Let the Sunshine In...

I find it interesting that after my last entry "Never a dull moment" Georgia went into the hospital the very next night with breathing difficulties and the next day Tommy was supposed to leave for a three day work trip. Luckily she came home the next morning and Tommy left, but then the other two got sick. Thursday I spent most of the day giving breathing treatments and worrying about how I was going to get three two year olds to the ER by myself if I had to, even if it meant waking them up. I could have made it happen if needed but it would not have been easy. Mickey's breathing continued to get worse then better, worse and better and I was just waiting for the sure signal from him it was time to go. That night Mickey and Jo slept in bed with me so I could keep an eye on them. I didn't sleep. The next morning I woke and Tommy said he was coming back early so I scheduled an appointment for Mickey at 11am. Mickey and I were at the doctors all day. We did leave for lunch. The doctors were trying to see if his breathing would improve after the steroid so that he would not have to go the hospital. Finally after the last test at 4:30pm, and his sats were still 92ish they said he would have to be admitted so Tommy drove him to the hospital where they tested him again and the sats were 98ish. That happened to Georgia earlier in the week as well, which makes me believe there might be something wrong with their machine at the doctors. The mystery behind Mickey is that he no longer had any retractions, his respiratory rate was good and his lugs sounded clear so why did he keep getting low numbers at the doctors. Anyway, they decided to let him go home and the hospital was kind enough to say they would not even charge us for the few hours he was there. How nice is that? In my opinion, these are the kinds of things that set Charlottesville apart. The hospitals is Arizona are great, but I doubt they would have done that for us.

What a long week it was. I knew when I went to the gym on Monday that would likely be the only day I get to go because Georgia's nose started running that day and I knew she was going to get sick. I just didn't know we going to go through another hospital stay. I thought maybe since it had been over a year, their lungs had grown and we were past that point. I was wrong. I admit I have been feeling very challenged since we got here. Its been very hard to get into a routine because something is always happening. Its really prevented me from getting any results physically or mentally from my workouts because they are so few and far between. I have not been able to start volunteering at the hospital because I keep having to reschedule my health screenings that are required. I am going to try and get them done again this week. I also had to reschedule the Early Intervention evaluation for the kids that was supposed to happen last Friday. Its taken over a month to get that going. I think I speak for Tommy and myself when I say it seems we have had this cloud hanging over us since day 1 in Virginia starting with the movers not delivering our things. Tommy and I are ready for the cloud to move on. We are trying so hard to make positive choices for our family, our kids and for each other and every time we feel like we are taking a step forward to making this our home, another ball drops. We want so much to love it here but need something to go right.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all bad, we are on our way to owning a beautiful home, and we love this area. The people here so awesome and friendly and there is tons of stuff to do with the kids and great restaurants to eat at. But it hasn't exactly been the fresh start we were planning on so far. And I don't mean to be a downer because I have no regrets about this move and I do like it here but it has been a huge change for us and a major adjustment for me not working. Those things alone have been taking some getting used to without all the things that have gone wrong. Not having a nanny has been hard. Tommy and I were lucky with Kaela we could take care of stuff together, go to lunch, etc. Now we do everything opposite each other because someone has to watch the kiddos. We are still trying to find the easiest way to get stuff done and still spend time with each other. He has also been traveling a lot which we were not really planning on so that has been tough as well. I miss my work family greatly. I didn't see my friends in AZ that often because life was so busy for all of us. It was the friends I had at work I think that kept me sane some days. Being able to talk about our families and lives and share stories and laugh throughout the day. Adult conversations that I don't have now that made not seeing my friends outside of work a little easier. Now I am missing both my work friends and my girlfriends. I realize a lot of moms have been doing this for a long time but it is new to me.

I know we will get there, but were off to a rocky start. We had a fabulous road trip here and then, wham, test after test. Luckily, we had a beautiful Easter as a family. It was gorgeous outside. The kids got to hunt for eggs, we even drove by  our soon to be house and its was so nice seeing how everything was blooming all around. We cant wait to be there. We do have so much to be grateful for, and every time something challenging happens, I start again the next day as I will this time. I am hoping that from now on things will go a bit smoother and the clouds will move on. I don't expect life to be easy all the time. Lord knows I have had my fair share of difficult moments in my 35 years but sometimes we just need a break so we can refresh and be ready for the next challenge, so just a break for a bit would be so appreciated. We are so ready for Spring, the new beginning we were hoping for in February, we are ready for warmth and sunshine and flowers, healthy kiddos and healthy mom and dad.

Never a dull moment!

Its been awhile since I written anything. Here I thought I would have all this free time to update my blog regularly. Ha Ha Ha. There are so many little things to take care of when you move out of state, I am learning. I joined a gym which I am really excited about. Although its been hard to go on a regular basis because life keeps happening. I am able to take the babies with me and they go to child care. This is great because it gives them an opportunity to interact with other kids. I am hoping it will also help with their speech. The negative is that they are exposed to new germs and that is what happened after our first visit. They got sick and so did I. We had our first experience with stomach flu. Now I know what its like to clean vomit up from, well, everywhere, including the car. The stomach flu morphed into some kind of cold virus and we were all down for two whole weeks almost. So, no working out for me. Since then I have been able to try several classes including Yoga, Barre, and Zumba. Not which I like the most but its nice to have the variety and keeps me from getting bored.

Unfortunately, my grandmother go very sick about a month ago. My mom was supposed to come visit in March but had to cancel her trip. We lost my grandmother on April 1st. She was 94. I will miss her a lot and enjoyed living close by for the last 15 years or so. It gave me the opportunity to get to know her better than any of my other grandparents which I am grateful for. She set such a good example of what a woman should be, strong, independent and loving. I know she has not been happy for a long time though and wanted to be with her husband, my grandfather who passed in 1992. So, the next day I traveled to Dallas to meet my mom and Aunt and we drove to Tulsa for the funeral. It was good to see my mom and the rest of my family although it is so sad it is always to say goodbye to someone we love. As we were driving away from the cemetery that day I left I realized I had been to four funerals there in the last 5 years; my dad, my grandfather, my uncle and now my grandmother. I hope I don't have to go back for a long time. Although I realize as I get older more and more people I know and love will go, I think my family could use a break.

It was good to get back to Virginia with Tommy and the babies and I even felt like I was home. We have been able to find a beautiful house by Lake Monticello up on the mountain. It is 3 and a half acres, close to the lake and absolutely beautiful. I will write a blog on the house another time but feel its important to mention. Tommy and I cant wait to be there and make it our own and we are sure the kids will love  it.

On top of all this I am in the process of getting ready to start volunteering at the hospital in the NICU and bedside in Acute Pediatrics. I have done my first health screening, which includes a TB test and my next one is Wednesday. Then I go back one more time on Friday and I am hoping to get the "all clear" so I can start training. I am so excited to hopefully make a difference for some of these babies and their families. Having my own babies in the NICU for so long was such a difficult thing to go through. Not knowing what was going to happen, if they would survive, if they would have long term health issues. Wanting so badly for them to be home with us and having to leave them every night. It was all the people that worked in the hospital that helped us through that time and I want to give back in some way. The plan is to start next week if we are able to find a babysitter by then.

Georgia, Jolynne and Mickey are doing really well here. They have much more space to run around in, are saying so many new words every day and getting better at expressing themselves. They are definitely two year olds though and some days can be challenging with all their fighting and temper tantrums. They are also turning into quite the escape artists. They will be 2 and half years old at the end of this month and I will post a more detailed update on how their doing. I want to wait until I have the results from their speech and developmental evaluation that is taking place on Friday. In the meantime, we have been trying to get them out of the house on the weekend and take them to new places. We went to a winery and flew kites a couple weeks ago, we took them to the home and garden show where they got their faces painted, and last week we took them to a carnival where they rode on their first rides all by themselves. Although they all 3 had a great time, the girls did especially. Mickey was afraid of a lot of stuff there which I am sure is just a phase. Its really awesome getting to see them experience these new things and watch their faces. I cant wait to do more new stuff, starting with Easter this coming weekend. We will be dying Easter eggs and doing an egg hunt! We will even attempt to take them to Church.

Look out for my updates on the new house and the babies health. I will continue to try and post more updates than I have been. Its been a crazy couple of months and the next few months will probably be even crazier. My best friend and her family are coming to visit memorial weekend, we will be taking a trip to Richmond to the zoo for Mothers Day, moving into our new home (hopefully) mid-June and then my mom and nephew should be here. Never a dull moment for us! Loving every moment! Here are some pictures to enjoy of our new adventures in Virginia!