Traveling with two....

You know you are a grown up when you take a family vacation. No grandparents....no cousins for distractions...just us....together....with our kids....in a foreign land......eeeeerrrrrr San Diego. It wasn't technically a vacation because Mr. R was attending a conference and we tagged along. Most of the day I was solo with my two littles.

Preparing for our trip I wandered through that magnificant interweb searching for the perfect "mommy blog" that would ease all of my fears about traveling with my children. And you know what, I didn't find anything that wasn't trying to sell me aquarium coupons or car seat bags or whatever...

Balboa Park

Flying with my children.
Certainly I am not the only human being who has thought of this....what if airlines offered "family friendly flights" OR "adult only" flights for that matter. That way when you board a plane you either know you are amongst friends OR you can order a vodka tonic. For real, let's do this. I would have been so much more relaxed if I knew everyone on the plane wasn't cursing my family for 3 hours. Lucky for everyone, my kids pretty much rocked both flights. I mean I had an arsenal of distractions. For Raleigh....stickers, lots and lots of stickers, a small little journal for him to stick them, crayons, one small coloring book, all kinds of snacks in the tiny plastic snack bag....landing treat was gummy bears since he can't chew gum, and we introduced for the first time....dunnnn dunn dunnn....the IPAD. It kept him busy for like two minutes. It took the entire trip for him to understand how to actually play a game. Raleigh is almost two years old and he could have sat in our lap but I decided last minute he needed his own seat. Best decision ever. We opted not to bring the car seat on the plane so he could sit between us. One minor milk spill (on me) but for the most part we did just fine. I told Mr. R we didn't have to have the best kids on the flight but they couldn't be the worst. And thanks to Sally McEarinfection in row 15 we weren't the worst! For Ridge....two boobs and a pacifier.

You can check your car seat or free. They will try and sell you a car seat bag for $15. Large trash bag works just as good and take up zero room in a suitcase.
Luggage carts cost $4 and you will need one...or two! 
I carried on a backpack with diapers for both boys, two extra outfits each, an emergency shirt for me, snacks, sippy cup, etc (this acted as my diaper bag for the entre trip).....Mr R had the rest of the luggage and TWO car seats. I read on a blog that when you rent a car and request a carseat they were nasty. Let me tell you something, lugging two carseat through two airports and in and out of shuttle buses was the worst. I'm taking my chances with a rented carseat next time....that sucked!
You need both hands. I wore baby R in the Moby wrap and toddler R rode in the umbrella stroller which we checked at the gate.
You need birth certificates for the babes. And if you live in Dallas enjoy your morning picking that up at City Hall.
Southwest Airlines does not have milk as a drink choice. Come on SWA....people drink milk! Like little tiny humans. I had to do some advanced parenting and add water to my small milk bottle we brought from home.
If your 4 month old is crying just nurse them....like the entire flight. It's fine to pull up your shirt and show it all. No one can really see if you are at the window anyways.
No one feels sorry for you. Unless of course there is another mom on the flight. She will lock eyes with you and silently encourage you with a raise of an eyebrow and half smile as you are changing a blow out diaper in a milk soaked seat at 35,000 feet.
Plan for the worst and hope for the best. And remember you just can't be the worst!

Hotel with my babies.
I still can't believe we didn't get kicked out. You don't realize how much noise your children make until you are stuck sharing two walls with strangers....at 5am. Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego ROCKED! Free drinks for kids at the pool, which I slightly took advantage of because my child loves milk! I was not one bad thing to say about this hotel. Great location. Great staff. Beautiful room, pools, view, food, landscaping, etc. Stay there!

San Diego.
I hate to be negative about a beautiful city but your airport is poorly designed and the homeless population is out of control. Everything else....wonderful! Keeping doing you SD!
We got to have dinner with one of our good friends who recently moved there. It was so nice to catch up. Dearest Nick, please buy a very large house so next time we visit we can stay with you...for a week!

YAY Nick Hurt!

What we did.
Balboa Park, Natural History museum, Beach, Hotel pool, lots of little parks/play grounds on the bay, Sea Port Village, and Played LEGOS and Little People:)
High light of Raleigh's trip....watching the city landscaping crew aka "Mo Mow guys". For real, he is still talking about it. Highlight of Ridges trip....sleeping in a cozy bed with his mama. Highlight of my trip....drinking coffee on a balcony with a great view, holding two babies. Oh wait, actually the best part was after we finally landed, got our mountain of luggage, fought our way onto an Alamo shuttle bus, loaded two carseats two babes and luggage mountain into a mid sized sedan, we ate at Big Kitchen. Go there, eat there, listen to the saxophone player and watch people walk their dogs in breezy 80 degree weather.

Mission Bay

Pool time!

Sea Port Village Pier

Mow Mow!

Sea Port Village

What I wish I would have had while "tripping" with my children. A small bottle/packet of laundry detergent. More snacks for hotel room. Tiny bottles of wine...or liquor. This sounds weird and I don't even know if it exists but a portable clothes line. We couldn't hang our wet stuff on the balcony and it became a soggy humid mess of dirty clothes.

Things I'm glad I packed.
Toys for hotel room. Legos and Little People fit great in large zip lock bags and can also be bath toys in a pinch. Sound machine. Extra blankies for snuggling.

We survived and we all came home in one piece. And now that we have done it we aren't terrified to travel again. Our next adventure will probably be New Orleans....without children, I need a drink!

Happy Traveling!

Derby "I do!"

Last weekend we celebrated a very special "bride -to- be". But before I go into shower details I have to explain how I know this wild woman. Jenny and I met the day we moved into the dorms freshmen year. Lets just say it wasn't love at first sight.... I don't think she really wanted to be friend with us (my high school BF and college roommate Patti), and we kinda didn't want to be friends with her either. True story!
As I'm typing this I am cracking up because despite our first impressions of each other (Colleyville snob, big ol' roll bangs, frosty white lipstick.....ok, that was all of us) there is not one college memory without her. We all became best friends after one night on 6th Street and here we are nearly 15 years later celebrating her upcoming wedding....


To say this crew has been through a lot together is an understatement. College friends our so special because they really become your family when you are away from home for the first time.

We love you Jen 00! 

That is a double zero because girl had custom plates on her red two door Explorer and she will never live that nickname down...holla!

Okay! Shower details. I have to give a huge props to my best girl Tavia who hosted the shower at her beautiful new house one week after they moved in....yes one week. The thought of that stresses me out but she somehow pulled it off and it looked amazing. Oh yeah, she cooked all the food as well. Over achiever making us all look bad. Like any good hostess we were emailed with several "to-do's" before the big day. We all came together with our best skill sets....crafting, cooking, drink mixing to shower Jenny with love.

**I really wanted to document every last detail because Jen's mom was not able to make the shower. She was in Dallas and unable to make the trip. We are all wishing Ms. Marsha a speedy recovery and can't wait to celebrate with everyone in a couple of week. Marsha, I know you of all people would have loved seeing all of the details that went into the day. Lots of love! We will see you soon!

The theme was Kentucky Derby. All of the beautiful ladies wore their best derby hat which was so cute and fun but incredibly hard to hug people! We were all laughing because when you are wearing a hat and a dress you seem to act a little more proper than normal. Most of us!

 

So pretty!

Ok, what made this shower special....
The food! Gorgeous and delicious! All traditional Derby cuisine...again, thanks to Tavia!
Flowers everywhere! Tiny gold horses! Moss letters and horse shoes! Custom signage...my college education really paying off here! Yummy drinks!!! Printed photos of the bride and groom all over the house! OMG and a beautiful bride! I was cussing her tiny waste. The only human who could fit into that outfit (I can't wait until she gets pregnant!)

  

 

....these two!

Hey little bride!

Could these girls be any more beautiful?!?!?!

Best friends for almost 15 years!

J + J

Everything was just perfect. Again, thank you to all of the hostesses and everyone who came to the shower to celebrate Jen. Just a few more days until she says "I Do". 

Happy Derby Bridal Shower!

Terrible TWO!

Terrible two? No way. Two is greater than one...and also tiring!

The transition from one to two has been easier than expected. I think we are just way more relaxed this go around. It helps that the Ridgelet is a GREAT baby! And very tolerant of his very active brother. Don't get me wrong we have had a few up all nights and staring at each other with complete desperation. All with the understanding that this is a scenerio we created for ourselves. Some....errrr most....mornings the inside of my eyelids feel like sand paper! I think the big difference this time is we know there is an end to the exhaustion....sort of......there is an end right?

Ok, the non glamorous stuff first...
- The last eight weeks have been filled with LOTS of diapers! Two kids in diapers is no joke! If/and/or when we have another baby Raleigh MUST be potty trained!
- I am usually covered in spit up. Sometimes every artcile of clothing at once...yes down to my undies have been soaked by this kid. Why are my kids pukers?
- Sometimes it's pee....luckily baby pee just stinks a little.
- Breastfeeding is a full time job. Baby #2 has been easier but the constant eating/drinking/what time is it? Is freaking exhausting y'all!....crap where is my water bottle?
- When I am not feeding, wiping, playing, chasing a child, I am folding laundry. This is a chore I actually freakishly enjoy. It's like when you have no control in your life you can at least have clean clothes. Mr. R loves when I am on maternity leave because his clothes are washed and folded at all times...put away is a different story :)
- My pre baby body is NOT back...where did you go 2012? Maybe because I haven't legitamtly excercised in well...a year??? Judge away...I've been pregnant or nursing for like....EVER! It is on my to do list along with eat that plate of brownies.
- Daytime TV is trash! With that said I am kind of enjoying it!

The wonderful great stuff about having two babies....
- Oh my gosh y'all, the love is real! How is it possible to love these babies so much! I mean, unexplainable LOVE! Ridge is the best baby! I think I have bonded with him a little sooner than I did with Raleigh. Did that happen with anyone else's second child? I don't know why but this kid stole my heart right away. He is just a little nugget....uuuuhhh, just the best boy!
- Our house feels full to me. Which I love! Full in a good way. Plenty of room for one more Scott!
- Ridge is a great eater...obvioulsy! A good sleeper...most nights! Very tolerant of big brother....except for the WWE wrestling moves. He's just a wonderful baby.
- Raleigh is a 20 month old mess but he is at his peak cuteness! He is talking so much and cracking us up constantly. He calls Ridge "Bubba". This is something he came up with himself and it is so stinkin' precious!
- We are out of the house a lot more than I was with Rals. Probably because I am so much more relaxed about EVERYTHING. Ridge went to the zoo at two weeks and a family vactaion to Broken Bow at three weeks. Raleigh didn't see the light of day until he was two months old.... I was losing my mind!

I feel like there is so much more to share but I have to chug a glass of water and eat some peanut butter....out of the jar!

2 weeks

2 weeks

3 weeks....we can't figure if he's cute yet????

Baby love!

Raleigh 20 months!

6 weeks and smiling!!

Here are the most recent pics of my tiniest boy!

Ridge at 8 weeks...yes in the same outfit from 6 weeks...ooops!

My cup runneth over! Happy mama!

A Baby Story...

I remember spending a large part of my middle school summers watch TLC's A Baby Story. Anyone else? I was so facinated by that show and I'm not sure if it is even still on the air. So folks, this is our story. Role the intro song..... the second delivery was NOTHING like the first.

My birth plan for baby #2 was the following....Stop at Chick-fil-a on the way to the hospital and take a good long nap before the pushing started. Oh wait, I really wanted to make it through the weekend so I could go to the Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade which was 4pm Sunday...yes, that was apart of my birth plan.

And I made it to that parade! I ate gumbo, I danced, I jumped up and down like an idiot for plastic beads! I made it home around 6pm, fed the boy and the daddy some dinner, watched Downton Abbey and then it happened. This crampy gassy feeling. I did the only rational thing and 40 week pregnant woman would do.....I headed to Tom Thumb at 9pm to buy really rational items like vinegar, milk, apple sauce, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Febreeze. Really. All those items I had to have before bringing home baby. At this point I didn't think I was in labor I just felt incredibly uncomfortable. I caught myself doing deep breathing in the check out line. I should have known something was up when everyone in the store looked at me with great concern on their face.

Home by 9:30 I took a shower, shaved my legs, (I had washed my hair the day before lesson learned from baby #1) and headed to bed. About 11:45 I woke up to a very intense very long very painful contraction. Now I know what a contraction feels like....and that S*** hurt! For those of you who haven't experienced a contraction it feels like the worst gas bubble of your life with no relief. Or someone sawing you in half with a hot butter knife.....joking, not joking.

I looked at the clock and closed my eyes hoping to make it through until morning. After two more contractions I realized I wasn't going back to sleep. Mainly because I was hitting and screaming into the pillow a slew of profanities. I drug myself out of bed and decided if this was actually it, I might as well put on some make-up and really start timing these God awful contractions. At 1am I called my mom who didn't seem super concerned but I continued to pack my bag, pay a few bills, blew out my hair and at 1:30 called my sister to take me to the hospital. I wanted Scott to be home if/when Raleigh woke up. This was never apart of any plan but at 1:30am it made a lot of sense to me.

Of course Scott woke up as I was shuffling around the house. At this point I announce that I was NEVER doing this again. And I meant it. Down in my bones I meant it! This was it for us. Two was plenty!

Sue picked me up at 1:45am.....cold, pouring rain, we hit every f-ing light on the short trip to the hospital But man it felt like a lifetime. I was so uncomfortable I was biting the seat belt. I wobbled up to the desk and this is when I find it so awkward...

What can we help you with? It's 2am and raining outside, I am obviously extremly pregnant, what do you think woman!!!!!

....uuuummmm, I'm having a baby?

Yes, answered in the form of a question because I didn't really know if I was in labor or not. The nurses were not buying it. Maybe it was the blown out hair and full make-up that was throwing them off. Maybe it was the lesbian couple (Me and Sue) that threw them for a loop. PS we cleared that up really quick! So I was put in a room, undressed, onto the bed to be checked....

Nurse checking......Sweetie you're at an 8....where is your husband?!?!?!?

Holy moly! Sue's on the phone with my parents driving in from Glen Rose, and texting Scott. I'm still in a lot of pain and panicking that he was going to miss it. Also panicking that I wont be able to get my edipudral.

Dunnn- dunnn- DUUUUNNNNNN!

Because I am tired and I'm afraid I will never finish this dang blog post I will not give you the play by play of the next few hours. But everyone made it in plenty of time. I got my epidural. My nurses and doctor rocked. Lady and Sue were amazing. Scott pretty much kept everyone laughing. I pushed twice and we had a beautiful baby boy at 9:40am. Did I mention I pushed twice!

Happy Daddy!

I swear I'm covered in this picture!

Hi my name is Ridge!

We are so doing this again! That was too easy!

Welcome to the world Ridge Matthew. He is a sweetie! We are just over the moon for this little man. Role the credits and scroll the picture of the cute new born and the happy family.

Keeping it real y'all! 

The Ridgelette at 1 week.

Happy Baby #2!!