Karma

Karma has not been kind to us on the drive home from Mount Vernon/Seattle. Scratch that...The drive to and from. Where it should have taken us 4.25 hours to get there, it took us 5.75, all because of a fifteen mile pile-up. It took us more than an hour to go fifteen miles! Awesome! All of this after we found this...

In our kitchen. 

The stud finder said there was a stud. Nope. It was a pipe. Remember, this was hung in December. 

Good thing there are some excellent mold killers out there. It was not my favorite. 

It has been proven that I choose studs, as evidence of my Mister choice. I think I will just be our stud finder from now on.

We made it to Ashlee's Sunday night, have a grand time, have good news from Caden's x-ray on Thursday, make it back to her house, celebrate Daphnee's birthday this morning, and head for home. And let me just say, we are only half-way home and I want to shoot myself. Here is a play-by-play. 

We head South on I-5, cruise through the blessed HOV Express lane, enjoying the space afforded without all of the packed Seattle traffic. And then the barrier HOV passes the I-90 exit we need to take and sends us packing down I-5 South, only to have to get off at the first exit to get back onto I-5 North. Of Course, there is heinous traffic headed North. 

As we are getting onto the ramp, at the last second it becomes clear that we are getting back on to I-5 South. Randy is steaming mad. It was SO unclear that we weren't on just one ramp, but one that splits. Onto the next first-exit, taking us further down South looking at the miles upon miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic we get to look forward to. Yay!!

By this time in our drive, I am in need of some relief of the bladder kind. So, sort of against his will, Randy stops at a gas station. And my sweet Brennon and Keilie decide that they need to go to, even though they had just gone at Ashlee's without any kind of liquid passing their lips. So we trudge into the store. No bathrooms. Awesome!

Back on to I-5, heading the correct direction. Each and every mile passed in such a slow fashion is only squeezing my bladder harder. It felt literal, people. It was becoming urgent. Finally we made it onto I-90 and took the very first exit. We pulled over at the first place that looked open. No bathroom. I am almost in tears. I am going to pee my pants at 34. In front of my kids!!! Awesome!

We head down the road a little longer to find a blessed Burger King...That won't let you into the restrooms until you order. There was a line five deep. By this time, Randy explodes to the guy that we would order, just open the bathroom for me. I was an emotional wreck, just trying not to cry at the relief. Relief at not peeing my pants, not bladder relief. And then I see Shelby's ear...

It is getting worse. The blood was a tinge the other day. Now it is full-on dark. Talk about emotional wreck. It doesn't hurt her (thank goodness) but I can't understand why it's not better!! And then Brennon starts crying, saying his belly hurts. His motion sickness is coming up. Literally. All over the street, on the way to our car. Awesome!!

We make it onto I-90, and again enjoy open roads in the HOV lane. Until Easton. Where we take a blessed hour to go FIVE miles this time. Shoot me. 

We pass the mess and pull into the next Rest Stop (Randy, this time, just not as urgent) and file our way to the lines. We had all been stuck in that mess. As we were almost to the building, I saw Shelby's bare feet. Oh, crap, her shoe had been washed away in the tide at Deception Pass. I forgot!! And here we were, headed into a Rest Stop. AWESOME!

We make it inside, wait in another line, and finally it is our turn. The woman opens the stall door, stops, and looks at me with disgust. "No shoes?" I kid you not, my nerves were raw. Her life was in eminent danger, folks, and she didn't even know it. I put on my best "Screw You" smile, and syrupy-sweet said, "She lost them in the tide," and pulled the barely-alive woman from the stall, while shoving Shelby in. There is a LINE lady!!! Turn of your judging long enough to let my daughter pee!!! There were a million things I wanted to scream at this lady, but for the second time in less than four hours, I found myself almost crying in the bathroom stall of a disgusting place. 

I.am.done. 

Man, I HATE this drive!!! Seattle is not my favorite place. I can't wait to give it the bird and never return, someday.