Wisdom from my walk

last night we went to my friends house and had some more friends over for a game night.   there were a ton of kids but overall it went well, except the one busted lip! :-)  Today my friend and her kids met us at the science center then we went to lunch together.   Now I’m praying the boys rest some, we were up til almost 1, the boys were up til midnight!!   then I’m off later to take the boys to my mom and Dean and I will have a date night.  wohoo!! more pics up on Flickr today.

over 300 pics on Flickr of our trip so far!! some really awesome ones too, I need to rotate some still and make some changes but they are there and that was  a struggle, the internet at the hotel is slow….finally got a fast connection after midnight tonight!!

This morning the boys and I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and had a really good time! (the picture on the right I took on a bench right when we got into the aquarium)  Tonight we went to the Rainforest Cafe and Bo screamed and cried and sat in one of our laps the whole time because he was afraid of all the sights and sounds.  It was horrible.  After that we went walking through Towson town center and played at a cool kids play area and I got some cute pics there.    Tomorrow we’re visiting w/ my grandparents and my brothers family.   so more pics up on Flickr if you are interested.

left home yesterday morning before 5 a.m.  stopped here on the way to my friends house to see my dad, we all took a walk in the park near his house before heading to where we’d stay the evening.  When I got there my friend and I went out for a while which was great!! we had quiet time to catch up and we got back to a yummy dinner and our rowdy kids!!   We stayed up playing some games and talking(us and the hubby’s of course!)  This morning we went to our old church which was nice then lunch w/ our friends.   When we got back to their house the littlest ones napped and the adults played games until we headed to my grandparents to visit w/ them and my mom met us there w/ her new dog as well.   We stayed there til the kids were too hungry and bored to continue hanging out so we headed towards our hotel to check in.   After some chaos we finally got to our room, which we initially had as a king bed w/ a sofa bed but when we got to that room it was dirty so we had to go back down to the front desk for a different room.  They took pity on us and gave us the kind of room we really wanted, 2 queen beds and a sofa bed.  We had called to switch our reservation to that but his corparate rate was only good for a king room (since it’s supposed to be used for just work not family stays! 🙂 ) so we just kept the king room and knew we’d work out sleeping arrangements.    So once we got down there and they just gave us keys to another room and we headed to unload and were pleasantly suprised that we got the room we really wanted w/out having to pay extra!!  the biggest perk of the hotel so far to me, and not even enjoyed it yet, is that there is a FREE breakfast buffet!!   there’s also a kid play room that is right next to the laundry room which has a glass paned window so I could go do laundry and let the kids play while I did so!!   This place has thought of just about everything!  so so far so good!! so tonight Zeke is in the pack and play, Bo is in a queen/full sized sofa bed, Caleb has his own queen bed and Dean and I are sharing a queen bed.  Doesnt get much comfier than that!! and there’s a kitchen in our room complete w/ fridge, dishwasher, microwave and tons of other nice comforts of home!

one thing I’ve thought so far today, and keep being reminded of, is how blessed we are. esp. as we walked past homeless men this evening……we’d never be able to afford a hotel like this on our own, yet here we are.   and because of this stay we’re racking up hotel points on our marriott rewards so we will probably earn another free stay like we used for Dean and mine get away in Columbus last week, all of someone else’s dime…..cant really beat that.  So while sometimes life is hard and we struggle in so many ways, financially and health wise…..God continues to bless us for our faithfulness and obedience to Him.   this job may sometimes annoy Dean(and I) but in general taking and staying w/ this company has been a huge blessing to us.    this morning the message at church boiled down to this for me, in our life we have to make choices and if we make bad choices we bear the negative consequences and go down a destructive path but if we make the good, right choices God blesses us.    even when things seem hopeless and get rough for whatever reason we try hard to keep the faith and work through it, sometimes through tears and for me lots of pain.  but then, yes even on painful days like today, I get to bear the rewards.   I need these reminders, and I’m sure we all do now and then, that we are doing the right thing, that we are following the right path for us.

Somehow these trips back “home” always remind me of that.  As we drove through a neighborhood where I spent some of my youth I told Dean how it amazes me how different a life my children will have not living in the city.  sure we didnt live in a bad part of town or anything but just being in a place where you have big back yards and animals that arent considered gross(like rats!) roaming your yard (for example the deer that frequent ours) are things I didnt have as a kid, and while that’s not bad, I’m just glad my kids will get a chance to experience something different than I did.   Heck some days I’m glad I get to sit and watch the deer roam through my yard!!

This trip alone is something I would never have got the luxury of enjoying at the ages my kids are when I was little.   (do they appreciate it now, no, but that’s a different story because I know someday they will think back and remember it and be grateful!) So,tomorrow after enjoying our free breakfast the boys and I will visit the aquarium for free, thanks to my friends pass!   and we’ll walk from the hotel so no parking fees!! we bought some lunchables for lunch which I may take or if we can get there when they open at 9 we might leave there by 1, come back for lunch and naps and hang out til Dean gets home from work at 5.   Tuesday we’ll be visiting w/ family.   no other plans this week so I need to make some calls tomorrow to see who’s free when, Karen that means you too!!

but the point is, some of these things we get to do arent even based on us having money, heck if it was up to us to pay for this trip we wouldnt be here, that’s why it’s such a big deal for me.   for some reason God has chosen to bring us here this week and I am thinking there’s a reason out there we dont yet know, but for now I’m just grateful for whatever reason He’s chosen to bless us with this chance to do special things as a family and to visit family and friends we miss dearly.  May He bless you this week in ways you never expected!! because everyone deserves a little luxury!!

So we went to Dean’s parents for lunch and to swap out Ginger(the dog) and to get Caleb back.   Caleb was hopping around not putting any weight on his foot.   I asked him about it and he said he had a blister on his foot.  I looked at it and it is huge!! I thought it looked infected so after lunch my MIL took him to the nearest ER and sure enough it’s infected and its the same kind of infection I had when I had the puncture wound in my foot, so he’s on two heavy duty antibiotics for 10 days.  No swimming either for that whole time!!  They didnt do anything to the wound itself, but said it will hurt worse once its breaks, which is going to be lovely since he’s already miserable! I’m not sure how much fun we’ll have on our trip since he’s miserable and cant walk on his foot and my foot still hurts.  So chances of us actually going to any museums are slim to non at this point.   I am tempted not to go but we really were looking forward to it.  I just dont want Caleb to be miserable (well he already is) but any more miserable and away from home driving us all nuts!!   but we’ll figure it out.   I’m just glad we got it looked at before it got worse and we were in Maryland already.     It just never ends with us and our health…..until now Caleb has been the most healthy of all of us.  Sounds like we’ll be seeing a dermatologist once we get back in town, add that specialty to the list of ones we’re all seeing as a family and we could probably have our own hospital!! 🙂

I rarely go to bed early, but last night I went to the store to pick up prescription refills to have on hand for our trip and grabbed some tylenol PM in hopes it would allow me a night of uninterrupted sleep.   the box says it helps you fall asleep fast and wake up refreshed….well it took me over an hour to fall asleep and I woke up at least 10 times before before getting up this morning.

I did talk to my doctors office about my bloodwork, everything they got back so far was normal, including my thyroid.  They are still waiting on the vit D results and of course the dexa scan results.   I was praying it was a thyroid thing so they could medicate me and help me feel better, now who knows.  I hate feeling this way.  I spent a good part of the day yesterday in bed because I felt so bad.   I havent packed up for the trip yet and we had a friend over last night and I barely did anything to prep for that and Dean alone made dinner for that and I went to be while he was still here.   I’m up now w/ the kids, I know Dean didnt get to bed til late and someone has to be up, may as well be me!   I dont feel horrible right now but I have been in bed for almost 12 hours!! but I’m still in pain and achy and still tired!!    well the kids need me….one more day til we’re in a Baltimore…oh and yeah…Happy 4th!! it’s a rainy day here so not much fun to be had as we had planned originally to spend the day outside as most folks had I’m sure!

Holy headache…..I finally just called my doctor to try to get my bloodwork results, they are usually really fast in turning around that kind of stuff and generally call right away or if things are fine they mail me something saying so and it’s usually w/in 3 days tops.  it’s been a full week and no word from them and I feel absolutely horrid.  headachy, body achy, and exhausted all of the time.   add to that the weight gain and I expected a quick call back that my thyroid is way off, but no news yet….just more waiting.

Zeke’s surgery is scheduled for July 21st, the boys and I have a ton of doctors appointments over the course of the next month, anyone want to come babysit some boys for free?!?   I dread the appointments in general, add to that either taking 3 kids w/ me or finding a sitter even and it’s just plain not worth it to me sometimes.  but some of the appointments are very necessary for the boys right now…..and me too!

Dean’s supposed to be coming home soon early for the holiday and I am hoping we can all nap since Caleb’s at his aunts so we just have the little ones who at least one of can be persauded to nap!!