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Good Intentions

We had Milo's baptism on Sunday which was a lovely affair.  Milo cooperated for the most part and there was enough food for everyone.

After the baptism, we packed up the kids and headed north to St. Cloud.  Well, we left home after running back in six or seven times for things we forgot.  Chet said I was in too big of a rush and I said that he was too slow.

None of the kids had had naps so I figured they'd sleep the whole way up but I was wrong.  Tucker whined from the backseat that his stomach hurt and that he needed a drink.  I pulled over at a gas station and gave him a drink, then ran inside to buy plastic silverware because I thought I forgot to pack some.

He continued to whine as we made our way into St. Cloud.  By the time we reached our hotel, Milo was joining in the chorus and was screaming from his car seat.

I hauled all the kids into the hotel, Milo still screaming and Piper now upset that she was confined to the stroller.  Tucker was walking, hunched over, holding his stomach, very, very slowly, about a mile behind everyone else.  Avery was busy admiring the features of the hotel, exclaiming how lovely and how wonderful everything was.  I made it to the room with the kids and realized I had locked Chet outside with the luggage.

Once Chet had made it in with the luggage, the kids had settled down.  Tucker was nestled on the bed, still holding his stomach.  Piper discovered the remote control and Avery was flipping through the hotel book, reading all the features the hotel had to offer.

Turns out, Tucker was just hungry.  He had refused to eat anything solid all day, instead filling up on sweets and junk from the baptism.

After a snack, we went outside our room to play on the volleyball courts.  The kids burned off any extra energy they had and Chet tried to teach me how to properly hold my hands in volleyball so that it wouldn't hurt.  But it still hurt and that is why I'm the junkiest player on the team.  I love volleyball but only when the ball doesn't come to me.

It was getting to be past the kids bedtime so I made everyone's beds.  And I forgot Piper's pack and play.  I used a couch cushion to make her a little bed in a little nook in the corner, but she didn't stay in there.  I blocked her in with an end table, but she climbed over the table.  I tried putting her on the kids' bed but she kept jumping on it.  I let her scream for a while and then brought her into our bed, hoping a snuggle with Daddy would do the trick.  She was quiet for a few minutes before popping back up, poking me in the eye with her finger.  I brought her back to her little bed and blocked her fully in with the bar stools and turned the table up on its side.  She was stuck.  She screamed for almost a half hour before finally falling asleep.  I'm glad we didn't have any neighbors on either side of us.

All was quiet as I finally snuggled myself into bed.  Chet was long since snoring.  The hotel pillows were too fluffy and I couldn't quite get comfy.  I tossed and turned and wiggled and jiggled until I was just right.  I peeked at the clock.  11pm.

I was woken up with cries from Milo.  It was 1:30am and he was hungry.  I made him a bottle, fed him and got back into bed.  But he kept fussing.  It wasn't a hungry fuss or a tired fuss.  Something wasn't right with him.  I pushed him back and forth in the stroller to no avail.

I pulled him out of the stroller and into bed with me but he continued to cry.  He was as stiff as a board.  I tried burping him but nothing.  Tried putting him on his tummy.  Nope.  Tried gas drops.  May as well have given him water.  Tried bring his knees up to his chest.  No.  Tried holding him face out with my arms over his tummy.  Still fussed.

Chet was starting to toss and turn and feeling sorry that he had a long day of training ahead of him, I brought Milo into the bathroom so he could sleep.

He continued to fuss until I turned on the fan.  That got him to quiet down but he was still wide awake, with a pained look on his little face.  The clock now read 2:45am.

At 3:15am, he pooped.  And did he poop.  Up to his neck.  Finally, I thought, he'll settle now.

But he didn't.  Until 4:30am.  I put him in the stroller in the bathroom with the fan on and the light off.

I climbed back into bed and now I couldn't settle.  Is something wrong with him?  Is he sick?  Did he eat a rotten bottle?  Should I be bringing him in?  Why is he so quiet now?  Is he still alive?  No, he's just fine.  He was tired.  But why did his poop smell like he's sick?  Babies don't get the flu bug, do they?


I argued with myself for a half hour before finally falling asleep.  At 5:30am, I heard him fussing again.  I brought him a bottle and he took it before falling back asleep.  At 6:30am, Chet's alarm went off which woke up the rest of the kids.

 We were up for the day and Mama had had a whole 3 1/2 hours of sleep.

We sent Chet off to driving school and the kids and I got ready to go swimming. 

The hotel has a kiddie pool and the kids spent two hours swimming while Milo snored in his stroller.

Chet came to pick us up on his lunch break so I could drop him back off at the place and have the van for the rest of the day.  Tucker and Piper both fell asleep on the way there and by the time we got back to the hotel, they were awake and absolutely crabby.

Piper screamed, laying on the floor, as I packed up our things to make our 2pm checkout.

All kids were happy as we left the room to checkout so I decided I'd better let them play for a little bit on the indoor playground.

They laughed and frolicked like careless children for all of four minutes.  Tucker was climbing up the jungle gym and was too scared to go up or down and he started to wail.  His cries echoed in the plastic tunnels, making it sound even louder.  I was holding a now fussing Milo and wasn't able to go rescue him.  I did my best to convince him to keep going and go down the slide.  But then he didn't dare go down the slide.

I sent  Avery up after him and she didn't have any luck either.  Then she started bawling because she was afraid we would leave Tucker behind.

I set Milo down and made my way through the tunnels and retrieved Tucker.  Without saying a word, I packed up all the kids, ignoring their protests and shooed them out the door into the van.  They were too crabby and I was too tired to deal with it.

I drove up and down Highway 23 in St. Cloud, back and forth, hoping the toddlers would fall asleep.  After about 45 minutes of driving, I looked back and Avery was sound asleep.  Tucker and Piper were wide awake and enjoying the drive.

Now what do I do?  I still have three hours before Chet is done and I have a sleeping five year old, a now wailing newborn and two wide eyed toddlers who would burst into tears over any mishap.  So I pulled into the mall.

The kids did surprisingly well and they roamed the play area for almost an hour.  Then we went to pick up Daddy.  Finally.

I had good intentions of having a nice time in St. Cloud with my cherubs.  You know, get a cool hotel room at a hotel that has lots of pools and fun activities and bring lots of yummy food to eat.  But sometimes things don't always work out that way.  Sometimes, kids cry and they don't stop crying.  And sometimes, Mom doesn't get any sleep.

But that's okay, I needed something to blog about anyway.

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