In just a few hours, we will be on our way to Dallas, Texas to attend Ozzfest. By ‘we’ I mean Myself, Hubby, and 5 teenagers. In one vehicle. Two hotel rooms. 4 teen girls and 1 teen boy. To quote a friend off jaiku: Hilarity and mayhem must surely follow…. (credited to dzakstar)

So, it is currently 2:15 pm. The 4 girls are all my daughters, and have been instructed to pack only 2 suitcases total. Since 8 this morning I have had to listen to a litany of complaints about so-n-so taking up much room with her makeup, someone else trying to pack half her wardrobe, and yet another trying to fit her mega-size bottle of special soft’n’silky* shampoo into a side pocket of a duffel bag because she can’t go two whole days without it.

Our two younger daughters are not attending. I had to draw the line at taking ten-year olds with us. It’s going to be hard enough watching the older ones. So the two younger ones need to pack to go to Gramma’s house while we are gone. And that isn’t going smoothly either. They insist on taking most of their stuffed animals, 8 Doctor Who novels, and their own blankets and pillows. Gramma lives ONE block away. I overheard one whisper: “We have room for the puppies. We can’t leave them here all alone”. So now, I keep going outside and counting puppies and kittens to make sure none have been packed under the jammies.

The boy going with us has been friends with Ms. Soft’n’silky since 3rd grade. He came over just a little while ago with his stuff - one compact duffel bag. Something one of my girls couldn’t pack one outfit into much less all the junk they need for 2 days. Thank you for this! I’m still not sure how I’m going to get all this luggage into the back of a Trailblazer.

Right now, all 7 kids are all in the front room watching an episode of Wonderfalls, while I’m sitting here freaking out over the logistics of this trip.

  • Where do we put the boy since the hotel didn’t have adjoining rooms?
  • Where did I put the tickets?
  • Should I take the camera?
  • I thought I printed out maps, where did THOSE go?
  • Should I go buy bottled water now, or just pick up stuff as we stop for gas?
  • Speaking of gas, is the truck still full?
  • Speaking of the truck, where did I put my iPod adapter?
  • Where is my iPod?
  • What else am I forgetting?

And to top it off, I have no idea what I’m packing to wear. Should I take the blue jeans and black dress shirt, or the black t-shirt and dark jeans? (Yes, my wardrobe IS that dull). Maybe I’ll just take both and sit on the suitcase to close it…..

Dear hubby is still at work, and missing out on all this fun. How fair is that? Then again, he’ll probably do most of the driving tonight, so I shouldn’t say anything…

I think I’m just going to go take a nap.

*soft’n’silky is not a brand. It’s what we have dubbed the particular brand of shampoo and conditioner one of my daughters insists on using since she is the only one with extremely long, VERY straight, and VERY thick hair. And she doesn’t share.