My 11.5 hour "5 hour" trip

As some of you know, Hubby works in TN sometimes. He was working on Memorial day, so we went up to spend some time with him. My trip up went thusly:

8 am Partial car loading, girls breakfast, dressed, etc.
9 am Feed Dylan
9:30 Load up car, girls go potty, shoes, etc...
10:30 Finally get on the highway
1 pm Stop to feed Dylan and eat lunch. (we usually stop at a Chick-Fil-A or something so the girls can stretch and play for a while)
2:30 Everyone has eaten, been fed, and played. Back on the road.
4:30 Arrive at our TN destination

So, even though Hubby can make it in 4.5 hours, it generally takes me 6. However, yesterday, this is how it went:

8 am Dylan decided he was starving to death and couldn't wait to eat. So, he ate.
8:30 Feed girls, load car, get dressed, etc.
10 am Final potties, shoes, loading, etc.
10:30 Hit the highway
12:30 Some nice traveller motions to me and tells me my driver side back tire is flat. We pull off. I try to fill it up at a gas station, but discover as I pump air in, it comes right back out. We drive to a Wally World, where they plug it, but make me sign a disclaimer that says it isn't their fault when the tire blows because it is so old and worn... (yes, I am aware it is about time to change the tires. Sigh.) While waiting, I feed Dylan (since he ate early, he needed to again).
1:30 The tire is fixed. However, it is now time to feed the girls (me included). And, because we traveled with the dog (can't leave her here, can I?) and Wally world doesn't allow pets, we had to sit very still and very quiet in the little waiting area with the dog. Therefore, the girls still needed some stretching and exercise time. Here we come Chick-Fil-A. Again, I might have preferred eating somewhere else, but the customer service is to die for, so.... It all works out in the end.
3-ish We get back on the road.
3:30ish We hit weather north of Atlanta. Bad weather. Rain so bad I couldn't hardly see. I slowed down to about 45 (in a 70) and parked myself behind a semi. I figured, even if he wasn't strictly speaking "in the lane", at least he would clear the path for me.
4:15 We are finally through the weather. Dylan is starting to wake up (translation: will want to eat again soon), but we are coming into downtown Atlanta. You don't stop in downtown Atlanta. However, we hit a bit of traffic. Not stopping, but again we were driving about 45 (if you have ever driven through downtown Atlanta, that would normally get you run over, or your doors blown off, unless you hit traffic... :/ )
5 pm Finally out of Atlanta and stopping to feed Dylan. Outside of Atlanta means we are less than 1.5 hours away from home. I figured we would feed Dylan, and then make it home in time to feed the girls dinner and get to bed. We all needed a potty break too.
5:30 Back in the car and heading down the highway.
5:32 We hit traffic. This time, bad traffic. Completely stopped, with occasionally enough room to let the car idle forward. It took 75 minutes to go 2 miles.
6:45 We pull off at an exit to eat dinner. Conveniently, it is also another possible way home (according to hubby). By this time, I realize we are really in no hurry. This is the last meal of the day, and we obviously aren't making it home in time for bed, so we stop at Burger King let everyone stretch and play again. Dylan talked up a storm and the girls had a blast.
8 pm Back on the road. I drove past the highway, discovered it was clear, so we got back on and headed home.
8:45 It became increasingly obvious that we weren't going to make it home before it was time to feed Dylan again. So, we pull over again. Got gas, mommy stretched, fed and changed Dylan.
9:15 Back on the road.
10 pm 11.5 hours after we left, we finally arrive home!!! Yuck! What a mess! So much for 5 hours. Thankfully, the tire held the rest of the way. Thankfully, the girls were well behaved and watched movies pretty much the whole way (again, that dvd player is worth its weight in gold!). Dylan was a bit fussy, but, it can't all be perfect. It was mostly me whose panties were in a wad {pardon my french} and whose blood pressure was on the rise. Oh well I suppose. Better luck next time :$