Me? Missing Laundry? Can't Be.

Something's up with my background! I'll have to do some mechanical work...
Well, it works on mine, but not Ches' computer. Weird.

We are back in Dallas after a very long day.
We got up early (in Houston), got around, and Mary Claire and I ran to Target-more clothes shopping (undies, socks, clothes..), then back to the room. Ches and the boys had been playing ball outside, so I had to pack up all of our mess. Try fitting twice the stuff into full bags! Work. (but no laundry!)
Ethan was sooo crabby, and really wanted to get into the van, and now we know why! He cuddled up, and went to sleep just while we loaded the van! : ) Sweet boy. We headed south to the Houston Zoo (about 45 minutes maybe?), got out, and guess what? Mary Claire didn't have her meter. We recalled the last place we'd checked her was in Target, back up north. Ugh. I had to go to the bathroom sooo bad, we went on in, had to pay for Ethan (second place after they told us he didn't need a city pass), then had an expensive ($34!) lunch, looked at a very few animals, and back on the road to get the meter!
We got it, and Ethan kept saying, "Get out, down? Get out. Peez?" So we went to Chick-fil-A, grabbed a snack, and got back on the road north to Dallas. Newsflash: There is Nothing between Houston and Dallas, I repeat Nothing. It is vast open land with the Adult Video here and there. That I don't want my kids reading. So it was the video changing time-constant changing of the videos-the new ones we've bought in the last few days: Milo and Otis, Tom and Jerry, Strawberry Shortcake-some princess one, Baby Einstein-Numbers Nursery, and we rewatched Wall-E. I'm tired of videos!!! Livestream tv is GooD!
So, we pulled into an Olive Garden, I ran in and ordered, we made it to the hotel, ate, and all kids are asleep. They couldn't wait for bed-seriously. All of them. Mary Claire is still in her clothes (and that's another story), and Ethan just wanted his bed set up so he could roll over and go to sleep already!!

Biggest Funny Thing, One Sad Thing:
Well, in the vast Nothingness, we decided to pull over at a rest stop (no restrooms), but they could play with their balls (yes, made Ches laugh like no tomorrow!) out on the grassy plain. Mary Claire just HAD to pee. So, I held her up, told her straighten her legs and go. She was freaking out (as all good girls should), and then bent and tucked, and got her socks in it, and got her pants all wet. Insert proper grossing out, and eewww! So, we changed her (to yesterday's clothes all folded in her suitcase) and she's okay. Now she knows why we fold our clothes all nice even after we wear them-you might need them again!!! Lesson learned. The Hard Way.

Bad: Didn't get to see as much of the Zoo as we wanted
Good: Thrilled we located her meter!

Bad: Drove thru Nothingness
Good: Our van led us to an Olive Garden!

Bad: Looked Stupid in dress/leggings from Target with my tennis shoes (I only have brown heels, tennis shoes, and Black Mule-type shoes with me), looked kinda pregnant, like I-don't-care-how-I-look
Good: Got opportunity to go back to return them!

We may get power back tomorrow. We are checking out the power restoration map for our area at home (who can see these? Not people with no power!) and some areas are scheduled to have power by noon tomorrow, some midnight tomorrow, some Sunday noon. Our neighborhood has no color. So are we getting power restored? Did they run out of fun Easter-y colors? Do they not know we have no power? Umm, power please.

We have this room reserved for tomorrow also-I really hope to be home though. It's been a fun week, but even the kids are tired. (Yes, me too.) I kinda miss my ol' pals in the laundry room. I'm sure we'll be reacquainted awful soon! I've got about 6 loads staring at me in these little laundry sorters called suitcases. Ahh, to have my own bed with my warm electric blanket. Ahh, my balance board is probably missing me, and will ask where I've been for the past few days! He'll tell me that to stay in shape I have to use him frequently, and I'll roll my eyes, but then Super Hula and Rhythm Box for an hour! I hope Lexi is missing us too. Mary Claire cried for her two nights ago. We aren't sure if she was just tired or if she really wanted to go home just to see Lexi. Guess what? The kids haven't missed a thing in their rooms. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. It's just all junk. Accoutrements of life. (Or barnacles?)

Tomorrow, we set our sails toward home! Yippee!
I'll see ya on the other side!