The Anti-Relaxing

Anti-relaxing....antirelaxing?! I may have just made that word up, and if I didn't it's probably spelled wrong. Either way, traveling with small children, or even Kellan sized children is not my favorite thing to do. You have to pack like you're leaving for 2 weeks, naps are missed, kids are grumpy, it just doesn't sound fun or relaxing in any way. So, for these reasons we never really took many long day/weekend trips with Kellan when he was young, and up until today we hadn't with Drake either. I had a change of heart though after being cooped up in the house for the last week and a half while Drake battled the HFM virus and was more than ready to get out of here for a bit, and the lure of a few things I wanted at IKEA also helped persuade me to take the plunge and break my "no travel with kids" policy.

To my complete and utter amazement, it was actually relaxing!! Andy and I loaded up Drake (timed our leaving with his first nap) and headed to Chicago this morning. Drake was a rockstar and slept the whole way there. He rode in the stroller for the 2+ hours while we shopped and was happy to just look around and practice waving at everyone.

After IKEA we ate at a brewery Andy wanted to try. The name was something weird that I'm not even going to try to spell, but it was good! Since I'm a rookie at packing for day trips I forgot his bib, a change of clothes, and his splat mat to put down on the table to eat off of.  Drake left a big mess, and we left a big tip (I hope).

There was a Bass Pro Shop near the restaurant so we walked over there and Andy picked out the pontoon boat that he decided we needed. The Swagger Wagon can't pull a boat so we'll have to wait to pick it up until we have something with a little more power. I feel the same way about boating with small children as I do about traveling with them, so we need a few more years for the boys to grow up a bit anyway. While Andy took his time and shopped the gun section Drake and I had time to explore the entire rest of the store. We entertained ourselves with some hats.

We left about an hour after his normal afternoon nap time. He quickly passed out and slept the whole way home! I've decided day trips are now do-able. The next big hurdle I need to overcome....a weekend trip...with kids...sleeping in a hotel room. Kind of makes me cringe!! I'm up for the challenge though, and we're planning on taking the boys to Chicago for a weekend sometime this summer. Now, my only question is should I pack one bottle of wine or two?! (That's a joke, Mom!)