Better Than I Planned: How I Spent My Vacation Part 1

Evan and I have never really taken a vacation since we were married. There was always some reason: school, no time off, adoption, etc. Going to Russia together were the only trips we've really taken and that wasn't much of a vacation. So, we decided to do something fun this year with the boys. When I was younger I lived out East. There is an amusement park there called Sesame Place. It is both a dry and wet amusement park. I have really good memories of it, so I thought it would be great to take Nicholas and Daniel.

With Nicholas at camp all last week, I had to split my time between packing and moving things out of the downstairs. We arranged for my mom to let in a painter while we were gone, so we could come back to a nicely painted downstairs. While I had a lot to do, I enjoy lists, so I was getting it done. I just didn't account for Daniel throwing in a surprise. He had cold symptoms all week. We weren't sure if it was because he was getting another tooth or even seasonal allergies. By the end of the week, he had developed a dry cough and by Saturday he sounded like he had croup.

We decided to try some home remedies instead of heading to the doctor right away. He had the cough, but he was still running around and playing. Then nighttime hit! He would sleep very loudly for about 20-40 minutes and then cry. I would have to hold him and get him back to sleep, or go in the bathroom and sit in the steam with him. We ended up doing that three times on Saturday night. My pores had never been so open. ;) But, Daniel wasn't getting better. It wasn't so much the cough anymore, but his breathing. He kept saying in a raspy little voice, “Mama, mama, mama.” I felt so bad that I couldn't help him.

Since were leaving in a few hours, Evan got dressed and took him to the local urgicare/emergency room. I could not fall back to sleep, so I took a shower. After 3 sauna sessions with Daniel, I was feeling pretty gross. Less than an hour later, Evan texted me that Daniel had an ear infection and possibly croup or an upper respiratory infection. So, it was plenty of medicine for our boy. I wished that wasn't the case, but I hoped it would make him feel better.

We left later that morning before 8:00. Both boys did wonderful. I learned from my mom how to keep kids entertained during a long trip. Nicholas had books, coloring books, a game, his DS, and finally, a portable DVD player. We stopped twice to use the bathroom, gas up the car, and eat lunch. Daniel took probably 3-4 naps. I think this trip was a blessing in disguise for his illness. He rested a lot. He only cried a few times before he fell asleep, but that’s nothing new. When he was awake he looked at books, ate snacks or drank from his sippy cup. Honestly, it was the easiest ride. The worst part was that Evan and I were running on no sleep. Once we reached the hotel room, I had my own little rest time.

As good as the ride was, the time in the hotel had some rough beginnings. We were so tired that we didn't want to go anywhere that evening. Daniel wanted to hang out in the bathroom and didn't like when we shut the door. Nicholas received a logical consequence by touching Evan’s razor in his toiletries. Let’s just say we wondered if we’d have to go to another emergency room.

But, thankfully, lights were out by 8:45. Daniel slept so well compared to the night before. He only had one big wake up and I gave him a sippy cup of water to help his dry throat. He woke us all up at 5:30, but I was able to get everyone to sleep in until a “late” 6:30. We were hoping for a better day ahead.