Over the course of the past two weeks we were either preparing for a road trip, living on the road, or recuperating from the road trip. It's certainly been an eventful April so far! Kale, for the entire duration of said road trip, was also fighting off a combination of ailments which started with vomiting and ended with an earache.
On Friday afternoon, I got a call from Kale's daycare that he had vomited twice. I left work early to get him and take him home. The vomiting continued all night long into the wee hours of the morning, when finally after 8 hours of dry diapers, I became concerned about dehydration and went to the grocery store for pedialyte. The grocery store is kind of a scary place at 4am. But I'd do anything for KK!
Kale continued to vomit all day Saturday. He wasn't keeping my breast milk down, and he wasn't that interested in nursing. But despite my very sick infant, I made sure to still get outside with Sage and enjoy the gorgeous weather.
A quick trip to Lowes for some home repair supplies and to try out the riding lawn mowers...
Kale was quite the trooper throughout his vomiting spell. He remained in very good spirits. Besides all the liquid coming out of his mouth, and the lack of liquid coming out of his diaper, you wouldn't know you were dealing with a sick baby. (He actually went 12 hours without peeing on Saturday night and I got really scared. I couldn't sleep, and kept obsessively checking his diaper every 20 minutes. If you read about infant dehydration on the internet, 12 hours is a serious medical problem. Just as I was getting ready to head to the ER on Sunday morning, the boy peed!) By mid-day Sunday Kale seemed all better. But then... he started tugging on his ears and became very fussy. I suspected an ear infection. Knowing we were departing for Kansas soon I caved in and took him to the doctor Tuesday night. He DID have an ear infection, and we were prescribed an antibiotic. We spent the rest of Tuesday night packing up the car. Matt and I went to work like normal on Wednesday, but left early - around 3pm. I then ran to the pharmacy to get the amoxicillin, threw the last couple of items in the car, and we were on the road by 5:15pm.
Destination - Hays, Kansas.
A picture of the happy family, still in the driveway, before chaos unfolded on the highway.
The drive started peacefully, but quickly turned into quite the cluster.
1) We hit rush hour traffic.
2) A deadly accident closed down the I-25 in BOTH directions requiring us to travel through tiny farm and oil towns to eventually get to the I-70, adding about 45 minutes to the total travel time.
3) It rained!!!!! And it was dark, and my windshield wipers weren't doing a stellar job.
4) Kale was grumpy as hell. And we stopped for many a nursing session, where sometimes I couldn't even get him to nurse. Almost all the places we stopped were a little on the scary side - including one town called Agate that had "no services." We just sat in front of a poorly lit empty elementary school with the car doors locked. It was at that point that I dosed Kale with Tylenol.
It was supposed to be a 6 hour drive with an arrival around 11:30pm. We didn't check into our hotel until 1am - which was 2am Kansas time!!
All of us were quite fired up when we first arrived. It had been a stressful drive. So we took some time to settle into bed.
The next morning Sage and Dad went for a swim before we started the next leg of the trip, a"4 hour" drive to Kansas City, Kansas! And of course it took us longer!
Look at that gorgeous view... might as well have been driving with our eyes closed. The drive from Colorado to Kansas is the most boring drive I've ever done in my life. Barren. Puts you to sleep instantaneously.
We stopped in Topeka for lunch and to stretch our legs. Thankfully they had some grassy area for Sage to run around. He was like a wind-up toy that had been wound to capacity..and then we just let him go. Zoom! Zoom! All over the place.
Finally, we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Grandma had so many great toys waiting for Sage. It was like Christmas morning! She spoils him rotten. And I love watching it. One of the toys was a t-ball set.
Then Sage and Uncle Jack had a laser battle.
That evening, Grandma took Sage out to run a couple errands. How nice for Matt and I to get a little break!
We grilled out and enjoyed a fire on the patio.
Sam and Alison arrived later that evening. It was a great halfway stopping point for them on their big move to Colorado!!!
On Friday we headed out to Legoland.
Sage rode his first amusement park rides. They were just his size.
My personal favorite part of the center was Miniland, where they recreated some of Kansas City's most famous spots completely out of legos!
After nap, Grandpa showed off some of his own toys. Round and round the yard they went on his riding lawn mower. Sage was either hauled behind, or up front driving.
It didn't take long for the little guys to get tuckered out.
That evening Bud and Rose (friends of my parents) came over for appetizers and drinks. They brought Sage and Kale even more gifts!
Then the drinking started.... and soon after... the dancing.
We all did the Rick Astley, and the Macarena. Sam busted out the Carlton several times.
Before we knew it...it was midnight...and my mom turned 60!!
We celebrated the moment!
On Sunday, we spent some time outdoors.
We took a mile walk down to the neighborhood plaza for lunch and coffee.
Lunch was a challenge with both the little boys. I think my parents were caught off guard by how much of a challenge they were. They weren't bad boys...just restless. Climbing on top and under everything. It was an aerobic workout to keep them entertained. And I think Sage may have spilled something....
It was alarming to think we had to go out again for a second meal. But my dad had quite a special treat planned. We went to the Chaz at the Rafael Hotel for a big birthday dinner. And the food was outstanding. I had an arugula salad with goat cheese and a cocoa vinaigrette. Followed by the best risotto I've ever had in my life! I tried to take pics, but the lighting was too dark. They had live jazz playing that same evening. And I enjoyed taking Kale over for a song or two. (He was fussy...and the jazz put him in a happy spell.)
On Sunday, the good-eating experience continued. Matt and I had an Easter brunch date at an all-you-can-eat fancy-schmancy buffet. It was just he and I...and we dined like kings! We went to Gram and Dun and the food was marvelous. I want to go again and again and again for the rest of my life.
My plate.
Matt's plate.
Out of all the food they had (and there was so much to choose from), our #1 favorite item was a lemon curd yogurt with handmade granola. Sure, they had oysters, prime rib grilled cheese, ranchero egg casserole, and pastries out the wazoo... but the yogurt was quite the delicacy.
The babies didn't miss us. They had fun with Grandma and Uncle Jack.
When we got back home, it was time for an Easter Egg hunt!
We gave Sage the hunt of his life. Probably close to 50 eggs!
And I think it wore him out!
For one final Easter activity, we dyed some eggs. Tie dye, to be exact.
Sam and Alison began their drive to Colorado Sunday afternoon.
We followed shortly behind them Monday morning.
Little did Sammy didn't know that I had a "welcome" gift basket waiting for him back at the house. I'm just so tickled to have my little brother in town. I wanted to start his arrival off right!
I included some items from the breweries, including a frisbee disc, items from CSU, a little local salsa, candy, a bike bell, maps of various areas, and lots of glassware.
Matt and I were so tired during our drive on Monday...we let the little boys take over for a while.
Just kidding!!!
We didn't stop in Hays on the way back home. We drove straight through. All 12 hours of it. Brutal! We were so happy to wake up the next day with no more driving to do. Home sweet home!
And look who's a pro at sitting now!
