Life Within the Cuckoo's Nest: Turning 29! Celebrating the Last Year of My 20's

I was so excited for this Birthday! Josh had a whole big weekend planned out for me that included my Mom watching the kids and me getting LOTS of TLC! It was going to be perfect.... and it would have been if that week hadn't turned into the week from hell :(.

You see, it all started with my alcoholic Mother getting wasted and driving her car off a cliff. Yes, you heard right. I still can't get over the shock of it myself. So my sisters and I spent a very crazy night in the hospital with my drunk Mom (who by the way, can't remember anything from that night). It was awful, annoying, exhausting, basically all the bad things. Then she was discharged and we had to figure out what to do with her! She couldn't go back home because obviously she has a very big problem and although we knew she drank, we didn't know how bad it had become. We were also worried about Nathan coming home from working outages and losing his mind on her (which would not be helpful). So another stressful day went by with no sleep and severe anxiety. We finally talked her into going to Rehab and tried our best to get her out of the house before Nathan came home but that didn't work out. Oh my gosh, talk about stressful! Briana stood guard and took the brunt of his anger while my Mom packed all her things as I was on the speaker phone talking her through everything and going over everything that needed to be taken care of while she would be away. There was a lot of crying, a lot of screaming, and a lot of bad memories :(. But by the end of that night we got her checked into Rehab and I was hoping to get at least 4 hours of sleep before I had to go to work early the next morning. Wrong again! I then spent that night answering phone calls from all my Mom's siblings who had just learned about our current situation. Then I went to work for 14 hours, and all day at work I felt terrible. I kept getting really dizzy and had to go sit down. I knew something was wrong with me but I figured it was due to not sleeping for a couple days + intense stress. I was wrong again! I woke up the next day feeling beyond awful. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, and I had zero energy. After waiting 6 hours for my Grandma Wiegel to drive from St. George to help with the kids so I could go to Urgent Care, it turned out I had pneumonia :(. It was quite the shocker! The doctor said it was pretty bad and told me both my lungs were totally filled with fluid. She couldn't believe I didn't know I had pneumonia and I admit I was surprised too! All I could figure was my body was trying to ignore my own pain while I was busy trying to solve everybody else's. Josh couldn't take time off work so luckily Grandma stayed with us for a couple days while I slept. I felt like I could have slept for weeks, I was that exhausted. We also had plenty of well wishers and meals delivered from my sweet friends in the ward.

Sitting on the couch waiting for Grandma to show up while my kids destroyed the house around me...

This is what I did for three straight days!

All our plans for my Birthday were ruined and my spirits were so low.... like below zero low. It was too late to get our money back for our hotel and we didn't know how we would be able to go anywhere anyway with me being super sick and the little fact that our babysitter was currently going through detox :(. Then my sweet sister Briana came to our rescue! She and my cousin Jessica slept over and babysat the kids while Josh and I stayed at Mandalay Bay! Obviously it wasn't a "party" kind of hotel stay. It was more like an enjoyable relaxing day/night sleeping and lounging by the pool kind of stay. Josh had also bought me a 90min massage which I enjoyed immensely, even though I lied to the lady and told her I wasn't really that sick.... It was different from what we had planned, but great all the same!

So thankful for my sweet hubby. He makes me happy when skies are gray!

Lounging by the pool on the man-made beach (which by the way was super cool) and soaking up the sun was just what I needed!

We woke up the next morning, grabbed breakfast at Starbucks, and ate in our bed while we enjoyed our last few kid free hours. I also took two hot baths in the giant Jacuzzi tub! It was just what the doctor ordered :). Then we checked out of our hotel, picked up Cafe Rio for lunch, and headed home to our babies. We got home to a beautiful surprise! Briana and the kids had made me a cake! It was crumbly and falling apart with a large layer of icing and sprinkles on top but I started tearing up when I saw it because it was so obvious how much love had gone into making it! Austin was so proud of himself and couldn't wait to tell me all about how he made it :). Honestly, it was the greatest cake of my life! And it was yummy to boot!

My sweet boy and the "Happy Birfday cake" he made for his Mama :).

So all in all, my Birthday actually turned out to be pretty awesome. It took me a good two weeks to recover from the pneumonia and the drama with my Mom just continues.... but I have a beautiful memory of my Birthday weekend to remind me that there are so many people who love me... and that makes me the luckiest 29 year old in the world :).

I am so so blessed!

Sadie came over that afternoon with a beautiful vase of flowers and hung out for a couple hours with us. She has been in Paramedic school and hasn't been around much (which has been annoying since I could have really used her help that past week). But she apologized and explained that she failed her test the day after Mom went into the hospital and she needed to separate herself from all the drama. And she also made this cute collage with the sweetest note to go with it so of course I forgave her ;).

I hope you know how grateful and lucky I am to have you as an older sister. Despite the fact that you wanted them to, "send her back."

❤ Happy Birthday to my first friend, and best friend I've ever had or will ever have. From being dressed in the same outfits, playing with dolls, teaching me how to ride my bike, 4th of July dinners on great grandma's lawn, selling pies to buy a dog, adventures with dad, stealing your clothes, fighting in the bathroom we shared every morning, making dumb decisions and you loving me anyway, to watching each other grow into the women we are today. I don't want anybody else by my side. You have taught me so many important things in my life, and I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you. I hope today is filled with love.

❤ you are amazing, sis. You have created a beautiful family, and you work so so hard. I'm very proud of you. Happy Day of Birth. Love Sadie.