On Thursday night we decided that we would for sure be making a trip to Illinois to Shedd Aquarium and to Ikea. The aquarium because we wanted Kai to have some sort of happiness at the end of a 3+ hour drive and Ikea because we needed some furniture with quality laminates and other various items for the house. We received a very nice gift card for Ikea from my moms' group in Pennsylvania when they threw us an awesome surprise going away party. (Which was officially the only surprise party I have ever been 100% surprised by.) So, we were set. We had a plan. We got up in the morning and Jake asked me why I hadn't set the alarm, that he wanted to leave by 7. It was just about 8. By the time we got out of the house it was around 9. My sister had dropped off her car DVD player the night before to help Kai (possibly the only child ever to not fall into a coma on car trips) make it through the trip in a somewhat happy manner. Right before we were leaving, Jake noticed that the power cord was broken. We decided that we would stop somewhere down the road when Kai needed a change of pace from books and toys. Kai needed his change of pace two cities and 20 minutes down the road. So, we stopped at four stores to not find the cord. At the last, Jake decided that we would just buy a player of our own to make it through this trip and any other future trips lasting more than 20 minutes. So, back on the road an hour and a half later, Kai was watching Dora and was a happy passenger. We made it to Chicago without any problems and then drove past the aquarium twice trying to figure out how to get anywhere near it. Then, due to construction on the museum campus, it was incredibly confusing figuring out where to park. Finally, we get to the aquarium to find a long line to wait in. The place was out of control busy. Additionally, the dolphins, whales and penguins were all "on vacation" during construction. These are the marine animals that Kai would have been the most excited about seeing. After about an hour and half of dealing with the crowds, we had enough and decided to hit the road to Ikea.
When we arrived at Ikea we noted that the parking lot was huge. We made a joke about needing a shuttle for the further out spots. We went inside and decided to eat before shopping. As I tucked into my Swedish meatballs, I had a terrible moment. The realization that I had not put the gift card into my wallet hit me and I immediately blurted this out to Jake. After being so mad that he wasn't passed, we decided this was not all bad. We would get a bed for Kai that we didn't think would fit into the car shipped to the house. I checked with a helpful employee who told me I could definitely order it on the website and have it shipped. So, we did our shopping and got a bunch of great things, light fixtures, storage for the kitchen, a knife strip (that still isn't hung...grrr), a chair and shelves for Kai's playroom and other fantastic stuff. In the morning, I went online to order Kai's bed. It was there, available for purchase. I put it in the shopping cart along with a couple more shelves and went to check out. Shipping costs: $320! Almost twice the cost of the items to be shipped! Obviously, it would be more cost effective to get in the car and go back. I did some measuring and found that the bed would fit in the car if Kai sat to a side and we put half of the back seats down.
So, Sunday we woke up and got ready to go. I had prepared the night before by packing snacks and filling water bottles and PUTTING THE DAMN GIFT CARD IN MY WALLET. We had an entirely uneventful trip down and had gotten on the road just after seven. We arrived to Ikea just after it had opened and it was crazy busy. The parking spots that we thought deserved shuttling? That was where we had to park. After battling the crowds, we picked up a couple of things that we had kicked ourselves for not getting, including that island for our kitchen and Jake wedged it all into the car. The ride home went fairly smoothly until Kai headed into no nap, no good play melt down territory. Not even Buzz Lightyear was reigning him back into happiness. After pulling over to nurse, Jake made Kai a tent with a blanket stretched over the front seats to behind his. This combination worked. He happily watched Toy Story until he (finally) fell asleep about a hour from home.
Jake got the bed and island put together before we went to bed and I am now listening to the monitor as Kai sleeps in his own room, in his own bed, for the second time in his little baby life.
Photos and video of how much fun a bed box can be:
You can hear the notes of panic in my reactions as Kai nearly slams his head into various wood things in the area of crazy box play:
When we arrived at Ikea we noted that the parking lot was huge. We made a joke about needing a shuttle for the further out spots. We went inside and decided to eat before shopping. As I tucked into my Swedish meatballs, I had a terrible moment. The realization that I had not put the gift card into my wallet hit me and I immediately blurted this out to Jake. After being so mad that he wasn't passed, we decided this was not all bad. We would get a bed for Kai that we didn't think would fit into the car shipped to the house. I checked with a helpful employee who told me I could definitely order it on the website and have it shipped. So, we did our shopping and got a bunch of great things, light fixtures, storage for the kitchen, a knife strip (that still isn't hung...grrr), a chair and shelves for Kai's playroom and other fantastic stuff. In the morning, I went online to order Kai's bed. It was there, available for purchase. I put it in the shopping cart along with a couple more shelves and went to check out. Shipping costs: $320! Almost twice the cost of the items to be shipped! Obviously, it would be more cost effective to get in the car and go back. I did some measuring and found that the bed would fit in the car if Kai sat to a side and we put half of the back seats down.
So, Sunday we woke up and got ready to go. I had prepared the night before by packing snacks and filling water bottles and PUTTING THE DAMN GIFT CARD IN MY WALLET. We had an entirely uneventful trip down and had gotten on the road just after seven. We arrived to Ikea just after it had opened and it was crazy busy. The parking spots that we thought deserved shuttling? That was where we had to park. After battling the crowds, we picked up a couple of things that we had kicked ourselves for not getting, including that island for our kitchen and Jake wedged it all into the car. The ride home went fairly smoothly until Kai headed into no nap, no good play melt down territory. Not even Buzz Lightyear was reigning him back into happiness. After pulling over to nurse, Jake made Kai a tent with a blanket stretched over the front seats to behind his. This combination worked. He happily watched Toy Story until he (finally) fell asleep about a hour from home.
Jake got the bed and island put together before we went to bed and I am now listening to the monitor as Kai sleeps in his own room, in his own bed, for the second time in his little baby life.
Photos and video of how much fun a bed box can be:
You can hear the notes of panic in my reactions as Kai nearly slams his head into various wood things in the area of crazy box play:
2 comments:
Hehe... you said "super fun box!"
Stella loved watching the video of Kai crazing out in the box. Cute!
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