Not quite according to plan

As much as I might not like to admit it, I am a planner. I'd much rather be able to say that I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl, but I wouldn't be able to do it with much conviction. Don't get me wrong - parenthood has taught me and continues to teach me lessons in flexibility, something that I am coming to expect more and more, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am comfortable with it. Maybe one day I will be and maybe one day, when plans go awry, I won't come undone. Maybe "undone" is an exaggeration, but for now, I would much rather things go just as I see them in my head.

Specifically, our last trip home, from which we are still settling in, took a few unexpected twists and turns.

Our initial reason for going home was so that Sabian could marry off two fun, young kids. The bride, Robbie, was a member of our church in Illinois and had met her fiance, Tony, while we were still at that church. The rest, as the say, is history, and they asked Sabian to perform their wedding as well as lead them through their premarital counseling.

I had the privilege of sitting in on these sessions (which we did via Gmail chat - technology, sheesh!), which gave me the opportunity to take a step back and look back at the almost four years that I have been married. Topics we talked about were some of the same we discussed in mine and Sabian's premarital counseling and I have to say, I was a little ashamed at some of the things I haven't even thought of or been practicing. It also made me humbly realize what a patient and forgiving husband I have!

If I may say so, Sabian did a great job during the wedding, as well as getting things together during the rehearsal. I think I was more nervous than he was! We really enjoyed it and were glad to be a part of Tony and Robbie's day.


The next event was Addie's birthday party the next day. I'll post separately about this. So far things were going according to The Plan. The day after Addie's party Sabian flew back to Florida and Addie and I were staying for a few more days to hang out.

In a nutshell, "hanging out" meant me getting sick with a weird, 12 hour stomach bug (thankfully Addie missed out on that), minivan troubles leaving us sans transportation for a couple of days, Sabian's great grandmother passing away, and the beginning of Addie's bout with yuckiness.

Due to Sabian's great grandmother passing away he flew back a few days earlier than originally planned and we spent a couple of days in Missouri. The van was fixed just in time for me to pick him up from the airport the night he arrived and we left the next morning for Columbia.

During all of this Addie had developed a fever that we were treating as best as we knew how being away from our doctor. We tried Tylenol, then called the doctor and tried Tylenol and Motrin, and when that didn't work and we were at our wit's end, we called again and made an appointment for the morning we rolled into town. Our arrival went like this:

Wewa city limits: 8:30 a.m. after driving all night and realizing one of Addie's ears was oozing pus.

Doctor: 11:00 a.m.: crying in the waiting room, crying on the scale, crying during examination.

Verdict: ear infection in one ear and ruptured ear drum in the other.

Noon: pharmacy and off to purchase a humidifier, which seemed to help while we were at my mom's.

1:00 ish: home to administer antibiotics and maybe get some sleep.

Thankfully I believe we have rounded the corner on this sickness, although we are still dealing with a stuffy nose, which makes sleep more of a luxury around here these days. Our first couple of nights back Addie had established a new bedtime of midnight, which was none too pleasing to me. But, I have continued to remind myself of what it feels like when I do not feel well and I'd imagine Addie has felt much the same. Again, more lessons in patience and flexibility.

We did squeeze in some fun while we home, of course, and it is always good to see familiar faces.

Addie had her first ride on a carousel (this picture was taken before the attendant told Sabian he was not supposed to be riding a horse himself):

And we met Sabian's mom at one of our favorite places in St. Louis, Forest Park, before he flew back to Florida:


I sure do miss that place.

We did get to do more, we just didn't get to do all that we wanted to do.

So, we're back. It's been a week and although we're physically "settled" in, I'm still experiencing the readjustment that comes from having visited home and being back here. Sunny skies help and a smiling, sweet, getting better girl helps, too, but there's still a hole. Sigh.

However, I am thankful today for a beautiful day and for the chance to get out and about. Cabin fever, anyone?