The day from hell that was, all in all, not so bad.

Today I flew back from PEI with both of my gals, by myself.

Up at 4 am.

No direct flights for us. Nope.

TWO flights to cover only a 2 hour flight distance.
Up down. Up down.
Teeny, tiny planes. Absolutely no space.

Running to and from planes in the pouring rain, whipping wind and pelting hail.
I tried to make it fun. I said "this is an adventure!" and then Winnie and I held hands and screamed at the top of our lungs as we raced for the door, soaked and frozen.

Repeat four times.

The girls had fun. Just one incident of hair pulling (Pippa is feisty!) followed by Winnie yelling "Keep your dirty claws off me!"....which made me (and a flight attendant) laugh out loud.

Just for the record, I didn't teach her that. I tell her to keep her "grubby paws" off me. Very different.

My two babes refused to sleep on the planes, until the end of the last flight, of course, when they both fell asleep at the exact moment we landed and then had to be woken immediately.

We made it through baggage with smiles.....only one moment of panic when the car seat seemed to be missing. It was quickly found after a marathon walk to over sized baggage, both children perched precariously atop a moving mountain of luggage at a snail's pace.

{Still smiling.}

We got muffins and coffee, the debit machine obviously wasn't working and, while it took the (very kind) lady approximately 1 hour to figure out how to make it work, Pippa pulled apart a sunglasses stand at a nearby store and Winnie fell into a steel barrier trying to pry said sunglasses from Pip's death grip.

She was trying to be a help! It was actually very sweet until she yelled "Never ask me to help again!".....she always gets really embarrassed when she's hurt and she won't cry or take help, but she will be mad. Very mad.

{Feeling tired but still really pleased with myself. I have patience! Am incredibly *zen*}

Found a kiosk and payed exorbitant prices for parking. Got the girls ready to head to the car and then....

"Ohhhhhh sh*t! Where are the keys?"
"Where are the KEYS?"
"WHERE ARE THE KEYS?????"

Search through bag after bag while children run wild and strangers return them to me with concerned faces.

Stranger: "Are you okay? Can I help you?"

Me: "Do you have the keys to my car???? No? Then, sorry, you can't help. You can't fu#*ing help."

That not what I actually said. What I said was: "Um, I'm alright. I think I can handle this".

Called Jamie and pulled him out of his class. "You're going to kill me......I left the car keys at my parent's house".

He wasn't mad. He never is.

Note: this is classic Jill behaviour. He's used to it.

Jamie: "I just have to finish a few things in this class and then I'll bail out early. I'll go home, get the keys, and come get you."

Me: "Okay. Perfect. Only 4 hours to waste, in an airport, with two wild and exhausted kids".

Perfect.

With the help of *lovely info desk lady* and my two incredible children, we found a small chapel where apparently no one ever goes, and we set up camp. Children finally contained. Reading and playing quietly. I actually put my feet up and drank my coffee.

Not so bad.

Winnie danced and sang and told wild stories.
Pippa practiced putting on socks, nursed and then fell asleep on a blanket in the corner.

We chilled out for a while....only two crazy dance-breaks, me running like an insane-o, back and forth from the bathroom to the chapel while Pippa slept and Winnie peed *on her own* (and then came out to the hallway to wipe....lovely).

A few hours later we decided to clean ourselves up.
We left our sanctum in search of food.
We shared a sandwich, smoothies and chips and then waited by the window for Dada to come.






{Smiling Again. Ready to drop, but smiling}

Our saviour arrives, we pack up the truck and Jamie drops me at long-term parking so I can grab the car.

Jamie has one babe and I have the other. He's sitting, waiting for me to drive through the parking lot barrier. I just have to insert my (already paid for) ticket and then we're free!

Except, guess what?
That ticket I paid an arm and a leg for?
It's no longer valid! Why would it be?

I've already paid $56 and because of the extra four hours, I owe another $20!
They want me to get another ticket, unload my kid, GO BACK to the airport, pay again and then they will let me go.

{Quietly fuming}

I won't do it. I'm not leaving my car. I'm not paying more.
I press the HELP button.
I explain my situation. I ask for help (that's what the button is for, right?).
They promise to send someone right out to help me. It will only be a few minutes.

Ten minutes later, still no one.
I ring the HELP button again.
"Is someone on their way? Yes? Thank you so much!"

{Getting angrier}

Fifteen minutes later, still no one.
I ring the button again.
"Could you please tell me what's going on? Oh, perfect! He's *on his way*! Great! Is he coming from Montreal by any chance?".

20 minutes later a blue van approaches. Slowly.
The attendant takes my ticket. Slowly.
He leaves me waiting for another ten minutes and then comes back and makes me pay the whole fee anyways.......

{I am fuming. *Hulk* angry. I actually rolled up the window and screamed. Then rolled it back down again to tell the attendant how fuming I was.}


I did it and I'm not proud. It wasn't his fault, was it?.
He took it fairly well, actually. Like it's something he deals with every day, even......

Thankfully, Winnie was snoring loudly and missed the whole thing.

The 2 hour drive from the airport left me plenty of time to unwind and get it together and, by the time we were home, all was forgotten.

Truly.
I was just SO HAPPY to be home!

We were excited to see all that Jamie had accomplished in the house while we were gone.

We had dinner together.

I got a hot shower and Jamie put the kids to bed.

Life could be worse.

The day from hell that was, all in all, not so bad.
Hope you're having a better start to the week!