Spring Break 2016

Does anyone else remember when Spring Break meant relaxing, taking a real break from everyday life, spending the entire week watching MTV Spring Break, oooohing and awwwing over Anthony Kiedis and Flea or a few years later, Joey Lawrence in his plaid (waisted) shirt? Munching out in front of the tv, singing along, screaming when your favorites came on and wishing you were old enough to be in the audience....ahhh the memories.
I remember it like it was just last week, 20/23 years ago.

So my question is this....When did Spring Break become stressful and crazy, loud (not in a partying, good kind of way), but more like when did Spring Break become about adulting, doctor's appointments, and carting a bunch of loud-mouthed, ungrateful, whiny kids around from place to place, stressing over gas and food and drinks, running after babies and trying to wrangle them like they are unruly baby cows?  Aye, Yai, Yai!! LOL

We are only on day 3 and I am done! Spring Break is ov-ah! The rest of this family's Spring Break will consist of doctor's appointments, cleaning and organizing the house, playing board games, watching movies and hanging out together at home! I started this break off sick as a dog, from what we thought was salmonella poisoning, we were wrong. And it has been one heck of a ride, let me tell you.

Last night we went to Stone Mountain...with all 4 children, even the ADHD 5 year old and super hyper, super fast, never listening 2 year old. The babies definitely put up a chase. But it was fun. It really was. I enjoyed watching them play, run around on that big open field down by the lake, and the smiles on their winded faces was priceless. Johnnie had a hard time letting them run, he was nervous, he was afraid they would get to the lake or bother the neighbors, so he was frustrated and didn't get to enjoy our time there very much.

Aiden had a blast before the lasershow, not so much during. I really thought that once the show started it would grab his attention and he'd be enthralled...yeah, not so much. Me and Johnnie had to keep handing him back and forth just so we could each get a break from the struggle to hold him down and keep him from running wild in the dark. He did stop and take notice for the huge flames and the fireworks, but it only lasted as long as they did.

Kat loved the show, and sat still with Johnnie until my brother and his family got there with Clara, then she spent the whole show with a cousin or her Uncle Jason.

Mary and Clara always love the lasershow. They'd go every weekend if we could.

Afterward, they ran and played some more on the lawn and we were the very last people to leave the park. LOL
We went out the wrong way and ended up on the interstate instead of going home back roads, which was stressful and chaotic, with 6 kids in the back of the truck. We brought home two of my nieces to spend the night with us. We love when they come to spend the night. They are sweethearts and the kids love spending time cutting up with them. <3

When we got home, I noticed that Marian had the rash on her face. I took a picture and marked it down along with her temperature.

No fever. Just the rash, which was hot to the touch. I got the kids all settled in and when the house was quiet and everyone else was asleep, I was wide awake. I could not stop thinking about the day we had in Atlanta with Marian at her doctor's appointment. All the questions they asked me that I had no real answer for. Like when it all started, or when it turned from bad to worse, how did it start, how did it get worse, what was the order of it all, were there high fevers with the rash, before the rash, after? Stomach pains? And then it hit me! FACEBOOK! I am the Facebook junkie that everyone makes fun of with memes on Facebook!! (You see what I did there, right?) ;)

I got up and went searching, back, back, back and voila! There it was! The pictures, the timelines, the symptoms, everything! I have my foundation to give to her doctor....but it was a very short lived victory when I put it all together and realized that she more than likely does indeed have systemic JIA. That was what we were praying she didn't have. From what research I've done, from my own understanding of it all, sJIA is the only potentially fatal version of JA. It attacks her internal organs and causes them to get inflamed just as her joints and muscles do. Y'all know that doesn't sit well with me. Of course there are more tests to be done, more conversations to be had, and I could be totally wrong. I just have this sinking feeling that I'm right on with this one, unfortunately. And if she does have sJIA, it doesn't mean she will die from it. It doesn't mean she will suffer all of the symptoms, it just means she can. So that kept me up, my head literally spinning every time I closed my eyes. I tried laying down and cuddling up next to my warm, snoring husband, but that only worked for a few minutes to calm me down.

I got up and walked around checking on the kids, the girls in the livingroom and Aiden all alone in his big queen bed in his room. I straightened up the house a little, quietly, around everybody. I got online and did some more research. And then I gave up and got in bed next to Johnnie, picked up my phone and played Pyramid Solitaire until I finally got sleepy enough to drown out the chaos and the worry.

I fell asleep around 3am.

Then Kat woke up crying. *sigh* I got her back to sleep, went back to bed and fell asleep briefly.

Clara woke up, fidgety, so I moved her in with Aiden. I went back to my bed.

Kat woke up again. This time, she settled in next to her cousin and fell back asleep. I went back to bed and fell asleep. Aiden woke up. I got him back to sleep, and went back to my bed.

I fell asleep about 20 minutes later.

Aiden woke up again! I brought him into mine and Johnnie's bed this time, knowing that only then would I actually have a chance to sleep. It was only for a few hours, until he literally kicked me out of my side and I had to go get in his spot in his bed next to Clara.

By that time, it was 6 or 7am. The sun was just barely shining through the top of the blackout curtains in their room. I put my phone under my pillow, which is a big time no-no here, and went to sleep, exhausted. We had to be up at 8:30am to get us all ready to meet my brother, my niece and nephews at Noah's Ark. I reset my alarm at 8:30, no kidding. We got up at 9am instead. It made us 30 minutes late to meet them, but I had to get some sleep.

Kathryn and Aiden outside of the Alligator's fence. Can you see the Alligator?

All of the kids by the Alligator's fence. They were huge gators!

He's coming to get you, Barbra! Er, Kathryn. 

Kat's feeding the goat, Aiden's pulling up grass to feed the goat. :)

Aiden fed this goat and got his little finger bitten. :( But he still wanted to feed the other animals too. :P

Aiden loving the monkeys.

My baby bear!!

Clara at the wolf pen. :)

Aiden seeing the Tigers. :)

We had a fantastic time at Noah's Ark. We missed my sister though, who was unable to make it. She would have loved the Peacocks almost as much as I loved the Bears!! :)

I was like a little girl every time we came to a new Bear. I just love them. They are so majestic. I had never been so close to one before today, and I can not wait to go back! With a better camera, hopefully. My phone camera is horrible.

The kids had fun and it was such a great experience and memories made for them. They'll never forget it, I'm sure.

I think Aiden's favorites were the alligators, the baby goats, the monkeys, and the parrots. He wasn't much interested in anything else, except the ants crawling around on the ground by his stroller wheels at each stop.

Kat was just excited to see everything. She ran from one to the next, wide eyed and just as excited at each one, until she gave out and was too tired to go on, and hungry. Then she wanted to go and complained the rest of the way back.

Clara and Mary stayed with their cousins, so I don't really know what they liked, except for when we came to the wolves. Clara is a huge wolf fanatic. I was so happy to be there to see her seeing them. She loved them, just as I knew she would. I loved seeing her happy there with them. It was great.

After Noah's Ark, we came home and ate. Clara threw up. Then Mom told me that my Daddy called to tell her that he's sick as a dog somewhere out on the road, (He's a truck driver, and had just been home overnight). So remember when I said I started off the break sick due to what we thought was salmonella poisoning? Yeah, well this evening we found out it wasn't that afterall. :( Clara is throwing up and her stomach is hurting her bad. I just gave her some Maalox and one of her Naproxen to see if it would help and she went right to sleep. I hope she is able to sleep through the night and get some rest. I hope we all get to sleep through the night to get some much needed rest. I'm done for. And I hope my nieces and the rest of my brother's family doesn't end up with this nasty bug. Sorry guys, we were wrong. :/

I did lose 10 pounds this week though, that's a good thing. I also made my consultation appointment today for my weight loss surgery. Kind of excited, very nervous. But I know I need this. I need to be healthy for my family. So it's really a great move.

Tomorrow, we stay home. Johnnie went and got Jell-O and Ginger-Ale for Clara and he picked up Mary's meds from the Pharmacy, so we are in for the rest of the week I hope! I need rest! This Momma is down for the count.