Vacation
We've been back from vacation for almost a month, but I've been so busy and so tired that I haven't written an update yet. So here it goes.
The day we left for vacation I had to work until 5:30pm.. so we didn't end up leaving until around 7. We had a HUGE SUV, which was needed since we had 4 adult-size people, 3 kids, and a 50lb dog. We didn't get very far before the low tire pressure light came on. We got about an hour and a half away from home and put air in the tire.. which ended up going flat. So, we pulled into a hotel parking lot, in the rain, took all our stuff out and tried to change the tire. I think we were there for close to 3 hours. I had booked the rental on hotwire because it was super cheap and bought the insurance (of course), but it didn't tell me that the insurance wasn't through the rental company. So, the rental company would not come out and help us with the tire. They wanted us to change the tire, and then drive to the nearest rental place to exchange the vehicle. So we did. It took us FOREVER to get the darn tire changed, but we did it. So while my (step)daughter, my dog and I sat at the hotel with all of our belongings, the guys went to exchange the vehicle, only to find out that they didn't have any the size we needed. So we kept the big suv in hopes that we would find one along our path that did have the larger suv. By now, if I remember right, it was close to midnight. I'm not sure why, but the rental company said they couldn't look at other places to see if they had the size of vehicle we needed. As we were driving the tire pressure light came on again, but for a different tire! This time, we weren't about to add more air since we didn't have an extra tire anymore. We went all the way to Atlanta to try to get another vehicle, but even they didn't have one. So we had to squish all of us into a smaller suv. When I say squish.. I mean SQUISH! But it didn't have any issues so we were at least going to be safe. What was sad is that we were in Atlanta at the time we should have gotten to my parent's house in Illinois!
The rest of the drive was fine. The kids and dog did fairly well. MJ had attitude for a long while during the drive there.
We finally got to my parents' house Sunday night. But we made it safe and sound.
With mom being on chemo she has a strict diet, so I really had to think about what to make for dinner while we were there. I didn't end up cooking very often because we were so busy, but it was still fun. The day after we got there hubby and I went to the store and to the veggie stand and bought the stuff we needed to make nachos (one of ours and mom's favorites).
Also, on Monday my younger sister arrived. It was something we didn't tell our parents. She had taken the bus (which is a huge deal for something with severe anxiety). When we got back my parents weren't in the living room like usual so it worked perfectly! She snuck in and sat in mom's chair and then they came around the corner and BAM there she was! It was great!
One the way to my sister's we stopped to eat lunch in one of the small towns there. When we walked in everything stopped and everyone just stared at us. I wasn't sure why, but didn't really think anything of it. Then my sister leaned over and said something about them not being used to seeing so much color. Which I didn't even think of. I know my husband is black, I know my kids and my niece are darker skinned, but I really didn't even think about it. And then when I realized why everyone was staring I found it funny. They were still kind to us though. It's funny that there are still places like that, but it's also sad. I know places near my sister's where I cannot allow my family to go because the racism is so bad. I hate that there are still places like that.
Tuesday we went to our older sister's and spent time with them and took family pictures. I can't wait for my sister to get done editing them! We took Niki (my dog) with us too. We had discussed leaving her there at my sister's house while we went out to do pictures, but she has really bad separation anxiety and she would end up trying to come find us. Which she ended up doing at the place we were at. lol And we were only across the road from her. I'm not sure how the old girl managed to jump over the fence.
My parents' church family had given us tickets to go do stuff and money to help with expenses! They really blessed us! On Wednesday we went to the zoo (free of cost). There wasn't really much in the zoo but it was still fun. They had a lot of baby goats in the petting area. They sure loved mom! It made her day. My 3 year old had picked up a pellet of poop and said, "look mom! berries!" LOL I told him that it wasn't berries that it was poop and he threw it and said "eeww yuck!" It was hilarious! One of the goats liked my brother. It kept licking his leg, so much that you could see that his leg hairs were soaked. haha
Mom sat on the bench and two baby goats hopped up with her, one on each side, and were nibbling on either side of her shirt. :)
We also went mini golfing (again free of cost). It was really hot outside, but we still had fun.
The men and kids also went to see Cars 3 for my older son's birthday. While they did that my mom and I went shopping together. I love spending time with my mama! I had her sit in the wheel chair, which she wasn't real thrilled with, but I wanted her to enjoy her time instead of getting worn out.
The week went way too fast, but it was a good week. I really wish we could have stayed longer.
On the way home we took a detour and stopped to see our grandparents. We only stayed for about an hour, but it was good to visit with them.
The drive home went better than the drive there. I sat in the back with my youngest and that seemed to work better for everyone (except for maybe me lol). He didn't do as well on the way home as he did on the drive there, but overall the kids did great.
I did manage to clean a bit before we left so that mom didn't have so much to do. I wish I could have done more, but I did what I could in the time that I had.
I'm still contemplating whether to go up there and stay while she finishes chemo, but right now she seems to be doing well.
Thanks to the generosity of my parent's church family, and the way things worked out, we only spent around $300 for all of us to go on vacation! Whoop Whoop!
I'll write more another day about the other stuff happening, but for now my vacation update is done.
I pray that you are all able to see your family and spend time with them. I know sometimes family can be difficult and stressful, but it's worth it.
Have a great day everyone!
If you are in need of mental health help, don't wait! Talk to someone, get the help you need!
The day we left for vacation I had to work until 5:30pm.. so we didn't end up leaving until around 7. We had a HUGE SUV, which was needed since we had 4 adult-size people, 3 kids, and a 50lb dog. We didn't get very far before the low tire pressure light came on. We got about an hour and a half away from home and put air in the tire.. which ended up going flat. So, we pulled into a hotel parking lot, in the rain, took all our stuff out and tried to change the tire. I think we were there for close to 3 hours. I had booked the rental on hotwire because it was super cheap and bought the insurance (of course), but it didn't tell me that the insurance wasn't through the rental company. So, the rental company would not come out and help us with the tire. They wanted us to change the tire, and then drive to the nearest rental place to exchange the vehicle. So we did. It took us FOREVER to get the darn tire changed, but we did it. So while my (step)daughter, my dog and I sat at the hotel with all of our belongings, the guys went to exchange the vehicle, only to find out that they didn't have any the size we needed. So we kept the big suv in hopes that we would find one along our path that did have the larger suv. By now, if I remember right, it was close to midnight. I'm not sure why, but the rental company said they couldn't look at other places to see if they had the size of vehicle we needed. As we were driving the tire pressure light came on again, but for a different tire! This time, we weren't about to add more air since we didn't have an extra tire anymore. We went all the way to Atlanta to try to get another vehicle, but even they didn't have one. So we had to squish all of us into a smaller suv. When I say squish.. I mean SQUISH! But it didn't have any issues so we were at least going to be safe. What was sad is that we were in Atlanta at the time we should have gotten to my parent's house in Illinois!
The rest of the drive was fine. The kids and dog did fairly well. MJ had attitude for a long while during the drive there.
We finally got to my parents' house Sunday night. But we made it safe and sound.
With mom being on chemo she has a strict diet, so I really had to think about what to make for dinner while we were there. I didn't end up cooking very often because we were so busy, but it was still fun. The day after we got there hubby and I went to the store and to the veggie stand and bought the stuff we needed to make nachos (one of ours and mom's favorites).
Also, on Monday my younger sister arrived. It was something we didn't tell our parents. She had taken the bus (which is a huge deal for something with severe anxiety). When we got back my parents weren't in the living room like usual so it worked perfectly! She snuck in and sat in mom's chair and then they came around the corner and BAM there she was! It was great!
One the way to my sister's we stopped to eat lunch in one of the small towns there. When we walked in everything stopped and everyone just stared at us. I wasn't sure why, but didn't really think anything of it. Then my sister leaned over and said something about them not being used to seeing so much color. Which I didn't even think of. I know my husband is black, I know my kids and my niece are darker skinned, but I really didn't even think about it. And then when I realized why everyone was staring I found it funny. They were still kind to us though. It's funny that there are still places like that, but it's also sad. I know places near my sister's where I cannot allow my family to go because the racism is so bad. I hate that there are still places like that.
Tuesday we went to our older sister's and spent time with them and took family pictures. I can't wait for my sister to get done editing them! We took Niki (my dog) with us too. We had discussed leaving her there at my sister's house while we went out to do pictures, but she has really bad separation anxiety and she would end up trying to come find us. Which she ended up doing at the place we were at. lol And we were only across the road from her. I'm not sure how the old girl managed to jump over the fence.
My parents' church family had given us tickets to go do stuff and money to help with expenses! They really blessed us! On Wednesday we went to the zoo (free of cost). There wasn't really much in the zoo but it was still fun. They had a lot of baby goats in the petting area. They sure loved mom! It made her day. My 3 year old had picked up a pellet of poop and said, "look mom! berries!" LOL I told him that it wasn't berries that it was poop and he threw it and said "eeww yuck!" It was hilarious! One of the goats liked my brother. It kept licking his leg, so much that you could see that his leg hairs were soaked. haha
Mom sat on the bench and two baby goats hopped up with her, one on each side, and were nibbling on either side of her shirt. :)
We also went mini golfing (again free of cost). It was really hot outside, but we still had fun.
The men and kids also went to see Cars 3 for my older son's birthday. While they did that my mom and I went shopping together. I love spending time with my mama! I had her sit in the wheel chair, which she wasn't real thrilled with, but I wanted her to enjoy her time instead of getting worn out.
The week went way too fast, but it was a good week. I really wish we could have stayed longer.
On the way home we took a detour and stopped to see our grandparents. We only stayed for about an hour, but it was good to visit with them.
The drive home went better than the drive there. I sat in the back with my youngest and that seemed to work better for everyone (except for maybe me lol). He didn't do as well on the way home as he did on the drive there, but overall the kids did great.
I did manage to clean a bit before we left so that mom didn't have so much to do. I wish I could have done more, but I did what I could in the time that I had.
I'm still contemplating whether to go up there and stay while she finishes chemo, but right now she seems to be doing well.
Thanks to the generosity of my parent's church family, and the way things worked out, we only spent around $300 for all of us to go on vacation! Whoop Whoop!
I'll write more another day about the other stuff happening, but for now my vacation update is done.
I pray that you are all able to see your family and spend time with them. I know sometimes family can be difficult and stressful, but it's worth it.
Have a great day everyone!
If you are in need of mental health help, don't wait! Talk to someone, get the help you need!
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