Viva Las Vegas!

I don't even know where to start...

I don't remember having so much fun on a trip in a long time. There is so much to see in Las Vegas. (There are also a lot of things you don't want to see. I told Justin if you can stay good in Vegas you can stay good anywhere.) I haven't been there since I was about 17 years old and it has changed so much. There are several hotels that have been built since I was there. This picture is of the strip from one of the many crosswalks that go above the road.

We went up the Eiffel tower which is 460 feet up and has an amazing view. This was taken from atop the tower.

We walked what felt like 20 miles to get to the shark reef aquarium. It is the first time I have been to an aquarium and we saw some beautiful fish and sharks. I also got to touch a stingray which was pretty cool.


This is one of the many beautiful gardens in one of the hotels. We were actually walking to Siegfried and Roy's secret garden and dolphin habitat when we saw this waterfall. They have a baby dolphin there that was born about the same time as Alton and it was so fun to watch him with his parents. I have never seen dolphin's in real life so it was cool to watch them. (I know I have led a sheltered life and seen nothing.) They also had all different kinds of wild cats. There was a lion that was pacing the fence and every time someone took a flash picture he would roar. It was cool but also scary.

We stayed at the Excalibur hotel and had a pretty nice room. We had a 42 inch plasma TV and a king size bed (which is a switch since we have a full size bed.)

All the hotels try to out do each other so they have some really amazing things to see. This shopping plaza (which is indoors) has a rainstorm. The sky flashes with lightening and there is loud thunder. Rain falls into this river type thing which you can see behind me. It was really neat to watch.

We found this hat store while shopping which had some cool stuff. We walked in and Justin saw this and put it on. Right after he put it back on the shelf we noticed that there were signs all over the store about not taking pictures. OOPS!

I didn't think that I would ever step foot into an FAO Schwarz store in my life. Then we saw this while shopping at Caesars Palace. It was awesome! They had an entire floor that was just stuffed animals. It was three floors filled with just about any toy you can think of. They had this life sized moose which was so cool since it looked real and no moose were killed to look at it. (My favorite animal is a moose and I hate to see them mounted on a wall or stuffed.)

This is my imitation of the movie Big. You know the scene where he goes to FAO Schwarz and dances and plays on the keyboard? It was so fun to do it in real life. Very difficult to play a song though since it's so big.


When Monday came I felt very ill prepared to come home. We had been enjoying 60 degree weather and came home to a huge snow storm. (Not fun!) I also didn't feel ready to step back into reality and become a Mom again. Being away from everyone's problems and real life was one of the best parts of the trip. Too bad it had to come to an end sometime.

Childless

I am counting down the days until next Thursday. Justin and I will be leaving for Las Vegas for 5 days to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Sometimes I feel like I want to lock myself in my room and enjoy a few moments alone, but alas a little voice comes calling or crying that I am needed. I know I should enjoy these days that I am still needed by my kids and the fact that they actually want to hold my hand or climb on my lap to listen to a story. But some days it's all I can do not to pull my hair out. It is very tiring to constantly be needed by someone. So I am going to really enjoy a much needed vacation and some time away to regroup and remember why it is that I had these little hooligans. I will post some pictures when we get back. Bon voyage!

Hello...Is there anybody in there?

Just wondering if anyone is reading this besides me.

Random

Well...here we are about to start another year. I remember back in the 90's when we thought the year 2000 and beyond would be so different. It seemed like such a major change to go from the 90's to 2000. Here it is now turning to 2008 and still no flying cars! I hope that I can actually accomplish the goals I have set for myself since I haven't done very well the last two years.

We took Alton to the doctor today. He has been extremely grumpy and waking up about four times a night. It turns out he has an ear infection. He started on antibiotics so hopefully he will be back to his happy smiley self very soon.

I don't remember how much I have written on my blog about what I have been going through since the baby was born. I have been in almost constant pain since he was about three weeks old. I have gone through different tests and seen different doctors to try and figure out what is going on. I saw my OB/GYN three weeks ago and he said he thought I had nerve damage so he prescribed a medication to help. But... my stupid insurance wont pay for it. So I had to get something else prescribed. Long story short I just got the medication today and started taking it. It makes me feel really weird. I took this same medication about 5 years ago and I don't remember feeling like this. But then again I have a very bad memory. (Probably from all the brain cells I killed doing drugs) Justin said it made me feel weird for a while so hopefully this wont last long and I can get over this. I am SO sick of being in pain all the time. It is hard to take care of my kids and do all the things I need to when I just want to crawl in bed and not feel the pain any more.

Have a safe and happy new year! If this doesn't make sense or there are a lot of mistakes it's because of this drug. Sorry!

Pondering!

Sometimes I feel like I'm looking at my life through a window. I wonder how I got where I am and if the things I've accomplished actually mean anything.

If it's not one thing it's another!

I took Alton to the ENT yesterday so that we could figure out why his breathing is so raspy. The doctor said that he has laryngomalacia which is when the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction and most commonly causing a characteristic high-pitched squeaking noise. He said that if it doesn't go away in three months he needs to come back and they will do a scope. I'm really hoping that it will go away by itself so that he doesn't have to undergo any unpleasant procedures. Orin also had his post-op appointment at the same time and his tongue has healed and looks really great. I'm glad that's all over with.
I really worry about Alton. I feel like I am always taking him to the doctor for something or other. He is different from all of my other kids. He just seems to be slightly off. My other kids all did things basically the same, but not him. I worry that he will have health problems through out his life judging how the last five months have been. It's not like he's really unhealthy or anything he's just different. When I told my Mom that we were going to have a baby she said that she felt like this baby was going to be very special. I don't know what that means but I keep waiting for something to manifest itself to explain that. Maybe I'm just being a Mom and worrying. I really hope that's what it is because look how stinkin cute he is!

Little Eadie Beetle

It's hard for me to believe as I look back that my little beetley Gwen is five years old. The time has flown by and I know before I know it she will be graduating from High School and getting married. Enjoy every minute of it because they grow up way too fast.

She started out as a tiny little bundle covered with so much dark hair. She was a wonderful baby and was very easy to take care of. She stayed little for a long time, but then definitely made up for it at about 6 months old, when she turned into the biggest chunk I have seen.

People are drawn to her. She is loved and adored. Her long, dark hair is her most distinguishing feature, and the envy of her sister and I. Her eyes are so dark they are almost black. She misses me when I'm away for too long and greets me with a big hug. She is shy and quiet. She is a beauty, I love her and I'm so glad that she's mine.

Happy Birthday Eadie!