I survived 10 hours of driving time with 5 kids in the car. I’m actually very surprised at how well it all went. I was sure that 3 hours into the trip Patches was going to decide he’d had enough of car and make life hell for the remaining two hours. Didn’t happen. Gleek didn’t have a tantrum. Kiki and Link didn’t whine. I did get to hear “Are we there yet?” to which I replied “You’ll know we are there when I pull up to a house and stop the engine.” When the question was repeated 10 minutes later I replied that I’d already answered that question and made Kiki repeat back to me my answer. I didn’t hear that question again. Yay!
The first hour after our arrival was pretty chaotic. Link had painful ears because they were clogged and we’d changed elevations. Then Kiki borrowed her cousin’s bike and ran into a mailbox. I was actually pretty pleased with my handling of that situation. She was flat on her back in a puddle crying with a crowd around her. No adult had seen the crash and so we had no clue as to its severity. I had Kiki lay still and carefully move each of her limbs demonstrating full function. This seemed to have a calming effect on her, by the time we were done she was able to stand up unassisted which assured me that there were no serious injuries. She did end up with some spectacular scrapes though. And the next day we had a talk about wearing helmets.
The rest of the visit was pleasant. I got to play Star Munchkin and Encore with relatives. Howard came up which made the weekend just about perfect from my perspective.
The kids negotiated an exchange and so I brought home Howler to play with Link while Kiki ran off to play with the female cousin her age. Despite his “lovingly applied” name bestowed by Howard, Howler made the trip home and today very pleasant. The kids are too busy having fun to bug me about stuff. Howler and Link are even letting Gleek play too, which is a relief. I thought I’d have to be calling around to find a friend for her.
Well, there it is. Not half so entertaining as I could make it I suppose, but I’m tired and laundry needs doing.