Life Is Forever Changed

On March 31, 2011, life as I know it changed forever...just as it has changed repeatedly throughout the years...but this time, in a different way.  My daughter became a mother, and I became a grandmother!

I still vividly remember the day of my daughter's birth.  I had attended childbirth classes and thought I was so prepared.  Only thing was...I didn't pay attention when they talked about c-sections, because I had planned on "natural" childbirth.  Little did I know, or even imagine, that I would end up having a c-section.  Without going into details that would bore you, it basically happened because I was young and naive and trusted a doctor who did not have my best interests at heart.  For years I struggled with feelings of inadequacy as a woman who could not birth my own child.  It took years for me to realize that I'm an imperfect woman, living in an imperfect world, so there can be no perfect birth.  I took comfort in the fact that the nurses told me it was better for the baby to go through some labor even if they were born by c-section.  (I had gone through about 12 hours of labor).  I was given a beautiful gift from Jehovah...does it really matter how she got here?  Needless to say, during the whole time my beautiful daughter has been pregnant, I've thought about my own experience and hoped that her experience would be so much better.

So...on the afternoon of March 30th, Joel and Brittany came in the back door and announced that she had been having contractions.  They had walked up to our house, Joel with clipboard in hand, notating each contraction.  They stayed a few minutes and then decided to walk back home.  They wanted to gather things together in case it was time to leave for the hospital.  We also sprang into action, brushing our teeth and changing our clothes to be ready, just in case.  In just a few minutes, we got the call to come and pick them up.  Overall, I believe that we were all very calm and played our parts perfectly.  

Once at the hospital, we began what seemed like a long wait, but in actuality, for a first birth, it wasn't long at all.  We had so much family at the hospital that almost the entire labor & delivery waiting room was full.  In the beginning, everyone was pretty lively, chatting and texting people and the children practicing jumping rope, but without a rope.  At one point, Joel told us that they were predicting it would be another 5 hours before Ronan would be born.  Everyone in the waiting room was getting tired...some were dozing, some were reading, some were watching TV...I knew I had to do something to stay awake. I decided to go out to the car and get the laptop, figuring that I could email a few people and kill time playing Scrabble.  No sooner than I had set up the laptop in the lobby, I got a call from Joel saying that Brittany would begin pushing in about 30 minutes!  Knowing that I was to be in the delivery room with her, I quickly put up the laptop and headed back upstairs.  I will not go into details of Brittany's labor.  She may or may not want to share that with everyone at some point in time, but I will say that both she and Joel were very calm, and I was proud of the way they handled everything.  And, there are no words to describe the feeling of watching your grandson being born!  Despite the fact that it was just past 3 a.m., we were all wide awake!  We started taking pictures and sending them out to the ones still in the waiting room.  I thought that he was the prettiest baby ever, next to my own two, of course.  The funniest thing was the way Austin, Sierra and Cheyenne reacted.  They had been allowed to stay up all night so that they would be there when Ronan arrived.  When I opened the doors to go back out to the waiting room, they were all three sitting in a semi-circle on the floor in the hall and they jumped up, ready to go in to see Ronan.  It may not have been that funny in reality, but to me it was so funny at the time.  We stayed at the hospital until the new family had gotten settled into their room, and then headed home to catch a few hours sleep.  Thus ended our long wait to see our new grandson, and began a new chapter in our lives.  I can't believe that Eric and I are now grandparents.  Oh, and I decided to be called "Grandma."  LOL  Yeah, I know...it's not very creative...and probably sounds like an older lady, but hey, I AM a grandmother now.  

The new family!

Proud Grandparents!

And, at this time, I feel that I should acknowledge Austin.  Throughout Brittany's pregnancy, when she was so sick, he did everything he could to be helpful.  Many times, he pushed her in a wheelchair in Wal-Mart so that she would be able to buy her own groceries.  I was so proud of him for being such a good brother, and I know that he will be a good uncle to Ronan.  

Uncle Austin & Ronan!

Yes, our lives are forever changed.  We have all-new responsibilities and joys to look forward to, and I for one, am ready!

Caribbean Cruise

American Wallzone, the company where Eric buys his vinyl siding, gave us a cruise!  My family went on a cruise to the Bahamas when I was 6, but of course, I don't remember much about that.  So, essentially, this was like a first cruise for all of us.  Rather than a detailed list of what we did each day, I thought maybe I'd hit the highlights in a few categories.

Food

I started with food because most people have heard something about the food on a cruise.  Before we left, everyone told us that there would be lots of food, and that was an understatement.  Every day, we could go to the Vivaldi Dining Room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  For more casual dining, there was also the Windjammer Cafe (a buffet), or the Promenade Cafe (sandwiches, pizza and cookies primarily).  Most days we ate breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe, which had windows all around for looking out onto the ocean or the islands, depending on where we were at the time.  Lunch and dinner in the main dining room was quite an experience.  There were several head waiters, wearing red jackets, to oversee different sections.  Then, we had a waiter and assistant waiter assigned to our table.  After the first or second time they saw us, they had learned our names and what we wanted to drink.  We were served bread, an appetizer, main course, and dessert at each meal.  At dinner, we also had a plate of cheese, crackers and nuts on the table.  A few times, we ate out on the islands, and those were good experiences, too, for the most part.

Top - Main Dining Room (Vivaldi is the lower level), Bottom Left - main dish, Bottom Right - dessert!

                             

Our Stateroom and Stateroom Attendant

When we got to our room, we were surprised to find a plate of fruit, and a refrigerator stocked with drinks and snacks.  These were replenished for us daily.  We didn't know where Austin was going to sleep, so when our stateroom attendant (Cyrus) came by, we asked if we could have some sheets for the small couch, thinking that he would be sleeping there.  Cyrus told us that there was a bed for Austin and he would fix it for us.  When we came back from dinner, Austin's bed was all set up.  It came out of a compartment in the ceiling, above our bed.  Turns out there was one on each side, so the room would have accommodated one more person.  Cyrus did a good job of keeping our room clean and neat, and we never ran out of towels.  After the first day, he had memorized our names, and when we left the room every morning, he'd say, "Good morning Sir Eric, Mama Audrey, Austeen.  Enjoy your day!"  And he had a similar greeting for us in the evenings, asking us how our day had been and telling us to enjoy our dinner.  After dinner, he would have an animal made from towels sitting on our bed along with our itinerary and anything else we would need for the next day.

Top Left - our bed, Top Right - Austin's bed; Bottom Left - monkey made from towels, Bottom Right - Austin with Cyrus

Entertainment

Every night there was a show in the Lyric Theatre, along with other shows and demonstrations at various locations throughout the ship.  My favorite show was "Revolution - A Tribute to the Beatles."  The band wore different costumes and hairstyles to represent the life of the Beatles and there were TV screens on each side of the theatre playing clips from history that went along with each time period.  We also saw a tribute to Vegas show, a juggler, a comedian, and a singer, Kenny James, who was a former "Star Search" winner.  I also really enjoyed his show.  Another exciting show was called "Hot Art, Cool Ice," which was an ice skating show.  It was really impressive.  We also attended an art auction, and watched a cooking demonstration.  After the cooking demonstration, they gave everyone samples of the tiramisu and black forest cake.  Delicious!

Top Left - Lyric Theatre, Top Right - "Revolution" (a Beatles tribute band); Bottom Left - Kenny James, Bottom Right - live entertainment on the Promenade deck

Activities on the Ship

There was no shortage of things to do on board.  I personally ran out of energy and didn't even do everything.  There were pools and hot tubs, basketball courts, a putt putt golf course, and a 44-foot tall rock climbing wall.  We all tried the rock climbing wall, but Eric was the only one to make it to the top.  Austin did better than I did!  Even though I didn't get very far, it was fun.  Eric treated me to a trip to the Spa on the ship, and i got a massage.  It was so nice, I think I fell asleep for a few minutes!  There were also shops on the ship that had everything from clothes, to jewelery, to gifts, to forgotten necessities.  It was really like a floating city! 

Left - Eric at the top of the rock wall; Top Right - my feeble attempt, Bottom Right - Austin giving it a try!

Islands


Everyone asks me which was my favorite island.  I really couldn't pick one.  Each one had it's own special thing or several things.  All of the islands had nice weather.  Even though we got rained on a few times, it never lasted long.  The temperature was mostly in the 80's and very breezy!  On all the islands except one, we took tours arranged by the cruise line.  I enjoyed those islands more than the one where we didn't take a tour, but even that one had it's perks.  For instance, I saw my first iguana.  So, I will give you a few highlights from each island.  Even though we were in Puerto Rico first, we went straight to the ship, and didn't explore it until we were headed back, so I will cover it last.


Willemstad, Curacao


The first thing I noticed when I looked out the window of the ship and saw Curacao was how clear and beautiful the water was!  Then, I noticed a row of brightly colored shops!  We did a good bit of window shopping, but didn't buy anything.  After that, we got a taxi and asked the driver to take us somewhere for local food.  We ended up at a family run restaurant where nobody spoke any English!  Our taxi driver, David, was able to translate the basics for us.  I played it safe with fish, although we don't know what kind it was, because David said he didn't know what it would be in English.  It was tasty, and was accompanied by polenta, fried plantains, and a salad.  Eric had goat stew, and Austin had okra soup.  David decided to stay and have lunch with us, and he had fish soup.  We saw something we didn't recognize in Eric's plate, and asked about it.  David looked excited, and said, "Oh, you got a pig's tail!"  Later we noticed that Austin got one too.  I had a hard time eating if I looked at anyone's food other than mine.  LOL  It was quite an experience, one I'm sure we won't soon forget.  Then, David drove us out to the Cave of Hato, where we saw an iguana.  Later on, we saw others, but this was the one we were closest to, and were able to see the best.

Top Left - first look at Curacao, Top Middle - Eric's food with the pig's tail, Top Right - Austin's food, with a pig's tail, too; Large Picture - our group at lunch; Middle Right - Iguana, Bottom Right - last look before getting back on ship

Oranjestad, Aruba


In Aruba, we took a tour called "See and Sea."  One of my favorite things about Aruba was the north shore.  This is the undeveloped side of Aruba, because the waves crash against the rocks with such force, it is unsuitable for swimming...but beautiful for looking at!  It was so windy there.  "Hold on to your hats!"  We also saw a lighthouse up on a hill, with a beautiful view.  The former lighthouse keeper's house has been turned into an Italian restaurant.  LOL  Then, we took a boat out to a semi-submersible where we were able to see a shipwreck, fish, and the amazing coral reef.  Once back in town, we had lunch at guana Joe's.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the bill and the tax was only 1.5%!  Then, we did some shopping!  I got my anniversary present, a beautiful opal bracelet and pendant, and a smaller, caribbean topaz necklace.  Of course we couldn't resist buying a t-shirt for our soon-to-be-born grandson.  We got it at a store called Del-Sol, where everything is white until you go in the sun, and then it is brilliantly colored!

Top Left - I don't remember what this place was called, but it was really neat looking, Top Right - "Hold on to your hats!"; Middle Left - Austin on the north shore of Aruba, Middle Right - Austin on the lighthouse steps; Bottom Left - fish on the coral reef, Bottom Right - former lighthouse keeper's house, now an Italian restaurant

Roseau, Dominica


The first thing I noticed about Dominica was that the town was very run-down.  Also, the streets were very narrow and crowded.  We were often shutting our eyes because we were sure our tour bus was going to hit someone.  But, then we went into the rain forest!  One interesting fact our driver told us was that we passed by a spot where part of the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean" was filmed.  We saw lots of bananas growing as well as other fruits!  Then, we went to Jacko falls and there was a stand set up for us to taste the different fruits, and have some freshly made fruit punch.  This was a really beautiful area!  On our way back to town we stopped at the small botanical gardens.  The highlight for me came as we were sailing away from Dominica.  We saw a double rainbow!  And it appeared to get closer and closer to us.  It looked like we could almost reach out and touch it!  And, it looked like it disappeared right into the water in front of us.  I had never seen anything like it before! 

Top Right - town, Top Middle - crowded street, Top Right - spot where part of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was filmed; Middle - us at Jacko Falls; Bottom Left - pretty bloom, Bottom Right - double rainbow

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands


St. Thomas had the most beautiful botanical gardens I've ever seen!  Everything was so lush and green, and we saw parrots there.  Austin loved the fact that they were saying "hello" to him!  There was a privately owned house on the property that we were allowed to tour.  It was really pretty with stone walls in some rooms.  We also got to see Magen's Bay from above.  It is voted one of the world's most beautiful beaches.  We also got to take a sky lift up to Paradise Point, which allowed us some beautiful views of the whole area!  Back in town, we ate at a local cafe, where I had a cashew chicken salad that was quite good, and was beautifully arranged.

Top Left - beautiful view of Magen's Bay, Top Right - pretty stone wall; Middle Left - parrots, Middle Right - botanical gardens; Bottom Left - funny picture of Austin & Eric at Paradise Point, Bottom Right - cashew chicken salad ... yummy!

San Juan, Puerto Rico


In San Juan, we went to the capitol building and Fort San Cristobal.  The capitol building was quite impressive, being all marble.  Austin really enjoyed the fort!  We needed a lot more time there.  There were so many tunnels that would have been fun to explore.  The views from the fort were spectacular!  In Old San Juan, we saw the public beach, which was very pretty.  Then, we had time for lunch at Cafe Berlin.  The food was delicious, and I was so happy to have sweet tea again!  I had not had it in a week, because on the ship and all the other islands, all the tea was unsweet.  We had a very entertaining tour guide in San Juan.  He kept us laughing all the way.

Top Left - Capitol Building, Top Middle - murals on ceiling inside Capitol Building, Top Right - trim inside Capitol Building; Center Left - public beach, Center Middle - Austin & Eric approaching the fort, Center Right - sleeping quarters; Bottom Left - view from top of the fort, Bottom Middle - view from fort window, Bottom Right - sweet tea at last!

 Weirdest thing that happened...aside from the pig's tails in the food...


I never thought we'd be visiting the doctor on the ship...but something happened with Austin's foot that he had injured back in December.  It had all healed up well, except this one spot.  It seemed like something hard was under it and it just wouldn't heal in that spot.  I was putting Vitamin E on it before bed one night and noticed something sticking out of the skin.  It looked like a piece of thread, but I figured it couldn't be that, because the stitches were supposed to dissolve.  I thought surely after 2 months, they would have dissolved.  So, the next day, we visited the ship's doctor.  He was very nice, and it turned out that what I was feeling was the knot at the end of the stitches.  It was too close to the skin, so it was trying to come out.  That's why that spot never healed.  The doctor gave Austin a shot of lidocaine and removed it. 

Top - getting the shot of lidocaine; Bottom Left - after the removal, Bottom Right - Austin with the doctor, Owen Evans, from South Africa

Highlights from the Ship itself

Everywhere we looked we saw beautiful and interesting things.  Here are pictures of a few of my favorites.

Top Left - one of the many amazing watermelon/fruit sculptures, Top Right - skylight on the Promenade Deck; Middle Left - mural on the wall of the Spa, Middle Right - another mural on the wall of the Spa; Bottom Left - another amazing watermelon/fruit sculpture, Bottom Right - glass staircase

There is so much more I could tell, but since this isn't a book, I'll stop now.  As you can see, we had a great time, and hope that this will not be our last cruise.  Thank you so much to American Wallzone for giving us this vacation!

Of Vacations and Weddings

Tonight I would like to share a post I wrote several years ago.  It is primarily about our trip to California and events from the fall of 2006 though the beginning of 2007.  A highlight of our vacation was that we got to visit my Aunt Marjorie.  Eric & I had not seen her since I was pregnant with Austin, which of course meant that she had never met Austin!  I recently re-read this post and noticed that I wanted to take a cruise for our 15th anniversary.  Well, we never went on that cruise, but now as our 18th anniversary approaches, we are preparing to go on a cruise!  Most likely that will be the subject of my next post, but for now, I hope you enjoy this post, originally written on February 24, 2007.  It was originally called "General Update" and was shared on my business website.  I have renamed it "Of Vacations and Weddings" for this this blog.

Wow...it has been forever since I updated this. We went on our vacation to California in October, and we had soooo much fun!  First, we went to see my Aunt Marjorie in Magalia.  While we were there, we visited Feather River Canyon, and took a trip to a real, working gold mine.  This was great for Austin, since he's really into gold and gemstones.  We also went to downtown Sacramento and toured the Leland Stanford mansion.  The rest of the time, we pretty much visited with my Aunt, and ate at great restaurants.  Here is a picture of me at Feather River Canyon.

Audrey at Feather River Canyon, October 20, 2006.

After we left my Aunt's house, we drove over to San Francisco, where we stayed in a neat bed and breakfast at the top of Gold Mine Hill. Our hosts were so much fun, and we enjoyed breakfast with the other guests and our hosts every morning before we set out for the day. We went to Pier 39 and spent a long time there. There was so much to do and see! The highlight for me was the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. We had two people tell us before we left home, that we HAD to go there, so we did and it was well worth it. We visited an aquarium that had an underground section...we could see fish swimming around us on three sides while we moved through on a conveyor belt. We also visited Alcatraz and Golden Gate Park. The park was so crowded that we didn't do a lot there...we were running out of time, so we mostly went in the Japanese Tea Garden and then looked at some artwork that was on display right across from the Tea Garden. Then we drove over Golden Gate bridge to Muir Woods and walked around in there until closing time. We got some neat souveniers there...my son got a statue of a bear that was carved from the redwoods, and I got a necklace, also carved from the redwoods. The plane trip home was exhausting, as we got on our first flight at 12:30 a.m. and then had a long layover in Texas before boarding the last plane, a jet, to bring us back to Alabama. I didn't like the jet...it seemed to take off at a higher incline and coming down was steeper too. It made me a little sick.

Well, after we got back, it was business as usual...until my son & I got the flu. That wiped us out for about a week. Plus Brittany's boyfriend moved here, so most of our "free" time was taken up with chaperoning. Then, at the end of December, they decided to get married...Here's a picture of the newlyweds!

Joel & Brittany Gomez, December 29, 2006

The newlyweds lived with us while they were waiting for their rental to be ready. Joel got the flu and Brittany got bronchitis. Then Austin got sick again, and then Eric got the flu! So I had been tending sick ones, in addition to running the shoppe. Brittany & Joel's rental finally got ready after a couple of weeks, so they moved out and are in the process of getting everything set up nicely in their own place. I have been working hard at home too, trying to get rid of a lot of things I don't need, so that we can spend more time together as a family.

Eric & I "celebrated" our 14th wedding anniversary on February 8th. I say "celebrated" because this was right after he had the flu, and he still wasn't feeling well...so we really didn't do much. We have decided that we should start celebrating our anniversary in the summer when everyone is well. Anyway, next year will be our 15th, so we will probably plan something really big then...I've been thinking about a cruise...who knows!

A Day to Remember

A while back, Brittany and I began discussing her baby shower.  Right away, we knew we wanted something different.  For one thing, we wanted it to be a family event, rather than a "girls only" shower.  Also, we wanted something different than the traditional baby shower decor.  Since Brittany really loves owls, we finally decided on an owl theme...and we started looking for decorations.  This proved to be harder than we expected.  Who knew that most owl things are done in pink and obviously for girls?

Brittany and Joel found a bedding set they really liked, which included owls and other woodland creatures, so we decided to have the shower decor correspond with that.  We started looking online for things we could use.  In the end, we used some stickers that we got from Michael's to decorate the tables.  We (and by saying "we" I mean Brittany, me, and all the people who so kindly helped us) cut out and glued the stickers onto popsicle sticks and put them into bowls of candy.  We also bought some owl "confetti" from an Etsy listing. 

Bedding and Room Decor

Candy Bowls

Close-up of Owl Confetti

We were able to borrow some Japanese lanterns from Glynis.  Brittany and Zandria made origami owls and we hung them from the lanterns.

Japanese lanterns

Close-up of origami owls

Finished table area

Next, the food...I am so appreciative of everyone who provided food and/or drinks.  We had a variety of items, from meatballs to fresh fruit.  I was so excited that Austin volunteered to make homemade mints.  They turned out very well!  Mary carved a watermelon in the shape of an owl, and two smaller watermelons into nests, filled with fresh fruit.  That was all so cute!  We had two delicious varieties of cheese balls with crackers, chips and vegetables with dip, finger sandwiches and nuts.  Janet made a delicious fruit punch, and we had coffee, sweet and unsweet tea, and water.

Food!

More Food!

Even more food!

Close-up of Mary's owl!

And for the finishing touch...the cake.  Originally we thought about a plain sheet cake with a fondant owl on it, or something to that effect.  Then, we started thinking about a topper with owls in a nest, and began searching for one online.  We found one that had two owls in the nest, but we wanted three.  So, we turned to Zandria to make one to our specifications.  She suggested making one from clay so that it could be baked and saved.

Owl topper (fondant)

Zandria's rendition (clay)

Now, what type of cake?  We found a neat-looking one online.  It was square, with embossed fondant on the outside to look like tree bark.  When I asked the baker about it, I learned that this option would be way too expensive.  Then, we found a cake that was made like a jelly roll and the outside finished with chocolate frosting that was supposed to look like a tree, although it was much less detailed than the first idea.  The jelly roll part would also look like rings of the tree on top, which was kinda neat.  While I was discussing all this with the baker, she told me she was making a "tree trunk" cake for a groom's cake.  So, when this was finished, she emailed me a picture of it, and I was really impressed with it.  So, we decided on a variation of this, but of course, we would need more than one cake for the number of people we were expecting.  We decided on three cakes with three different flavors:  one chocolate amaretto, one Italian creme, and one carrot.

Original cake idea

2nd cake idea

 

Baker's "Tree Trunk" Cake

After probably 30 emails back and forth (attempts to meet in person never worked out), we finally had our plan in place, and Tara Wilson of the Foster Street Bakery in Dothan, AL began working on our cakes.  The following pictures will show her work combined with our set-up.  I thought we did a pretty good job, considering that we're not professionals.

Close-up of Brittany's Mice!

Oh, and the cute little mice all around and on the cakes?  Brittany made them! 











All in all, I think the shower was a success.  I looked around the room, and it appeared that everyone was having a good time.  Our friends and family were generous in their gift-giving.  I think Ronan will be the best-dressed boy on the block.  ;-)  Most importantly, I think Joel & Brittany enjoyed themselves, and that was my ultimate goal.  I wanted it to be a day they would remember.  8-)

Guests enjoying themselves!

More guests enjoying themselves!

The happy couple!

~ Special thanks to EVERYONE who helped with decorating, food, drinks, and photography.  I appreciate each and every one of you! ~

My Bad Day

Going back in time today to post something I wrote several years ago.  The reason?  I have a tendency (actually tendency may be putting it mildly) toward negativity.  Sometimes it is good for me to remind myself that even if things are not going well, there is usually something to be gained by being positive.  I'm not having a bad day, today.  So far, it's been pretty good.  Austin just came in and showed me that he can walk normally on his hurt foot.  So, that's a very good thing.  But, for some reason, I thought of this today, and decided to share it.  Maybe it will help someone who IS having A BAD DAY...

Originally written June 22, 2007 ... 

I had the worst day yesterday, but at least it had a good ending. My son, Austin & I went to Wal-Mart to get a few things, and then we went over to the post office to mail a couple of packages. Austin likes to take the packages in, so while he was gone, I reached over to grab my purse, and it wasn't there. I looked in the back seat, and it wasn't there. I thought, "I must have thrown it in the back with the groceries," so I got out and looked in the back, but it wasn't there. Then I started panicking. I knew I must have left it in the shopping cart in the parking lot at Wal-Mart!

By this time, Austin was coming out of the post office, so I told him what happened, and we went back to Wal-Mart. I drove up and down all the rows in the area where we had been parked, and we looked left & right at all the buggies. My purse is quite large, so we could have easily spotted it, if it had been there. Anyway, we didn't see it, so I parked the van and we went in to the service desk. Nobody had turned in my purse, but the clerk told me to check with the greeter at the door. I asked the greeter, who said to check with the guy who gathers the carts, and she pointed him out to me. I asked him, but he hadn't seen it. Then, Austin & I went out to the parking lot and walked all around, looking in all the buggies. It was about 90 degrees outside and we exhausted ourselves, and still no purse. By this time, I was starting to panic. I started thinking about identity theft and all the places I would need to call...which made me think about my cell phone. My husband, Eric, had just gotten a new camera phone for me, just two days earlier. I kept thinking how upset he would be and by this time, I was fighting back tears. I went back in to the service desk again to use the phone. I tried calling Eric, but couldn't get him. I knew the area where he was working, and that he probably didn't have good service there, so I decided to drive out there. I didn't know what to do.

When I got out to where Eric was working, I sent Austin out to get him. I didn't want the other guys working there to see me crying. Eric came to the van and we tried to call the cell phone company, but it rang 20 or so times, and nobody answered, so we decided that I should just go home and try to call from there. I left there crying and my sweet son said, "Don't worry, Mom, I just know someone will turn it in." I kept telling him how in the past that would probably be true, but in this day and age, there are too many dishonest people in the world and that my identity would probably be stolen. I rambled on about that all the way home.

When we got home, Austin got the bags out of the van so I could go in and start making the phone calls. The message light on my phone was blinking, so I checked the messages. The first one was a hang-up, but the second one, I couldn't believe it...someone had found my purse. It turned out that a hair stylist, a man named Jon Blalock, had found my purse in the buggy next to his truck. He had taken it inside to his station, and given me a call to let me know he had it, and that everything was still inside! I tried to call him back, but the line was busy. I was so exhausted that I asked my mother if she would go by and pick up my purse on her way home. I finally got in touch with Mr. Blalock. We chatted for a little bit and I told him my mom would be picking up my purse. I gave him her name, and he said he would ask for her ID. I told mom to give him some money from my purse as a reward. Then Austin called Eric to let him know the purse had been found. Eric was preparing to come home to help me make the calls, but Austin caught him just in time, so he could stay and finish his work.

Well, my mom went by, showed her ID, and got my purse. She gave Mr. Blalock a small reward, and he seemed happy. I was so grateful to get back my purse and with everything in it, no less! I apologized to my son for being so negative earlier and I can't tell you how relieved and happy I was!

Latest Happenings

It seems that while I want to have a blog, I find it hard to write.  Sometimes it's because I'm busy...sometimes it's because my life is not that interesting, or so I think...sometimes it's because I just don't know how to put things into words.

I will blame the lack of posting this time on being busy.  I had a lot of things planned...taking Austin to the dentist, getting my eyes checked, getting a haircut.  But then, one night, plans changed.  Austin was putting a tall bottle of vanilla back into the cabinet and he hit the cabinet above, which is adjustable.  It moved, causing the hot sauce bottles that were sitting on it to fall and break.  Hot sauce and broken glass were all over our kitchen.  It was on the underside of the cabinets, behind the stove, between the stove and the cabinets, between the cabinets and the refrigerator...and days later it was discovered on the opposite side of the kitchen.  I would have taken a picture, but suddenly I hear Austin screaming.  I couldn't figure out for a few seconds what was going on.  I thought he was just scared.  But then he said, "I think a piece of glass pierced my foot!"  I looked down, but didn't see anything.  I pulled out a chair away from the broken glass and had him sit down, and then I saw that his sock had a hole in it...in the heel.  I slowly pulled his sock off to reveal a large cut going around his heel.  At first I thought maybe it wasn't too bad and he wouldn't have to have stitches.  I called my Mom and asked her to come up and take a look.  Then, I went back to Austin and took another look.  I was sure it was going to require stitches.  He was afraid his foot would have to be amputated, poor thing!  I assured him that while it was serious, he was going to be fine and that he would be able to keep his foot.

Strange what goes through the mind, isn't it?  It made me recall a time when I was about 3 years old and had a broken leg.  My Mom said that when we went in to have the cast removed, I was crying and afraid of the doctor.  They couldn't figure out why.  When we left the office, I said, "See Mama, they didn't cut my leg off!"  It was then that she realized that when I had gone into the waiting room, there were people there with only one arm or one leg.  I had thought that this was what was about to happen to me.  My Mom said that after I broke my leg, my personality changed.  She said that I used to love to call people on the phone, even having their phone numbers memorized.  I also loved answering the phone, but suddenly I was afraid when I heard the phone ring.  I was afraid when I heard helicopters flying overhead.  Things that had been part of my life all along but were suddenly menacing. 

How happy I am that Austin is able to voice his concerns to me and I am able to reassure him!  I had to help him get out of his clothes.  They were soaked with hot sauce, and it was cold outside.  I knew he would be freezing if he stayed in those wet things.  As carefully as I could, I slipped his jeans and shirt off and put a jogging suit on him.  I called Eric and told him briefly that Austin had cut his foot and that I needed him to meet me at the hospital.

The wait at the hospital was long and tiring.  We hadn't had supper, so we were hungry.  Once I found out it was o.k. for Austin to eat, I got some peanuts and bottles of water from the snack machine.  Then, more waiting....and during this time, I began to think about the fact that Austin has been afraid of needles all his life.  One time, when he was 4 or 5, he needed to have some blood drawn.  I sat on the doctor's table with him, and put my arms and legs around him.  There was a nurse on each side holding him, and another nurse trying to take his blood.  He kicked and screamed so much that the nurse said she wasn't going to do it.  Eventually, we discovered a numbing cream and had no more major problems.  And, gradually, he was able to tolerate blood draws without too much fuss.  But I knew that this time, they would have to give him shots of pain medicine before they were able to stitch his foot.  I worried about how he would handle it.  I shouldn't have. 

When the physician's assistant came in and told him what she would be doing, he asked her if it would hurt.  She told him it would.  He said, "How much, on a scale of 1-10?"  She said, "I'm not going to lie to you.  Probably an 8, but once I get the medicine in there, you won't feel anything else."  Eric held his hands and I held his legs, to keep him still, and she went to work.  I was so proud of him for being so brave.  Finally, after 7 hours of being at the emergency room, we were able to leave at 1 a.m. and go to the pharmacy for pain medicine, then come home and have supper before falling into bed.   

So, the things that I had planned took a backseat, as I spent the next few weeks washing and dressing the cut twice a day, and helping Austin get around the house.  I'm so glad my Mom had some crutches he could use.  At first, he was hopping around on his left foot, but then his left knee got sore.  Now, after 3 weeks, he is able to walk a lot better.  I'm so glad this chapter of our life is coming to an end, and we will be able to get back to other things that have been put off. 

Taken while in triage at hospital.

14 outside stitches.

Healing nicely.

While we've been home more, I've been planning Brittany's baby shower.  It's exciting to see everything coming together and in a few short months, another aspect of my life will unfold...that of becoming a Grandmother.  I will have a Grandson.  Austin is so excited about becoming an uncle, and I can't wait to see how he will interact with the new addition to our family!

Grandma?

It's been a few months now since I found out I am going to be a Grandma.  I'm too young to be a Grandma!  Grandmas have gray hair and are stooped over, old ladies.  LOL

My husband and I have been having conversations about what we want to be called.  He first suggested Pappy for himself, because that's what his Grandfather was called.  Since he's even younger than me, this thought made me really laugh out loud.  I just can't imagine it!  We looked online at some websites that gave suggestions based on what other people have used.  We had the most fun reading some of the ideas.  For instance . . . Grand-Dude, Grampy, and Grampster; Big Gram, Bubbles, Mummica.

At this point, I think plain old Grandma will suit me just fine.  My husband is still pondering, but he remembered a name my daughter used to call him when she was little. . . Poppy . . . and thought maybe he would use that.  That's actually kinda cute.  Why can't I come up with a cute name for our new grandbaby to call me?  Do I go with Grandma or keep thinking . . .