Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a crazy weekend. I had a whole list of things to get done, it was overly optimistic to say the least, but I thought we'd get at least some of the things checked off. Boy was I in for a surprise.

Friday afternoon Charles and I went to the mall for his 9 month pictures at JC Penny. Never again am I taking him without help (of course I say that and it will surely happen whether I want it to or not). He was good, but never gave the photographer a classic Charles grin. And, I had to choose what to buy without anyone to give me advice. Oh, the pressure of it all!

After Pennys I had a coupon for a freebie at Victoria's Secret and thought we could walk at least a mile in the mall before heading home. We stopped at Sears to look at their lightweight strollers and I found one. I went ahead and bought it, so now we're set for our trip to Oregon. It ended up being something completely different than what I'd seen at Babies R Us and Baby Depot. I was bummed because I didn't win an auction on EBay earlier in the week--I literally lost in the last seconds of the auction. This one turns out to be very similar to the high end ones I've been trying to get for a bargain price on EBay. Charles started getting fussy in Sears so we stopped in the food court for a cup of applesauce and a bottle.

We met Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Christy at Poblano's for dinner. Mmmmm!!!! Wish all of you could've joined us, it's our favorite place. On the way home our car began to get really hot. A warning sign of what was to come...

Russell and I cleaned out the Malibu when we got home thinking we would go to Carmax on Saturday to get a quote on its value should we decide to sell it. It almost looks brand new. No more pop spills or dog hair! Saturday morning I called Grandma to see if she might babysit. I didn't even get a chance to ask because Grandpa wasn't feeling good and they were headed to the doctor's office.

Turns out what they thought was probably heartburn was a blockage in Grandpa's heart. He was taken from the doctor's office to the hospital via ambulance (much to his dismay). They decided to be extra cautious since he's had trouble in the past. They got him in right away and he ended up having an artery with 70% blockage and another stint was inserted just below the first one.

Russell, Charles, and I found out Grandpa and Grandma were at the hospital so we went to their house to gather some things for them. They were expecting to just run some errands, not spend the weekend in the hospital. As we were driving to St. Francis, our car began to overheat. We stopped at cousin Carissa & Mason's house and let it cool before heading the rest of the way. It was hot again by the time we got to the hospital, just a few miles away.

The saga continues...we got to the hospital around 3:00. Grandma had been sitting in the waiting room since noon and finally at 4pm tried to find someone, no luck. At 5 she finally found someone and was taken to Grandpa's room. He was fine, hadn't been having a heart attack like they'd led her to believe when they arrived at the hospital. She found out that the stint was inserted and Grandpa had been done for quite a while and was wondering why she hadn't been to see him. The nurses couldn't believe that no one had given her an update. It was very frustrating!!! Aunt Christy, Russell, and I went to see him. Some friends of Grandpa & Grandma showed up (the church people are wonderful, and news spreads quickly) and entertained Charles while we went to Grandpa's room.

We got to see an EKG, an ultrasound of his heart. Amazing!!! So much like the ultrasound we had of Charles, but of the heart. Grandpa has a congenital heart defect, two of the three aortic valves are fused together. Charles has a heart murmur too, so I'll have to remember to tell Dr. Scott about Grandpa's heart so they know about this family history.

Grandpa will probably go home on Monday and will be home the rest of the week. I don't think he'll even be able to drive. Charles and I may go visit him periodically and might even have to drive him if he's got any appointments, since he won't be released to drive during that time.

Speaking of driving...we headed home around 6pm and were still having the problem with overheating. We got to Aunt Christy's house and spent about an hour there. Her neighbor saw Russell with the hood up and tried to help. He suggested we get some coolant. We barely made it to the auto store before we overheated. The additional coolant seemed to do the trick. Thank goodness! We made it home without a crisis. The car had a coolant leak fixed about 2 months ago, so we're going to take it back on Tuesday and hopefully get an explanation. Of course now we're worried about the cost of repairs. It may not be worth the expense which means a new (different) vehicle. The thought of buying a car is overwhelming.

We knew the day was coming and have been saving but we thought we could make it a while longer. Both Russell and I hate not having enough information to make an informed decision, we'll just have to wait and see what the shop says on Tuesday. So, there's a possibility we could be getting a different vehicle. It's fun to look at the cars on-line but then there's the thought of paying for them. YUCK!!! It makes me wish I lived in a city with a subway--not really, especially with a baby but I wouldn't have to worry about a car.

We've officially entered middle age because unless there's some major change, we'll be getting a mini van. Most of my friends detest the idea of a van, but I'm over trying to look cool. Both Russell and I are too practical. A van can haul people, but it can also haul stuff like a truck.

Russell was disappointed he didn't get to work on his bookshelves at all yesterday. He's trying to get them finished before he begin his summer class. He's outside right now working on them. He's made good progress this week and still has another week to finish up. We want to get them out of the garage and into the basement where we can load them up with the books that are in boxes on our junk room floor. We can't go to another bookstore convention until we get more bookshelves!

Charles was good yesterday, but off his schedule. He was exhausted but wouldn't nap at the hospital with all the people and things to see. He cried all the way home--we were frustrated too. He was starving when we finally did get home but got a second wind and didn't go to bed until after 9pm and was up before 7am. Hopefully we can get back in a routine soon.