Family Reunion Part 4 (Monday)

Monday morning rolled around, and I was in a good mood. Lil wasn't sick anymore, so I could continue with my plans to visit with some friends at lunch while my niece babysat my kids. I was then gonna go visit Grandma with my sisters and get some good quality time in with her. All this while my mom visited with her friends and sisters.

When I got out of bed (at 9 - it seemed my alarm clock was broken. Or tired.) I noticed that Lil wasn't in her sleeping bag, but was across the room sleeping on just her pillow. No biggie, it was warm Sunday night. Right? Wrong...

When she woke up she said, "Mom, I threw up in my sleeping bag last night and I am going to throw up again." And then she did. I am ashamed to admit I actually started crying. I was so SICK of sickness. I was so tired of being at my cousin's house, constantly worrying about where my kid would throw up next. I was not getting to do any of the things I had stayed two extra days to do. I wanted to go home! I called my friend in tears and she took over canceling lunch for me. I then called my mom. And bawled to her. And she, bless her heart, said, "Lets go home." (Told you she was awesome and fantastical) So that is exactly what we did. I didn't get to visit with Grandma. I didn't see my friends. And for that I am truly sad. But - well, my kid is sick. You do what you have to do.

Mom drove over with a bunch of sick food provided by my aunt and my sister (life savers, they were!). We were loaded up and in the car by 11, and on our way back home. We originally hoped to make the trip in one shot. So very optimistic, huh? We made a stop at the nearest Walmart for some snack foods for us non sickies, and then got on the road. A half an hour later we stopped on the side of the road cause Lacey said she felt sick. False alarm. Drive on. 10 minutes later we stopped for gas. And to get Dramamine (in case it works for flu bugs too). They didn't have any, so we drove on. We made a stop for a potty break for Lil about 15 minutes later, and that's when Lacey threw up. She didn't cry, and she seemed fine afterward, so we were hoping it was just car sickness. We gave her and Lil a half pill each of Dramamine (this gas station had it), and were back on the road. We were already nearly 2 hours out and have made it less than 100 miles from our starting point. ::Sigh:: Not good. We had a few more stops for little things, mostly potty breaks. We weren't making good time at all, and it was seeming less and less likely that we would make this trip in one day with such a late start. To add to it, around 5 pm Matthew started to cry. I turned around just in time to see him loose his lunch, dinner, and every snack from the last two days ALL OVER himself and the carseat. We pulled over, and I cleaned him up with diaper wipes and a plastic bag. Ewww. I then called Joe and asked him to look up hotel and motel numbers for the half way point (about half an hour away) for us. He gave me a nice long list and I started calling around. I finally found a Motel 6 that had a vacancy, and booked us a room. WORST. MOTEL. ROOM. EVER. Not gonna get into the details, but lets just say my mom and I complained and earned a free night's stay sometime in the next year. I know this was not the norm for their motels, so I am fine with using them again. In a different city. Anyway- I digress...

Before we could get checked into the hotel Matthew had thrown up two more times. We managed to contain most of those two... Once in our room, I called in for extra towels and found that they had a laundromat on site. YAY. I took the car seat cover off (for the second time this trip) and all his clothes and our 5 (beach) towels and ran a load of laundry. We also set up the playpen, lined it with 5 towels and corralled Matthew. Each time he threw up we just removed a layer of towel. He used all 5 before the load of laundry was done. When I came back from the laundromat the final time, with all our dry and clean stuff, Matthew was sound asleep wrapped in a blanket on top of yet another towel. Poor little man. He was quite literally green. Eventually we all settled in to sleep. And woke up the next morning ready to finish the drive home. Lacey never did throw up again, so her initial bout was deemed motion sickness.

During the down time in between bouts of everything, I had some awesome conversation with my mom, and watched some pretty cute kids movies with my girls... All in all, though quite the icky day, I did find some enjoyment.

Family Reunion Part 3 (Sunday)

By Sunday morning (as Joe was headed out the door for the drive back home) it was decided that Lil MAY have heat stroke, but since Grandma has pretty precarious health, I'd better keep Lil away from everyone else. So my (AWESOME AND FANTASTICAL) mom came and got Lacey for the day, and I stayed at my cousin's house with Matthew and a very weak and VERY tired Lilia. It was a bit of a disappointment since I was losing the opportunity to go to church with the family, as well as to spend more time with Grandma. BUT you make the most of it, and I for sure didn't blame poor Lil for landing us in this spot. Sunday was pretty boring. Lots of cartoon watching, book reading, and Matthew chasing. But there was one not so boring incident...

I had just finished changing an especially bad diaper and instead of throwing it in the trash, I chose to take it out to the garbage can. (Aren't I considerate?) Lil was asleep on the couch, and Matthew was watching a show. I was still in my pajamas and totally shoeless. But it was like, 15 steps from the front door. No biggie right? HA! As I went out the door I was careful to close the metal screen door behind me so Matthew wouldn't escape. Instead of trying to escape, as I lifted the lid of the garbage can I heard Matthew close the main door (wood) behind me. The little stinker. I went to go back inside and found that the screen (metal- not mesh) was LOCKED. And I didn't have a key! It seems the screen door is the type that only locks on the outside. The inside knob still turns when it is locked. I had no idea until I got back to the door that it was locked! Okay... no problem. I will ring the doorbell. What? No doorbell? CRAP. Okay... lets go check windows. (I know, you all think I should check the back door, right? Well I KNEW it was locked since the night before I had noticed it wasn't and I had LOCKED IT! But I did check it again, just to be sure). WELL- it turns out that my cousin's house was a bit on the older side. And ALL the windows were the kind that automatically click shut when the window is closed. You have to push the lever to unlock it as you slide it open... sorry- off the topic there a bit. Back to the point.

To recap:

Both doors locked.

All windows locked.

Both kids INSIDE. One sleeping and sick. And one (troublemaker) very much awake.

Pajamas. Barefoot. No Keys. No Phone.

Family is all in church. No one to call. And only one phone number memorized...

I spent about 5 minutes banging on windows and the back door trying to wake Lilia up. She didn't budge. Through the back door's window, I could see her passed out on the couch, and I could also see Matthew playing with my cousin's laptop, watching TV, dancing with something on TV, and of course, yelling back at me like this is SUCH a fun game. After a while I realized it was useless to try to "raise the dead" and so I hopped back over the fence (it was locked too) barefoot. I then hot footed it (literally) across the street to the only neighbor who was home (I tried three other houses first) and BEGGED them to let me use the phone. Explaining quickly who I was and why I was standing in their yard disheveled and crazed... I called my mom's cell (knowing full well that she was still at church), and PRAYED she had not turned off the ringer. Well- I guess two miracles in one day was one too many, cause her phone was OFF. I left a message to call me ASAP. And then went back to check on the kids. As best I could. Turns out, the show on Netflix had ended and Matthew was getting upset. I was no longer playing the "Yelling game" and he wanted me. The neighbors had followed me across the street and over the fence, and we all took turns looking through the back window at the keys sitting on the coffee table, and the 16 month old crying hysterically. Finally it was decided that we NEEDED to do something - NOW. My cousin has a back porch that is totally screened in, and it was the only entrance to the house that was NOT glass or wood. I knew the door from the house to the porch was unlocked since I had stashed some not so kid friendly items on that porch just a few hours previous. With my permission, the neighbor tore away the plastic covering the screens, and then punched his arm right through the screen. He tore a hole big enough for me to fit through, and I scrambled inside to calm my poor son. I then let them in through the house since I didn't want them to have to hop the fence again. I proved to them I was not some crazy chick, but a legitimate "momma in distress" and then thanked them for vandalizing my cousin's house and bid them a good day. And sat down a cried.

I felt SO GUILTY for the damage. And bless their hearts, my cousin and his wife took it in stride (and maybe a chuckle or two). They completely understood, and shrugged off the damage. But mark my words... I WILL be paying to have that hole fixed.

Lil had a couple really terrible nightmares on Sunday, but otherwise she had finally stopped throwing up around 11 am so we felt sure she was on the mend.

Family Reunion Part 2 (Saturday)

Saturday we went bowling where I finally got to see my grandparents. Grandma looked good, and she said something to me that I will treasure til the day I die. I got to chat with her for a minute (literally) and then had to go tend to the bedlamites (more specifically Matthew). After Bowling we went back to my Uncle's house for lunch and some swimming. After letting Lilia play in the pool for an excessive amount of time we called her inside to cool off and get out of the sun.

Well... about 30 minutes after getting out of the pool, Lil said, "I think I am gonna throw up!" and made a dash for the bathroom. I was hot on her heels, and when we found the downstairs bathroom was occupied I picked her up and ran for the upstairs bathroom. She sat on the floor in the bathroom for a minute and eventually she tossed all her cookies. After which she laid her feverish head on the ground and fell asleep. Poor thing. It was almost time to leave for the next leg of the reunion (a required family meeting where my grandpa gives us all some much needed advice and speaks about the importance of having a close family). Joe and I decided that Lil most likely had heat stroke, and so Joe took her (and Matthew) back to my cousin's house to sleep it off while I went on to the Family meeting and BBQ at my grandparent's house (with Lacey).

The BBQ went well and I spent another minute or two talking with Grandma. I visited with more family and had quite an enjoyable evening. Saturday night was all sorts of fun, since Lilia couldn't keep anything down. To add to it, by about 11 pm I started feeling all sorts of wonky and my stomach was not very happy. I told Joe about it, then went to lay down. I know at some point Joe came in to ask me a question, and though I was wide awake, I was very disoriented and confused. I was SO getting sick! And Joe was supposed to leave to go home TOMORROW MORNING. So I was gonna be by myself with three kids. AND I WAS SICK!

I have never prayed harder in my life for a miracle. And I am so glad to say I was granted that miracle. I woke up feeling totally normal at 6:30 (Alarm clock Matthew doesn't have a snooze button) to send Joe back home.

Family Reunion Part 1 (Through Friday)

Every year my mother's family gets together for our annual family reunion. We have been doing this EVERY YEAR since 1979. That's 33 years of reunions... And this year we very nearly canceled. I take that back. We did cancel. Then we changed our mind, and the location.

I was so excited to have been part of the planning this year, and my mother and I spent months last year planning, searching, and nailing down the details for the campground, activities, etc. Reunion was only going to be 3 hours away from my house, and that alone had me thrilled! I usually have to travel more like 12 hours to get to reunion. Everything was going well until 2 1/2 weeks before reunion when my grandparent's (the patriarch and matriarch of the family) came into town to talk to my mother and her sister. The next morning, my mother called me and tearfully explained that her mom had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Family Reunion was called off. Grandma can't travel and is not allowed to be that far from her doctors (12 1/2 hours).

I was pretty shocked. And I had a bad couple days. I will admit, I am pretty close to my Grandma. She was my employer for 3 years, and I learned a lot from her. She was an integral part of my life during the bleak 4 plus months when my father was in the hospital and after he had died. She is strong and silent and amazing. And I am sad. But that's for a different post. So... two weeks later (a mere 4 days before reunion was supposed to occur) we got a call from my aunt (mom's other sister) saying reunion is back on. But we are moving it to Grandma's and Grandpa's hometown (also my hometown).

Um... Okay... ACK!

Joe had originally taken time off work for reunion. When it was canceled he rescinded the request. And now he had to ask for it off again! Which, thankfully, he got off. Mom was not so lucky. She had to work one of her original days off. BUT- she made up for it by taking an extra couple days AFTER reunion off as well. To make a REALLY long and frustrating few days short it worked out like this:

Joe and I (and kids) would drive down Thursday.

Mom would fly in Friday.

Joe would drive back with my brother on Sunday (gotta work).

I would drive back with my mom (and our kids) on Tuesday. (I wanted a few extra days to visit family and friends)

So we drove for 12 1/2 hours on Thursday. And got into town with very little incidents. Okay, okay, Matthew took a bath in yogurt (not my idea- Lacey loves to share), and Lacey kinda didn't make it to the potty in time (so she had to sit in a wet seat for a couple hours), but there could have been worse things...

{Que doomed suspense-like music now} Dun Dun DUNNNNN....

We were staying at my cousin's house during the reunion, and so we unloaded our two youngest into the bathtub and commandeered their washing machine and dryer to clean their car seat covers first thing.

Friday went well. We woke up at 6:30 (darn Alarm clock- his name is Matthew). We ate some breakfast took our time getting ready, and headed into town for a fantastic lunch at a local eatery we HAVE to go to when we get into town. We then, had a blast hanging out at my aunt's house for a few hours, and eventually met up with EVERYONE at a local (mini golf/laser tag/arcade/bumper cars and other such activities) FUN center. It was mostly okay most of the time. Matthew gave us some grief, but that's what one year old's do, so it was not too big a deal. We got to visit with most of my out of town aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was nice. But Grandma was tired, so we didn't see her that first day.

I know I do!

I don't do this every week, but this week's questions are fantastic! So I am joining in the linky party with Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi, and Seriously Shawn for their "We Wanna Know Wednesday." (Yes I know, it's Thursday)

This week's questions:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?
{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?
{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?
{4} What is one thing you must do every day?
{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

My answers:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?

I make sure there is a clear shot from each bed in my house, to the front door. It was pointed out to me a while ago, and I think it stems back from my childhood, but I HAVE to have a clear shot to go from my bed, to the crib, then to the front door. And of course I check my kids bedrooms too. If there is a mess in their room I will push everything to one side to make sure the path is clear.

{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?

I don't really have a must have snack for the theater. Usually a piece of mint gum does the trick for me. I can't bring myself to spend half a month's salary on the stuff they sell, and I don't like the idea of sneaking food in...

{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?

Oh how Joe teases me about this one! I must make a packing list. And I mean DETAILED. I will pair up outfits for my kids and roll them up together so that we aren't left on the last day with a red shirt and green shorts, and I will also pack the bags in such a way that you can just remove a layer for the day (so I don't pack all the underwear in one area, there is a pair of underwear and socks packaged in with the rest of the outfit). I also mentally go through the trip and try to picture all the different stuff we will need (like for camping I ALWAYS forget to bring a hammer to get the tent staked down...). I also insist on packing the car myself. Which is funny, since Joe used to pack UPS trucks for a living and is REALLY good and making things fit.

{4} What is one thing you must do every day?

Besides the expected "brush your teeth and eat" stuff, I think the one thing I MUST do everyday is probably check my social media outlets... Though not necessarily for the reasons one might expect. At least not lately. I just opened up an Etsy shop, and am excited to see my jewelry selling, so I check my Facebook page, my Etsy shop, my business email (okay, my personal email too), and my website for traffic and sales. It thrills me to no end to see other people who like my creations! (That, and spending my day with children makes me a little nuts and I crave adult interaction- which is quite often found online...)

{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

Wow - this one proved to be really hard! I wanna say yes- there are tons of things I do that have to be done a specific way in a specific order, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head... so I will stick with the order of my shower habits... To be vague cause no one needs all the details, I always wash hair first, then wash body, shave anything needing shaving, possibly attack rough body parts with sugar scrubs or pumice stones (or both), and then I do one final rinse before drying off (top to bottom) while in the shower (don't wanna get the floor wet), and finally exiting the shower (left leg first).

And there ya have it! The inside details of me! Come join the fun! (And in case you didn't get the memo, go check out my websites!!!)

Shenanigans and other such fun stuff

Oh, how I love my kids! They really are fun. I figure it's been a while- I really ought to catch you up on some of the good (and not-so-good) times we have had recently...

I got a bit of a crafty bug a few weeks back, and decided to make the girls some cute summer flip flops. I got 4 handkerchiefs in 4 different shades of pink and purple, then I bought them cheap little flip flops... combined them and got THESE:

and of course, a picture of my willing guinea pig trying them on...

Matthew got bored at breakfast the other day. When I went to check on him, I found this:

A very common and equally frustrating practice these days is when Lacey decides to make herself something to drink. Usually it's chocolate milk. And of course, she doesn't put ANYTHING back when she is done making said drink. The main reason it's frustrating?

Yup... Matthew LOVES eating the Ovaltine powder.

The kids LOVE playing with my latest acquisition.

This kid has no concept of "OFF LIMITS"... he even opened it up to push the buttons. Little stinker!

The other day I was talking with a friend in the front room when I look down the hall to find my son showing off his latest talent. He sure loves to draw!

and this is what happens when you have to clean up the (thank goodness) washable marker...

Lately my daughters have found a new love for the movie, "Pete's Dragon." Which is fine with me! I love the music- and the story... talk about good childhood memories! Until I gave my kids a bath a found THIS on Lacey!

look familiar?

For Christmas this last year my Sister In Law gave us a gift card to the local zoo good for an annual pass... we have already used it once, and am looking forward to many trips this Spring and Summer. A few of the better pictures from this trip:

Look at that! We are ALL smiling!

We spent some time in an art exhibit. The girls got bored... so they sat down to rest...

Matthew got loose for a few minutes. Lilia managed to catch him.

Hopefully things are well with you, too!

Strawberries!

So one of the best things a bout my local Walmart is their inability to properly stock certain fruits. More specifically, raspberries and strawberries. A few times a year they find themselves inundated with excess berries, so to get rid of them they sell them SUPER cheap. As in .99 cheap. so instead of paying upwards of 2.00 per clamshell of raspberries or strawberries, you can get them for a dollar! And of course, I do. And then I make them into some of the yummy canned goods I love so much.

Sure enough- this last week Walmart had bunches of strawberries to off load, and boy did I help them out! Over the course of three days I bought 15 clamshells of berries and proceeded to cook them up in all sorts of fun ways!

I also, helped a friend of mine with her 9 (or was it 12?) clamshells as well... She chose to turn hers into strawberry jam to be sold at a bake sale for her daughter's soccer team (all you local yocal's out there, I think she still has some for sale... you know- in case you wanna help out a bit).

I then went on to make some strawberry/blueberry jam, and a couple batches of freezer jam, two batches of strawberry ice cream base (to be turned into ice cream at a later date), and 3 batches of strawberry lemonade concentrate... YUM!

A picture of just some of the goods I made... :D

When I had finished all this, I then went on to buy my mother 5 clamshells of strawberries and proceeded to freeze them for her to use in smoothies, and other such goodies.

I still had enough strawberries left over to make some strawberry shortcake for dessert one night. One of my family's favorite desserts...

Oh how I love Spring! Bring on the berries!