Island Getaway!

So I was lucky this month because I had the opportunity to have another free weekend for just "me" time. My BFF Kia and I went on a 4 day cruise for a little rest and relaxation. There are way tooooo many details to type so let's just say we had a wonderful time. Kia was definitely the right girlfriend to vacation with because she is low key, laid back and has no time for uneccessary stress! We slept, played and partied. Day one is still a blur because all I remember is pina colada's......not good! The kids spent their time with my parents in Jesup and Paul travelled to Chicago for a speaking engagement at a urology conference. All in all everyone came out pleased.

In my eagerness to leave for the cruise I forgot to pack my camera so the pictures are a little blurred (sorry) But thumbs up to the $5 disposal camera from Walmart for capturing some unforgettable moments. Now it's back to reality of running after my busy boys. Trey can be so sweet at times but he is stubborn as an ox at others. He still has no idea that I am always going to win the fight! Preston I have no complaints about. If you feed him he is happy.

My first free weekend!

This past weekend I did nothing but sleep! Paul took both of the kids with him on a road trip to Florida well with a little detour to Jesup. He had a board meeting in Gainesville at the University of FL and he slept over in Jesup on Friday night with my parents. Saturday Paul, my Dad and Trey drove to UF for the weekend. They went to a football game, shopped and visited with some of his old friends. Preston spent the weekend being spoiled by my mom. They had their own plans and were all over the place too.

For the first time in probably 2 years I slept. Saturday I did not wake up until 4pm. I am not kidding. My sister in law (to be) was visiting with us all last week and she woke me up Saturday morning at 10:30am to let me know she was leaving. I walked her out, locked the door and got back in the bed. When I woke up the clock said 3:59. I couldn't believe I slept that long but I was truly tired. I never left the house the whole weekend, even though I made a million plans with my girlfriends to hang out. Did I miss the boys.......only briefly!

Anyway they all got back Sunday night and reality kicked right back in. Trey has gotten a spanking everyday because he came back confused about who is in charge. He was spoiled all weekend with his favorite people and Preston is back to waking up at least once at night.

Here are a couple of pictures to show you how much money my husband spent in Gainesville. Trey is completely brainwashed when it come to the Gators and his dad is going to be so disappointed if he chooses to not attend that school. The pictures aren't too great because we could not get them to be still.

I feel better!

After 5 days of fever I feel much better. I greeted my mommy Sunday morning standing in my crib with a big smile and drool! Thanks for your prayers!

Tough days

Poor Preston has been sick since Tuesday. He has strept throat and the flu. Where did he get it from? Beats the hell out of me, bad hand washing on someones part I guess. No one else in his class is sick except for him. Yesterday was pretty scary because his temperature got up to 104.8 at the doctors office. He was shivering pretty badly because of the quick rise in his temperature and all the nurses were rushing trying to put cool clothes, etc on him before he seized. The visit ended up being a whole 3 hours because they wouldn't let us go until his fever started to trend downwards. Today is a little better though. His fever hasn't gotten above about 102.5 and he is drinking a little bit. I am sure he feels terrible and he is definitely not himself right now. He looks pretty wimpy but he is trying hard to smile when his fever is down. Meanwhile, daddy and I are a wreck with no sleep! But we will get over it pretty quickly. Trey had the flu and strept at the same time too but I think he was at least one year old when it happened not eight months old. And on top of that his third tooth is breaking through. Poor baby!

Conversation

This is a different kind of post for me but it evolves around a conversation I had with my mom. We were talking about her cousin (male) who I have always known as my uncle. He is a really wonderful guy who is a physician and married a wonderful woman who is also a physician. They have been married for almost 20 years and matriculated through school together, have 3 beautiful teenage kids and live a respectable life. This is one of the couples I have respected all my life and kind of reminded me of the Cosby's. Well, how life throws you curve balls....... My aunt and uncle are now going through a divorce. After almost 20 years all the magic apparently started to fade away. My uncle started having an affair with one of his work colleagues. This relationship apparently started years ago without anyones knowledge. She is also a physician who is not married, no children and 10 years younger. She is caucasian and I know this shouldn't matter but it makes the wound sting a little more. They two of them are in love, are planning to get married and have children together. WOW!

The main reason I really posted this is to get some other perspectives from at home moms. My aunt has been a stay at home mom for 15 years. She stopped working as a request from her husband (of course she had no objection about it either) to raise their children and keep their home/school balance smooth. She has been an excellent stay at home mother and the kids have always gone to great private schools. She has been responsible of taking care of their home, finances, and whatever else comes with being a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, she gave up her career for this life. Meaning she hasn't worked in years and wasn't smart enough to think that she needed to still invest in her longterm future after the kids grow up. She has no retirement account and the only money she has is HIS money.

The divorce is almost final and she did however get the house, two cars and half of the savings (which was only $10K not a lot of money people). But guess what? She can't afford the house. It's less than 5 years old, with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths and a whopping mortage of $3K. How does she afford that? She is selling the house, in a bad economy mind you. Selling one of the vehicles and placing the children in public school. She was not awarded alimony so the only income she will receive is for the kids child support. This amount will only cover their living arrangments, school clothes, kids cost etc.

So to all my at home moms. Are you making sure you are being compensated on your JOB as an at home mom? When I was out with Trey for 6 months I transferred money every month into my retirement account. Where did the money come from PAUL'S CHECK translation OUR CHECK. Being a stay at home mom is truly a job and should not be taken lightly.

Don't get me wrong I do believe that love can last a lifetime but sometimes spouses are reading different books. When Paul and I met it was love at first sight. No second guesses and no big obstacles have come our way but I am no fool. Love does not always last.............................