Whewww... we are back from our weeklong trip... and what an exhausting (but successful) trip it was!
Friday- we left Virginia at noon and headed for NY. We stopped for lunch for about an hour and then continued on north. Maddie stayed awake for most of the trip but was incredibly good. Owen slept and was also good. The drive from Springfield VA to Rochester NY is only about 6 1/2 hours but with 2 kids and stops for lunch and gas it took us 9 1/2. So we arrived at Stacey's house (Ben's friend from Colgate) at about 9:30 pm. Maddie played with the dog while we unpacked the car and set up our stuff. At about 11 we put Maddie down to bed and after some crying, she fell asleep... until about 12:15 when she decided she didn't like the pack and play anymore. Once she realized that we were in the room, that made matters worse. Stacey's house is not that big so once Maddie woke up, so did
everyone else (us, Owen, Stacey, Stacey's other overnight guest and the dog)! We tried taking Maddie to bed with us and finally I ended up putting her in the car and driving up and down the interstate from 2-3 am until she fell asleep... only to wake up again when we got back to the house.
Saturday- we were very tired! Looked at 6 houses. Went to dinner with Stacey and her friend Jocelyn.
Sunday- even more tired. Looked at more houses. Thankfully, there are lots of playgrounds in Rocester and we were able to stop between looking at houses and let Maddie run around. Owen also did remarkably well getting in and out of the car all the time. We tried to take him out of the car seat when we knew we had a little extra time or when he wasn't asleep. Stacey made a wicked yummy Mother's Day dinner!
Monday- more houses! Every time we got into the car Maddie would say "a different house"... We found lots of places that would be acceptable and a few that we really liked but would change one or two things... we finally picked a house we saw this day and canceled our appointments for Tuesday.
Tuesday- I had job interviews for most of the day. We squeezed in looking at 2 day care centers and picked one... I am relieved since this was the biggest challenge to find one with room for both kids! Maddie almost joined 2 groups of kids while we were touring so I am glad she will soon be back with kids her age! I also had my first public fall while at lunch... We went to Panera Bread since it was quick and I had to get to interviews... I was carrying Owen (thankfully he was strapped in tight to his car seat), the diaper bag and an open soda. I don't know what I tripped on (just my own feet) but I went flying. The soda went all over and Owen tipped up in his seat and immediately started screaming! Everyone was fine except for the embarrassment factor... I still made it to the interviews on time.
Wednesday- I had an interview at 8 am. While I was there Ben took the kids back to the day care to fill out paperwork and turn in our money to reserve their spots. We were going to go sign our lease on the house, take some quick pictures and then get on the road since we were driving all the way to Portland ME, a 9 hour drive. I got out of the interview and called Ben who informed me that he was at the bottom of the hospital driveway with a dead car... While he was at the day care, he hit a curb and he got a flat tire. Not a big deal. He called AAA and they came to help him change the tire. He then drove to pick me up at the hospital a half mile away. Well, he got 0.4 miles and the car died and wouldn't start again... He called AAA again. By this time I had joined him and the kids and our car. AAA came and informed us that he thought it was the fuel pump and that this would be an all day affair... ummm, not on our list of things to do with a 9 hour drive still ahead of us. So, he towed our car away at 9:30am (with Maddie saying "by by Mommy's car) and left Ben and I with 2 kids, 2 car seats, 2 stollers, bottles and food for Owen, snacks and a few toys on the side of the road. After debating our options, we took a cab to the realtors office and signed our lease. We then walked a mile (with all our stuff) to lunch and then across the street to our new house. I took some pictures and took some measurements since we had time to spare. Ben called the repair shop twice and was told they hadn't looked at the car yet so you can imagine how happy we were. Finally around 1:30pm they called with "good news". It wasn't the fuel pump but rather the fuse to the fuel pump. Apparantly when you hit something hard enough a fuse shuts off gas to the fuel pump so that your car doesn't burn for too long should it catch on fire. So I guess that was a good thing that it worked! So we called another cab and loaded everyone and everything in it and went to the repair shop, where we still had to wait for a new tire! Finally we got on the road (6 hours late) around 3pm and headed to Maine. We only stopped once and arrived at 12:30 am.
Thursday- Ben had a conference (which is why we were there). Ben's parents, grandmother, sister and her family came down to visit with us while we were in town. We had fun swimming in the hotel pool during the day. Maddie was a bit nervous at first but by the end she was jumping in without holding on to my hands. Now she just needs to work on the swimming part... Owen joined in on the fun too and had a great time in the pool!
Friday- Ben's conference again. Drove to Gloucester afterwards to my parents house.
Saturday- Edward, Jeanne and Sebastian flew in for Sabina and James's wedding. Nonnie and Papa babysat all 3 kids while we went to the wedding. It was nice to have some
adult time! The wedding was great too!
Sunday- Went to brunch with the bride, groom and their family and friends. It got started later than expected so we (again) didn't get on the road until about 3 pm. Drove all the way home to VA and got in about 12:30 am. Unloaded essentials only and collapsed in bed at 1 am. Owen started crying at 1:15... put him in car seat in our room where he slept (thankfully)!!!
Check out our pictures below...
Ben, Maddie, Owen and all our gear waiting for a cab- one thing we did figure out was how to hook Owen's car seat into an umbrella stroller!
House pictures-
Master bedroom
"common area"/landing at top of stairs
Upstairs bathroom (in the process of getting updated)
Maddie's room
Owen's room
Dining room and stairs
Extra room/play area
Living room (currently has fridge and stove in it)
Enclosed porch (off of kitchen)
Yard and driveway (we share a driveway with our next door neighboor and the back yard is not our responsibility to mow which technically means it is not ours, but we're hoping the neighbors are nice and the kids can play back there. We do have a patch of grass on the front and side of the house that
is ours to mow- we need to get a lawn mower- but we live on such a busy street that playing out front is not a good option.
Maddie and Elias at the pool
Getting in the pool
Maddie and Josiah
Sabina and James
Colgate crew
Without kids for the night!
