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You are here: Home / Travel / Road Warriors

March 19, 2019

Road Warriors

this !

We took a little trip this weekend to meet up with my family in Charlotte. Thomas went out of town for a guys weekend / bachelor party, so I made the trip to Charlotte solo. Man-oh-man, I don’t want to drive again for a long time! I had hoped Birch would continue is two hour morning naps in his car seat, but alas he never slept more than a 33-minute sleep cycle the whole trip. Poor little guy cried at least once and hour, and we stopped so many times. It must be so hard to be a baby. I don’t like car trips and I’m a grown up. I sat in the drivers seat going through all the things he could be unhappy about (hungry again, diaper, hot, cold, overtired, undertired, uncomfortable, bored) and it was so hard not to be able to help him while I concentrated on driving. Mazen, however, was happy as a clam back there with his iPad! He was helpful at times to give Birch a toy or play peek-a-boo, but that only lasted for about 10 minutes.

We stopped mid-way at a McDonald’s so we could all stretch, I could use the bathroom (I held it for ages not wanting to stop at a gas station), Birch could have a good long nurse and cuddle, and Mazen could get lunch.

I brought some slow food from home 🙂 Quiche and grapes. (I did have a chicken sandwich on the return trip – full disclosure!)

Eventually, through torrential rain, we made it to Charlotte greeted by a happy Emerson!

The kids played outside while Larbs and I caught up. Their new house is so beautiful!

Just before dinner, Grammie and Pea arrived!

We brought Peeps for Grammie’s birthday (which is tomorrow!) Happy Birthday Grammie!

Birch loved Emerson’s old Bjorn bouncer. It was nice visiting someone with a stash of baby gear! We used their Lotus Travel Crib, and I liked it so much I just bought one of our own!

We ordered dinner from Bang Bang Burgers. I had a pimento cheese + fried pickle burger and it was INCREDIBLE!! I loved how flat the burger was and nicely grilled. The fries and salad were good too.

For dessert, we got Gigi’s Cupcakes to celebrate Grammie’s birthday. These were SOOO GOOD! Tons of frosting. The Youngers were happy : ) We cut them into quarters so we could try a lot of different flavors.

The next morning we snuggled around the house for a while. This is funny: on Sunday night my sister and parents asked each other who got Emerson up for the day that morning. No one claimed to have been the one to get her out of her crib. So they turned to her to ask her who got her up. “Mazen did!” she said.

I had blueberry PB toast for breakfast.

Matt and I went for a run while everyone else walked. We covered about 3 miles in their beautiful neighborhood.

B was happy despite not napping all morning!

And Mazen would have stayed there all day!

We ordered lunch from Siggy’s, which was also fabulous. (We did a lot of take-out because of the kids instead of going out to lunch.) I shared a pulled chicken sandwich and a quinoa salad with dad.

We had a little rest period before getting dressed up for dinner out. Charlotte has gotten so much cooler since I left. It’s so weird that I recognize certain names of places but overall the city felt so different. I wish I’d had a little more time to go see my old neighborhoods but the city is huge! It feels like ages since I lived there.

We went to Pizza Peel for dinner which was very kid friendly. The place was hopping and had a nice green for the kids to play on outside. I had a Birdsong Brewing Jalapeno beer – very unique!

Fried pickles to start. They were super crispy!

We shared a few pizzas for the table. The creative toppings were so good.

B is very much in love with Gertie the Goose these days! Grammie held him for the second half of dinner and he did well overall.

The cousins had a joint bath when we got home. This is the BEST smelling shampoo! After the kids went to sleep, we had more desserts!

On Sunday morning our group was up and packed so I could hit the road during first morning nap. I had a blueberry yogurt bowl before I left with PB, banana, and honey.

I had hoped that B would sleep better on the return trip, but he did not. I think he’s just at an age where he doesn’t like his infant car seat too much. Which is OK because I’m not driving anywhere far with him for a very long time 🙂

Happy McDonald’s boy!

We made it home in about six hours (ugh) and then Thomas and Nona greeted us so I could run to my soccer game. I needed to run outside in the sunshine so badly after that long trip! I hit up Whole Foods on the way home and picked up groceries for dinner. I found this dressing made by Cava and it’s SO good!

Lemon currant arugula pizza + homemade salad with said dressing, gouda, and red peppers.

Hope you guys had a great weekend!

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Comments

  1. Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says

    March 19, 2019 at 7:14 am

    Seems like a fun little trip! The family looks so happy. 🙂

    Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
    http://charmainenyw.com

    Reply
  2. Christina @ montessoriishmom.com says

    March 19, 2019 at 7:22 am

    We have the Lotus travel crib and it’s the best thing ever! That car ride sounds rough – my son was always like that as a baby, only sleeping for 30 minutes in the car, and it was the worst!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 7:44 am

      Glad to hear another positive review!

      Reply
      • emma says

        March 19, 2019 at 7:20 pm

        Second this! We used it as our bassinet too. It’s actually been used M-F for about 20 months now for naps at our nanny’s and it’s still in fantastic shape!

        Reply
  3. Rachel says

    March 19, 2019 at 8:34 am

    Can I ask where your sunglasses are from? They’re so cute and not too big, which is so hard to find!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 8:53 am

      Kohv eyewear!

      Reply
  4. Elaine says

    March 19, 2019 at 8:43 am

    Oh boy, that brought back lots of memories of road trips with babies who weren’t great in the car. Once, I gave up. ? The rest of the weekend looks fun, though!’

    Reply
  5. Marine says

    March 19, 2019 at 8:56 am

    The French translation on the live clean is hilarious! ?

    Reply
  6. Tonya says

    March 19, 2019 at 9:48 am

    Look at the baby (Mazen) sitting by the baby (Emerson) while holding the baby (Birch)! How are all the babies no longer babies?? LOL! Mazie is the big cousin now!

    Happy Birthday, Mom. You look GREAT!!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 10:16 am

      I knooooowww!! Babies!

      Reply
  7. Christin says

    March 19, 2019 at 10:40 am

    Oi. Car rides with babies are such a challenge! My older daughter was always the worst, so I was realllllly thankful when my younger daughter proved to be a champion car traveler (so unlike me, so much like her daddy, haha!) Do you have one of those carseat mirrors for birch? Those always helped us!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 10:44 am

      I do have one but I can barely see him in it, and he can’t really see me yet….

      Reply
  8. Anne Weber-Falk says

    March 19, 2019 at 11:04 am

    Oh! Did you get to visit with Caitlin B. on your visit? I miss reading her blog and I recall the two of you are friends.

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 11:15 am

      I tried to meet up with her and Julie but both of them were out of town 🙁

      Reply
  9. Cheryl says

    March 19, 2019 at 11:58 am

    I love the picture of the 3 cousins together!
    James and I travel a bunch by car – while Mazen may love McDonalds, I find that some of the large store bathrooms (and even truck stops!) are cleaner than the fast food restaurants. Sheetz, QT, Parkers, WaWa, Circle K/Kangaroo…. they also have grills for the “fast food” option AND they usually have a cooler with fruit snacks and healthier options. *but no playgrounds!
    And, we’re kinda addicted to convenience store/truck stop coffee. All of them will charge you just the refill price if you have your own travel mug. But be warned, QT coffee is the temperature of molten lava.

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 1:34 pm

      You had me until truck stop coffee!!

      My friend actually told me to go into a chain hotel for bathrooms. I feel slightly unethical about that but she said it’s the best/cleanest option!

      Reply
  10. Kacey says

    March 19, 2019 at 5:23 pm

    I think you meant you and birch went for a run?

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 19, 2019 at 5:44 pm

      Nope – Matt, my sister’s husband. Birch walked with Grammie!

      Reply
  11. Jeanie says

    March 19, 2019 at 6:44 pm

    I was stressed just reading about your long drive with two kids.

    Reply
  12. Melissa says

    March 25, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    We recently took a road trip to Wilmington and of course I pushed it as far as I could and the only place to stop was McDonalds – which is like my very last choice ever – but the grilled chicken sandwich really wasn’t bad and my 4yr old loved his first (and last… lol) happy meal so we could continue on with our trip.

    Reply

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    hi! Im Kath.

    I'm a Registered Dietitian, healthy eater, and mom of two from Charlottesville, Virginia. Here you’ll find a healthy mix of real-life meals made from whole ingredients balanced with the pleasures of life, including buttercream frosting and good wine. Plus a sprinkle of nutrition, home life, beauty, parenting, and travel.
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