Have you ever felt like you have so much to do, but you kind of lose track of everything you want to do and you really can't keep anything straight? That's kind of how I feel today and have felt for the past couple of days.
Most of it has to do with the fact that I am getting ready for our trip to Arizona and Utah and I'm trying hard not to stress out too much about preparing for it. This is a trip with just me and the girls - Matt is staying here for work. I planned the trip because my baby brother is graduating from college this Saturday* in Arizona and my older sister, who lives in Utah, just had twins this spring and I wanted to come and help out.
We're going to be gone 13 days, nearly two full weeks. Lucky Matt. He's going to have such a nice time having the house to himself, sleeping through the night, having no one to clean up after but himself. I'm not exactly sure who is getting the better gig.
But I know we are going to have a great time even if I'm going to be the sole caretaker of my little girls. Thankfully, I will be staying with my parents in AZ and Matt's parents in UT and they will certainly be a lot of help. Plus, I'm excited because we are going to see so many family members. I will see all but one of my six siblings, plus their spouses and kids; my parents; Matt's parents; my brother-in-law and his family and hopefully a bunch of cousins, aunts and uncles. Because we live on the east coast and virtually all of our family lives west of Colorado with very few exceptions, it's a rare treat to see so much family.
I have been looking forward to our trip for quite some time. But now the week has finally come and I'm trying not to freak out. I just know that I am going to forget something. I'm also trying to streamline the packing as much as possible. My goal is to pack only one large suitcase and one small suitcase, one diaper bag, and one backpack - that's it. That's all I want to bring, so I'm going to have to pack everything we need for two weeks with one adult, one toddler, one baby, plus all the baby clothes I'm bringing to my sister in just that. I know I can do it (we did the same thing when we went to San Diego earlier this year and we had to pack for Matt too, but it was a shorter trip), but it's definitely an exercise in restraint.
Anyway hopefully I'll get through the next couple of days with all of the preparation complete and we'll have a great trip to AZ. Thank goodness I have non stop flights for each of my flights. That means I only have to make it less than 5 hours on the plane with the girls and when we get off a loving grandparent or aunt will be there to distract them. Hooray!
*I gotta give props to my parents. He is the last of my siblings to graduate from college. Go Mom and Dad, all 6 kids are college graduates; 4 of us have graduate degrees, 1 is almost done with her masters. Not bad.
6 comments:
lemon bars?!?!
Have you tried making a list? I always do that a few days before a big trip because I am horrible at forgetting things. When we went to Florida 6 months ago, I forgot to pack clothes for Andy and we had to buy him stuff at Walmart when we got to Orlando. Sounds like you will have a great trip. Say hi to everyone and give the twins kisses for us.
I know the feeling entirely; you are not alone. I always get overwhelmed before taking a trip and feel like no matter how much I prepared, I boarded that plane by the skin of my teeth! Take it easy, breathe, and enjoy your trip! We'll miss you out here!
Becster - Hah! The sad truth is that I made the lemon bars for something and didn't end up using them and you were the lucky recipient of the unused treat. Now you know the truth, I'm just trying to clean out the kitchen!
Melissa - I'm the queen of making lists! My list is long and lengthy. My fear is that I've forgotten to put something on the list! How pathetic!
I feel your pain! Last two summers I've traveled alone with the children -- one time it was to save money, sent Cort on a different airline simultaneously -- NEVER AGAIN!!! At our arrival, he looked so refreshed and well rested, and I looked like something out of a horror movie with all three kids, dirty faced and whining, and I was carrying two of them along with 30 pounds of "carry on". He said something like "How was the trip?" and I just wanted to slap him -- I really did!
Love your blog - and I keep forgetting to make any comments. We're moving in June, I know, leaving Cambridge sob sob, and every day is a new freak out. Remember Elliot -- bald baby? Well, he's not bald -- he's 4 1/2 and knows all the US Presidents thank you very much, but our 17 month old girl, Claire -- still kindof is bald. Long in back, pixie on top -- yes, I must admit it in my achy breaky heart, she's got a mullet. And Ethan is 8 tomorrow! Check out our new blog if you want to see pictures of the kiddos. Long post -- sorry! Your mother sounds wonderful. Hope you're doing well!
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