2 weeks from today!

[mickeysaver]

I'm going to Disney World! ​

Yes, that wonderful time is approaching when I can take off the shackles of reality for that ever so brief period of time and my honey and I can let our inner children out to play. We so need a vacation, because so far, it's been a heck of a year.

I swear so much has happened in 2010 that it sometimes makes my head spin. Gabby has now completely committed to trying to get pregnant, because she has decided that she really does want a baby with me. Later this year, we are going to give it a try. Gabby is worried about being pregnant and trying to care for her mom, which I share her concern, but she is more focused on starting a family. Life is so funny, really, this is the same woman that a year ago was dead set against the idea, but has now decided that we should make a family so that we can share the journey of raising a child. This is not a momentary emotion either, she has been saying this for the past 5 or 6 weeks and is actually taking the steps to find us a donor and everything. I am extremely excited at the possiblity.

Gabby's mom is in and out of the hospital with her health issues. Gabby is down there with her now and has been the past couple of weeks now. I am looking forward to her coming home on Friday. I really don't know how much longer her mom is going to make it. She is pretty miserable and has enough mental capacity to realize that life is sucking. Oh, and she fell about 5 weeks ago and broke her arm too.

Baby M and her mom are now out of rehab. Our niece still hasn't chosen a permanent place to live yet. She is bouncing between baby daddy and her mom's. The first day out of rehab, she wrecked her car, with the baby inside. Luckily, everyone was fine and no drugs were involved, Thank God! They figured out that our niece has some OCD and she is being treated for that. I am hopeful that she will keep herself on the right track, but she is still surrounding herself with the same people that drug her down to begin with, so we shall see.

My depression is pretty much gone through the wonders of medication. I am down 68 pounds from where I was in January. I need new clothes because everything is now huge on me. I am hoping to be below 300 by the end of the year. I am not focusing on weight loss, but being that it is happening, thanks to the pills, I am not fussing about it. I still eat what I want, but I just don't eat much of it. A meal is about the size of my fist. I have never been much of a snacker, so that's not a problem. I love drinking water, so that helps too. I am hopeful that my EVC doesn't want to give out on me like it was trying to do at the parks in December. Between my fat behind and the cold weather, those batteries were just not making it very long.

Anyway, I can't wait to get to Disney World in a couple of weeks. I have my clothes all picked out for the trip, even though most of them are extra baggie. Next weekend we will get packed for the trip. I have built what I consider to be the best touring plan possible. It is a lot of early morning park touring, a mid-day break at the pool, and an evening of fun somewhere. The thing that I am looking forward to most is The Last Tour to Endor event. While I am more of a Star Trek geek, I still appreciate Star Wars. The fireworks that night are bound to be freakin' amazing, which to me is worth the price of admission.

Ok, I have bored you all quite enough. I am off to do more errands and laundry. Have a great weekend!

 

[Peepster]

Maggie, just want to wish you a great trip and hope the rest of your year is spectacular! You and yours have certainly have had your share of challenges.

The World does have a way of renewing the soul, doesn't it?

Safe travels!

Auntie Peep

 

[hematite153]

Thanks for the updates on everything--I'd been wondering how it was going. I really hope, for Baby M's sake that your niece gets things together soon.

I'm also excited to hear about your plans for a baby. I don't know how old Gabby is, but, as someone who thought she only needed a donor who has now spent 6.5 years trying to get my DW or myself pregnant, I recommend consulting with a doctor earlier rather than later. (Some people get lucky with live donors and it's easier to try every month if you can find one. But, I've known other people who've worked with a live donor monthly for two years only to finally learn that they weren't actually ovulating properly.)

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

and your news is all pretty dang exciting. Have fun on your va-ca!

 

[Mathfailure]

I hope all is going as you wish, I have thought of you often.

Kathleen

 

[mickeysaver]

I am hopeful that we will be able to take this trip and scared that we won't. Gabby's mom went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor pretty much said, get your legal affairs in order because there isn't much we can do for you anymore. He tried suggesting that she go into hospice care, but she refused. The only option left is dialysis, but that's not a good answer really given her quality of life issues due to her CHF, Diabetes, Thyroid, Fibromyalgia, and Dementia symptoms.

I am just praying that that Gabby will have had this vacation time away from it all to relax some before she is forced to deal with the loss. I don't want her mom to suffer, but I want Gabby to be in a better place mentally before this happens. I know that this loss is going to be very hard for her to handle. I wish that I could be there with her when it does happen, but the only way that will happen is if her mom dies while we are at WDW. God's gonna do what needs to be done, but I am a bit worried about what lies ahead for Gabby.

Gabby printed off a bunch of power of attorney papers, a new will, and some other stuff last night and she is taking her mom to the bank today so that the stuff can be signed and notarized. Gabby sounded so defeated last night when I talked to her, it just broke my heart. If you guys can, I don't ask this selfishly, I am asking for it for Gabby's sake, please pray that her mom will rally for a bit and that she makes it through to August the 18th when Gabby will be back down there again after our vacation. Please God, it's 22 days, please give her at least 22 more days.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Maggie, sending wishes for peace and comfort to you and Gabby! Sounds like you have made some big decisions, and that there are some big hurdles ahead. I hope you are able to enjoy your vacation as planned!

 

[mickeysaver]

Well, we leave tomorrow. Gabby has been bouncing around like Tigger all evening. It had been a pretty good night. Gabby just did her nightly call to check in with her mom and her mom is having trouble breathing again. It looks like her sister will either be calling 911 or will be trying to get her to the ER by herself.

Gabby is really bummed now, which is totally understandable.

Sometimes, life just kinda sucks.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Maggie,

Have a great trip! Hopefully this will give you the escape you both need, you all seem to have a lot on your plates right now.

 

[mickeysaver]

Overall, the trip was great. We took no pictures, traded only a few pins, but did so off of the messenger bag, not off of a lanyard. We had amazing meals at Via Napoli, Le Cellier, and the Hollywood Brown Derby. Really enjoyed the surprise entertainment at The Plaza Restaurant when the matchmaker came into the restaurant off of Main Street for a bit. She was a hoot. We had a blast at TL and were both glad that we were there at park opening, because by lunchtime, storms had closed down the park. We visited all 4 parks and while we didn't ride everything, it was nice to do what we did while we were in the parks. We got to see Captain EO, which was kind of neat, but the best part was seeing the preshow where Joe Rhode, the imagineer, was sporting a full head of hair and a full beard.

Gabby's hip went out on her, but she was determined to keep going and refused to use an EVC during the trip, so she became quite fond of the walking stick/cane that she purchased at Epcot. By Thursday of our trip, Gabby was sick as a dog with an upper respiratory infection which kept us in the room late Thursday through Saturday afternoon. She kept telling me to go to the parks or the pool to enjoy myself, but I was not about to leave her in the room alone sick. So, it was a really good thing that we loved the food at POFQ's CS restaurant and that they have lots of Earl Grey teabags & honey available. That refillable mug we bought at TL to get us through the day that went largely unused because of the storms, well, it was used to make over a dozen mugs of hot tea to make Gabby feel better and therefore is now priceless. Since we spent so much time in bed, she had a chance to fall in love with the blanket on the bed. She wanted to take it home, but instead I was able to purchase one through the resort collection catalog that was in our room. The blanket should be here tomorrow.

We tried to do the Last Tour to Endor event, but the night was a bust for us. Long story, letters will be written this weekend to the appropriate parties, basically I feel that 105 minutes worth of standing in line to purchase and item that I was told was available for sale by 3 different people only to get to the register and be told that it was never for sale, well that killed any hope of being able to enjoy the party because by that time, there was no way to see the special stuff that we had wanted to see, including the fireworks.

But, I don't dwell on that stuff, I am just glad to have had the time away with Gabby just enjoying her company. We were a little bad. We bought some stuff for a baby. In our defense, the baby mouse ears with the name of the baby we are hoping to get Gabby pregnant with are a symbol of our comittment to stay positive that we will have a kid. Sort of using that "the secret" stuff or something like that. lol

We bought lots of cute things for Baby M too. OMG, we stopped by the hospital to see Gabby's mom on the way back to Georgia and F brought the baby by so that I could finally meet my favorite little 13 pound peanut. She is so freakin' adorable! She did her first belly laugh while we were there, not just a giggle, but a big old belly laugh. It was just too stinkin' cute. The bad news is that F let the cervical cancer go until after her time in rehab was done, well, it has spread to her uterus and ovaries. She now has to have a full hysterectomy and she isn't even 21 yet. F wants us to take full custody of Baby M if she , God forbid, messes up again or, even worse, dies. She is putting together a will and trying to figure out what court documents would need to be done to try to make those wishes honored, but there is always the baby daddy issue, but he is an alcoholic and is a broke butt off & on again student, so I have no idea what will happen, especially under FL law.

However, I do know that Gabby loves that baby and that baby is totally in love with her Great Aunt. Baby M is very much Mama's girl right now, which is age appropriate, but if anyone else has to hold her, it's Gabby, but she let me feed her for a bit and play with her for a while with some big grins and some giggles and squeals. Overall, I am in love with a 7th month old who seems to like me ok, but for a first meeting, she and I did pretty well together. I can't wait to see her again!

We came home on Sunday. Gabby's anniversary gift came on Monday. I gave her a day at the spa. I took her to this really nice resort just a bit north of here and she had about 7 hours worth of being pampered & massaged from head to toe. She loved it and I told me that she wants one of those days for every Mother's Day after the baby comes. I told her that I think that the kiddo and I can make that happen.

Tuesday, reality set in and Gabby drove back down to FL and I returned to work. Gabby and her sister brought their mom home from the hospital last night, but she is having a really hard time breathing again and Gabby thinks that she might be headed back to the hospital tonight. The kidney failure thing is going to be what kills her because her mom just can't handle the dietary restrictions and with only 1200 ml of fluid a day, she is going nuts. She had 40 pounds of fluid build up when she went into the hospital last Wednesday. She didn't lose much of it before she was discharged either. Gabby and her sister are still determined to try to keep their mom at home where she wants to be. The doctor has already tried to discharge her to a rehab facility because of her lack of mobility but Gabby took her home after only being there for an hour and a half because the folks there were so sad looking with no family with them and the place smelled like urine. I can't say that I blame her about not wanting her mom to remain in that sort of facility, but as most of you know, her mom really needs to be in a facility of some sort, but my MIL is stubborn and the sisters want to keep her happy.

Anyway, that's the scoop on our trip and a little update on the other life dramas that seem to follow us around.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Sounds like you had a great time, despite a few mishaps. Sorry about those. We can ever seem to have a vacation without something happening.