Tennessee, Home, And A Trip To The Hospital

I wanted to come up with a better post title but I am just too tired. Yesterday was exhausting, so let me fill you in.

Chuck took a Rope Rescue class this weekend in Bloomington. Since he was going to be gone all weekend and his mom and Angel wouldn't be able to watch the girls, I had to take the weekend off. No biggie, I can always get on board with taking some days off.

Instead of spending typical, same-ole-same-ole, days at home, the kids and I decided on a road trip to Tennessee. We spent the weekend with Mom, Grandma, Pete, Julie, Asa and still-in-the-oven niece. The kids got in plenty of "water" fun and Asa and Gracie enjoyed riding bikes together.

Sunday morning as I was getting things together to leave for home, Chuck's mom called me to let me know she was in the hospital with chest pain. This has been an ongoing issue for the past several weeks so it was nothing out of the blue but still concern that she was needing to be admitted. She has a blockage that the Dr was trying to treat with medication... Chuck and I both agree that she needs to have the surgery to get this taken care of. She sees the Cardiologist some time Monday to discuss options...

So, the kids and I loaded up for what should have been a 4 hour drive home. We made our first stop about an hour into the trip. On the way to mom's I promised the boys we would stop and get some firecrackers. That stop took about 25 minutes.

An hour later Caleb began whining about being hungry, but he didn't want to stop anywhere. He wanted Tac0 Bell... Tac0 Bay'ell as Gracie called it... So we drove for another hour trying to find a Tac0 Bell... we did pass one but I didn't see the sign until it was too late... Caleb finally gave up his dream and said he didn't care where we stopped.

I pulled off the Interstate for burgers and potty time... and wouldn't you know it, a Tac0 Bell sign could be seen in the distance. The other kids wanted chicken nuggets and my eyes were starting to float so we stopped at the burger joint to eat with a promise to Caleb that I would buzz past the drive-thru and pick him up some tacos.

Thirty minutes or so and we were back on the road. The kids weren't too bad. Suzie was fussy as she tried to keep herself awake... she never did fall asleep... Another hour or so and we stopped again. The boys needed some shorts for summer and since I was driving right past lots of shops I thought it would be a good time to get that done... with the price of gas, one needs to combine as much travel time as possible...

2 stores and 2 hours later we were making our way back to the Interstate, still an hour from home. We turned a 4 hour trip into 7... made for a long afternoon...

We finally made it home. The boys helped me unload the van and carry everything into the house. All the kids were ready to release some energy and play outside. I asked to boys to keep an eye on the girls while I unpacked.

The house was warm and stanky. After opening a few windows my first chore was to clean out the kitty box and the bunny cage.... the cause of the "Stank"... Next I unpacked, put away, sorted clothes and threw a load into the washer. By this time the kids were ready to come in. I gave the girls a quick bubble bath and got them in their jammies.

My plan was to get the girls something to eat, get myself a shower and into jammies, then pile on my bed with the girls to watch some cartoon.... Just as we got into the kitchen Chuck called to tell me he was back in town and asked if I wanted to go with him to the hospital to see his mom. "Yes" I wanted to go. I took a 2 minute shower, dressed and met Chuck coming through the bedroom door.

Caleb went to a friends, Josh stayed home, we dropped the girls off at Angel's and started our hour long journey to the hospital.

We visited for about an hour. She looked tired, as would be expected with her low pulse rate and blood pressure. No new news until she sees the Dr sometime Monday... which nobody has any idea what time that might be. It was close to 9:30 when we left the hospital. Another hour home, stopping to pick up the girls. Caleb was supposed to spend the night with his friend but he called and asked if we would pick him up.

Suzie fell asleep a few minutes before we pulled into our driveway at 11ish. We carried the girls into the house. Gracie was still awake but it didn't take long for her to zonk out. The boys went to bed and in spite of needing to finish the load of laundry I started and wash a sink full of dishes, I went to be too.

I hadn't had any down time to unwind and the clock was approaching midnight. I was too exhausted to sleep but forced my eyes shut, expecting sleep to come. I tossed and turned until 4:30, when my alarm alerted me it was time to get ready for work.... blugh!...

So here I sit. Monday morning. Trying to act like I am awake. Anybody have a pillow I can borrow?