On the road again

The day after Mitch and I got back from San Antonio, we drove back to Little Rock to take Will to a Cardiology appointment. I had tried to change it so that we wouldn't be back on the road with no time between our trip, but it just didn't work out. Will went to school and I picked him up a few minutes early so we could hit the road. Ainsley went with us. We got there and Will was weighed, measured and had his blood pressure taken. He even stuck out his arm when the nurse picked up the blood pressure cuff - he knows the drill! He of course charmed all the nurses and staff and we were taken back to the exam room to wait on Dr. Seib (no echo this time!). We love Dr. Seib and are so thankful that he was on call the night Will was born and was flown to ACH. He is very friendly and down-to-earth; he does not at all have a "god-complex" like some docs that you encounter. He's great! The intern came in and asked us all of the usual questions about his breathing, activity level, whether he ever turns blue . . . . (we've always laughed about that; like, if he turns blue, we wouldn't call!). Dr. Seib came in later and Ainsley jumped in my lap and said "Not me!" He eventually earned her approval when he proved that he wasn't going to touch her! She got pretty restless and loud during Will's exam but he did fine. The news was basically that Will was doing well for now; upon exam the mitral valve regurgitation did not sound any different - no better, no worse - and Will is still tolerating it fine. No reason to rush into surgery. We did ask him some questions about what might happen in that event. We talked some about Will's dental issues and then we were done. Dr. Seib took both kids into the doctor's conference room/office where a couple of other doctors were working. He let them each pick out a treat from the treasure box and they both "worked the room" with their silly sayings, hugs and kisses. I thought we'd never get them out of there! We let them play outside on the hospital playground before we left. We were both thankful and relieved for a good report!

That was on Wednesday . . . on Friday we packed up again and went to Bentonville/Rogers for Mitch's "work" trip. We picked up Will from school and hit the road. The trip was long as we had to stop many times for the kids to go to the bathroom. This was Ainsley's first long trip since she has been potty trained. We keep a portable potty in the back of the van so we can stop easier and save a little time. It also keeps us from having to find a decent public bathroom every time. About an hour from Bentonville, Ainsley had an accident in her car seat. She soaked everything! We had to change her and then strip everything and wash it once we got to Guy and Julie's house. We got to their house and ate supper. Julie was at a shower and came in later. We hung out and played with Shepherd, who had just started crawling a little. The kids really enjoyed him! He was a little sick, but still very happy! That night we went to out hotel in Rogers and tried to settle in for the night. We'd planned to put Ainsley in the pack and play, but that didn't quite work out - Ainsley had a hard time going to sleep. Long story short, we all ended up in one bed, which was either a queen or a full - too small for 4 people anyway!

Saturday Mitch went to the AR/Alabama game with some co-workers and I took the kids to Guy and Julie's. We ate lunch and took the kids to a park before the game started. They had a great time and acted pretty good. It still makes me nervous to take them places by myself, but Guy and Julie were there to help. The plan was to wear them out before the game so maybe they'd take a nap.











We went back to their house and I got Ainsley down. Will watched the game with us and ended up napping on the couch with me later on. The game was disappointing; we lead Alabama (who was ranked #1 in the nation) for most of the game, but blew it in the second half. We hung out and ate supper and I bathed the kids before meeting Mitch back at the hotel that night. We decided to open the sofa bed and Mitch and Ainsley slept on it so that we were not all crammed together. I don't think either bed was terribly comfortable though!

We did a little shopping Sunday morning before meeting Guy, Julie and Shepherd for lunch. It was a good weekend, but we were glad to be home to stay for awhile!