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Toddler Log: 2 Years and 18 Weeks Old

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Marlie missed school this entire week. She was sick the first half of the week with what turned out to be a double ear infection. Some ibuprofen and antibiotics and she was on the road to wellness. Then on Thursday the two of us had a red-eye flight to Miami. I felt like a villain taking her on a plane when she wasn't 100%, but we bought these tickets last-minute after my brother was released from jail. I think I mentioned him on my blog before. He has been languishing in jail for 11 months on bogus charges and lacked decent legal representation until recently. His new private attorney is aces. Within a few weeks he was able to secure bail for my bro after demonstrating to a judge all the flaws in the case and the conspicuous lack of evidence. The judge stopped short of dismissing the case, but he did grant bail which is huge for his type of felony charge.

Anyway, I haven't seen my brother in three years. He's never met Marlie. I was determined to get to Miami before the holiday travel rush. Then Marlie got sick. We saw the pediatrician on Tuesday morning and she gave us the okay to fly on Thursday. If you think traveling with a toddler is rough, try traveling alone with a toddler while 5.5 months pregnant. On the flight, Marlie would not sit in her seat (that we paid for) and she would not go to sleep (except the last 15 minutes of the flight). I deplane with a toddler slung over one shoulder and a backpack on the other. I make my way slowly to baggage claim where I pick up the car seat and our suitcase. Thanks to the Smart Carte we make it to the rental car shuttle without incident. The shuttle drops us off at the rental car facility located outside the airport. There are no carts, and our agency is on the bottom floor. A nice lady helps us down the escalator. I find the line and it's 12-15 people deep. I put Marlie down and rummage in my bag for my reservation papers. She takes the opportunity to run off. I catch up with her halfway down the terminal. By the time we get back in line, six more people are in front of us. I am sweaty, frustrated, and exhausted. I am balancing a cranky Marlie on my hip when a concierge from the rental car agency comes by. She sees Marlie whining and tells me that Santa Claus  is here and asks would I like for her to go get him to cheer Marlie up. I give her a look that I hope causes her ovaries to shiver in terror. Look, lady who obviously doesn't have any kids judging by your perfect figure...when you see an obviously pregnant woman standing in line and struggling to calm another kid, you DO NOT offer her Santa freaking Claus! You offer to hold her place in line while she goes to sit down!!! Luckily, a sweet couple up front remembered I was in front of them and beckoned me over. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers! Concierge lady saw this and it must have made her feel guilty because she carried our bag and car seat to the car. Things didn't get better though. I split my pants while getting the car seat in place, and I almost got lost on the way to my mom's house. Our trip to Whole Foods for provisions was just as stressful (and Whole Foods usually makes me serene). By the time I pulled up in front of my mom's house three hours after leaving the airport, I was beat up. But when I saw my brother's face, I knew it was all worth it and I'd go through it again.

Miami is the same. Warm and sunny and just electric.So how did our visit go? Let me preface with this statement: I love my family, but they drive me crazy. They are loud and disorderly whereas I am quiet and orderly. I never felt like I fit into my family dynamics and this trip has proven my feelings correct once again. After three days of fighting for space to put Marlie down for naps and bedtime and having my family constantly overstimulating her and/or barging into the room were she was sleeping...I left and checked into a hotel. It was for the best. We need our own space and my mom's house was just overcrowded and too noisy. Anyway, we did have a good time in between the chaotic parts. We went to the park, flea market, visited neighbors, Marlie played with her cousins, and tomorrow I am taking her to the beach before we head back to Texas. All in all, our trip was a fun kind of torture. I only see my family once a year and I usually can put up with their b.s., but being pregnant has shortened my fuse. I will post pics this week.

10 comments:

Lee-Ann said...

Oh wow, I can't even imagine the crazy of that trip!

Quiana said...

I'm sorry you had all that drama but I'm glad it was worth it and you got to see your brother. I know about family members in jail and that can be rough. I agree 100% when you wrote, "I love my family, but they drive me crazy. They are loud and disorderly whereas I am quiet and orderly." One of my all time favorite quotes is, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." - George Burns

jmt said...

What a trip. Traveling with a toddler is so, so, so exhausting. Dealing with crazy family just tops it off and pushes one over the edge. I totally get it. BUT...sacrifices for that special meet and greet, eh? :) Did they hit it off?

Krissy said...

im glad you got to see your brother. I wish I could see mine :(

Family can be trying sometimes but I love them dearly.

Mama Up! said...

Holy moly, what an adventure :/ But having a number of brothers (and sisters) myself, I know that it was worth it. Travel with a toddler? Not for the faint of heart! Especially not while pregnant!

Kimberly Grabinski said...

You are brave doing that alone! But it sounds like it turned out to be worth it in the end to see your family.

Sucks about your brother, I hope his new attorney works out for him.

Help! Mama Remote... said...

Wow i know that had to be a challenging trip but well worth it to see your brother. I thought it was just you and your sister.

Maureensk said...

First of all, I am exhausted and feeling like I am going to have a panic attack just reading about and visualizing your flight/car rental experience, much less actually going through it. I'm glad the trip was worth it though and hope your brother is able to have the charges dismissed and soon. So, my SIL is not the only person in the world who goes into a room and wakes up a sleeping baby (not sure if she would do it now that she has a child, but she used to)? I almost committed sister-in-law-cide when she did that with Primo. She is a lot like you describe your family as being, very chaotic and dramatic. She gets depressed if things aren't happening and she isn't around a lot of people. We get exhausted the minute she walks in the door. Unfortunately, all of her drama and our inability to deal with her drama has our two families estranged from each other (almost 4 years now, so I doubt things will change)....

Alexia said...

Oh girl. I feel your pain on this one. That trip sounds like a disaster. I passed on the offer to fly down to my husband's family in SC because I just couldn't wrap my head around how tricky it would be just to get there, let alone deal with the chaos.

Glad you got to spend time with your family and that your bro got to meet M. But also happy for you that you can check that off the list for the year and go back to focusing on you, M & Chocolate Chip!!

Kim said...

I can totally relate to the family thing. And we just got back from the hospital and Naveen was diagnosed with an ear infection. At least the wait wasn't too bad.

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