Diary of a road-weery mother.....

5:45 pm - everyone loads into the car.  Seatbelts, check. Bear, monkey, pooh, blankie, check.  Snacks, check.
5:50 pm - shouting match in the backseat.
5:55 pm - tugging match in the backseat.
6:00 - 7:30 pm - continuous cough-cry and food requests from the backseat while I read intently in the frontseat.  Husband apparently annoyed by noise and asks me to attend to the noises, while I apparently have no trouble ignoring them.
7:33 pm - something smells fishy...not fishy fishy, but just bad fishy.  We pull over to change into pjs and give the boys a wet-wipe bath.  Smell was a false alarm.
7:40 pm - looks like it is going to be a quiet ride.  Cuddly and pacifier sucking rule the roost while I continue with book.
7:42 pm - blankie gets tossed aside.
7:43 pm - pacifier gets tossed aside.
7:44 pm - requests for above discarded items result in continuous cough-cry.
7:45-8:00 pm - repeat previous three activities over and over again.
8:01 pm - silence.
8:02 pm - don't look back, don't look back.  Should I try to steal a glimpse through my makeup mirror?  Don't chance it.
8:05 pm - Someone breaths wrong and chaos ensues.
8:10 pm - crying...serious crying.  I only have two pages left in my book.  Driver is loosing it, but I beg for just enough time to finish.
8:11-8:13 pm - LONGEST LAST TWO PAGES EVER.
8:15 pm - I round up fallen comfort items and silence follows.
8:16 pm - Pacifier flies. Repeated request by Liam for unknown object.  Over and over again.
8:18 pm - Driver makes note that Liam sounds like a broken record.....being played backwards (since we can't figure out what in the world he is saying and therefore insisting upon.)
8:23 pm - Adults start just pointing to things in the car and going "Do you want this?"  Each is followed by "no."
8:30 pm - BINGO!  Apparently wanted the shoulder pads to his carseat.
8:31 pm - Wrong again.  Very wrong.
8:32 pm - Padded book produces smiles.  Driver and passenger have a little silent party.  We cave and put on a movie.  Only one is satisfied...and it is the quiet one.
9:00 pm - Youngest wants pacifier and blanket, which involves me unbuckling my seatbelt (don't tell the po-po) and climbing back to get it, therefore giving the car in the right lane quite a show that, if witnessed, would warrant a "talking to" by my mom - the panty police.
9:01 pm - Liam throws pacifier and blanket.
9:02 pm - Liam wants pacifier and blanket.
9:03 pm - Liam throws pacifier and blanket.
9:04 pm - Liam wants pacifier and blanket.
9:05 pm - Liam throws pacifier and blanket.
9:06 pm - Liam wants pacifier and blanket.
9:07 pm - Liam throws pacifier and blanket.
9:08 pm - I play "tough guy" and make him cry it out.
9:11 pm - Driver insists I cave.
9:12 pm - Not happy, I do it.
9:13 pm - Silence.
9:14 pm - Like serious silence.
9:38 pm - Pull into driveway with two happy babies.
10:00 pm-present - Awake children lying in bed showing no signs of going to sleep eventhough it is now almost 4 hours past their bedtime!