Weekend Getaway...What Every Mom Needs!

This past weekend I flew out to Cleveland to be 1/2 of a surprize for my friend's bridal shower. I had been tossing the idea around for too long as to whether or not I was going to splurge and go after buying the house and plane tickets/hotel room for the wedding. With a little nudge from a fellow friend and bridesmaid, I decided I had better go. I mean afterall if the tables were turned I would have been a little bummed if 2 of my 4 bridesmaids couldn't have made it. Carol, another bridesmaid, who lives in North Carolina also decided to finally come and she made up the other 1/2 of the surprize. So my adventure began really Thursday night with the dropping of the "goods" (i.e. Morgan) off to my parents. We usually always meet 1/2 way to make the exchange and normally 1/2 way would be an hour and half at most, but this trip took 2 hours! Needless to say we got exchanged and back home in time for Kyle not to have missed too much of the cubs game (in which they would finally blow all 3!).

After a hectic morning of getting laundry finished so I would have enough clothes to wear (and a couple options) and finally packing everything, I was off to the airport to catch my flight. I had two bags.....why two? One of the bags had my aerobed, sheets, and a pillow b/c I knew there would be 5 girls and two beds - I wanted to make sure I had a comfy one in my condition! The flight was uneventful and honestly, I forgot how fast it is to get there. Once I got there, I met up with one of my girlfriends who had also flown in from being gone all week and we headed home. It was a nice time of catching up, and laughter that was much overdue for me! And that night I went to bed (not really sleeping) thanking the Lord for his love and such a nice time.

Saturday we got up and hung out for a while before finally getting ready and making arrangements for how we were going to meet Gina for lunch and surprize her. It wasn't easy and without drama and a mild heartattack for Tanya, who had worked so hard to pull it off. So Tanya, Jen and I met Carol at a gas station close to the restaurant we were going to eat at. I hopped out of the car and got in with Carol in her car and waited for the okay to come to the restaurant. We were as giddy as could be. Once we got to the restaurant we scoped out where the girls were and planned our entrance. Then finally we stood up and casually walked down the aisle towards their table, eyes fixed on Gina! Her face and expression was worth a million words! She was in such shock and disbelief all the drama and planning had paid off.

We had a great time eatting and then we went to the spa for our little girls time before the wedding day and then to Gina's house to enjoy our most favorite thing to do....girls night in! We had a blast and were up until I believe nearly 1 am! We had so much fun. We all got great places to sleep and I thought I was going to be just great, until 3 am when I realized I was on the floor instead of a pillow of air! There must have been a small hole in my bed. I ended up pumping that darn thing up 2 more times that night and of course heard about it the next morning!

Gina's shower was great and I couldn't imagine being surrounded by a better group of friends and family than hers! She and Brent got so many wonderful things - they really made out well! It was such a good time and an even more relaxing evening.

The next morning Gina and her mom and I went out for breakfast before seeing me off to my plane. It was wonderful. God was so faithful to calm my nerves about leaving Morgan and being with the girls and being able to enjoy the time. My flight home though was a little rough, but thankfully God had found me a seat next to another believer. She and I got to talking about the last 20 mins or so about our bible studies and so on. During that time we experienced a whole lot of turbulance and the plane was all over for some reason. Before I knew it I was so hot and couldn't get cooled down, and then the spitty taste in my mouth came. Next thing I knew I was rummaging for the paper bag and throwing up like crazy! I was a little shocked as it takes a lot to make me sick, but I imagine it was b/c I was pregnant that it happened. The lady was so wonderful to me. She was fanning me one minute and rubbing my back the next as I was getting sick! She was truly an angel! She didn't even leave my side until we got down to baggage claim.

All in all I had such a great time and trip. And I felt so refreshed, despite my lack of sleep for the weekend, when I got home. I think that every mom needs a little girls time of r & r to re-energize after such a nice trip!

What We Have Been Doing This Summer - Part II

ARTS & CRAFTS ADDITION
Shortly after the ladies opening day, Lindsay, our assistant’s wife and I began hammering away on a new addition to the camp program, the arts & crafts. Little did we know, how much work and preparation it would be. The camp was 9 weeks long, 4 days a week. We made themes for each week and had specific projects planned out. We had over 40 campers each week, split into two, one hour sections. We had the younger kids from ages 3 to an early 6 and then from a late 6 to 10. By the first week, we realized what our campers would be able to do and what they would not be able to do. We had no idea that 3 and 4 year olds did not know how to use scissors!!! And so, we became really nervous about the projects we had planned for the entire summer, which we ended up changing some, and others we decided to prep by cutting out materials (which took hours). We also went shopping each week for our supplies. This made it easier to plan, but the trade off was, every other weekend, one of us would be shopping for the supplies – not having much of a weekend to relax. Then at times we would have to run during the week for extra supplies for campers added or things we weren’t able to get. It took up our lives for those 9 weeks. We certainly had our ups and downs throughout the camp and learned to manage difficult children and reward good behavior. We were never so happy to see the last day of camp come! It was a handful for us, but in the end, the arts and crafts was the most liked program for camp this year. I am starting to plan now for next year and would love any ideas you may have!

SMALL GROUP
On a personal note, I had to temporarily withdraw from my small group. This was very upsetting to me, b/c it had been the one thing I looked forward to doing every week. But it was just too difficult to try and balance all the craziness of the summer in my life with trying to find someone to watch Morgan or plan on whether or not Kyle would be home to watch her. Plus I was still recovering from the nausea, and generally felt my worst in the evening. Thankfully, I am back and enjoying being part of the group again.

THE STORM OF THE CENTURY
As the culmination of camp came, so we were able to see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak with the winding down of a very full golf season. Even though everyone on staff was looking forward to less crazed days, we never expected the weather we had in August. It was the worst month we could have imagined. The weather was shaky to begin with, with lots of rain that closed to course frequently, not to mention the huge storm we had. I can’t remember specifically the date, but it was a Thursday afternoon and we knew there was going to be some active weather coming. However, I don’t know how seriously we took it, just b/c every time it was supposed to rain during the season, we would somehow not get hit. But this storm changed the course of the season. It came so quick and left equally as quick. The sky was getting very black and our caddie master had just come in to tell us a tornado had touched down about 45 mins away and coming at about 80 –90 mph our direction. I debated whether or not to go get Morgan and bring her back to the club, b/c there was no way I would have gotten home in time. Before I knew it, it was raining and the wind had picked up, and within seconds the storm was upon us. The huge picture windows in the shop were moving in and out violently and in anticipation that they were going to break, everyone ran to kyle’s office (aka the bomb shelter, b/c there are no windows and it is a very small room in the very back of the shop). It lasted about 15 mins and I believe winds were about 90 mph. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. Trees were everywhere and water was standing all over the course. I wanted to leave and get Morgan as soon as it passed, but there was a down power line at the back gate and about 5 trees lying across the main entrance. I tried to call the daycare, but the phone lines were down and power was out everywhere. Eventually, I was able to make it to the daycare in time. As I drove home I couldn’t believe the damage all over. The weather was pretty shaky the rest of the night too. The result from this storm of the century, was the eventual closing of the back nine of the golf course for the remainder of the season. Sadly, it has also hurt our business in the golf shop, b/c we just don't have the traffic that we normally get. On the other hand, hopefully this will be the worst weather we will see in the 30 some years we plan to be at the club.

THE AFTERMATH AND FLOOD
By the next day the main entrance, b/c we have a major river running through the golf course up to the main entrance, was covered in water. Not just a little, a lot – to the point you couldn’t drive through it. We get flooding on the course frequently b/c we are near the end of this river. So as everyone else drys the water flows down to us. Although, we never get it to this extreme. The flooding of the entrance had happened one other time earlier in August, and had not happened before for over 35 years! The damage was unreal. All over surrounding suburbs was destruction – trees down everywhere, people without power for days to a week. Everyone seemed to be going through some degree of clean up. We heard about people’s basements flooding that had never flooded before. At home we had lost power. And during the 12 hours that it was out we learned about sump pumps. Evidently the sump pump works here for up to 6 hours on back up without power, thereafter it stops. We ended up with about 4 inches of water in our basement! And I discovered that we flooded when I went down to get a box – my tennis shoes were squishing! We lost a portion of the things we were storing downstairs. All Morgan’s clothes (which were in plastic boxes), her crib, our wedding album (even though it was up high, it fell because the boxes under it got too wet and collapsed), seasonal things, toys, and boxes my dad labeled, “Taylor’s Junk,” are a snap shot of things we had been storing down there. We were able to save a lot of things like Morgan’s clothes, the crib (thank God!), most of our wedding pictures, but the album was lost. We got rid of a lot of toys too. Oh, and yes some of those boxes that said Taylor’s Junk! Although, Kyle was hoping for more, I think he was happy to see some of it go! All our basement dwellings are now residing in the garage in anticipation of their new destination.

So this pretty much sums up my summer. I am so thankful that it is over on one hand, b/c the intensity of it all can certainly put a strain on life as a family, but on the other hand I have all this free time and not sure what to do with it. Although, Morgan and I stay somewhat busy during the fall and winter, it helps to have things to do each day to break up the monotony. More on our winter plans later!