In My Mom Era

“Stop at Scooter’s before the highway, babe. I need coffee.”

“Yep, and I’m getting one of those drinks I like,” Ty said.

Our trip to Maryland started off just the way I like it – with coffee. This was NOT a trip for the weak. Actually, this wasn’t a trip for most people I’ve ever met.

Nothing special was going on. While on maternity leave, I was browsing our vacation club resorts, and I saw this awesome condo in Maryland, near the beach, around my birthday. SIGN ME UP. We hadn’t been to Maryland yet!

We popped the address into Google Maps and hit the road. From our home in Farmington, MO, to the condo in Ocean City, MD, it’s easily an 18-hour drive.

We drove in 2.5- to 3-hour increments and stopped to change all 3 littles’ diapers, refuel the car and ourselves, and stretch. We finally got there on the second day. And of course, our condo was on the 2nd floor, no elevator.

Hauling those babies upstairs and getting everyone settled was a nightmare. I don’t remember most of it. But I do remember the next day. Back in the car to drive around the city. We stopped to eat breakfast, and an older couple commented on how cute the kids were and “OMG ARE THEY TWINS?,” (If you know, you know!).

So of course, Ty strikes up a conversation with them and immediately tells them we’re on vacation, and are from Missouri. They stare. They look at the kids. “You brought FIVE kids… to Maryland… from MISSOURI… and 2 of them are 2 months old?”

Yep. And boy, that was the consensus of literally every single person we encountered on that trip. Honestly, it never got old. We thought it was funny how absolutely floored people were.

Hell, how floored they still are when I tell them about that trip.

We drove to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Washington D.C.; Hoboken, NJ; and New York City, NY. With all 5 kids. We went to multiple playgrounds; one was on a beach, and the wind was whipping through all of our hair, but the kids were having so much fun, we couldn’t get them to leave. One was in a nature reserve/zoo, so we played, then walked through the zoo, then played some more.

We stayed at the beach for a good two hours or so, and the boys still talk about that aspect of the trip. How much fun they had running around, in their T-shirt and pants, in the OCEAN, while the wind blew and the water was freezing. Those are some core memories.

We ate at so many amazing places, but my favorite was Carlos’ Bakery in Hoboken. That lobster tail – MELTED. IN. MY. MOUTH. If I could’ve convinced Tyler to move there right then, I would’ve. Mmmm, mmm, I cannot WAIT to go again someday!! We were getting ready to leave to head home, and I asked Ty if we could “head home via NJ and NY… because we hadn’t been there yet… and I’ve been watching Carlos’ Cake Boss for YEARS!!!”

That is one of the only times he’s ever looked at me like I’m crazy, to be fair. And I mean, I WAS asking to go completely out of the way. So, he agreed, of course. I mean, who can turn down a bakery?!

That did lead to our one BAD fight, though. Oof, it was ROUGH. Ty has a bit of a temper, and he has more of a temper when he’s driving in a big city, where “NO-ONE KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE!!!!!” Seriously, the road rage is real LOL! He was cussing and ticked, so of course, I start yelling back at him for yelling at people that can’t even HEAR him – and then he’s yelling at me. Then the kids are all crying and screaming. Ughhhhh, horrible. So I made him pull over. I hopped out of the car on some random interstate on the way to New Jersey. We argued. I told him I wasn’t getting back in unless he let me drive. So I drove, and the fighting stopped. And we agreed that, unless necessary, we were having me drive in big cities from then on, haha.

Getting home was boring. Same old house, same bills, same responsibilities. All a bunch of hocus pocus I could do without.

I mean, we had to EMPTY OUT THE CAR.

Why do that when we could just drive to Alaska next?!

Talk soon,

Kelly