His Hospital Vacation

So, I know I've been MIA around here {again}.  I have so much to catch up on...our biggest girl just turned FOUR and a HALF!  Our baby boy is now a teenager! And this little ol' blog turned FIVE!  But, first things first, the main reason I'm behind...a sick hubby, who is thankfully now on the mend.  Long story short, David has not been feeling well for the last month or so.  After a week of hearing him complain, I made him go see a doctor.  That doctor couldn't figure out what was going on and ordered a few tests.  The results led him to see a new doctor who ordered more tests.  Rinse and repeat.  Then, just as he was starting to feel better, the results from a CT scan came in showing that he had fluid around his heart and fluid on the lungs and the {3rd} doctor told him to check himself into the hospital. So, last Monday, we did just that.  After a few hours in the ER, they told us they were admitting him to run more tests and see a cardiologist.  Thankfully, my parents returned from a week back in Indiana/Kentucky a couple hours before we headed into the hospital.  This past week would have been an absolute nightmare without their help!

➹ I sort of feel bad for those old fogies who don't have iPhones to play with! ➹

➹ He basically treated this hospital stay like a mini vacation.  Here he is ordering room service at 9:00 at night! ➹

➹ I took Olivia up to see him on Tuesday evening.  She was so good...just as sweet and kind as could be to everyone she saw. ➹

➹ And, he FaceTimed with Sydney before bed. ➹

➹ And then to make things fair, she got to go up Wednesday morning.  She was clearly not impressed with his hotel room. ;) ➹

➹ And then she found the buttons on the bed. ➹

➹ Here is David modeling his resort wear. ➹

➹ And, here we have his cocktail. {Not really.  That's what they pulled from outside his right lung. Eeek!} ➹

➹ Liv colored these sheets for the sweet lady a couple doors down from David who was having a pacemaker put in. ➹

➹ I think he felt a little cooped up. ➹

➹ And, Thursday morning...he knew he was gonna bust out that night! ➹

So, yeah, David stayed at the hospital until Thursday evening when he was finally released to come home.  Even though he hasn't gotten a real diagnosis, we are hoping the medicine they gave fixes him up as good as new! And, we sure are glad to have him back at home!

Our California Adventure, Part 5 {Palo Alto}

You guys, I'm almost done reporting on our trip.  I promise.  Hang in there with me for one more after this?

After having fun at Disneyland, California Adventure and hanging with friends in SLO, we headed up to Palo Alto where we would spend the next 4 1/2 days.  We were very lucky to be able to stay at a friend of David's house while he was out of town.  It was small, but it was much bigger than a hotel room and it had a washer and dryer.

David had some work to do up there, so the girls and I hung out a bunch with Soudy's wife a few times.  We also met up with my friend Steph and I'm pretty sure we made it so that she never has/wants kids.  {Thanks, Steph, for putting up with my cranky babies.}

One of our go-to spots in Palo Alto is the Junior Museum and Zoo.  We spent a couple hours there one afternoon.

But, one of our favorite afternoons was our trip to Happy Hollow in San Jose.  The entire place was virtually empty, so we had our picks of the rides and my thrill-seeking daughter was able to ride the roller coaster three times in a row.

She's fearless!

Fun on the crazy swing

Monkey see, monkey do.

{The story of our life}

We really enjoyed our time up in Palo Alto -- it's always fun to hang out in the city where David spent much of his time as a young hooligan!  ;)

Our California Adventure, Part 1

It seems like months ago that we left for our two week adventure in California.  I am still trying to catch up on sleep...and unpack.  

As I mentioned in the previous post, we packed a lot of stuff.  It's a good thing my husband is an expert Jenga/Tetris player and was able to get it all in the car.

The girls did a great job on the way out...thanks to a nice rotation of an iPad, an iPod and a Google Nexus and of course, some yummy snacks.  Those helped me too, since I was the driver.  David did  a good job of keeping the girls happy while also doing some work on the road.

Except when he was doing this {in the back of my parents' car}:

We were heading straight to Burbank because we had tickets to the Ellen Show on Monday.  Of course, before it was even lunchtime, my brother had planned out where we were going to stop for our afternoon dinner.

And, let me say, Bob's Big Boy is NO Frisch's Big Boy.

The men spent Monday morning touring Warner Bros. studios while Mom and I watched the girls and got ourselves prettied up for the Ellen Show.  

My brother scored us VIP tickets, so we were guaranteed seats to the show.  It was a bit of a wait before it started, but time flew during the actual show.  I was hoping for a little Julia Roberts or Justin Timberlake, but we got Lea Michelle from Glee {I've never seen Glee} and then two real-life people.  Matchbox Twenty was the musical guest and I'm not the biggest fan of their music, but it was a really cool experience being there.  Ellen is the best.

My dad was in charge of the girls and it was too hot for them to do the zoo {which was the original plan}, but I found an indoor playground for them to go to.  He did a great job taking care of them and we are so appreciative of him!  Poor guy was worn out when by the end of the day.

Also, while we were at the show, Hala was busy picking up an EMMY award!  An award that my brother also got!  So, now I can say I have an Emmy award winning brother!  {And he can say that he is an Emmy award winning executive producer!}  Exclamation Exclamation!

To Be Continued...

San Diego or Bust

A couple weeks ago, David and I took our first kid-free trip since Olivia was born.  And, seeing as how  I got pregnant on our honeymoon, this was pretty much our first mini-vacation without kids in our arms and/or in my belly.  And, let me tell you, it was pretty darn nice.  My main agenda?  SLEEP.  And, did I ever get it. Oh man, fluffy pillows+down comforter+blackout curains=heavenly sleep.  My other main agenda?  Soak up as much Dave as I could.  And by Dave, I mean my other lovah, Dave Matthews.  And, oooh weee, he did not disappoint.  And, I guess if I got to hang out with my husband without fighting two other girls for his attention...well, that was just the icing on the cake.

Oh California, this Hoosier sort of felt homesick for you.

Oh yes.  A room that someone else cleans!

Our view to the right.

Our view to the left.

David had some work to do during the day, so after sleeping in and having breakfast in bed, I spent over an hour of uninterrupted time primping myself.  And, this was the best I could do.

{Gave myself a mani/pedi after all that too}

All that makeup was pretty much ruined shortly after because I got the phone call about Sydney's mass and her need for surgery.  That was definitely a low point of the trip.  I was so grateful to know that my parents were watching her and could give her the all the lovin' that I wasn't able to.

The Dave show that evening was wonderful.  It was a bit of a somber setlist as it would have been LeRoi Moore's 51st birthday had he still been alive.  But, for me, that made it pretty special to be there with the rest of the band that night.  {I know I sound like such a weirdo talking about them like they are family or something, but I've been to at least 75 shows over the last 17 years.  They have played a huge part in my life, so they sort of are like family to me.}

After getting back to the hotel late on Friday night, we definitely enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning.  We debated on walking around San Diego or going to Sea World during the afternoon and I'm glad to say that Sea World won out.  I had been wanting to go for a LONG time and I can't even begin to tell you how easy it was to do it without kids!  No diaper bags to pack! No strollers to push around and then store!  I know the girls would have enjoyed the different shows, but it was nice to be able to walk hand-in-hand with David and go at our own pace.

Orcas

A hilarious Sea Lions show

A delicious treat

Oh my word.  The dolphin show was amazing.  

David made me sit in the splash zone {because I refused to at the orca show} and of course I got wet and he barely did.  And then he made me ride the Atlantis ride two times and I got soaked.  He can be such a little devil sometimes! ;)

David told them it was his birthday and so he got some free fish to feed the sea lions.

See what I mean?

We watched a dolphin training session.

And, this guy was a lot closer to me than I wanted him to be.

We had a blast on our weekend away.  It was really good to have some adult time and to be able to get some good sleep!  This mama needed it.  But, we sure were happy when it was time to head back to our babies.