Orange Beach Vacation: The Drive Home

We are at the final part of our vacation recap, which would be our epic drive home. In case you missed the first two parts from earlier this week, you can read them HERE and HERE.

Let's start with Wednesday night, just 12 hours before we left to set the stage. My mom, Danny and I (brother and his girlfriend left that afternoon) decide on Mexican food for dinner. It dawns on me that Tucker hadn't pooped that day yet and it could mean bad things for us on the drive home. I worry about his poop schedule and weight way more than I should. So, we decide it would be a good idea for him to eat some of my refried beans for dinner. He ate half of what came on my plate.

We leave the condo at 6 am Thursday and we stop at Krispy Kreme like I demanded we do earlier in the week. I've only ever had Krispy Kreme from a gas station, so I needed the real deal. Worth the belly ache and every calorie in case you are wondering.

 

9am rolls around and Danny decides he needs a pee and stretch break. We pull off, do our things and hit the road again... for another 45 minutes. At approximately 10:00 am, my mom starts smelling poop. We pull off at the next exit and find that Tucker did in fact poop. That's fine.. until its in his shorts. (He peed on his going home pants Wednesday night. I should have known what we were in for). Take him in the bathroom, strip him down, use every wipe we have, get shit on my own shirt and we are done. I threw his clothes away. 1 outfit down and Tucker is now in the back up outfit of shorts and a short sleeve onesie from my purse heading back to 50 degree weather and we are equipped with cheap gas station wipes.

In approximately another 45 minutes, a wave of shit smell hits us all again. Yes, again, not even an hour later. And yes, it is out of his diaper again. Strip him down, use half of the cheap wipes, wrap Tucker in my jacket to take him to the car to find another outfit since I threw the second one away too. 2 outfits down and Tucker is now in shorts and t-shirt jammies. At this point, the Shit Storm of 2014 has to be over, right? I mean usually when he skips a day pooping, he poops twice the next day and its over with.

I have never been more wrong. We pull over for a late lunch and I start driving so Danny can get a little nap in. About an hour later, my mom notices something in Tucker's hand. Initial thought was oatmeal pouch, but once she realized that was in the cooler, it could only be one thing. Poop. More freaking shit. In between dry-heaving, my walks through pig shit husband is handing my mom wipes, I'm rolling windows down, my mom is laughing so hard you can't hear her and I'm trying to find an exit through my tears from laughing at my mom. I find a truck stop and pull over safely and we all get out and just stare at Tucker. It. Is. Everywhere! On his legs, in his seat, in his hands. It took a good 3 minutes to figure out how to get him out without getting shit all over us. About 10 minutes later, my 10 month old was laying butt ass naked on a beach towel on the grass of a truck stop in the middle of Kentucky where it was 50 degrees. While Danny dealt with the car seat, my mom and I wrapped Tucker in a towel and took him in to rinse him off in the sink. The shitty ass wipes from gas station #1 were not cut out of episode 3 of the shit storm.

Luckily, poop #3 was it for the day and we were back at my mom's house after 15 hours of driving.

It's a good thing he's cute

Orange Beach Vacation: The Food

On Tuesday I talked about our drive down and the beach parts of our Orange Beach vacation. Today, I'm talking about my favorite part of vacation.

One of the parts I love most about vacation is the food. (My 6th grade math teacher held a "Restaurant Report" every Monday, and his favorite one was the one after Spring Break. This is kind of like that for me) I really need to change that about myself since I practically cried on Monday when I had to put jeans on. Anyways, I especially love vacationing near water because I LOVE seafood. I am my Daddy's daughter in that regard. He loved seafood, and I do too. Danny was excited about this part of vacation too. Our first dinner out we ate at Bubba's Seafood House. My mom, Drew and I went there when we were in OB in 2011. The food was pretty good and also pretty quick. Danny got all you can eat shrimp and made it through 2 1/2 servings before throwing in the towel. I helped him on the 3rd and it was pretty good. Tucker had more than his fair share of green beans (which was the case all week). Everyone was satisfied with their meals!

Sunday night was the most anticipated meal of the entire trip, which is also the reason I chose to run that morning: Lambert's Café. We ate like it was the only way into heaven! Once you sit your butt in the booth, food starts landing in front of you. I think I ate my weight in fried okra before I even ordered my meal. My carb loving baby enjoyed half of a roll(which is a huge roll) and some more green beans. I think Danny's favorite thing from the whole place was the macaroni and tomatoes. That's all it was. It was really good though. I'm normally not one to order country fried steak for myself, I usually bum a bite or two from someone else. I decided to get it for myself this time and I don't regret it a single bit! So delicious! We rolled out of there and immediately went to bed I think. 

Our last meal was at Sea-N-Suds. It gave me a "hole in the wall" kind of vibe, which normally means one thing: Delicious food! And delicious it was! As we were walking in we ran into an elderly couple who said they had been there 3 times in the past week. Its that good! Its located on the beach and if you get there at the right time you can sit on the patio and watch the sunset. That was our goal, but things happen and we didn't make it. Its okay though.

We went out for breakfast a couple of times. Hazels Seafood had a breakfast buffet (my favorite kind of buffet) and Another Broken Egg Café was super delicious. And also super friendly about the screaming baby who was throwing eggs and toast on the floor after he had woken his parents up at 4:30, refused to go back to sleep, then shit up his back on their first attempt to eat there that morning.

In between feasting, the girls and Tucker made a trip to the outlet mall (my mom and I went back with Danny one day) while the big boys went on a field trip to the USS Alabama in Mobile. Tucker was a champ shopping with the girls. I got some really good deals on some work shirts, some motivation jeans from Loft ($20!) a fossil purse and wallet, some workout clothes and I got some Ray Bans. I'm officially cool.  I also ran. One time. Danny and I went on a dolphin cruise with my brother and his girlfriend. I had never been on one before and it was actually really cool. I can't wait to take Tucker when he's older!

Tomorrow I will tell the epic story of our last night there and how it made for a terrible, no good, very bad drive home!

Orange Beach Vacation: Driving Down and the Beach

That long awaited and highly anticipated Orange Beach family vacation happened last week. And it was wonderful! Everything I hoped for. Well, I did hope that I would magically come back without gaining single pound but I knew that was a long shot. I'm going to break this up into groups because it just seems easier that way right now.

The Drive Down: Danny, Tucker and I left town around 4pm on Wednesday. We got 20 minutes from home and Danny realized he forgot his glasses. Back home we go to grab the glasses. I think he forgot them on purpose so he could tell Diesel bye one more time. On attempt number 2 to leave town, we ran into a minor car accident that had JUST happened. Being that there was a paramedic in the car and we were still in his departments territory, he stopped, called it in and made sure no one was in really bad shape (which everyone was fine except for some shock). Finally got on the road and I was hoping those were the only 2 hiccups we'd have. After dinner with my mom (She was riding down with us), we all slept for a few hours before hitting the road. At 12:30am we loaded in the car and off we went. We met up with my brother and his girlfriend somewhere in Kentucky and stopped at Waffle House for breakfast. Uncle Drew learned quickly that if you eat in front of Tucker, you share with Tucker.

I ended up driving for a couple of hours after breakfast. Through Birmingham at rush hour with no coffee. I would almost classify that as dangerous. About 2 hours away from our final destination, we ran into an accident. A milk truck had overturned and traffic was backed up like you wouldn't believe.

And so was my bladder. Travel Lesson: Always have something in your car that you can pee in. Thankfully, when my mom and I stopped to get coffee, she changed her mind and got a large iced tea. Because I peed in the cup in our car. Our brand new to us car that we bought on Monday. We finally got to Orange Beach around 3 or 4.

The Beach & Pool: Growing up I was never a huge beach fan, but as an adult I love the idea of the beach. Sitting, relaxing, people watching and having a beverage.

Yeah, no. As an adult with a baby that just doesn't work out. Tucker wasn't a huge beach fan the first 2 beach days. The sand felt weird, tasted weird and he just wasn't a fan. Travel Lesson: The baby powder sand trick on Pinterest is not a joke and does work! He LOVED the pool though! Finally, on the 3rd beach day, I figured out how to combine the beach and the pool. A bucket of water for him to splash in. Travel Lesson: Never attempt the beach without beach toys. We didn't have toys until the second day so the first day was a hot mess.

WTF is this?!

Like I said, he LOVED the pool. Even though it was like ice water. Much, much colder than the pool at the Y.

That's all I've got time for today! My to-do list at work isn't going to finish itself. Tomorrow I'm jumping back into Weigh-In Wednesday, then Thursday I'll talk about the food we ate, other vacation fun and the wonderful drive home. Stay tuned!

Weekend Recap

I'm baaaaaack! Coming into work this morning was not as rough as I imagined, so I think that means vacation was successful!

Today I'm going to go over our weekend, then tomorrow I will get into our vacation!

Friday night we decided to hang out at home after work. We had just picked Diesel up from Danny's mom's house so we wanted to spend the evening with him. Aside from running to pick up pizza, that's just what we did. We caught up on Modern Family, ate dinner, and watched Tucker fight Indiana bedtime after using Alabama bedtime.

Saturday was a busy day and thankfully Tuck slept until 7ish due to his later bedtime! We had fire truck rides at the park that morning. Tuck got to ride up front and on top. Perks of being a firefighters kid!

Don't mind my double chin...

 After fire truck rides we went boot shopping for Danny then came home and rested up for a Halloween party! We didn't stay at the party long since Tucker was sleepy and teething and Danny had to work the next day, but it was nice to sport our first family Halloween costume. It was Danny's idea. It's hard to tell, but I'm a zoo keeper!

After the party we headed home for some playing and lounging before calling it an early night. We're all still wore out from vacation I think!

Sunday was Tuck and I's first full weekend day alone since the broken foot. It went well too! We got up, had breakfast, went to Kohls and the grocery, came home and had lunch and a nap, then went to the park for a bit. It was a pretty good day with lots of snuggles and playtime. I was able to finish up washing the vacation laundry too. Tucker also did a lot of this....

That was our weekend! Tomorrow I'll recap vacation for you and go over a couple lessons we learned while traveling with a 10 month old!

Adios!

My long awaited week and a half break from work is just hours away. Actually, I've been mentally gone for the whole day. I came to work and plowed through my to-do list like I would win millions if I got done by 10:30. I got done by 10:30, but so far no one has shown up with my winnings yet. Either way, this is where I'm at now.

I'm not completely naïve in thinking that I will be doing nothing but laying by the pool or in a chair on the white sandy beach. I haven't forgotten that I have a 10 month old.

Even though I'll still be up at 6 and a slave to the tiny human, it'll still be nice to not have 100 emails/day to respond to or read and choose to ignore until a later date , phone calls, paperwork, or anything work related.

So, for now, I am off! I doubt there will be much blogging since I do that at work, but I'm sure I'll be posting on IG (erinshell10) so you can still keep up with us!

Until then, leave your favorite vacation destinations in the comments, because I'm sure upon my return to work, this will be me.

Weekend Recap

I don't have much time this morning so I'm doing a very quick recap of our pretty boring weekend. It works out that it was pretty boring.

Friday I picked Tucker up early so we could run over to the accountants office and drop payroll stuff off. They enjoy seeing him and since he got his hair cut it was time to take him in. After that we roamed around trying to find Danny's Halloween costume and some other things. We picked up dinner and headed home for some cuddles and bedtime. After he was down, I wrapped our last batch of change before our trip. That's how we build up spending money for trips. Any change we get from any purchases goes into a cup/Danny's center console and I wrap it.

Saturday was supposed to be a busy and fun day visiting 1812 days and our friends at the campground to take Tuck trick or treating. Right when I was getting in the shower, I noticed Tucker was a little warm. 100.3. It could have been teething, but he'd been having green snot so we stayed home. We wanted to go to the pumpkin patch Sunday and we wanted him better for vacation. We were kind of bummed, but our house enjoyed being cleaned as well.

Sunday we were able to go to the pumpkin patch. Tucker was feeling a little better so we felt good about going. He wasn't real into it, but I told Danny I wasn't really sure how we were expecting a 10 month old to react. Although, he did enjoy the pumpkins and just had to keep touching them.

So over it.

After the pumpkin patch, we made a quick Target trip (its better for our bank account if Danny is with me) then met my mom, brother and his girlfriend at Buffalo Wild Wings for a vacation planning dinner to talk about when we're leaving, who is bringing what, etc. We are so excited to go! Once we were home, I got Tucker to bed, moved some laundry, did dishes and started packing. We have a busy couple of days ahead of us so it was best that I start.

Time for me to start working. I'm taking a half day today to go look at some new wheels and I have quite a bit to do with work before I peace out for a week and a half!

Friday Randoms

I am so glad its Friday. Because in less than a week, my butt will be on vacation! I have about a million and one things to do between now and then, but if I've learned anything in the last 4 years since having this big girl job, its that vacation is worth every penny spent!

- If you follow me on Instagram (erinshell10) you're already aware that Tucker had a big day yesterday. He got his first haircut! In about 10 minutes he went from a mop headed baby to a what looks like a little man. I absolutely love it. He looks so much more like his daddy too. He did really well with the whole process, which I think is because he was asleep when we pulled in the parking lot. Here is a before and after. I can't believe how different he looks!

- Something else about Tucker that I don't think I've shared. He has a favorite song. It's not a kids song and its not a lullaby, though with his reaction you would think it was. It's this....

About a month ago I was driving down to my mom and a friend's apartment complex (they live in the same one) and Tuck was screaming the entire time. About 35 minutes into the drive, this song came on the radio. And he stopped screaming. Song stopped and he started again. So, I played it on my phone through the Jeep speakers and about 1 time through he was drifting off to sleep.  I put the song on repeat and listened to it 6 more times and he slept the rest of the drive. I thought it was a fluke. Nope. Still, a month later, he will stop screaming and crying within 20 seconds of this song playing. He may fuss, but its doesn't sound like he's being tortured. I told Danny he must know Miranda and Carrie are hot. Because I don't care if you're a man or woman, we can all agree that they are.

- Do you need a laugh? Click THIS LINK right now. Danny sent me this thing from The Chive his new obsession the other day and I was cracking up as I was reading them. I don't know if its because I have a child, or if they really are that funny. Or if it was because I was so tired from not having any coffee for 2 days. Many variables here. Anyways, click the link and laugh your ass off.

- Finally, as I've mentioned almost daily for the last few months, we are going to Alabama next week. My mom has been 3 times, I've been twice and my brother has been once. What are some restaurants or activities that you recommend? I'm all about trying new things. I do know that we will be going to Lambert's Café but that's about it.

Okay, that's all for now. I've got too long of a to-do list for a Friday. Have a good weekend!

Back to Normal

After 3 months, 1 week and 2 days, the Summers family is resuming our normal starting tomorrow.

Danny got the all clear to go back to work this week. I'm not so sure his foot is 100%, but it's as good as rest and therapy can get it basically.  He has been in work conditioning for the last 3 weeks and the therapist was very honest with him last week. She told him that even though he could afford to do another couple weeks of therapy, there is no way for her to replicate his job. That's what you get when you are a firefighter/paramedic. You don't know if it's going to be a little grass fire or a structure fire, or if your patient is going to be a little kid with a broken arm or a 300 pound adult who can't get off the floor and is unconscious. You just don't know.

Initially, I was nervous about Danny going back to work while he's still limping around. But, the doctor said something that eased my mind. He said that he's not going to hurt it worse, its just going to hurt. He was speaking my language. I played volleyball for 3 years under those conditions and softball for 5 when I started having back trouble.

So, now we go back to me single mommin' it 3 days/nights a week, an always changing schedule, and the possibility that Danny might have to leave in the middle of dinner.

Danny and I do so well with this schedule. We always have. For the 6 years that we've been together, he has always been a firefighter. The built in time apart. That time apart makes the time together mean so much more. It's not that I haven't enjoyed having him home every single night for the last 3 months, because it has been nice. It was under horrible circumstances though and it was an exhausting 3 months and I'm sure the extra work on my part isn't over. It's going to take some time to adjust because like I said, he's still not back to 100%. And it's going to take Danny sometime to adjust. He was getting used to being home every night and rolling out of bed at 7 and being able to come home at 3.

Our life is anything but normal. But its our normal and I am so glad to have it back!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was what I would consider a standard weekend. One with only one thing to do each day and didn't leave me feeling like I blinked and it was Monday morning.

Friday night Danny and I got a babysitter and headed out to the local bars to celebrate Danny's birthday. A few guys he works with met us there and I drove them from the first stop to the second stop. We had dinner, a few drinks and then I left to go relieve the babysitter. Danny didn't get in until almost 4 am. The only time he sees 4 am is if there is a fire so this was a rare occurrence. I had a good time for the few hours I was out and he had a great time and that is what matters.

Saturday I was up early with Tucker, but we were able to get a couple more hours of sleep in the recliner. We pretty much just lounged and watched tv until it was time to get ready for the wedding we had to go to in Indy. I even got to take a short nap on Saturday. The wedding was really pretty and at a neat venue. But, with a teething 10 month old and a husband who still can't stand for too long, the ceremony and cocktail hour was all this family could handle. Thankfully Tucker slept all the way there and all the way back (except for when we stopped to grab dinner). We were back home and on the couch by 8:30.

Yesterday we got up and went to church, but not before discovering my Kuerig is broke. Not good. After church we went to Subway for breakfast. Once we were home the rest of the day was filled with playing, snuggling, visiting with my mom and attempts at taking some fall pictures of Tucker with the pumpkins from our garden. The pictures also made me feel good about our decision to get his hair cut this week.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend. Only one more weekend until vacation!!!!!

Now wish me luck as I try to get through today, and probably most of the week, without coffee. I've apparently become dependent.

Friday Randoms

This week moved at the speed of smell. I am so glad its Friday and that the weekend consists of celebrating Danny's birthday tonight and a wedding tomorrow.

1. Danny's birthday was Wednesday. On Tuesday we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate as a little fam. I didn't bring a single thing for Tucker to eat. Mom of the year right here. I mean I had a bottle from Danny's mom's house since he had a whole 1 oz to drink all day, but the kid wants FOOD! He munched on a roll and the egg off my salad which is the best part of a Texas Roadhouse salad if you ask me. I redeemed myself. My caring generous husband did something super nice for his birthday... he bought the family's dinner that was sitting next to us. We had no idea who they were. I married the best man!

2. For the last week and a half, we've been putting Tucker to bed with a bottle instead of nursing in preparation for my 3 days away in November. Not going too great. Bedtime can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half. And it usually involves tears. From Tucker and me. We figured we'd start with me giving him a bottle to prevent too much change from happening at once, but its not really working. The cry it out method is not for us. I can't handle it and Tucker is relentless. He has cried for an hour and a half on the way home from my mom's on more than one occasion.

3. I mentioned last week that I hurt my rib playing softball a couple of weeks ago. The pain got bad enough over the weekend that I ended up going to MedCheck on Monday. I got diagnosed with a very deep bruise. Well, I should have just rode it out a couple more days because the pain is pretty much gone. Finally! I'm glad I will get to resume running and working out next week.

4. Our vacation is like 12 days away. We may be having some issues with it though. Danny needs 2-3 more weeks of work conditioning, which would put him needing therapy while we are gone. We are hoping we can work something out with the doctor and worker's comp so that he can still go. Of course we found on about the possibility of him not being able to go on vacation on his birthday. I literally cried just thinking about going without him. The surgeon will see my ugly side if he doesn't help us out with this on Monday. I need to share this wonderfulness with my husband.

5. And because I don't think I've shared the family photos that we got done back in June, here is one of my faves. I love these two!