365 in 2014: 05/02/14
I was in Chicago for a work trip over the weekend, and the conference was at the Second City theater. Very, very cool.
Tag: travel
365 in 2014: 05/01/14
Uh, I think I’ll pass.
Virginia recap: Friday
So Friday. We slept in until about 8, and Kristina made the tiny pumpkin pies for the cupcakes. Our plan was to head into the city to go to the zoo, but we were in no rush.
After a torturous journey on the Metro, we made it to the zoo! And we were smart to borrow strollers from my friend Anne so the kids wouldn’t get too worn out. My friend Chris met us there (he lives and works in DC) and hung out for the afternoon.
We saw elephants and foxes and zebras, oh my!
But Linus’s favorite was all the giant boulders. He liked to try to pick them up.
After the zoo, we headed over to the Mall (the one without the shops) to ride on the carousel. Yay! Linus was thrilled, especially after the previous weekend‘s heartbreak. After a whirl on that (I was riding, so no pics), we headed over to the Natural History Museum so they could see more rocks. (Too dark in there to get decent pics.)
Then we headed back to meet up with our friend Anne, and had dinner with her and her son, Whitman. We went to a Chinese restaurant where Emily and Linus declined to eat dinner, and they had minor melt downs. They were tired. Back at my sister’s, the adults stayed up way too late finishing the cupcakes and drinking wine. Ahh, good times. 🙂
On Saturday, I had plans to meet up with some other moms of multiples for brunch. Even though I was somewhat hungover, we all had a great time. There was good food and lots of cute kids.
After that, I was dying to go to Trader Joe’s, so we took a quick trip through, even though I didn’t get to really buy anything. So sad.
We headed over to Kiki’s house later that day, and due to my “wine headache” (ahem) I kind of forgot some important things (i.e., my suitcase) at my sister’s house. Fortunately, Kiki holds her wine better than I do, and she drove me back to my sister’s house, half an hour away, to get it. The rest of the evening involved attempting (and failing) to get Linus to fall asleep.
I’d noticed a rash on his neck that morning, but it didn’t seem to be bothering him much. But later on, I noticed it was on his arms and torso as well. He was extremely uncomfortable later, and he just couldn’t sleep. (Turns out it was poison ivy.) He finally fell asleep with me, but that meant I got very little quality sleep. Ah well, who needs it?
Virginia recap: Wednesday and Thursday
Wednesday was the first day of our trip to Virginia. It started off by bringing Miles and Oliver to Granny & Grandpa’s house. My friend Stephanie was kind enough to drive us to the airport. Linus showed his gratitude by screaming the entire way. He calmed down once we got through security (how DARE they make him take his shoes off and put his magnadoodle in the bin!) and we got some pizza to eat.
The flight itself was generally uneventful, thank goodness. But we had to exit the plane via a very steep set of steps, and because I was also carrying a toddler, I was too preoccupied trying not to plummet to the ground to remember to pick up our gate-checked bags. Whoops. So we had a bit of a wait at baggage claim.
Then we went to pick up Emily from daycare. Linus and Emily haven’t really seen each other for a long time (has it been over a year? I can’t remember!) and in any case, they’re only now really old enough to play together. It was really cute to see them play.
Emily has a very, very, very pink room. And she is somewhat dramatic. Ahem.
My sister and brother-in-law left early the next morning. Kristina came over to stay with us and help with the kids, thank god. We spent Thursday morning at Cox Farms. There were tons of slides and we went on a hayride and ate our weight in kettle corn. Fun!
Linus got a bit turned around on this one.
(Then I put my camera down and retrieved my crying child. He wasn’t hurt, and was soon going down slides again by himself.)
On the hayride with Kiki:
Picking out pumpkins:
Later that day, after naptime and a meal, we went to TOY STORY ON ICE! Gaaah! It was pretty exciting. For Linus, I mean. Not me. No, not me. Nooo. I’m a grown woman, after all. Geesh.
Coming up next…Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! Yes indeedy!
Miles and Mommy go to Virginia
Okay, I’m going to try to keep this short, at least the words part.
Thursday
We leave NOLA. Flight is fine. Miles is restless, but we have an empty seat next to mine, so he is manageable. I brought an iPod with YGG on it, v helpful. We arrive in DC, Kristina picks us up. We go to heaven, aka Trader Joes. I buy a few things. We stop by a frozen yogurt place and Miles and I share a cup. He does not like coconut, I learn.
That evening, we relax and have burgers for dinner. Yum. Miles sleeps well.
Friday
Kristina and I accomplish Goal #1 of the trip, to win Super Mario Galaxy. We are awesome. We started playing in April, the last time she came to visit us. (Miles is napping at the time.) Then we go eat pizza and shop. I get lots of great deals at Kohl’s.
Miles finds the one thing in the store that he must have that is going to be fodder for embarrassing stories when he’s older. Hey, don’t look at me. He was the one who insisted on getting the Yo Gabba Gabba girl’s undies.
After shopping, we go to Kristina’s husband Mike’s pawn shop. It is really awesome to have a BFF whose husband owns a pawn shop. I bought some gold earrings, Miles stared in awe at the TVs (and said “Gabba Gabba Gabba Gabba” to them.)
Then we went to Heaven, part 2, also known as IKEA. Miles wanted to live there. I don’t blame him.
That evening, we go and meet my sister and her family for dinner. Burgers again. Yum. Miles stays over with Aunt Jenny for a slumber party with his cousin Emily. I gave Jenny her birthday present, a leopard-print Snuggie.
Saturday
We slept in, and went and got pedicures. I am v fancy. Then we went to get Miles and brought him to our friend Anne’s house, so he could play with her son Whitman, and the mamas could all go play that night. Whitman’s dad and Kristina’s husband (they’re brothers) babysat.
We were v fancy that night, eating at a nice restaurant, drinking fancy adult beverages. We met up with some other fancy friends there too.
Sunday
After a fitful night’s sleep (we stayed at Anne’s that night, and I forgot my Breathe-Right nose strip! This is v bad for me.) we woke up and made our way to a brunch place to eat. Miles liked the Froot Loops a lot.
That afternoon, I met up with some friends who live in the area for a playdate, and after that, we hung out with our friend Kettie, who happened to be in town for the weekend. (She lives in Dallas.) Her son, Henry, is 13 months old, and would make a great triplet. He didn’t take crap from anyone. Heh.
Here he is, eyeing Miles’s cup of Apple Jacks. And then going in for the kill.
Ha ha! That was fun.
That night, Mike grilled steaks and some scallops. Holy yum.
Monday
Went to Jenny’s for a Labor Day BBQ. The kids all had fun playing in the beer.
Especially Whitman.
Then my camera died. Dang.
Monday night was really fun times. I forgot to mention how Miles fell into a chair earlier that day, and caused a minor nosebleed. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, it stopped within seconds, but it was the first time I’d seen that much blood coming out of my kid, so I was kinda freaked out. And then later, after he ate approximately thirteen oatmeal craisin cookies, he barfed all over me. That was good times too. I guess it’s just as well my camera battery was dead at that point.
So that’s about it. We came home yesterday on another decent flight. There was a bit more whining, but it was fine. Whew.
Linus and Mommy go to California
I could make this a very long recap, but so that I don’t put everyone to sleep, I will make it snappy. But we did a lot, so it will be sorta long.
Friday
Got up while it was still dark out. Sob. Got Linus up and dressed and to the airport. Had much fun lugging 24 lb baby in Bjorn (over the weight limit, shhhh), suitcase, huge carseat, and diaper bag. Made it onto plane without incident. We were moved to Economy Plus (yay!) and had our own row, as well as empty rows in front of and behind us.
Linus was pretty good on the plane. Finally fell asleep as I rocked him while walking up and down the aisle. Whew!
After arriving, met up with some friends at a cute little park. That was awesome. Linus was the oldest kid there and he enjoyed showing off his walking skills. Nearly stole his friend Declan’s truck. After leaving that, I thought I lost my wallet. Found it. Whew!
Went with Evan to pick up Ellie from daycare. Cute story…she was sitting in the front office when we arrived. Evan thought she was in trouble. Turns out, the principal said she kept saying she was “waiting for Linus.” Principal thought Linus was imaginary friend? Didn’t know who she was talking about. Evan pointed out Linus, and confusion was cleared up. But how sweet that Ellie didn’t want to play with her friends, she wanted to wait for her baby cousin! Gaah!
Went back to their house, went to Trader Joe’s (why why why don’t they have them here? Hmmph.) and Evan cooked dinner. Linus likes slurping spaghetti noodles. There was much playing going on.
Friday
Went to Disneyland! Met up with Jennifer’s dad and brother and sister in law and nephews. Fun! Linus liked: teacups, cotton candy, fast rides. Linus did not like: strollers, lame baby rides that don’t do anything, mouse ears. Linus LOVED: It’s a Small World (it may be slow, but it’s eye candy for babies.)
Saturday
Went to the beach! Linus did not enjoy the water nor the sand, but did like the swings.
(he would not let go of my cell phone for practically the entire trip)
That evening, Linus and I took a trip to visit our triplet friends and their parents. So fun! I got really lost going to their house, though, and a trip that should have taken 15 minutes took almost an hour. Dang! So we didn’t get to hang out as long as I would have liked. But it was so great. I’m so glad we got to meet up! The kids played together, it was ridiculously cute. Brian and Cindy have genius babies, too. And next time I go, I may swap out one of my boys for Alexis. She’s such a girl! Ack!
Anyway, their triplets are just a few days younger than the boys, so Cindy and I were pregnant at the same time, and would comment on each other’s blogs all the time. It was so awesome to finally meet her and Brian and Alexis and Zachary and Jackson in person. I already felt like I knew them, so it was v comfortable, not awkward at all.
Sunday
Just a relaxing day. My old high school roommate Betsy came over, and we took a walk to Trader Joe’s. I’m telling you, it’s my second favorite store in LA (first being Paper Source.) Later, Jennifer and I went to Old Town Pasadena to go in some of the shops (like Tiffany) and have a snack at a cute little bakery place.
Meanwhile, Evan turned Linus into Linda.
Monday
Linus and I took the shuttle to the airport and had a thankfully uneventful flight home. He fell asleep literally as we took off, and woke up 3 hours later. Thank goodness there was a movie on the plane, even though it was about football. Better than nothing!
So now we are home. Linus was definitely happy to see his Daddy and his brothers, but I’m not sure Miles and Oliver even noticed he was gone. Ha!
Canada trip
Yay, I’m home! My trip was so short, though, you probably didn’t even notice I was gone. 😛
It was a very busy trip, but MAN I was glad to be away from everything at home, you know? Yes, I guess I include the boys in that, but really what it means is that I needed a break from taking care of them all by myself while George was sick. And they were sick. Very stressful week I had last week. So of course, it goes without saying that I missed them terribly, and was sooo happy to see them this afternoon when we went to pick them up. Best part is, I think they missed me too! 😀
So, the recap…it’s not without drama!
First, let me explain the trip. I was going to Toronto to help with the preliminary planning of a conference (the one I go to every May, the one I took the boys to in San Antonio, the one I went to Monterey for last May, etc, etc) that will be held there in 2010. We were going to be visiting several Marriott properties so that we could make the decision and sign a contract for the conference. We also needed to see the city so we could get some ideas for things to do for the conference. I was meeting Mike and Eva, other board members (who also came down here earlier this month, and we did the swamp tour, remember?) and Ralph and Fiona, a couple who live in Toronto and will be hosting the conference.
Saturday:
Up bright ‘n’ early at 4 am to get on my flight at 6 am. I was lucky enough to get a row to myself, quite rare nowadays. I didn’t sleep (I never do) but at least I was able to relax with a book. My connecting flight in Atlanta was an hour late leaving, but no biggie, really, as our schedule on Saturday was pretty flexible. No appointments or anything. I arrive in Toronto and have no issues going through customs.
So I go to get some cash out of an ATM. Whenever I travel to a foreign country (okay, only England so far), I never bring money to exchange, I always just use my ATM card there and withdraw it that way. I’ve never had a problem, and I have no reason to think I will now. But I do. It just doesn’t work. Later, I figure out that my ATM card is on a network that I don’t see on any Canadian ATMs. Oh well, it doesn’t end up being that big of a deal. Everyone takes credit cards (fortunately, my CC worked) but it’s nice to have a little cash on hand. No biggie. I panic a bit, though, thinking I’m not going to be able to get on the airport shuttle to the hotel, but they take CC (of course.)
The half-hour ride to the hotel ends up taking closer to 90 minutes because of unexpected traffic, so instead of arriving at 1, I get to the hotel at 2:30. Everyone else is there, and I try to check in. Half an hour early, no biggie. Eva had already checked that I had a room, and I did. It just wasn’t clean yet, so I wasn’t able to check in. We head off to Niagara Falls.
Ralph, me, Eva on the Maid of the Mist:
Rainbow!
Purty:
In a nutshell…fun! We walked around, took a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist, got soaked, walked some more, had dinner at the Marriott there (very nice dinner.) We head back to the city at around 10:00, after a comical search for the car. There is a LOT of traffic due to construction, and I am beyond exhausted. We finally make it back to the hotel close to 1 am.
I go up to the front desk to check in, and wouldn’t you know? The night manager, who is checking me in, says the hotel is 100% occupied, and he is very sorry, but there is no room for me.
Nice. Everyone is irate but me, I’m just tired. I’ll just sleep on a sofa in the lobby, whatever. I’m exhausted. He says the only room available is one at the Marriott at the airport. No freaking way. I go off to the restroom and let everyone else deal with it. I come back, and I am told that I will be staying up the street at the Four Seasons.
Now THAT’s more like it. Heh.
They stick me in a cab and off I go to sleep for the night at the fanciest hotel I’m likely ever to stay at.
(Truth be told, the rooms aren’t THAT nice, kind of dated. But they had L’Occitane toiletries in the bathroom and a very comfortable bed.)
Not that fancy room:
The next morning, I wake up, have my $40 breakfast and get picked up by everyone so we can tour the city.
My $40 breakfast: (but a real rose in the vase!)
So we tour the city, blah blah blah. Love the city. Decide I want to live there.
Then we go to lunch at a restaurant near the hotel called Baton Rouge. Love that. They feature “Louisiana Spinach Dip” and “Louisiana Chicken Sandwich” and “Baton Rouge Hurricane” on the menu. Kills me. Good food, but absolutely NO connection to my fair hometown. Funny.
After that, we have a meeting at a hotel.
Then we go to the top of the CN tower. Fun!
Then to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant called the Sultan’s Tent, where you get to see belly dancers perform. It was fun. Food was delish.
Back to the hotel (where I had a room this time, and a fruit basket because they felt bad) and off to sleep.
View from my room:
Up bright ‘n’ early on Monday for a breakfast meeting at the hotel we were staying at. The sales rep felt so bad about how I was treated on Saturday night. After the meeting, there was a tiny bottle of ice wine (some Canadian special wine that I have a feeling I’ll like a lot) and three tiny Roots t-shirts for the boys! Aw! Too bad I’d already bought them three tiny Roots t-shirts. I may sell three of them. We’ll see. Maybe not.
Now I have the Toronto bug. It’s such a beautiful city. Perfect size, clean, safe, lots of stuff to do, great shopping. And I didn’t know you get a WHOLE YEAR OFF after having a baby. I know, I know, Canadians pay higher taxes for this and for their socialized medicine, but damn. I’ll pay higher taxes to live in such a place! To raise the boys in such a place…sigh…where the Coke has real sugar in it, not high fructose corn syrup…
And because I can’t post without ONE picture of the boys, here’s one my mom took this weekend:
Can’t wait to go back in Fall 2009. Woot!
In non-travel news, we may be evacuating this weekend for Gustav. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t head this way. Sigh.
Weekend in Virginia
Thursday
Dropped Miles and Linus off at George’s parents house. I was seriously teary and sad when I left them there. I wasn’t really expecting that, for some reason.
Friday
Got to the airport bright ‘n’ early with Oliver. Everything went smoothly, though I do wish I’d put him in the Bjorn to go through security. Folding the stroller was a pain, but some nice lady gave me a hand. Oliver was an angel on both flights. He cooed and smiled and charmed everyone. He ate on the takeoffs, so he didn’t seem to have any ear issues.
Kristina came to pick us up, and she got seriously misty-eyed when she first saw Oliver. Aw!
After leaving the airport, we stopped for lunch at a pizza place, and then headed to Woodbridge. We stopped at (her husband) Mike’s work, too. That night, we had barbecue for dinner. Deeeeelish! Jenny and Rob and Emily came over, and we made Emily do tricks…
Saturday
Went for a walk in the woods. It was nice and cool. Oliver enjoyed communing with nature.
Afterwards, we headed to Jenny’s house for a barbecue. Yum. There were lots of people there. Max and Monica; Chris and Alvaro; Anne and Whitman; and of course Jenny, Rob, and my Emmy.
Oliver and Whitman hung out on the deck.
That night, Anne and Whitman spent the night. After the babies went to sleep, Anne, Kristina and I destroyed several bottles of wine over Thai food and our favorite card game ever ever ever, Shithead. We used to play it with our friend Marianne when we lived in London. Ahh, good times!
Sunday
Sunday morning came way too fast, after our 1 am bedtime. But that was okay because we were on our way to a mall so I could meet up with some of my blog mom friends, Karen and Jess. That was awesome. I got to hold some more babies and talk with triplet moms. (And Jess also has twins. Twin girls after triplet boys. Hmm, twin girls after triplet boys…sounds fun!)
Then we went to Anne’s house, which I’d never seen before. And then we went to my sister’s house again so I could spend more quality time with Emily and Jenny and Oliver could bond some more.
That night we had some pizza for dinner (always good, pizza is) and played more cards, this time with Mike instead of Anne. It’s very satisfying to beat Mike at cards. I’m just saying.
Monday
Oliver slept for a loooong time, and so did I! That was nice. But it didn’t leave much time for getting ready and packing and going to the airport. But we made our flight just fine. Oliver was great on the first flight, but a little fussy on the second one. Some German guys thought he was cute, and took a picture of him. Now he will be famous like David Hasslehoff.
I missed my Miles and Linus terribly. I don’t think they shared the sentiment. 😦
Overall, a great trip, and it was so much easier to fly with an infant than I expected. Maybe partially because it was only one infant? Oliver drank up the attention, I’m afraid I may have spoiled him. But then again, Miles and Linus got a ton of attention over the weekend too, so I guess they’re all equally spoiled. Whew!
And because I am lazy, here is a gallery of the pics I took this weekend…
Funny conversation with Delta agent
So I called the airline today to see if there was anything I needed to know about flying with an infant. The agent said yes, bring a copy of the birth certificate.
“What is the name of the infant who will be travelling?” she asked.
Oh no! I wasn’t ready for this question! Thinking fast, I answer, “Miles Kocke.” (Why Miles? I dunno. But I did. I said his name.)
She asks me a few more questions, and then I have to ask. “Okay, so, um, what if I don’t bring Miles? What if I bring another baby?”
Silence. I can hear the confusion.
“Um, I have triplets. I don’t know who I’m bringing yet. What if I decide not to bring Miles? What if I want to bring a different baby?”
More silence. I think maybe she starts to understand what I’m saying. She laughs a little and says I can call back later if I decide to bring someone else.
Whew! I can’t deny everyone the pleasure of watching the RKT lottery later on, can I?
Picking the RKT
I’ve been asked quite a few times how I intend to pick RKT (Random Kocke Triplet) for this weekend’s trip to Virginia. I got some good suggestions.
Regan suggested a baby race. “Line them babies up and first one to scoot to you wins a free trip to DC.”
That definitely paints a hilarious mental picture, mostly of babies wriggling in circles and then giving up and just sucking on each other’s feet before falling asleep in puddles of drool. Unfortunately, since only Linus is an adept scooter, I think it would give him an unfair advantage.
Shannon suggests I “place each of them in a swing, bouncy seat, whatever…then blindfold yourself and have George spin you around in circles to disorient you…then turn you loose. Whichever swing/seat you touch first determines the RKT.”
Again, not a bad idea, except that I can see this ending in disaster. Blindfolded and dizzy, I trip and fall on top of one of the triplets, or fall down the stairs. I fear I am not coordinated enough for this method.
Instead, I think I will use Rachael‘s idea, and simply write their names down on pieces of paper, fold them and put them in a hat, and draw a name. I shall have Teresa video this so that you can see just how fair I’m being. Keep your eyes peeled for possibly the most boring video ever made!
In other news, look at these pictures that Chris took of the boys when he was here last week. Awww!
Linus, Oliver, Miles: (click to enlarge)
Four more days!
…until Random Kocke Triplet (RKT) and I venture forth on our journey to the suburbs of the nation’s capital. I have almost been swayed to choose an RKT, thus rendering RKT not random at all, but I don’t know if I can do that. Not that they care, because whoever doesn’t go with me is going to have a grand old time with Grandma and Grandpa (who apparently bought out the toy section of Babies R Us). In fact, they’re probably hoping they DON’T get picked, in which case I’m being unfair to RKT for making him come with me.
That was confusing, wasn’t it? Anyway. We’ll see. Really it’s more about how terribly I’ll miss the other two who don’t come with me. How can I leave behind my sweet Miles, with his huge grins, or my Oliver bear, with his quizzical faces and heart-melting thumb sucking, or my Linus bear, with his chuckles and giggles and chin zit? Sigh. I think I need to get over it. It’s only for a few days, and I’ll be having so much fun that the time will go by quickly. Too quickly.
Goodness knows how I’m going to deal with my Canada trip, away from ALL THREE for three days!
Some pictures from the weekend…
The last two pictures remind me – there are some amazing sales going on right now. Holy cow, I bought a ton of stuff at Old Navy for next summer. DIRT CHEAP. We’re talking $1.50 for shirts, $3 for pants, and I got that hoodie that Oliver is wearing for $2.50. For RKT to wear on the plane. It gets chilly on airplanes! The cowboy hat Linus is sporting didn’t get purchased, as it was some ridiculous price (not on sale) at Gymboree. But it’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
Going uppppp
I’m so excited…I’m going to Toronto for work! Just a few days, but still! Canada, here I come! I am going to do a site visit for an organization I belong to through work. Oh never mind, the reason isn’t important (except that it means it’s free), I’m just excited to go! Of course, I’ll miss the boys.
Now I have to admit I don’t know much about Toronto. Has anyone been? Or is anyone reading this from there? What’s there to do (besides tour Marriotts, which is definitely on the agenda…)? Oooh, how is shopping?
Now I just need to get my passport renewed, and I’ll be all set. Yay!
pyjammy dot blog 