Thankful

I am thankful for so many things on a daily basis.  Today, I just want to take a moment to thank all my readers for their time and feedback.   I also want to say how thankful I am to the local businesses that have given Miss Plan It All, their support.  As I have mentioned before, running a small business is a lot of hard work, but having people around you to motivate you and support you makes it all worth it.    I just want to share what today will look like for my family and I.  We are lucky to have great friends and family around us.  One of  my good friends has invited us to his house for Thanksgiving.  He usually joins us at our house every year.  I am proud of him for wanting to be the host this year and I am looking forward to the food!  I will be bringing the stuffing and cranberry sauce that I everyone loves so much.  I am excited for my boys.  My oldest is starting to understand more and more about holidays and my youngest just goes with everything. 

My wishes for everyone are that you have a great day, enjoy the company of your friends and family and eat lots and lots of food.

Road trip continued: day 2 & 3….

Okay, so I really am trying my best to post these blogs during this vacation but, it is kind of hard.  I feel like I need to hire Miss Plan It All to do some things for me right now.   The only time I have is when both the boys are asleep for the night.  During the day I am too busy doing things with them.  So, here it goes: Day 2 woke up at the Miller’s home,  boys slept through the night for the most part.  I am so proud of my toddler for staying in his bed all night being in a different environment and all.  We had breakfast with our friends and the kids, my husband took our toddler to their community park so that he could play before having to get in the car for another five-hour road trip (with stops in between of course), while I packed and got the baby ready to go.  By 11:30 a.m. we were all Kentucky bound.  Ready to see our friends and their kids. 

We arrived in Louisville, KY at around 6 p.m, checked in at our hotel and headed out to a restaurant to meet our friends for a little while.  My toddler gets shy around people he has not seen or met and now during this trip he handles his shyness by putting his entire hand in his mouth and gags himself.  Oh, it is great when in public and people stare like what is that little boy choking on.  My husband and I know better so we really don’t pay much attention.  Anyway, that is just a side note for those parents who go through similar things with their toddlers.  We make it back to the hotel, get the kids in bed and much to our surprise they sleep through the night.  Ahhhh… this is the best vacation ever so far. 

Day 3: We are up and at em.. ready to go the Louisville Zoo with our friends and all the kids.  Had a fantastic day at the Zoo.  I must say my baby is awesome.  He was so good all day at the zoo.  Took his naps in the stroller and was just as happy as can be.  He is such a laid back and happy baby,  we feel so lucky.   We let our toddler play in the Wet play ground at the Zoo with the other kids.  Of course I bring his swim diapers and swim gear, but don’t pack anything for myself or my husband.  So, we take turns chasing him around the pools and fountains and slides, so that neither one of us would be completely soaked.  So, I decide to help out our toddler get on one of the slides and I got completely soaked by a giant pail of water that they seemed to pour down on me as my son went down the slide.  Ahhhh… it actually felt good since it was about 100 degrees outside.  After the zoo we made it back to the hotel got ready again and headed to our friends house for a cookout.  It is so nice to be at a house that is already child proofed.  Since they have a 16 month old boy who is everywhere, their house is equiped to handle kids.  This ended day three of our trip, back to the hotel, for another good night sleep. 

Tomorrow, we are Indiana bound… stay tuned!

Road Trip Continued….

Hello readers!  I apologize for not updating sooner, but of course my laptop crashed.  Something Miss Plan It All never plans for.  So here is the skinny on where we are.  Thursday, the day before out trip actually began, was crazy town at my house.  My toddler woke up feeling sick, I had a last-minute Dr’s appointment, I had to see a client and I had promised a friend I would pick her up from the hospital.  Wow, can I add more things to my plate on the day where all I should have been doing was packing and finalizing our trip plans!  I managed to complete all the tasks and add a Dr’s appointment for my toddler.  Dr. checked him out said probably nothing.. just viral, could not give him anything.  All she said was, he will get better and GOOD LUCK on your road trip/vacation.  While I was glad to hear there was nothing wrong with him and that we could manage the fever, panic set in as well.  I thought, great now we are going to be on the road and my poor baby is not feeling well.  Kids are very resilient though, I knew he would be fine in two days tops! 

So, I finished packing and running last-minute errands late Thursday night and left only the last-minute things for Friday morning.  Our goal was to be out of the house by 9 a.m.  Well, that did not happen.  My toddler woke up a couple of times through the night, so needless to say, we had a rough night.  All and all, we ended up leaving by 10:30 a.m.  Not bad at all.  So then the fun began!

On the road Day 1:

Kids did just fine in the car to our first stop which was about  three hours.  We decided to stop at a McDonald’s that had a play place so that my toddler would get to stretch out, play a bit, eat and then go.  Great idea, until we get to the McDonald’s with the play place and it was slammed!  People everywhere,  I really think it was one of the smallest McDonald’s I had ever been too.  The play place area was fine, except for the fact that the air conditioner was not working and we are going through a heat wave in what seems to be the entire East Coast of the United States!  WOW!  We managed to get out just fine, bellies full, diapers changed, potty breaks for us too, all is well! 

On the road again.  Georgia bound!  We drove another three  hours and made it to Cordel, GA.  We pulled into a gas station that really seemed like it put us back 40 years in time.  And of course, it was slammed.  Got gas, I managed to change the baby in the front seat of my car, he is really too big, but I managed and decided to drive down a bit more and go to the rest stop.  We made it to the rest stop and it was lovely to find that none of the bathrooms had a changing table.  Really!  No changing tables at a rest stop where people go to rest and change babies diapers.  So, my husband changed our toddler on a bench where they were both attacked by nats.  It turns out that there are Buffalo Nats that bite.   Not bites on the boys, but it is nice to know that biting nats exist! 

Back in the car, headed to our friends house in Dallas Ga, where we would be spending the night.  The last half hour of the car ride was challenging.  The baby was done with being in the car seat and my heart breaks at the sound of his cries.  He is such a good baby, never complains, never cries or fusses.. that when he does I know he needs to be in my arms!  So, thankfully we got to our friends house soon after the fussing and he was fine. 

It was so nice to visit the Miller’s.  I finally met their baby girls who is beautiful.  What a lovely child.  We had dinner, gave all the kids baths and put them to bed.  I was pleasantly surprised that the baby went to sleep right away in the pack-n-play that he never sleeps in, and that my toddler slept just fine in his inflatable toddler bed that I bought just for the trip and to make the transition to a big boy bed once we get home.  I had to lay there with him for a bit, but then he was fine.  I must admit, it was rather difficult for me to get out of the inflatable bed because it is so low to the floor, but I managed. 

Then we got to visit with our friends, talk and catch up.  Lovely evening.  Day 1 down… 8 days to go!

 Stay tuned..

 

Time with friends

Lately it seems that I need a long holiday weekend to reconnect with old friends.  I guess it’s because my time is consumed by everyday things that just happen.  My family has first place in my life and everything and everyone else comes after.  That is not say that I don’t think other things or friends are important.  I just have to find a way to manage my time to include spending time with friends, new ones and old ones alike.  I am sure there are many women out there who feel like they could use an extra three or more hours in their day.  I wish I had eight extra hours in my day to help me keep up with my friends!  However, since I know there is no one out there that can grant me that wish, I will just have to manage my time better.  Here are a few things that come to mind that I will try.  I hope my plans help those who read this post or at least they help you find ideas of your own.

I have friends with kids and without.  You would think that doing things with the friends that have kids would be easy because we have that in common.  WRONG!  It is not as easy as I thought it would be.  I used to think I could just put a play date together and that my girlfriends and I would have that time to catch up.  WRONG!  Yes, we have time together but not time to catch up!  Instead, we are playing with the kids and making sure they are playing safely, nicely and sharing.  Don’t get me wrong, I love doing that too, but to truly spend girl time with my mommy friends, I have to put a new plan in place.

Here is my plan for my mommy friends: Start a Girls Night!  Even if it’s after we all put the kids down and let dad watch them.  Even if it’s only for an hour.  Pick a place to meet outside the home.  Staying home or going to someone else’s home defeats the purpose of girls night out.  It does not have to be a place where you have to spend a lot of money.  A bookstore with a cafe can be a good place to catch up or a coffee-house.  If there is a nearby mall with a courtyard, that could work to, or a nearby park where you could bring a picnic or a bottle of wine to serve (drink responsibly).  If you absolutely have to meet in someone’s home, make it fun by adding a theme to the evening or playing a game.

Here’s the plan for my friends who are single and don’t have kids (of course you are counting on dad or a caregiver to watch your kiddies).
Pick a day or night to go out with them and do things that I can’t normally do with the kids in tow.  Like, go to a movie and watch a chick flick, spend the day shopping , lay out by the pool or at the beach, go do dinner and indulge!  It is easy to pick an activity to do with your single girlfriends.  I like to remind them, that I cannot do all the things they still do, like go bar or club hopping (if they are still into that) and that I cannot be their wing woman.  Most of my single girlfriends understand that I am no longer into the “club” or “bar” scene (neither are they for that matter), but that I do like to spend time with them and join them in what they like to do.

What about the out-of-town friends?  If you are like me and you grew up in a different city than where you live now, went to school out-of-state, and then moved to a different city after college.  That leaves you with a lot of great friends in a lot of great places.  How to keep in touch with each one is a challenge.  Thank goodness for Facebook!  This plan is a little bit harder to put together.  Let’s face it, you only have so much vacation time to spend and just because you are on vacation, it does not mean your friend are. My plan is to catch up with these friends by phone or Skype at least once a month.  It may not seem like a lot of time, but it is reasonable for me and that way, I get to talk to them not just read their status updates on FB.  If it just so happens I will be near their side of town at any given time, I will make a plan to meet up with them and their families even if it is just for a couple of hours.  There is nothing like seeing old friends.

Last, I love being a host!  All my friends know that my home is open to them whenever they are on my side of town.  They can count on staying at my place or meeting up somewhere nearby.  Luckily for me I am in Florida which lends itself to be a great vacation getaway for anyone.