Road tripping

We took a trip up to see Sacha's parents this past weekend. We went up to (belatedly) celebrate Sacha's dad's birthday and to spend some time with both her parents at their home, which we hadn't visited for quite some time. The drive to get there takes about three hours and has, until this trip, been something we did not look forward to. We've always tried to time it to coincide with the kids' nap schedules, but even then, the drive has never been exactly fun.

This time, for no particular reason, we threw the nap thing out the window. We brought along our new portable dvd player (as well as the usual books and snacks and toys and such). Sacha and I fueled up with fully caffeinated coffee drinks (as opposed to our usual decaf). Something about the extra caffeine got us through the first part of the trip just fine. Then, after we stopped for a quick dinner, the dvd player did the rest. It was sooooooo awesome. Whenever we get our next car (which will probably be a minivan), I pledge here and now that it will have dvd screens installed in it. We'll only use them for road trips, I promise!

Anyway, having our drive time go smoothly made the rest of the trip go smoothly, as well. The kids slept well and had fun with their grandparents and played copiously with all the toys in Bubby and Poppa's house. One of the best things about having kids of these ages is that other people's homes are like brand new playgrounds to them. That, plus a visit to a local children's museum, a trip to the little downtown area, and a visit to a park on Sacha's parents' island, made the time there very fun. If the new easy driving thing holds up, it will be much easier to visit more often in the future!

Also, speaking of new things, Talia has been wearing underpants during the day for almost a week. We've even taken her out and about sans diaper. Today, she made it through our whole morning in big girl pants, with only one accident, which was only the second one she's had this week. Obviously, since we've been working the potty into her daily life since birth, getting to this point now isn't shocking...but what has surprised me is how liberating it feels to not worry about diapers during the day. It is the greatest thing ever. We've been changing diapers for nearly 3 and a half years, so to mostly give them up feels GREAT! Wahoo!