Stinky weekend in A day in the life...

Literally. For years now I've had this issue with my stomach. It happens at random. Sometimes it'll be a year or more between bouts, other times it'll happen several times within a few months. What happens is that my stomach will get really distended and I'll look like I'm 15 months pregnant. I'll start belching a lot, really long belches, and they literally smell like sewage...like rotten eggs. I'll also fart a lot, and as impossible as it sounds, they smell even worse. A lot of times these lovely smells are accompanied by major diarrhea and sometimes also nausea and vomiting. There's nothing I can do to help it or stop it, I just have to let it run it's course. It usually lasts 2-3 days. One time it took me to the emergency room because I was so dehydrated from it.

Anyway, it hit me this past weekend. Of all weekends, it had to happen on Easter weekend. It started Friday night and lasted until today. I woke up this morning feeling better and have actually been able to eat without running to the bathroom and/or stinking up the house. But I had to miss church, and that really upset me. I love going to church, especially for the Christmas and Easter services, and I had to miss it. I'm still bummed about it. But lucky for me, my church videotapes all their services and posts them to their website, so I can get on there and watch it. It won't be the same as being there, but it's better than nothing.

I still had to babysit Ben over the weekend, though. I couldn't cancel on Carly at the last minute because she would have had to call in to work and possibly risk losing her job and I didn't want to risk that happening. Luckily Ben is a really good baby, and when he napped I napped with him. The rest of the time all I had to do was put his toys on the living room floor and he just plays by himself. I would also put cheerios on the coffee table and he would stand there just gobbling them up...lol. He's so precious...I just adore him. Tony was also here a lot of the time, so he would get down on the floor and play with him. Ben absolutely loves Tony, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual :-) Don't worry....I still fed Ben and changed his diapers. No matter how bad I'm feeling, I'd never neglect him. And whatever this stomach thing is, it's nothing contagious so I knew there was no possibility of him getting sick from being around me.

I think I'm going to try to go to the gym today. I'm not going to do anything strenuous....just walk on the treadmill.

Last year for my birthday my dad and stepmom bought me the Blu-ray DVD series The Bible. I didn't get to watch it when it was on TV, so I asked them for it for my birthday and they came through for me. Yesterday after Carly picked Ben up, Tony and I watched the first two DVD's, which was six episodes. I found them SO fascinating! What really stood out to me is how all of God's people, except for Noah, Abraham and Moses, got too big for their britches as soon as they got a little power. Saul and David were two of them. They started out as such Godly men, yet once they became kings they started having the mindset that they could do anything they wanted because they were God's anointed ones. And the Israelites! Moses led his people out of Egypt, out of slavery, but once they realized that they weren't going to magically be taken to the land promised to them by the Lord, that they were going to have to travel and go through hard times, all they did was complain! God never promised them that things were just going to be wonderful overnight....He told them that if they trusted in Him, he would reward them with a land flowing with milk and honey. But did they do that? Noooooo! They moaned and groaned and had little faith. No wonder God made them wander the desert for 40 years. They did it to themselves.

It also made me realize how much I used to be like that. Instead of praying and waiting for God to reveal His plans for me and walking in faith, I did whatever I wanted and then wondered why I was in the situation I was in. Over and over and over I did that....for so long. I'm so so SO glad I'm not like that anymore. I'm not saying I don't still make mistakes, because I do. I'm human...I'm not perfect. But now I think before I react, and I pray before I make big decisions. I want to do what's right, not what's easiest or most pleasing to me.

It's another beautiful, sunny day out...it's actually 79 degrees!! I'm actually beginning to think summer might make an appearance this year. We had a brutal winter...we actually broke the record for snowfall this year! I had to wear a coat practically every day....and for those who know me, that's a big deal. I'm usually always warm (if not downright hot, thank you menopause), so the most I wear in the winter as far as outerwear, if anything, is a light jacket. This past winter I was wearing a heck of a lot more than that. I swore I wouldn't complain if we had a hot summer, but I probably will...lol. Heat doesn't bother me but humidity does, and it gets pretty damn humid here.

I think it's time to serve the complaint on AAA. I've been approved for the last month of short-term disability and if AAA fires me to stop me from getting it then that's considered retaliatory, which is a big no-no, and will only make them look worse. Plus, I'll get to file for unemployment if they fire me. So I'm going to call the lawyer and give him the okay and get this thing rolling. I'm ready to get it over with. Maybe once this gets going I can stop worrying so much and my hair will start growing back.

My oldest stepdaughter called us the other day and wants us to give her some money so she can take a road trip with some of her friends. She said it could be considered early birthday and Christmas gifts for this year. At first I told her me and her dad would talk about it, but we could probably give her $250. Then Tony and I started talking about it, and I talked to my mom about it last night, and I realized that no, we can't do this...for several reasons. First, I'm not working, and we can't put ourselves in a hole to help her take a road trip. Second, she thinks that $600 will be enough for a 2 week trip. Are you kidding me? This is a road trip to California and back. That's 3 days to get there, 3 days to get home. There's gas, hotels and meals to pay for, plus spending money. $600 would pay for her part of the gas and maybe also her part of the hotel rooms, but no more than that. And the big thing....she wants to go on this trip and leave her girls, my granddaughters, who are 4 and almost 3 years old, for 2 weeks! I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea...not at all. I know right now she's not happy with the way her life is going, but she's the one who decided to have a baby at 17 and another at 19. She's a good mom, don't get me wrong, but she needs to remember that she IS a mom, and your kids come first. You don't get to run off and take 2 week road trips with your friends who don't have kids when you have 2 little ones...especially when you don't have your own place to live (she and her husband and the girls live with her grandmother), you only have one vehicle (that is in horrible condition), and your husband is the only one that works (at Walgreen's). So I get to tell her no, and she's not going to be happy. Oh well....she'll have to get over it. I was a single mom (granted I only had one child) when I was young, but I had no husband and didn't get child support. I didn't get to take road trips and leave my child for 2 weeks. Are you kidding me? I hardly ever got a night to myself! But hey, that's the way it goes when you become a mom. I didn't get pregnant on purpose, but I chose to have that child and keep him. He was my responsibility, no one else's. My family was always there for us, but they made it clear that Josh was my child, my responsibility, and I'm very glad they did. Too many kids these days are having their own kids, thinking it's going to be like a fairy tale, a living, breathing baby doll, and when they realize it's going to be hard work and that their friends who were smart and didn't have kids young are out having fun and living their lives, they realize what they're missing out on and expect their family to step in and take care of their child(ren) so they can live like they don't have kids. Sorry....that's not the way it goes.

Anyway, it's time for me to get up and clean the kitchen and throw and load of laundry in and then get dressed for the gym. I hope you all had a wonderful, blessed Easter weekend!!

Much love....xoxo