Like I said, my visit to my friend's was quite an experience:


My daughter got her hand stuck to a sticky mouse trap, and trying to get it off was an effort.

The bed rail came off while I was on the bed getting ready to nurse my son. Got around to fixing it a while later.

Instead of outpatient, P ended up being inpatient.

I turned on the oven to bake something, pizza left there burned, dripped, set off the smoke alarms, alerted the security company and the fire department. I got to speak with a real, live fireman.

Visited my friend while managing a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old, driving back and forth for naps and not having a needed schedule, resulting in cranky children and haggard mother.

I did some laundry, went to dry it, found a not so clean rug in a dirty dryer. Lugged the broken vacuum down, and wrestled with it to vacuum out the dirt.

My children didn't sleep very well (though that's not unusual) and robbed me of sleep.

My husband came to give me relief from children. (Another reason I love him.)

Argued with Kashi about going upstairs or coming down, going outside or coming in.

Became increasingly disgusted with the treatment P received from that hospital. And I thought she'd be safer there. What a misconception that was.

P and I got to see our favorite movie, "Independence Day," and played a few games of Phase Ten Dice.

I was there to be with P and give her support. And it was worth it. I'd do it all again. Except I'd bring my own vacuum.

My son felt the need to eat at midnight, the exact time I decided to go to bed. I don't really like to be interrupted from my plans for slumber. And really not by a crying baby, who has quite a piercing cry.

So, I gave in and fed him, and then I got to go to sleep.

This trip to my friend P's house has not been a typical trip. It wasn't suppose to be. I came to be a support for her during surgery. No plans for movies, games, or our normal fun.

It started out at 11:30 pm last night. I had a Get Together and left after it was over. It was a late drive. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I made it. I had a book on tape, but it didn't really help me to stay wake. I had to stop twice to take a break.

When I got to her house last night at 2:30 pm, the children were both awake. They believed it to be time to stay awake. After nursing my son a bonus feeding, he proceeded to cry and carry on when I put him in the travel crib. I ended up going out to my car to get the bouncy seat. J loves it. He finally quit crying. E still had wide eyes. She fussed and didn't want to go to sleep. I gave her two books and told her she didn't have to go to sleep, but she needed to stay in bed. I, however, felt quite strongly about sleeping and closed my eyes and was out. A while later, I roused to see both children sleeping. Since they had finally succumbed to sleep, I continued on in my slumber.

The children were gracious enough to sleep until 8:30. Then while I was getting ready to nurse J on the bed, the bed rail came off and the mattress and box spring fell to the floor. I pried myself off the crooked bed and proceeded with nursing my son on the other bed. Just as I was finishing up with my son, I noticed my daughter fooling around with something. She took it to the bathroom, and I heard rustling. When she came to where I was - upon my request, I saw she had a pest trap stuck to her hand. After I wrestled the thing off, I had to go figure out how to get the sticky stuff off her hand. It was quite coated. Four cleaners later - soap, alcohol, nail polish remover, and mineral spirits - her hand was glue free, and she was admonished to not touch things she finds on the floor.

Some time that morning, I hefted the mattress and box spring off the frame, reattached the side rail, and hefted it all back together.

I wanted to have us all ready to leave by 10:00. I got E some Cheerios and milk to start her off, while I began gathering everything we would need. I put together a bag for E and a bag for J and a bag for me. I made E oatmeal and fed it to her, so I didn't have the big clean up job as when she eats on her own. I had put off getting my own oatmeal and had to shovel it down my throat so we could get going.

We made it to the P's house with time for my daughter to become acclimated before I left her there. She really wouldn't do well at sitting in a waiting room for a couple of hours. So, she got to play while I got to sit.

I was there for support for my friend, as this surgery was very hard for her to allow. But she made it there. She walked through those doors and stayed.

She was suppose to come home today, yet I sit at home while she is still there. She made it through the surgery just fine, but it was the waking up and recovery that was the problem. It took her longer than normal to come around and understand where she was and why she was there. She also had trouble staying awake, even if she in the middle of a conversation. She ended up staying over night. As much as she might want to come home, she just might be safer at the hospital.

After I thought my friend was good hands, I collected my children from their caregivers and headed back to P's house. It was past dinner time and we still needed to eat. McDonald's it was. And finally the kids were in bed, and I could take a moment for myself.

This is it. If I can't get $500 worth of sales for Creative Memories by the end of April, I am deactivated. I have two Get Togethers scheduled. I hopefully will have enough sales. If my sales don't get to $500, I think I may end up making up the difference myself. I don't want to be deactivated.

I am having trouble getting beck into since my son was born. It's been 5 months. I didn't anticiapte in taking this long. But I am not giving up.

We bought our "new" car. It's a 2003 Honda CR-V. I like it very much. I went shopping today and had no trouble fitting everything in the back. Getting the kids in and out is a snap, too.

Now G needs to sell his Del sol. He is rather heart broken over that. He likes his little two seater. But it is an unpracticle family car.

I have traveled to North Carolina. My aunt lives there, and since my sister had off the week before Easter, we decided to head on down and see her. We also took a jaunt of to Wilmington to see my cousin.

We had a long drive down and back. The visit was nice. We went to two parks. The weather was nice (80s) for two of the days and then grew a bit colder.

J rolled over (back to front) for the first time. I have some video footage (which unfortunately was over top part of my daughter nursing her baby.) Yes, I forgot to check where the video tape was until I already started taping.

My aunt had hidden several plastic eggs for E to find. In the eggs were coins. E made a good bit of money for a 2 and a half year old. Especially when she found the change in my aunt's car, which she helped herself to.

While at the second park we rode a carousel and a miniature train. We walked through a mini zoo. E got to see snakes, turtles, deer, bear, foxes, a donkey, chickens. She also spent some hard earned cash (collected from my aunt's change in the car) on a very small piece of python skin.

We also fed some ducks and geese. We didn't care much for the geese. They tend to be a bit too aggressive for youngsters. I had a duck eat out of my hand.

On Wednesday, we went to visit our cousin. My sister got a speeding ticket. We walked on the beach, and J got to touch the ocean for the first time. He cried - it was cold. Once accustomed to the sand, E had a blast. She ran to and fro, not venturing much into the surf. Like I said, it was cold. But if the water moving back and forth wasn't a bit daunting to her, I think she may have gotten wetter. She did manage to acquire a seashell from a lady and had a conversation with some mothers laying on the beach just within reach of the surf. She tried to join them, but I stopped her. We didn't have a change of clothes. I missed capturing all of this, because when we left S's apartment, I thought to myself, we are only going to lunch, I won't need my camera. Lesson learned? A mother shouldn't go anywhere on vacation without her camera.

Heading back to my aunt's at 11:45 PM was foolish. I was driving, while everybody else slept. I had a very hard time staying awake. Very hard. My eyes were only half open sometimes. A dangerous way to travel. But we did make it back with no incidents.

All in all, it was a good visit.