Eek, what a week!

Last week was quite an adventure and I'm ready for some nice boring routine.

Tuesday I was juggling the gigantic Play and Praise bin of instruments and sand toys, the ice chest with the Otter Pops for the kids, our lunch in a cooler bag, and the beach towel that we had been sitting on. During said juggling it would appear that my cell phone fell unnoticed out of my pocket there at the park. After several hours of retracing my steps and repeatedly calling my phone hoping desperately to hear it ring, I went home and called Verizon...someone had been using my phone and clearly it was gone forever.

And by referring to it as just a phone really doesn't do it justice...it was my calendar, my address book, and occasionally I used it to place and receive calls. Everyone who hears that story assumes that the information was backed up because it's a service that Verizon offers free. Sadly, that service works via their text messaging system which I have blocked on my phone. So everything is just gone. And I'm wasn't due for a phone upgrade for another year so I had to pay cash to replace the phone. Ick.

There is a bright side to the story. I now have a BlackBerry because it was the cheapest phone that would sync with the computer so that I don't lose everything again (I've never in 12 years lost a phone before this year, but I've lost TWO in the last 12 months). I love having my email at my fingertips. I love that it keeps track of my entire life in one little machine. I just love it. It was an expensive and unplanned upgrade but I think it's already worth every penny. And yes, I did buy the insurance.

Just for fun, the next day I called the friends of the thief to let them know that the calls they had received the day before were from my stolen phone. The first person (a male answered) said, "I don't know what you're talking about (but clearly he did) and I don't want to talk to you." The second person went to voicemail. I very sweetly said who I was and that I'd like my phone returned to the church no questions asked or else I'd file a police report. No response....and no surprise there. Hopefully I made them sweat a little. And the police department will take a report since there's suspect information to help them find it so the next call they get will be from a detective. I don't really expect to ever see the phone (or the video of Justin fighting Darth Vader at the Jedi Training Academy) again.

But THEN! Saturday we went to a birthday party at Adventure City. It was hot but we're used to that here and we were all drinking liquid. Justin suddenly poops out toward the end and by the time we drove home he was difficult to even rouse. I stick him in a bath and try to cool him off but when I take his temp it's still near 103 after almost an hour. He continues to refuse to walk or even stay awake but I get him up every 15 minutes to have a few swallows of liquid until he vomits all over the couch and dining room floor. After three hours in the emergency room he finally perks up enough to walk around on his own but his temp was still 102. After sleeping until noon the following day it was as if nothing ever happened and he's been fine ever since. I, however, have not bounced back quite as quickly from having seen him that way and hover over him to take breaks and drink whenever we're out, not to mention running the air conditioner in the car at full power constantly when we're driving.

Two things to learn from this: hydrating the day before is apparently as important as hydrating while you're outdoors and hot, and drinking large amounts all at once, as we are both prone to do, is almost counterproductive, you need smaller amount all through the day.

This has been an entire month packed with daily fun things to do (yesterday was my only day in July where there was nothing on the calendar), but after a week like this last one, some time to just do normal, routine things is sounding pretty good...I have it penciled in for the second week in August as long as nothing else comes up.