Go Tigers!

Since we had a bye week this weekend, we decided that we needed to do some family activities. You may be wondering, just what does a football coach and his family do on his weekend off during football season? Go to a football game, of course! :-) Jeff had mentioned that he would like to go up to see Olivet's football team play and since they were home during one of his bye weekends we decided to head up on Saturday for the afternoon game. Now, this is where I (the coach in this area of our lives) had put the "game plan" for the day- or at least the part where we actually got out the door and on our way, into action. The night before, we had decided to just get up and get ready to go whenever B woke up, so that by the time he would go down for his first nap, we would already be in the car and it would be smooth sailing. Well....B must have heard some rumblings that we were going to an ONU game and he was going to get to watch the game with daddy, so as as a result of his extreme excitement he woke up at 4:30 am. Ouch. Oh well, we (I) rolled with it. After I fed and bathed him I let Jeff know the bathroom was free for him to get ready. I guess he didn't realize what time it was because while he was getting ready he came into B's room and was like, "Patty, you do know that its only 5:30?" Of course. Now, remember the game plan that was discussed the night before? Leave whenever B got up and started the wheels in motion? I'm guessing he wasn't thinking that early. Well, we got out the door a little after 7 am and amazingly didn't forget anything considering we were taking a long day trip with B and the dog. We actually only stopped once, about halfway, to change and feed B. So it was maybe a 3.5 hour trip.
We had a great time visiting with our friends that still live in town and going to the game together. ONU even had a big win over Southern Nazarene which will hopefully propel them out of the slump they have been in. After the game we went over to our friends, The Maxwells', for dinner and more visitin'. We had decided to leave around B's natural bedtime, hoping that he would sleep the majority- if not the whole way home. He even fell asleep on me right before we left. Well, that my friends, is when the nightmare started.
If anyone has ever been around B, he is one of the most laid back babies. Not much bothers him, much like his daddy. And I didn't mention this before but, he did take a couple of small naps at the football game, so there was some napping during the day. Anyways, back to Screamfest 2009. We didn't make it very far, and he started crying which escalated into choking, sobbing, screaming, you name it. So we pull over at a rest stop and I feed him. I'm driving at this time, since Jeff has a whole cat allergy thing going on. So after I finished feeding him, we got back on the road with Jeff in the back with him. Screaming again. Tension headache coming on now. So, we pull over again, to change him. We go to a McD's and change him and hang out a little trying to relax him and get him tired. Okay, good to go and back into the car. Whining a little before we get on the interstate then screaming. Ughhhh. Jeff is in the front with me now. Poor Mickey in the back with B. So we are now at Tuscola (same place we stopped in the a.m.) and we both look at each other and say, "Ugh, only halfway home". We had by then, been driving around 3 hours. We fill up the tank and then I try feeding B to put him to sleep then I finally rock him to sleep in my arms. Jeff suggests at this time to just sleep in the car at the gas station. Not biting. He goes in and gets his drug of choice, Red Bull and I put B in his carseat and stay in the back with him. He stays asleep all of 30 min. We've got at least an hour to go. Screaming. From Effingham to Greenville. Screaming and deer. We can't forget the deer dodging out in front of us at 1 in the morning. :-) Good times. Well, we made it through (5 hours and 3 stops) and had a great day despite the ending. Hopefully none of us were scarred by the experience. I haven't asked Mickey though....