What a Little Kindness Can Do.

Sometimes with all the bad in the world it's easy to lose focus on the good. Sometimes you just feel stuck in a rut.

Lately I've enjoyed the new fad of rock hunting. It's really about spreading kindness and happiness to others. People paint and hide rocks for people to find. Some people are really hardcore and post clues and people snatch them up fast, but it's fun to see people's creations on the Facebook page. We've found some here and there. I think the best part is that it's a free activity that even small kids can participate in.

The kindness rocks got me thinking about the ways I've been shown kindness, which then became my inspiration for this post and more to (hopefully) come.

These small acts of kindness are just some that stuck out in my mind. I plan to write another post on bigger acts of kindness that I've been shown as well.

• A few years ago I was picking up some groceries at Aldi. The cashier rang everything up and my total was just under $30. I went to pull out my debit card which is always in my wallet and it was gone! I had stuck it in another pocket of my purse, and then switched purses! I had no cash. I had my checkbook, but they don't accept checks. The cashier knew me as a regular customer and called the manager to see if I could write a check this one time. A lady behind me actually had her card out and was offering to pay for my stuff! About this time the manager approved my check, so I of course declined, but that fact that this lady was willing to spend $30 on a strangers groceries just blew me away.
• The last time I took Daniel to Scheels, he wanted to ride the ferris wheel. It's only $1 per person and I had the money, but the register wasn't working right, and the employee handed me 2 tokens, wouldn't take my $2 and told us to enjoy the ride. <3 li="">
• When I worked at the Y and Daniel was only 2 years old a sweet older gentleman who didn't know us reached into his wallet and pulled out a couple of dollars. He told me to go treat ourselves to a little ice cream.
• Another Y story. A big snowfall started as we got to the Y. I worked my normal 2 hours and 15 min. and by the time I got Daniel all bundled and out to the parking lot the car was buried in snow. I started the car and started to get Daniel buckled in before beginning to brush off the snow and scrape of the layer of ice underneath. Then I sensed someones presence. A dad of one of the kiddos I watched in the nursery was cleaning my car off for me. What could have taken me 10 minutes took far less just because he felt like helping another human.
• I got a lot of little gifts from my daycare families over the years. Baked goods, bath and body stuff etc. My favorites were always just a heartfelt card. The thing that stood out the most to me over the years was the week of Mother's Day. We would always have the babies "make" gifts for their mommys. I wasn't a mom at the time, but one of the moms brought me a little bouquet of flowers and a Mother's Day card saying she was thankful her little girl had a fill in "mommy" when she had to work. 
• Just recently Daniel started kindergarten, and I had expressed my own anxieties on Facebook. Especially after his huge meltdown on his 3rd day. Yet a few mom's rallied around me. They sent me messages or texts to see how I was doing and how Daniel was doing. They prayed for me. They prayed for him. They knew just what I needed to hear.
• When I was in high school I accidentally side swiped a car in the parking lot leaving our summer swim clinic. As is turned out, the driver had been my middle school choir teacher. A lot of people didn't like him, but I never had a problem with him. He was SO nice about it. The first thing he did when he got out the car was to ask me how I was doing. I remember being like, "Um...well I just hit your car so not too good." And he said, "Eh...it's my son's car anyway." Haha! He was really calm. He took my info, got my phone number and said he wanted to try to get some estimates and not go through insurance. He called my mom later, and genuinely wanted to make sure I was doing okay. I ended up paying a fair price to fix the damages, but what really made the difference was him making sure I was okay.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. I keep thinking of more and more. It goes to show that kindness is everywhere, and how important it is to keep spreading it.

In A Rut

It's been almost 2.5 months since I've written anything. I generally do most of my random posts on Facebook, but today is one of those days that I just want to write. I'm in a serious funk and I'm hoping writing it all down will help to clear my mind.

I'm ready for summer to be over. I'm ready for the heat to go away. I'm ready to get back into a school year routine. I'm tired. I'm grouchy. And I just plain feel down most days lately. I have my good moments each day, which then seem to quickly fade when I think of how humdrum life is most days.

I also know that I have to the power to control some of this, but my brain just won't let me some days. I take Zoloft for anxiety, so it should help the sad feelings but all it does sometimes is block my tears and helps me from going into a full on meltdown. It keeps most anxiety at bay, but I guess even meds aren't going to keep anyone from going through rough patches.

I could focus on the good stuff, but I seriously just need to vent...so really I'll be fine but there may be rants and ramblings ahead. Proceed with caution.

Let's start with summer break. First off...I went to schools that didn't get out until the first or second week of June. Here summer starts the 3rd week of May. And Daniel has been done with preschool since the 2nd week in May. I always start summer out with excitement and plans. I find all these fun activities on Pinterest and I just know I'm going to rock the mom thing all summer.

June always goes well. We do a bunch of fun stuff. This year it included a fun mini vacation to Indianapolis! The start of July is pretty fun because I know there's an Iowa trip involved. And this year I got to stay for 2 weeks, but even though I had fun, the funk had already started to set in.
And now here we are. The dog days of summer. I can barely make myself crawl out of bed at 9:00 because then I have to face all of life's mundane tasks like breaking up fights over random things, feed my kids 3 meals...of which consists of fits and tantrums (mostly by James) because basically every food is gross. And Daniel wants entertained from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep. Bathtime, diapers, potty training, lost toys, changing clothes, doing laundry...on and on. All of this is normal mom stuff, but the school year just seems to have more routine. It'll be an adjustment having Daniel in school all day this year. I'm ready for it though...even though I guarantee you I will cry because my little baby is now a 5.5 year old giant who is going to kindergarten!

So, what else is there to be down about, you ask? Or maybe not. :)

Well, in May we had to have half of our backyard dug up to fix the sewer line that was "fixed" 2.5 years ago. Thankfully, all of the replacement was free, but I've got a hideous backyard and still paying off the other plumbers from coming out to help beforehand. Our dirt mound will hopefully be leveled, and new cement laid soon, but right now the backyard looks like a freaking jungle and it's embarrassing. The dirt pile has become overgrown with weeds. I started trying to pull them today and about had a breakdown halfway though, so I quit. The task seemed so daunting and I was sweating profusely. Now I'm sitting here 20 minutes later with an ice pack because I'm still sweating.

I hate the heat. I know I say it all the time, but it's like my internal thermostat is broken. It's not even THAT hot out. The humidity is dropping and yet I was dripping. My mom and I fought at their house because she thinks I'm crazy and have just grown too accustomed to air conditioning. I feel like since I had James my hormones never went back to normal or something. I'm rarely "just right". I'm either on fire or covered in goosebumps. I hate it so much. I can't even walk around the block without breaking a sweat.

So...go to the doctor, you may be thinking. I'd love to if insurance/lack of insurance didn't suck so much. I don't have traditional insurance because we couldn't afford it, so I use a Christian based medical sharing plan. So anything up to $300 comes out of my own pocket for any given appointment and then I can apply to receive help covering costs. Which is still better than the $7000 out of pocket I would need to cover on my own plan before the crappy coinsurance kicked in. Yeah...I'm still paying off nearly $4k from my old plan.

I try to come up with ways to earn an extra income while staying home with my boys. It's not easy. So, I just keep praying that God will show me His plan. Staying at home isn't negotiable for me. That is my job. Once both boys are in school I plan to find work...it's just trying to discover what God wants me to be.

Let's also talk about the fact that I'm a yo-yo dieter. I'm to the point of anger towards myself. I'll work really hard to get on the right path. I eat better. I exercise. Then I get bored. So I stop exercising. Next thing I know I'm binge eating every bad food in sight. Anything I lose (which takes months) is all back on plus some in weeks. I lose control and food takes control of me. I get discouraged because I can't get weight off like I used to. I know having babies and getting older changes that. But after Daniel I got down to pre baby weight within 3 months. With James I never got back down to it. I think part of it IS the Zoloft...which sucks because taking it helps me, but may be making it extremely hard to lose weight.

Whew. Okay. That was long. My brain feels a lot more clear now though,and I don't feeling to I need to bawl my eyes out anymore. Writing is apparently free therapy.
I share all of this too because everyone had struggles in life and a lot of time we try to hide those things because we don't like to show weakness. I know God has control of everything, and I can feel his arms around me right now.

The ABC's of My MOM

I'm late in typing this post. Probably because it came to me late last night, and as always I get ideas in my head and half the time I don't complete them. But, I'll give it a whirl.

*DISCLAMIMER* This got really long! Read at your own risk.

The ABC's of Mom

Some letters may have a couple.

A is for Adventureland.
A fun family tradition. Every summer as kids mom and dad would plan a day at Adventureland. We'd usually drive down and get there when the park opened, although occasionally we'd spend the night at a hotel. They never let us eat in the park, but mom would ALWAYS pack a lunch in the cooler. We'd walk out and eat in a grassy area and have a little down time. One year our socks got soaked. so she hung them in a tree to dry! Mom couldn't ride much, but she always watched from a bench and was the designated purse holder.

B is for Birthdays
Mom always made birthdays special for us. We didn't always do big parties. Most were simple and at home with a few friends. One of my favorites was when she took my friends and I on a "penny walk" at night. All we did was take turns flipping a coin at each corner. Heads we went right. Tails we went left. So silly, but so fun!

C is for Cherry Hill and Caretaker

Mom spent countless hours at the Cherry Hill pool with us each summer. We'd swim and she'd lounge in a chair. She probably enjoyed the break from us now that I think about it! And she always had fruit snacks on hand for when we were "starving".

She is an amazing caretaker. Okay. I mean, she may not always enjoy it, but she really does a great job. She has taken care of Grandma so well after Grandpa died and then after her stroke. She's taken care of both of my sisters when they need her. And she's always there for  me. Hurt my back? She was here to help me with Daniel. Bed rest? Same.Plus she took Daniel to Iowa to care for him while I couldn't when I had to rest. Then she stayed for almost 2 weeks after James was born to help me.

D is for Driving Lessons, Dinner Bell and Dusseldorf

Lesson one. Don't take driving lessons from mom. We stressed each other out so bad. She let me drive in a trailer park and I didn't turn the wheel back and got us stuck in a snow bank. Some army guy pushed us out and then I got out and refused to drive with her again.

My mom legit bought a dinner bell and hung it outside the back door. When it was time to come in she rang the bell and we'd come a runnin'.

And Dusseldorf. Why Dusseldorf? Because one night we were really tired and watching House Hunters and the couple was buying a house there. For some reason the name Dusseldorf had us dying with laughter. Every time they said it we'd fall over laughing again!

E is for EWomen
Ah. What a fun trip to remember. It was a Christian women's conference that a few of us girls went to. We had so much fun eating out, reading a book on poop and meeting Karen Kingsbury. Mom snapped a picture and Karen struck a pose and said, "Oh! I have paparazzi!"

F is for Fall Fun
Need I say more? It's no secret that mom, Kendra and I have a HUGE love of Fall. We love all things fall. From pumpkin patches, to decorating, to candy corn. Oh, and lets not forget the time we made dad make us a bonfire and froze our butts off!

G is for Garth Brooks
Of course it is. :)  For years I said he would come back out of retirement and if he did she and I HAD to go! When he announced his return I may have called in sick to the Y so I could get tickets. I got tickets to the 2nd show in Chicago...and then ended up in the hospital with pregnancy complications. (Karma, right?) So....when he announced Omaha I of course decided a road trip was needed. I got us tickets...but to the late show. I mean, how late can late be? Well, it started at 11:30 and he played until 2:00am! We were so tired, but it was more than worth the memories.

H is for Hiking and HGTV
Mom planned lots of outdoor adventures for our family. A lot of weekends when it was warm we would go to a state park and hike the trails. We weren't like pro hikers or anything. We just enjoyed the walks. Mom always carried a backpack with a snack, water and dixie cups. I'm pretty certain Erica and I would be near death from starvation about a quarter of a mile into each hike.

Oh HGTV...you are forever our obsession. Any trip to Iowa wouldn't be complete without having a House Hunters marathon with mom and Kendra.

I is for Ice Cream
Dairy Queen to be specific. The best DQ trips were the ones where she'd take just me. A lot of times if I had a doctor appointment and she picked me up from school early, we'd stop at DQ on the way home. I'd always pray the car would turn in that direction. The best part was feeling special (because it was a secret. Even though I now realize she probably took Erica and Kendra out for special treats too). The other great part was getting to order whatever I wanted...which was almost always an Oreo or Reese's Pieces Blizzard. If dad came we could only get a cone or Dilly Bar.

J is for Janitor
Mom was the janitor at our church for several years growing up, which was awesome. Why? Because we'd go with her in the summer. Sometimes she'd make us help, but usually we'd have relay races in the gym, and have wheelchair races. She probably wanted to kill us because we were little heathens sometimes.

K is for Keokuk
Mom had a knack for planning interesting mini vacations, which we'd sometimes roll our eyes at, but dang they've made for some great memories. Like when we drove around looking for the "damn dam" or going on a tour of the Keokuk Lock and Dam. Yeah. We were the only ones on that tour and the guy seemed psyched that we were there and was super excited I had my camera. LOL! We were so bored, but it's so hilarious to think of now.

L is for Library
Mom ALWAYS took us to the Public Library. I can still smell it. Mmm. Anyway, the best times were in the summer when the reading program was going on. We got all kinds of great prizes. Plus, once a summer we'd go with our next door neighbor's and we'd all ride the city bus for an adventure. We'd eat the the downtown McDonalds and then walk to the library. So fun!

M is for Mimi
She's one of the best Mimi's around. She loves her grand kids...even through they drive her crazy sometimes too! She always has fun things planned for them to do or activities for everyone!

N is for Narveys
The worst little diner in the world. This isn't really mom specific because it was one of the only places open in the small town we were in in Wisconsin. We ate at this place, and there was one waitress...who I think was also the cook? Her name was Marie, but we've laughed for years because she pronounced it "Mooie" when she talked and asked if we wanted "flies" with our meals. Still pretty sure I ate a dog or something that night.

O is for the Orange Jello Salad Disaster of 2015
Long story short. Mom made her infamous orange Jello salad. It was on the top shelf of the fridge and wasn't set yet. I reached in for a slice of pizza, and somehow knocked the whole bowl down. Orange sticky liquid everywhere and the most pissed off mom you've ever seen. Thankfully we eventually laughed about it. Like when I yelled at her that I was washing the cheese! To this day they are still finding specks of orange around.

P is for Potholes
Because as you know, mom fell into one in St Louis thus beginning our day for you know where. The day that involved a bad race day for Kendra. Stitches for mom. Me passing out and hitting my head. And a tired 2 year old who was melting down.

Q is for Quality Time
Even with 3 kids, mom somehow found a way to have quality time with us. I loved when I'd get to go to the store with her alone. When we'd have a lunch date most Fridays at McDonald's my senior year of high school. And now when I go home to visit we always stay up late talking...well I usually keep her up. LOL! But I love those moments.

R is for Road Trips
Okay, I've covered some of those, but more there are more epic trips mom has taken us on. The Buffalo Farm will be one that will go down in Thatcher family history. She took us to a Buffalo Farm...and there were no buffalo. It was just this sketchy place that kept this big bear in a little cage.
Some great trips were to Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. Dad wasn't able to go to Michigan so we made it a girls trip which was a lot of fun...for the most part. Highlights were Cereal City and the sand dunes.
Last summer we road tripped to a dairy farm, which seems SO stupid. But we went with it to appease her. Yeah. It turned out to be super awesome. And thankfully there were cows. And kangaroos. Because kangaroos in Iowa seems perfectly normal.

S is for Simplicity
Mom taught us that not everything has to be big and fancy. She made things fun for us. We didn't have cable, but she'd take us to rent movies at Drug Town. We didn't have a giant swimming pool like some of our friends, but she'd fill our wading pool and let us run through the sprinkler for hours. She taught us to enjoy the little things in life.

T is for Tantrums
Yes, she dealt with plenty of those when we were growing up. I can think of 2 that took place in public. I generally wasn't like that, but both of these times I was passionate about getting the shoes I wanted. She wanted to murder me, I'm sure, but we got through it. She also dealt with my fits about foods I didn't like and plenty of other ridiculous things.

U is for Undercover
Is it not normal for a mom and daughter to buy disguises and follow someone around like stalkers? Oh...we bad. We sucked at it anyway. Plus what were we even thinking? I think all we bought were sunglasses. Like the person we followed wouldn't notice the BOAT of a car we used to have. Bahaha!

V is for Verses
Mom played a HUGE role in my relationship with God. She (and dad) took us to church and were always very involved. She worked in AWANA on Wednesday nights and helped me memorize my Bible Verses every week. For that I am so grateful.

W is for World Changers
Going on mission trips with your mom when you're in your early teens doesn't seem all that fun, but let me tell you, it was. Plus she was my voice of reason and the one I could vent to. The one who could help me escape for awhile if I needed to be alone. We traveled to Effingham, IL, Nashville TN and Youngstown, OH together...and lived to tell about it even though the town was run by the mafia.
PS..."MAKE A HOLE!"

X is for XMas.
Yeah. Kinda cheating there, but what else is there!? Mom made Christmas fun every year. Santa visits, tree decorating (after she got done cursing the lights she had to string up), Christmas music, looking at lights and so much more. Christmas was always special!

Y is for Youth Group
Kind of falls in with the mission trips, but having my mom as part of my youth group days was actually pretty great. I'm thankful that she set that example for  me.

Z is for Zoos
Because again...there's just not that many Z words. As a kid she had to practically DRAG me to the zoo because I said they were stupid. Now I LOVE going, and I've even got to go with her as an adult. Although, my 3 year old at the time was not overly pleasant that day. :)

Whew. I made it. She's the only one that will read this whole thing, but I'm glad I did it and I finished it!

I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Meet Me In St Louie Louie---Meet Me at Urgent Care!

You ever have one of THOSE days?  The one where nothing goes right?

Here was the basic idea of what our schedule looked like for the day:

4:45-6:30ish am--Kendra wakes up and starts getting ready. Mom and Kendra go to breakfast and then walk to Union Station for Kendra's shuttle. Mom walks back.

7:00--James and I wake up and get quickly get ready for breakfast.

7:30-- Eat breakfast

8:00--Start walking down to the 10 mile mark for Kendra

8:35--See Kendra run by if she's running the pace she set her goal at.

9:00-- Back to the hotel and chill

10:00-- Walk 2 miles to the Arch to watch Kendra cross the finish line

11:00-11:15--Watch Kendra cross the finish line at her goal time of a sub 4

12:00-- Back to the hotel

Rest of the day...have lunch and even possibly supper before James and I needed to leave.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?

So, this is how our day really went.

Mom and Kendra got up, ate and got to the shuttle.

Around 6:40 mom comes in my room and wakes me up by saying, "Rachel! Rachel, wake up. I hurt myself. I need you to come in here and help me!"

I hopped up and rushed in to see what happened. As it turns out, she fell in a pothole on Market Street walking back from Union Station. Not only did she slightly twist her ankle, scraped up her knee and rip a hole in her capris, but she also came down on her elbow and cut it open badly. She told me she knew she needed stitches, but she wasn't going until after the race. She had some band aids, and a wrap she got at the front desk and she needed me to help.

To give you a better image. All of this is happening as mom is sitting on the toilet in the tiny bathroom and I am on my knees on the floor still half out of it. My anxiety started to set in as she was panicking about the race. In my mind I'm trying to figure out if I can let her keep bleeding. I need to figure out how to get her to a hospital if she needs it, but also be there to support Kendra.

"You ready to see it?", she asked. No. No, I was not. She had me open the alcohol wipes and each little dab would be followed with a yelp and, "Stop!" I am not kidding you. The woman had a CRATER in her arm. A literal crater. She decided we should go in the room to wrap it...I think. That's where it gets hazy.

I stood up and stopped in the bathroom doorway. My eyes started to cloud over and my ears started ringing. I remember saying, "I feel dizzy" and the next thing I remember was hearing, "Rachel! Rachel Lynn!" and I realize I'm on the floor next to the closet outside the bathroom. I asked what happened, and mom told me I blacked out and fell in slow motion. I hit my head, but thankfully I didn't cut it open too!

Once my ears stopped ringing I was able to drink some water and help mom get her arm wrapped up, all while randomly bursting into laughter because I passed out and I've never done that before.

Thankfully, James slept through all of this in the other room until I went in to get him up.

Breakfast was uneventful...other than mom needing a doctor, but of course putting her kids first.

We left the hotel around 8 and walked to the spot we needed to see Kendra, which was around a 20 minute walk. Jacob called and told me Daniel was throwing up again. Then we waited for Kendra. And waited. Remember she said she'd run by around 8:35? Well...she didn't. We were getting a bit concerned when 15 minutes passed by. Mom told me not to tell Kendra about our morning.

Mom did have fun holding up my sign. It got a lot of laughs and compliments. Pretty proud I came up with it on my own.







Eventually we saw her coming. For once I remembered my camera. As soon as she saw us she started shaking her head. She walks over as I'm happily snapping away and burst into tears. The race wasn't going well for her. Just an off day. Her legs were like lead and she was DONE. She kept going back and forth on quitting. I kept telling her to keep going and that she'd be mad at herself later if she didn't finish. We also made sure to remind her that even if she didn't come close to her time, she could still beat the giraffe. Haha!



Her socks were also bothering her, so mom gave her's up.



Oh, and as she was crying? I was like, "Should we tell her?" So we filled her in on our crap-tastic morning and all laughed and about cried together. (James just ate animal crackers and didn't care. Typical guy.)

She really wanted to punch me.

 

Eventually she decided to continue on and if she needed to quit she would.  We walked back to the hotel and decided since she was behind her race time we'd attempt an urgent care. Called to see if they were busy and then headed to find it. It was right by the lot we always park in for Cardinals games, so we ended up parking there and heading in.

Not busy, but took forever. James was over it.



We finally get into a room at 11. Mom is leaking blood from under the bandages. James is losing his crap because he tried to get into the trash can and we yelled no. I bribed him with fruit snacks to stop crying. He wanted them in his snack cup. I put them in his snack cup. Then they got crumbs from his previous snack stuck on them. He flipped his lid and started melting down. Mom was feeling awful and nauseated. She couldn't handle the crying so we went to the van. She was already upset about how long it was taking, but then upset she was going to miss Kendra finish the race.

Around 11:30, James and I walked from the lot down to the Arch. I figured she'd cross around 12:15 and it was about 11:55. James was content riding, but once we stopped he got MAD. I knew he was tired and thankfully he eventually passed out.

 

I think it was closer to 12:30, but I finally saw her! Emotions hit me because I knew how hard she had worked and how much of a struggle she was having. I waved and cheered like crazy for her!





I was so proud to watch her finish. Did she get her goal? Not even close. In fact, it was her worst race time, but she did it. Who else can say they've ran 26.2 miles 4 times? Not me! This girl is dedicated.



We met up and I filled her in on mom who was still getting stitched up at urgent care. We started our walk back. It felt like to took forever to walk back, but I was amazed at how Kendra just trucked along. We had to take a couple of breaks along the way.



Mom was just getting finished as we got back to the van. I went with her across the street to the pharmacy to get her prescription and around 1 we finally were headed back to the hotel!

Kendra got cleaned up, while we rested a bit and tried to decide where to eat. I was hoping to be on the road by around 4.

We finally decided on TGIFriday's because it would hopefully be easy. HAHA! So, after circling the block we finally got parked in a garage. Went in and saw it was half empty. Yay! But you know how our luck was going. We were told we'd have a 15 minute wait! Apparently during slower times only half the place is open. We had our orders ready when the waitress came for drinks once we had finally been seated. FORTY minutes later our food shows up. James had been crying for nuggets for 20 minutes at that point.

I think we got back to the hotel around 4:45. Went up to get our stuff to load up. Got loaded. Said goodbye and they headed back in. That's when I realize my sunglasses are upstairs still. On the 11th floor. Texted mom and told her. She said Kendra was bringing them back down. 2 minutes later while I m waiting I realize my water is still up there too. Thankfully Kendra had both!

A lot of random crap happened in a 24 hour span, but even through it all we managed to find some humor.

In case you're wondering? We're not doing this again next year. At least no in St. Louis!

St Louis Highs and Lows- Part 1

Well, for whatever reason, this past week has been somewhat of a nightmare!

It all started last Wednesday.

Jacob and my father-in-law have been dying to take Daniel to his first Cardinals game since before he was born. This was finally the year it was going to happen. Tickets were purchased weeks in advance and Daniel had a countdown going to the big game.

Wednesday rolled around and rain was in the forecast. Hopefully nothing but maybe a rain delay. Oh no. Right as the guys got into St. Louis, they called the game and postponed it until Thursday! I felt so bad. They walked to the stadium anyway and when to the gift shop where Pa bought Daniel a bat and ball. Then they went to Steak and Shake before coming home. Unfortunately, neither Kent nor Jacob could go on Thursday which was when the game was rescheduled, so Mommy and Mimi came to the rescue. Neither one of us imagined we'd be taking Daniel to his first game. Both of us felt so bad for Kent and Jacob, but we were also excited and wanted to make the whole day special for Daniel.

We ended up with beautiful weather. A bit cold at times, but mostly it was wonderful. The sun was shining. Mimi bought Daniel some gifts, and we got him a hot dog and popcorn. He did amazingly well. He made it a full 2 hours before you could see he was getting antsy, but he  never complained! Too bad the Cubs beat us though!







The next day Daniel went to preschool, while I was at home madly packing so we could leave by 1:00 to once again go back to St. Louis! This time for Kendra's marathon. We had planned a whole weekend. Daniel was counting down to that as well and was excited about spending 3 nights instead of 2 at the hotel.

I picked him up from school and when we got home he went in and sat on the couch. He said he was hungry so I made lunch, which he hardly touched. He then went right back to the couch and sat there in silence. No TV. I was getting nervous, but he told me he felt fine.

Kendra texted to say they were running late and wouldn't be there until 3, so I decided instead of leaving at 1, we'd leave at 1:30. Only by the grace of God did it happen that way! At 1:25, Daniel bolted off the couch and threw up on the floor while running to the bathroom. He made it to the toilet, but stood...and lets just say there was a very large splash zone. I cannot imagine being 30 minutes down the road and having that happen in the van!

Needless to say, St Louis was out of the question and I spent the rest of the day half being okay and half feeling sorry for myself. As it turned out, Mom and Kendra were losing their minds in traffic half the time anyway!

I wanted to be there so badly to cheer Kendra on, on Sunday. Especially because she wasn't going to run it, but  I convinced her to. Jacob had a music event all day Saturday, but he was kind enough to take over sick kid duty when he got home at 3, which allowed James and I to go to St. Louis for the night.

The trip down went great. We arrived at the hotel and made our way up to our room on the 11th floor. Our favorite place to stay. James was excited about EVERYTHING. I think he was soaking it all in and enjoyed getting everyone to himself. He thought looking out the windows was the best. He especially loved the "AHHH-CH!" (Arch)



We headed out for supper at The Best Steakhouse. It was not at all what I had envisioned. In our minds we were going to a steakhouse. A place where you sit down and order. We walked in to a line out the door. Okay. We can handle this. Then we hear this guy yelling, "NEXT!" "NEXT!" What the? So we figure out that you're supposed to know your order in line and shout it out! Have you ever watched Seinfeld, because I felt like we were about to have a Soup Nazi moment. It was hot. I had no idea what we were doing. Finally we get mom to yell our orders, because we're 5 and can't do such things. Seriously, this was not good for anxiety. My heart was racing. Anyway...after a very long wait we finally had food. Not gonna lie. It was DELISH and totally worth the wait!






By this time it time to head back to the hotel and start getting ready for bed. James had a great time running between our adjoining rooms. We had 2 rooms because mom had reserved 2 for Saturday night so that Kendra could actually get a good night of sleep, Last year James kept waking us all up! We all chatted until around 9 and then James and I went in our room. I let him snuggle in bed with me until he fell asleep and then moved him to his pack n play, in hopes of a peaceful night of sleep before our fun day ahead...





To Be Continued...