Thursday morning we headed out at about 5am. We had to stop about 30 minutes out to meet up with dh’s brother and his wife and their kid. We rode with FIL & MIL at their insistance. They paid for the cottage and we paid for gas…. we would have gotten off cheaper offering to pay for the cottage and all meals!! We spent an insane amount of money on gas. Anyway, about an hour or so into the trip, we had to pull over because we lost BIL & SIL and had to wait for them to catch up. FIL had a Garmin and was using that, but all they had was a printout from mapquest.

When we got to about Chatanooga (?) we had to go up this mountain. The higher we got, the more sick Aaron got. FIL/MIL decided to stop at the top of the mountain to get McDonald’s for lunch (blah, I hate McDonalds!) As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Aaron was throwing up. We got him all cleaned up, ate lunch and got back on the road. Someone made a wrong turn somewhere around Atlanta and put another hour onto our driving time. Not too long after that, the kids were getting restless. FIL brought an adapter to hook the laptop into the cigarette lighter so the kids could watch dvds. He gave that to me and I plugged it in. Not long after that, both the laptop and the Garmin died (from lack of power.) Turned out a fuse had blown. FIL still can’t get his Garmin to work right again, though.

We got lost somewhere around Savannah and pulled into Ft. Mcallister about 2 hours or so behind schedule. We got a really cute cottage there and was relieved to finally be out of the car. I was really impressed with how well the kids did on the ride down there. We ordered a pizza for dinner then crashed. The next morning, we woke up in time to see the sunrise over the marsh, behind palmettos and spanish moss. It was beautiful. We did a little shopping later that morning at the Savannah Mall. I picked up some dum-dums in a candy shop to keep the kids busy. That afternoon, we went to the wedding rehearsal at Bamboo Farm & Coastal Gardens in Savannah. It’s a very beautiful place! I was getting some pictures of the kids and had Aaron stand by a statue. As soon as I took the picture, he started crying and we saw all these wasps around him. He was stung multiple times and was crying quite a bit. We waited a bit and looked like he was going to be fine, so we took off to the Bride’s parents’ house for the rehearsal dinner. On the way there, Aaron started acting funny. He was twitching and all of a sudden, his eyes closed and he went limp. I panicked!! All these horrible things were going through my head. He has never been stung before, and even though he wasn’t swelling up I was scared he was having a reaction. Mike was in the back seat with him and got him woke up and he was fine, but it was very scary! I guess he was having a reaction to the benadryl instead of the wasp stings.

The next day was the wedding, which was very nice, and so was the reception. It was catered by Sticky Fingers. If you ever get a chance to eat there, do it!! OMG, that was some yummy food. I love Southern food! Except Low Country Boil, I decided I didn’t like that. Then Sunday morning, we got up early and finally headed to Savannah. We went through Historic Savannah which was gorgeous!! I loved it, wish I could have taken a tour. After we left there, we went to Tybee Island. It was pretty cold, and I didn’t bring a change of clothes, so I stayed what I thought was a safe distance back on the beach. I took lots of pictures and videos. All of a sudden, out of nowhere I felt my butt wet and realized quickly that I was not far enough on the beach. I stood up really fast, threw the in-laws bags and cameras as far up the beach as I could, and then mine. Their electronics were okay. Mine weren’t so lucky. My phone didn’t even get wet, but I guess it got sand in it, and it’s ruined. Mike is taking it to Verizon today to see if I can get it replaced. My camera was around my neck, but somehow it died, too. Of course, it’s just under 2 weeks out of it’s warranty, so I’m pretty screwed.

When we left the beach, we went to The Crab Shack which was very nice! Very tasty Snow Crab if you ever have the chance to eat there. The kids enjoyed seeing the Alligators and Macaws. When we left, we went back to the beach, but it had gotten much windier and colder. We got back that evening and just relaxed. We got up yesterday morning and I swear that was the best day of the entire trip. I sat out on the back deck in a rocking chair and relaxed, waiting on the in laws to get up. We had packed the night before so everything was ready to go. We stopped at a BP station not too far from Ft McAllister and I got the best cup of coffee that I had ever tasted. I picked up a book (Forever Odd by Dean Koontz) and had almost finished it by the time we got home. The ride home was so much quicker, too! We stopped in Tennesse to get gas, and when we finally found a station that actually had it, Mike bought a lotto ticket just for the heck of it (we hardly ever buy one) and got $100. I was never so happy to be back in Southern Illinois!!! Then when we pulled up, Mike noticed the truck and van both had flat tires and he thought they were slashed (there were some kids doing that not too long ago.) Fortunately, the van was actually fine and he had just ran over a nail in his truck.

So that’s our trip. Not really so much fun, wish it was better. I really tried to have a good time, but it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

I am so glad to be home!!

The cottage (up on stilts!):

Early morning view from our cottage:




On top of a mountain in Tennessee:


Aaron got sick on top of that mountain, poor guy!


Waiting for the sun to rise over the bay while sitting on the back deck:




Nick under the cottage (it was on stilts!)


Annie:


Nick & Wall-E


Annie again:


At Bamboo Farm in Georgia


Don’t they look thrilled?


Just seconds before Aaron was swarmed by wasps and stung multiple times:


Me & Dh with Aaron, Nick took the pic!


Dh & Annabelle:


Watching the turtles:








Nick’s ready for bed after partying hard at the wedding reception:


Aaron’s just being plain silly:




Historic Savannah:












Tybee Island, Georgia
The kids’ first time seeing the ocean:










The Crab Shack:

Me with the in-laws:

I have called the health center every day since last Tuesday and I stil have no results. I was actually there today because I had to take the boys for their physicals and I requested copies of the results, and they still would not give them to me. I had to sign a release form and they said to try back tomorrow. Ugh. I’m so frustrated right now. It’s never this hard. Anytime one of us has bloodwork or whatever, I just call and get the results. This time, they won’t give them to me, they say the doctor hasn’t released it. What’s the hold up? Oh, in case you were wondering, the boys’ physicals were uneventful. They are doing great.

On to other news, September is approaching fast. This is not good. I feel a little more anxious each day, and have started Wellbutrin again. If I know myself, here in about 3 weeks, I’ll probably start to go downhill emotionally and this really does help. I haven’t been to the cemetery since last September, for her birthday. Not Christmas, or even Memorial Day. I just haven’t went. Life has gotten very busy and it’s hard for me to make it over there. I will make time soon. Probably in September. We’ll take her daisies and balloons, as usual. I can’t believe she would have been five this year. How does time slip away like that?

Mom & I painted Annabelle’s new room. It’s pink and purplish-blue. It’s really cute. After it’s done, I’ll post pics. For now it’s a work in progress.

The boys’ birthday party was fun. They had a Buzz Lightyear Pizza Party. I can’t believe they are 4. Seems like yesterday we were fighting to keep them from being born too early.

We’re having a yard sale this weekend to raise money for The MOM Project. We have a ton of stuff… hopefully that will bring in some money! I’m pricing everything super cheap so it moves fast!

They are just two things I’m dealing with this week!

Yesterday I had some bloodwork done because I’m still not losing weight, despite trying practically everything short of a gastric bypass. I’m a month out on Alli, and I managed to lose only 2-3 lbs. That’s just not right. I got a TSH done as well as a T3 and T4. They are also doing a complete metabolic test to check my kidneys, liver, glucose and all that good stuff. I should get the results on August 11th - provided I can get my health insurance back by then, it ends on July 31 and I’m scrambling trying to get it reinstated.

Anyway…

I also decided to sell Bittersweet candles again! These really are the best candle around. Book a party with me, and you won’t be let down! I’ll post more details later about hostess specials. I’m waiting on my goods to come in first to get all my ducks in a row. I’m also launching a new site to promote the candles, as well as my bags and other miscellaneous items. Yep, I’m going into business again! Stay tuned for the site!

As you know, our kids have battled lead poisoning for three years now. It has been a long road with the EPA making visits to test our house, walls, floors, and even the soil outside of our house. It all started after routine blood tests showed the boys had elevated levels on their first birthday. Over the next couple years, the levels topped off at up to 24. Nick and Annabelle had the highest levels, and they have the most delays today.

We have had to paint the interior of our house and then coat it with polyeurathane, paint the front porch, clean all of their toys with a solution made of powdered cascade, and plant new grass. They strongly advised us to put new siding on the house and even bring in new dirt for the yard and said that our children should not play outside until this was done. The kids have had to have regular blood tests. Over the past year, we’ve seen their levels go way down, and Nick remained elevated. About 6 months ago, his level was 10, which was borderline. I was due to take him back in April, but he got sick and I put it off.

Last Wednesday, I finally took him back in. I was so scared, sure that his level was going to be even higher. I called on Thursday to get the results, and as of closing time, they still weren’t in. I called several times on Friday, and finally they called me back late that afternoon with the results.

Nick’s level was 6.

Finally, after all of this hard work, the worries, everything, we are done!! Nick has to have another blood test before his fifth birthday, but other than that, we do not have to deal with this any more! I just cannot say how relieved we are.

The night we got the results, we celebrated!!

Now, for the most important thing, how to tell if your house has lead paint in it. You can get home test kits that will tell you if there is lead, but they won’t tell you how much. If your home was built after 1978, it does not have lead paint. If it was built before 1978, it may.

The older the house
(mostly those built before 1950), the better chance. If you are buying a house, ask for a lead inspection before you buy… it may save you from what we’ve had to go through!

Old lead paint often looks like cracked alligator skin. This is often found in window sills and on the exterior. Paint on the inside of the house probably will not look the same, but you may find little hard paint chips that have cracked off.

Here is what lead paint looks like on the exterior of a house:

This concludes my public service announcement.

It was never actually missing, the batteries have just been dead and it took me this long to buy new ones.

The boys had a great time at the pre-k graduation. Leave it to them to be the only ones who wouldn’t stand in line, they had to get in front of everyone and dance. It was funny though. I still don’t think they realize that they aren’t going back. Nick said yesterday that he wanted to go to school, and this morning he said that he misses Logan. The pre-k class is having a potluck tomorrow, so hopefully they’ll have a good time.

The next day we went to Madison’s birthday party, and they had so much fun!

Then, yesterday we went to a BBQ a my mom’s house, so we went across the street to play at the park.