And she's back

We arrived back home from our mini-vacation and are settling back into the groove of things.

Overall it was nice to get away with the family and spend some time together without the distractions of everyday tasks.

The first day we spent at the indoor water park which was a lot smaller than I anticipated, but was actually thankful for it. I stayed with the younger boys and attempted to follow Carson as he moved about from one area to the next and at times he slipped away so fast it took me a few minutes to locate him. Talk about a moment of panic. The only real bad thing was the level of chemicals they used in the water which was overwhelming. We all felt itchy, Luke's cheeks were red and I could only smell chlorine for the next few hours after we got out.

That night we set the navigation in the van to take us to the nearest Olive Garden for dinner and then came back to the hotel to call it a night. In the morning Jason had a conference call so I took the boys to the arcade for an hour. The feel of the arcade area was that of a casino. There wasn't much difference except that you got paid in tickets as opposed to money. They even gave you a card that you swiped for each game you wanted to play - no tokens or cash. That made it way too easy to spend way too much money. There again were a few moments of panic trying to keep all 3 in my sight. But I managed and they were starting to get restless. It was approaching lunch time and I really was hoping Jason would show up soon. I texted him to meet us at the restaurant when he was done. We all needed to eat and I was starting to get a nasty headache.

After lunch we headed over to Cleveland to surprise the kids by showing them the Christmas Story house. Unfortunately, it was closed that day, but at least they got to see the location which they thought was pretty cool. The rest of the day was spent looking at different neighborhoods and houses for sale.

At one of the houses we stopped at we got out to peek inside since the house was vacant. I walked around back and noticed the back door was wide open. I yelled in to see if anyone was in there so I decided to go in and give myself a tour. We also decided to call the agent and let them know what was going on. It was a bit strange.

That night we went to a different hotel and upon checking in we find out there is no pool. How could we stay in a hotel that does not offer a pool to keep our little ones busy? It wasn't going to happen. So while I was up in the room giving Luke a bath since he decided to pee his pants while standing in the hotel lobby, Jason was downstairs trying to figure out a different place we could stay at. It was at that point that I was just ready to drive home and be done with it.

Luckily, I left it in Jason's hands and we went down the road to a very nice Holiday Inn, which had a great pool and restaurant where the kids ate for free. I felt my sanity returning to me.

The next morning we did a final run through of some other areas and subdivisions and headed back home. Carson wanted his "Dee" which is his Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal that he has slept with every night since he was one year old. I ended up looking through every bag in the van and could not find it anywhere. At this point Carson starts crying and is visibly upset. He buried his head in his hands and was sobbing, which completely broke my heart. I made phone calls to all 3 hotels that we were at hoping at least one of them would give us good news. Two of the three said nothing was turned in and as of this morning the first hotel we stayed at still has not returned my 4 phone calls and messages I have left. I am quite irritated to say the least. I told Carson that if we didn't find it then I would get him a new one, but he said he only wants his old Dee, the one that he chewed the ears on.

I got online last night and actually found one just like his (minus the chewed ears), so I ordered it. Hopefully the hotel will find the old Dee and this will be a "just-in-case" replacement. Wish us luck!









It sure is good to be back home.