentist appointment on Saturday morning so my in-laws came over to watch the boys. Little Bro woke up without a fever. That didn’t last. About 20 minutes before I got home, they checked his temp and he was over 100. I called the doctor to see what they suggest I do and they said to wait it out until Monday and see how he does since he had no other symptoms. My in-laws were so nice to wait with me until I talked to the doc before leaving just in case I had to take him in. 

A couple hours after my in-laws left, my dad arrived from Ohio. He came to visit for a few days! Normally him and my mom would take the trip together but they couldn’t align their vacation times this time around. It just so happened that he planned his trip the same time my husband was gone. I was glad it worked out that way and now I am extra glad he is here to help! 

Little Bro’s fever finally broke on Sunday night and I was sure that I was in for a nice, long, restful night. Wrong. Although his fever was gone, now he didn’t want to sleep. I know I am spoiled and this isn’t me complaining (ok maybe a tiny bit) but he has been a great sleeper from day one and Sunday night was his worst night to date. He might have slept 2 hours total. The only thing that got me through the night was knowing he’s not like this all the time. Like I said, I know I’m spoiled and there are babies that sleep (or don’t sleep) like this all the time.

I ended up taking him to the doctor and he noticed his throat was really red. Pretty sure that’s what kept him up all night. Poor thing. 

Since his fever was gone, I felt comfortable taking the boys to the zoo. Big Bro is at a GREAT age for the zoo! He loves looking at each animal for no more than 2 minutes, which is fine by me! 

Grampa was in heaven pushing his boys around! Or he’s getting old and was using the stroller as a disguised walker… I won’t tell you which is true. Maybe both. 

  

He’s also had a blast running (or gimping) around with Big Bro… 

There was also some bubble wars… 

   

I got some “me” time and took a hot yoga class with one of my good friends. It felt so good to get a good stretch in! And I’m pretty sure I fell asleep during the last pose of the class where you just lay there and breath…

On my way to yoga, I caught up with an old friend from CT. It’s always nice to catch up with people from your past that you have a lot of good memories with! A lot has changed, both good and bad, since we last talked. She had had some rough patches but she is still a great person and I’m so glad I decided to stalk her and get back in touch! 

Now I am sitting at the salon (no, not the one I worked at) and getting my hair done! My dad is going to be sorry that he came up here by himself! I’m taking full advantage and don’t feel bad one bit! It’s so nice to sit here and be the client. If you work in the service industry, you know the feeling! Always taking care of others so it’s amazing when the tables are turned and you get to sit back and be taken care of! 

Daddy may have left for a week (he’s in Europe for work) and things may have been a bit hectic for a few days but I’m not going to let that stop me from getting some alone time and the boys from getting some Grampa time! 

Looking forward to my cousin’s wedding this weekend in Rochester, NY! Not looking forward to dress shopping for the wedding, which I am doing after this. I’m not a fan of shopping. My husband’s not mad about that!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and a fun Memorial Day weekend!!