Fish out of water.

We took a trip up to Willard, OH to visit family.  I really can't explain just how wonderful the trip was.  We had a blast, and Anna can't stop talking about all of her newly discovered relatives (and their respective animal friends).  She was only a year old when we saw most of them last, so it was brand new to her.  She couldn't get enough of their animals (this is the point where you take pity on the poor defenseless animals ;)).  Daniel worked his charm on everyone.  He gave out BaoBaos (hugs) freely and open mouth kissed anyone who dared make the request.

Now for the fish out of water...yep, that's me!  This was my third trip to Willard.  The first couple of trips were even more whirlwind than this trip, so forgive my short memory.  Anyway, I hadn't been in nearly four years, so I forgot some of the aspects of small-town living.  As we were making the trip up to OH I started feeling a sinus infection coming on, so I suggested we stop in at Walmart when we got to Willard to pick up some Mucinex.  Will laughed hysterically and informed me that we wouldn't be able to make such a trip because Willard, OH has zero Walmarts.  I responded with "They don't have a Walmart?!  WHERE do they BUY things?!"  Looking back, it was a totally ridiculous thing to say, but at that moment, it was all I could think ;).  In my defense, I had never been to a small town before I started dating Will.  No one in my family lives in a town with fewer than a hundred thousand people.  I love Willard though.  Mostly because of all the people there, but it is a really nice place.  One thing I'm not so fond of...country roads.  I was on the verge of losing my lunch on a number of drives ;)

Yep, I'm a cliche.

Today was definitely "one of those days." The kids decided that it was against their better judgment to take a nap (oh man, were they wrong!). Tantrums were frequent and ugly. There are days when the best option seems to be to ship them off to their grandparents so that I can regain what is left of my sanity. I realize there's not much to salvage, but I'd love to do just that! One of my best friends told me that she loved how honest I was about my children. I will never be one of those moms who constantly says things like, "Oh, my children never misbehave! They are perfect little angels." Don't get me wrong, I think that my kids are the most amazing children who ever walked this earth, but they have melt-downs and freak-outs just like EVERY other toddler and sometimes it jeopardizes my sanity ;).

I've found that I have become a one-woman-cliche-spewing machine. I am constantly saying things like (the DREADED) "Because I said so!" and "Why don't you worry about eating your food, and I'LL worry about your brother?" Yep, that is me. I used to be somewhat eloquent. Gone are those days, apparently.

Today wasn't all bad. The kids were playing around in Anna's room this morning. She was throwing a bouncy ball and yelling "BASEBALL!" repeatedly, and for some reason that combination made Daniel laugh uncontrollably! I just about lost it laughing. All of the stress and nonsense of the day might have been worth it just for that fifteen minutes of bliss. None of us could stop laughing.