Hot Weather, Head Wounds, and Diarrhea??

I wasn’t exactly sure what I should write in this post – we’ve had some ‘exciting’ moments mixed in with a bit of the routine we’ve fallen into. I never want to offend anyone with content BUT we love to be real so please use caution if you continue reading, I cover everything from Gunner eating Tampons to one of the kids shitting all over the floor!!! Thanks for following along and I won’t be offended if you stop here;);)

We made it to Texas and have welcomed the Sun and Pool time – what a gift!! I think I’ve hit the jackpot people, this is it, everyone told me this could happen one day….I CAN READ A BOOK WHILE THE KIDS ARE PLAYING in the pool (lifejacket on) or at the Playground. Wow, it’s absolutely amazing. Pre Kiddos, I used to read all the time and I have rediscovered my love for it again. Not a lot can beat a great book but you certainly level up when you can read it while your kids are tiring themselves out.

On our way to Texas I spent a lot of time checking out possible locations to set up the ‘ol RV/trailer house for the month we’d be in Houston. It can be a lot of pressure, it’s hard to find a place that has a good mix of travellers and people that live there year round. I think we hit it just right this time. We found a great place that has a fantastic pool area, great dog park (which is really essential for us) and a business area for Nick. Typically that is where he goes to work everyday when he’s not doing site visits or meeting with clients. All the ‘locals’ have been very welcoming and friendly – score for us!!

We have settled into a routine which has been nice. It’s exciting to move around and explore different areas but its a lot of work, it’s a nice break to commit and stay in one place. The goal of this trip has always been to find a shop for Versys to expand their US Operations and get to know the areas so that’s been fun. Weird to be on the other end of a Realtor/Client relationship;)

Although we are settled, we still have enough excitement to keep us on our toes!! Snakes, deer and squirrels have occupied a lot of the dogs attention which makes going for a walk with them, oh so interesting. Gunner decided in his spare time to inhale a half dozen tampons because, why not?? We were gone and when we came home we immediately wondered how the next few days would play out for him. If this had happened a few years ago, I might have freaked out that he would get really sick but honestly you guys, he has eaten and gotten into sooo many things, and he’s Gunner….you’ve all heard the stories!!

2 days passed and then it happened. We were all at the dog park and honestly, we both forgot about it until Gunner started to poop….he had a tampon hanging out of his butt and he kept running around – It was flipping and swinging all over the place and whipping him. Nick looked at me and said, ‘he’s your dog today’!! I went over to calm him down (I put a poop bag on my hand), grabbed the string and pulled….somehow they were ALL attached so I kept pulling and they kept coming out. I was like a magician with a scarf up my sleeve. It was ridiculous! Talk about instant relief for Gunner, he even turned around and gave me a look of ‘thank you’. This WILL NOT deter him people – he’s relentless;). Good thing we love that dog, haha!!

Since we’ve been down in the Houston area we’ve been able to do some touristy things like hit up NASA (again…so good!!) and check out Galveston Island and got to see the Ocean for the first time in what felt like forever!! We were totally unprepared for the water so the kiddos ended up swimming in their underwear and had a total blast, until they didn’t. Lily was getting a little too comfortable dancing in the waves and was getting too far away for our liking and of course, that is the moment she decides she knows whats best and keeps running away from Nick…toward the deeper water (so scary for a girl who barely passed adult swim class level 1, haha). Boy, did we cause a scene! Nick had her out of the water so fast and we declared that the fun was over and it was time to go home. Lily, in full protest, got football carried to the truck all the while screaming! Don’t worry, we gave the family that was having a giant reunion some entertainment. It was a lovely moment!! We had a nice discussion about water safety and listening – In the meantime, as a Gen X’er…I’m thinking about how lucky she is that she didn’t grow up in the 80’s!!! haha, right mom;);)

The kids have met some lovely friends that they get to hang out with around the park. If I’m truthful, they’ve turned into full time stalkers looking to see, ‘is she home mom?’ How about I run over there and just scream her name til she comes out – this totally happened btw, and I’m sure you’re shocked!! The only thing that makes me feel better is that it’s all reciprocated;). Very Cute!! I still try and get the kids to have an hour of ‘quiet time’ aka ‘lock them in their room and let them sort it our for an hour time’, haha. This week, I needed a break to do some work at the office and Nick stayed back with the kids. Lily decides to whip her plastic binoculars at Jake (for whatever reason – we heard them all) and he took a hit in the back of the head!!! He ended up with a pretty decent gash and thanks to my friend Janice, we decided we didn’t have to panic and rush him in for stitches. Right now he has a giant bandaid on the back of his head that I’m sure will NEVER come off, without a nice tight haircut;). Both he and Lily were traumatized and it was dealt with. Jake was mostly upset that he couldn’t ride his bike because his head wound wouldn’t work with his helmet!!

I wish I could say that the head injury was the most traumatic part of Jake’s day but that wasn’t in the cards, he had a few hours to go after all. We had been outside playing for a few hours and we were winding down and working our way inside. Nick and Jake went first and I was just brining Lil in when all I heard was, ‘Cheryl, you need to get in here’ and I could hear Jake crying!! I race in and I smell it before I see it….there’s poop everywhere, like a war scene but instead of blood, its poop!! He was sitting on the toilet and I was comforting him and telling him it was all okay but inside I’m trying to piece it all together (and not gag) because it was a crazy sight!! Finally he calmed down and I was trying to casually ask what happened and it turns out he couldn’t get his sandals off then he had to pee so bad so he pulled his pants down to stand up like a big guy (obviously;) and while this was all going on he just happened to be pooping at the same time, quite the feat honestly!! Kid hasn’t had diarrhea in forever but today was the day – lucky us;) He was so upset and we just reassured him…….. that this wouldn’t be the last time he would go through this, quite possibly could last into adulthood!!! We showered him up and decided to stealthily throw out the underwear, shorts and bath mat BUT decided not to burn the place down;):) He’s a tough kid and we gave him a lot of encouragement and cuddles and he rebounded quickly.

We are so thankful to have this time as a family. Nick is still working a tonne but he comes and eats lunch with us and we go exploring every weekend. I’m also thankful that this trip is not as challenging as the last one, the kids are at a great age and are much less dependent on me for entertainment and practical things like putting on shoes and wiping their own tushies. It’s not all roses though, I still have days where I wish I could escape the responsibilities of being a parent (without our village) but you work through it!! We have family huddles when things are getting a little crazy and Nick and I are always (I mean most..ish of the time;) united and try and help each other out. You can’t live in an RV with 2 giant dogs and 2 – newly 5 year olds without a lot of solid communication, respect…..and alcohol, haha!!! We hope everyone is doing well and staying safe, we have a little over a week to go and then we will be making our way back North, I better get on those road trip surprises, only a 40 hour drive;)

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