I'm back!

Day 1. We left New Jersey at 1:50, arriving in Zanesville at 10:30 pm. We ended up having to pay a large amount to stay at a Fairfield Inn because all others were booked. The room was nice though, but still too much to pay for such a short stay.

Day 2: We leave Zainesville (OH) around 10:00 am. We arrived in Missouri around 7:00 pm. The girls had mostly been quiet but for some reason when we hit Missouri, all hell broke loose. They were so tired of being in the car and they screamed. We had to stop at every exit to calm them down. We got to my grandmas at 9:30 pm. We were up until 1 am. (This is my grandma Mary, Katherine was named after her.)

Day 3: Today was a pretty relaxing day, for the most part. We didn’t do anything. We sat at my grandmas and played with the girls. They REFUSED to nap. By 5, Karly could not stop herself from full on screaming. She was over stimulated, exhausted and just a mess. I finally had her calm when my sister came and took her. She got a little upset but she was able to calm her down. It was nice seeing my sister finally meet my babies. My aunt, uncle and cousins came over. They all got to meet my sweeties as well. At 10, they were changed and dressed and in bed. I joined soon after.

Day 4: Today was a nice day. We went out, did some shopping and went to lunch. The girls did very well. My mom, other sister and some friends came over. I got to meet my moms boyfriend. He’s okay I guess. It was very hectic. I made dinner for everyone, we ate and then after everyone left, I visited with my grandma and we went to bed.

Day 5: We arrived in Springfield today about 4. We visited with my dad and had dinner. It was nice seeing my dad with the babies, although he said he didn’t know what to do lol.

Day 6: HOT! The weather is so warm for October. I was expecting nice cool fall days. I should of known better. After all, this is Missouri. Today we left for Springfield. It’s about an hour from where we are staying. We are staying at my dads house there until Friday. We went shopping at Bass Pro (my hubby loves it there) and ate at the Incredible Pizza Place. Katherine loved the game room, with all the sounds, people and lights, but Karly didn’t like it so much. I ate too much!

Day 7: Another hot day. Today we left Springfield and headed down in Waynesville to see my Grandma Gracie. She is the other great grandma to my girls. We spent a few hours there and then went to my moms work so I could visit her for a few. After leaving there, we went to meet and guy I kind of grew up with in my teen years. His name is Kyron. My hubby has a misconstrued image of Kyron and I. He’s just a boy I crushed on so bad, but never started anything with because he was my brothers friend and said I was “like a sister” (gag). Anyway, my husband says he now knows why I like the actors Josh Lucas (sweet home Alabama) and Kevin Costner (you know him) because he looks like “the illegitimate child of the two of them, if that were possible lol. I don’t see it. After that, we headed back to my grandmas.

Day 8: One week down. I can’t believe it’s been a week already. Today is Saturday. We headed back up to Waynesville and spent the day with my mom, sister and grandma Gracie. My mom and grandma bought them the cutest outfits!! My mom and grandma did all the work. They fed them, changed them and rocked them to sleep. I’m really starting to miss my babies. I rarely hold them, unless it’s their 5 am feeding (which they have been doing all week!). Karly is starting to say Mummmmm when she cries. My hubby teases and says we have a British child lol. Katherine is starting to Coo. It’s so precious. Karlys personality is getting much more bubbly. She just loves to laugh and coo, making herself known to everyone. Anyway, we did a lot more shopping, while my mom watched them and then went back to my Grandma Mary’s, visited with my brother and his girlfriend then relaxed. Not to much of that going on.

Day 9: Today was a very nice day. The weather was beautiful and we went to church. I‘ve gone to that church since I was little and it was nice to be back there. My preacher was also my school bus driver. I never got away with anything lol. It was nice to see him and his wife again. I asked my grandma to set up the girls dedications to the Lord. It was a very memorable day. The Lord gave me my babies and today I promised them back. After church, we went to Steak and Shake to meet my sister, her fiancé, my friend and her husband. Very nice day and lots of visiting. After lunch, we headed over to my friends moms house so her mom and dad could meet the girls. This was another AW moment for me because these people were like another set of parents. They were so good to me when I was growing up. I was always welcomed into their home and they always treated me like one of their own. I enjoyed visiting them.


Day 10: The weather is getting a little cooler. Today is not so much a good day. My uncle had to be admitted into the hospital. I’m not sure if I’ve blogged about him before. He had a large tumor removed from his head and they said it contained lung cells but have been unable to find any cancer anywhere. Then they found it in his lymph nodes. He did a bit of chemo and radiation and started natural medicines with a natural healer. He’d been doing great since yesterday but yesterday he started retaining water and today it’s in his lungs and around his heart. They’ll have to drain it. We went up to my moms work to visit her again and then went to lunch. We were going to do a few more things but didn’t get around to it.

Day 11: Today we did a little more shopping (I know!) and went to lunch. We left for Springfield again to visit with my dad some more. I wish he wasn’t so far from my grandmas. My hubby, girls and I, went to a very nice resturant for some quiet family time, then headed to my dads house.

Day 12: We were supposed to visit Branson and do some activities there but it decided to rain. My dad slept most of the day and we went to visit my uncle in the hospital. They said he isn’t doing too well. He has cancer everywhere and it’s a little to late to do anything for it. I am so sad. He’s only 55. The fluid they took out of his heart, contained cancer cells and they can’t to chemo or radiation on the heart. I told him to call cancer centers of america and they told him the same thing! So much for their stupid commercials. The drs have given him 2 months! I’m heartbroken. We left the hospital in pretty poor spirits but were supposed to treat my step mom to dinner for her birthday. We went to the Golden Corral and then came home, watched ghost hunters and Indiana Jones and then went to bed.

Day 13: Today I left my dads house and went back to the hosptial to visit my uncle before leaving Springfield. It’s sad knowing I may not see him again. He looked okay. In 2001, I came home to visit my grandpa and found out he had lung cancer. They told him in June he had 3 months and this was in August. He looked so good that I thought he’d be okay and that I’d see him again. He died 2 weeks later in his sleep. That puts a little fear in you and knowing that, I’m not going to assume that my uncle will be here next year. I hope and pray that he is but I can’t take for granted that he will be. After leaving the hospital, we went to the Childrens Orchard, Bass Pro shop and then headed to lunch before leaving Springfield. Once we got back to my Grandma Marys it was time to head over to my great aunts house to meet my granny madge (yep, the one that made the adorable hats J ). We visited with them for several hours, then I headed back to make dinner. Yes…I’m exhausted! Karly has a tooth coming in I think, she has a bump and is sooo cranky. My sister and her intended came by again and we ate and goofed off.

Day 14. My last day at home. As of today I have driven 680 miles and that’s just from Lebanon, to Sprinfield to Waynesville. That doesn’t include the 1100 miles it took to get here. We took my grandma out to eat and I promised her that I’d show her how to make lasagna before I left, so I did today. My mom and her sister came over and they ate with us. Other than that, I spent the day doing laundry and packing. The girls got so much stuff it was hard to put it all back. They have some adorable outfits (not that they didn’t before).

Day 15: Vacation is over. It’s time to go home. It’s 7 am, and the car is mostly packed. I’m feeling sad. My uncle is supposed to be coming over (they let him come home) and he just lives next door, so I’m not sure when. Then I’m going to return the PNP that my friends mom let me borrow while I was here then I’m heading for my moms house to say bye to her. This is the most painful part. I always cry leaving my dad, then I say bye to my grandma and I cry the hour to my moms house, then I cry for most of the traveling day. BUT this year I have my own family. I’m not just going back to New Jersey, I’m going home with my husband and daughters. I’m going home to enjoy one more week with my girls and then next Monday I start back to work. I’ve never had this before. Every year, I was going back to New Jersey with my husband but to his family, his home and more fertility treatments. Or I was just going back to a lonely home. I still don’t want to leave my family. I always think “will they be here next year?” I know that’s a horrible way to think, but it’s true. God gives you a certain number of years and you have no way of knowing when they are up. So I’ll be leaving in about an hour and should probably start getting up and around.


The trip home was uneventful....thank Goodness. Pics to come later..........