Road trip with my boys… all by myself

Part of being married means you’ve got to split holidays. So for Blake and me, it means we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between Georgia and Florida. And this year, it’s was Thanksgiving in Florida. However, this year presented a small complication… Blake recently started a new job… and his new restaurant happens to be open for Thanksgiving… and Thanksgiving happens to be one of their busiest days. And so not wanting to miss the holiday with my family I decided I would brave the trip solo with the boys. Yes, you heard right. Despite all of the prior experiences that would point to this not being a good idea, I pushed all the negativity out of my mind and took the “I can do this” approach.

I knew my success on this trip would be directly related to how prepared I was, and so I did my best to anticipate every situation. I packed a cooler full of every snack imaginable (had a bag of snacks too) and I positioned it all to be within reach. I bought a new DVD player with dual monitors and a new Mickey Mouse Club House DVD (according to Amazon, the one with the longest run time). I strategically placed the bin of toys we were bringing below Beckett’s seat so that if he threw his milk or his blanket or his stuffed bear, that I’d be able to grab it for him. I loaded all the luggage behind the double stroller, so I could get it in and out with ease. I planned for potty breaks every two hours.

And I’m happy to report that the forethought paid off and my trip was as smooth as I ever could of imagined. They were happy, and sleepy, and totally engrossed in Mickey Mouse. On the way back they were sick, so the accompanying lethargy actually worked to my advantage.  There was very little screaming, virtually no fighting, only 1 unscheduled potty stop, and I even realized that Beckett could wipe his own nose (I handed him a tissue, he wiped his nose and handed it back… what else can he do, I wonder??).  Although they were sick on the ride home, they weren’t miserable. They saved all their puke for when we were home (thank you, thank you, thank you!!).

So while I was certain that my trip would have given me some real stories to tell, it didn’t. Except that I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged that my boys can behave every now and again.  But I’m not naive to think we’ve crossed into this alternate universe where they are easy and I can venture out into the world again (a trip to the bowling alley with the boys and my brothers smacked me back into reality!), but I’ll take this as a little victory and count my blessings.

The time in Florida was great. I spent the first two days cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma (where we served 30!), got to visit with almost all of my cousins (on my mom’s side), my aunts and uncles, hung with my mom, sister, brothers and grandpa. It was a trip full of family and way too much great food (more recipes to come) and it was awesome.  I hope everyone had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did.

Me and my grandma

Me and my mom

My family – Mom, sister, brothers and boys

My good boys 🙂