My Thursday Activities

So I had an exciting day yesterday. And unfortunately it is the only thing going on around here to blog about.

I got to spend the day at doctors offices and the ER. And it wasn't for my kids, which is the good news. I woke up at 5am wed morning with horrible stomach pains. I went to the bathroom because I thought maybe I was going to be sick, but then couldn't get up off the floor because I hurt so incredibly bad. So I sat there for over an hour and I think I dozed off. But in the morning it wasn't much better, so Ben made me call the doctor.

No, I am no good at taking medically care of myself. Isn't that a normal Mom Trait? My kids all have their scheduled appts and take any medicine right on schedule and finish all of it (although that part I have to give credit to the Pharmacist in the family), the eat a pretty balanced diet and even chew a Flintstone every morning! But me? uh, not so much. Vitamins quit when I got to quit taking prenatals (which make me sick), and my diet.... lets just say "yea, I need to be on one!"

So I was procrastinating to call the doc. For several legitimate reasons, I feel. #1 is that she is in south Tulsa and I found out is only working on fridays now. and #2 is that I was kinda waiting around to see if it was a huge gas pain or something! How embarrassing would that be??? ("Hi doc, I have this really bad stomach pain, oh,.... excuse me... its all better now")

Anyway, I found a doc (Dr Yancy Galutia) here in town and REALLY liked him. (He told me he would pray for me and did a wonderful follow-up call personally this morning) He did x-rays, and blood work and all kinds of other things and thought it was my appendix. So he sent me to the hospital to get a CT scan. I had to go in thru the ER to get that done. So, I was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency of St John Owasso. They were very nice and pretty fast, all things considered. I got in, triaged, evaluated, ct scan done and discharged all in about 2 hours.

So it apparently WASN'T my appendix. But they don't know what it is. And yes, I say IS, because it still hurts. Granted, not near as bad, but painful none the less. I did find out, via CT Scan that I have cysts on my ovaries. I didn't realize that that is almost "normal" for most women. And that might be the source of the pain. So I guess I will take it day by day and just sit back and be thankful to God that I am not in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy, or worse, exploratory surgery.

Flashback Friday

This is me when I was Christened in 1974 and my mom and dad.


This is Keira in the very same Christening gown in 2006.

AHHHHHHHHH.....

A huge sigh of relief. Ben and I got a vacation. Together. Without kids. It was amazing. I bought my mom a plane ticket, as bribery for her to come. Then we split the kids and gave two to mom and two to Ben's mom. It was much less stressful for everyone that way. I wasn't worried, because I knew everyone was well taken care of and no moms would have to go to the loony-bin when we returned!
Ben and I drove to St Louis for our first ever vacation alone (for more than just one night) since our honeymoon. It is a great city. Only 5 1/2 hours away and lots of stuff to do.We went to dinner at Mike Shannon's and then straight to the Cardinal's game and had a great time. I forgot how much I love baseball! We had great seats and saw Albert Pujols up close. (Chandler's favorite player!) Our hotel was right downtown and we walked around downtown and under the Arch after the game to check out the "nightlife". And we confirmed that we are getting old and called it a night. The next morning, after our room service breakfast, we went to tour the Arch. They have a huge museum under it. And I mean, literally "under"- underground! Then you can take a "tram" up to the top of the Arch. Yea, well, I didnt really think that thru when I agreed to it. The Arch is not very big as it gets higher. It really did not register on how we were actually going to reach the top. I did see the windows in the top and they looked awfully small. But I was thinking maybe an elevator, or lots of stairs or something. No. A space pod, I tell ya.
Amazingly small. 5 people fit in this and your head touched the rounded roof. It was a ball that we were riding in. It ratcheted us to the top and then we got out. I really had to talk to myself the whole way. There was a little girl, about 4 yrs old, in the tram with us and she was fine. So I said C'mon Gina, you can do it. Once we reached the top it was really cool up there. An amazing view. But it was, of course, sloped up there. It was not flat, you were climbing the arc of the Arch on top. Very cool.
You can actually see the bottom legs of the Arch in this picture (above).This girl probably thought I was crazy for taking her picture, but it is actually to show the arc of the floor and roof. Everyone is bent over looking out the tiny windows to the ground some 600 feet below.
For the rest of the day we just relaxed and did what we wanted, with no time schedule or nap schedule or feeding schedule! It was amazingly liberating! We went to a great restaurant recommended by my friend Rachel Ray. Ok, so she isn't my "friend" but she sure does have great taste in food!! It was called Cunetto's House of Pasta . It was delicious! Then we walked around a huge park to make room for dessert. Another place Rachel Ray recommended was The Chocolate Bar. Again, amazing. Really good chocolate drinks and desserts. Ben had this brownie with a caramelized banana on it. Crazy good!
The next day we went to another great restaurant called Rooster owned by the same guy as the chocolate bar and had a wonderful breakfast. I would totally recommend ALL of those places if you ever get to St Louis.
I even enjoyed the ride home. Five hours in a car with just your spouse is actually enjoyable. He didnt even ask "Are we there yet?" Its great to reconnect and rediscover why you married that person. I DO enjoy his company. I almost forgot how much.

The Boys' Fishing Trip

Chandler and Ben went on a fishing trip. They went to Skiatook lake and fished for Hybrid. There were four people, Chandler and three adults. Chandler caught the most fish! And the biggest one, too! It was a 5 pounder! Ben said he was absolutely flipping out when he was reeling it in. He was hysterical! He caught 5 fish! And each one of the adults caught one a piece! He said on the way home "I cant believe I caught more fish than all of the adults combined!!" He had a great time! Now it is time for a fish fry.

Wordless Wednesday

What a group of misfits look like...

I have been wanting to post about our summer vacation in Vancleave but dont really have any great pictures. NOW I do! My sister started her blog and I copied this picture. It is all of us together. We were missing one of my nieces and her kids, but that was it. (we sure missed you tons, Shawna!) My mom and dad, all of my siblings (4 including me), all of our spouses, and our kids and some of them have kids of their own! So my mom and dad had 4 1/2 great grandchildren there! (one due in Sept!) It was a great time! We all had a ton of fun and look forward to doing it again next year!
Check out my favorite big sisters blog here!