As I mentioned in my last post, we recently embarked on a 3 day journey to our nation's capitol. Try outlining that concept to a 3 year old. I tried everything from explaining, "our town is in Connecticut, and Connecticut is in a country called America...or...The United States of America...or USA for short". Game over-in the end I settled on, "It's where the President lives. He makes all the rules".

Simplicity. It's the best notion known to man (or should I say, woman?). It's my ultimate goal in life, and perhaps the biggest challenge to obtain.

As I packed for our trip, I did my very best to keep it simple. The 3 boys had a duffel bag and Ben and I shared a suitcase. Then I packed snacks. In two bags. Oh, and a pack and play. Then came the lap top and the portable DVD player. Oops, then the double stroller...and the umbrella stroller. Don't forget the diaper bag and my pocket book. So much for simplicity.

While we were on our mini vacation, Ben had workshops throughout the day. Fortunately my saving grace was the presence of two of my very best friends Addie and Kate. I'm not sure I would have survived the big city on my own with “Dennis the Menace” and his two mischievous sidekicks. Although the girls kept us busy, getting to and from the rental car and navigating D.C. was up to me.

There are many moments from our trip which will carve their place in my memory, but one in particular stands out among the rest. The five of us left our hotel room with our supplies for the day, and headed down to the “atrium” to have breakfast before parting ways with Daddy-o. After scarfing down our $10.00 bagels, we said our goodbyes. In an instant, the boys and I were left amongst the hustle and bustle of suits and briefcases, that only a convention center hotel can offer.

I can do this, I thought to myself. Carter behaved like a good little angel and threw out our napkins like he was told. I washed up the boys and strapped him into his stroller. Perfection. Then it occurred to me, this is all well and good, but I have two strollers and one set of hands. Oops! Didn't think that one through. With a quick change of plans and my determination in high gear, Carter was out of the stroller and pushing it all on his own, zig-zagging throughout the hotel, carrying the diaper bag as if it were his own baby. We made it out of the atrium and into the elevator (barely) without one person so much as smiling, holding a door or moving out of our way.

Now, one thing you should know is that in all major areas of the hotel, there are roughly 6 elevators, naturally you take the one that opens first. Well, when your 3-year-old runs in before you, leaving you stranded with two strollers (and two babies) panic mode sets in, imagining him alone in a 20-story hotel with a million and a half strangers. I just about broke my hand lunging forward and grabbing the elevator door in an effort to prevent it from closing with him in it. The next thing you should know is that my child has an unnatural obsession with elevators and REALLY enjoys the pressing of the elevator buttons.

So, we all make it into the elevator and then out of it in one piece. Only then did I realize that we had gone to the wrong floor. So we waited for another elevator, which in itself is not an easy feat, since Carter took off towards the escalator. Some genius of a businessman tapped me on the shoulder to say, “he's headed towards the escalator”. Thanks bucko, I hadn't noticed. Fortunately (or unfortunately) a lady managed to swoop him up for me, rolling her eyes and judging me, as if I were Britney Spears cruising the streets of L.A. with a baby in my lap (love ya Brit Brit). Needless to say, I somehow managed to corral the children back towards the elevator.

As we waited, some jerk comes flying by and stumbles, spilling his hot coffee in the air, ultimately chucking it into the garbage and leaving a few droplets of coffee on Landon's forehead. Thanks a billion, you big A-hole. To top it all off, another kind gentlemen popped into the elevator we were waiting for prior our coffee shower, and hit the button to close the door. It was only then that I stated out loud, “Thanks. There are some really nice people in this hotel”, as the doors slid shut before my very eyes.

Finally, we got to the right floor, and managed to make it through the convention lobby where we looked very out of place and got a few chuckles out of some older businessmen. By the time we reached the door to exit, someone decided to learn manners and open the door for us. Well, they should have known better, that my little preschooler wanted to push the handicap door button on his own. I tried to explain to the people, but it was too late. He was having a tantrum, in front of about 100 people indoors and a group waiting to load a tour bus outdoors.

Fortunately the episode was short-lived. We walked across the parking lot and into the parking garage, up another elevator and to our rental car. I looked at the clock and realized that it had taken me a full 45 minutes to get from our breakfast table to the van. Truly unsure whether to cry or laugh, I decided on the latter, scanned my hotel card and headed out onto the open road (which, in case you were wondering, happened to be the wrong road).

The point of the matter is, though I may strive for simplicity, it seems as though the more you try, the more it slips from your reach. Sometimes it's the complexities that make life interesting-my stories certainly seem to entertain some of you, right? For now, I'm going to keep my chin up, and continue laughing at my boys and how frazzled they make me at times. An estimated forty billion kisses, 4200 diapers and 14,500 ounces of breast milk later...10 months down boys, and Mommy hasn't cracked yet!