........so life kinda sucks sometimes. And it just slaps you in the face when you aren't ready for it. On Thursday evening I got a call from my dad that made my stomach turn. My grandpa had just coded in the hospital. They had brought him back and had moved him to ICU and were monitoring him closely. I couldn't stop thinking "but he's supposed to go to rehab tomorrow so he can get back to walking and go home." The timing of things just gets me sometimes. He was doing well enough to go to a skilled nursning unit for some more therapy. And then all of a sudden this happens. I just didn't understand. In the midst of this I was trying to ward off this ginormous tension headache that had been building up throughout the week. I decided to go to bed early that night and woke up to a phone call from my dad telling me that papa had passed away around 3:00 that morning. He and Aunt Lisa, Uncle David, Aunt Lana, Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Deedee were all by his bedside that night. Sad, mad, frustrated, worried...I couldn't seem to sort my feelings out that morning as I got up and dressed for work. I gave it my best attempt but really found it hard to function at work. I was holding back tears most of the morning and putting on a smile that was probably pretty transparent. I ended the day seeing a patient in Shattuck and went straight to my grandma's house afterward. She seemed to be doing well when I showed up. People had slowly started trickling in bringing smiles, hugs and food along with them. By the end of the evening her kitchen was literally flooded with food. I went home and picked up Hallie who had been with Nanny all day. We turned right around and made the drive back to Shattuck to cheer up grandma. She had both of her great-grandbabies with her all evening. The two of them together provided plenty of smiles for everyone....
I'm not sure if it was just the stress that had accumulated toward the end of the week or if I was dehydrated but DANG...I cannot recall having a headache as bad as the one I had last night. Once Hallie and I made it home I ODd of Tylenol and tried to fall asleep after drinking a gallon of water and taking a hot bath. I finally fell asleep and Riley dragged me to bed. I woke up feeling like a new woman.....ready to take on the day. So back to my story from above. :/ I rounded up the troops and we were on the road by 9:30. The morning went as smooth as could be. Hallie even helped pack her bag for the trip.....
"How does five diapers and eight books sound?"
Everything was pointing toward a good day. That is until.....
....dun, dun, dun. We got in the car. I have been known to be dramatic before. But when I describe the events of today I assure you I'm not exaggerating. I wish I was. Ha! The trip to OKC was absolutely dreadful. I didn't expect Hallie to nap but I was holding out hope that we might get lucky. She was unimpressed by her DVD selection as well as her usually favorite books on my phone. We made a stop halfway there so that she could get out and stretch. She immediately turned back into regular ol' Hal.....
This is not to say that we didn't have our fair share of challenging moments in the store once she'd hit a brick wall. It was naptime ASAP.
"Where's my crib?"
"I'd even settle for one of those baskets...just please don't put me back in the carseat..."
The sassy girl was asleep within a minute of driving away. She had a nice 90 minute nap in the car while we drove by our old house then headed to Mandy's studio. We got there pretty early so we just waited in the parking lot and enjoyed the peace and quiet while she slept. She looked so sweet and peaceful sleeping that I actually had convinced myself that the rest of the day was going to go perfectly. After all, she had found a way to fit in a good nap. Just as we started to open the doors and get her outfit ready she started to open her eyes. It was sweet Hal that had woken up and she hugged me tight as we walked into the studio. "Yes! This is going to go well", I kept thinking. Oh I really couldn't have been more wrong. So, so very wrong. She was none too happy to be putting her outfit on (it could've had something to do with the fact that nearly had to pour her into the tights). She fooled us for a bit and was happily wandering around the studio and actually started out in a very smiley sweet mood. Mandy and her intern worked their magic and got some great pictures at first. Then it all went downhill from there. Mandy had an amazingly cute kissing booth theme setup and I think I wanted to cry just like Hal was when she chose not to cooperate. Riley and the girls tried everything to get her to sit still. We even thought maybe it was me who was making her uncooperative so I disappeared around the corner but she came hunting me down. A few snacks in her system seems to cheer her up momentarily but this only lasted for a minute until she began throwing herself on the floor and pitching a back-arching fit. It's a good thing I've known Mandy for awhile otherwise I probably would've died of embarrassment. Riley just laughed it off while I was sweating from chasing her around trying to get her to sit. We tried to offer snacks, sing "I'm a little teapot", do Ring Around the Rosie and fly through the room making airplane noises. We all finally gave up and took a quick look at some of the shots...BINGO! She had snapped some super cute ones at the beginning so we called it good. If you are reading this...thank you so much Miss Mandy for your patience and your amazing talent! I can't wait to see the pictures this week!
"Who, me?"
She was a different girl once we got back in the car and headed to the mall. Well that is until we got to the mall, got out of the car and into the stroller. It's amazing to me how something so cute can be such a little devil sometimes....
"I don't remember agreeing to this trip so what did you guys expect?"
Riley was able to do some shopping alone while we ventured over to Baby Gap. 40% off sale was too good to pass up so I looked like a maniac making my way through the store grabbing stuff off the racks as fast as I could as Hal began her screaming fit/ Houdini escape from her stroller. The sweet worker offered her some cute bear stickers that helped keep her occupied for a whole five seconds. Once we endured the long wait in line and checking out we made a beeline to find Riley and luckily he was ready to go. Not sure why I was so relieved to get back in the car considering how she'd felt about the car so far today. We didn't have time to make anymore stops and had realized that we hadn't eaten all day so we swung by Chipotle and picked up some of our favorite food! YUM! My plan was to make up for the yuckiness of the day with my Chipotle Guac and chips. I was convinced that she'd pass out in the car and we could munch in silence and enjoy some quiet time. Ummmm, no. She ate dinner as I passed it to her in the backseat and then began to throw an on again/off again fit about absolutely nothing. DVD, books, snacks and many other attempts were not working. By this point my headache had reemerged and I was so ready to get out of the car. Of course it was unconventional forms of entertainment that worked the best....
"It wasn't that bad, huh?"
I didn't have time to change Hal's snack-stained clothes before we left for Riley's game. I was pretty excited to watch the guys play! We spotted some friends as soon as we walked in and Hal found a comfy spot of Debbie's lap for most of the game. I was amazed at her stillness. A complete 180 from earlier in the day. I was suddenly the mother who cried cranky baby. ;) The guys lost by one point but gave it everything they had....
Hallie was proud of her favorite guys and gave Papa a kiss for good luck in their next game...
"You guys'll get em next time Papa"
And that they did! They whooped up on the team they played later tonight. We weren't able to stay at that game because Hal needed some sleep. Shocking I know! ;) But we a few more family members to see before she could get some shut-eye. We stopped by to give Nanny some kisses on our way home from the game. At home we waited for Dara, David, Lisa and Gman to stop by on their way home from my grandma's house. They had been there with the rest of the siblings doing some last minute preparations for grandpa's funeral that will be on Monday. And if you're wondering...yes, I'm blocking out the fact that all this is happening. :(
On a happier note, Hallie kept up her happy mood and ran around like a crazy woman entertaining our guests. It's always nice to see them! Wish I could see them all more often!
"Whatcha doing out this way Gman?"
Still going strong
Once they headed home Hallie went straight to bed. Well, that is after one last meltdown. But this one was completely 100% my fault. Oh my, I must've been in a blind stupor as I carried her into her room and rammed her head and mine straight into her crib as I bent down to place her in it. Lots of hugs and kisses and promises not to be such a bonehead later and she was sleeping soundly. And there you have it....our day. Whew.
.....thankful for a day of rest tomorrow before what will be a very hard Monday when we say our final goodbyes to papa. That darn thing called life. It's always sneaking up on us. Geez, pick on someone your own size, life.
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