Too Much Drama

So, the idea is that the children and I drive up to the Cleveland area and spend a couple of nights in the hotel where Brian has been for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Enjoy being detached from our regular routine, no cooking, enjoy an indoor swimming pool, and watch something cool on the Discovery Channel. Sounds easy. Ease is relative, and in our family that changes, often by the minute.

The Goal:

11:00 am -12:00 - Eat Lunch

12:00 pm -GET IN THE CAR AND DRIVE AWAY, Emily will nap.

3:30-4-ISH -Arrive at hotel

The children and I managed to pack ourselves up with (relative) ease and load the "Shuburby". I was armed with all the latest and greatest CD's for entertainment, toys for the younger ones, water bottles, snacks for the rest area, Fresh Starbucks Coffee in my travel mug, and my seat adjusted to perfection.

Reality:

11:00-12:00 - Change Emily's 2nd blow out, search endlessly for Titus' missing

church shoe (of course his only pair), Realize that I'm out of bread (lunch),

and remember that I need to take obscene amounts of extra diapers and wipes.

12:00 - Realize that I need to stop at the store and pick up some travel kinds of food

and drink for Emily. Go to Meijer.

12:30 - Decide to splurge and do a McDonalds dollar menu lunch for

my STARVING children.

1:15 - Drop off some things at church

1:30 Finally get on the highway!

Starting around 2:30, Emily began crying and crying, and crying some more. Just north of Columbus (about 1hr. 45 min from home) we stop at a Rest Area because everybody has to "Go". Emily wakes up screaming this time. Caleb reaches over to her and notices that she's burning up with fever! great. thrilling. We still have 2 1/2 hours more to drive! I'm going to spend the next 4 days with a sick baby? I so want to go home... alone Well, I'm flexible, I can deal with this, it's happened before. So, I gave her some ibuprofen and we took everyone to the bathroom. After we all came out. I told the kids "Hey! Go take a run around in that grass over there! We'll be in the car for a while, so get out some energy while you can!" Theoretically, that was a good idea. However, that brilliant idea didn't see the hidden mud hole that Caleb found while trying to avoid a puddle on the path. The result: Splat! One boy covered in mud from the waist down. Perfect. It just so happens that when you're covered in mud, you need to be washed off before you can change clothes. So, he goes back to the restroom to try and wash himself off and comes out looking much like when he went in. So, its a good thing I brought lots of extra wipes. Who knew.

Finally, after spending ALOT more time at the Rest Area than we wanted to, we got back on the road with our screaming darling. Thankfully, she fell asleep again shortly after we started playing some music. The other children, under threat of death, sat quietly and looked out the window. Emily ended up spending the next 2 1/2 hours between crying and sleeping. It was great fun. After successfully following directions, we made it over hill and dale and arrived at the hotel around 5:45 pm. If you refer back to my original goal you will notice a slight variance in just about every area. I gave up. We were safe and we had somewhere to go. We would see Brian and everything would get better.

Brian was going to come to the hotel and take us out to eat and then bring us back to the hotel. He still had to work until about 11 pm, following dinner. No problem, we'll go back to the room get everyone ready for bed, medicate the baby, relax, and maybe find an interesting animal show on the Discovery Channel. AND That's pretty much what we did, we found a really interesting show about the life of a Hippo and watched a Hippo baby grow a little bit and then get eaten by a crocodile. Exciting stuff. After that was over, it was time to brush teeth, go potty and get into bed. Seems simple. It was simple and even fun, everyone was in good spirits. Titus was having a great time narrating his toothbrushing (messy, but funny) and also his trip to the bathroom "First I will turn the light on, then I will put the lid up, and oh, I must put the seat up too" etc. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a 3 year olds narration of everyday things. Until... Until, after washing his hands I hear this as I'm across the room with Emily...."First, I will turn the light off (at this point I enter one of those slow motion dreamscape moments. You know, when you are hearing something, but its like your mind can't process it as reality and make your body move accordingly?? ) Anyway, so I hear him say "First, I will turn the light off....and now I will lock the door!" THUD Yes, he actually locked the door, came out and then closed the door. We were locked out of the bathroom in our own hotel room!! I immediately called the front desk where I was told that the maintenance man with the key wouldn't be in until the morning. WHAT??! I have to wait until morning?! This is super. I then tried to muster my best criminal mind and break into the bathroom. To no avail. So, we all went to use the bathrooms down by the pool and I just put the kids to bed. Thankfully, Brian was able to get it open when he got home. Phew!

The next morning, after breakfast, we set out for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park area. It's the only National park in Ohio and since we were in the area, we thought we'd take a look. One of the features of this area is they have parts of the Erie canal that are set up to function for a learning tool. The Ohio & Erie Canal, which runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, was a 308-mile waterway connecting Lake Erie to the Ohio River. We visited an interpretive center where they showed us a model of how the locks and canals worked to transport the boats in the canals. It was very interesting and the children really enjoyed the presentation.

Also running through the area is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. We didn't actually ride the train, but we went to several of the crossings so that some of the boyfolk could watch the train go by.

After we'd seen enough of the canal and the trains we headed off for Brandywine Falls. These falls come from the Brandywine River (go figure) and are referred to by many as a bridal veil falls because of how they come down the rock layers. The falls are about 60 feet tall. The water flow was nice while we were there, but I would love to be there and see it after a good downpour.

It was a nice path and boardwalk down to the viewpoint. Lots of stairs to go down, so I carried Titus piggyback. If I didn't he'd still be there trying to get down or up the stairs. Little legs just don't go fast on LOTS of stairs. From the falls we drove through pretty farm land and stopped by the road side to show Titus a cow up close. It was laying down by the fence. Titus was scared to death. I had to carry him over there because he locked his legs. I wasn't taking him right up there, I just wanted to take him about 6 feet away so he could see well. Apparently, he was satisfied with his view from the car, but he decided it was okay if I went with him. We are such city slickers! My child is afraid of cows! lol.

It was a great day together and we were all enjoying ourselves. Even Emily seemed content and her fever was sufficiently controlled with the medicine.

" Haven't we had enough drama for one trip??"

That's what I asked Brian that day at lunch. At that point, all was proceeding normally. We were going to go back to the hotel and have some swim time at the pool. Just some good old family fun.

Until that evening, when....this time the bathroom

door handle locked at "the bearing" (whatever) and we were locked out again. This was not funny anymore. I was not feeling flexible or adventurous. We were supposed to leave in the morning and I wanted MY STUFF before we left. Of course, the maintenance guy was again "gone for the day", oh, and the next day, Sunday, was his day off. They would have to call him and if they got a hold of him, hopefully he would come and rescue our stuff. In the meantime, they moved us to another suite and we got settled in. They gave us all the free amenities that they had, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, hairspray, mouthwash, etc. Nice, except their free things didn't include make up or my curling iron and before this happened I had gone in the pool and looked like, like I'd gone in the pool! I was trying to be "okay", but was feeling a bit cranky.

Thankfully, sometime in the wee hours of the night they rescued our stuff from the wicked bathroom and we were reunited in the morning!!!

That morning after breakfast was when we left to go to Niagara Falls. A short, uneventful 3 1/2 hour drive in the car. It was wonderful. I enjoyed it so much that I didn't even sleep!! It was bliss. And since I wrote about that first, you already know all about how that went. Less drama, more fun.

And now we're home and have started school and our brand of normal is in full swing. Back to relatively "Normal" life. Whatever that is. :)