AuburnChick's Adventures

Well hello fellow hodgepodgers. It’s been a few hot minutes since I’ve joined in with Joyce’s weekly question.

Hi Joyce!

Joyce started hosting weekly questions a hot minute or two ago. My apologies for my absence, but life has been busy. I am looking forward to reacquainting myself with my fellow bloggers!

If you want to join in, snag a copy of the questions, answer them on your favorite corner of the internet world, and go back and post your link on Joyce’s post. Easy peasy!

Now, on to this week’s questions!

1. Let’s compare this May to last May. What’s changed? What remains very much the same?

Last May, my little brood numbered eight. Last October, Little Miss made her appearance, so we now stand at nine!

Other changes include two bum shoulders – one of which is in recovery mode after surgery last December, and the other that’s in the process of being diagnosed and, most likely, being operated on. It’s crazy how quickly your body can rebel on you.

Despite the changes that inevitably come with time, many things have remained the same. We are, fortunately, still able to live on our sweet Gambit. 2024 was a little rough on him, but God has been so gracious and has healed his little body from one cancer and is impeding the spread of another that we’ve found.

We still live in our beloved college town and enjoy cheering on our Tigers. We bleed orange and blue.

I’m also still loving my job, which is at said college. I feel like the more time that passes, the closer I get with my coworkers. Our bonds are strong, and I am grateful for that.

2. What’s something you may do this month?

I may have surgery on my right shoulder. I’m waiting on insurance to approve the MRI my surgeon ordered, and if we see damage, we will most likely go in and repair it. I’ve been hurting since September, when I injured the left shoulder, so I’m ready to get the ball rolling before my job responsibilities amp up in July.

3. Mother’s Day is approaching (in the US of A)…in what way(s) are you like your mother?

Unfortunately, my mom and I haven’t spoken since 2016. Family stuff is tough, y’all. That’s why Mother’s Day is always difficult for me.

With that said, I am a hard worker, tenacious, and fiercely independent. These are all traits that I’m positive I got from her.

4. Did you have a favorite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favorite.

One book, Joyce? Oh my, but books were my escape as a child. I distinctly remember reading two books over and over again: A Wrinkle in Time and The Hiding Place. Perhaps A Wrinkle in Time was the start of my love of fantasy books. The Hiding Place made me fall in love with Corrie ten Boom. I want to meet her when I get to heaven – after I see Jesus.

5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain.

I started answering this by saying hare because I tend to do things quickly – especially at work, but the Mr. would say I’m a tortoise because he’s forever waiting for me to leave the house. Beauty takes time, y’all!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Tell me you’re a dog mom without telling me you’re a dog mom.

That’s what my dog sitter walks in to whenever she keeps Gambit.

He takes almost as many supplements as we do.

Old age, y’all. What can I say?

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Yesterday, I wrote about the first three days of our mini-vacation with our kiddos.

Today’s post is all about our fourth day together.

The babes woke up “roaring” to go to Animal Kingdom.

I was psyched about this park because it’s always been one of my favorites.

Chicky, who’d planned most of the trip with the Mr., had snagged our first three Lightening Passes. Being up early as the mama of a six month old has its advantages! Those passes open up at 7am each day, and you have to be quick on the draw to secure the ones you want.

Our first ride was the Safari.

It’s a must-do when you’re at Disney. This ride is best experienced earlier in the day before it gets too hot and the animals start snoozing.

We saw all the things.

The morning could not have been more perfect.

The giraffes were stunning!

The baby giraffe was so precious.

These were some sort of wild dogs that our guide said had the highest success rate for hunts. They must have partied all night because they were still asleep when we drove by.

I have no clue what the next group of animals was. I remember the guide saying that the horns are like honeycomb and, thus, very light.

The elephants were huge.

Is this a leopard or cougar? I think it’s a cougar. They only have short spurts of fast speed to be able to catch up to their prey. They cannot maintain top speed for long though. They also don’t roar!

I spy a sleeping lion . . .

As we rounded the bend, I couldn’t help thinking about The Lion King.

There was much more to see. I was in the moment, though, and didn’t take pictures of everything.

Suffice it to say that this was one of my favorite attractions.

We missed our next Lightening Pass – a show, I think. Our timing was a little off even with the hour window that you get with each pass.

We wandered, explored food options, and meandered more.

There were lots of potty breaks because old people with small bladders and tiny people with small bladders need to make lots of pit stops.

At some point, we popped in to watch the Finding Nemo show. It was interesting. The cast members carried puppets with long handles. The music was good, and the show captured E and J’s attention. Baby E (our two girls are both Es) worked on her nap.

We used our last Lightening Pass on the Mt. Everest rollercoaster. Chicky and her hubby rode together while we babysat. Then, it was time for the Mr. and me.

I was a tad nervous because of my left shoulder, but honestly, the safety bar, which went across my lap, was nice and snug, which helped me stay in place without shaking my torso too badly.

We called it a day a little earlier than we’d planned because we didn’t want to overtire the babes. Both mamas had gone with the flow, and the kids hung on like champs.

We made our way back to the rental house and enjoyed a last evening together.

E and J ran their little hearts out as they chased each other around the house and “traded” beloved stuffed animals – souvenirs from the trip.

There’s a lot of fun in store for them as they get older!

We packed, said our goodbyes to the oldest babies, Rooster, and his missus. We had an early flight and would be leaving the house shortly after sunrise.

I was able to spend time the next morning with Baby E and Chicky. E had woken up early raving hungry. It was a sweet hour.

Chicky’s mister drove me and my Mr. to the Orlando airport. B is a sweet young man with a heart that earnestly seeks to serve the Lord. I enjoy every single conversation with him. I’m so thankful for the way he loves God, my Chicky, and those sweet babies of theirs. The hug I gave him was heartfelt, and the sadness in leaving was palpable.

The Orlando airport is huge, by the way. I’m used to the one in Atlanta, but wow – the Orlando one is something else. Tell me you’re a small town girl without telling me you’re a small town girl.

I have gotten to where I enjoy flying. I especially love getting to know the person sitting next to me at the gate or on the plane. I noticed a young lady doing math (eek) problems, and we started chatting. She’s a student at my college and was prepping for a physics final. More eeeks. Sheesh Louise. She was precious and just the sweetest thing.

I also got to know the lady I sat beside on the plane. She had a bit of a sad story, and my heart just felt all of the things.

Kudos to Southwest for the extra legroom they are starting to equip their planes with. I’d gotten lucky and snagged Zone A boarding passes the day before, which meant we were able to get seats five rows back from the front. That gave us the new legroom, which the flight attendant said she and the pilot hadn’t seen until that flight.

We made it home safe and sound, as did the rest of our crew to their respective houses.

My cup is full, and I’m already looking forward to the next time we can all be together.

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Happy Monday, y’all!

I hope that you had a restful weekend.

The Mr. and I just returned from a glorious five-day, extended weekend with our babies! Well, okay, our babies are grown now, but they’ll aways be kiddos to us – even though they have their own babies now.

I took Wednesday off, went for PT first thing that morning and followed that up with a visit to my orthopedic surgeon to start the process of diagnosing and treating my right shoulder.

After that, we left for Atlanta and hopped on a quick flight to Tampa.

I don’t know how to pack light. Thank heavens bags are still free on Southwest.

Our girl child and her family live in a neighboring city. Her in-laws were holding down the fort while Chicky and her hubby were doing church things. Her father-in-law picked us up from the airport and drove us back to Chicky’s house. It truly took a village, y’all.

Baby Girl was asleep already, but I did get to see J Man when they got home from small group. He was very shy and tired, so we didn’t play. Still, being able to snag a hug was everything! I hadn’t seen him since Thanksgiving.

The next day, the Mr. and I got in some quality time with J. He has a Jeep that he expertly drove to a park on the end of their street. He talked and talked and talked and roared and ran and did all of the things that little boys do.

Our time outside allowed Chicky and her mister to finish packing because two little tend to slow down even the most efficient of people.

We happily kept the boy occupied while little sister took a nap.

After lunch, it was time to divide and conquer.

Rooster and his crew were flying in! E, my granddaughter, didn’t know I was going to be at the airport to pick them up. Seeing her huge smile when she saw me in the car melted my heart, as did the giant hug she gave me. We had a good time chatting as we drove to Orlando.

Chicky and the Mr. were navigating different nap times for the babies and drove separately.

Y’all, traveling with littles isn’t for the faint of heart! That’s why young people have the littles and not old folks like us!

Anyhoo, we had rented a large, many-roomed house a few miles from the parks, and once we got there, we enjoyed watching Rooster’s daughter and Chicky’s son, who are two years apart, chase each other everywhere. They just had the grandest time! E was so good with the smallest baby cousin, whose face lit up with the hugest grin every time E came near her.

After a busy day of travel, we got a good night’s sleep with a game plan for the next day.

We went to Magic Kingdom Friday morning.

We lived in Florida over 30 years and took many a trip with our own babies. We always stayed at hotels on the property, which had some perks like bus service back and forth to the parks. This was our first time parking on our own and y’all, what a long ways it was to the entrance – like almost a mile!!!!!!

They’d also changed how you walk in. Now, you either catch the monorail or the ferry. It was something else!

I love that you can put your digital ticket in your phone. That proved invaluable when we wanted to use our Lightening Passes for rides. You definitely cannot ride the good rides without the passes because the wait times can be forever!

The Magic Kingdom was packed Friday! We wondered of people just randomly pulled their kids from school. In fact, that was Chicky’s mister’s first comment when we walked in. It was his first time in the park, so it was fun to hear his thoughts throughout and after the day.

We managed to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway, which we didn’t have passes for but which had the shortest line (25 minutes). The line actually moved quickly, which we were happy about.

It’s a Small World did not disappoint. We had a Lightening Pass for it, I believe. The baby cried the whole time. She had a poop diaper and was hungry. Bless.

We had a Lightening Pass for the Jungle Cruise, which was a nice easy ride for the babies.

Buzz Lightyear was fun as well. The line for that was l-o-n-g. Thank heavens for the Lightening Pass! I didn’t do so well, though. My eyesight has gotten terrible the last five years, my grip strength is weak because of my shoulder surgery, and I despise my new glasses, so I just did my best. The Mr., however, did great!

Rooster said that the guy in front of them was playing both controls and had maxed out one of them. Crazy!!

We didn’t do as much at this park because of the crowds. Our littles got tired pretty quickly too, so keeping them fed and hydrated was key.

We left the park close to dinner time and let the two oldest babes play in the pool (with Mom and Dad in the pool too) at the house while Chicky put Baby E down for an early bedtime.

Thank heavens for DoorDash because we were all wiped! Mellow Mushroom never tasted so good.

We caught our third wind once all of the kids were in bed and sat around catching up with each other.

Y’all, my feet were so sore!! Look how many steps I walked . . .

I’ll write a separate post about our second day at Disney World because, just like Day 1, this post is finding itself a little longer than originally intended.

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The Mr. sent me this photo the other day . . .

It had popped up in his Facebook memories from April 25, 2017.

Seeing this picture pop up in the Mr.’s memories brought back all of the fur baby love and angst of that season we were about to walk through.

That day, we had no idea that in less than three months, that big-butted white-haired fur baby would be gone.

2017 was a hard year for us. The Mr. had gotten deathly ill in January, and I’d started physical therapy to learn how to walk again after breaking my ankle that past November.

He was supposed to have a very complicated, multi-organ surgery at the Mayo Clinic that June.

God intervened and healed the Mr. unexpectedly and miraculously, and when we returned home, without having the surgery, Molly’s health deteriorated rapidly. We lost her a few short weeks later in the early hours of July 5.

Then, two summers later, we lost our beloved Pele after a short illness that the vet was never able to figure out. Our hearts were b-r-o-k-e-n.

The crew that once numbered four was down to one.

Gambit is the only one left now. To say that we treasure every second with him would be an understatement.

He rules our house, and we don’t mind one single bit.

He’s grumpy and wants what he wants, and we don’t mind at all.

I always call him our mid-life crisis baby because he came to us just as Rooster was heading off to college.

God certainly knew what He was doing. 💙

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Do you remember the movie, Remember the Titans, which has the famous line, “Left Side, Strong Side”?

Yeah, that’s not a quote I can use when referring to my bum shoulders.

This is me – a few days ago.

Because the camera reverses things, the “right” arm in the photo is actually my left, which I cannot pull up nor straighten fully.

We aren’t sure if that’s due to my labrum repair or the fact that I haven’t regained strength and mobility on that side yet.

Hence – not the strong side.

This shoulder thing is literally a pain to deal with.

I’ll have a couple of good days or even a good week before having a few bad days of discomfort and tightness.

Yesterday morning, during PT, the therapist opted not do stretch out my arm like he usually does because I was so tight and sore from the past two days.

I did, however, get to do some band work.

I also had an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon yesterday to discuss getting an MRI on the right shoulder. I hurt it the same time as the left one, but we didn’t address it because the left was so much worse.

It’s time. Between my visit with him last week (to follow up on the left side) and this week, the right shoulder has worsened a lot.

I despise this with every fiber of my being. I prefer living life on the down low, so the extra attention is not making me happy at all.

Per protocol, he did an x-ray, which only showed some AC joint narrowing – common in people who work out.

I kind of giggled when he said that because it’s been months since I’ve been able to lift weights.

I also passed the manual manipulation tests, with him declaring this arm much stronger than the left one had been back in October.

He mentioned bursitis, but he opted not to give me a steroid shot since it would only mask any symptoms. I’d had a shot in my left shoulder on October, and it didn’t help at all.

Y’all, this is the same thing that happened back then. My body lines to pretend it’s okay when it’s really not.

So, the plan is to get an MRI, see what’s really happening under the surface, and go from there.

If I did, indeed, tear anything on the right side, I’ll pray about surgery. I feel like I need to address it so it doesn’t get worse (PT obviously hasn’t helped since I’ve been doing it since December). Plus, my job gets super, super busy again in July, so I’d really like to get this thing taken care of and move on.

It’s time to queue up “Here I Go Again.” I feel like I’m going down the only road I’ve ever known at least I’m not a drifter born to walk alone, because I have a wonderful support system backing me up each step of the way.

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