As mentioned in the previous post, we had to go pick up our kids in Indiana yesterday. What an interesting experience it became. It always involves driving through Chicago which is always the x factor in any of our trips. We never know how much time it is going to take to travel through there. We left a little later than we originally wanted to and ended up getting stuck in the construction zone on the Dan Ryan expressway (for those of you not familiar with Chicago lingo, that is the exiting expressway to the south--I80/94).
After sitting in that for about 30-45 minutes it was great to finally get moving again after getting through that zone. We weren't going 10 minutes until we came around a bend and saw up ahead a parking lot on the interstate--all five East bound lanes at a standstill. Thinking, of course, that it was an accident and the traffic would probably move again momentarily we got down in it. BIG MISTAKE. We should have taken that last exit at Torrence Ave. They were just shutting the entrance ramp (onto the interstate) so we could have backed up it like many others were doing and maybe we should have, using hindsight.
After listening on the radio (which we should have been doing anyway) we found out that the freeway up ahead had been flooded out and the road was closed and traffic was being diverted. There was no communication to tell us those things on the over head reader boards. There was nothing. There were no warnings. So there we sat.
Three hours and two miles later, Calumet Ave. and Hammond Indiana never looked so good. By this time we really needed a break. During the traffic jam we would rejoice when we got to see a different piece of concrete. We got a good look at the brand new "Welcome to Indiana" sign. We spent some time in both Illinois and Indiana at the same time as our van sat on the state line for a few minutes. I decided that I wont take a bathroom and freely moving traffic for granted any more. It made Chicago rush hour traffic look good.
We finally pulled into Michigan city at 4:30pm, making a usually two hour trip into an 8 hr nightmare.
On the way back we were able to pass by the flooded spot as three of the five Westbound lanes were open and the water was up to the top of the concrete lane divider in two spots. One definitely would not have wanted to drive through it. What a mess. You really see how much we depend on our major interstate systems.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A week of peace and quiet
My oldest two children went to spend a week with Grandpa and Grandma in Michigan. It was so quiet and I was able to get so much stuff done. I got my kitchen, dining room, living room, entry and hallways cleaned from top to bottom along with their room. Now lets see how long it stays that way, since kids = clutter.
It was a great week of just me and the baby. I dont' think the baby knew just what to do with herself since she did not have her sisters to watch all day. The baby and I watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy extended version. Well, she slept through much of it.
We met Grandma and Grandpa last week in Western Michigan and dropped them off. We were to pick them up in Michigan City Indiana yesterday. The details of that wild and crazy trip will appear in the following post.
It was a great week of just me and the baby. I dont' think the baby knew just what to do with herself since she did not have her sisters to watch all day. The baby and I watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy extended version. Well, she slept through much of it.
We met Grandma and Grandpa last week in Western Michigan and dropped them off. We were to pick them up in Michigan City Indiana yesterday. The details of that wild and crazy trip will appear in the following post.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
I finally figured out how to get pictures onto the blog. It is easier than I thought.
This is just a reminder note of exactly why we went to Oklahoma. A friend of the family was getting married in Enid, OK and asked our girls to be flower girls in the wedding, so here are a few pictures of the wonderful event.
This is the bride and the flower girls
This is just a reminder note of exactly why we went to Oklahoma. A friend of the family was getting married in Enid, OK and asked our girls to be flower girls in the wedding, so here are a few pictures of the wonderful event.
This is the bride and the flower girls
This is the bride and groom, her sister and brother in law, and her parents
the flower girls.
The joy of twins
When you have twins, you get a unique experience. You don't have to look for playmates for your kids as you have built in ones, though different playmates once in a while is a good thing. I have to share this really funny story that I was reminded of a couple of days ago.
One of my kids had a red pimply growth on her elbow and it bothered her. My husband thought it was a pimple, so as every good dad would do, he tried to pop it, to no avail. After trying several times, he decided to take her up to the bathroom to try to poke it with a needle. Her twin sister had to watch of course as you cannot do something to one without the other one knowing about it. I heard crying and came up the stairs to see how things were going, assuming that the one getting poked was the one doing the crying, not so. It was the one watching who was crying. I took her out of the bathroom and asked her what the problem was and she said "I don't want daddy to pop Brianna"; her sister. She thought that the needle was going to pop her sister like a balloon. I then had to explain to her that she was not a balloon and she would not pop if poked.
At the time I was pregnant with our third child and I didn't dare use the terminology that I was going to pop. We felt that would forever traumatize our kids minds.
One of my kids had a red pimply growth on her elbow and it bothered her. My husband thought it was a pimple, so as every good dad would do, he tried to pop it, to no avail. After trying several times, he decided to take her up to the bathroom to try to poke it with a needle. Her twin sister had to watch of course as you cannot do something to one without the other one knowing about it. I heard crying and came up the stairs to see how things were going, assuming that the one getting poked was the one doing the crying, not so. It was the one watching who was crying. I took her out of the bathroom and asked her what the problem was and she said "I don't want daddy to pop Brianna"; her sister. She thought that the needle was going to pop her sister like a balloon. I then had to explain to her that she was not a balloon and she would not pop if poked.
At the time I was pregnant with our third child and I didn't dare use the terminology that I was going to pop. We felt that would forever traumatize our kids minds.
The deal of the decade.
Ever since my sister in law started teaching me how to find good deals by checking websites and Sunday papers for coupons,watching circulars, etc...; I get excited when I get one. This one is the deal of the decade.
A couple of days ago I went to our local Wal-mart (as much as I hate it, I do go there every so often) to get a couple of things between our normal grocery shopping days. I was looking around the grocery department and saw what I thought was too good to be true. I looked down at a stack of Coca cola zero that had a sign on it that said 2/4.78 or 1/2.38. Okay, that is a pretty good deal in and of itself. Then I took a closer look and each of the 12 packs had a coupon for 1.50 off each, making it basically 2/1.78 which comes out to .89 each 12 pack. I didn't think there was a way that could be right, so I read and re-read the sign and that is exactly what it said.
I took it to the 2 12 packs to the check out line and it did not ring out for what I thought it should. I called them on it and they made the phone call to the department. Well, apparently they left the sign up one extra day and I got the benefits of that. They gave it to me for the posted price.
I was so excited to get that good deal.
A couple of days ago I went to our local Wal-mart (as much as I hate it, I do go there every so often) to get a couple of things between our normal grocery shopping days. I was looking around the grocery department and saw what I thought was too good to be true. I looked down at a stack of Coca cola zero that had a sign on it that said 2/4.78 or 1/2.38. Okay, that is a pretty good deal in and of itself. Then I took a closer look and each of the 12 packs had a coupon for 1.50 off each, making it basically 2/1.78 which comes out to .89 each 12 pack. I didn't think there was a way that could be right, so I read and re-read the sign and that is exactly what it said.
I took it to the 2 12 packs to the check out line and it did not ring out for what I thought it should. I called them on it and they made the phone call to the department. Well, apparently they left the sign up one extra day and I got the benefits of that. They gave it to me for the posted price.
I was so excited to get that good deal.
Friday, August 10, 2007
diaper bag woes
On our way to Oklahoma we stayed in Des Moines Iowa. Of course we had to unload everything from the car as we needed baby stuff, clothes, etc... No problem. That is the husband's job, he didn't like the fact that I chose a second floor room where there was no elevator.
The next day, we continued our journey through Iowa and Kansas on our trip to Enid, Oklahoma. We were almost to Kansas City and we stopped at a rest area for lunch and of course to change and feed the baby. She was sleeping, so we ate our lunch and had a rest stop. When we were finished I decided it was time to change her and get her ready to eat. I proceeded to change her and went back to the van for the diaper bag. I looked and looked, no diaper bag. I looked again, no diaper bag. My husband looked through the van. No diaper bag. Apparently I had left the bag at the hotel in Des Moines and we were at least three hours out, so we could not go back and get it.
While he was searching for the diaper bag, I was trying to think if I had anything irreplaceable or valuable in that bag. Thankfully, diapers, wipes, bottles, and pacifiers are replaceable and there were no credit cards, money, or anything else that could lead to identity issues or things like that later on down the road.
We hoped and prayed that the baby would be able to hold off another half hour as we hurriedly got everyone in the van so we could quickly get to the nearest town to find a Target (the bottles and pacifiers can only be found at Target). It happened to be a North suburb of Kansas City.
We hurriedly got everyone out of the van there and did the shopping quickly without a sound from the baby. She was awesome.
The next night we went to a nice dinner for my birthday and I apparently left a pacifier there, a nice pink one. It seems as though I left parts of my baby all over the central plains.
On the way home we decided to go back the same way that we came, so we stopped at that hotel that we stayed at on the way down just to see if they happened to have the bag. Voila, they did, so now I have three diaper bags, five bottles, and seven pacifiers, so I should never be without a pacifier again, theoretically.
The next day, we continued our journey through Iowa and Kansas on our trip to Enid, Oklahoma. We were almost to Kansas City and we stopped at a rest area for lunch and of course to change and feed the baby. She was sleeping, so we ate our lunch and had a rest stop. When we were finished I decided it was time to change her and get her ready to eat. I proceeded to change her and went back to the van for the diaper bag. I looked and looked, no diaper bag. I looked again, no diaper bag. My husband looked through the van. No diaper bag. Apparently I had left the bag at the hotel in Des Moines and we were at least three hours out, so we could not go back and get it.
While he was searching for the diaper bag, I was trying to think if I had anything irreplaceable or valuable in that bag. Thankfully, diapers, wipes, bottles, and pacifiers are replaceable and there were no credit cards, money, or anything else that could lead to identity issues or things like that later on down the road.
We hoped and prayed that the baby would be able to hold off another half hour as we hurriedly got everyone in the van so we could quickly get to the nearest town to find a Target (the bottles and pacifiers can only be found at Target). It happened to be a North suburb of Kansas City.
We hurriedly got everyone out of the van there and did the shopping quickly without a sound from the baby. She was awesome.
The next night we went to a nice dinner for my birthday and I apparently left a pacifier there, a nice pink one. It seems as though I left parts of my baby all over the central plains.
On the way home we decided to go back the same way that we came, so we stopped at that hotel that we stayed at on the way down just to see if they happened to have the bag. Voila, they did, so now I have three diaper bags, five bottles, and seven pacifiers, so I should never be without a pacifier again, theoretically.
Oklahoma, part II
Well, we are back from our much anticipated trip to Oklahoma to attend and participate in a friend's wedding.
Oklahoma was about what I was expecting it to be. It was definitely flat prairie land with a few oil wells scattered here and there. The town of Enid, however, was really nice. It was bigger than I thought it would be and the people were really nice. I was definitely impressed.
The couple went through with it and hopefully in the state of newlywed bliss. The wedding, though simple, was beautiful. Simple is definitely better.
We had a wonderful time of fellowship with friends.
After the wedding we were invited to our friends house for a bbq dinner and it was delicious, so thank you Mark and Bev for that wonderful meal, as well as the left over meal on Sunday. We had a wonderful time.
I hope to post some pictures as well in the near future.
Oklahoma was about what I was expecting it to be. It was definitely flat prairie land with a few oil wells scattered here and there. The town of Enid, however, was really nice. It was bigger than I thought it would be and the people were really nice. I was definitely impressed.
The couple went through with it and hopefully in the state of newlywed bliss. The wedding, though simple, was beautiful. Simple is definitely better.
We had a wonderful time of fellowship with friends.
After the wedding we were invited to our friends house for a bbq dinner and it was delicious, so thank you Mark and Bev for that wonderful meal, as well as the left over meal on Sunday. We had a wonderful time.
I hope to post some pictures as well in the near future.
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