We made a trip to Jacksonville for Scarlett’s soccer tournament and I was semi-worried about how it would all play out. Not the outcome of the games. Winning is always ideal of course, but I mainly wanted Scar to have fun and use the weekend as a learning experience since it was her first time playing on a competitive team.
Getting the W wasn’t my main concern. I was mainly worried about the logistics of the weekend and how Evie would adjust. The 3+ hour car ride, the long days at the fields with no naps, the shared hotel room…
What kind of beast was I trying to create?! This was a perfect recipe for disaster…
Yet, it all went surprisingly well. I was never good at following recipes so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. Not to say that the weekend it was all easy peasy. It took a lot of effort, planning, and a strategic use of the boob to keep the beast at bay.
The dreaded thing called the car
Recall that Evie does not like the car. This has gotten to be less of an issue now that she is a tad older but rest assured, she still loses her shit. G and Scar try to entertain her, but typically will give up after it gets tough, so for most rides I usually sit in the back seat. During the 7 hour total car ride, I spent my time feeding her snacks, cycling through different toys, playing “The Little Einsteins” on my phone, making animal noises, playing peek a boo. If all else failed, I may have unbuckled myself a few times to whip out the boob. Desperate times call for boobs.
Yes – she still nurses. It’s mainly for bedtime or if she gets super, super upset. I know she’s a bit old to still plop on the boob, but I don’t really care. Just like everything else with Evie, I will transition her off the boob once she seems ready. Judge me if you want but my kid is happy. Plus, she won’t be doing this forever so I’m not going to let what society tells me is normal make me do something that she isn’t ready for.
I will boastfully say that I, and the boob, managed to keep her happy for both of those long rides across the state of Florida. She barely cried!
One room, party of five please
The shared hotel room wasn’t ideal but I wanted to stay in the same hotel as Scar’s team to help her connect. The hotel that everyone else was staying at didn’t have suites so this was our first time experiencing travel with all 5 of us in one room. Any time we’ve traveled with Evie, we’ve gotten a suite so that I could lay her down in the bedroom and we could all stay up and make noise in the living area. Not this time.
I’d like to thank Evie’s sound machine and the mini blackout tent I bought to go over her pack and play for this success. We did spend our nights like the people in the movie “A Quiet Place,” though.
Why do phone chargers sound so loud when you plug them into the wall? Why do blankets rustle so loudly? Why is my husband a dick and purposefully make noises to make me angry?
I was so afraid any sound would wake her up but she slept through it all.
Who needs sleep?
Even though nighttime went smoothly, naps were non-existent. Her longest one totaling maybe 30 minutes while we were away. On a normal day it’s closer to 2 hours. We just didn’t have the time to go back to the room and let her lay down. I tried getting her to nap on me at the field, but she wanted nothing to do with it. If Evie didn’t snooze in the car in between games, she wasn’t getting anything.
One of the few cat naps she took over the three day weekend.
Coupled with the lack of naps, her bedtimes were so late. At home, she lays down between 530-630. But during the tournament weekend, it was closer to 8 most nights. Surprisingly, Evie didn’t turn into a raging beast. Maybe it was because she was in an unfamiliar place? Maybe it was because we were busy? Maybe she sensed how her meltdown might totally ruin our weekend? Who knows. Somehow…it worked.
Memories made without a meltdown
We made it through the 3 day weekend without any of us losing our shit and managed to make plenty of memories. Scarlett’s team took first place and she started to build bonds with a couple of girls on her team. Compared to her season last year with cheerleading, her connections with her team and the energy around the sport is so different. More positive, more optimistic, more of a family. It’s so refreshing after all the stress of cheer and Scarlett is working her ass off out there.
Along with 4 soccer games, we managed to squeeze in a bit pool time with her team, we played games in the hotel lobby, made a quick trip to Jax Beach to body surf, got ice cream at a local shop, and even visited St Augustine’s Alligator Farm. (Evie loved seeing all the gators and crocodiles. She still thinks she can hug them like she does her Mr Gator stuffie that she sleeps with. I need to have a serious talk with her when she’s old enough.)
Yet again, this weekend proved that worrying does absolutely nothing but make the present less enjoyable. I can’t predict how things will turn out so I need to stop overthinking. I have to keep just saying yes, planning the best I can, and rolling with life.
Because, even when it seems like I have the perfect recipe for disaster, I can’t even cook that right.