On the road....

"I'm not sure what this huge vibrating thing is, but I think I like it!" - Alex

Our trusty navigator, Jan (left) and my mom.

Our fearless captain, Ron.

Me next to Ella (I'm wearing the warmest sweater I own - and it is actually Cecil's!

Grandma with Helen and Alex

Ella all bundled up

Alex

Helen a/k/a "socks on hands" - it got so cold out that we were able to keep them bundled up except for their hands. Helen hates to have her arms restricted so we could not keep them under the blankets. We resorted to putting socks on their hands for mittens :)

We made it to Ohio! Thankfully the trip was blessedly uneventful. Ron and Jan arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon and we promptly started loading up the RV. Kudos to our dear friend Freddy who came over and helped us load it up (and by "help," I mean he did it all himself -- in the pouring rain). The poor guy was soaked by the end but I don't know what we would have done without him. Thank you Freddy! We'll add this to the long list of things we owe you for. When the kids are older, I'll send them over to work for you for a few days to make up for this.

Needless to say, there was an extraordinary amount of stuff that we brought with us to Ohio. I think I became convinced that there were no stores in Ohio and that if I did not bring it with me, we would not be able to find it here. Thankfully, it all fit and we were loaded up and ready to go.

Sunday morning around 7 AM we departed. It was crazy cold for Florida, around 30 degrees. I guess it was preparing me for what was to come. The temps just kept dropping as we got further north. We were a little worried about the weather because it had been snowing in Atlanta and north of there. But we had dry roads and sunshine the whole way. Once we got going, the babies all fell asleep and pretty much stayed asleep the whole time we were moving. We fed them in their car seats so we did not even need to stop for feedings. We drove for about 14 hours on Sunday and stopped in Kentucky for the night. Ron drove the RV the whole time and my dad drove my car with the dogs in it. Did I mention that not only did I bring my 3 babies but my two dogs as well??

When we got to Kentucky, the temperatures were in the single digits. It took some serious coaxing to convince the dogs to get out of the car. We cranked up the heat in the hotel room and scurried the dogs and babies inside. I slept in one room with the babies and the dogs. On a good note, the babies slept in the car and made the trip uneventful. The downside is that they were wide awake when we finally stopped! I did not get much sleep that night but I was able to sleep in the RV the next day.

We arrived in Mansfield around 1 PM on Monday. We got everything unloaded and settled pretty quickly. Then I was off to bed so that I could get up and handle the night shift. We have not found a night nanny for here yet but I'm working on it. We have been very blessed to have so many friends coming over to help out during the day so that I can nap and get other things done. The dogs finally seem to be adjusting to the cold and the babies are settling in too. We are getting into our routine and trying to stay inside as much as possible. Of course, my mom's house looks like a daycare but she says she does not mind!! In honor of our arrival, we are having some of the coldest weather they have had all year - and it has snowed almost every day since we got here. I figure it is preparing me to only get better from here!!!