It Just Keeps Raining

So another Monday was upon us. I slept a little longer the night before which was nice since I was pretty sore and tired after my shopping trip (that was sad). Of course Lincoln and the twins were the first ones up. I could hear them fighting out in the family room. Lincoln had been in trouble from the night before when he went to Alex’s house without letting us know. So he got to do the majority of the clean up and help me get the laundry started. He cleaned up some stuff in the back yard and did a great job of putting stuff away around the house. He just kept going. Then when he was done, the kids got out a kit that they got for Christmas to make snow. So they did that outside and thought it was pretty cool. We also got a picture of the bunny that has been enjoying my flowers for breakfast.

We had three different families contact us to see if the kids wanted to go to the Country Club. It was guest day so they could go. We are one of the only ones of our friends that don’t have a membership but it just seems silly to me to have one when we can just go to my parents. But we do have some good friends that offer to take the kids sometimes. So Ellie and Lincoln went with Sharon and Jackson went with Leah. While they were gone, Heidi came over to visit since she was in town.  She even brought me flowers. We ordered some Paglias and had lunch while we visited. It was great to catch up with her again. The twins were kind of cranky and were asking to go to bed, so they went down for an early nap. So Heidi and I had a nice quiet house.

Leah brought Jackson and Lincoln home earlier while Ellie came home later with Sharon. Before I knew it, it was time to get everything ready for the ballgames. Lincoln had a ballgame at 5:30 and Ellie’s was at 6:45, so we were spending the evening at the ballpark. So I packed up some snacks, some water and their little CAT trucks to play with.  A friend from church brought us an early dinner so we could eat before we went to the games. Andrew ended up taking Jackson and Ellie to the batting cages during part of Lincoln’s game. And Lincoln was typical Lincoln during his game. He was at first base during one inning and had no clue what was going on J. He’ll catch on some day. Next up was Ellie’s game. And she always wants to know what is going on. She didn’t get a hit for her first at bat so she was frustrated by that, but she got some good hits after that. My mom and dad were able to make it to some of the games which was nice.

After the games, it was time to head home and I was ready. The next morning Andrew left early and dropped my car off at the dealership to have it looked at then he just rode his bike home. I was feeling a little nauseous that morning so I was grateful he was there to get the kids their breakfast and he even brought me some toast before he left. Lincoln helped the twins get some clothes and so they came in to see me to get help with their shirts. I took my time getting out of bed and then I heard the kids talking to someone out in the family room so I got up and went out there and it was Andrea. She was out for a walk and stopped by to see if I needed help with anything. So we talked for a bit and she went on her way. Then it was time to get moving. I got Ellie and Jackson up and asked all the kids to start picking up around the house and bring down their laundry while I showered and got ready. It was nice to come out after I was done to a clean family room. My mom came by a little later to pick up the kids since Andrew and I were meeting with a couple pastors from our church to discuss all that has been going on there.

I was so nervous for the discussion and had all of my thoughts written down. It all went okay. Nothing they said changed my mind about how I felt what they did was wrong but I was glad my voice was heard and that I got a chance to stand up for my friends. Andrew heated up some lunch for us afterwards and then he dropped me off at my parents. The kids had just come in from swimming and my mom was getting ready to lay the twins down for a nap. After she did that, we went out by the pool to talk and then the three oldest made their way back out there and back into the pool. Lincoln was excited to explore how far he could swim and Ellie was happy to help him. He still isn’t a very strong swimmer but he loves trying it and is doing well. He kept challenging himself to go a little farther. Then he started jumping in, the running and jumping in and then running and doing his Superman dive which was basically a belly flop-but not to him. While we were out there, I checked with Andrew to see if he heard anything on the car and he hadn’t. So he called them and they didn’t even realize the car was there. I guess Andrew didn’t realize that when he dropped it off he was supposed to fill out a form and leave the keys in a drop box. But they got it in there and will continue working on it first thing in the morning. So my mom ended up taking us home since I didn’t have the car back. Then Leah’s mom brought us dinner that evening which we all enjoyed before Andrew and the kids headed outside to play some catch. They also helped clean a bit before they went out and then I tried to do the rest. It can get pretty frustrating though and sometimes I make more messes trying to clean up a mess. But I eventually got all of it done and was ready to sit down for a bit. Then I convinced Jackson to help me pull weeds which meant I would point out the weeds and he would pull them for me. He did it all without any complaints J.  Andrew helped out with some of the weeds too and Ellie watered flowers for me then it was time to call it a night.

Andrew went for a bike ride early Wednesday morning before things started to warm up. I decided it was time to start trying to get some things back to normal around here. I started by actually making my bed. I always make my bed but ever since the accident I wouldn’t make it all the way because I would still come in and rest throughout the day. I’m not needing to do that as much, so I decided to go ahead and make. I also moved stuff back over to my side since I can get around better and don’t need that shorter distance to the bathroom. I started making my daily to-do lists too and started working on a weekly menu since our meals were ending this week. Now if I could just move quicker.

Jackson had batting practice in the morning, so Molly was nice enough to get him there. Andrew brought him home, had some lunch and then the kids started playing with the Magformers. The older ones have been teaching the younger ones how to put together different shapes. 

Then Andrew took Ellie to a play date with some of her friends from school. We decided to stay home for the day and since it was hot outside, Jackson stayed in and read Harry Potter. I worked on laundry and actually started organizing some stuff for vacation-packing up all the stuff from my grocery run into plastic totes, organizing car surprises and starting to make the snack bags for the car ride. Our neighbor, Rochelle, brought us dinner before we had to head to the games. She was in Columbia and brought us back some fajitas from Chilis. It was a big hit. Ellie even ate one before she went to bed. My car was still at the dealership, so we all packed into Andrew’s truck to get to the ballpark. Thankfully Ellie and Lincoln had games at about the same time and their fields are right by each other. So I set up camp in between the two fields so I could watch both games. And Andrew was able to easily go into Ellie’s field through the outfield to do his first base coaching. The twins were great for me. They just ate their snacks, drank their water and played with their tractors. It was pretty hot at the beginning but then there was a haze over the sun that cooled things off. By the end of the game, the clouds had moved in and there was some lightning as we were leaving.  We headed to my parents after the game and the kids had hoped to swim but we had to cancel that. My dad drained my hematoma again. I asked him if he could bring any of the stuff with him on vacation in case it keeps filling up, but I don’t think he took me seriously J. Since the kids couldn’t swim, we decided to head on home. Ellie was the last one to come inside. She had been outside playing with Faith. It was close to nine when I sent Jackson out to tell her to come in and she said they had just been laying out on the driveway watching the lightning show. She loved the pink lightning.

On Thursday, we all piled into Andrew’s truck and dropped the younger three off at my parents. Then we went by the dealership to pick up my car. I went back to my parents while Andrew took Jackson and Ellie to the ballpark to practice some hitting. The kids had hoped to swim, but it was overcast and a little rain did finally appear. My mom and I went grocery shopping a little later. I had to stock up on a few things and get stuff for Jackson’s ball tournament coming up that weekend. Again, it took longer than normally but the most frustrating part was when we went to our house to unload the groceries, I had to have my mom carry almost everything in. I did make sure I got one bag at least. When we got back from that, it was starting to clear up so the kids wanted to swim. The twins woke up just as we were going out so they got to join in too. After swimming for a bit, it was time to load up and head home. We had another friend bring by dinner that night and then they went out back to play for a little while until we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. The storm wasn’t too bad. There was some good wind and lightning along with quite a bit of rain.

I heard Andrew get up early the next morning and head to the office. Then we all had to get up a little earlier since the kids were going with Andrew out to the ranch to hang out with their cousins while I went to a follow-up appointment. My appointment went well. I had an x-ray and it showed things are healing well. I can put more weight on that leg now and I was given approval to walk on a bit here and there, like a little around the house. I had actually tried a few days before and I was able to do it with a little bit of pain. But I was sore later that day and the next. I was also given approval to get in the pool and try walking in there, swim with a pull buoy and even try out actual swimming. The only negative news I got was that I should stay on crutches for another month or so. I don’t have to use them full-time, but when I have a lot of walking around to do.  Which means they are going with me on vacation-yuk. I am supposed to follow-up with my dad for another x-ray in a month.

Andrew brought the kids home around noon and then my parents came by a little later to pick up Ellie so she could go with them to St. Louis to Bella’s dance recital.  That evening we had another friend from church bring us our last meal. It is back to reality next week. Then it was time to head to Lincoln’s ballgame. Ellie had one that night too, but since she decided to go out of town we got to skip that one. We did a couple of quick errands on our way to the game. I don’t know if it was the weather or because it was a Friday night and people were out of town for the weekend, but only 7 kids from Lincoln’s team were there and the other team only had 5. I was so grateful they decided to go with the three inning game determination instead of the 1 hour 15 minute because we were done in 40 minutes. Quickest game ever. And Lincoln made a couple of plays in the field which he was pretty excited about. Andrew didn’t sleep well the night before so he was very ready for bed. So he quickly did baths but did let the kids play in the basement for a while before he put them to bed.

The next morning Andrew got the kids up and started getting them ready so we could head to Jackson’s ball tournament in Hannibal. His first game was at 10 but they were already running behind so we didn’t start until closer to 11. It was getting pretty steamy so we set up in the shade. Andrew got me set up and Leah helped out too. The twins and Lincoln were pretty quick about finding the snacks in my bag and they were generally pretty good.  They were entertained by the trains that would go by. The big surprise was a helicopter that came in to dry one of the other fields. It just hovered over the field for about 15 minutes to try to dry it out. Jackson played third base for the first game and did a great job. They did lose though. It was the same team they had played for the first game of their first tournament and we did better. At the end of the game, they gathered both teams and the umps and prayed for the family of one the other team’s player whose young cousin had died in a car accident just the day before.

After the game, we all gathered in the parking lot for lunch. We all brought some food and a couple families brought camp grills and canopies and they grilled up some hot dogs and hamburgers for all of us. I thought an air-conditioned restaurant sounded nice but it turned out pretty well and it was very nice of everyone to get it all set up. Bennett ended up with a bloody nose during all of this though, so we spent most of our time trying to stop that. Then my parents showed up around 1:30 on their way back from St. Louis and took Lincoln and the twins home with them. Andrew and I got in the car for a bit to cool off and then it was time to head back over to the fields. We found a shady spot to sit while we waited for the previous game to finish up and then found another shady spot to set up our chairs for the game. Jackson was supposed to sit out for the first part of the game and it wasn’t going well. We were in the 2^nd inning with a score of 0-11 when the rain started. We were just stuck there and did  okay for a bit but then it started raining harder and we got pretty wet. They called off the rest of the games for the day so we packed up and headed home. Although I brought my camera, we didn’t get a single picture.

On our way home, we picked up AJ’s for everyone and brought it to my parents’ house. The kids had just gotten in from swimming as it was starting to rain. Then the kids convinced my dad to make some cookies. So Andrew went to the office while they worked on those and he picked us up later that evening. I was sore, exhausted and so ready to go to bed. And I slept for a couple hours but then woke up nauseous and spent three hours in the bathroom thinking I was about ready to vomit. I did just a little bit but that was it. I did start feeling a bit better and was able to get back to sleep around 4 but then the 6:30 wakeup call from Miles seemed very early. And I was still not feeling well. I got up and got him and Bennett some milk, turned on Disney Channel and went back to bed. Around an hour later, I called Andrew, who was at the office, and asked him if he could come home soon because I didn’t feel well. So he came home a little later and took care of everyone the rest of the day. He even cleaned out my car with Jackson and Ellie(so grateful for that) and mowed the yard before the rain came again. After he mowed, he went back to the office for a few hours. I stayed in bed most of the day although I did eventually take a shower and got some lunch. Then it was back to bed. I did run a few loads of laundry through but that is about it. I didn’t even get any of it put away. The rain continued off and on throughout the day. Our backyard became a lake and Ellie and Jackson went out to play in. Andrew even got a video of them running and sliding in it. They had a lot of fun.

Later that evening I had little ninjas running around the house. Then Lincoln led the charge for them to go take a bath. Andrew had been downstairs on the bike, so he sent them up to start baths. It was so cute to see them all walk through the bedroom in their ninja masks with their swords and some Buzz Lightyear accessories. And Lincoln can pretty much give them all a bath. He helps them get their hair wet and wash their hair and then he gets the soap on the loofah and directs them to clean themselves. Such a good big brother. Andrew came in to finish up everything and help them get pjs on. But they also got their ninja gear on again and Ellie and Jackson joined in.