We Survived!

The road trips with the kids, that is. They had never been on a long car ride, given that wedding drive in England. They'd been on a long flight, and plenty of train journeys, but they could also move around and nurse on those trips, so it was with a bit of apprehension on my part that we set out on the first leg of our journey. The first leg was the longest, as we drove what would've been an 8-9 hour trek without the children. Add a couple of hours with the children because of all the stops. After a couple of days, it was time to drive another 5 hours to get to the grandparents' house for Christmas. Finally, there was the 10 hours of driving time back, which we divided over two days. We survived it all, and I learnt a few things in the process.

- No matter when Charlotte last nursed, or for how long, she will ask for more Mummy milk within 30 minutes of being in the car. The interval between getting in the car and asking for Mummy milk becomes shorter with each stop. I suppose that's the downside to her habit of "grazing".

- we didn't factor in Kieran's ongoing phobia of hand driers, nor his more recent phobia of automatic flushing toilets. The result was a lot of screaming at the first couple of rest stops until we just started finding bushes for him. Forcing the matter wouldn't have solved anything; he'll et over these fears in his own time.

- Chocolate + curve = sick toddler and wardrobe change. We'd give Kieran something for his carsickness, but I couldn't find anything for Charlotte since she's under 2. Thankfully, she was fine after that.

- On a related note, Murphy's Law states that the one time I don't have towels on the kids's seats is when such sickness will occur.

- I used to think nothing of driving 12 hours in a day, but I'm clearly out of practice. I'm very thankful my husband helped with the driving. Today I drove the 5 hours, and was fine, until I got home exhausted. Where are Virgin trains when I want them?

All in all, it wasn't bad, and i'mvery glad we got to see my husband's family for Christmas. The kids had. Blast with their cousins, especially, but also had fun with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great-grandmother.