adventures of pulling up the boot straps & doing

{matt} is headed outta town for a work trip for the end of this week. so instead of the stresses of staying home as a single parent for a few days, i decided i'd rather have the stresses of a solo 5.5 hour drive to my mom's house. my reasoning: they would be strapped into carseats and have a 'reason' to be tv zombies and then i'd have help once i got there. i don't like being home without him, so this somehow helps.

this morning started off in utter chaos & frustration. {matt} & i awoke to shouts of "{gabe} spilled his yogurt on the floor." ...on the fresh new carpet that lasted a few days! at the foot of our bed. ugh! apparently big brother {ben} was being helpful and got {gabe} some yogurt for breakfast. thanks {ben}, but next time please don't give your brother yogurt. but really that's why we got the speckled stuff we did...to hide the fact that our little boys are really dirty little monsters. thank goodness for resolve.

i let my wonderful husband clean up that mess while i headed to the nursery. by the time i got down the stairs i heard that the whines had turned to full blown cries during the yogurt debacle. and then i opened the door...little {matty} guy had a diaper malfunction. he's crafty & has already figured out how to take his diaper off and has already been deemed onsie or shorts 24/7. somehow he scooted his diaper over so he tiny little baby tushy was hanging out one side & therefore, so was what he had already deposited in said diaper. thankfully it could have been worse soooo very much worse. he did manage to paint a little on his bumper, sheets & himself but nothing so bad that i gagged to death. giving an almost 1 year old a bath first thing in the morning is difficult. he was so slippery and i was not awake barely enough to deal with it. but while i was at it, {sam} might as well get one too. i started giving them baths when {matt} came down to offer help. he picked bath time over diaper malfunction clean up and surprisingly i was thankful. i got done before {matt} finished so i grabbed 1 boy at a time to get them dressed. thankful not every morning starts off like that.

i rushed to gather & pack things. it was my spontaneous and unorganized procrastinator self coming out. i got all of us packed & on the road in 2 hours with no big forgotten items. amazing if i do say so myself. and for that fact, the day was looking much better and full potential. now for the driving. ideally: no stops, no traffic, everyone naps & i don't have to listen to cartoons the entire duration of the trip. my plan was totally working out. we drove happily along for the most part without much traffic 1 pit stop and only a few insane drivers.

we were about 50 miles from my parents. then it happened. {gabe} started puking. i started having flashbacks to the horrible awful no good very bad vacation we had as a family in march that started off almost the exact. same. way. i pulled off at the next exit & into the closest gas station. {gabe} was bawling. {ben} was freaking out. and the twins were just whining. and with the snap of the fingers the pleasantness of the previous few hours flew out the window like a jet plane isn't it amazing how a short span of seconds can do that to a day and i just started doing. that is a slight perk of flying solo. there's no dance or frustration around who is gonna do the dirty work. it's just you so you just pull up the boot straps and do!

i'm more than thankful for {matt} who is an awesome mr. mom, yes even better than i in some areas. but when it's chaotic or drama filled moment, it's sometimes hard to distinguish who does what. who comforts the hurt child & who gathers the first aid kit? who hoses off the kid & who picks up the mess left behind? who cleans up the broken glass & who keeps the kids away from the crime scene? it is easier to do when we are the only one & have to, but that's why God gives us helpmates, so we aren't always the ones having to. it's exhausting to be the sole emotional & physical supporter of a child let alone several. hats off to single parents out there! i'd rather do an awkward dance of frustration to figure out who does what role than to not have someone to dance with at all. 

guess he needed to replenish his fluids.

boys + cars = always good time
proud of my impromptu race track making :)

and we arrived to a home cooked meal that i didn't have to prepare, hugs & kisses galore, and a new place to explore. i'd say we're all happy. expect for {matty} who is still refusing the pack n play and is sleepily wandering the living room as i type.

i'm winning the sleep battle, he just doesn't know it yet.
but if he passes out here do i dare move him is the question?!