I am so glad to have my husband back after 10 days! He had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica for 10 days on a agricultural trip with my brother’s college. It was definitely an experience for them as I am learning, and it was tough being the keeper of the house for 10 days with Brayden! We missed him, but this was simply an opportunity that would never come up for him again. The hardest part was not talking to him every day. He didn’t take his cell phone due to the outrageous international calling fees and they didn’t have access to wifi every night, only about half of the time.

They visited dairy farms, hiked, zip lined, white water rafted, and 100 other things that I can’t remember. They had a really full itinerary and were pretty tired when they got home. They met a lot of really nice people there, ate some pretty good food, and stayed in some very interesting, rustic places. I can’t wait to see some more of the videos that Brandon got while he was gone.

Brayden and I survived- we stayed with some friends last weekend, and then my college roommate and BFF from Florida flew up for the week just to hang out. Thanks to her, the week went by faster! We ate with my parents quite a bit, did a little shopping, and relaxed. It was nice but I was SO ready to go get Brandon last night. We have never been apart for that long and I was just so thankful he was home safe and sound. I even cooked a big meal for him- I think he appreciated that!

Thankfully, my nausea is starting to subside- that helped immensely in taking care of Brayden on my own! My mom kept him for one night so Sheana and I could get dinner together, so that was a nice little break. He was so happy to see Brandon and hasn’t really left his side since last night. Boys…

3 years ago while a blizzard was raging outside, we stood at the altar in a packed church and vowed to honor, love, and cherish each other until death do us part.

Thanks to my blogger/photographer friend Leah, I can’t get this song out of my head. See, her and her little family of 3 just had their family pictures taken, and their photographer set some of them plus video to this song. And as I watched Leah’s video? I cried. And every time I hear this song, I get all teary-eyed and collapse into a pile of mush. Truer words have never been sung.

This song reminds me that God led me to Brandon for a reason.
Many reasons.
For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. God gave me you.

I don’t even know where to begin this story, because something so incredible happened this weekend, I don’t know if I can put it into words.

I. had. an. entire. day. off. from. mommy. duties.

*gasp!*

Brandon said something to me on Friday evening about my plans for the next day, and I didn’t really have any, so he offered to take Brayden for the day so that I could do whatever it was that I wanted to do. I shrugged him off as having some sort of a fever or something! But Saturday morning, he held true to his word. Told me to get showered and get going. Do whatever it was I wanted. So I hurried and dressed and got ready before he changed his mind!

So what did I do? Picked up my mom, went shopping, out for lunch, and to Barnes and Noble. With no schedule. Without wondering when Brayden would need to eat, or what I was going to do to distract him if he got a little out of sorts. I ate at my own pace, and when I browsed at Barnes and Noble, I had a non-fat caramel frappacino in my hands. It was heavenly.

I haven’t felt this relaxed in over a year. I got to be just Julie. Not Julie the mom. Just me. And for a change? It was really nice. I missed my boys but I know they had tons of fun visiting one of Brandon’s college buddies and then stopping at my brother’s new place at college. After I was done, we met at home, got ready again, then took Brayden to my mom and dad’s for the night so we could attend a going away party. We had a nice dinner date beforehand, and a really fun night. Brandon said it was like the “old” Julie was back. That is a good feeling. He said my smile was back and that I looked relaxed, like I could take on the world. And you know what? I felt like it.

I can’t tell you how amazing it was to just be me. And not worry about Brayden, because he had such a blast with his daddy. This hasn’t happened since the day he was born, and although I wouldn’t want to make it a regular habit, it was really nice. Sunday we spent the day as a family to get in my fix since I missed my boys on Saturday. We enjoyed some cooler weather (finally) and played a LOT outside. I feel like a new person, and I can’t wait to tackle some things on my list this week now that I feel a bit more free.

Moms, I encourage you to take even an HOUR to do something for yourselves. Even if the laundry is piling and the kitchen is dirty, indulge yourself. It is so rewarding. And your kids and spouse will thank you later!

(The title of this post is indeed in reference to Michael J. Fox’s new book, which I desperately want to read!)

So, this day is not going as I had planned. Not at all.

Yesterday, Brandon threw out his back. He has had back trouble in the past (a bulging disc) and almost had back surgery right after we got married. He was climbing in a corn crib and went to grab the next railing and felt a lot of pain in his lower back. When he came home last night, he could barely walk. My mom gave him a muscle relaxer and he went to bed. At 5am, he was awake, feeling a lot of pain, almost passing out/getting sick. He woke me up (scared me to death!) and after a few minutes, was back to sleep. I, however, wasn’t.

He slept until almost 10:30am. The muscle relaxer really knocked him out, but when he woke up, he was still in a lot of pain. I call my mom and we decide he should probably go to the ER and get it checked out, since he has had problems before.

So I gather Brayden, all of his stuff, Brandon, all of his stuff, and we head to drop off Brayden at my mom’s. We get Brandon checked in at the ER and only had to wait a few minutes. The dr. comes in and takes a look, and says muscle spasms, and they want to give him a couple shots to help with the pain.

My husband doesn’t do needles.

As soon as the dr. said the word “shot”, Brandon got all hot, sweaty, and the color drained from his face. I tried to keep his mind off of it, but the longer he sat there, the more upset he got. I finally had to go tell the nurse to sneak it in so he wouldn’t see it, or he would pass out for sure.

He gets the shots, and we have to wait 20-30 minutes so they can make sure he doesn’t have a reaction. He started to feel better but started getting woozy and talking non-stop. That was when I knew the medication was starting to work! After about 30 minutes, I sign the discharge papers, he gets dressed, and we slowly make our way to the car. We get to the lobby and Brandon starts turning a horrible green/gray color and says he thinks he is going to pass out. I grab the nearest trash can, sit it in front of him, then run back into the nurses station and tell them what is happening. Three of them rush to his side, get him into a wheelchair, and back to the room we go. They hook him up to a bunch of monitors, give him a cool washcloth for his face, and eventually, some ice chips. After about 20 more minutes, the color is back in his face and he is much, much better. I think it was the entire experience (although not traumatic for me- hello C-section!) that put him over the edge.

We spent the afternoon at my mom’s just because I wanted to be sure someone would be around if he got woozy again. Brandon is on bed rest for the remainder of the weekend and on some pain meds and muscle relaxers. He is saying a LOT of ridiculous things, so the meds must be working! I am just hoping his pain is relieved after the weekend. It is basically killing him to not be farming right now. The hardest part is keeping him sitting in the chair! Plus, with him being so woozy on meds, I just don’t want him passing out or anything. So…I basically have 2 babies to take care of this weekend! Luckily, we had no plans…and I am kind of hoping for rain.