Visiting Italy while I live in Holland

I scheduled my trip to Nashville so that it wouldn't affect Hailey at all...I scoured the calendar looking for that 4 day window when she'd be with her dad...where there weren't any activities, no field trips, no therapies or doctor's appointments that I would miss.  I thought I did a great job and booked the trip...

The best laid plans...you can usually count on those not working out.

Just like when I planned to have a perfect little baby...I planned to have a perfect little girl who loved ballet and girl scouts and would get married to a very handsome young man after she finished up her college life at Yale and became a brilliant lawyer...I am a planner...I plan everything.  I write it down, list it out, calendar it...I planned to live in the same home in the same town with the same husband and the same friends, near my same family...I PLANNED IT!!  (note divorced, 4 homes since then, barely any of the same friends and a split family...)

I am not sure why I continue to be surprised when my best laid plans...BOMBBBBB!!!  I am not sure why I plan anything at all anymore.  I guess it is in my DNA...my obsessive compulsive behavior to have to list it all and cross it off.

Now the trip was FANTASTIC...the most fun that I've had in years.  I literally did every adult activity that you can not do when you have 3 children hanging on your leg...

Then I returned to reality.  The reality that Hailey doesn't do well when she knows I am gone (thus the scouring of the calendar before I booked it...).  So the last minute field trip and 2 half school days (yes last minute that her teachers didn't tell me about) that her father couldn't accommodate in his schedule made it so that she had to know I was gone. 

My mom had to take her to her field trip and so she had to come with us to drop me off at the airport.  Added to the fact that she had a half day on Monday so I wasn't quite home when she got home from school and my suitcase was on the floor of the kitchen and I hadn't made our house look like I hadn't just gotten home...and you have my mini monster...

God I love her...every day. Even when she is a mini monster but WOW...she exploded...We have had the most tantrum filled 2 days of my life.  I literally thought that she was going to pull Aubrey's hair out of her head and get us into a car accident yesterday.  She actually GRABBED the wheel!  (We call her lilly long arms...this child can extend her arms to reach ANYTHING when she is pissed)!!

I think that today she has finally accepted that I am not going anywhere and she doesn't have to be made anymore so the tantrums have subsided...

Despite of all this, I will continue to plan...because I am a planner, a lister, a write it downer, check it twice, cross it off when it's done type of planner...That is who I am...So I'll just have to accept that my best laid plans...well you know!

Back to reality...back to life...but I do dream of living in that land where there are only adult things to do...I'll have to settle for visiting and having my wonderful vacations with my very best friend and all of the wonderful adults! 

I'll settle for visiting Italy while I live in Holland...