Going to Abilene

Fact about me: I hate travelling.

Oh, I know most people are not a big fan; generally speaking it is a tedious chore rather than a fun adventure, especially if you have young children. But I particularly dread it--I don't particularly like being in the car for extended periods of time, Gabriel struggles with new environments and changes in his routine (kid will have a rotten day if Emerald showers before he does in the morning, imagine what it is like to uproot and go somewhere else), and packing is a nightmare.

I mean, seriously--you always forget one important thing, like a toothbrush or wipes or a bottle. Something that you will need every day that you are there but might not need the morning you are loading up. Then, of course you are going to leave several things wherever you stay. I am bad about leaving my cell phone charger, then simply having to buy a new one. And deciding what is of importance enough to take or what you can do without...ugh!!

Anyways, I have a good time once I have reached my destination, but I am antsy and tense leading up to the actual arrival, which does not do for someone with small children.

I am lucky in that all three of my children apparently travel well. They don't ask to stop a million times to go to the bathroom, they play with the same few toys quietly until they are bored and then just stare out the window until we get there. Very low maintenance. But I am so tightly-wound that I fear I am stressing everyone else out.

Dad came and picked us up on Wednesday around lunchtime. We took my van because it has lots of seating, and we drove to Abilene in about 3 hours. Overall, not bad at all. We stopped once to get the kids some McDonald's and then arrived at Uncle Jarrod's by mid-afternoon.

Jarrod and Julia and Andrew were out of town visiting Julia's mother for Christmas, so it was just us and Oma and Grandpop until we left for Ponder on Friday. Aunt Cindy, Uncle Ted, and our cousins Jessica, Grace, and Grant were driving through back home from Christmas in New Mexico, and they stopped and had a BBQ dinner with us on their way through. It was a lot of fun--Emerald enjoyed playing with all the cousins, Benjamin loved getting the extra attention, and Gabriel adored the ham, lol.

Thursday was when the trip started getting more stressful, all because of....

...this guy.

Ben is a baby--he could care less where he is, especially if he is getting fed. Emerald is curious by nature, and this gave her the chance to play with toys she doesn't have and explore a house she doesn't remember well. Gabriel, while not a tantrum-er, certainly acts out when there is a change in the way he lives in his life.

It became a necessity for him to have constant supervision. At home, generally speaking I can sneak away to the bathroom if I really have to go or pop out to check the mail, especially if Benjamin is asleep in his bassinet. Now, I didn't even have the luxury of sitting down to feed Benjamin without looking up and seeing Gabriel engaged in some sort of shenanigans.

First, he would take off his diaper after he pooped in it, then run around the house stark naked (and quite yicky) until I could catch him, clean him up, and go searching for the soiled diaper and any mess he made between it and where I caught him. Of course, that takes a few minutes which means that in the time that I am cleaning up his last mess, he is all ready fully engaged in making a new one. Scaling the baby gates, climbing on top of counters, knocking over chairs, pulling Christmas ornaments off the tree and attempting to break/hide them, standing on the table, or swinging from the chandelier...every second, he was endangering himself and fraying every single last one of my delicate nerves.

Food became an issue as well, because of my spoiled children's limited diets. At home, I buy things that I know they will eat, but I also offer them whatever Michael and I are having. If they choose not to eat it, it is no big deal. But at someone else's house, if they opt out of a meal, that is wasting food we did not pay for. I feel guilty as heck about that, and I don't like doing it. So I try and generally give the kids things that I know they are likely to want so that I minimize waste. Unfortunately, while Gabe is stressed out and away from home, meal times become even more difficult--he does not focus long enough to eat, throws all his food on the floor, and doesn't say anything when he is simply famished and actually NEEDS to crack and eat something. It is just sort of a sucky situation for him because he really doesn't mean to be acting this way, but he is positively driving me crazy!!

Emerald enjoyed herself a great deal. And I liked spending time with Mom--Dad left Friday morning without us and we didn't get to see him again before we left.

Between clumsy rhino me and destructor Gabriel, we managed to break something in Jarrod and Julia's house pretty much every day that we stayed there!!

Thursday evening, Mom made us cabbage rolls which are absolutely wonderful. My great-grandmother used to make them for us--traditionally they are called runza's in Germany, and they are pastries stuffed with hamburger and onion and cabbage and seasonings...

yeah--all that awesomeness. They are super good especially when you eat them with salsa.

Friday, we left for Ponder. We stopped on the way to pick up Brian who rode in the back with Emerald. They really got along very well. When we got to Granny's, almost everyone else was there all ready. She had made these really tasty crock-pot enchiladas and we also had tamales which were surprisingly spicy. We had gotten there so late that all the mild tamales were all ready eaten!

Normally when Michael is with us, we all sleep in the bonus room upstairs because we have the biggest family that will be staying there, but since Michael didn't come with us this time the boys and I stayed in the computer room that has an adjoining bathroom. Emerald slept in a sleeping bag upstairs in Oma's room.

Next post: Christmas with Gigi and Papa!

--Andie!--