What a month...

No one can ever accuse us of being boring. There have been just a few things that have happened since my last post, and after I fill you in, you'll see why we seemingly fell off the face of the planet.

As usual, life has been a constant emotional roller coaster. In happy news, we got official word from the hospital that EVERY single test of Claire's came back normal. While doctors were originally convinced that she was suffering from a genetic or metabolic issue, this doesn't seem to be the case. Now, the genetic screening could have missed something obscure; however, as I told the doctor, they could have given us truly awful news, so the fact that she had nothing to share was an immense relief. The bad news is that we still have no idea why Claire is so tiny and weak or having seizures, but the fact of the matter is that we just have to take things one day at a time and be thankful for her progress at therapy.



When we weren't at work, therapy, or school, we spent our time enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Since Claire likes to sleep in on the weekend, Luke insists on getting some extra time on the swing. Notice that he was too excited to even put his pants on.

We didn't have that much time to play though because it was time to pack for our trip! Luke thought that if he hid, I wouldn't make him help me. Never fear though, somehow we managed to successfully pack for three months away. In fact, we should go on trips like this more often because my house has never been so clean.

Turns out, it wasn't packing that presented the real challenge. Instead, it was squeezing in all of our appointments and me managing to somehow get in a little bit of work. Two weeks before we left, we managed to have eight appointments. Yep, that was not a misprint - 8 appointments. Have you ever tried to schedule that many places to be while working? Then, to top things off, Claire managed to pick up a stomach virus the following weekend (shocking, right?). After projecting bodily fluids out of both ends of her body for an entire day, we ended up in minor emergency; however, the doctor wasn't surprised because he said it had been going around. If she was still sick the next day, we would need to take her to the emergency room to make sure she wasn't dehydrated.

We made it from 4 a.m. that Monday until 1:30 in the afternoon, and I was convinced we were in the clear. Not the case. As usual, my standby emergency crew (Girl Mahaffey) snapped into action, got Luke home from school and fed, and Claire and I headed to the children's hospital for an IV. After 5 tries, the nurses finally got it in, and she was as good as new. I, on the other hand, found out that I can't stomach a needle going into my daughter's head. Apparently, it is a last resort when no other IV will work. Sick. Instead of showing you a picture of that, here is Luke at the eye doctor's office waiting to get a new pair of glasses!

After the chaos of sickness and packing, it was finally time to embark on the first leg of our journey - a drive from Shreveport to Wichita. Minus both kiddos coming down with AWFUL coughs (again, my kids sick? Shocking, right?), the trip was a breeze! Although  I spent countless hours developing complex contingency plans, none were needed. Instead, we only stopped one time on the way to Dallas and one time between Dallas and Wichita. I have a firm rule that the car goes until it is out of gas or someone (Claire) is hysterical. Thankfully, we stopped only because the car was out of gas and the poor kiddos needed some food.

When we finally made it to Wichita, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas with Grandpa Cesar and Grandma Karen. Luke was fascinated with the trash can, and as you can see from this picture, Mickey liked to hang out there too. In fact, Luke now owns Mickey's twin brother because we're pretty sure Mickey #1 is living at the city dump. 

Then, we packed up the car again and continued our journey north to my parents' house in Topeka for another Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration. While there, we noticed a bad trend in the family. My sister had to have an appendectomy the night before we arrived, and the day after we arrived my mom got sick with the flu. It wasn't the end of the world; however, Grandma Karen had also gone down with the flu while we were there! We decided that if Patrick got sick after we arrived, then it could be confirmed that we were the carriers of illness. Although we felt bad that everyone was sick, I was grateful that the kiddos and I were well enough to travel. Here is Luke getting some final rest at Uncle Mike's apartment before our big flight.

Luckily, Claire had Feisty to watch over her so mommy could get some rest. Mike and I decided this is reason #968 why he isn't ready to have kids - putting a giant stuffed dog to watch over the baby probably won't win you any "Parent of the Year" awards. Whatever. Claire loved looking at the dog, it kept her happy, and she fell safely asleep. Thanks, Feisty.

WE FINALLY MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The flight was a breeze, and I am eternally grateful to children's Tylenol and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVDs. Claire's awful cough bothered her on the flight, and she did cry a bit, but I could not have been happier with the kiddos. US Airways is AMAZING! Everyone was so helpful and considerate. Several people asked me who I was flying with, and I just looked them directly in the eyes and said, "Well, the kiddos and I!" It was always funny to watch their reactions. One lady gave me a hug and said, "I'm a grandma and I'm sitting in row 12. Just yell for me if you need." Thankfully, no emergency yelling was required. The highlight of the trip was the vodka tonic that I was looking forward to. When we took off, I decided that on the last beverage service I would order a drink. Then, I had something to look forward to. When it was finally time, I told the flight attendant how I had played my mental game. She handed me the drink and said, "I'm not even going to charge you for this." I told her that she was my hero, and she said, "No, you're my hero for flying with these two." Did I mention that I love US Airways?

We landed safe and sound, and I instantly handed the kiddos off to Patrick. Now, that is true love. I remember our last trip to Hawaii on our honeymoon when we were romantic and thought life was always going to be peaceful bliss. Now, romance involves someone taking the kids so the other can regain some sanity. Nothing can top that for this tired momma! When we made it to the hotel, Luke was ready for the beach!

The tropical air is already having a positive impact on Claire. She has eaten more here than she ever did back in Shreveport. So far, she has only had one little crying spell, and that was because we introduced bananas into her diet. Risky, but the poor kid can't only drink formula for the rest of her life!

We spent our first two days driving to North Shore, lounging at the beach, eating delicious food, and seeing old friends. We told Luke that this was going to be our new life for the next 3 months, and he couldn't believe it!

Better get some rest before the next day in paradise!