Today has just been one of those days. I feel like I say
this all too often lately…one of those days. I’m feeling the winter blues. The
sort of blues where you just stare outside trying to will the snow away because
all you want to do is put on some freaking sneakers and shorts and take a long,
sweaty, calf-burning, arms hurting from pushing the giant double stroller up
and down hills type of walk. The January to March stretch is the worst. Thankfully
it’s all downhill after March. I love the smell of melting snow, the dirt
underneath starting to make an appearance, the sound of the water trickling
down the sewer, the feel of sunshine, and the reassurance that spring is most
definitely on its way. I get it; I should totally get to the gym more but the
gym is anything but relaxing these days. When I go, it means cramming it in
between naps when my kids are usually hungry or crabby or on a rare occasion,
happy and willing to go into the childcare. Then, I get myself situated and all
set to conquer a spin or yoga class before the pager buzzes and the girl calls
me down because Bennett pooped and they don’t change poopy diapers, or Mason is
crying and saying he needs to tell me something, (a trick he learned that
unfortunately he knows works in a bind.) When the crisis is over I head back
for about 25 mins remaining in class just in time to make a scene trying to
figure out where everyone else is and follow along, and then it’s over and I
pack my hungry crabby kids into the car and drive home. Anything but relaxing.
In trying to beat these winter blues my boys and I escaped
to Florida for a week. By “escaped,” I mean smashed a TON of crap into one
suitcase because God forbid I pay for an extra bag to be checked, ($50 freaking
dollars? I think not!)…we struggled with getting car seats checked, we charged
up the laptop, packed the flip flops….and bottles, wipes, pack and play,
sunscreen, baby food, etc , etc, etc, and we headed south. Ted had to stay
behind for work but, I started off 2013 with an attitude and resolution of “I
can do hard things!”(Yes, I am a momastery blog follower for those of you who
know what I’m talking about! ;) ). I decided this year I will challenge myself
to do things out of my comfort zone and dive into the pool of “holy crap this
might suck but at least I’m doing it and not wishing I had!”. I was most fearful for the flight down there.
I have two small boys and boys are just…boys. They just don’t slow down, like,
at all! My two (almost three) year old was upset we couldn’t bring his hockey
highlights DVD OR his Les Miserables live in concert DVD on the plane, but
rather a more appropriate “Lion King”... just in case any fellow passengers
happened to glance at what we were watching. Yes, he is a unique child with several
different interests. I have yet to figure him out myself. ;) I have no idea
what the next kick will be that he gets on but in the meantime, I roll with it
because, I mean, whatever works, right?! Anyway fast forward to Ted getting a
gate check badge and being allowed to walk with us through security and all the
way to the gate. Panic sets in that a.) I am sort of afraid of flying. Not
necessarily of crashing at all, I am just a TOTAL germaphobe…anyone who knows
me knows this. I highly dislike sitting super close to someone else and it’s
just out of my comfort zone. Also, I get claustrophobic at the fact that if
someone is coughing or sneezing or blowing their nose or something gross next
to me that I can’t just get up and leave…I’m stuck there…breathing in the same
air. Does this make me sound crazy? Maybe I am. I can’t help it. I hate
confined, small spaces and I hate germs! So…therefore…I kinda dislike flying. b.)
I panic that I am flying alone and I mean, what if shit hits the fan and I don’t
have anyone there for backup? I would be lying if I said I didn’t break down
into a small set of tears right before getting on. I was losing my “I can do
hard things” power-girl attitude I once had while hitting the “purchase” button
on our tickets. Ted encouraged me that it would be fine and it would be one of
those things in which the anticipation is way worse than actually doing it. He
was right, (damn it…right again). Once I was on the plane we were fine and
actually had fun! (Imagine that?!) Mason marveled in his Sprite he was allowed
to ask for, and watched the Lion King…despite still trying to figure out the
concept of death. My eternal optimist, as we call him, kept saying as loudly as
possible, “Simba’s daddy died but it’s okay, he will come back?” And yes I
meant to put a question mark there because it’s not like he’s stating it, it’s
like he’s asking it in an effort for me to say, “Yep, he died, but he will come
back.” So, that I did…mother of the year. Told him Mufasa would come back. I
couldn’t figure out how to explain to a two year old on a plane how one dies
but does not come back. My mom’s dog, Lucie, died last year and Mason is still
rocked by that experience. In some random moment he will, from time to time,
say something like, “MiMi’s dog Lucie is in heaven but it’s okay, she will come
back?” Hmm…maybe we will revisit this in his 3’s.
Anyway, we survived the plane ride with little drama. My
brother, Kel, who lives in Tampa was there waiting for us when we walked off,
(bless his heart, he is amazing!) Kel helped us retrieve our baggage, haul our
carseats to the Enterprise counter, get them strapped into our rental minivan,
and off we were headed to our week of sunshine. The boys did surprisingly well.
Mason slept with me in bed and Bennett in the pack and play in my dad’s large
walk in closet adjoining his room. My dad was out of town for business and
returned back Friday evening through Monday when we flew home. My grandparents
also joined in the craziness for the weekend. The boys and I spent a couple
days by ourselves…grocery shopping, long walks to Dunkin’Donuts and dolphin
watching along Bayshore Blvd, trips to the park, it was wonderful, (and
exhausting!) By the third day my best friend in the entire world, Hilary,
showed up. Hil lives in Charlotte and although we don’t see each other NEARLY
as often as we would like, we pick up right where we left off. Cracking jokes,
making fun of ourselves and our situations, talking about how we STILL wish we
were celebrities and how much easier life would be if we were, how flying would be
SO much better if you were a celebrity, how Jessica Simpson has turned into kind of a whack job but we can't help but think it's sorta awesome, how way too pretty Kim Kardashian is
for Kanye West, (yes, a frequent topic of discussion, unfortunately), and how
we are going to conquer life one diet plan and weight loss app at a time. Of
course with Hilary we always find ourselves in some sort of crazy situation
like Ferris Bueller-ing it over a speed bump in the rental minivan so much that
I think both our heads hit the roof because we were THAT excited to escape the
chaos of my dad’s house and head out to happy hour, having a drive by biking
experience by Florida’s scariest toothless woman who swore she knew Mason and refused
to leave us alone and quite possibly scarred my son for life, and who could
forget the rear ending fender bender we received as my dad was driving home
from the beach and blasting Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop”, as I am yelling to him
that it is not child-friendly music, nor appropriate in rush hour traffic. Luckily
there was no damage and everyone was fine, that poor rental van! (Anyone who
knows the Barry family knows this sort of thing is not out of the ordinary. We
are a modern family of sorts that tends to fight like the world is ending and
then get over it in 2 minutes and ask the other what we should have for dinner
as if nothing ever happened.) It’s dysfunctional to say the least but I grew up
with it so I know no different. This sort of conditioned fighting method has
thrown my husband for a loop over the 8 years we have been together to say the
least. ;)
Anyway, what I learned was that maybe I really CAN do things
out of my comfort zone? Maybe it’s actually FUN?! So now, I’m on to trying
other avenues to conquer my seasonal blues….like attempting my first cleanse. I
just ordered. Shh, don’t tell Ted..this is the crap that shows up on our doorstep
and I have to act a little surprised and like I don’t know what it is for a few
minutes before just giving up and saying “yep I ordered an $80 cleanse, and yes
I had to pay the extra $5 for the cooler pack but, don’t worry, it’s important
to me and TOTALLY something I need for the “bettering myself” slot in our
budget.” Ted is the sort of guy that is super obsessive about our budget. Like,
he even budgets in Starbucks runs in any given week.
I realize this is pathetic but when you’re a stay at home mom you kind of surrender
to this sort of thing. In the meantime…we can do hard things!! :) A few pics
from our trip…
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My little rock start travelers! :)
So excited to ride the "train" from the terminal to baggage claim in Tampa.
Love this shot. :)
I seriously hope my girls and I can rock it like this when we're 80! ;)
Why doesn't MN have Dunkin'? Best iced coffee!
Love these two!
The Don aka. Papa saved the day by flying into town and showing us a good weekend! :)
The crew in Ybor City for a festival...apparently it was called the "flan festival" but we never saw any flan?
Love my grandparents! They don't think they're old enough to be "great" grandparents so they want to be called "GiGi and Frankie" instead...Mason doesn't know they have any other name!
Typical Mase ;)
What kid doesn't love a pirate ship?!
"Mommy can we ride it?" Dream on guys, not happenin'
I quickly realized a high chair is a bare necessity with a 10 month old! Found this one at Wal Mart for $33! It was well worth every penny.
While editing my pics on my Canon I came across this...definitely my fave! <3 Brothers <3
*Note, do you ever plan something and picture it so perfect in your head? Yeah I did that with a sunset beach photo shoot I was planning with the boys...perfect outfits, cute hats, timed it right at sunset. Turns out we got there 10 minutes too late, and the beach I had staked out turned out to be a dog park/beach....there were giant dogs everywhere! A huge black lab bolted right at Bennett soaking wet and sandy and scared the sh*t out of him. He refused to let me set him down the rest of the time and Mason bee lined it for the water and fell in, then rolled in the sand. My photo shoot was squashed. I wish I had a few pics to prove it but this post won't let me load anymore!
Papa thought Mason's hair was a little out of control. Mason told him it's how the "hockey boys" have their hair. He reluctantly agreed to a cut as long as it still looked like a hockey boy. He was very aware of every snip going on with my dad's hairdresser.
We escaped the chaos of the house for Hula Bay's dockside patio...we shared some sushi and had a few margaritas, it was fab!
Dolphin watching on our morning walk
Trip wouldn't be complete without a pit stop at the Minute Clinic with an ear infection...just in time to fly home the next morning.
All good things come to an end and it's good to get back to "normal" life...life sitting in the sink after bath pretending to shave and moisturize.
