No Room at the Inn
We arrived into Lincoln, Nebraska at about 4pm on May 26th. We had reservations at the Embassy Suites downtown. However, when we arrived a number of things went wrong.Prior to the trip, I called many hotels looking for a place to stay that would work well for a family our size, and yet still be affordable. My hubby works for the Government, and so often times hotels will offer us a government employee rate. Initially we had booked a room at the Comfort Suites (since my hubby’s relatives would be staying their as well), but we decided to see if we could find a bigger room. When we called Embassy, we told them we were vacationing, but asked if they would still offer a discount for government employees. They said sure, and so we changed our reservation to them since we could get a 2 room suite for the same cost as over at Comfort Suites. We then canceled our reservation at the Comfort Suites.
Well, apparently, the woman that gave us this rate was not suppose to, and when we arrived they said the best they could do was reduce their rate to $139 per night! This was DOUBLE what we had been quoted. Not to mention, there was NO parking downtown, and we were going to have to pay parking fees or valet fees in addition to the room rate.
We went back out to the car to figure out what to do. I had the number to Comfort Suites in my binder, so we called them up to see if we could still stay there instead. The man on the phone said he had a room available until Thursday night. We decided to take it for that night at least, and then call around for another hotel for the rest of the week that was more in our price range.
We headed over to the Comfort Suites and they actually gave us their largest room, which would work out great. Unfortunately they were still saying we would have to check out Friday morning. Friday morning was the Ordination!
So, I got on the phone and started calling hotels. I soon found out that practically EVERY ROOM IN LINCOLN was booked. All I was able to find was a couple hotels that had a “smoking” room with a king size bed. That wasn’t going to work. It turns out that ALL the Public High Schools in town were having their Graduations, in addition to a number of other big sporting events, that particular weekend. I seriously called over THIRTY hotels Monday night, and then again Thursday morning! How could every hotel be booked like that in a town the size of Lincoln? We even tried getting the room at Embassy back, but it had already been taken.
Anyhow, I guess God was trying to teach me that I really am not in control, and remind me that I need to trust in Him. Unfortunately, I failed miserably, and was totally stressed out. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!?!? I had put so much work into making sure everything would “run smoothly!”
I was pretty upset, especially since I had verified beforehand that it was alright since hubby wasn’t “on the job!” There was no way we were going to be able to afford the difference in the rate, especially since we planned to be in town for a week.
It was hubby’s turn to be the calm one and told me not to worry, it would all work out…
That night I thought about getting online and asking for prayers… But instead said a few of my own, asking for the intersession of St. Joseph. I did get online to check my emails, and briefly mentioned our dilemma briefly to Tracy while responding to a question she had emailed.
Wednesday morning, I got back online to find an email from a brave soul, a friend of Tracy’s that happens to live in the Lincoln area! She was willing to take all 7 of us in for the weekend!!! Plus, it just so happens that this friend also went to school with my hubby’s sister. I can’t believe what a small world it truly is! (So, there you have yet another benefit to blogging! Thank you Tracy and Anne Marie!)
In addition, as soon as I got off the computer, I received a call in our room from the front desk saying they had just had a cancellation, and we would be able to stay. Thank you St. Joseph!
Hubby was right, there was no need to worry after all!
Our Baby Boy Is ONE Today!
Today our little guy is turning one! I cannot believe how quickly time goes by… Here are a few photos from his first year of life:
Happy Birthday Snuggles!! You have been such a blessing to us, and have added so much joy to our lives. We love you so much!
If you could all please say a prayer for him today, I would really appreciate it. He has had a rough month. He hasn’t quite gotten over the flu that he had on our trip, or else he has caught another, and so I took him in to see his doctor yesterday. His weight has dropped drastically, and he is only weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces, which is way below the zero percentile for his age. (At birth he was my biggest baby, weighing 8 lb 5 oz.) The doctor will be running a few tests, and I will be taking him in for a re-check this coming Tuesday. Thank you so much!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! God Bless!
Next Stop: Cabela’s
Monday morning, May 26th, we ate breakfast at the hotel and got back on the road. Hubby & I were ready to arrive in Lincoln by this time, but the boys really wanted to stop at Cabela’s and see the “North American Big Game Display.” (This had been one of our stops on our last trip to Nebraska, and the boys loved it!)
**I can’t believe it has taken me 3 posts to tell you just about the drive out! I hope I am not boring you to death with the details! Hope you all have a great weekend!
What happened to Weight on Wednesday??
It looks like the Weight on Wednesday group pretty much fell apart while I was out of town… That’s why I didn’t give you my weight gain/loss on Wednesday.
So, since some of you have asked how my diet went while traveling, I thought I would give you an update anyways.
It was really hard to eat well PERIOD while traveling, let alone stick to my diet, but overall I did pretty well, considering. I decided to just try and avoid the items that I am either severe or moderately intolerant to, and not worry about the mild category. This opened up quite a few foods that I could eat.
I found that it was much easier to pick up something at the grocery store for myself, versus eating out, and so I did that quite often.
However, I still gained… But only 3 pounds during those 3 weeks, so I am not that upset about it. I’ll lose it now that I am home again, and not sitting in the car so much–just at the computer! 😉
I actually deserve those 3 pounds, since I totally cheated a few times.
On the drive out we stopped at a Starbucks, and trying to follow my diet, I ordered a Sugar-Free Hazelnut Soy Latte. It was disgusting! Not to mention, it cost a small fortune… So our next coffee stop on the way home after dealing with the flu, I splurged and had a Venti White Chocolate Mocha. It was delicious! (Though I didn’t feel too good afterwards.)
Also, when we were in Stockton/Lodi, CA on the last day, before leaving town, I talked my hubby into stopping by Cottage Bakery. I have very fond memories of this certain bakery from my childhood, and was so excited to hear that they were still in business, though they had moved locations.
One particular memory includes my Grandmother showing up, while my mom was in labor with my sister Jamie, with Coffee Cake and Sparkling Apple Cider, and we had a little celebration as soon as Jamie was born. (My mom had mostly home births.) Oh, how I miss my Grandma! She passed away at the young age of 61 when I was only 12. I was her oldest grandchild, and we were very close.
I ended up buying a few different Coffee Cakes, some Dutch Crunch Rolls, and a dozen pastries. Oh, and a couple more mocha’s too, one for hubby and one for me! I am sure all 3 pounds are a result of this one particular stop.
As we were driving home that day, I complained that I was hungry and reached for another pastry, and hubby said, “there’s still some more grapes…” I replied, “Oh, that’s alright, I can’t have grapes…” We both started laughing at the irony of it all, as I sat there eating a cream filled pastry. 🙂
So there you have it… My WoW update for the last month.
Here is my summary:
- Weeks thirteen to sixteen: +3 pounds (though I have already lost a pound since Wed.)
- Total lost in WoW: -5 pounds
Goals for this week:
- Go to the grocery store today, and get back on my diet!
- Oh… and pick up some more Coconut Bliss!
I would send you over to Regina’s to see everyone else’s results, but she hasn’t posted this week… Sorry!
Going Bananas
This morning a friend of mine brought me a HUGE box of ripe bananas. They needed to be used soon, unless I wanted them to start looking like this, so I opened my cupboards to see what I could bake.
You know, I have yet to make it to the grocery store since our trip. Thankfully, my hubby has been picking up a few necessities (milk and eggs) since he works in town, and in the meantime I am trying to be creative with what is left in our cupboards. My goal is to put off shopping till Friday so I can run my errands during our trip to town for Mass. Anyhow, my point is, I am even out of flour!
Luckily I did have a couple bags of Pamela’s Baking Mix
Banana Bread (or Muffins)4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar or honey
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup banana, mashed
1-3/4 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)Beat together butter, sugar or honey, eggs and banana. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into a large greased loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (For muffins, bake for 20 minutes in a greased muffin pan.)
In the meantime, I decided to make some Frozen Banana Pops for my kids. They were actually very easy to make and the kids loved them!
Frozen Banana Pops
6 large bananas
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup topping of choice (I used rice krispies and coconut on some of them, and mini m&m’s on the rest, but you really could use whatever you have on hand including: toasted and sliced almonds, candy sprinkles, small chocolate or peanut butter chips, graham cracker crumbs, crushed candies or cookies, etc.)
12 wooden popsicle sticks
Wax paper1. Cut bananas in half lengthwise.
2. Place one wooden popsicle stick in each banana half so the banana is supported-about 2 inches.
3. Spread the topping of your choice on a piece of wax paper.
4. Spread peanut butter over banana halves so they have a thin coat of peanut butter.
5. Roll each banana half in topping until it is completely coated-you make to use your hands to slightly tap the topping so it sticks.
6. Freeze until firm. Serve.
I ended up spending most of the afternoon and evening in the kitchen (in fact, I just finished all the dishes!), and I still have all these bananas leftover:
I guess I will grab some freezer bags and start peeling… Oh! If you have any great banana recipes or suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
The Natural History Museum
However, I misread the map assuming there was one last town before that vast area of nothing. Convincing hubby that the town was near, we darn near ran out of gas. During this surreal moment along the salt flats, we noticed a neatly dressed man on the shoulder of the freeway determinedly hauling his luggage behind him. Fortunately, we made it, all 70 miles, to the next gas station. After hubby finally exhaled, we stopped to pick up coffee and lunch (for later) at Starbucks/Safeway just before crossing over the border into Wyoming.
We planned to stop for a lunch break at the Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming College. My children’s pediatrician use to live in Omaha, Nebraska, so he told me the couple worthwhile places to stop along the drive: The Museum and Cabela’s!
The Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming College specializes in prehistoric specimens like life-size dinosaur replicas, fossils and artifacts, all gathered from various sites in Southwestern Wyoming. To prepare for all the dinosaur excitement we spent the morning listening to tons of dinosaur songs
The boys had been excited ever since hearing their doctor tell me about the museum!
It was actually really cool and since it was a Sunday afternoon, we were pretty much the only people at the museum.
It was really dark inside, so my pictures didn’t turn out very well at all… This was a consistent problem on our trip, but here are a few photos anyways:
Chiquita wasn’t sure what to think of it all, especially the lion:
And then got back on the road heading to Laramie, Wyoming for the night.
The weather in Laramie wasn’t that great, but, thankfully, it was much better than a couple nights prior!
On the Road
Since we got back, I have been dying to start telling you about our trip, but at the same time, the thought of it has been completely overwhelming me! There is just SO MUCH to share! So, I am just going to start at the beginning and work my way through. You’ll just have to be patient for the exciting stuff!
We began our drive to Nebraska on May 24th, at approx 8 am. We had hoped to get out by 6am, but we were lucky to get out by 8! Thankfully, my mom and my twin sisters, Mary and JoAnn, came over the day before to help us pack. Without them, we probably would have never gotten out here! The girls helped me and played with the kids, Mom picked us up lunch AND dinner so I wouldn’t have to worry about meals, and Mary, Mom & I ran to town to pick up a few last things for the trip and have the kids “Trip Journals” spiral bound, while JoAnn continued to load our iPod
Speaking of the Trip Journals, the kids LOVED them! They spent countless hours working on them during our trip, and enjoyed every minute of it! They will make such nice keepsakes of the trip for them.
Another thing my children LOVED, was the bag of treats Mrs. K (Captain’s tutor) surprised us with the day before our trip! She brought me a bag containing a ton of manila envelopes, four bags labeled with the kids names, and four stop watches. Each manila envelope was filled with four treats, one for each child. Their was a huge variety of treats including: lots of little toys, snacks, stickers, and much more! The idea was that I would give the children a time, and if they were all good, they would get another treat to put in their bag! Sometimes bribery works SO WELL! I am going to have to remember this for future trips! Thank you Mrs. K!
This was our 3rd road trip to Nebraska. We were there in 2004 and 2006 for a couple other ordinations as well. This time, we made a few changes… For one, we actually booked hotels along the way. (At least for the first 2 legs of the trip.) This was such a huge help, actually knowing where we would be stopping for the night! In 2006 we ended up driving a straight 36 hours on the way home, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t do anything crazy like that this trip! 🙂
While I am thinking about it, if any of you have a road trip planned, don’t miss Tracy’s post: On the Road with Little People. I found it very helpful, and used quite a few of her suggestions.
Here are a few last glimpses of our home state:
The boys were very eager to get inside this decommissioned lookout Tower, but unfortunately it was locked.It was a very cloudy day, but beautiful just the same!
It didn’t take long to realize that when traveling with 5 children, there is no such thing as a “quick” bathroom stop! Each time we easily lost 30 minutes, or more, especially if there was a playground near by:
Due to our late start, and our multiple bathroom stops, we were not going to make it to our first destination in time for the evening Mass in town, and so once again, my sister came to our aid, and looked up a few other options for us online. We ended up stopping in Winnemucca, Nevada for Mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church.
Though I didn’t care at all for Winnemucca, the church was so beautiful! I especially loved the stained glass windows and altar:
They even had a beautiful statue of St. Therese.
We arrived an hour early, so the children visited the outdoor grotto, and I was even able to make it to Confession.
(In order to recieve a plenary indulgence for assisting at the Mass of a newly Ordained Priest, one must fulfill a number of conditions including going to confession within 8 days of the Mass and Blessing.)
We didn’t arrive to our hotel until about 8pm, but overall,
it was a great start to our trip.
Summer Time = Popsicle Time
I just LOVE Summer!! We pulled out our Popsicle
Banana Blueberry Swirl Popsicles
Honeydew-Basil For me! 🙂
Oh! And I just love Mary Ellen’s idea to serve Smoothie Pops for breakfast! How fun is that?!?
The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ June 16th
Outside my Window… the sun is shining, the grass is freshly mowed, the birds are chirping, and the deer are lounging around the yard… From the looks of it, they made themselves right at home here while we were gone!
I am thankful for… being able to spend time with my Grandparents this last Thursday and Friday as we were passing through California. Last summer, right after Snuggles was born, I drove to Idaho for my mother’s family reunion, while my hubby was away fighting wildfires, so I could see my Grandparents. It was totally crazy, trying to travel that far with five children right after having a baby, but I thought it might be the last time I would see my Grandfather (since he has been fighting advanced lung cancer) and it was totally worth it! I have gotten to see him a couple times since, and it was such a blessing to be able to spend time with them both this past week!
From the kitchen… there isn’t much! I have yet to get to the grocery store… I do have some pancake mix and frozen blueberries, so I am going to whip those up for the kids, along with some orange juice. As for me, I am drinking a cup of Tazo Tea
I am creating… or rather re-creating our budget, as we try to figure where else we can cut back in order to (try to) keep up with the rising gas and food prices.
I am going… to be staying home as much as possible!
I am wearing… a pink linen skirt, white t-shirt, no shoes (Shh! Don’t tell Flylady!) and some cute Cookie Lee earrings.
I am reading… a new book my mother-in-law gave me on our trip: Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Therese – A Treasured Love Story
I am hoping… that it was just a fluke that Snuggles threw up last night, and that we are not starting round two of the flu!
I am hearing…the clack, clack, clack of dress up shoes in the hallway; the boys playing with their G.I.’s and Snuggles giggling at it all. In the background I can also hear the hum of the washing machine. It was wishful thinking that I could get all the laundry done on Saturday!
Around the house…there is still tons of things that need to be unpacked and put away.
One of my favorite things… is watching the Miracle of St. Therese
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…
Look into planting a few potted vegetables on our porch… (Is is too late? I have never grown anything, and we can’t afford to put up a deer fence this year, but they have never ventured onto our porch, and it would be nice to grow a little something!) Also, Mrs. K will be coming to work with Captain Tues-Thurs. I also am hoping to get started on those trip posts soon–Maybe by tomorrow, I will have up the first leg of our trip! 🙂
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
To see more Daybook entry’s, click here.
Happy Father’s Day!
Father’s Day 2008
A very Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful husband, my own father, my father-in-law, both of my grandfathers, my godfather, and to the godfathers of my children! May God Bless you all today, and grant you the strength and grace to lead your children to Heaven.
Also, Happy Father’s Day to all the “Uncle Fathers” (as our children call them) in our family, as well as to all priests–our spiritual fathers!
As Father Corapi said, “Remember your priests, who are truly fathers in the spiritual sense. They too have expended a lot of “blood, sweat, and tears” trying to insure the well-being of their spiritual children. Without the priest there is no forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation. Without the priest there is no strengthening through the sacrament of Confirmation. Without the priest there is no Anointing of the Sick. Most of all, no priest / no Eucharist—the Source, Center, and Summit of the Church’s life. Let’s pray for our fathers, both biological and spiritual, this Fathers’ Day, and every day. We need them, and they need us.”
Saint Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy family of Nazareth with the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because they know you will understand and protect them. You too knew trial, labor and weariness. But amid the worries of material life, your soul was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you and with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not labor alone. Teach them to find Jesus near them and to watch over Him faithfully as you have done. Amen.
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