Trip to Atlanta

We just got back from Atlanta. My cousin, Heather, got married this past weekend. We always stay with the Kellys when we head down there, and this time was no different. We always try to squeeze in a visit with them if we can. Except this time, they were going to be out of town, too. They were so sweet to let us use their house as a "hotel" since they weren't even going to be there. Our plan was to drive down Friday morning and come back on Sunday completely missing them since they would be gone, too. I came up with the plan to leave on Wednesday with the girls, and John would come down Friday with my parents, and then John would drive back with us on Sunday. Jessica ended up with Thursday and Friday off so it worked out for us to see them before they left.

I've never made a trip like that with the girls by myself. I've driven to Atlanta with Meyers, and another friend of mine, and I've flown by myself once with Meyers. My friend, Stephanie, is supermom and drives her three kids all over creation by herself. I am seriously in awe of how she manages it - even stopping overnight and hauling everyone in to stay the night at a hotel. I figured if she could do that, then I could make the trip to Atlanta by myself:)

My Survival Kit

It's hard enough traveling with both parents, but I knew there would be nobody to keep the peace and keep them calm while we were on the road since I was driving. So I put this basket of snacks in the passenger seat, and I basically just threw snacks back there whenever they started getting antsy, fussy, whining, etc.

We went through Chattanooga and cut through 840. That's not on iphone's map yet, so that made me a little nervous, but John just told me to follow the signs, and shockingly,  I was able to do that:) I'm fine to drive anywhere as long as Siri is telling me where to go, but following signs "old school" was a little intimidating for me at first. We made one potty break for Meyers. I let her potty in the car potty while I filled up with gas. Since they were filled up with junk from the survival kit, we were able to stop a little later for lunch. I was holding out for a Chick-fil-a, but we had to stop at Wendy's. I was hoping for somewhere with a playground, but they only had a McDonald's - which I do not eat unless there are NO other options. Since there was no playground, Wendy's became the playground. I was totally that mom with kids running wild. I'm sure people probably thought I was the worst mom ever for letting their kids run around and climb on things, but I needed them to get some energy out!

Who needs a playground, when you have this?

We were making such good time until we got about 20 minutes outside of Chattanooga. We hit traffic and were at a standstill for an HOUR! We weren't even creeping - I took this picture while we were sitting in traffic.

sweet girls

The girls did great while we were sitting there. It wasn't until we were about an 1.5 away that Emery started screaming every 2-3 minutes. That was rough but overall, it was not terrible. I expected it to be much worse  by myself and it wasn't:) Jessica and I are both doing the T25 workout right now. Usually I won't work out on vacation, but we planned to do it while I was there. I even had enough energy to work out after our long day of travel! It helped having somebody to do it with me; I'd probably have skipped if I was by myself:)

On Thursday, we met up with two of Jessica's friends and their children. Jessica and I have been friends since middle school, and these girls are her friends from college. So while they aren't my close friends, I've known them for a long time and it's always fun to catch up with them.

Kelly and Eason girls playing on the train

my girls LOVED this slide!

eating lunch and the littlest kids hanging out watching something on the Kindle

cuties throwing pennies in the fountain

more playtime on the square

JH is one lucky boy:)

Caroline and Emery

We took the girls home for naps and rest time. Jessica and I totally vegged on the couch. After the girls got up, we walked around the mall and had dinner. You can imagine the looks we got with two double strollers and 4 girls in big orange bows:) We ate at Cheeky's, and it was so good, I am still thinking about my food. I wish there was one here! After dinner, we let the girls run off some more energy outside the restaurant. This sweet man who worked at the mall gave Meyers this balloon, and he quickly realized that he needed 3 more or there was going to be a fight:)

On Friday, we were on our own because Jessica had some things to do before they went out of town that afternoon. I got the girls up and went to meet my Aunt Sandy and cousin, Heather. I sewed 12 runners for her reception and wanted to make sure she had them before the wedding. We met for breakfast at the Dwarf House (the original Chick-fil-a) which is something we always try to do. They left to get their nails done, and I took the girls to a different mall to kill time. We found the Disney store, and got there right as they were staring story time. Our Disney store doesn't do this.  I thought that was pretty neat.

you can't see them, but they are in the stroller:)

We left the mall, and my plan was to head back closer to Jessica's to eat somewhere for lunch. On the way, I saw a sign on the interstate for Mellow Mushroom. Meyers's calls it Manilla Mushroom, and it is her favorite pizza, so we stopped there for lunch.

Lunch at Mellow Mushroom - happy for pizza!

We went back to Jessica's for naps, rest time, and work out time for me. I needed to make a Target run, so we did that after Emery got up. We stopped at Chilis on the way home for dinner. We basically ate out this entire trip. I didn't want to eat all of Jessica's food, and I didn't want to grocery shop and cook anything when I wasn't even at my house. Meyers was in hog heaven - that girl is constantly asking if we can "go the restaurant for lunch or dinner". Doesn't matter which restaurant necesarily, just a restaurant and not at home!

dinner at chilis

Dinner got a little dicey, and officially made me even more excited that John would be getting here that night. I was DONE being a single mama by then!

We got up Saturday, and the plan was for John to take the girls to get something to eat while I stayed at Jessica's and worked out. We were literally walking out the door and Meyers started throwing up. Thank goodness we were on the sidewalk and not in Jessica's house. Our plan for the wedding that night was to use one of Jessica's trusted babysitters because the wedding hit naptime and bedtime, and Emery at a wedding with no nap and close to bedtime was a terrible idea. Since we were already paying for a babysitter, Meyers was not going to the wedding either. So those plans got completely changed. We knew we couldn't leave a throwing up child with a brand new babysitter. I canceled the babysitter and John stayed with the girls. I felt so bad that he came in town to basically watch the girls. She ended up getting sick one more time, and that was it.......at least for her.

The wedding was beautiful. It was in a tiny little chapel that was adorable, and the reception was outside. The theme was vintage, and all of the details were amazing. My cousin did a fantastic job planning it. It was the first time the majority of our extended family had all been together in a while, and it was so great seeing everybody.

me, my cousins, Heather and Lauren

us three when we were little

the beautiful bride!!!

On Sunday morning, we met the whole family for breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and then got on the road. The trip home was pretty smooth. About an hour after we got home, John started saying that he didn't feel well. We had just gotten the girls in bed when he started getting sick. He never gets sick!!! I didn't want to catch it, so I was going to sleep in the playroom. I had just gotten settled in there, and Emery started screaming from her bed. Yep - she was now sick, too.

I'm not going to share all the gross details, but it was bad. And taking care of a sick baby (when you have a cold) and no one to help you because your help is sick, too is the worst!!!! John was so sickly weak, but on one of my trips into our bedroom to change shirts, I heard him call my mom. Bless her sweet soul because she came to the house of funk, and helped me. I really was going to try and do it by myself and not call her, but I'm so glad John did. Emery got sick every 15 minutes for 3 hours. It was rough! They are all better now, and I amazingly did not get it. This was the first (and hopefully) last time that our whole family has been sick with something within a few days/same time of each other.

I sat her on her ottoman to go change shirts. I was gone for 45 seconds and found her asleep when I came back to her room.