I'm not trying to be funny. However, we really truly had a day unlike any other we have had a few weeks ago - and it was such a huge day, that I could hardly believe we only really had the typical 24 hours in said day ---- and so I will call it the day of infamy.
It was the day we were to come home from Virginia. First of all, our plan to have Bryson come down and meet us for the weekend, went out the window after he had a meeting on Friday and the boss asked him if he'd be in that weekend to work on things. Strong, strong hint. So - there was no train or bus down to D.C. for Bryson. We talked late Friday and I realized that we should then head home on Saturday instead of Sunday, so that we could at least see Bryson at church and any time in between when he would be at the office.
We had planned to take the kiddos and the cousins swimming on Saturday afternoon at their nearby Rec Center. The slide and all the fun water features were going to be on - and the kiddos had waited so patiently. I told my sister-in-law Kristen that we would still go swimming and then we would just leave from the pool so that we could start driving and hopefully.....cross fingers....the kids might even fall asleep for awhile due to all the energy spent swimming.
Well, I suppose we don't go forward with an idea thinking it's bad....the idea did have merit. However, I just miscalculated a few....maybe more than a few....things.
Here is the run-down of the craziest 24 hours I have had in a very long, long time!
Saturday Afternoon
1-3pm: Go swimming at Rec Center
Next: Get into car....kids showered, happy (well, Jacob was super sad to leave, but we worked that out with telling him Daddy really missed him and needed him home)
Then: stop at Target, I run in to do an exchange ---- thankfully in and out in record time!
Look at gas gauge....remember I need gas and realize once I'm on the belt-way it will be disastrous to find gas, so I decide to drive the back roads into Manassas to get gas. *note: bad idea to drive some place you THINK you know where it is. After 1/2 hour of driving through an area I didn't know, I finally emerged out by I-66....below Manassas. Grrrrrrr..... Oh well, I thought....I'll go to the Costco that is over by where we used to live because I know the area and I have to run back into Gymboree. When getting some things there yesterday I had gotten back to the cousins house and when talking to Kristen about all the great deals I had found, she said "And you had your 20% Coupon too!" I felt so silly suddenly, because I had totally forgotten about that little coupon sitting right there in my wallet. Duh! So, now I wanted to run into that store again, so that I could get another $10 off my purchase....which equals another outfit and I still get my Gymbucks. Happy Day....but we are not even close to leaving the area and by now it's about 4:30pm and I still don't have gas.
We drive by the Costco and lo and behold....no gas pumps. What?! I had thought they had them - obviously I didn't learn my lesson from up above in making sure I knew where I was going and what was there. Not too much of a problem, because I still need to stop at the mall which is right there - so we zoom inside and again I do my return in record time...but coming out the kids hear other kids. And see the playland. And that is where I went wrong...I should have taken them in the other entrance! I caved to their requests because I rationalized we'd be in the car a long, long time - and so I sat at the familiar play land that I had taken Madeleine to as a baby and watched my now 3 babies running and leaping off of the trains and new play equipment which replaced the good ol' Bacon & Eggs display.
After about 1/2 hour - I realized enough play time, and we really did need to get going. I scooped up the kiddos and we made our way through the rest of the mall to the car and then the cries of hunger started. "Mommy, I'm so hungry!" "When is dinner?" I had realized it was getting later - really it was actually dusk right now and about 5:30pm. It is time to get something to eat - because again getting off the beltway is going to be disastrous I thought.
The kiddos voted for Wendy's - smart move as we could order through the drive-thru and zoom on our way. We pulled up and there was the great debate over who wanted chicken nuggets or hamburgers, what drink and was everyone getting french fries? These are the kids questions - not mine. I let them make 1 choice - what they want as their "main" dish, and I decide the rest....I call it Selective Democratic Parenting. Works like a charm when we are in a rush.
We finally made it to the window, picked up our order and I pulled to the side to hand out the food. It's now after 6pm and dark. I really just want to start driving and realize I can drive for awhile with the gass I have, and finally pull onto the beltway to be hit with commuter traffic. Ugh.
We finally made it around to the Maryland side by 7:30pm, and I realize that we really were now on empty for gas, and I have to stop. We pull off an exit, that I don't know as well, and it takes awhile to find a gas station that I can use. By the time I fill up and get back into the car it's 8pm and I still have about a 4 hour drive to get home to the city. In the dark. While the kiddos are sleeping and I'm supposed to stay awake. I called Bryson and talked things over, and we agreed it would be crazy to keep driving home, so somehow it makes more sense to drive back out to the Thiriot's and go to bed there and leave in the morning. I drive another hour back out to their home, we unpack the basics and crash for the night and then wake up and get dressed to drive home.
The drive home went pretty smoothly, considering that it was a Sunday I hadn't planned to drive on this day at all, and the kiddos were hungry and we didn't have any snacks packed. I had to stop and get some food, which the kiddos asked, "Can we do this?! It's Sunday!" I explained that we were in a bit of a tricky spot, which I believed we were....Bryson on the other hand told me that I was like an ox in the mire - I should have planned better. Thank you sir, who is working from your glass building on a Sunday and loves to tell me what I should have done better. I decided to just drive and get home as best and quickly a I could. Which I tried and I really do think that Google Maps on the phone works well - however, there are times when you leave the interstate to get gas and then when you get back on, you are so turned around and confused....that you take the wrong turn and instead of continuing in on the turnpike through New Jersey - you end up on the road that leads to Staten Island! Yes, I ended up driving almost a complete circle around NYC to get us home - there was not a place to get off and turn around, so we had to stay on this long road to Staten Island, and then by the time we got there, it was the same distance to keep driving and go through Brooklyn and then Queens and get home to Roosevelt Island. It was late in the evening when we finally got home - 24 hours later than I had wanted, and hours full of mishaps, misadventures and funny enough - some laughs after we were all unpacked and in our own home again!
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