Thursday, April 3

Coming to You from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan

Guess what . . . go ahead, guess!

I? am blogging from the car. As in, while driving down the highway. OK, technically I'm not the one driving, but still. I don't really know why I find this so amusing, but I do. I totally should have stolen borrowed an air card from the IT department a long time ago.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I found out I needed to make a trip to good ol' Michigan. For some reason, Mr. Husband thought it would be fun to join me. So we have packed up the whole crew and are making a quick run up and back. I don't know exactly why we think it's a fun idea to spend 12 hours in the car with two dogs and a toddler for what will be, at most, a few hours out of town (most of which I will be spending in meetings for work), but whatever. Here we are, about to cross from Ohio into Indiana before we drive straight North.

If I hadn't been so enamored with the basic ability to get online while moving 70 mph, I would have been live blogging this spectacular event. As it is, I shall be so kind as to provide a review.

- Cinnabon? I hate it. With the fire of a thousand suns. I saw the heavens open up, I heard angels sing, and I felt a moment of sheer unadulterated bliss when I saw a sign for the joint somewhere back near Cleveland. It took some coercing, but I managed to convince Mr. Husband to make an unscheduled stop only to find that Cinnabon was closed. At 7:00. I don't know that I've felt this kind of disappointment in my entire life. I might cry. Real tears.

- The first hour we were on the road, I was reminded that we shouldn't take the dogs anywhere. They suck in the car. Jasmine, in particular, has tempted me to "accidentally" push the window button and "accidentally" help her stick her head out a little too far out. She seems to have decided it would be a good idea to roll around in some form of animal pee at the park today. It was all good until we were trapped in a small moving box with her. Now I can tell you she stinks more than the fact that my laptop batter is going to die in just 16 short minutes. BOO!

- I really, really, really wish I would have had the camera ready for the moment when Alexis realized she was going to get to enjoy her portable DVD player in the car. I don't know that her face has ever lit up like it did in that moment when she recognized its case and determined that it represented hours of Signing Time viewing pleasure. She's a happy camper.

- Speaking of the happy camper, she took a break from staring intently at the tiny DVD player screen to eat a piece of pound cake from Starbucks. I'm thinking that there might be something wrong with the fact that she kept breaking off a piece, eating it, shoving her hand in the Bulldog's face to get it licked clean, and then repeating the whole process all over again. Mr. Husband and I briefly considered breaking up the germy party, but then reconsidered because the toddler? She was happy. The Bulldog? She was happy. It would be stupid to interrupt that. (This is where you nod and agree and refrain from telling me all about the horrible diseases dogs can transmit to kids, mmkay?)



39 comments:

  1. Have a great trip. Great pics as always! What a happy girl sharing her goods!

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  2. Our dog Penguin tries to lick Eleanor's face every time she's on the floor. Eleanor opens.her.mouth for this. It completely grosses me out but she's still alive.

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  3. Ginger can't leave Cooper alone. And if he sneezes or coughs? Forget it! She comes flying from across the house from a dead sleep to lick off his face anything that may have escaped. And most times I don't care because it saves me finding a tissue to clean his face myself.
    And um, if you happen to get near Ft. Wayne, wave hi to my friends there (including my uncle who performed our wedding), and if you get as far west as Goshen before heading north, give a big ol' quiet (they're old and probably sleeping) yee-haw to Justin's parents for me. Have fun and watch out for Ohio cops...they're REALLY good for giving out tickets. Not that I would know.

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  4. Blogging at 70 MPH, through 4 states, with a toddler and 2 dogs!? You are so HARDCORE WOMAN! Gotta love that :)

    Mmmm...poundcake...yum!

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  5. Anonymous11:02 PM

    Loves you to pieces Cuddlebunny o'mine. And, even my optometrist told me dogs mouths are cleaner than ours, so the bulldog may be doind Alexis a favor. Do you not have Cinnabon in the Burgh? Why didn't you tell me. I'll get one to you. NEVERFEAR!

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  6. Several thoughts:

    1. It's not Cinnabon that you hate, it's Ohio. Because it's way longer than it should be to drive through it whether east/west or west/east. And there are no stops. I'm trying to recruit others on my anti-Ohio bandwagon.

    2. Dogs eat their own poop and so, probably, do toddlers. Therefore, I figure it's all one big poop-happy festival. It's good for the immune system anyway, right?

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  7. That's a long ass time in the car with pets and kid. Hope you survived.

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  8. i think I'm addicted to this blog...what's happening to me? Yikes. Too cool to blog on the run too.
    anyway, what about wiping your pee pee dog down with wipes? you're probably in Michigan by now.
    Have fun. We lived there for two years, in Oscoda (blame the USAF for that one. They had the highest concentration of the weirdest people we've ever met.hands down.

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  9. Aww, what a cute pic! Yep, you're definitely my hero...traveling with kids and a dog! And wireless internet rocks!! Have fun!

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  10. My sister in law's dog likes to stick her tongue in the baby's mouth. So, you'll get no lecture from me.

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  11. Sounds like a fun time is being had by all. Jasmine is certainly making the most of it. ;)

    And dog germs? Haven't you heard that dogs mouths are cleaner than our own? Yeh, I don't believe it either but my kids have survived through to their teen years and have endured worse than that. Viva la happy toddler!

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  12. Oh what fun! My kids and dogs have always had that kind of relationship. My son ate dog food for awhile. I drew the line when the kids tried drinking out of the toilet.

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  13. I love that last pic.......look at that happy, cheesy grin! She's having a blast getting her hands licked :)
    My guy has tried dog food on more than one occassion. He also loves drinking dirty bath water (any ideas on how to stop this??). So I figure a hand licking can't be all that bad :)

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  14. pheh on "dog germs". The Hound is always licking Sashas hands, face, and everything else. And Sasha sucks on her ears and tail. And the Hound is rawfed.

    No one's ever been sick and it's just fine. Anything that makes them friends helps to make a better living situation for all.

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  15. Well, I've always heard that dogs mouths are cleaner than ours. Not that I believe it, but let's just go with it for now, shall we?

    I would so be barfing if I blogged from the car. I can't even so much as read a comic strip.

    Enjoy your trip! Drive safely.

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  16. That was seriously ambitious of you! Dogs, a toddler, and twelve hours in the car - hope you didn't lose anyone!

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  17. Anonymous9:17 AM

    that whole blogging while on the road thing, that sounds awesome.

    and i hear their mouths are cleaner than ours anyway. :P

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  18. Anonymous9:27 AM

    I heard somewhere that dog mouths are cleaner than our's. True? I don't know. But, we'll roll with that for the sake of this post :)

    Meg looks like she's thinking (in the second picture): "C'mon, kid...stop cheesing for the camera and get to sharing the poundcake goodness!"

    Hope you're all surviving!!

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  19. Blogging on the road? Must try that, because I am the queen of road trips. So much easier to drive with my brats than fly. Although the dog stays home. She can't even make it to the corner without puking in the car, so cross country is definitely out.

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  20. Anonymous9:50 AM

    Those are two of the cutest pictures I've seen in a long time. Look at the absolute joy on her face! I wouldn't have broken up the party either.

    Happy and safe travels!

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  21. ok... Air cards- rock.
    michigan- sucks.
    LOVE all of the stops along the toll part of the trip though.
    Except, closed? a BREAKFAST ROLL place, at 7 a.m. along an interstate? Well, they must not be struggling in the economy then...
    Alexis= adorable. I look JUST LIKE THAT when I have Starbucks pound cake too.

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  22. Well, how cool are you??? Blogging while on the go, love it! That second picture could not be cuter! I love how the toddler just has fun anywhere she goes, it's party time! :o) Have a safe trip and maybe pick up a can of febreeze for meg on the ride home? I seriously feel sorry for you, my dog rolled in skunk pee once and the odor was indescribable! Good luck with that!

    Lizzy

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  23. DOg germs are probably better than fecal particles. I say, no harm done.

    Oh wait, bully probably licked poop somewhere along the way...

    Hallie :)

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  24. I think it's cute...nice smile she's got after that bite!

    Sounds like it is/was a fun adventure. Blogging from the car!? Awesome! I love living in the time we live in. I SO wouldn't have done very well, say, 35 years ago!

    I did some accounting for Cinnabon a few years ago. I don't eat there based upon that alone! LOL!!

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  25. Okay.. first have a fun trip! Second, they make an outlet adaptor specifically for laptops. It plugs into your cigarette lighter and you can plug in your laptop while going down the road. I have one! It rocks!! It is different than the standard cigarettel lighter adaptor that you can use to plug in electric stuff. It won't blow as many fuses..... Heh! I have blown lots of fuses before I discovered this adaptor! I used to carry bags of fuses for blogging on the road... lol

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  26. I have heard that dog mouths are some of the cleanest...I have the same theory...if the toddler is happy and not in danger, why break up the fun? Happy travels!

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  27. O.k., those pictures? TOO CUTE!

    Blogging while traveling. I want to, too! :)

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  28. Anonymous12:33 PM

    OMG! Alexis totally has syphillis now! Or erectile disfunction! What kind of mother lets her kid do that????

    My kid? When he was still crawling? Used to eat out of the dog bowl with the dog.

    He also regularly shares ice cream cones with the old dog (not Satan's Dog, because Satan's Dog doesn't share, he gobbles)

    I'm not saying I encouraged this behavior, it's just that sometimes, I'm too busy blogging or playing Scrabulous to see what my child is doing. I mean, I'm only human, you know?

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  29. Yummy, pound cake with dog slobber...a delicacy! Enjoy your trip!

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  30. Anonymous1:48 PM

    We drove from Greensburg to Columbus with three kids, minus the pets and a Nintendo DS. I think I would have killed for "borrowed" internets. I could have blogged how I threatened to jump out of the moving car, begged kids to be quite and how bad of a driver my husband is.

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  31. Awesome that you are blogging on the road! That is so cool, and I also covet your aircard.

    Dog germs--whatever! What's more important is that they are both learning to share! You are letting her learn an important life lesson. :-)

    I hope you all have a great time!

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  32. Anonymous2:15 PM

    Germs good. Make baby tough. Trust me. It hasn't worked for my baby yet...he still gets everything that comes down the pike, but by the time he's 20 -- whoo...he's going to be bug proof. I predict.

    Love the photos.

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  33. I'd be happier if it was a cat, but ok. You never rock the boat in the car. Peace is more important than doggie germs. Like she never gets them at home, right? I think it's pretty cool to blog from the car!

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  34. 12 hrs in the car, that don't involve a ride to a beach = insanity in my book. Oh wait, I'm supposed to be supportive...Sounds like fun! I'm sure it will be great! What a fabulous idea! Exclamation marks for everyone!!!

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  35. Have a great trip! I would love to have a laptop and be online while in the car! How cool would that be!?

    Good luck!

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  36. Have a great trip! Blogging and being the co-pilot, very cool! :o)

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  37. My theory re: doggy and toddler love - as long as no one is in danger, I let it go. Moments of everyone being happy and not on my lap are rare. The germs help build immunity.

    Enjoy the road trip. Blogging on the road - don't tell me how or I will drive my hubby crazy by insisting I must do so on our next trip.

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  38. You took the dog on the road trip? You are way crazier then I have given you credit for!

    The pictures are adorable.

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  39. What did we do on long roadtrips before we had all manner of electronic diversions?? Glad you had a good time and that Alexis had the good sense to keep her hands clean while eating. ;o)

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