Now We Are Off To The Lions Den

Wake -up call is again at 6:30 am for our next leg of the race. We are now heading to Austin to stay with our friend Holly. She is a dear friend that I have known since middle school. She has 3 kids, Jackson, Abigail and William. Jackson and Abi are 5 year old twins (or at least they will be next Thursday). William is 1 month younger than Lane and Will be 3 in October. We are so excited to see them because they are fun to hang out with and William and Lane get along so well.

We packed the car with all of the stuff we originally brought and now have added some souvenirs from Sea World. If we keep accumulating stuff one of these kids is going to have to ride on the roof of the Weasel wagon. I wish I had taken a picture of our car packed to the max. It was just a miracle that it all fit. Well maybe just pure talent that I could fit it. If I do say so myself. We call Holly to get the directions. We are all set now. All I need is a Starbucks and I can kick it into high gear. We are going along just great but not a Starbucks in sight. Seriously, what does San Antonio have against Starbucks? Okay never mind, we found one. We get our coffees and we are now back "on the road again". I don't know what it is but when I am on a road trip, and still awake, that song gets stuck in my head.

We start looking for the exit that Holly told us to take. Neither Chasity nor I see this exit 281. Then we notice that 1604 North has all the sudden become 1604 South. What in the world has just happened? We are both flabbergasted. We call Holly to find out what happened and now how do we get to her. She tells us that we have passed it long ago and now we will be traveling a new route. Where is a GPS when you need one? We finally get turned around and are on the right track. When we finally arrive and are happy to get out of the car. Holly and the kids are there to greet us with sandwiches, chips and drinks. Gotta love that Holly.

We decide to take a rest from the car for a while and let the kids play. They all get along so well. After our rest we all pile in 2 cars and head to The Hollows Beach Club. This place is fabulous. It is up on the side of a hill amongst an awesome neighborhood and marina. The beach club is what they call the pool area. The pool was nice and refreshing and it had a restaurant with waiters to serve you pool side. This is the life.

Chasity, Kylar (hiding) and Holly

Lane and Will were wearing matching bathing suits. (Which was not planned.) They played so well together and even got into a little trouble together. We were calling them Frick and Frack. We all had a great time relaxing, soaking in the awesome view and just letting the Austin winds blow through our hair. It was exactly what we needed. We headed back to the house for baths and bedtime. We had all the kids in an assembly line for the tub. We had Frick and Frack in one tub and the girls in another. When everyone was bathed and in bed Holly and I snuck off to pick up some snacks for our boat trip the next day and wine for the night. When we returned everyone was asleep. We opened the wine and the back door and started going back in time. We talked about the old times and everyone we knew back then. We laughed, maybe a little too loud because a few neighbors' lights started coming on. We wound down about midnight. It was fun and a much needed little trip back to the old days when we weren't known as mom but as Heather & Holly. It was fun.

Frick (aka Lane) & Frack (aka Will)

Riley lounging in a poolside chair
Kylar playing in the fountains
Holly & Will
Lane and his popsicle

Riley asleep in her poolside lounge chair

The next morning we got up and fed the kids. We packed our bags for the boat. Holly and John have a boat that is docked at The Hollows on Lake Travis. This would be Lane's and Riley's first ride on a boat. I think it might have been Kylar's too. They were so excited. We also brought the tube so they could take rides. I wasn't sure if Lane would do it but boy was I wrong. I couldn't get him out of it. I was so proud of my little boy. Riley fussed a little at the beginning when she had to wear a life vest but I gave her a pacifier and she just sat back and chilled out. She even at one point took a nap. That girl will sleep anywhere.

Kids and Holly on the boat
Heidi, Me & Riley sporting her most fashionable life vest

Kylar, Lane & Jackson

Kylar & Lane tubing

Chasity, Kylar & Heidi

Me, Riley, Lane, Will & Kylar

I think Lane was getting a little homesick because he turned to me at one point and said "Can we eat lunch and then go home and see Daddy?". What a cutie!

When we were all done boating and living the life of leisure we headed back to the Lion's Den. We packed and headed back home. We had a great vacation and what an adventure for 2 moms and 4 kids.

Watch Out Shamu....Cause The Weasels Are Coming To Visit!

Friday morning started at 6:30 am for me. I had to take a shower and get packed so that we would be ready to leave. We wanted to be at Sea World as soon as the gates opened. When you are taking 3 kids under the age of 5 anywhere, there is a lot of packing and preplanning. Riley was staying with Nana and Mema while me, Lane, Nolan, Chelsae, Heidi, Kylar and Chasity headed to the home of Shamu. We got packed and dressed and headed out. We got to Sea World just when it opened at 10am. We were a little shocked at how many people were already there. I guess we kinda thought we were the only ones with this grand idea to go on a Friday and get there early.

Let me tell you that within the first 10 minutes of being in the park I was already sweating like a pig. Texas heat will kill you....no lie! Our first stop, after the bathroom, was to the Shamu Express. It is a small kids roller coaster. They all loved it once we got on. They were a little confused on why we had to wait in line so long. I just told them to get used to it because obviously, someone told everyone in Texas our plan to go to the park Friday and get there early. We have a "mole" amongst us.

Kylar & Heidi

Nolan & Chelsae

The Shamu Express

We decided that our next stop on this fun train would be SHAMU! We headed 30 miles to the other side of the park to see the Shamu show "Believe". It was awesome! I just can't get over the fact that this is these peoples job. To hang out with whales. What a cool job to have. The kids were speechless the entire time. Not one peep was made from any of the 3 kids during the whole show. Amazing!

Nolan & Chelsae at Believe

Chasity, Heidi & Kylar

Me & Lane

All Lane could say was "WOW!"

We stopped to check out the flamingos or as Nolan said "Hedder come and see the pink mingos". Too cute! If you haven't noticed from the pictures, Kylar is a girly girl. She loves the camera and loves to pose. Isn't she adorable!

Lane, Nolan, Kylar and Heidi (up top)

After we watched Shamu consume arms full of fish we decided that we were a little hungry too. On the way we stopped to get the kids swords. Now who's brilliant idea was this......Chelsae. The kids loved them but I think that we may or may not have maimed a few innocent by standards along the way. We headed to the eatery to get some over priced kids meals, but hey it's all worth it since it came in a Shamu lunch box.

Nolan & Lane with swords

Kylar, Nolan & Lane with swords....Scary!!

$85.00 later we took a stroll to somewhere they had a/c. Have I mentioned how hot it was. I think the thermometer read 150 degrees or at least it felt like it. Chelsae said that the Anheuiser Busch brewery on site gives adults 2 free beers. That was all I had to hear and I took off. I don't even think that I noticed until we got there that our kids had fallen asleep. Fine with me since the brewery had a/c, tables and chairs, and did I mention 2 free beers........YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Nolan & Lane are out cold

Poor Lane. He's gonna have a sore neck when he wakes up.

This is where I stopped taking pictures. It was too hot to think and I from this point on couldn't remember to take a picture. After mama had her beers we headed to the penguin exhibit. This was my favorite, well other then the free beers. It was so awesome to see the penguins swimming and the way they have the exhibit is so awesome. They have a moving sidewalk that you get on and it takes you for a ride passed the glass exhibit where there have to be 100+ penguins of all different kinds swimming and waddling around. Plus the whole place had a/c.

We decided that we had enough of the heat so we headed to the Lost Lagoon. This is the water park they have at Sea World. It has a lazy river, a wave pool, twisty slides and a play area for kids with a huge dumping bucket. Lane and Kylar loved the wave pool. We could barely get them to go on anything else. I love the twisty slide that I got to ride on with Heidi. The other kids were too small so they had to stay behind. It was so much fun and a little scary too. You get in a 2 person tube and slide down this pitch black slide and every once in a while you could see some light. It was a blast and so worth the wait. When we were ready to go I understood why they called the place the Lost Lagoon. We rented lockers for our stuff when we arrived and they gave us a key. When I went to open my locker my key was gone. I had lost it in the wave pool. Typical me!!!! Well it only took the entire teenage staff and 20 minutes to finally get it open. The funny thing was every time they sent a new person to help they always asked me, "Lost your key?" Like I did all this for attention or something. We all got dressed and headed to the car. It was a short ride home but long enough for all the kids to fall asleep. We all had a great time and can't wait to do it again next summer.

Are We Crazy Or What?

My friend, Chasity, and I made plans to take our kiddos on a road trip. The plan was to head from Houston to San Antonio on Thursday evening and spend the night with my in-laws. We would wake-up the next morning and head to Sea World. Spend the night Friday night and then Saturday morning head to our friend, Holly's house and come back Sunday. Yes, it does sound like a lot of driving but she and I are tough moms who can handle it........Can't we?

We were a little scared but ready for the challenge. My instructions to her were to pack light. Yeah Right, like that's going to happen with 4 kids and 2 adult women. We did the best to consolidate but ended up with a lot of stuff. I used my super power organizing skills to make it all fit in the Weasel Wagon. It was a challenge but in the end I won.

Now, all we had to do was make it there. I was confident that we would with no problems. I made sure that I drove the last trip we made to my in-laws so that I was sure I knew the way. So off we go!!!!!!

We get about 30 minutes into the trip and Kylar, Chasity's 4 year old daughter, says "Mom, are we there yet?". I thought I was going to pee my pants I was laughing so hard. I thought that phrase was something that only kids said in the movies. Apparently not, since she proceeded to ask about 30 or 40 more times. Funny the first time but no so funny the other 29 to 39 times. Kylar and Lane also began to argue like brother and sister for another leg of the trip. I heard, "Stop touching me! Mom, Lane is touching me!" to Lane growling at Kylar like a bear and her saying "Mom, Lane is giving me a headache". It was funny at times but other times Chasity and I looked at each other and said "Did you forget the beer?" Yes, this was the first time that Chasity and I had been on a road trip that did not include a cooler of beer. It sure is sad to grow-up.

We finally get to San Antonio around 10:30pm. I am cruising along and we come to the exit that I am suppose to take to get to my in-laws and it is under construction and closed. "WHAT!" This is the only way I know how to get there. I am also very low on gas. Of Course! Just like in every horror movie the car won't start or the girl falls down and can't seem to muster the strength to get up and run when the scary guy is coming. It is typical. Well, Houston highways and San Antonio highways are totally different. In Houston if you get off on the wrong exit you can just go to the next light and turn around. Apparently, in San Antonio they thought we did it wrong. They thought that if you get off at the wrong exit at night with a car full of kids, in a town you are unfamiliar with you should be punished and scared straight. Well we decided to try to make a u-turn and did. But to our surprise it lead us to a dead end feeder road. Wow, how convenient for us. There was a gas station on the corner so we at least could fill up. Lord knows we do not want to run out of gas in this neighborhood. This neighborhood was straight out of the movie, "Boys In The Hood". We saw a sign for free pregnancy tests along with a mural of Jesus and Mary on the side of the building. What a combo!

After driving through the neighborhood for about 20 minutes we finally made it back on to the highway. I now have my in-laws on the phone and asking for directions. They give us the new route and we finally make it to the house. Thank goodness the kids were asleep the whole time we were taking our detour. Can you imagine the questions they would have had?

My in-laws live in Rio Medina which is about 30 minutes outside of San Antonio. They live on some land and there nearest neighbors are down the road. When we showed up it was completely dark and you couldn't really see how secluded we really were. We start unpacking our car and loading up the guest house with all our stuff. As we are doing this I notice that Chasity's 13 year old step-daughter, Heidi, is closing all the blinds on the windows. My in-laws ,who are watching the little ones so we can unpack, inform her that it is not necessary to do that because there is nothing around us. She smiles and stops to unpack her stuff. The next morning I wake up and notice that Heidi has taken 2 pillows off the couch and stuffed them into the window, where mind you there are no blinds, to cover the window. What have we done to these city kids? They don't even feel safe in the country. I guess we gave her a bad impression with the route we took to get there.

Reese's Pieces are the Bomb

Today was a successful day of potty training. We made it to the potty every time and had no accidents. Lane did however consume quite a few Reese's Pieces but I am okay with that if it gets us on the road to a diaper less society. Please keep sending your good vibes our way as this is just day 1 but a successful day one might I add. YEAH!!!!

Are Reese's Pieces the Answer?

I can't put into words how frustrated I am over this whole potty training thing. Why can't a human child just instinctually know to use the potty? Why does it have to be so dang hard? My son, Lane, is almost 3 years old and still we can't seem to get the using of the potty thing down. I can grab him and put him on the potty and he will go either number 1 or number 2. We do the you're awesome dance and throw in a couple of high-fives. You would think with all of this positive attention it would some how snap to tell mommy when he needs to go. Yeah, no! I have tried the whole letting him run around without anything on. He will just poop and pee on the floor. It's too disgusting and I just can't do that any more. I have also tried the wearing underwear thing. Again, he will just poop and pee in them. He might not even tell me he has pooped in them so that when I try to take him to the potty the poop falls on my foot. This has happened on more than one occasion. Totally disgusting and completely frustrating. I have tried sending him to timeout. I have tried bribery. All has failed.

I have recently discovered that Lane is obsessed with Reese's Pieces. Who isn't?! So here we are trying another tactic to get this child to go to the bathroom and let us know when he needs to go before he soils his pants. PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE LET THIS WORK!!!!!! Everything I have read says that boys are harder to train than girls. Let's hope it is easier when Riley is old enough to start training. So I have the "Hang In There" kitty cat poster with the kitten hanging from a tree branch looking at you with terror and cuteness all at the same time. As encouraging as it is, I am still begging and pleading that this works. I am so ready for a diaper less household. If I can get through this then I just have one more to go. So please send your good vibes my way because Lord knows I need them!!!

I'm Hungry!!!!

I just thought that I would show you what Riley looks like after she has eaten. She loves her food but boy she can kick and box her way through the entire eating process. This is the reason that she wears most of her meal. Her bib says it all.

Fun Days at Pump It Up

Well today was another fun filled day of jumping on a room full of inflatables. You know these are not my favorite places but today I needed it. I bet you thought I was going to say Lane needed it. Oh no, it's all about me today. This morning I was talking to my friend, Amy, about her "vacation". I have put vacation on quotations because in this conversation we decided that it really isn't a vacation for us. It is just transplanting all the stuff we do and are responsible for on a daily basis to another location. We also did come to the conclusion that it is a "vacation" for us but for our husbands it is a VACATION. So pretty much we were in rant mode and the kiddos on both sides of the phone were distracting us from our Bitchfest 2008. I told her that we really need to get these kids somewhere they can run wild and we can continue our conversation. We decided on Pump It Up. It was perfect and we also had free coupons to get in. YEAH!!!!! I love me some free.

Amy invited our friend Kristin and her daughter Savannah. Then we all met at the local Pump It Up. I love this name by the way. It always reminds me of Hans and Frans from the Saturday Night Live skit. "We want to pump you up!" Remember those days when you could actually stay up that late and not pass out on the couch at 9:30pm. Those were the days. Lane is in hog heaven jumping on everything and playing with his friend Nathan. Riley was enjoying the girl talk and being held by everyone. There were quite a few kids there and as always the rough kids. You know the ones. The kids that have total disregard for other people's safety and will take you out just as look at you. Yeah, there is always one in the crowd. Lane, I guess, got a little sick of getting hurt on accident that he came over to me and wanted to wear head gear. I can't blame the kid.

This is where the cute picture of Lane in his head gear would be, if only his computer illiterate mother hadn't accidentally erased it!!!

We ladies commenced on our griping about husbands, kids, potty training and a many other things. Then we started to notice that the very innocent lady sitting next to us reading her magazine was inching her way closer to us. Her ears have now perked up and are pointing our way. She was listening intently to every word. Now don't get me wrong I would do the same. I would have been a little more discreet about it though. I am sure that in her mind she was thinking, "Right On! I totally agree with everything you ladies are saying. Fight the Power and don't let the man get ya down". Who knows she could just be thinking, "Could you people keep it down! I am trying to read about Brittany Spears over here". I guess we will never know.