haley's spring break: part 2.

The next morning we got up and took showers and headed down to the hotel restaurant. We were bummed that we wouldn’t be able to take Haley to the zoo – it was too cold even for Polar Bear days and Haley only had a thick cardigan. We would be miserable walking around outside all day.

 

We thought breakfast in the hotel would be fun. I snapped a few pictures of everyone and then we spent time walking around and exploring the rest of the hotel before we had to check out.

 

 

 

 

 

Sue called while we were at breakfast and invited us to come on over whenever.  We spent the rest of the day introducing Haley to Sue, Jim, Ashley, Adrian, and Bella. My heart melted when we walked in the door and Sue hugged Haley like she had always been part of the family.

Sue asks about Haley all the time, talks about how beautiful she is each time I send her pictures, and always tells me to make sure I tell her that she loves her.

I know this hasn’t been an easy transition for Haley (and we’re just getting started), but I love that Travis’s family has embraced her the way they have. Everyone has been that way, from Dee and Steve, to Amanda and Zach to Sue and her family.

We were disappointed that there wasn’t more for us to do to entertain Haley – she wasn’t old enough to go to the movie theater where you can dine while watching and as I mentioned, the zoo didn’t pan out. Hopefully we’ll be able to take a fun trip this summer.

haley's spring break: part 1.

Haley’s spring break was this past week.  Travis and I been hoping to take some time off earlier in the week, but we weren’t able to do so.  On Thursday night I started looking up deals on Expedia for Dallas, Branson, and Oklahoma City. 

Friday rolled around, and we still didn’t have a place to go.  Haley still hadn’t met Sue yet, and since the Grimes family is pretty special to us, we decided on a road trip to Oklahoma City.

We considered staying with Sue and Jim, but wanted to make it feel more like a vacation for Haley, so I hit up Expedia again.  I found a deal for a the Skirvin Hotel, a historic hotel in downtown OKC.  Haley has never been a zoo and we thought that would be a fun activity, too.

We packed suitcases and headed to the Skirvin.  They had a gorgeous pool table posted in their pictures online, so I was looking forward to that for Travis. The hotel has been around since 1911 and rumors are that it is haunted.  Haley couldn't wait to see a ghost.

 

{image not mine: found online by marshall matlock} 

When we got to OKC, it was a little chilly.  We decided to hit up the outlet mall because none of us had been there since it opened.  Turns out it was chillier than we thought.  We were popsicles walking from store to store.  Occasionally we would pop into a store that we weren’t all that interested in just so we could warm up!

One of the first stores was Michaels Kors.  Swoon.  I love my Michael Kors bags.  Haley had sticker shock when we first walked in, but by the time we were leaving the outlet, she was a believer.  There was a gorgeous emerald bag she kept talking about. 

 
After the mall we decided to head over to a Chinese buffet that Travis just loves.  Every few months Travis brings up this Chinese restaurant.  They used to have all you can eat crab legs and the best buffet food (is there such a thing).  We hit up the buffet and got our bellies full – we’re not sure it was the buffet Travis always raves about, though

After dinner we drove around looking for a Target.  When we checked into the hotel, it turned out there was no pool table, but they did have an indoor pool and hot tub.  Unfortunately none of us had brought a swimming suit.  Luckily we were all able to find something. 

We headed back to the hotel room, changed into our suits and headed down to the basement pool.  Turns out the water was FREEZING.  We kept saying, ‘we’ll adjust, we’ll adjust.”  We ddn’t adjust.  Pool little Haley’s lips were turning blue.  I gave up.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  I was counting down the minutes until the hot tub was available.  Finally the group occupying it hopped out and I practically ran to get in.  Haley decided to stick it out in the pool.  I’m still not sure how she did it.  She was huddled up n a ball, even in the water. 

I kept waving to her from the hot tub and trying to convince her to join Travis and me.  She is as blind as a bat without her glasses, though, so half the time she didn’t see me or thought I was just waiving when I was actually signaling for her to come over.  Travis and I got out of the hot tub and went over to the chairs near the pool to talk to her.  She stuck it out for a little longer and was finally ready to get out.

We headed up to the hotel and ordered room service dessert.  Haley and Travis got cake and I ordered crème brulee.  I have a weakness for crème brulee and I can usually turn down dessert.

We got our bellies full and were finally so full and tired we fell right to sleep. 

this one is for mothers {& their daughters}.

the other day i came across this story on facebook {i'll get to it in a minute}.  it took me a while to make it through the post since my eyes welled up with tears right from the start.  these are the kinds of things i think about when travis and i talk about having children, and i would be lying if i said it's not overwhelming. i know the kind of parents my parents are and how much love they have for their children.  i also see how much unconditional, ever-growing love i have for travis and even for conor and oliver.  thinking of how i will feel about a child is scary. 

travis and i have been trying to decide what is best for our family.  we've known for a while the neighborhood we're in isn't ideal for us.  we aren't pleased with the HOA and we've discovered that many of our neighbors are unkind.  neither of us really want to be involved with our neighbors, but it's been tough living around people who seem so rude.  we also haven't been impressed with haley's school and want to make sure we're doing the right things for her.

we've talked about moving to owasso for a while and lately we've even looked at skiatook and sperry.  even more recently we've tossed around the idea of bartlesville.  i still cringe a little bit at the idea because i don't love the town.  it would be better to have haley in school there though because we're there so much.  if she were sick or had meetings with teachers or anything like that, we would be much, much closer to her.  i've also heard good things about bartlesville schools.

the other night we were lying in bed talking about all of this, and travis said, "we just need to find a place in bartlesville, move, get settled in, and then we can start having babies."  my heart did a little pitter-pat {surprisingly enough -- though i have slowly been thinking about babies more frequently lately}.  i told him i wanted to share a story with him and this is what i read ...  

(For all the mother's (including pregnant ones) in the world, this one is for you! - Author Unknown)

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," s...he says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

after i finished reading this to him he said, "so now you're saying you don't want to have babies?"  i had to laugh and then said that's not what i meant.  these are just the kinds of things that i find "scary" when thinking about becoming parents.  for the rest of our lives.

i read the story to kate a few days later {warning her that tears would be abundant}.  like me, i was barely into the first few lines of the story, and she had begun to cry.  i told her about my interaction with travis, and she agreed, and then said, "but it also confirms just how worth-it it all is."

i just wanted to capture the story because i think it's beautiful.  it could have been my own mother telling it.  and it reminds me how much i love the women in my life.  i'm so grateful and so blessed that my mom loved me with this kind of love.  i know not everyone has been so fortunate.  i feel blessed beyond measure because not only have i seen this kind of love from my mom, but i've seen it from other women in my life, who have accepted me and loved me as their own. 

i love you, mom.  i love you, all. 

a glimpse into my life {via facebook).

i've decided to try something new -- but you know me and new blog ideas ... we'll see how long this lasts.

i don't always have time to blog every day, but i do post to facebook pretty reguarly, which in essence is micro-blogging.  i thought it would be fun to capture images of my facebook and save them to look back at in the future. 

a few weeks ago i did research to see if any company changes your facebook timeline into a book {kind of like what i do with the blog}, but alas, i've not found anyone yet.  there was one company, but it would only pick and choose a few things to make into a small little book.  not exactly what i had in mind. 

 

 

travis's surgery.

my poor guy.  about a week ago travis had surgery to have his wisdom teeth removed.  he had been in pain for weeks.  he had a regular cleaning the last week of february that just seemed to make everything so much worse.  he was supposed to go in on the 4th to have one particular tooth worked on {the walls of the tooth are really thin, and they were going to cap it -- or something like that}.  when he went in on the 4th, though, the dentist said there was too much trauma in travis's mouth already, and they would need to wait until after his wisdom teeth were removed and his mouth had healed a little better.  they also told him he needed to get in for surgery as soon as possible.

travis agreed, but the earliest the surgeon had been able to schedule him for surgery was march 19th.  at the time of the dentist appointment, that was still three weeks away.  the denist started calling around, and was able to get travis in with a surgeon in tulsa for the next week on the 7th. 

we made it through the week with travis's mouth still hurting every day.  the dentist prescribed lortab to help with the discomfort, but it didn't seem to help much.  i spent tuesday and wednesday {on an exhausting trip} in houston and then took the day off on thursday for travis's surgery.

until then, travis had never had any kind of surgery and had never been "put under."  he's my strong, tough guy, so he didn't act nervous about it {but i think he might have been because he brought it up a lot}.  i told him i couldn't wait to get funny videos of him.  one of my friends from stillwater recently had his wisdom teeth removed, and his wife posted the funniest videos of him to facebook. 

we woke up early and got to the surgeon about 30 minutes early.  we waited in the car for 15 and talked about trip ideas for my birthday. then we headed into the office.  we checked in, paid, and they immediately took travis back.  he later mentioned that he thought we would have time to sit.  i don't think he was quite ready to go back when he did.  i stayed up front in the waiting room and emailed on my phone, then spent the rest of the time on facebook and pinterest.

when they called me back to get him, i wasn't quite prepared myself.  i got to the recovery room and he was sitting on a table with his back against the wall.  his face was so swollen and his eyes looked a little black and blue.  his eyes tend to be a little squinty anyway, but they were even smaller and swollen.  he was wearing a baseball cap and they had a "sock" with ice packs in it wrapped around his head -- it reminded me of a little rascals or norman rockwell picture.

the doctor walked passed the room and travis through his hands up in the air awkwardly giving the man two thumbs up.  other than the clunky movements, he seemed to have his wits about it.  he hates being out of control of his brain so i think he was working extra hard to be aware.

we walked to the car and he told me he needed the pharmacy.  pronto.  we got him settled in to the car, and i thought he might pass out right there.

the office said our first stop was for something sugary and cold -- either an ice cream, frosty, or soda.  wendy's was just 1/2 block away so i pulled in and grabbed him two large frosty's and a large doctor pepper.  what can i say?  i wanted to make sure i had plenty on hand to get him through the day.

he started to eat the frosty with gauze in his mouth.  it hadn't been 30 minutes and our instructions were for him to take the gauze out every 30 minutes.  i assured him that the dr.'s office had given permission to remove it while eating, but he didn't believe me until i called the dr.'s office back {and the receptionist kindly said, "you don't want him to choke, do you?" to which i laughed and said, "of course not; i just couldn't convince him without a call to you."}.  we got a little bit of the frosty down him, then repacked his mouth, and he slept for the rest of the ride.

he woke up when we pulled into the pharmacy drive-thru window.  the pharmacy tech looked inside, laughed, and said "you've had a fun morning so far."  they said they would get it filled in 30 minutes or less.  since the pharmacy is just up the street for our house, i took travis home, got him settled into bed, and then headed back to cvs.  the prescription was ready so i paid for it and headed back home.

travis was ready for the meds when i got there.  he laid in the room for a bit with ice packs on his face and a heat pack on his head for an ongoing headache he developed.  poor guy.  he has just had such a rough go of it over the past few weeks.

he settled into bed, but he didn't fully rest for most of the morning/early afternoon.  he kept getting up to come see what i was doing in the living room and to kind of pace the house.  he did a funny little dance and said he wanted to make sure he didn't disappoint since he knew i was looking forward to him acting crazy.  then he said, "i'm sorry i'm not acting nuts. i'm just too STRONG!"  i love him.

later in the afternoon, he passed out.  and slept for hours.  i woke him up a couple of times to take his medicine because i was terrified to let him sleep through his med time and then wake up later from intense pain.  {he told his surgeon about this yesterday at his one week check-up, and the two of them came to the conclusion that i just wanted him drugged up.  nice, guys}.

friday i had to go to work but made sure he had all of his meds and water close by.  my mom was coming up that day, and i knew she would be around to help take care of him.  when i got home that night he was going crazy because she had talked his ear off.  my dad always said she would talk to a telephone pole if she thought it would listen, so i really wasn't surprised.  she loves travis so much, though.  i know she just wanted to make sure he was alright.

yesterday was his check-up/stitch removal.  the doctor said everything was healing fine, and they would want to check him again in six months.  i guess i should have mentioned they were able to pull the top two teeth {but with how impacted everything was they were concerned that his sinus cavity would be punctured or partially collapse -- thankfully neither scenario took place}, and then they could only cut out part of the two lower teeth.  they pretty much cut them in half horizontally.  they were both lying over a nerve and they couldn't be certain just how they were lying on the nerve.  they couldn't guarantee safe removal without nerve damage {and permanent paralysis} so they had to cut out what they could and leave the rest.  we'll have to keep close watch that those don't get infected, otherwise they'll have to take them anyway, and of course all the risks remain.

for now, he's feeling better ... but this morning is concerned that he has strep throat.  and his tongue has been hurting because several of his tastebuds have swelled up. his poor mouth!  i just don't know what has happened in the past month, but it has been one thing after another for him.

keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  he's a tough one, but i know this has not been a fun time for him.

houston travel {feb 19}.

haley is always asking me about my work and what it's like to travel all the time.  i've tried to convince her it's not always as glamorous as it sounds, but i don't think she believes me.  =)  i had an overnight trip for the 19th and 20th, so i sent her a few pictures of my stay.  she's never been on a plane before, so i sent her a quick shot from the plane. 

when i got to the hotel, i sent her a few pictures of the place i was staying {definitely not the omni, but what are you going to do? #firstworldproblems}.

i didn't really have a view of much, but i tried to give her a look at everything.

i was supposed to meet up with a couple of friends from conocophillips for dinner, but their conference happy hour was running a little long, so i decided i would get a quick little snack of wings.

this is what room service delivered.  hardly a little snack.  and such a funny display.

i haven't been eating a lot of meat over the past year, but i tore into these wings.  i'm a little embarrassed to post these pictures.

in the end, i was glad i had ordered them because dinner plans with the COP-ers didn't work out.

the next day on the trip home, we got stranded in oklahoma city for a bit.  snow was falling in tulsa and bartlesville and the cloud cover was too low to land.  it was a bummer because the roads and runways were fine; we just couldn't land.  i was grateful they took us to okc instead of back to dallas or houston.  we ended up sitting there for about three hours.  they brought in pizza for us and i had time to visit with rick thompson.  it could have been worse, but i was so glad to finally get back to bartlesville.

mom's birthday {feb 16}.

this year we weren't really sure what to do for my mom's birthday.  last year we had such a great time, but travis and i were both still a little tuckered out from the holiday festivities.  we've had a tea party for mom before so i didn't want to do the exact same thing again {even though she did love it}.  i was racking my brains trying to come up with something because i needed to get the cake ordered from seana.  i kept coming back to the tea party idea.  all of the sudden, it came to me.  mom has a tea pot that travis and i got her a few years ago from pier 1.  she loves this tea pot.  i asked sierra to send me a few pictures of it, and then i sent it seana's way. 

seana is staying super busy with her cakes.  i need to stop telling you guys what a great job she does. we were doing mom's birthday on saturday but seana was booked that day.  she was able to deliver it to me on friday, though, so i worked from home and waited for her to arrive.  here's what she came up with.  

 

isn't it awesome?? i don't know how she does what she does, but seana is incredible.  and the cakes always taste as wonderful as they look, which isn't always the case with some bakers.  {for this cake we did a white cake with raspberry filling}.  thank you, seana!

on saturday, everyone met up at spaghetti warehouse.  travis had to go to muskogee so he wasn't able to make it, but sierra, dakota, mom, dad, haley, justin, lindsay and parker were all there.  i would love to say that we had a fabulous time and the food was delicious ... but unfortunately the service was terrible, the food was bland and most people didn't like what they ordered.  spaghettti warehouse had been suggested because everyone was tired of the same ol' places.  in this case, however, branching out was not a good idea.

sierra was really sick and hardly ate at the restaurant.  by the time we all got back to our house for cake and ice cream, she was even worse.  she laid around freezing to death and looking miserable.

we sang happy birthday and cut into the beautiful cake.

 we wrapped up with gifts.

everyone was pretty tired afterward and ready for a nap.  sierra was still feeling terrible, so she and dakota headed to mom's house.  dad treated mom to a movie for her birthday.  and me?  well i turned into the germ queen and started spraying with lysol any and everything i thought sierra might have touched or come in contact with.  haley probably thought i was nuts.  she can't miss any more school, though, and this stomach bug that everyone has is super contagious this year.  better safe than sorry!

i love my mom so much.  she brings so much joy into my life, and i wish we had time to visit her more.  i'm glad we have designated time when she comes up every two weeks, but we don't always get to sit and talk.  i'm so grateful to have grown up with her as my mom.  i love you, mom.