Weekend in Atlanta

We spent this last weekend in Atlanta and it was .......  hmmmm, not sure I can find the right word.  A rollercoaster. I still feel totally drained and I need a very long cry, followed by a good nap. (hold on, this is about to get long)

We left Friday right after Dave got off work.  Like all road trips with the girls, it was fine until the last 20 minutes or so.  We made our way through the city and then north to get to our hotel.  We found ourselves on a toll road, at the toll booth, with no money.  It was $0.50 and we couldn't find cash or change ANYWHERE!  We asked what would happen if we kept going and the lady said we would be fined $25 + the $0.50 fee.  GOOD GRIEF!  For those that know me well know how cheap, er, frugal I am and there was no way we were gonna leave there with a $25 fine.  Time to start digging.  We pulled over and literally tore the car apart looking for ANYTHING we could find.  Nothing.  I told Dave to check the glove box again and as he dug he found an old film canister, that's right... film canister, with a bunch of quarters in it!  Thank you Jesus!  And also thank you Cindy (Dave's mom).  The car we were driving used to be Dave's parents car and we are pretty sure Cindy had left that old film canister full of quarters in there for an emergency.  Whew.

We finally made it to the hotel with two very tired and cranky girls.  We set up the pack n plays in record time, got them changed and in bed ASAP.  We then sat in the hall for the next 30 minutes so that they'd fall asleep in relative silence.  Thank goodness for our iPhones, can you imagine if we just had to sit there and talk for 30 minutes?  ;)

The next day as we got up and got going I noticed that Abby felt a little warm.  A few days prior Norah had been running an extremely high fever and broke out in a mysterious rash.  She was in urgent car for a few hours and we left after we were able to get her fever under control, but the Dr's still didn't know what the rash was.  Back to Saturday, I had Dave run to a local pharmacy to get a thermometer, just so we could keep an eye on Abby.  We took her temp and it was roughly 101.2.  Not terribly high and she was acting fine so we gave her a little Tylenol and headed out.  We were minivan shopping that day.  Minivans in Atlanta are about $2,000-$3,000 less than they are back home so we figured we'd give it a look.  We went to one dealership and while I was out test driving it the battery died and I ran out of gas.  Awesome.  The dealer had sent me out alone since he was busy so I had to sit and wait for help.   We decided to go to another place nearby to look.  The one there was really nice so I took it for a spin.  We liked it and wanted a mechanic to check it out.  We dropped the van off and headed to Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Upon arriving back at the dealership we made an offer and you know how that goes, countered for a while and the negotiation came to a stand still.  Abby had been sleeping for most of this, but she woke up fussy and was burning! Every part of her felt warm.  I told Dave we needed to go.  When we got back to our hotel her temp was 103.8.  Not good for a 6 month old.  So, off to urgent care I went.  We were there for a total of 4 hours and it was exhausting.  Abby's fever wasn't coming down and we couldn't leave until it was lower.  They ran some tests and it was HORRIBLE watching her go through that.  I did my best not to cry but a few tears fell.  As we waited for results I turned the lights off and just snuggled with her on that little "hospital bed" while she slept.  My poor baby.  The good news was after all that nothing was seriously wrong and her fever came down so we were able to leave.  The rest of that night is a bit of a blur.

Sunday morning we woke up (err, everyone else woke up, I had been up most of the night with Abby so I was running on about 2-3 hours of sleep) but Abby was like a new baby!  Prayers answered, her fever was gone and she was smiling and moving all over the place!  We headed out to breakfast to meet up with one of our old friends and her fiance!  We had so much fun with them!!  Rachel is a ball of joy and her laugh is infectious!  Her fiance, David, was also very funny and we loved getting to know him better. We're so excited for their marriage and bummed we won't be able to attend.

Then we left for the Georgia Aquarium.  We were driving in our suburban with the Yakima roof box on top so when we arrived at the Aquarium's parking garage we knew we weren't gonna fit.  Dave pulled over and in the hot Atlanta heat, managed to get that thing off alone while people looked on and yelled at him! It was weird and rude but he maintained his composure and just nicely waved back.

Inside the aquarium was probably a little taste of what Disney World is like with little kids.  People everywhere, running in every direction with no concern for anyone but themselves.  It was loud, there was a TON of stimulation (even for me) and you simply didn't know where to look.  After getting through security, posing for the "mandatory" family photo, finding the bathrooms and managing ourselves through diapers changes (and a temp check for Abby) we were set.  We really enjoyed getting to see all they had to offer.  However, we forgot the camera.  As in we left it in Alabama.  Mom, fail.  I NEVER forget the camera.  Agh, bummer.  Good thing for cameras on our phones as we were able to get a few that way.

Daddy and Norah climbed in the "cave" while mommy and Abby waited on the other side

She loved watching the Whale Shark come by

They also had a dolphin show we were really excited about!  Who doesn't want to see a good dolphin show?  We fought the crowds and headed in.  Having missed the morning show and not wanting to stay til the end of the day, we opted for the lunch time showing.  Bad idea.  Norah was a mess.  She has hit that stage where she throws herself down on the ground in a huge fit.  It's pretty much the sign that she's hungry or tired.  She did that, over and over and over.  Finally Dave and I ended up standing in the back, one of us disciplining Norah and the other trying to get Abby to fall asleep.  Right as the show started Abby fell asleep and Norah calmed down and I almost started crying.   I was tired, hungry, emotionally drained from the day before and if I could throw myself on the ground and throw an adult fit, I would have.  The dolphin show was fun but it was more of a Broadway production with a few dolphins thrown in.  There was singing, dancing, lights and sound effects, nothing like the dolphin shows from when I was kid. The dolphins would go away and the man would start singing again and Norah would look at Dave and say, "fishies?" and shrug her shoulders.  Good question Norah, where are the fishies?  The grand finale was fun but we booked it out of there to get Norah some food.  While at the aquarium, Dave was also on the phone with the car dealer who was willing to work out a deal and then bam, we bought ourselves a car.  Shortly after lunch we headed out, back up to north Atlanta to go pick it up.  The dealer had everything ready so it didn't take long for us to get our new minivan and get back on the road!  I'll be sure to tell you more about the van in the next post but yes, we are excited to own a minivan!

Mostly, I'm just glad to be "home" from Atlanta and back in the comfort of our hotel room.  Which is not something I ever thought I would say.