Life Lessons

Last week, Jon had a business trip in NYC...so the kids and I took out for Charleston, WV. It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive, which isn't bad. :) I had plans to meet with my friend Laura, who is the Family Ministry Director at our old church, River Ridge. She graciously invited me to come and sit at her feet as she showered me with knowledge of what is now my new job at Crosspoint! The trip was a little insane...have to say. First of all...I decided to take off after Kennedy's preschool...which ends at 1. Logically, I was thinking that it would be a perfect time since she usually naps at 1 anyway. I thought for sure I would have a good 2 hours of silence as her and Jax slept.

Lesson #1: Never trust in Logic with a 2 year old. She cried and screamed for 2 hours...straight. She wanted to go home to her bed and go night night. She wanted Daddy. She wanted me to "Hold You". She wanted Juice and snacks - and threw everything down - and wanted it again. NO FUN!!! I was just about to run off the road to relieve myself of the anxiety of shrills coming from the back seat - when I remembered I had some M&M's in my purse!!!

Lesson #2: Bribery is sometimes your only option for survival. After the 2 hour mark, with Kennedy dripping milk chocolate from her mouth...I learned

Lesson #3: M&M's not ONLY melt in your mouth..but ALSO in your hands. :) I debated stopping - but the thought of pulling 2 kids out - unpacking the double stroller and taking turns on the nasty bathroom changing table...I decided against it. Both of my kids are in diapers at this point...

Lesson #4: NO STOPPING...diapers can hold an EXCESSIVE amount of liquid when put to the test! By the way...I have one child in Pampers and one in Huggies...both stood up to the test. By about 3 1/2 hours into the trip - I was starting to see signs for Charleston. We had rolled through Beckley - and were less than 60 miles away from the promised land. About that time - Jaxen starts crying. There is no way I'm stopping at this point. Now - all of you judging types may want to skip the next few lines. I knew Jax needed a bottle - but there was no way I was pulling over to get warm water. Jaxen is pretty laid back...so I decided that he would be ok with the following...

Lesson #5: Leftover Diet Dr. Pepper melted Ice and leftover Apple juice mixed with formula - make for a convenient bottle in desperate times.
After finally arriving in Charleston - I was set to meet my friend Ivy for dinner. We went to our usual spot - Rio - best Mexican restaurant hands down. Let me just say that my kids are now - 4 1/2 hours in the car - no stops - no diaper changes - no nap for Kennedy - and here we are arriving at a restaurant. Anyone else smell trouble?
It has started to sprinkle - so I was rushing to get my kids in the door. I didn't take the stroller b/c I knew there wouldn't be a place to park it.

Lesson #6: Do NOT attempt to take a 2 year old and an 8 month old into any public place by yourself without your double stroller. We sat down in our booth - I changed both of their diapers - and we ordered our food. About that time - the giddiness set in. Kennedy was ROTTEN. She was completely OUT OF CONTROL. She and another little girl behind us in the booth were playing and screaming and laughing SOO loud. I tried to get her to sit down - but I really needed the other mom to call her daughter down as well. The little girl started hitting Kennedy...playfully...so Kennedy started hitting back...playfully...meanwhile - I'm trying to feed my starving baby with one hand and wrestle my daughter with the other...forget eating my food. It was completely out of control. I could honestly take 2 more paragraphs to tell you how bad each little situation was - but lets just end the madness by saying I had to eventually take Jaxen out of the restaurant and buckle him in the car....then go BACK into the restaurant where my 2 year old was underneath the booth hiding while they were trying to seat another customer. I had to take her over my shoulder and carry her out kicking and screaming. Once into the car - they both started wailing. It was awful. I was bawling too.

Lesson #7: If you can't "beat 'em...Join 'em". I called my friend Tina and she insisted that we come over immediately. I walked into her house and TJ took Kennedy and Tina grabbed Jaxen. I couldn't have been happier to see them. We all had a pretty sleepless night...complete with Kennedy falling out of bed 2 times...and Jaxen snoring like a crazy old man....but it was as close to being home as we could have gotten!!! ;)
The next day was GREAT!!!! Laura had arranged the entire day with babysitters and lunch plans - and everything. It was a nice time to catch up on life and learn about Children's ministry! I left with TONS of information swimming around in my head....tons of ideas that I can't wait to implement...and visions for a bright future at Crosspoint. It was also so fun to see our kids playing together. Laura took some great shots....



Lesson #8: Seeing friends makes even the worst of situations seem ok!