No, I’m not entirely packed. It’s past 11:00pm the night before we leave and crap is everywhere. The bottoms of my six year old’s special spiderman pajamas are still at large. Actually, I’m not sure that ANY pajamas have been located. (*Scribbling this fact down on the list next to me.*) I think we are going to have to bring the training potty (thanks to my 3yo being a little particular about exactly where he goes… ew to that). We can’t forget to bring the antibiotics my 6yo started today thanks to the 100 degree fever he sprouted this morning. Coloring books, DVDs, snacks, juice boxes (if they’re organic and contain 25% sugar, maybe the sugar freak outs will be 25% less freaky? My logic must work…), games, stuffed bears and a tooth box. What’s that? It’s the little box my 6yo likes to keep his tooth in for the tooth fairy. Because his front right tooth is hanging on by a very thin thread, it is something to be seen (or not) I tell you. Wow. Will it make it – still attached – to our destination, I do not know.
And I suppose now isn’t the time to realize that I don’t even own that many “winter” clothes. Shoot. I’ve only now just come to terms with the fact that I should not pack my flip flops. What the hell. I have totally lost my previously hardened Winterized edge. I remember the days in Boston when I scrambled over frozen snow hills, pregnant, to catch my bus. Now? I am CLUELESS. And ashamed.
So. Tomorrow. Hot-lanta. Thanksgiving with family and friends and dogs and kids and cooking and copious mugs of mulled cider. I hope to check in during a free moment while the rest lull around the house in tryptophan induced comas and I am hopped up on one of those 25% less sugar juice boxes.
But until then, if you are wondering how our trip is going, I’ll leave it to “They Might Be Giants” to illustrate what I expect our day will be like tomorrow.
Without further ado, I introduce to you a favorite Morningside Family car trip tune: “813 Mile Car Trip”.
That’s right, the day has come. Morningside Mom is finally heading to the City. My parents have flown in to help take over all of that stay at home, groundhog day, going around in circles, cat corralling that I do on a daily basis. Today I fly away from the “oh so predictable” kid schedule of my life and drop into the land of fabulousness, cosmos, culture, no bedtime routines… hell, I’m about to go spend 4 days at the center of the universe.
Bring it on.
And I am going all for the sake of the Vivienne Tam HP Mini Netbook. See mine sitting there? All ready to go? And the new uncomfortable looking but actually very comfortable shoes I bought for the trip? (Target, by the way. Don’t tell anyone.)
And check out that bag. My mom brought it back for me from Vietnam. The fabulous part is that the silk lining of that bag almost exactly matches the silk handbag that comes with the Vivienne Tam Netbook. Cool, huh?
Well. I think so.
So. Ok. Here I go then. I am going to try and blog as regularly as I can. I’ll be twittering it all too and uploading pics and video when I have something cool to share. And of course, I’ll be doing everything from my VT Netbook.
So here I go, leaving the mommy gig at the door. Off to be… um… fabulous.
I hope I don’t look as clueless as I feel. See you on the flip side.
I am in a packing frenzy and have very little time for any mucking about. Except, I have to share this bit of advice: don’t put your packing off until the last minute. Especially, when it is just you alone packing for everyone and you have two small children nipping at your heels.
Oh, and don’t save the laundry until the last day either. Washing colors and whites recklessly because you just want it DONE, is honestly not so smart.
And I also wouldn’t decide that you don’t have enough luggage until the last day and then haul the kids out and spend a half hour hemming and hawing over the cute luggage patterns in the outlet store (“Would THIS one be cute to bring to BlogHer, what do you think T.?” Blank stare. “If I am a good boy, can I have a Popsicle?” I’ll take that as a yes…).
And then don’t STAY in the outlet store once you’ve found what you need. Whatever you do. Don’t decide that maybe now is the time to spruce up the house with some new vases from the Home Decoration section. And then after 20 minutes of more hemming and hawing, don’t then decide that there isn’t any extra money to be spending on stuff like this and put it all back. It also might not be so smart to have spent so much time accomplishing nothing, that it’s close to lunchtime, and your two year old is having a cracker throwing, sippy cup tossing, mommy kicking, red faced squealing tantrum in the shopping cart. Yup, bad.
And then, once the kids are home and fed, don’t then decide to call your neighbor and gab about the mean couple at the fourth of July party. Because that can go on forever, establishing why they snubbed you or how they were rude to your neighbor’s children (for example, when my neighbor’s daughter approached their baby to say hello, the mom yelped in a panic ”Oh my son is allergic!” and scooped him up. Allergic? To what?? …Ok, ok, I’m over it).
And then don’t realize you have not ordered your son’s school uniform and hem and haw (“hemming and hawing”, it’s a true skill of mine) over which colored polo shirts to get. He looks FINE in yellow, just buy the damn shirts already.
And whatever you do, for the love of Pete, don’t get on the computer. STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER. Its eeevil. It will suck you in. It will steal hours out of that last valuable day while you ponder if the post you are composing is an utter waste of time and just a silly statement of the obvious. (Press “publish” and get on with it, girl!)
Groan. I am horrified, the afternoon is almost over! Please, if you are also heading out tomorrow for your vacation but have found yourself sitting here reading this (waste of time, stating the way too obvious) post, don’t follow my hopeless example. Please refrain from all this silly mucking about and procrastination. It will be your down fall, let me tell you. Just buck up and get packing. Spend the time preparing, read your list and check it twice, and do right by your suitcase.
Because you know what packing is all about? It’s not about having absolutely everything while you are on vacation (because, c’mon, we’re not heading into the Amazon, Wal Mart is -unfortunately- everywhere and you can always get what you need). A smart and thorough packing job, my friends, is about avoiding that certain moment in the car the next day. I am sure you know what I am talking about. After you are all packed up, and in the car (probably a little bit later than you’d like), and you’re excitedly speeding down the highway, it’s that moment when you think out loud “I feel like I forgot something.” And then, if you didn’t do a stellar job like you SHOULD have the day before, you probbaly have forgotten something. So then you need to decide if you should turn around. I hate that moment. I detest that moment. Realizing I have, in fact, forgotten something and then demanding we turn around has sent my (hates to be late) husband to the brink, let me tell you. Not such a good way to start that family vaca.
So, whatever you do, if its your day to pack before vacation: don’t shop, don’t call friends, don’t tinker and dawdle and daydream, and above all else, DON’T GET ON THE COMPUTER. Get packing and have a clean conscious that you did your best. While driving to the airport, allow yourself to laugh in the face of that “moment” and respond aloud “Well, I didn’t forget anything”, and then sit back, put your shades on and smile smugly …even if the “are we there yets?” have started up in the backseat.
Ok folks, I’m outa here. I will be blogging from the road, to be sure. Who knows where or when you will hear from me next but I will be back here, harassing you all, soon enough. Peace out.
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