The Griswald's Ain't Got Nothin on the Boggeman's
Zero Hour. All seamed to be starting out fine. I had picked up our rented Toyota Sienna van Friday night with no issues. Everything was loaded except for the last few bags we couldn't close up until we left Saturday morning. We had plenty of time, snacks, clothes money, toys and a dual DVD player with movies to keep the kids entertained. Why may you ask? We were headed out on our first family trip since Sherry was diagnosed with cancer. We were going to drive from Newburgh, IN to Asheville, NC (approx. 7 hrs) stay overnight, get up, go to the Biltmore then drive to Savannah, GA(approximately 4 1/2 hrs) stay overnight see the historic downtown area and finish up by driving 5 hours to Clearwater, Florida. My dad had rented a condo on the beach for us to stay at the week of Christmas.
I was excited, my wife not so much. What is it with women and having this sense about things? I mean we were going to break it up into 3 days, take our time and see some sights. And heck Florida in December!! Sounds good to me. I mean yeah we were going to be in the car for 16-18 hours with a 15 month and a 3 year old strapped down in car seats like they were in military confinement. But we had food, and drink and toys and movies!! What could go wrong?
Day 1. Sooo, Saturday morning arrives and what should appear but the first tiny bump in the road, something so scary, something to fear. The one thing we were counting on to keep Allie and Kile entertained for hours, the DVD player does not work. We had not even pulled out of the driveway and it begins. We think it is either the outlet in the van (unlikely since it is a 2007), the DVD player itself, or the car adapter(it looked broken) Ahhh, but I being the man that I am, say "Lets go to Walmart before we get out of town" We needed windshield wiper fluid anyway(Sherry discovered this by accidentally turning the wipers and spraying the last bit of fluid we had) and they have everything. It was 8:20 am, still had time to be on the road by 9 am.
I hurry in to Walmart, quickly find the wiper fluid, and grab the car adapter. I give Sherry the adapter and fill-up the wiper reservoir. "This is the wrong kind!" I hear coming from the van. "What, no way, try it again." I mean there is no way I made a mistake, it must be something she is doing wrong. "It says it is not for use with DVD players." I think ohhh hogwash. There were all kinds of different plug in pins one is bound to work. "Let me try" Nope, no go. I was wrong and grabbed the incorrect adapter. So back in to Walmart I go, return the one and search for another. I take my time, look each one over and read the package carefully. AHHHH this one will do it. Back out to the van. AND...... nothing, nada, no power, the DVD remains silent. Well, its after 9, I say it must be the outlet or the DVD, unless we got a faulty adapter(what are the odds of that) we will just head to Asheville, and try the DVD at the Hotel with the regular plug in the wall outlet. If that works, then well it must be the van.
The remainder of the drive is pretty eventful with the kids, they do amazingly well considering the circumstances. Between the food, toys, naps and stops, there were only a few crying spells. The biggest issues was the light mist and the traffic going through Chattanooga. We arrive safely to the Fairfield Inn. We unload what we need, DVD included. I am pretty wiped by the drive, so Sherry volunteers to go get us dinner. After dinner, more fun. We discover that DVD player works perfectly plugged into the room outlet.
I decide to drive to the Best Buy, and Sherry puts the kids to bed. This shouldn't take long since Best Buy is an electronics store. I guess I forgot this was the Saturday before Christmas! After looking around for 20 minutes with no luck I finally find someone to help. The yare out of the cigarette lighter car adapters. They do have the $70 adapters that convert AC/DC current, uh no I'll pass for now. I then went to the Target that was across the parking lot. They too were out of the adapters. What is this!! Did everyone decide to buy these things! They do have the plug in adapters but theirs is only 39.99.
Fine I grab one and head to the check-out. Oh no!!! There are exactly 50 people in front of me, I counted, and only 3 lanes open down from the 4 that were open when I got there, as one of the girls just left when a man supposedly her boyfriend walked up. A few minutes later she walks out the door and leaves! It is now about 9 pm at night, 12 hours after we left Walmart and I am again standing in line. I am finally the 3rd person in line, and guess what reinforcements come. But now it is a matter of principal to go through this line, I am finishing what I started. I quickly pay, rush out to the van and open up my treasure. Oh Please Lord let this work!! YESSSSS, BINGO!!! It works, we will have movies tomorrow, Hah!! Oh yeah, by the way, I had unbelievably picked up the one defective new in box adapter from Walmart, go figure.
Day 2. Things are looking good again. We have tickets first thing in the morning to go to the Biltmore Home, and our kids don't know the meaning of sleep in. We are up by 6:30 am. Love the continental breakfasts, great for small kids. After we have eaten, Allie and Kile start watching the Wiggles and Sherry and I get ready. I sit down to put on my socks next to the bed that Kile is kneeling and wiggling to the tv. And from out of nowhere with no warning or sound this stream of chewed up banana comes streaming out of Kile's mouth like a small waterfall bathing the front of him and the bed beneath. "Sherry, Kile just puked!!" You may ask why I yelled this, well, not so good with the vomit myself. My call is to pull off all the sheets and place them on the floor for the cleaning people. Sherry actually cleans it as best she can. Now what do we do! We have to be at the Biltmore in less than 2 hours and the tickets cost us over $100. Well, no more solids for Kile, straight Pedialite. It's off to Target we go, again! Thank the Lord this was the only time he was sick. And the only other issues we had at the Biltmore were keeping Allie corralled and Kile off the ground at the animal farm.
We have a good time at the Biltmore for about 3 hours and then head to Savannah, Georgia. This time the children remain pretty entertained by the movies. It is my opinion that nothing you have to help keep them occupied will prevent a young child from some sort of meltdown after 4 or 5 hours strapped in a Child seat. Or maybe it's just my kids, yeah right!
All is well with the trip except finding the stinkin hotel. We are tired, hungry and grumpy, the three dwarfs. And, of course, we take the wrong turn, come in the opposite direction, drive up and down the street, don't see the Hotel. Start thinking it is closed down. We call, they answer and at the same time I finally see the entrance, Whew! All is well with the rest of the evening, as we are within walking distance of a Bennigans for dinner. About the only issues with eating is the one drunk guy that keeps screaming obscenities while he is watching the NFL, and my chicken tasted a little funny. Oh well, off to bed we go.
Day 3, Monday December22, I get out of bed and feel a little uneasy and queasy, and absolutely not hungry. I head to the bathroom a couple of times and dry heave and spit up a little but nothing much. But oh yeah the other end is on overtime!! We scrap going to see Savannah and head toward Clearwater, Florida. Sherry volunteers to drive, and I gladly acquiesce.
The first part of the drive I sit nauseous and thirsty in the front passenger seat, but its probably good I didn't drink anything. I have cold sweats and abdominal pain. We had talked about stopping at Jacksonville, Florida on the way down to use our Cheesecake factory card that was close to running out. I didn't want to eat anything. But nonetheless, Sherry somehow winds through the heavy traffic and crazily designed shopping center to find the restaurant. Oh did I mention it was near noon. "The wait is 5-10 minutes" Sure it is. While we are waiting I locate the Men's restroom, and of course both stalls are nonfunctional!! And if anyone knows me I don't go in public bathrooms, except standing if you know what I mean. So I was somewhat desperate. I come back and wait, and Sherry goes to take one of the kids. I don't even remember who. When she comes back she says there is a Family bathroom, which I didn't see that works fine, WoooHooo!!!! Enough said.
Oh, remember that 5-10 minute wait, yeah that was more like 25-30, not too far off. Sherry and the kids ate, I did not. I ordered bottled water, and take a phenergan. I was desperate for anything. I am not feeling well, so after Kile is finished I take him and we go back to the van. At least I think it was him, it's all kind of fuzzy. The nausea seams to be getting worse so I grab a big plastic bag and keep it with me as we drive. And thank the Lord I did. I have no clue how long we had been on the road, but I doze off, then wake up in a cold sweat, and out of nowhere I cough once and then its on!! Oh yeah right there as Sherry is driving down the interstate I unload in the bag. Over and Over, until all the water I just drank is out of my belly and what else was left over from last night. Oh but how sweet the feeling is, its over, the nausea, the cold sweets, I feel so much better. And apparently while I was emptying my stomach, Allie says something to the effect of "That's nasty" And yes, I agree. I don't know how Sherry kept it together. I would've probably driven off the interstate, across all lanes, stopping in the grass and jumping out of the car like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy.
Well, I know this story is getting kind of long, but there is more. I will keep it kind of brief and hit the highlights from each day. We arrive safe and sound on Monday. I quickly go to bed, and Sherry goes out to eat with my Dad, Lisa, Paul and Regon. And I guess our kids were so cute that a lady comes over from Indiana and gives them each 5 dollars, just for being cute! I know they are cute, but that's me and they are our kids. We are kind of partial to them.
Tuesday, December 23rd. The day goes well, except Sherry doesn't feel right that day. She is nauseous but doesn't do anything. We go to Homosassa Springs to see the Manatees and have an enjoyable afternoon. When we get back my Dad and Paul go to the store. While Allie and Kile take a nap. Then the fire alarm goes off. Right outside our door. I grab Allie out of a dead sleep, Sherry grabs Kile and Robin gets Regon. It takes us a little longer, so Robin and Regon jet down the stairs. As we leave the room, the sound is a piercing, painful tone. I have to open my mouth to help balance it, and hold my hands over Allies ears. We start to head down the stairs, when an old man with a plate of burgers, and steaks, comes wafting smoke out of his room saying "It was me! I did it!" So Sherry and I just take the Kids back upstairs. Robin and Regon got stuck outside as 2 firetrucks came and wouldn't allow them back in until they checked it out. This was at the same time that my cousin Amelia comes by with her boyfriend. They get to see all the fun.
That night my Aunt Sally and Uncle Peyton with their kids Zach and Megan. We have a nice dinner, open Christmas presents, and the kids dance, wrestle and play. All seams quiet at about 9 pm, Sherry is asleep with our kids, Robin is outside with Sally talking. Zach, Megan and Regon are in her room watching a video. And Dad, Lisa, Paul, Peyton and myself are sitting around talking. Then out of nowhere, Zach comes running into the Kitchen, which we can clearly see, and says I'm sick. There is a bathroom off the Kitchen. He doesn't make it. SPLAT, all over the kitchen floor. And believe me it was quiet as us men just sat there like statues, staring and not looking. I think the only thing that moved was our heads. and our larynx's. Not one of us got up or tried to comfort him. Looking back I feel bad, but yeah, does it really surprise you after how I reacted to my OWN child's puke! Peyton did yell for Sally. Who comes in kind of like what!??? And takes on the task of cleaning up the mess. The joys of motherhood and the weakness of men's stomachs. If you want to take over a town, just dump a bunch of vomit and watch the men scatter.
Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve. This is probably the most relaxing and enjoyable days. We all head to the beach for the morning and have some fun in the sun and sand and look for seashells. It's beautiful, no clouds, light breeze and about 75-80. Very glorious. Later we head to the pool for a little bit, which was much warmer than the ocean, and then hang out and make a gingerbread house. Just an all-around good day. Hah, we made it, one full day and nothing! My dad makes his Texas BBQ's and we all laze around either watching the sunset, a movie, playing games just relaxing. Dinner is ready, when Paul says, "Allie smacked her nose on the table" The same time Allie comes over to me and says "Oww daddy my nose, Something in my nose" I'm kind of confused, cause Paul said she had bent down and it looked like she smacked her nose. I investigate it further. UH-OH!!!! I look up her left nostril, and something is in there not sure what. I finally figure it out it is a Candy ball from the gingerbread house!!! Since Sherry is the nurse, I let her go to it. Allie tries to blow it out and nothing happens. Sherry gets some tweezers, and tries to get it out while Allie is standing there. By this time she is crying, jerking her head and saying "NO, OWWW!!" And very scared. After a couple of tries, Sherry is about to give up. So I try. I lay on top of her, and Sherry and Robin help comfort and hold her head. I get close but she keeps on jerking her head at the last second before I get a grab. Sherry gets nervous, and I say "Do you really want to go to the ER on Christmas Eve" "No!" is her response. So I try a couple more times, actually get a hold of it barely, and this 29 pound little 3 year old girl over powers 3 adults. She was like a slippery snake, with hands, arms, head, slipping in and out of grasps. We switched tactics. And I can't remember who recommended it, Robin or Paul, of Lisa. But they suggested flushing something up the other nostril to help get it out. Ahh, good idea. Sherry has Nasal spray, But nothing happens. It just makes Allie cry. So we take a plastic medicine syringe and fill it with Saline solution. She sprays it, and it looks like the coloring and solution stream out of her nose. But the candy doesn't budge. We try again, and it looks smaller, but no movement. Finally one more time and then we ask her to Blow!! And it pops out, whew! By this time we are all worn out, and stressed out. My little girl isn't hungry and just wants to curl up in my lap for a bit, and of course I oblige. Oh the fun things we do as parents! Allie has learned not to stick things up her nose, just ask her.
Thursday, December 25th Christmas Day
Every day this week my children have been up by 6:30 am. Not today. Regon(age 9) has been waiting since 5 am. Our children wake up shortly after 7. Doesn't surprise me. I remember having to wait it seemed like forever for my parents to wake up on Christmas morning. We have a fun time watching the children unwrap presents and play with their toys. It is another lazy day as we relax, go to the beach for a bit, relax some more, and start packing for the drive back on Friday. My sister and dad makes dinner, 2 whole Chickens, with cheesy potatoes, bread, and vegetables. It was very good. After dinner, we got most of our stuff packed and what we could in the van. Tomorrow Paul had a big breakfast extravaganza planned for my sister, since it was her Birthday. Waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, the whole deal! Then we would all leave and head out, us driving and them flying. We hit the sack so we could be well rested for the big day of eating and traveling. And yes the day went by without any incident. Or so we thought. Between 10-11 pm, Kile starts coughing, and I can't sleep. Sherry brings him in bed with us, it doesn't stop and I can't sleep. I have to drive, so I decide to go out in the living room and sleep on the couch. I make a quick trip to the bathroom, and uh-oh. Yeah you can guess and it ain't vomit. This begins my every half hour trek to the bathroom. I counted them 18 trips in all through the night and morning. I got to use the same bathroom Zach couldn't make it to on Tuesday night. Since I was not familiar with my surroundings I would turn off the light and stand there in the dark so my eyes could adjust before I started walking. One time about 2 or 3 am, I am standing there, when I feel a tug on the door the same time I am opening it. "HEY WHOSE THERE!!!!" I say forcefully. And I get an "ohhh OHHH!" in response. It would be my sister, who I scared as she was coming to look for some more toilet paper. And yes we woke up the rest of the house, except the kids, of course, they can sleep through anything. My sister has been up vomiting and feels awful. So the rest of the night we keep two bathrooms going and needless to say the breakfast extravaganza didn't happen. I end up making some eggs, bacon, sausage and we have leftover biscuits. And yes we do drive back that day, to just north of Atlanta. And Robin, Paul and Regon do end up flying back. But I do hear that they can't fly into Indy, but are routed to Detroit and end up having to take a 3:30 AM flight to get to Indianapolis. All while Robins is sick on her Birthday.
So lets recap:
Saturday- DVD doesn't work, search for adapter
Sunday- Kile Pukes
Monday- I puke in van
Tuesday- Fire Alarm and Trucks and Zach Pukes
Wednesday- Allie sticks a candy ball up her nose
Thursday Night Friday Morning- I have the runs, Robin pukes
Needless to say this was a Christmas that we won't ever forget that will go down as one on par with something out of a movie like Christmas Vacation. Christmas with the Bogegman's- Priceless!!
I was excited, my wife not so much. What is it with women and having this sense about things? I mean we were going to break it up into 3 days, take our time and see some sights. And heck Florida in December!! Sounds good to me. I mean yeah we were going to be in the car for 16-18 hours with a 15 month and a 3 year old strapped down in car seats like they were in military confinement. But we had food, and drink and toys and movies!! What could go wrong?
Day 1. Sooo, Saturday morning arrives and what should appear but the first tiny bump in the road, something so scary, something to fear. The one thing we were counting on to keep Allie and Kile entertained for hours, the DVD player does not work. We had not even pulled out of the driveway and it begins. We think it is either the outlet in the van (unlikely since it is a 2007), the DVD player itself, or the car adapter(it looked broken) Ahhh, but I being the man that I am, say "Lets go to Walmart before we get out of town" We needed windshield wiper fluid anyway(Sherry discovered this by accidentally turning the wipers and spraying the last bit of fluid we had) and they have everything. It was 8:20 am, still had time to be on the road by 9 am.
I hurry in to Walmart, quickly find the wiper fluid, and grab the car adapter. I give Sherry the adapter and fill-up the wiper reservoir. "This is the wrong kind!" I hear coming from the van. "What, no way, try it again." I mean there is no way I made a mistake, it must be something she is doing wrong. "It says it is not for use with DVD players." I think ohhh hogwash. There were all kinds of different plug in pins one is bound to work. "Let me try" Nope, no go. I was wrong and grabbed the incorrect adapter. So back in to Walmart I go, return the one and search for another. I take my time, look each one over and read the package carefully. AHHHH this one will do it. Back out to the van. AND...... nothing, nada, no power, the DVD remains silent. Well, its after 9, I say it must be the outlet or the DVD, unless we got a faulty adapter(what are the odds of that) we will just head to Asheville, and try the DVD at the Hotel with the regular plug in the wall outlet. If that works, then well it must be the van.
The remainder of the drive is pretty eventful with the kids, they do amazingly well considering the circumstances. Between the food, toys, naps and stops, there were only a few crying spells. The biggest issues was the light mist and the traffic going through Chattanooga. We arrive safely to the Fairfield Inn. We unload what we need, DVD included. I am pretty wiped by the drive, so Sherry volunteers to go get us dinner. After dinner, more fun. We discover that DVD player works perfectly plugged into the room outlet.
I decide to drive to the Best Buy, and Sherry puts the kids to bed. This shouldn't take long since Best Buy is an electronics store. I guess I forgot this was the Saturday before Christmas! After looking around for 20 minutes with no luck I finally find someone to help. The yare out of the cigarette lighter car adapters. They do have the $70 adapters that convert AC/DC current, uh no I'll pass for now. I then went to the Target that was across the parking lot. They too were out of the adapters. What is this!! Did everyone decide to buy these things! They do have the plug in adapters but theirs is only 39.99.
Fine I grab one and head to the check-out. Oh no!!! There are exactly 50 people in front of me, I counted, and only 3 lanes open down from the 4 that were open when I got there, as one of the girls just left when a man supposedly her boyfriend walked up. A few minutes later she walks out the door and leaves! It is now about 9 pm at night, 12 hours after we left Walmart and I am again standing in line. I am finally the 3rd person in line, and guess what reinforcements come. But now it is a matter of principal to go through this line, I am finishing what I started. I quickly pay, rush out to the van and open up my treasure. Oh Please Lord let this work!! YESSSSS, BINGO!!! It works, we will have movies tomorrow, Hah!! Oh yeah, by the way, I had unbelievably picked up the one defective new in box adapter from Walmart, go figure.
Day 2. Things are looking good again. We have tickets first thing in the morning to go to the Biltmore Home, and our kids don't know the meaning of sleep in. We are up by 6:30 am. Love the continental breakfasts, great for small kids. After we have eaten, Allie and Kile start watching the Wiggles and Sherry and I get ready. I sit down to put on my socks next to the bed that Kile is kneeling and wiggling to the tv. And from out of nowhere with no warning or sound this stream of chewed up banana comes streaming out of Kile's mouth like a small waterfall bathing the front of him and the bed beneath. "Sherry, Kile just puked!!" You may ask why I yelled this, well, not so good with the vomit myself. My call is to pull off all the sheets and place them on the floor for the cleaning people. Sherry actually cleans it as best she can. Now what do we do! We have to be at the Biltmore in less than 2 hours and the tickets cost us over $100. Well, no more solids for Kile, straight Pedialite. It's off to Target we go, again! Thank the Lord this was the only time he was sick. And the only other issues we had at the Biltmore were keeping Allie corralled and Kile off the ground at the animal farm.
We have a good time at the Biltmore for about 3 hours and then head to Savannah, Georgia. This time the children remain pretty entertained by the movies. It is my opinion that nothing you have to help keep them occupied will prevent a young child from some sort of meltdown after 4 or 5 hours strapped in a Child seat. Or maybe it's just my kids, yeah right!
All is well with the trip except finding the stinkin hotel. We are tired, hungry and grumpy, the three dwarfs. And, of course, we take the wrong turn, come in the opposite direction, drive up and down the street, don't see the Hotel. Start thinking it is closed down. We call, they answer and at the same time I finally see the entrance, Whew! All is well with the rest of the evening, as we are within walking distance of a Bennigans for dinner. About the only issues with eating is the one drunk guy that keeps screaming obscenities while he is watching the NFL, and my chicken tasted a little funny. Oh well, off to bed we go.
Day 3, Monday December22, I get out of bed and feel a little uneasy and queasy, and absolutely not hungry. I head to the bathroom a couple of times and dry heave and spit up a little but nothing much. But oh yeah the other end is on overtime!! We scrap going to see Savannah and head toward Clearwater, Florida. Sherry volunteers to drive, and I gladly acquiesce.
The first part of the drive I sit nauseous and thirsty in the front passenger seat, but its probably good I didn't drink anything. I have cold sweats and abdominal pain. We had talked about stopping at Jacksonville, Florida on the way down to use our Cheesecake factory card that was close to running out. I didn't want to eat anything. But nonetheless, Sherry somehow winds through the heavy traffic and crazily designed shopping center to find the restaurant. Oh did I mention it was near noon. "The wait is 5-10 minutes" Sure it is. While we are waiting I locate the Men's restroom, and of course both stalls are nonfunctional!! And if anyone knows me I don't go in public bathrooms, except standing if you know what I mean. So I was somewhat desperate. I come back and wait, and Sherry goes to take one of the kids. I don't even remember who. When she comes back she says there is a Family bathroom, which I didn't see that works fine, WoooHooo!!!! Enough said.
Oh, remember that 5-10 minute wait, yeah that was more like 25-30, not too far off. Sherry and the kids ate, I did not. I ordered bottled water, and take a phenergan. I was desperate for anything. I am not feeling well, so after Kile is finished I take him and we go back to the van. At least I think it was him, it's all kind of fuzzy. The nausea seams to be getting worse so I grab a big plastic bag and keep it with me as we drive. And thank the Lord I did. I have no clue how long we had been on the road, but I doze off, then wake up in a cold sweat, and out of nowhere I cough once and then its on!! Oh yeah right there as Sherry is driving down the interstate I unload in the bag. Over and Over, until all the water I just drank is out of my belly and what else was left over from last night. Oh but how sweet the feeling is, its over, the nausea, the cold sweets, I feel so much better. And apparently while I was emptying my stomach, Allie says something to the effect of "That's nasty" And yes, I agree. I don't know how Sherry kept it together. I would've probably driven off the interstate, across all lanes, stopping in the grass and jumping out of the car like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy.
Well, I know this story is getting kind of long, but there is more. I will keep it kind of brief and hit the highlights from each day. We arrive safe and sound on Monday. I quickly go to bed, and Sherry goes out to eat with my Dad, Lisa, Paul and Regon. And I guess our kids were so cute that a lady comes over from Indiana and gives them each 5 dollars, just for being cute! I know they are cute, but that's me and they are our kids. We are kind of partial to them.
Tuesday, December 23rd. The day goes well, except Sherry doesn't feel right that day. She is nauseous but doesn't do anything. We go to Homosassa Springs to see the Manatees and have an enjoyable afternoon. When we get back my Dad and Paul go to the store. While Allie and Kile take a nap. Then the fire alarm goes off. Right outside our door. I grab Allie out of a dead sleep, Sherry grabs Kile and Robin gets Regon. It takes us a little longer, so Robin and Regon jet down the stairs. As we leave the room, the sound is a piercing, painful tone. I have to open my mouth to help balance it, and hold my hands over Allies ears. We start to head down the stairs, when an old man with a plate of burgers, and steaks, comes wafting smoke out of his room saying "It was me! I did it!" So Sherry and I just take the Kids back upstairs. Robin and Regon got stuck outside as 2 firetrucks came and wouldn't allow them back in until they checked it out. This was at the same time that my cousin Amelia comes by with her boyfriend. They get to see all the fun.
That night my Aunt Sally and Uncle Peyton with their kids Zach and Megan. We have a nice dinner, open Christmas presents, and the kids dance, wrestle and play. All seams quiet at about 9 pm, Sherry is asleep with our kids, Robin is outside with Sally talking. Zach, Megan and Regon are in her room watching a video. And Dad, Lisa, Paul, Peyton and myself are sitting around talking. Then out of nowhere, Zach comes running into the Kitchen, which we can clearly see, and says I'm sick. There is a bathroom off the Kitchen. He doesn't make it. SPLAT, all over the kitchen floor. And believe me it was quiet as us men just sat there like statues, staring and not looking. I think the only thing that moved was our heads. and our larynx's. Not one of us got up or tried to comfort him. Looking back I feel bad, but yeah, does it really surprise you after how I reacted to my OWN child's puke! Peyton did yell for Sally. Who comes in kind of like what!??? And takes on the task of cleaning up the mess. The joys of motherhood and the weakness of men's stomachs. If you want to take over a town, just dump a bunch of vomit and watch the men scatter.
Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve. This is probably the most relaxing and enjoyable days. We all head to the beach for the morning and have some fun in the sun and sand and look for seashells. It's beautiful, no clouds, light breeze and about 75-80. Very glorious. Later we head to the pool for a little bit, which was much warmer than the ocean, and then hang out and make a gingerbread house. Just an all-around good day. Hah, we made it, one full day and nothing! My dad makes his Texas BBQ's and we all laze around either watching the sunset, a movie, playing games just relaxing. Dinner is ready, when Paul says, "Allie smacked her nose on the table" The same time Allie comes over to me and says "Oww daddy my nose, Something in my nose" I'm kind of confused, cause Paul said she had bent down and it looked like she smacked her nose. I investigate it further. UH-OH!!!! I look up her left nostril, and something is in there not sure what. I finally figure it out it is a Candy ball from the gingerbread house!!! Since Sherry is the nurse, I let her go to it. Allie tries to blow it out and nothing happens. Sherry gets some tweezers, and tries to get it out while Allie is standing there. By this time she is crying, jerking her head and saying "NO, OWWW!!" And very scared. After a couple of tries, Sherry is about to give up. So I try. I lay on top of her, and Sherry and Robin help comfort and hold her head. I get close but she keeps on jerking her head at the last second before I get a grab. Sherry gets nervous, and I say "Do you really want to go to the ER on Christmas Eve" "No!" is her response. So I try a couple more times, actually get a hold of it barely, and this 29 pound little 3 year old girl over powers 3 adults. She was like a slippery snake, with hands, arms, head, slipping in and out of grasps. We switched tactics. And I can't remember who recommended it, Robin or Paul, of Lisa. But they suggested flushing something up the other nostril to help get it out. Ahh, good idea. Sherry has Nasal spray, But nothing happens. It just makes Allie cry. So we take a plastic medicine syringe and fill it with Saline solution. She sprays it, and it looks like the coloring and solution stream out of her nose. But the candy doesn't budge. We try again, and it looks smaller, but no movement. Finally one more time and then we ask her to Blow!! And it pops out, whew! By this time we are all worn out, and stressed out. My little girl isn't hungry and just wants to curl up in my lap for a bit, and of course I oblige. Oh the fun things we do as parents! Allie has learned not to stick things up her nose, just ask her.
Thursday, December 25th Christmas Day
Every day this week my children have been up by 6:30 am. Not today. Regon(age 9) has been waiting since 5 am. Our children wake up shortly after 7. Doesn't surprise me. I remember having to wait it seemed like forever for my parents to wake up on Christmas morning. We have a fun time watching the children unwrap presents and play with their toys. It is another lazy day as we relax, go to the beach for a bit, relax some more, and start packing for the drive back on Friday. My sister and dad makes dinner, 2 whole Chickens, with cheesy potatoes, bread, and vegetables. It was very good. After dinner, we got most of our stuff packed and what we could in the van. Tomorrow Paul had a big breakfast extravaganza planned for my sister, since it was her Birthday. Waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, the whole deal! Then we would all leave and head out, us driving and them flying. We hit the sack so we could be well rested for the big day of eating and traveling. And yes the day went by without any incident. Or so we thought. Between 10-11 pm, Kile starts coughing, and I can't sleep. Sherry brings him in bed with us, it doesn't stop and I can't sleep. I have to drive, so I decide to go out in the living room and sleep on the couch. I make a quick trip to the bathroom, and uh-oh. Yeah you can guess and it ain't vomit. This begins my every half hour trek to the bathroom. I counted them 18 trips in all through the night and morning. I got to use the same bathroom Zach couldn't make it to on Tuesday night. Since I was not familiar with my surroundings I would turn off the light and stand there in the dark so my eyes could adjust before I started walking. One time about 2 or 3 am, I am standing there, when I feel a tug on the door the same time I am opening it. "HEY WHOSE THERE!!!!" I say forcefully. And I get an "ohhh OHHH!" in response. It would be my sister, who I scared as she was coming to look for some more toilet paper. And yes we woke up the rest of the house, except the kids, of course, they can sleep through anything. My sister has been up vomiting and feels awful. So the rest of the night we keep two bathrooms going and needless to say the breakfast extravaganza didn't happen. I end up making some eggs, bacon, sausage and we have leftover biscuits. And yes we do drive back that day, to just north of Atlanta. And Robin, Paul and Regon do end up flying back. But I do hear that they can't fly into Indy, but are routed to Detroit and end up having to take a 3:30 AM flight to get to Indianapolis. All while Robins is sick on her Birthday.
So lets recap:
Saturday- DVD doesn't work, search for adapter
Sunday- Kile Pukes
Monday- I puke in van
Tuesday- Fire Alarm and Trucks and Zach Pukes
Wednesday- Allie sticks a candy ball up her nose
Thursday Night Friday Morning- I have the runs, Robin pukes
Needless to say this was a Christmas that we won't ever forget that will go down as one on par with something out of a movie like Christmas Vacation. Christmas with the Bogegman's- Priceless!!
posted by JC Boggeman | 7:05 AM
8 Comments:
What's the leson here? If food smells or tastes bad, don't eat it!
LOL.
it sounds like you had a Christams that you will never forget....
Wow, guys what a Christmas! I know that it didn't seem so funny at the time but I'm sure this will bring many laughs in the years to come. Try not to top that one again!
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