Hi, everyone! Finally have a spare moment to post (spare as in: only while spooning baby food into tiny tot’s mouth), so here I am. It’s been quiet here lately. Quiet NOT as in, “oh boy, this is SO peaceful and relaxing!”
No.
Quiet as in, I’ve been going about my normal business of handling 1,094 tasks per day, but nothing noteworthy for intrepid observers to read about. And with all of the snow and frigid cold of the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling a bit like this in the house:
SixPackMommy in her natural habitat.
Since we had last Monday off from school, I decided to take the kids *up to Connecticut for the day* to visit my younger sister, who had recently moved there.
(*desperately needed to avoid being imprisoned in my house with six bored, restless children)
I don’t mind interstate driving; in fact, I quite like it. Or I did.
Before… you know. The whole six kids thing.
But this time, I was prepared; or so I thought. We recently renewed our car lease, putting us into a newer Town & Country minivan (Company car is a perk. Must renegotiate sick/personal day quota). Did you know that DVD players now come standard?
I initially resisted the idea of having the kids watch television of any kind in the car. I mean, c’mon. We don’t even have cable at home. Why would I want my kids watching TV in the CAR?
I get it now, moms. I get it.
… because then, they STOP TALKING.
Woot!
I’m all for quality time, just not while driving.
While sitting outside the school, waiting for the big kids to be released. Gratuitous selfie compliments of Elmo!
So we embarked on an interstate trip to see my sister, Aunt Chell, or “AUUUUNTSHELLL!” as she is known to my kids, who adore because she’s young, cool, fun, and NOT Mom.
Now I have to give props to my Seester. Because not only has she always been amazing when it comes to bonding with my kids, she’s also served as an excellent babysitter (you know, FREE) time and time again. And even though she’s recently relocated to Connecticut, she still does a great job of staying in touch with me and the kiddos.
And by the time we pulled into the driveway after a two hour drive, we emerged looking something like this:
Except the Master (Mistress? Matron?) of Ceremonies was a grumbling, over-caffeinated mom that needed to pee really badly.
So again, credit to my sister. Because if I opened my door and witnessed the same group of little lunatics milling around aimlessly, I would have dashed back inside and fastened the deadbolt.
But she’s brave.
This was the first time that the kids had seen Aunt Chell’s new house. If my house is the Sticky Cavern of Chaos, then hers is the Cute Cozy Country Cabin. Seriously. It’s adorable.
And with six kids in it, it’s
LOUD.
But they all love hanging out with Aunt Chell and Aunt Chell’s brave, patient husband Uncle Corey, who was home for the day to not only witness the chaos, but to get down and dirty by actually playing with them. For reals!
To emphasize just how patient Uncle Corey is: he played an entire game of Life with #3 and #4. Remember Life? The endless spinning path involving cards the inevitably demote your financial status, increase your children quota, & generally make you want to flip the board by the time you’re rounding that top hill?
True Story: Whenever I played, I always ended up needing a second car to haul my gargantuan load of kids around the board. Fitting, huh?
Uncle Corey also put Guitar Hero on for the kids, which they hadn’t played before. And I can tell you that,
a)- Not one of my kids’ playing styles would be considered heroic.
b)- I can now air guitar the notes to “Black Hole Sun” verbatim, because I heard it repeated 77 times.
Aunt Chell and Uncle Corey are excellent hosts, which when translated into parental terms means:
“Aunt Chell and Uncle Corey occupied the kids with games and sugar so that I could sit down on the couch for more than a span of six minutes, which is excellent.”
And the kids had a blast. A BLAST… they were blasting off into an explosion of sugary bliss from every corner of the living room.
Did I mention the sugar?
Now Aunt Chell is fun in her own right. But when your fun aunt serves SUGAR, (especially when your mom strictly limits your sugar intake, obsessed with her own parental survival) well… let’s just say that she’s solidified her status in the top rankings of family members. Especially with #4, who’s sugar dependency has been noted here.
The children dined on a feast of:
- Valentine sweethearts (because she loves them. And she knows #4 loves candy)
- Brownies, with cookie dough. (Um… what black magic is this??)
- Swiss rolls
- Lucky Charms (because we’re part Irish… duh.)
- Cheese Doodles (to cut the sugar, of course)
- Dino nuggets (they may have been made from real dinosaur… little teeny ones, breaded & baked)
This delectable feast was followed by a viewing of one of Aunt Chell’s favorite childhood movies. Remember this guy?
(Note: This theme music is also my phone’s ringtone for when my brother calls, which should tell you a bit more about my family.)
Yup. Pee Wee.
They. Were. In. Awe. For the first 6 minutes. Then, back to wandering. Meandering. Flapping. Bouncing. Etc.
Sugar.
But regardless, a fantastic time was had by all.
Until…
We had to leave.
Did you ever drive a long distance and feel that, “Oh, I’m tired. There’s traffic. I just want to get home… “
Well…
It was like that. For ME. Plus,
-five squirming, over-sugared, restless, window-fog-breathing loudly talking individuals.
(#6 didn’t get any Lucky Charms, so he slept).
And you’d think that all that excitement, all of that energy would have been burned off via a two hour trip back home through endless traffic, right?
Well, then you’d be wrong. So very, very wrong.
Despite my exhaustion (and the future mammoth dental bills), it was wonderful to hang out with Seester and Corey. She really loves her nieces and nephews; she even made this sweet collage:
… after she and Corey rested & enjoyed the well-deserved silence. And replaced their sugar stash. Until next time.
© Copyright 2014 Six Pack Mom, All rights Reserved. Written For: Six Pack Mom