It's Good To Be Back

I know, I know..."Where in the hell have you been??" My month long trip home (Louisiana) for the holidays ended up turning into a three month visit. Whew...by the time I got home (North Carolina) I was exhausted lol.

There's so much to tell y'all about. First of all..........

I'M GONNA BE A GRANDMOTHER!
My son and his girlfriend found out a week or so after Christmas that they are pregnant. And though I always dreamed of my son being married and having all his stuff together...how can I be mad about a grand baby? I can't!

I'm beyond excited. Hubby is currently looking for a job in Louisiana (or close to it) and we'll hopefully be moving before the baby gets here. She's due on my birthday. We'll find out on April 9th if it's a boy or a girl.

Once I found out about the baby I decided to stay in Louisiana long enough to go to the first ultrasound appointment. I can't begin to describe to y'all what that was like. I was bawlin' like a damn baby in the room once I heard the heartbeat and saw the baby!

My Dad was also hospitalized while i was there. His health isn't good at all. I constantly worry about him now that I'm home. I can't wait until I'm there so I can take care of him!

I ended up staying with my Niece and her family most of the time that I was there. It was nice, though I'm not used to being around three kids under the age of 9 anymore lol.

Here's a bunch of pics, in no particular order...

My son and I on Christmas Eve

My Sister Denise, Nephew in law Luis and his friend Floyd

My Son's gf and I. Girlfriend can dance lol.

My BIL Tomy on his paddle board. They live on the bayou and their bar/restaurant is on the bayou so sometimes they just jump on their paddle boards to go to the bar. Lmao!

My Sister Diann

Amanda (Niece), Denise (Sister), Me and Amanda (AKA Lil Tot since there are now two Amanda's in the family. She's my Grand baby's Momma lol)

I let my Niece Amanda fix my hair. This was taken while she was in the middle of her giving me a "Jersey Bump", I now see why she told me to NOT look in the mirror until she was done.

Diann (Sister) and I at her bar watching the LSU game.

Louisiana Sunset

Lil Tot and I

My Godchild/Niece Destiny and I.

My Niece Amanda's son Maddox. I fell in love with this little guy while I was there. He calls me Onnie (he can't say Aunt lol)

My Nephew Eric and I.

My Sister Diann and her hubby Tomy before going to the Apollo Mardi Gras Ball. How gorgeous is her dress??

Lil Tot and I.

Diann, Amanda and I

Amanda and her husband Luis

Amanda and I

Moi

My Son and I

Sisterly love

One of my new favorite shots. It's called a finger me good but since my Niece Amanda and I refuse to call it that we just call them "FMG's". They're so yummy! 3/4th's a shot of crown 1/4th a shot of butterscotch schnapps. 

When I landed in Lafayette (Louisiana) the first thing I saw was this woman dressed as Mrs Clause. Head to toe...it was hilarious!

Me, Rusty, and Amanda. Vegas bombs baby.

Cheers!

Baby bump

Diann and Tomy before the Apollo Ball

Me again

My new car hubby got me while I was gone. Since I'll be making a few road trips to Louisiana until we move there he decided to sell mine and get me this one. 

Diann before the ball...none of us realized that she had her glasses hanging on her dress until after we took these pics lol.

Maddox on "Wacky, Tacky" day at daycare for Dr. Suess' birthday.

 Hubby's daughters crossing the finish line of the Shamrock Marathon. I cut my trip short in order to be able to be there to watch them cross the finish line. So proud of both of them!

They rock!

My Son telling me that we've taken enough pictures and he's not taking anymore with me.

Amanda and I at her birthday party. My Son is on the left in the background and my Dad is on the right. 

Rusty and I

Amanda and I thinking we look cute on the dance floor.

Quite a few things happened while I was there, and I learned quite a few things too. Here's a list.

A member of my family  was extremely drunk and took my bottle of pain pills out of my purse and took a bunch of them. We're still not sure how many were taken but when I found her, her pupils were unresponsive and she barely had a pulse. She was rushed to the hospital (by ambulance) and released the same night. She didn't intentionally try to commit suicide, she was just drunk and depressed. But...this happened on Christmas Eve night. 

A friend of mine passed away. He was 35 years old and they're pretty sure he had a massive heart attack. Because of his passing away I got to see his brother who used to be one of my best friends. He'd been in a car wreck 7 years earlier and had massive brain injuries. The last time I saw him he was in a wheelchair. When I saw him at the funeral he's walking with a crutch and sounds like the guy I knew before the wreck. It was amazing to see him and get to spend some time with him.

I learned that my Son isn't dealing with his father's suicide as well as I thought he was and that he needs me more now than I think he has since he was little. Especially with a baby on the way. He's also not dealing with my living so far away as I thought he was. It breaks my heart to know that. It also broke my heart to see my adult son cry every time I talked about coming home. 

I learned that my Father's health is even worse than I thought it was and that he isn't taking care of himself at all. He needs me there, and he wants me there to take care of him. None of my other family members who live there have the time to take care of him.

I learned that I need to go home. I need to be with my family just as much as they need to be there. It's hard living somewhere that you have very few (one) friends. It's also hard to live around a bunch of people who you feel like will never accept you no matter how much you accept them.

I've learned that someone that I thought I was at least civil with has been talking about me behind my back. I never considered the bitch a friend but she sure is an enemy now!

I've learned that there are some things I should not read. It's only going to piss me off. I've also learned that some people are mean just for the sake of being mean. And because they're so damn immature that they don't care who's feelings they hurt. Hell, if I had to guess I'd say that was the intention all along.

I also realized that I have an amazing family. We might be dysfunctional but we love each other and we support each other no matter what. 

I've missed reading my favorite blogs and cant wait to catch up with all of you!