On Monday I felt like a I need a mental health day. A break from being in the house and from homeschooling. I decided it would be a perfect day for a field trip! I have been wanting to go to The Cave of the Winds.
So I got all the kiddos dressed and loaded up the car with everything we would need for a day out and began the 2 hour drive to Manitou Springs.
We arrived at the cave and were told we would have to wait half hour for the next tour. I started to get a little nervous because Micah was being so good, but I knew I didn't have long before he would get tired or hungry. 45 minutes and 19 "no, you cannot buy a toy at the gift shop" later we finally began the tour.
Jack started to get a little nervous at the cave entrance, but I calmed him down and averted catastophe number one.
5 minutes in Micah gets a little fussy. I take him out of the sling and began to carry all 18 pounds of him through the cave.
5 minutes after that his fussing starts to get even louder. I am shaking him, sushing him, bouncing him...all the things that usually work to calm him down. Unfortunately none of them are working. People are starting to get annoyed and of course the caves echo making it sound much louder than it is.
Now I am starting to sweat. This is getting bad. The cries are getting louder and louder I am trying to hang back from the crowd... even my kids are getting a little nervous!
I hear the poor tour guide trying to yell over the baby and it's hopeless, he is too loud!
I am getting frantic, I feel so silly! In my desperate state I changed the baby on the floor of the cave and tried to feed him WHILE WALKING. Nothing helped.
Finally the tourguide comes to my rescue and offers to call someone to escort us out.
Unfortunately, she is a new tour guide and cannot locate the phone to call for help. I am standing there helplessly holding a baby who is screaming bloody murder, trying to keep Jackson from scaling the cave walls, and the entire group is just waiting and staring at me. Now, I am almost in tears myself.
Finally, the guy arrives to lead us out and Jacey and Jack start crying! Jacey because she doesn't want to leave and Jack because he doesn't want to drive back down the "scary mountain"! The guy is moving so fast up and down narrow staircases and I am trying to hold my screaming baby, help the kids and keep up with him (he obviously did not have kids).
Of course, Jack bangs his head on a stalactite and he starts crying even louder!!!
Finally, we make it out and within 2 minutes Micah is, of course, fine.
I won't even bother to tell you about my harrowing search for a gas station that followed or the other things that lead Jack to pray "Dear Lord, help mommy not to get stressed!"
So much for mental health...is it really neccesary anyway?
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