Cheese Puffs and Long Drives

Cheese puff disaster

Cheese puffs are a wonderful snack. They are crispy and cheesy and airy. I enjoy a nice bag of them now and then myself. However, eighteen month old + long drive + cheese puffs = big mess. There was fluorescent orange cheese puff nuclear waste every where. There was cheese puff glue in places there should never be cheese puff glue.  It had plastered to itself to her pants, it was in her hair, on her car seat. I do believe that cheese puffs should be reclassified as a weapon of mass destruction. They did keep her happy for a while though, that's what counts.  

Kahlen's Party Pad

Kahlen and I have this whole traveling thing down to a science. She has become a well seasoned traveler. I have a very specific way of setting up the car. I call it Kahlen's Party Pad. She has enough toys to keep her entertained for a few hours. Then we bring out the computer to watch movies.

We stop often. Iowa has some awesome rest stops. They have really nice clean bathrooms. Sturdy diaper changing areas and lots of picnic tables. They also have free WiFi, a way to check the weather and of course vending machines. I know it may seem strange to gush over a rest area, but when you have a child with a stinky diaper and a case of the "I WANT OUT OF THE CAR" blues, a nice rest stop is a life saver. Compared to the rest areas in Illinois, Iowa's are mini spas.  Illinois' rest areas are functional and usually clean, but that's about it.

Since we had Bazinga with us, we ate our lunch at a rest area while Bazinga played in the grass and waited for Kahlen to drop food.

Iowa I-80 rest area

After we were done with our lunch We went for a little walk to stretch our legs. Kahlen "walked" Bazinga. All went well until Kahlen tripped on a stick and fell. It broke her heart more than it hurt, but she was ready to get on our way again. 

All was good, Planet 51 was playing on the computer. Bazinga was snoozing in his kennel. We were traveling a long on I-74. We played a quick game of peek-a-boo in the rearview mirror. We got to Highway 136 and the whining started. She was getting tired, and was sick of being in the car. I slipped her some crackers and that seemed to help, for about two minutes. It was dark and she couldn't get to her toys. I started praying for her to go to sleep. When we got to Rantoul she did. The rest of the drive went smoothly and quietly. 

She knows that at the end of a big bye bye, she gets to see Grandpa. We got to the house. I got her out of her car seat and brought her into the house. She ran into the front room, calling for Grandpa the whole way, so excited! No Grandpa, he was still at work. 

She passed the time waiting for Grandpa working very hard rearranging my cupboards. I had them all wrong. I was just lucky she was there to fix them. It was pure chaos, it took a very long time for her to get them just right. 

Then, a sound at the back door. Bazinga starts barking, who could it be? GRANDPA!!! She ran to the door laughing the whole way! She ran straight into his arms and gave him a big bear hug. She was very excited to see him! She told him about her trip, and how she fixed Gramma's cupboards. She told him the long drive was all worth it!