I love the stillness and unfamiliarity of a hotel room at this hour. 

We are in the city of Borrego Springs, the kind of quaint little city with no stop lights and that closes its mall at 5p daily. We are here to visit and explore Anza Borrego Dessert State Park and see the wild flowers. This is what my husband texted me when he said he wanted to bring us here on his next 4 day off:

I was sold! 

So here we are. It’s just past six in the morning and my husband and our two girls are sound asleep. I’m hoping its a good day today of seeing some beautiful flowers and exploring some trails. 

We arrived yesterday at 4pm and as my husband walked in to the hotel to check in, Celeste suddenly had to pee and at the same time Elysse started to demand her next feeding. I wasn’t about to leave Elysse screaming in the car while I ran to find Celeste a bathroom so I did the next best thing. I had Celeste pee on the pavement next to our car, at this nice spa resort that we’re staying at, haha! All this while my head was starting to throb and I feared a migraine coming on. Not the best start to our arrival. 

My headache got progressively worse. We made a quick visit to the Visitor Center and then ate dinner at Carmelita’s. This Mexican food restaurant was absolutely delicious, the kind of authentic made from scratch food that reminds you of your mom’s cooking – if you’re Mexican. We loved it! 

As we were eating, Elysse woke up from her nap and shortly after we heard this massive poop blow out from her little bottom. The three of us opened our eyes wide and stifled our laughter. My headache kept getting worse. 

When we got back to the hotel I made a run to the bathroom while my husband took E out of the car seat. Oh my goodness, her blow out was all over the back of her shirt! I pretty much used up all the wipes we had left in the diaper bag to clean up that hot mess. Then as I fed her (my head throbbing), Celeste proceeded to unpack her “luggage”. 

When I was packing at home she decided to pack her own little Dora the Explorer bag on wheels, which can also be worn as a backpack. I had no idea what she had packed in there but it was fully loaded. As she pulled the contents out on the bed while I nursed E, I couldn’t help cracking up! Here’s a few pictures. 

Flash cards! Clearly this is our child and knows the importance of practicing ones colors and shapes while traveling. She brought about 40 of these! 

This one made me laugh the most. She brought her Doc McStuffins medical kit. She is nothing if not practical and thinking of our well being. I love this kid! And she put it to good use. 

My throbbing headache eventually turned into what I feared, me sitting on the floor of the hotel bathroom in front of the toilet sick to my stomach. The inevitable step that brings me closer to getting rid of the migraine. Celeste of course brought out her little doctor’s kit when I was well enough to bear sitting on the couch and checked my vitals and gave me a shot that she said would hurt a little. 

Despite that bumpy start (I didn’t even mention poor E has a nasty cold) I am SO glad we are here. Last night we convinced C to go outside with her dad (she kept wanting to stay with me) and he drove her to a spot to see her very first completely star filled sky. I wish I could have been there with them but baby and I stayed back in the hotel. Nevertheless, I could feel her excitement and awe when she came back and told me there were so many stars in the sky. She was so happy! My husband said she absolutely loved it and that the stars were twinkling which made it more beautiful. I smiled and remembered that it was my husband who showed me my very first star filled sky too and I knew Celeste and him had just shared something very special. It totally made up for being sick. 

It’s a fresh new day today, the headache is gone and I can’t wait to see what we get to explore together!