We Drove To Texas

I feel a bit crazy even just writing that CT3 and I and an 11 week old and a 2.5 year old drove to Texas.  I feel even crazier saying that it was actually really, really fun! CT3 told my Mom that it was the most time we have had together in a long time...he is correct in his statement however its a bit sad that we had to lock ourselves in the car together to get it! 

Anyway, driving to Texas. Crazy but, I have major flying anxiety - which is funny because I literally have travelled all over the world - so when we talked about me and the kids going with him, we knew we would drive....it was probably a bit cheaper that way too and we didn't have to carry multiple strollers, car seats, rent a car, etc. 

Before we left, we turned Anne Margaret forward facing. She is 2.5 and I know that most parents turn their kids around 1. The recommendation has changed to keep them rear facing til 2 years old and the longer they stay rear facing the better. Her little legs were a bit squished, but she didn't know any different and really didn't mind. She was excited about being turned around and helping Mommy drive! 

{All good road trips require a cup of Joe!}

Speaking of her being a big girl, she also was in panties for the majority of the trip and I am happy to report that she did amazing. Including nap times and night times, she only had three wet diapers and they were only when she woke up! So proud of my girl! ...Then the last two days rolled around, an automatic toilet flushed on her and we regressed for a day. We have had some fearful potty trips and lots of tears, but we are back in the saddle and have had NO more accidents since that day!

I don't recommend letting your potty training child raid the fridge and finish off the thing of OJ before taking off on a road trip. That made for three stops in the first hour and a half! :)

So here is what we did. The first night, we drove from our house to my in-laws. This was Saturday night. We dropped off the dog and we repacked a few things and spent the night. We knew we would be in and out of hotels and so we had a big bag with all of the stuff and then two smaller bags. We repacked these so that the small bags were all we had to pull out for hotel overnights for us - plus our special blankets and stuffed animals. This way, if we rolled in late, we just pulled them and had our toiletries, pj's and clothes for the next day without having to pull out the big suitcases.

{All of the CT's!}

{Two small bags, diaper bag and my pump - never leave home with out it!!}

The next morning {Sunday}, we were up early and were on I-20 headed West! The plan was to get to Birmingham for church where AM would go play for an hour and then we would grab lunch in town. This would get her out of the car and some energy out and then we would go again. The plan worked perfectly and she even took a little nap on the way! 

From Birmingham, we headed to Tuscaloosa which was just an hour away. One of my good friends and blogger extraordinaire {Mrs. Jones!} hosted a Stella & Dot Trunk show. I got to catch up with a few dear friends over dinner and meet in real life Leslie!

AM was quite excited and wanted to "see the elephants in Tuk-uh-luke-uh!"

Helping me carry my jewelry in!

Leslie, Me, Mrs. Jones

After the show, we went to dinner with some old friends before doing a final diaper change, filling up with gas and heading even further west. The goal was to get to at least Jackson, MS. We didn't have a hotel room, and the plan was just to drive and see how the kids were doing and how we were feeling.

It was around 10:00 PM when we were getting close to Jackson, MS and the kids were asleep and we decided that we would keep trucking a bit further. We spent the night in Vicksburg, MS and were over half way on our drive to Texas!

The next morning {Monday}, we got up, ate at the hotel and were off. We cruised through Louisiana and made a stop in Texas for lunch. Anne Margaret liked crossing the Mississippi River and after our sing-songy chant of M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I, she can now officially spell it. We spent time singing and reading too.

At one point, she was fussing about the sun being in her eyes, and she said she wanted some orange sunglasses. Not wanting to disappoint, we hooked sista girl up with a $12.99 pair of these:

{not a longhorns fan - if I had to choose, I would pull for the Aggies!}

They were a bit big, but whatevs. I got a pair of sunglasses for myself too - normal tortoise shell colored...most expensive truck stop we have ever made! Monday late afternoon we arrived. Before even going to the hotel, we met up with friends for dinner. Tex Mex. Yum and the perfect first Texas meal. 

I will tell you more about where we stayed and what we did in another post, but that was basically our trip out. Our drive back was almost exactly the same and consisted of leaving Dallas and taking a day to go the 5.5 hours to Vicksburg, MS to sleep. That night we arrived pretty late and were tired. 

The genius hotel worker decided to give my 2.5 year old an oatmeal creme pie at 12:30 AM. Really dude?? Do you not have kids? Or are yours just constantly on a sugar high?? My child has enough energy at midnight that she for sure doesn't need a sugar rush! 

Needless to say, I was too tired to fight the battle and against my better judgement, I let her eat it. 

The next morning, we took our time leaving Vicksburg and then we took our time driving the 4 hours to Tuscaloosa. We stayed there for the night and went to the gymnastics meet before heading back thru Birmingham on our way to Atlanta.

It all sounds crazy, but it was actually super fun and not too busy or overwhelming! We discussed driving at night while they slept, but its just not my thing. CT3 seems to get tired when he is behind the wheel and we do best when I drive and he tends to the kids. He is more patient with them and I am a bad back {or front} seat driver. Anyway, I feel like my eyes play tricks on me at night and one of my biggest fears is hitting a dear in the middle of no where. Its probably just not all that safe and I don't like stopping in the middle of the night at places I don't know to potty. Taking our time and breaking up the days gave the kids a break from the car and a chance to get their energy out and stretch. Planning our drive times around their schedules worked and being patient and not having a strict agenda helped. 

Chick-Fil-A is a stop of choice...clean bathrooms, good food and a place to play!

Of course, its not a real road trip without a stop at Cracker Barrel, right?! We ate dinner here just outside of Shreveport and stocked up on sugar and a country CD. AM colored and played the triangle game before she got fussy and Brother Bear fussed til he spit up all down my shirt and then fell asleep on the chair!

Next up, our time in Texas!

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