Life as a Yowler

We have one more day of this trip, before heading home. Brandon has three store trainings today and then we head back. I am always a mix of anxious and dread going back. I can’t wakt to get back to my own bed and house, but I  also dread the work that lays ahead. We have a lot of school to catch up on. We have SO much laundry to do(I miss the RV mainly for the washer and dryer). We also have a lot of behavior issues to catch up on. Being on the go is tough for everyone’s attitude. The kids know they can get away with more in public. Mix that with being tired and off schedule for meals(which causes low blood sugar) and you have a family of Yowler bears. It always takes a few days to correct and catch everyone back up to their normal selves.

Brielle wanted to wear her new dress she got for her birthday yesterday.

We did the coolest thing yesterday. We drove by this house. Anyone recognize it?

If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s the Home Alone house. We learned from our sales rep where it was. He told us it wasn’t in a gated community. We decided to drive by. We were those annoying people who got out and took pictures. Those poor new owners. We saw the Full House home when we were in San Fransico last year. I was so impressed with how real to life it seemed. I think they filmed a good portion of the show right in San Fransico and it really looked true to the show. Everything from the neighborhood to the street to the neighbors seemed real. This Home Alone House didn’t seem that way to me. They made it look in the movie like they lived back in a housing development. As we were driving looking for the house, it just kind of came up out of nowhere. Still, it was really incredible to see. The house looked exactly the same. My kids really love the Home Alone movies, which by the way I have very mixed feelings about letting them watch. We have developed a rule. If you repeat any bad things from movies, you won’t have the privledge of watching it anymore.

Last evening after seeing the house, we drove to catch up with our old fiends, Carl and Lindsay. I didn’t take a single picture. Oops. I love friendships that can just pick up where we leave off. We don’t see each other often, but it’s always so good to catch up. It felt so good to laugh and have a good time. We talked about ole stories and new stories. Isla was being so rotten again. She is at the worst possible age to take to restaraunts. But we made it through. We still had a good time. And we didn’t even sell her. She is still around.

This morning Brandon left me at the hotel during his first two store trainings. This hotel doesn’t have a pool. When we planned this trip, I thought we would be totally swimmed out. I didn’t think it would be a big deal. You never know how much time we will actually spend in the room anyways. Well, apparently this morning it was too much time. Joah was making himself a fort with the desk and bed sheets. He used the coffee pot to hold down the sheet. Bad idea. After he dropped and broke it, he was terrified. I let him sit in torment until Brandon got there. He explained to Brandon what had just happened. Brandon, being the compassionate man that he is, says “oh Joah. You have to pay for that and it’s very very expensive.” Joah started crying at that point, as he is extremely cheap and has been saving for a long time. Brandon walked him to the front desk and made Joah do the talking. The lady saw him crying and said “oh no. What happened?” Joah very timidly and emotionally said “I made a very bad choice and I broke your coffee pot and my dad says I have to pay for it.” She asked him how much money he has and he said “51.” She asked “dollars or cents?” He answered “dollars. I have been saving for a long time.” She was very sweet and compassionate and she told him it’s ok and he doesn’t have to pay for it. She appreciated his honesty. Joah apologized. He came back and said “mom the lady showed me grace and I can keep on saving.” Now, I know he got off easy but I was very proud of the way he handled it. He was clearly very sorry and that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes that kid is as hard as a rock. He really wasn’t trying to be bad either. He was just an active little boy who was cooped up in a hotel room. He learned a good lesson to not play with breakable things. He also has a new thankfulness for grace.

After the coffee pot drama, we left with Brandon for his next training. We grabbed Chic fil a on the way. Isla ate an entire 6 piece nugget herself. For her, this is a ton of food. Girl loves Chic fil a!

We walked around Gander Mountain during Brandon’s last training of today. It seemed like the best option. It was either that or Best Buy. This brings me to another story. An embarrassing one, that I can’t believe I’m telling. I’ve learned to not drive too far away from these furniture stores  in big cities like Chicago. Yesterday, I drove the kids to a McDonald’s play place during a training. I had absolutely no problem at all getting there. Getting back though….that was like figuring out rocket science. Long story short, I took a wrong turn. I realized I wouldn’t be able to correct it easily. I couldn’t switch lanes, as there were hundreds of cars beside me maybe thousands. I had to keep driving and no joke I ended up on the stinking toll road. Not only did I have to pay toll once, when I turned around and drove back i obviously had to pay again. It was the most ridiculous, stressful trip to Macdonald’s I’ve ever taken. Oh and it cost $6 in tolls. The kids were piping up in the backseat as my cheer squad. “You can do this mom!” “Whatever you do, don’t panic mom!” “I think you’re going the right way this time mom. I’m pretty sure of it!” “Very good mom!” It really gave me an appreciation for what Brandon does all the time. The driving/traveling stuff is not easy. He does this all the time. He has to perform at meetings and trainings. He carts his family all over the place which adds a lot more stress. Sometimes he gets stranded in airports. I know I needed a nap and some chocolate after yesterday, and I have no idea how Brandon keeps it together the way he does.

It’s been a fun and exhausting trip. I can’t believe all we squeezed into these few days. I’m so thankful for the memories! I am excited to get back to our house. In the words of Caed, “I am ready to get home to my duckie blanket and my own bed.

Here is a nice little summary of our drive home.