Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Winter Vacation, Days 2-5

Sorry I'm so late in posting this.  My migraines have come back with a vengeance and I haven't been able to be on the computer too much because the light from the screen hurts my head.

Anyway, onto Day 2 of vacation.  We all woke up late, so we couldn't go to the zoo.  Instead, I took T and Princess to go see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.  It was the first time either of them have gone to the movies.  We got there early, got popcorn, and sat down.  Before the movie started, T wanted to leave.  He threw a little bit of a tantrum, but managed to do it quietly and we got to stay and see the movie.  I got some nasty scratches from him that are currently infected, but it could have been worse.

They both thought the movie was so cool.  I really liked it too-mostly because The Rock was in it and he's awesome.  The special effects were pretty great too. T has been begging me since then to go see the Lorax, so I'm going to take him this weekend.

After the movie, I took them to Johnny Rockets, since I haven't had their chili cheese fries since I was in college.  T got really antsy, insisted on sitting under the table on the floor, and decided it was his job to help the waitress by giving everyone ketchup.  Princess burnt her mouth on her first bite of french fry and refused to eat anymore.  We ended wboxing up the food and leaving.

Day 3 of vacation took us to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs.  Unfortunately, the parking garage was full at the museum, so we had to park 6 blocks away.  It was a little nerve wracking for me to have my preschoolers walking that far in the city.  They've never been in the city before, and there's all the traffic, and they're not used to it.  But it was fine and it turned out just to be mommy worry.

It was beautiful outside, and crazy hot in the museum.  The heat was blasting and I was dying after 5 minutes.  We ended up checking our coats, and T was afraid they were taking his jacket forever.  He had a little meltdown, but the coat check woman finally managed to assure him he would get it back later.  The kids wanted to take the elevator, even though we didn't have Goober or a stroller with us.  There was a line, but finally we got on it.  There were 3 nannies with their charges, and a woman from Florida with her kids.  The elevator guy thought I was a nanny too.  I took it as a compliment that I look young and not nearly as washed out as I feel.

We were only in the dinosaur wing for 10 or 15 minutes before the kids decided they were starving and had to eat immediately.  Back down we went, to the food court.  After we ate, we went to the gift shop.  T picked out a set of space shuttles, and Princess got a pink dolphin stuffed animal. 

They weren't too keen on a lot of the museum.  They weren't interested in the hall with the giant whale, or the Asian wing.  I finally got them to go look at the African animal dioramas, which they did like.  T threw a few fits, but it was mostly okay.  The heat got to me, though.  I had to sit down every time we went up or down a flight of stairs because I would start sweating and getting dizzy.  We went back to look at the dinosaurs again, and after they saw the T-Rex, they were ready to go home.

I promised them that if they behaved on the way back to the car, we would get cupcakes (there was a Crumbs half a block from where we parked).  It was a slow walk back.  They were so tired.  The cupcakes were amazing, though.

Then I got lost in New Jersey.  I had to take the lower level of the bridge and I always take the upper level.  I ended up having to go on the Turnpike South, which I am not familiar with.  I got off at the Meadowlands to turn around, and followed the signs for the Garden State Parkway, which I know like the back of my hand.  Then the signs for it stopped.  I had to choose highways and had no idea if I was going in the right direction, because I didn't recognize any of the town names.  I called my parents, who were golfing in Myrtle Beach, and my dad somehow figured out where I was, so I got back on track.  My trip home, which should have taken 30-45 minutes took close to 2 hours.

That's when the migraine started.  I've had migraines for years, but they've cooled off since Goober was born.  I'm allergic to Imitrex and the other migraine medications, and I've tried a bunch of preventatives that didn't work either.  So I'm basically SOL unless a doctor gives me narcotic pain relievers.  I was up all night, miserable.  I almost went to the ER a few times, but I really didn't have anyone to take care of all the kids if I went.  So I stayed in bed, pillow on my head, and tried to keep my kids quiet.  Yes, it involved lots of junk food, but the tradeoff was necessary.

On day 5 of vacation, I didn't feel great, but I promised the kids we would go to the zoo.  Except there was snow on the ground and it was raining when we woke up.  So went went to the aquarium on Coney Island.  I was under the assumption it was indoors, but I was wrong.  It was mostly outdoor.  And it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be.  T and Princess had fun.  Goober didn't really like it.  We saw the entire thing in an hour and a half.  I felt a little gypped, since it took about that long to get there, and I assumed it would be an all day thing.  The kids were happy once they got toys, though.  Princess got another pink dolphin stuffed animal, although this one came in a purse.  T got a 3D dolphin puzzle and sticky frogs.  Goober got a tiny little shark stuffed animal.

Instead of going home, since the boyfriend wasn't feeling well, we went back to my parents.  They were on their way home from Myrtle Beach, but we left before they got there.  The kids love being there to play.  It's roomier than our house, so they have more room to play.  We stayed there until dinner time, when T got really cranky and wanted to leave.

On Saturday (Day 6 of vacation), I took T and Goober over to my parent's house, and stayed there most of the day.  The boyfriend was still under the weather, and Princess slept all day.  Sunday we stayed in.

T was so happy to go back to school on Monday.  He really loves his teacher and his class.  I got a letter that his meeting to get re-evaluated will be on April 20.  I hope they'll let him stay in the school next year.  He's doing really well there, and I can't afford for him to go to preschool at all if the district won't pay for it.  We're also going to get Princess evaluated and try to get her into the school because she's been copying his speech and now she doesn't pronounce a lot of words right.

All in all, vacation was good.  Now T wants to go to Disney World, or as he calls it, Mickey Land.  He'll have to wait for his grandparents to do that one, but I hope we do get to go one day.

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