Together Again

It's finally happened....after two long months, the Otondi family is back under one roof! It wasn't easy getting to this point, but it is worth it to all be together now! I flew home last weekend to accompany the kids when they flew to New York. Don and my Dad were to drive here over the weekend. My dad got sick last week with kidney stones and then the stomach flu, so he wasn't able to make the trip with Don. Not to mention the horrendous snow storm that gripped the entire path of Don's trip. He had a very long and stressful three days, driving much of the trip at nearly 40 mph it made for very slow going. He also had our beagle Lucy with him. She did fine in the car, sleeping most of the way. Her excitement came anytime Don would leave her in the hotel room to go back to the car for something. I'm sure the people in the rooms near Don's weren't amused by her howling!
I was so happy to see the kids. Mzee came running from what seemed like a mile away yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" as I exited the secure area at the airport and he noticed me! It was a great feeling. Milan was all smiles too, but very quiet. She came right to Mommy, so I was glad for that.
Saturday morning Don ventured out for the trip to New York and I spent the day with the kids at my parents. Sunday morning my mom drove us to the airport. We had good weather for the drive, which we were thankful for. This would be Milan's first flight and she's known to be quite opinionated so I was a little worried about her. This would be Mzee's fourth trip on an airplane, so I wasn't too worried about him. As is his usual way, once we boarded the plane, he was making friends with everyone who walked by us to get to their seats. One nice woman gave him three candy canes. He was telling everyone "This is my first time on an airplane!" Milan on the other hand, started screaming before the door was even closed and screamed pretty much at the top of her lungs for the first 25 minutes of the flight! Once the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign I was able to stand up with her and could at least get her calmed down, but the minute I attempted to return to my seat she'd start in again. It became pretty obvious that she was just over tired (no morning nap) so I decided to stop trying to calm her down and just let her cry till she fell asleep, which worked pretty well. It only took about five more minutes until she fell asleep in my arms. I was even able to move her to her own seat and buckle her in, so I could tend to Mzee who by this time was happily eating his entire snack tray of crackers, cheese and salami. He was ready for more crackers by this point and then of course, had to use the restroom. Thankfully Milan was asleep, but I did have a little unease leaving her in the seat alone, thanks to a particular Jodi Foster movie I once watched!
Mzee entertained himself the entire flight just fine, he is a great traveler!
When Milan woke, she was a completely different child, happy as could be, and hungry. She had missed lunch thanks to her 'episode' and yes I did offer her food and drink which she flatly refused....but now with her nap behind her, she was clamoring for cheerios and inhaling them as fast as I could give them to her. I even managed to get a couple of pictures of her smiling on the plane.. I'll post them later, as they are still in the camera.
The weather wasn't great when we landed, it was raining and I couldn't tell how cold it was to know if I was going to have to deal with icy roads. Don's cousin was going to meet me at the airport to help me maneuver two kids, two carseats, a double stroller, a suitcase, a box and a backpack to my car. However, where she lives they had gotten snow and the traffic was horrible so she decided not to come, which was for the best. I wouldn't have wanted her to risk the road conditions. So, armed with determination, I got the kids bundled in their coats and deplaned last in hopes that our stroller would be off the plane and in the jetway. We had to wait a little bit for it, but not too long. I got Milan settled and had Mzee walk. Then it was off to baggage claim to collect the checked luggage and carseats. This is where it would get a bit tricky...I managed to pile the two carseats and the box I'd checked into the back seat of the stroller, and was able to hold the stroller and the rolling bag in one hand while holding on the Mzee's tether in the other hand. This way he wouldn't escape! We made our way to the first of four elevators to get from the terminal to the airtrain and finally to our parking garage. All in all it wasn't too bad and only took about 20 minutes. We had one or two close calls making our way in and out of elevators, but Mzee loved riding the airtrain, so we did just fine. Once to the car, I was thankful for our easy to install carseats....gotta love Britax! It didn't take me much time at all to get them installed...after 3 years, I should be a pro as many times as we've moved them around! Then we loaded up and headed for our new home!
Mzee was very excited, especially when I told him we were going to cross the George Washington Bridge...he couldn't wait for that. He wanted to know if there would be trolls on the bridge - thanks to the Three Billy Goats Gruff for that! I told him no - "do you promise?" he said. I told him I promised him there were no trolls on the bridge. He seemed to like crossing, even on the lower level which isn't nearly as spectacular as the upper level. Not too long after crossing the bridge he fell asleep, which is just as well, since I took what I thought was a wrong exit somewhere along the way and had to take about a 15 minute detour through town to find out I was actually in the right place to begin with, it just looked different in the dark.
We FINALLY arrived at the house and I took Mzee inside. He was ecstatic about all of his toys being here. I left him in the house while I went back to the car for Milan. It was very icy here, so I didn't trust getting them both in at one time. When I came in with Milan, Mzee greeted me with, "Mommy, I like our new kitchen." The kids both had a great night playing with their toys and Milan was tired pretty early and slept very well! By the time I was putting Mzee to bed he was asking a few questions about why the floors creaked. I crafted what I thought was a pretty good story about how it was just this old house welcoming us to come live here...however, it didn't seem to satisfy him as he was still troubled by the floors. At one point he even said, Mommy, if I hear a noise when I'm sleeping I'm going to run to your bed! Now, in case you don't know, even in our old house, it is quite typical for us to have Mzee at the side of the bed at about 4 in the morning, strange noises or not, so I got quite a kick out of this....so now he has a reason to come to our bed in the middle of the night!
I sat with him until he fell asleep, and yes he did arrive at his usual time, but he told me, "Mommy, I heard a strange noise!"
Monday, since Don was delayed by the storm, I couldn't go in to the office until he got here, so I played with the kids in the morning and did some unpacking. The kids were really enjoying the time with their toys. It was as if they were all new again.
Don arrived mid-afternoon, but before the kids naps. They were so excited to see him! Mzee showed him his new room right away and gave Daddy a tour of the house. This was the first time Don was seeing the house. By the time he got the car unloaded and the kids down for a nap it was really too late for me to go into work for the day. I did read some e-mail and then tried to do a bit more unpacking. After dinner, we ventured out to Target, and I showed Don and the kids the downtown area, where Mzee's new daycare will be, where the train station is, etc. It was a nice little family adventure, although Target was a complete zoo, and the checkout lines were insane. Everyone must have decided to do their Christmas shopping last night! I managed to find a somewhat short line, and got out of there as quickly as we could. We got home and got the kids to bed, and then I had to get everything ready for work the next day! We are all so thankful to be together again!