Happy Thanksgiving!!
If you are following me on Facebook or Instagram, you will realize why getting any work done this week was nothing short of a miracle.
For those that missed it, I’ll put the story below, but be warned… it might make you want to hurl.
Today, to add insult to injury, my husband is sick and barely mobile.
Thank goodness I have Thanksgiving in a box, cause there is no way I could juggle real cooking on top of everything else.
Anywho… I wanted to share some of TODAY’S sales with all of you.
Many stores are doing Black Friday a day early so if you have some downtime today…
You can tackle some shopping!
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It’s beautiful, right? Just like so many of the pictures we post on social media. But these snapshots almost never represent reality.
Let’s use this Colorado trip as an example.
I am so glad we are here, make no mistake, I love it! But, the journey to get here is another story.
DAY ONE:
It started with Gage’s school calling. He barfed in the hallway on the way to see the nurse. Not ideal, but listen we’ve dealt with these stomach bugs a bunch of times before. They are intense for 24 hours, and then you are better! Well, we decided to pile everyone into the truck…despite this setback. Besides we are splitting up the trip, so it’s only about 7 hours each day.
Poor Gage. He went through innumerable barf bags on the road. His sister also seemed to catch the bug, but she had a slightly different manifestation of the virus. She was excreting smells that surely no 3-year old has ever accomplished before. These “Bitty Bombs” happened about once every 20 minutes.
When it was time to stop for gas and a bathroom break, we decided on a town in New Mexico. The first stop had porta potties, so we piled back into the truck. At the second gas station, the restrooms were out of order. The 3rd gas station/McDonald’s combo, the bathrooms were closed for maintenance. At the 4th stop… we finally found bathrooms! Multiple stalls even! Well, what transpired in that bathroom is so disgusting… even my sister said she never encountered anything that gross in 20+ years of nursing.
A woman rushed in to the stall next to us (the kids and I were in a big stall together.) I thought I saw poop on the floor, but dismissed it … thinking it couldn’t possibly be poop. When the noises started, I realized something was not right, and began rushing the kids out of bathroom. We were quickly exiting restroom, and nearly stepped in a pile of poop. A pile! My husband was standing there and said, “What the hell?” I gave him a look of panic, and said we need to go! I’m not sure how a woman who was wearing pants could leave a poop trail, but she did and now these images are indelibly etched into my brain. I call it PTSD, Post Traumatic Sh*t Disorder.
When we reached the hotel in Roswell, New Mexico, it was apparent that even though we cleverly packed our overnight bag, we were going to have to unpack the entire truck or risk robbery.
But, first we had to sneak in our 12-week old puppy, Traveler. (Hotel does not allow pets.) Traveler apparently didn’t understand discretion …and pooped in the lobby.
The kids were whining, and tired in the room while my husband and I feverishly unloaded. When you unpack in this harried manner inevitably everything is impossible to find and you find yourself shouting, “Where the hell are the wipes? The wipes!” And then collapsing into your hands in tears.
Of course there was more vomiting…but alas we were all ready for bed.
DAY TWO:
At 5am the next morning, Elizabeth woke me up because she was scared. No matter how much I plead with her to “… Please let mommy sleep.” She doesn’t seem to get it. Why can’t you rationalize with a 3-year old??!! Oh, right… cause they’re 3.
We arrived in Colorado after our 2nd full day of travel …and I felt a renewed sense of excitement! Yay! We did it!
But, our unit wasn’t ready. It was still being cleaned. Seriously? Whaaatt? I’m suddenly feeling like I might have a nervous breakdown. I decided to diffuse the situation and get the kids out of the car to at least show them snow. “Isn’t is beautiful? Snow, guys!” It doesn’t snow in south Texas.
As if on cue, Elizabeth… threw up in the snow. Then of course Traveler tried to eat it.
Did I mention, my mom is in the hospital? She’s okay. Thank God. And my sweet sister is with her (the nurse) …so I know she is in the best hands.
DAY THREE:
I thought with another day passing, the bugs would be gone …and we could start fresh! Well, Elizabeth started crying at 5am again, but not because she was scared… It was because she pooped her pants. Diarrhea got ALL over her body, the sheets, the mattress, the pillows, her blanket, etc.
I spent the morning cleaning poop, and helping Gage while he threw up the water he drank.
Chris took Gage to urgent care, and they confirmed its a bad bug…and said he should turn a corner soon.
My mom is doing well and is scheduled to get out of the hospital Wednesday.
Elizabeth’s gas has waned …and she even ate breakfast!
Even though it may seem like someone’s life is picture perfect via social media… Rest assured, it’s not. Life is messy, complicated and hard. And some days are just plain sh*tty.
Erin xo
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*I use revenue-generating affiliate links through Reward Style. By shopping through my links, you can help me help other women, just like you, around the world. Thank you so much for your support! I am thankful for all of you this holiday season!!
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Bless your heart for getting through that trip, Erin! It’ll make any future uneventful trip feel ten times better! I too have my very own vacation “poop on the floor story”…it involved our stay in a Disney time share that belonged to a relative. We were told it was a “gold crown” resort but when we arrived, it was anything but. So our first day involved, on top of so many other fails, me calling front desk multiple times to clean up the floor in our bathroom stat, and then they finally send in a very pregnant housekeeping woman to do it (I felt so badly for her!) and then me uncomfortably watching her clean to make sure it was completely cleaned up, where she didn’t do a thorough job and asking if she could pleeease scrub the floor a little harder to get all remaining poop removed. Needless to say, we ended up checking out early. Thank you for keeping it real, that’s why I love your blog and channel! Ali
Wow!! That made me laugh but I so would have been crying! Totally have had days like that and think this stuff could only happen to us! Lol sorry your trip wasn’t the best! If it makes you feel better we had our first open house on Sunday and my daughter caught the 24hr stomach bug and was throwing up outside of church in the car and in the store parking lot since we couldn’t cancel the open house and had nowhere to go! Lol life is funny that way! Thanks for sharing real life with us!
Yes!! Life can be shi**y. It would be boring if it weren’t for kiddos lol. Thanks for sharing your “real life” story. It made me feel better lol
xoxo
~Erin
Erin, your writing skills are tip-top! It felt like I was there, and what a wild trip! 🙂 Glad your mom is ok. <3
I am crying from laughter although I am certain you are so ready for your dream vacation to be over. Thanks for sharing this very honest post Erin! xoxo – Tanya 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Erin. Bless your heart, that is some story. It amazes me how strong we women truly are in exhausting times. The pictures are beautiful. I do hope everyone is feeling well now. I pray that you don’t get what they have. That is the most distugsting story of the women in the restroom. God knows I would have hurled right there. I am so sorry you had such an awful ordeal. Girl you had some story to tell. Keep your head up. You have a beautiful family, including puppy. One day they will be grown and you will miss those moments..lol… I know right.. My youngest son is 21 and he wont ever leave home, no matter how hard I try..haha.!! My granddaughter stayed the night with me last night and kept being dramatic, this is a women having all brothers and all sons. This granddaughter is sooooo dramatic, it takes some getting use to at times. Be safe in your journey home.xoxoxox.. Donna