Vacation 2010

Who knew that 7 days would not be enough to see everyone we wanted to see last week when we went to Fort Worth?

We drove to Cowtown Monday, checked into our hotel, and went to visit my dad. After a late dinner, it was back to our room to try to put the kids down. It took hours, they were too excited.

Tuesday Mandy and the boys came out to swim with us at the hotel. It was another day without a nap. That night we met Arman and his kids for dinner at Central Market. We were pleasantly surprised to see our long lost friend, Todd there. Again, we got the kids in bed close to 10 and they did not go right to sleep.

Wednesday morning we ran errands to places we don't have in town like Party City. No naps. Then we went to visit with Stephen's family where Jeff, Lynda, and Corey met Spencer for the first time. Another late night...not good for Mommy and Daddy, but we did stop by the liquor store on the way back to the hotel. Mudslides=happy Mommy.

Thursday morning was spent packing and loading the van. Then we went to lunch with one of Stephen's friends at the restaurant right next to the hotel. That's where I lost it. Or should I say them? I realized I didn't have my wedding ring and Aggie ring on. Poor Stephen, I made him run to the hotel in the rain to start the search party. He and the manager even went through the laundry because I thought I put them on the dresser next to the clean towels. I knew there was a slight chance that they were in the bathroom bag. When he got back, I went to the van to check and there they were. I was just so tired when I took them off and I was in a zone so I didn't even think about what I was doing.

Our next stop was to Rochelle and Tommy's where Stephen spent about an hour unloading. That night we met some friends from the old Young Adult Group at Fuddrucker's where we waited out a great storm. The kids had a fabulous time. I enjoyed seeing some of my dearest friends.

Friday morning we headed to Joe T. Garcia's for my old neighborhood reunion. Amy, Lisa, Shannon, and I all met with our families. It was the first time we were all together since about 1980. We made it back to Ro's house in time for our first nap of the week. Kids napping=happy Mommy. And that night was my 20th reunion. Am I really that old? What a wonderful time I had with old friends. I was amazed how many people I knew from elementary school. And of course I got to see my BFF, Hyla.

Saturday morning we went to see Hyla's beautiful new house and we got to swim at her neighborhood pool. I could have stayed all day. I pictured Hyla and me poolside with cocktails, without a care in the world. Maybe one day.....
We had to leave earlier than I would have liked to so we could take Stephen to the airport to rent a car to get to Waco for a wedding. Then I was on my own.....with all 4 kids....for a little while. I took them all back to Ro's and was so blessed to have the help of her family. I got the kids in bed by 9:30. Again...happy Mommy! Caleb was so cute. He said, "Mommy, you are going to be lonely without Daddy so I will sleep with you." And he did.

Sunday morning I packed as much as I could while taking care of the kids and waiting for Stephen to return from Waco. We barely made it to return the car to the airport at 2 and then we took the kids for the snow cones we had been promising all week. Can you believe we didn't even have time for snow cones ? Craziness! We went to say good-bye to my dad and at 4:20, we were on the road for Aggieland. And by 4:30, Abby was saying she had to go to the bathroom. We thought she was kidding and would forget but she kept saying it so we stopped. Not only did she go potty, but she had a dry pull-up. And, just like Willie, we were on the road again. That is, until the "Don't make me pull this car over" lecture. Yep, we had to pull over. And by Hillsboro, Spencer was awake and hungry. We made it home at 9:20. Gone are the days of a straight 3 hour trip without stopping!

Home Sweet Messy and Chaotic Home.

Spencer Christian

We have been pretty busy around here with the addition of our precious new son.

On Thursday, May 6, I went in for my 36 week appointment and found out I was dilated to a 4 and 60% effaced. For me that meant the baby was on his way. I was excited until I found out that my doctor was not delivering that weekend. I have been through so much with this doctor, I did not want anyone but her to be a part of this special moment so I went home and put myself on bedrest. The doctor told me to come in first thing Monday morning.

On May 10, I went in and I had progressed just a little bit. I was amazed at what bedrest did. I had made it to 36 weeks and 5 days, a new record for me. I told my doctor (who I LOVE...have I said that?) that Lauren was going to have her first program on Thursday and I couldn't imagine missing it. I also had to consider the fact that my doctor was not on call that weekend either. She told me she could get things moving by stripping my membrane a little. And so she did.

When I got back to work maybe 15 minutes later, my eyes couldn't adjust. It was as if I had stared at the sun. As I stared at my computer, I realized I was seeing flashing circles. I remembered that this is a sign of preclampsia. I called my school nurse and she had me come down to check my blood pressure. It was elevated. I have never had elevated blood pressure before. The doctor's office said to go to the hospital so Stephen and the kids picked me up and took me right over. Then he took the kids to a neighbor's and came back. The doctor stopped by at 1 and said she hoped to deliver Spencer before her 5:00 C-Section.

She stopped by at 5, but I was not quite ready so she came back after her C-section. We started pushing at 6:36 and he was born at 6:44. He weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19" long.

He was checked for a "grunting noise" which indicates fluid in the lungs, but it corrected itself. Amazingly we were discharged (with no indications of jaundice) before 48 hours...another record!

We thank God every day for our new gift.

Great burgers-poor policies

Blogging is where we go to vent, right?
We have a very popular hamburger bar/grill in town named, 'Koppe Bridge'. It has been voted best burgers in town. We went there for the first time in April. Not only did we like the food, Caleb loved his grilled cheese sandwich and those of you who know Caleb know he only eats about 7 things. There are even many, many deserts that he does not like. So as you can imagine, we were thrilled that he was adding one more food item to his list.

We went back to Koppe Bridge just a few weeks ago and we ordered 2 adult baskets and 2 kid's baskets. Each basket comes with tons of fries. Caleb scarfed down his grilled cheese and begged for another one. Stephen asked how much it would cost to get another sandwich and they said we would have to pay the same as buying another kid's basket, $4.95.

Are you kidding me? $4.95 to melt a piece of cheese between 2 slices of bread? Well, we did not buy one and Caleb cried until we left.

Today I finally got around to writing a letter to the owners. Here is my letter:

To Whom It May Concern,
A few months ago my family of 5 ate at your Wellborn location for the first time. My husband and I were amazed that our 4 year old son loved your grilled cheese sandwich because he is an extremely picky eater who only eats 5 or 6 things. My 5 year old and 4 year old often asked to go back to your restaurant so we returned a few weeks ago, after the birth of our 4th child. My husband and I each ordered 1/2 pound baskets and our son had the grilled cheese basket while our 5 year old daughter shared her basket with our 2 year old daughter.

Our son ate his grilled cheese in record time and asked for another one. My husband asked if he could just get a grilled cheese sandwich and the employee at the counter asked the cooks. We were told we would have to purchase an entire grilled cheese basket or pay the same amount just for a sandwich.

We were dumbfounded. Why would you charge someone almost $5 for 2 pieces of bread with a slice of cheese? We told our son that he could not have another one and he cried until we left.

I do not know if this is your policy, or just something your cook made up as he went along, but I wanted to bring this to your attention and give you the opportunity to respond.


And her reply:

Hello Mrs. Arnold,

Thank you for your email and the feedback regarding your experience at our restaurant on Wellborn Road. Our kid's grill cheese meal is indeed $4.95; however, a grill cheese ala carte with chips/fries is $3.50. The kid's grill cheese meal comes on regular bread, while the regular menu grill cheese is prepared on Texas toast. Two slices of cheese are used on each sandwich.

Our product pricing is set up to reflect many associated costs, that including the actual cost of the product as well as various direct and indirect expenses associated with the restaurant business. Based on those factors, we do not sell a small grill cheese sandwich as a side or regular item. My staff was correct to state that the item is not available for pricing as you requested, and the alternative suggestion the staff should have given you was to order the regular size grill cheese for your son. Unfortunately, we cannot do a double sandwich option on our kids meal. I am including a link to our on-line menu.

Thanks again,

Glenda Ross
CFO/Owner
The Koppe Bridge Restaurant Group

http://www.koppebridge.com/id15.html

SERIOUSLY?

I guess we'll be trying some of the other burger joints in town.