Girls Night Out

But first, an update (would I be me, right now, if I weren't forever updating y'all with the details of my life?)

-We heard back from the doctor yesterday regarding Becca's blood tests. The good news is, she doesn't have any of the chronic illnesses they tested her for, and her levels look good. The not so good news is that they did find antibodies to wheat in her blood. The doctor says that this indicates an allergy.
--Quick history on Becca: when she turned one, we had her tested for food allergies (looooong story), and found out that she was allergic to soy, wheat, milk, eggs, and nuts. The soy was low enough that they wanted us to keep giving it to her...she wasn't gaining much weight, and soy milk has more calories and fat than rice milk. Then, at 18 months they had us do a wheat challenge on her. She didn't show any symptoms of an allergy, so they gave us the go ahead, and we introduced wheat back into her diet. My gut told me that wheat upset her tummy, but we were having such a hard time figuring out what to feed her that I jumped at the opportunity to reintroduce pretzels, cheerios, pasta, and bread into her diet.
--We have struggled to feed this little girl. So it is discouraging to find out that she may still be allergic to wheat, after all. But we will do whatever we can to make things as easy as possible for her. We are in the process of getting her in to an allergy clinic, and then plan on going to a nutritionist after that. We need some help, and some answers.

-As of today, we have ruled out the option of building a new house. I love new houses, but the thought of all the decisions that would have to be made is just too overwhelming. And we wouldn't be able to build our dream house, so we will just wait. We may go this weekend with our realtor and check out a few more existing houses. If we find one we want to buy, then we will see if they will accept a contingent offer. If they do, then we put an offer on it, and pray that the townhouse is rented soon.

Now for the fun part of my post today...

I went out last night!!

With other girls!! Without kids!!

And....I had a blast!!!

Those of you who have been reading since we moved to Michigan know that I have been struggling with feelings of loneliness lately. I have some wonderful friends that I talk to on the phone, and chit chat with on the computer, but I really miss having friends that I can hang out with. Talk girl stuff with, in person. (Not that y'all aren't a major blessing to me, because you are!)

The MOPS group through my church regularly plans get-togethers outside of our MOPS meetings. Last night, they had a movie night. It was the first event that I was able to attend, and I was really nervous about it. I'm pretty shy, and have a hard time warming up to people. It takes me a while to come out of my shell (see...there's a turtle reference again!). But I knew that it would be fun, and good for me to get out.

Boy, was it!!

Some of the girls saw 'Dan in Real Life' (I saw this on a date with my hubby in October...good movie!), and I saw 'Enchanted' with another mom who is brand new to our group. She and I had a great time...it was a cute, cheesy movie, and it was kind of a fun way to break the ice, I guess. Our movie got out before the other, so we had a while to hang out and get to know each other a little bit. Her name is Heather, and I think we'll be getting together again sometime soon. (She just moved to the area not too long ago, and is looking to plant some roots.)

After the movie, we headed over to Applebee's for their half price appetizers. I was a little leery...picturing us just sitting there and staring at each other, but I didn't need to worry. We got there at about 9:20, and I didn't leave until 11:45! We talked about anything and everything, and laughed loud enough to draw attention from the other people in the restaurant. We all just enjoyed being out with each other, and having a break from thinking about somebody else's needs all day. For an evening, it was just about having fun and being friends.

I left feeling like a woman again. Not just a mom, or a wife, but a woman. Sometimes I forget that I'm still me.

We're supposed to get together again next week. One of the girls is skilled in pampering and beautifying. She gives massages, facials, and waxes. They all get together once a month or so and take care of themselves while catching up on girl time. They invited me to join them next Wednesday night.

I didn't crawl into bed until 12:15, and had to get up early for MOPS today, but it was worth it. Walking into our meeting this morning, and hearing friendly new faces saying 'Hi Renee!' was medicine to my spirit.

Nothing like a little crazy girl time to put some fire back in my step!