We Made It...

...through our day trip to MonkeyUumpa's Sunday. We all survived, despite a near drowning, a little heimlich maneuvering, and some slight head trauma. Par for the course around here, I'm afraid.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But SpiderMonkey did miss a step in the pool and swallowed some water just before CuriousGeorge choked on some hard candy and right after TwinkeyA leaned back and smacked his head on the table. Ooh, and we can't forget about the free show! There goes my Mother-of-the-Year award.

So I thought I'd include some pics to show how crazy we are how much stuff we brought and the Brady Bunch-ness of the pool area...here we are freighted and ready to hit the road at 6:45am:

We arrived at 9:30am and the Monkeys were pruned within minutes of our arrival:

MonkeyButt enjoyed his new mask and snorkel. He swam the length of the pool and with every turn we could hear him yell "Retreat, retreat!" out his snorkel. Quite an imagination, that one!

CuriousGeorge reached a big milestone this weekend. In all his 5 1/2 years he has never, not even for one minute, trusted his lifejacket to help him float. Thankfully He finally does, and had a much better time floating through the middle than trudging along holding onto the sides. By the end of the day, he was even laying on his belly kicking his feet and paddling the length of the pool. Woohoo! He said, "Mommy, call the news people and tell them I can swim now!" Oh, and he found a new way to wear the float:

SpiderMonkey floated with KingKong nearby. And he had every last thing that would float in the pool. We'd scoop them out and he'd throw them right back in, screeching and giggling everytime. (Sorry the pics are dark):

The Twinkeys hung out at on the bar. Here you can see the yellow vinyl and clapboard walls. Retro! At the bottom of the bar you can see the beginning of the green faux grass carpet that covers every inch of the floor:

Did you see where the Disco ball is hung in SpiderMonkey's pic above? Just over the pool stairs, next to one of the tacky unique light fixtures:

It's a really fun place to hang out with family...as evidenced by the cannonball splash provided by MonkeyButt and MonkeyUumpa. Thanks for the shower guys!

Now, I am teasing about the Brady Bunch-ness of the pool area. I absolutely love it all. The green flooring beats the heck outta kids running on slippery tile any day! I even like the light fixtures and the disco ball rocks!!

We got fast food for dinner on the way home and got back just before 10:00pm after hitting Walmart for some lunch supplies for the week. We were all tuckered out and happy to be home.

The laundry is done, just in time to pack the bigs up for an overnight in Montreal with MonkeyNana and MonkeyPapa to see MonkeyAunt and MonkeyUncle who have and drive a Monster Truck and have a show out there Saturday. Should be fun! The earmuffs are packed!

It's Not Going in the Car Unless It's on the List!

We've been trying to get down to my dad and stepmom's house for weeks now, but something always comes up. We've stayed there for one overnight since we had the Twinkeys. Pre-Twinkeys, we stayed overnight usually every 4-6 weeks. We miss them very much. My dad is great...it just took divorcing my mom to bring out the best in him. And his wife is amazing. She's very kindhearted and has loved my boys from the day she met them. What's not to love, right?

Anyhow, they've always lived in condos in/around Boston. We usually tie in a city experience for the monkeys...Museum of Science, etc. Well, ever since my dad and his wife bought their house a couple years ago, the boys have a new favorite pasttime there...floating in their indoor pool.

Doesn't that sound g.l.a.m.o.r.o.u.s.? Picture beautiful tile floors and walls made of window pane. Beautiful, hmmm? Well, their pool room is, um, opposite of that. It's very Brady Bunch. And I don't mean this as an insult! It is such a fun place to be!! Complete with vinyl yellow seats (and bar! ;o] ), brown clapboard walls, and that fake-y green grass rug material covering the entire floor. We love it!

Top that all off with the recently installed disco ball and inflatable palm tree complete with Christmas lights, and we have ourselves a party every time. The monkeys are pruning within minutes of their arrival. They are very lucky to be able to have such a cool place to get away with people who love them so much!

We've been contemplating another overnight visit. Although, with only one pack'n'play and three monkeys who need naps, that would prove difficult (last trip, we brought the TWO swings). Usually the first afternoon we arrive is spent lugging in and setting up all our gear and the afternoon of the second day is spent repacking the car. Ugh. And the clothes! I know I have a problem. I pack like we're staying for one month, not one night. I really need psychological help in that department. I'm always thinking, "we'll need this if we go there and that if we go here," so eventually the contents of my entire house, including the closets, are packed into the back of our vehicle. Which, thankfully, (or not...because then I couldn't pack so much crap) has a large storage area, atleast until I order that 4th row seat I've been eyeing.

So, we decided that we might cut down on the stress for us (read: ME) worrying about packing so much stuff and make less of an imposition on them if we only stay for the day tomorrow. It's a 2.5-3hr drive. We're gonna throw kids in the car as they wake up...around 6am and leave to come home after suppertime so they can sleep on the return trip.

That sounded like the perfect plan until I actually started packing stuff a couple hours ago. The only thing I think I'll be cutting down on is clothing...and that's a big if, since I don't plan on throwing things together until after I finish typing.

My list thus far includes:
three Life Jackets
two Bouncers (for Twinkeys naps)
two Jumperoos (so they don't roll into the pool)
two Bumbo-style seats (for feeding cause I tried it once in the Jumperoos. HA. = M.e.s.s.)
one Pack'n'Play (for SpiderMonkey...hoping he won't be able to climb out...)
two Box Fans (one for each nap station...they need the white noise)
Bottles
Wipes
Diapers
Formula
Food
Spoon
Blowups for the pool
Snorkel sets we just got them
Swim diapers
Flip Flops (for the off chance they decide to leave the water for their meals)
Extra grungies (for the big monkeys plus KingKong)
Cell phones
Toll money
Basket of toys
Monitors
Oh yeah, the Monkeys.

I forgot I gotta wash their blankets. LadyKong's job is never done! *sigh*

Love that AIM

These aren't our real screennames (I know, you're shocked). MonkeyUumpa is my kids' grandpa.

MonkeyUumpa(3:37:59 PM): what r u doing?

LadyKong(3:41:33 PM): reading mom blogs; waiting for the boys to get off the bus; thinking about going to get SpiderMonkey up from his nap, but too lazy to get him unless I'm going down to unlock the door for the boys getting off the bus; typing to you; trying to remember where I put the thermometer so I can check TwinkeyB's temp again; waiting for one of the Twinkeys to cry because they can see me typing and they want to be typing too, so that I can scoop him up and put him in the tub first; and wishing that I'd folded laundry today so I would know where I can get a clean towel for said bath. You know, nothing much. u?

MonkeyUumpa(3:44:02 PM): nothing indeed..where did you leave the thermometer? I HOPE it wasn't a rectal....you better go check!

LadyKong(3:44:18 PM): ROFLMAO