What was I thinking?

Why did I ask my husband to bring me along? This is what went through my head as I drove away...waving to my kids. I am leaving my children for a week.....flying across the country...to California...where I have some of the worst memories ever!

You see, it was back in 99'...I decided that I needed to do a few things before the new millennium...including flying for the 1st time.

I had always had a fear and I decided at 25 years old I needed to GET OVER IT and go somewhere ON A PLANE.

So, my friend Kerri and I planned a trip to L.A. to visit her brother for couple of days.

We decided on August, a last HURRAH before heading back to teaching for the new 99-00 school year.

Her mom brought us to the airport in New Orleans and we were off!

Surprisingly enough, I loved it! Flying was so much fun...how did I go this long without experiencing something so awesome....I was on cloud 9! (literally)

We arrive and all is well for a while until I get a call from my mom. She said my dad was really sick and confused and that she thinks that he had a stroke. She said that he was at my house (I owned my own home with 2 roommates~1 male and 1 female~about 2 miles away from my parents home) and was wondering where I was.(he knew that I was in L.A.) Mom was headed over there and wanted me to call and talk to him in the meantime.

I envisioned my father bleeding from the head and I was so scared. I thought he was going to die while I was over 2,000 miles away from home. I talked to him and he was really out of it. I wanted him to be fine, but I knew he wasn't. Something bad was happening to him. I couldn't figure out why he was at my house? Why would he go there, especially when he knew I was out of town??

I tried to not worry that night and kept in touch with my family. The next day he was stable, but still in the hospital. They couldn't figure out the problem.

In the meantime, I went on with my sightseeing and then I got my 1st migraine with aura ever. I thought I was going blind! I had to go to bed with it for a day or so and it totally sucked.

I finished the trip and had an OK time...went to Disneyland, Hollywood, Universal, etc.... and my dad seemed to be getting better.

I returned home to find out that my dad didn't have a stroke or a TIA after all. It was something they call TGA. (Click here to read the causes) A little time went by and my mom and I figured out that the day my father had the TGA was the day that my roommate (a 17 year old girl that worked for my parents' business) became his girlfriend.

Yes I know, CRAZY, that was officially the end to my storybook, white picket fence childhood and I was now on to figuring out how to live with out my daddy because MY daddy would never do that to our family. The daddy that I knew was now officially GONE!

So you see how the thought of visiting California brings up the worst memories and triggers migraines, but something was inside me. It was pulling me...I just had to go!

I HAD to leave my kiddos and just go.

I got on the plane and I was starting to get a little excited. I love traveling! We took off and the anticipation of the whole experience was overwhelming.
I was pumped.. ready to have some fun. We were in the air. No turning back...just do it...have some grown up fun....without the girls!

I was super excited now. Am I the only one who loves the entire airline experience? The safety demonstration, the cozy laboratory with blue toilet water, the Sky Mall magazine. The snacks!!! Oh yes...its time for a snack. I love watching the flight attendants with their cart. I lower my tray with anticipation...what will I get to drink? Hubby says no alcohol until we land, so I finally decide on a Diet Sierra Mist. And the sweet attendant agrees to give me extra snacks. Yes we're definitely having fun now.

The airplane ride is pretty long, but good. We arrive to the hotel without a hitch. Wow, the room is nice. Comfy bed, WIFI, and even the cutest little coffee maker.

Kids....what kids....I'm in California with my hubs....ALONE!

Later, we meet friends to go out for some dinner. The trip is REALLY going well. I am excited about the rest of the week.

And then my cookie calls. She is tired and sad....she wants her momma and dadda.

Maybe I should go home?

Nah!

To be continued....

Locks of Love!

When Brooke was around 6 or 7 months I got a whole 12 inches cut off my hair for a charity called Locks of Love. It was a nice change and not too totally traumatic for me. Well it must be something about a baby that age (they get really grabby) because as soon as my Bailey turned 6 months, I was just tired of my long locks!
So today at 8:45AM, I went out and got my hair whacked off again to send to Locks of Love. Now don't get too excited...you must know that with my natural curls, my frizziness, and my thin and fine hair~ I just can't get all stylish. And don't forget that summer is so humid especially in Louisiana. So I opted for an all one length to the shoulder look . No layers or inverted backs this time. I can wear it up or down. And I can even wear it straight, curled, or scrunched. I think that Dana did a GREAT job on the cut, a few natural highlights, and the styling. Thanks Girl! ;-)

And can you believe it...I didn't even CRY!!! Soo without further adieu. Here is my new do...

Before

After

Juuuuust Kidding....this is Clay Aiken and his new do!
OK so SERIOUSLY here's mine!

Ten Inches!!!

It's been a long day, so I am off to put my hair up in a little tiny pony tail for a short nap before dinner!

Happy New Year!

It is good to be back at home unpacking and settling in...
For New years Eve, Penn worked a half day and Brooke, Bailey and I went to eat at Chick-fil-a for lunch and then did some much needed grocery shopping. When we got back home, I made a pot of meatballs and Penn made some brownies to bring to a little new Year's Eve get together with some friends.
The girls and Daddy rested a while I tried to get all of the NEW stuff from Christmas put away!
Around 5:30PM we tried to gather everything for the party and in the misted of it the 50 pound breast pump rented from the hospital fell off of the arm(Brooke's pushed it off)and landed on the baby's bouncy seat and then on her head. Did I mention she was sleeping? What a way to be awoken! She was crying so hard and couldn't even catch her breath. We were so scared...we did know if our night would be spent at Children's instead of ringing in the new year in a happy way. She seemed to calm down and I nursed her a bit. We checked her pupils and her soft spot and all seemed to be fine. She had a little scratch and bump, but nothing too serious, so we decided to go ahead and go to the party.
If that wasn't exciting enough...as we were loading the car we had another mishap! Penn and his brilliant ideas~asked Brooke to carry the brownies to the car. She made it from the kitchen to the top of the stairs at the basement and then I heard Kaboom!! Miss Brooke dropped the beautifully baked Pyrex dish of brownies and it shattered into a million pieces. Penn was SOOOOO mad, but what did he really expect from a 2 year old carrying something breakable like that??? After a little pondering (and cursing) Penn looked at the brownies and then at me and said we can't bring these to the party can we??? UHHH NO! So he cleaned the mess up and threw it away. He was so disappointed about losing the brownies that he opened up the trash can and dug out what seemed to be a trash/glass-free brownie and ate it!!! Oh my! As if I wanted to see my hubby try to digest slivers of glass for the new year.
Well...we finally made it to the party only about an hour late. There we had food, fireworks, fellowship, and fun. Brooke was such a big girl shaking her sparkler. Everyone hung in until almost 11:00PM. The yawns were plenty, so everyone headed home. We all took baths and headed up to Brooke's room. Daddy read "The Cat and the Hat Comes Back" for the nightly bedtime story and then we turned on the TV at 5 till midnight. We watched the Clark celebration and counted down the last ten seconds. At midnight we toasted our paper Dora and Diego cups. Brooke had water in her cup and Penn and I had a little wine in ours. Bailey just watched. We all kissed and said "Happy New Year" and "Goodnight" in the same breath and we were off to dreamland.
A far cry of our Champagne celebrations and toasts in the past, but just as much fun!
Happy New Year!
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:13-14
On that note...my resolutions are to read the one year bible, grow spiritual by leap and bounds, have a better and more positive attitude to all, go to crops and eat and talk less and scrapbook more, wear my hair down some, and lose 25 or greater pounds! I am still working on the plan of HOW? though...