Hot, tired and no nap…

This morning started with a nice walk on the beach with Brogan. The little kids have been alternating sleeping in the bed with me. I don’t have a favorite. They each suck in different ways. One kicks and one snores. Either way this mom is looking forward to sleeping in her own bed soon.

The zoo was mentioned as an activity that everyone wanted to do. We decided we would get there early and still have plenty of time to get to our dolphin cruise at 3:15. I splurged on the “feed package” which consisted of a few pieces of romaine lettuce and some large kibble looking stuff for the goats. Of course that $12 splurge would cause endless bickering of “it’s not fair, he got more than me” and “she’s taking handfuls at a time.” I totally know better, this isn’t my first rodeo. Such a novice mistake.

My photo skills suck. Unfortunately I’m quantity over quality and Darrian grew tired of it fast. The rest of the kids are used to it. I’ve always said that photos are not something I will ever apologize for taking too many of. Plus I’m trying like hell to keep Chuck updated and share as much, as often as I can. After all, without him providing for us and busting his butt we wouldn’t be here.

The zoo and I are good for about 45 minutes and then I’m done. Once it starts to get hot, and I start to sweat it’s all over. I wish it was different but it’s not. If we have any left over kibble, you’re throwing it in the cage by the handfuls so we can leave. Oh and smile like you’re having fun.

The afternoon Dolphin cruise was a hit. Finding it was a bit of a challenge. We are split on team Wayze, and team Apple Maps, but today they both sucked a little. I’m always early. If I don’t know where I’m going, then I’m going to leave in plenty of time. It’s just the way it is. Now I will admit, maybe an hour and a half early was a bit excessive, but they got nachos and snow cones so I didn’t feel too bad. We got to see quite a few dolphins and the Dramamine worked so Addie enjoyed herself and didn’t get sick. Win win

Now where do we go for dinner? Morgan had mentioned a place called Fudpuckers. It was about 4:30 so I thought we’d give it a try. Maybe they wouldn’t be busy because it was early. My theory was wrong. A 2 hour wait for dinner. Well honestly the place did look kind of cool and there was a lot to do there. We decided we would wait. I took the little kids and Morgan and Darrian hit the bar. It’s so nice that they are adults and can have fun too. I don’t drink but after tonight I’m strongly considering trying it again.

After hour one of trying to find little scavenger hunt items, and looking at the alligators I decided that the kids and I would walk to the souvenir shop next door. They had been bickering and for some reason I though a change of scenery would help. So now I’m in an over packed, over priced souvenir shop trying to kill time. I don’t know if their air was broke, or maybe they didn’t have any, but it felt like a stale 100 degrees in there. Again bicker, bicker, bicker finally I started to lose it. I snapped at both of them and got in line to get a shirt. Wouldn’t you know, they weren’t quite done yet. I put that shirt back and stormed out of the store. Suddenly they turned from monsters into sweet little ducklings walking so quietly in line behind me. I pulled out the big guns…I called dad.

I hate to be that mom. The one that doesn’t handle shit on her own, but instead threatens to “call dad.” Unfortunately once I’m past a certain limit there’s no turning back. It always amazes me how scared they are of him. I’m the one that will literally whoop their ass, and he’s the one that will lecture them until their ears fall off. I’m not sure what he said to them but the rest of the wait for our table wasn’t nearly as painful.

We had alligator for the first time. Census is it tastes like chewy chicken. The big kids had some fancy alcohol drinks in buckets, and the littles and I had milkshakes. The atmosphere is fun and the food was good. Not sure I’d wait 2 hours again. At least not after being at the zoo for a couple of hours and dolphin watching. Hot mom with no nap, mixed with tired and cranky kids is always a recipe for disaster. Here’s hoping they remember all the fun stuff today, not just when mom lost her shit.