Back to Reality

Well we had an amazing time in Jamaica. As much as we missed the kids, we still didn't want to come home. It was so nice to have down time and be relax the whole day. We swam in the ocean every day, laid on the beach, ate at amazing buffets and restaurants and drank to our hearts content.

It should have been just what we needed to reset ourselves. We talked about how we wanted to change our attitudes, how we wanted to handle the demands of our children from now on.

Hubby needs to work on keeping his cool and not snap as quickly. I need to work on not being irritated/annoyed by the little things. (Please tell me other parents experience these faults as well??)

Our flight landed in Denver at 11 PM Mountain time Tues. night. By the time we got our luggage and called the hotel shuttle where we'd left our car, it was 12:30 AM. Every hotel in the Denver/Aurora/Limon area was booked. We drove and drove until finally stopping in Burlington at 3 AM.

To say we were exhausted was an understatement. We stopped at the first hotel we came to in Burlington and it wasn't pretty. I think it was America's Best Inn or something similar. It smelled like smoke w/ cigarette burns on the tables and bedspreads, the shower curtain had mildew all over the bottom and the pillows were flat as a pancake.

The room had two double beds which meant Hubby and I didn't have to share. After traveling all afternoon and driving late into the night the last thing I wanted was to cuddle.

We got up early Wed. morning and were back in HC by 12:30. Just in time for lunch.

We left again at 3 PM for another 4 hours in the car. This time w/ our 3 lovely children. Baby C was ready for a nap so she didn't make a peep and the big kids were content to watch a show.

After about 2 hours, Ainsley had fallen asleep so both the girls were snoozing when Carsen started whining about his foot hurting. He made so much noise he woke Charlotte up and she could not be consoled. We had to pull over to change her diaper and give her a snack. After that she was just gonna have to tough it out.

Surprisingly we made it home before dark and got everyone into bed w/ little effort.

It's been 2 days and I'm not 100% on my "resolution" but it's there in the back of my mind. The little voice saying, "Don't get mad, laugh instead, turn it around."

Maybe I'll be better once I get caught up on all the laundry.

Poop, Pee, and Laundry

Charlotte has had some crazy poopy diapers lately. One morning last week she woke up and had thrown up all over her crib and herself. She was in a very pleasant mood and happily splashed in the bath.

The next morning her poop had escaped from her diaper and was all over her sheet, blankets, pajamas, and herself. Again into the bath she went.

These were not how I wanted to spend my first minutes after waking up. Both mornings I piled the poopy/puked on clothes and blankets and threw them in the washer. Luckily we have several crib sheets and at least 3 mattress covers. This isn't my first baby.

That would be one of my first pieces of advice. Get yourself more than 2 crib mattress pads. When baby pees outside their diaper or spits up in the middle of the night, you don't have time to run a load before making the bed again and if it happens in the middle of the night you might not feel like starting a load.

Hubby was gone all last week coming home Thursday evening. Saturday we had 2 soccer games and Charlotte woke up about 7 AM. Hubby went in to get her and called for me over the baby monitor. She had pooped through her diaper, up her back and all over her crib.

And b/c that wasn't enough Carsen came out of his room to tell us he'd peed the bed. What was going on?? I was upset b/c his mattress is missing the waterproof mattress pad b/c a few weeks ago Ainsley was peeing the bed a few times a week and it was nice to have a backup to put on in the middle of the night. Again, not my first time.

Hubby soaked up as much pee as he could w/ paper towels and we let it dry all day before putting sheets back on that evening.

Today brought no such accidents thankfully. Hubby is gone overnight and if I wake to find a new pile of stinky laundry to do I'll think the two are connected and that's not funny.