Why is everyone crying?

I remember as a kid all those drives to the beach and even OBX, which I am sure were worth the hassle of packing up 3 kids and travelling anywhere.  We are used to driving to the beach with E, but she was a narcolep in the car when she was little.  She would sleep from the second we left all the way to the beach.  Even now normally we put a movie on and she is fine.  However, Mr. C is a different story.  He does not like the car, so it is crucial to time our trip and leave right after he eats. We knew this was the case yesterday but for some reason we still had to pack the car afterwards, so it was an hour before we left.  This led to the

CAR TRIP FROM HELL!!!

My mom was back sitting between the kids.  For the first hour or so, she was non-stop.  Restarting the movies that E somehow turned off.  Keeping C occupied.  Trying to keep him from crying.  E was hungry or thirsty.  I felt bad enough for my mom as it is.  C was pretty good...on and off sleeping but for the most part quiet.  He would sometimes wake up when we got stuck in traffic because the car stopped.  Right as we got close to the 273 exit all hell broke lose.  C started screaming, which in turn made E upset.  It was so bad my mom even tried to take him out and calm him (we were at a dead stop, not driving).  Nothing worked and now both were screaming bloody murder.  Frantically, my mom yells PULL OVER.  Like the crazy woman I am at this point, I cut across two lanes of traffic and pulled over.  I get out of the car and take C and try and calm him.  E is still screaming.  Then a cop pulls up behind us and as he walks past the car, my mom goes all stressed, "we are fine...just have two screaming kids."  The cop smirked and moved on. 

Finally, I made the executive decision to just go...screaming kids or not.  my mom was driving and now I was in the back.  I put the window down to get some air and this droning noise started cause only one window was down.  I tell mom mom fran to put her window down.  Darn new cars threw her for a loop.  You know how in new cars you push the button and the window goes all the way down?  Well she could NOT figure out how to just crack the window.  Up down up down up down.  At this point, all we could do is laugh.  Both kids were so exhausted from crying they were falling asleep (praise the lord).  I had to hold E's hand to keep her calm :(

I was suppose to take my mom home but she did not think the kids would stay asleep, so we went straight to my house.  My poor dad had to bring the dog up and get my mom and mom mom.  He proceeded to tell me he remembered multiple times having to stop or pullover because of the kids or just drive with them screaming.  Even though the drive was horrible, every ounce of crazy was worth the memories we made this weekend at the beach.  Seeing my dad time after time get C asleep.  Watching E on the boats at Funland.  Us all dancing around having a great time.  Who ever said kids were easy anyway?!!??

Thank you sleep

All parents know how it is to never know when you go to bed at night if it will be a horrible night where your kids are up a lot or if there will not be a peep from them.  E was a EXCELLENT  sleeper until about 9 months.  Then she started waking up at 5am.  That only lasted a little bit but then a few months before I had C, she started waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to go downstairs or come in our bed.  This is not fun being 8-9 months pregnant.  We associated it with teething and her molars.

Then we threw her another curve ball, well two actually, and brought little C home then moved her to a toddler bed.  When C came home, she knew he was in our room, so she wanted to be in there too.  Also, she would hear him cry and us walking around those first few nights and would wake up (the white noise maker I got is a god sent).  I never felt so much sleep deprivation and frustration in my life.  Then it was like little by little each of them found their groove.  We moved C into his crib around a month or a little before, which was a simple transition.  He started only waking up once throughout the night and E started to be less needy. 

However, this week we would had a true break through!!!!  Even if it only lasts a week, it is a week we truly needed.  C started sleeping through the night and E started going to down WAY quicker and not waking up at all.  Actually, this morning I had to wake her up at 7:40am.   Now I am not dumb...I know this may not last but I go back to work tomorrow, so this gleam of hope is something I will just hold onto for now.

AL