Tuesday, November 4, 2008

There was something...

Y'all, I just can't remember.

There was something going on today, wasn't there? Something I needed to do or someplace I needed to be. And something about today felt strange, there wasn't any traffic, people were late to work, and there were crowds all over the place.

But still. I just... I can't seem to put my finger on it... I don't...

Oh well, it must not have been too important. Like Scarlett, I'll think about it out tomorrow.

(Oh, I'm kidding. I'm so kidding. I was in line at 6:45 this morning, thanks to children who are still on DST and were up at 5:15. But really, thanks to the people and posters EVERYWHERE reminding me, I feel like everyone thought we were all going to forget. I'm so glad this one's almost over.)

(Oh, and by the way, don't forget to vote ;0) )

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Really.

The Weather Channel website has a candidates tab with an article titled "25 things you didn't know about your candidate." A quick look showed that it covers things like their office decotations and high school mascots.

This is relevant to the weather how?

Monday, September 29, 2008

No pineapple for you!

Tonight while we were eating dinner Mimi (Hubby's mom) called. When the phone rang Mess 2 was screaming because she was hungry, Mess 1 was singing some song or another, and the beagle was barking at the dog next door.

Norman Rockwell has nothing on us.

After I started feeding Mess 2 and the decibel level dropped Mess 1 started talking to Mimi. She asked him why his sister stopped screaming and he told her "My mommy is feeding her."

Mimi asked what she was eating, so he proceeded to tell her everything that was on his plate. After he told her he was eating pineapple Mimi asked if Mess 2 could have pineapple. Mess 1 very calmly replied:

"No, she's a girl."

Apparently we are not doing a very good job explaining the differences between boys and girls.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Morning serenade

The dyslexic version of "You Are My Sunshine"

Are you my sunshine?
Only my sunshine?

A combination of two versions of "The Wheels on the Bus"

The wheels on the bus go vroom, vroom, vroom

Sung to the chorus of "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock"

The light turned green so we ca-an go
The light turned green so we ca-an go

And a variety of others, along with the running commentary about the COWS!, the HORSES!, the LAKE!, the BOATS!, and the TRAIN TRACKS! (BUMPITY-BUMP MOMMY). It's our own little morning variety show, executed with great enthusiasm.

We're going to have to start keeping the video camera in the car...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

My smiley girl

We see this face a lot these days. It's so fun!!

But her Daddy's going to have to do something about this one, before she gets old enough to make this face at boys...


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Where does he come up with this stuff?

I'm going to have to start an on-going series called "Conversations with Mess 1." The things that come out of his mouth these days crack me up and boggle my mind by turns.

Here's this morning's installment.

As we were on the way in this morning, I was thinking about the meeting with the staff from our Federal oversight group and how much work had to be done before the meeting started at 1:00, when my sweet boy commented on the pink clouds from the sunrise. He then told me about the airplane and asked where it was going.

"To the airport."

"Oh, where are we going Mommy?"

"Well, you and your sister are going to school, and Daddy and I are going to work. Then Daddy will pick you up this afternoon and we'll all go home and have dinner together."

He was quiet for a second, and then said "Oh, that sounds like a lovely day."

Yes, my baby, it does. Thanks for the reminder.

More stories to come...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Anybody??

This whole year has been kind of a roller coaster, but since Mess 2 was born 11 weeks ago it seems like we are going from one "now what?" moment to another.

We have had:
  • jaundice, requiring the use of a billy blanket (Mess 2)
  • pink eye, a bi-later ear infection, a sinus infection, and an allergic reaction to the eye drops treating the pink eye, all at the same time (Mess 1)
  • gallstones, an ERCP, and a gallbladder removed (well, you know that one)

all of which required 13 visits to six different doctors, three visits to the hospital for labs/radiology, one four-night hospital stay, and more needles than I want to think about, but thankfully only one IV).

If you had asked a month ago I would have told you there was no way one IV would last me four days. Of course it took three sticks to get it started. Anyway.

We have fixed and/or replaced:

  • the A/C in the Civic
  • the battery in the Pilot
  • the bathroom window
  • the Pilot's rear bumper (a lady backed into me in the Publix parking lot)
  • the irrigation system for the yard
  • the laptop
  • the seal around one of the windows in the living room
  • the drainage area around the air conditioner
  • the upstairs air conditioner

We still need to fix/replace:

  • the irrigation system (it's still leaking)
  • the evaporation coil for the upstairs air conditioner
  • the water damage from the leaking window
  • possibly Hubby's cell phone
  • the laptop, but it's going to have to make it one more year

I have talked to my health insurance company, the home warranty people, the other lady's car insurance company, and my insurance company for both the Pilot and the water damage to the house.

We also have the "Things you are magically supposed to know" category:

  • That you don't actually have to call the health insurance company every time your hospital stay is extended, even though you are told that's what you need to do. You actually have a 10 day grace period during which they will automatically cover it as long as the doctor deems it medically necessary. I was told this after I called for the third time.
  • That moving to SC and changing your residency as required by a GA, you still have to pay out of state tuition once you no longer have said GA. To avoid this Hubby needed to file for Legal Residency status six weeks prior to the start of the semester. Since we didn't know that we were being charged out of state tuition until the bill became available three weeks ago, and the first phone call to the bursar's office informed us it was a computer glitch that would be fixed prior to the start of school, we found out we needed to fill out the form last week (school started today). I spent yesterday faxing copies of my driver's license, voter registration, car registration, SC tax return, and a letter from my employer stating that I do, in fact, work in SC and have for three years, to the bursar's office. Yes, all five were required, and yes, they all had to be copies of my information as he is my "dependant," regardless of the fact that his name is on the mortgage, car registrations and tax returns. We haven't had to send the children's birth certificates yet, but I'm not holding my breath. The funniest part of the whole mess? Even though Hubby doesn't have a GA this year, he's actually an adjunct faculty member teaching Music Appreciation, but that apparently doesn't count for anything.
  • That the home warranty people have 24 hours to have someone call you to schedule a time to come look at the broken A/C unit, but if you want to call someone else they will cover repairs as long as the repair is authorized prior the work being done, except that when you and the repairman call to get the repair authorized they tell you they won't authorize an emergency repair to an air conditioner unless it is more than 95 degrees outside, so they won't authorize any repairs until one of their people looks at it so they'll have someone call within 24 hours. Of course it doesn't matter that a 10 week old baby sleeping in a 90 degree bedroom is dangerous. Thank goodness the downstairs unit still worked, and the guy from the company we called was able to "patch" the unit till we can get it fixed. Right now they have said they will cover $70 of what is already a $700 repair, and it's still not complete. Additional calls to the warranty people have indicated that this might change, but if we don't have a paid for repair by tomorrow we will be writing a letter and cc:ing one of our attorney friends.

I'm also trying to get caught up at work, since I have only been in the building three weeks since May 12, and of course there's a whole list of fun things happening there, including a new PM who, after a month on the project, can't decide what he is actually going to do making it very difficult for me to figure out what I am supposed to do.

Also, Hubby didn't get a "real" job and the house is still on the market. Jobs for next year should start showing up soon, so we get to start all over again soon. We are going to leave the house on the market for now, but may pull it off for a few months and start over in January. Which means for the time being I still have to make my bed everyday.

So for those of you who saw my FaceBook status, these are the reasons I would like someone else to come be the adult. I am tired of dealing with all these people (not to mention writing checks) so if you would come do it that would be great (and if you would like to pay for some of it that would be fabulous!!).

I need a vacation...

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Done!

Surgery is over, I'm out of recovery and back in my room waiting for lunch. I've never been so excited to order oatmeal in my life!

Next week I'll be back with fun stuff...

Progress

Surgery is scheduled for today, but we don't know what time yet. The doctor is probably not used to patients who get excited about the prospect of surgery, but I am ready to go home.

This also means I will get to have a bland breakfast tomorrow (probably oatmeal), which will be the first solid food I've had since Sunday night. Yeah food!!!

On the plus side I can't wait to see how much weight I've lost.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

In the meantime

I've played with some updates to the blog. I hope you like them!

Because it can't ever be simple, Part 3

Surgery got pushed again, so hopefully my enzyme levels will be down tomorrow so we can get this over with and I can go home Friday.

Needless to say I'm tired of the hospital and ready to go home, but this seems to be the best way to avoid complications from the gallbladder removal, so I'm not complaining.

Too much :0)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Becuase it can't ever be simple, Part Deux

So one of the possible complications of yesterday's procedure is inflammation of the pancreas, which of course happened. So my gallbladder surgery is now tomorrow, and I should get to go home Thursday.

It's probably for the best, as I was not doing to well with the anesthesia and this will give me a day to recover before I have to go under again. Hopefully the surgery will be in the morning, so I'll be up and able to post tomorrow afternoon.

Your prayers have been felt and are much appreciated!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Because it can't ever be simple

I'm laughing as I type this. I've just gotten to the point where it all strikes me as funny...

I met with the surgeon yesterday. It's never good when he starts with "They told you about the gallstones, but I have a surprise." Doctors should never use the word surprise, it's just a bad idea.

The surprise was that one of my gallstones is floating in my bile duct and if they don't get it out it could cause serious problems. The best way to do this is with an ERCD before they remove my gallbladder. So Monday is my ERCD, Tuesday is my gallbladder surgery, and what I thought was going to be a quick outpatient surgery has turned into a two night hospital stay.

My mom will be here Sunday to help Hubby with kids and me deal with all the medical information that is getting thrown at me. I've learned more medical terms this year...

I'll try and update as the week goes on, but at the latest when I get home Wednesday. I'm a little nervous about all of this, so prayers would be appreciated.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Back soon...

It's been a crazy few months.

In addition to adjusting to having a newborn in the house again we've all had some illness or another, both cars had to be in the shop, we ran away to the beach for a week, Hubby's been scrambling to finish his dissertation research, we had Mess 2 baptized, and last week I returned to work and she started day care.

All this was topped off yesterday when the doctor called to tell me I need to have my gall bladder removed, surgery date TBD. Hopefully this will be the last hurdle, and then we can settle back into some sort of normal routine (but I'm pretty sure I've said that before).

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we're still here, and I'll hopefully be back soon with pictures and fun stories from the last few months, plus the details of the big graduation party you should plan to attend :0).

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mess 2

Well, our sweet baby girl arrived Friday night at 6:09. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz, and was 18 inches long. We, of course, think she is absoultely beautiful, and are so very excited she is here.









More to come...

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

So what's going on...

Friday I was taken off bed rest and allowed to return to normal activities. It was so nice to be able to get out of the house this weekend. Mess 1 and I went to Publix on Saturday and then Sunday we all went up to the pool.

Then yesterday I returned to work, which was interesting. Hopefully I'll be able to get some things wrapped up by Thursday so that I can take my maternity leave without worrying about things left hanging. Although things are in such a mess I'll probably be worrying anyway.

Since we will make it to 38 weeks on Saturday, and I am progressing anyway, they are going to do an induction on Friday. My mom will be here on Thursday night to take care of the boy, and we have to be at the hospital between 5:30 and 6:00 in the morning. Then if all goes well she should be here early Friday afternoon and we will be able to come home Sunday.

So that's what's planned. We'll keep you updated, and try and post pictures either Friday evening or Saturday.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Is it Friday yet?

Well, if she doesn't decide to come on her own before then, baby girl will arrive Friday. I'll post more of an update on what's going on tomorrow, but for now I'm going to bed.

Good night :0)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

An interesting 36 hours

Mess 1 has always been my laid back little man. Even my pregnancy with him was uneventful; I think we only ended up needing one extra appointment, and it was the Friday before he was born on Sunday.

Not so with baby girl. She has kept us on our toes since her first ultrasound at five weeks; and I seem to learn something new every few weeks. Here's the short story of the last few days.

Tuesday morning I woke up at 3:15, wondering if my water had broken. A quick call to the doctor confirmed that I needed to come in so they could check. After some tests the doctor determined that if anything I had a slow leak, but it still meant I was in the hospital until I delivered. Since I am still only 35 weeks they would let labor progress if it started, but wouldn't induce if it didn't.

Thankfully at this point she won't be dangerously premature, but would probably go to the Special Care nursery (which I think is the step down unit from the NICU) and need oxygen and possibly a feeding tube for a little while. Since would like to aviod that, we were hoping I wouldn't go into labor.

So by 10:00 when I still hadn't gone into labor they started IV antibotics, and told me to get comfortable as I wasn't going anywhere until she delivered. Since they won't induce until 36 weeks, we started making our plans for an extended hospital stay. I was moved out of L&D to a room in the antepartum unit (thankfully still private) to "get comfortable."

Hubby went home to get some things I needed as we still hadn't packed the hospital bag, and picked up Mess 1 and dinner so we could all eat together. My boy charmed the socks off the nurse, asking to help with my IV and if he could have some medicine. After they headed home I settled in to try and get some sleep, as I had to wear the fetal heartrate monitor all night, get my vitals checked every four hours, get my antibotics every six hours, and not to mention the uncomfortable bed. I knew it was going to be a rough night, and it was. I think I only got two decent hours of sleep.

So I was really looking forward to nearly two weeks of all this. However yesterday after they did some more tests they determined I was no longer leaking fluid. Apparently very small holes can sometime fix themselves (like fix-a-flat according to the doctor; I always like being compared to a tire).

The best suprise came when the doctor came back in the room and asked if I'd like to go home. (Um, yes, please). I am on bed rest until she decides to come, but at least I am at home. I am still at the point where they won't stop labor if it starts, but they would like me to go at least two more weeks, four if possible, before they induce.

I even have permission from the doctor and all my bosses to work at home so I can save my leave, since I have just enough to cover six weeks and then still have a couple of days left for doctor's appointments or other things that seem to come up with a newborn.

Suggestions for books or DVDs would be appreciated as I am sure I will be more than a little stir crazy before this is over.

Also, please pray that she decides to stay put for a few more weeks and for Hubby, as he is going to have to take care of everything until that point.

We'll keep you posted, and let you know as soon as she gets here.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Fix my bed!!

Since today is the second lousy day in what promises to be a rather awful work week, I thought I'd share something not work related to perk up my mood. Hopefully you'll get a little laugh out of it too.

When we moved Mess 1 into his big boy bed in December we didn't get him a full bed set; we just put a fitted sheet on the daybed, added a rail, and moved him in. At that point he was still moving around quite a bit at night, and in the mornings we would find him in all kinds of positions in all parts of the bed so blankets and covers still weren't practical.

We just recently, at his request, gave him a pillow but more often than not it is at the foot of the bed or on the floor in the morning, and the one blanket he uses is wadded up nowhere near him. So while we have been able to remove the rail, we still have not gotten him a bed set, or put anything other than a fitted sheet on the bed.

But the house is on the market, so we had to make his bed yesterday for the first time since he has been in it. He did "help" me by putting all of his stuffed animals on the floor and then flinging them back on the bed, but I don't think he was really paying attention to what I was doing.

Last night after we had completed the bathroom routine and gotten him in his jammies I sent him into his room to pick out a book while I straightened the bathroom. I think he just barely made it into the room before he turned back around and ran out screaming "Fix my bed!! Fix my bed!!"

Apparently the country style blue and pink heart covered bedspread I picked out in the seventh grade was more traumatic than I realized.

You can see a picture of it with the house listing if you really want, but please don't judge me too harshly. Considering it is almost 20 years old (is that really possible??) it has held up remarkably well. I do have plans to make something specifically for Carson, but it will probably have to wait until we move so I can pull out the sewing machine for a while.

As for "fixing" the bed, once we got the covers off and the animals back in place he was quite happy to just crawl up and snuggle in. He even skipped the book (well for a little while anyway, but more about that in another post).

We'll see how tonight goes :0)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Pictures

Just for fun, some pictures of the last several months.

You would think being fed oatmeal peanut butter cookies would improve the horse's mood

Reading to Mess 1 and his friend Sam
Asleep at the dinner table (in a crowded, noisy, restaurant) after a long day without a nap
With Uncle Andy at the Greenville Drive game
Wearing Uncle Andy's hat (even though he wouldn't wear the hat Uncle Andy bought for him)
Watching the monkeys with Sam
Acting like a monkey
Riding the carosel with Daddy
As close to riding the tigers he's going to get, no matter how many times he asks :0)

Waiting

Well, we're still waiting. To see where we will be next year, what will happen with the house, Hubby's award money, and for this baby girl to make her appearance.

Hubby's interview last week went very well, with the exception of a small snag with his return trip. The assistant who reserved his shuttle to the airport accidentally reserved it for PM instead of AM. So he missed his flight. Thankfully the school handled getting it fixed and he got home only a few hours late. The school has since asked for permission to check references, so we continue to be hopeful that an offer may come soon. It will be hard to move so far away from our family and friends, but there will be some real positives if this comes about.

The house went on the market today. The second realtor we met with was much more positive about what we could expect to happen which was nice. She also thought we would be able to get more than the first which gives us a little more room to work with, thank goodness.

For some unknown reason Hubby's awards have to be processed through the financial aid office. This would not be a problem, except for the fact that Ryan's GA and degree program consider a full load 6 credit hours which is three short of the University's definition of a full load. So every time we have gotten financial aid for him we have to go through this rigmarole of documenting that he is taking a full load so they can override the system that says he hasn't met his minimum hours. Including once already this semester. Grr...

As for little Miss, we have an ultrasound Thursday to do a growth check. If everything looks good we will be treated as normal for the rest of pregnancy, which would be wonderful. The sweet members of my Bible study surprised me with a shower a few weeks ago and the grandmothers have started buying clothes, so pink is starting to make an appearance in our house. So we just have to get to June 21, all eight weeks and four days left (not that I'm counting or anything).

We'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

It's what's for dinner...

Last night was leftovers night at our house. So I asked Mess 1 "Do you want pizza for dinner?" thinking I would get a resounding yes and a race to the kitchen.

His response?

"No."

As I was starting to wonder what was wrong with him he continued.

"Just chocolate."

Friday, April 4, 2008

Updates to Stuff

Hubby got a call from Lincoln University yesterday afternoon - he goes for a face to face interview on the 16th. If he gets/takes this job we will be moving from Columbia to Columbia, and I will once again be moving back to a state I have already lived in, not far from a town I lived in as a small child. Again God is reminding me of his sense of humor...

The meeting with the realtor was kind of depressing. We should be able to get the house sold before we move but we will not get as much out of it as we wanted, if we walk away with anything at all. The part of this that really gets me is the fact that 90% of the profit will go to the realtor. I'm so glad I spent three years paying on a mortgage so she could make that kind of money.

OK, it's really not that bad, and I don't really begrudge the realtor the money, that's her fee for doing me a service. It was just frustrating to have to readjust the number I had in my head and realize we're not going to be able to pay a chunk on student loans like I had hoped. The positives are we won't have to take money to closing like I know others in our neighborhood have had to do, (the house next door just sold for $40,000 less than the original asking price, as they were going into foreclosure), we had a great house to live in while we were here, and she shortened our list of projects and made some other recommendations that will reduce the expense of getting it ready to go on the market. (Unfortunately I still have to clean out my closet, yuck.)

I also talked to the maternity care coordinator with the insurance company this morning and she says it won't be a problem if the doctors want to see me more often. I'll believe it after I get the EOBs showing the insurance company paying their portion.

I'm done whining now. Have a wonderful weekend :0)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Stuff

The last week and a half have been quite the roller coaster around our house. And I'm not sure if it's slowing down or speeding up...

Since I don't remember the actual order of events, I'll just tell you about each, which means the rest of the post is not the least bit cohesive. Just go with me.

Last Saturday was my paternal grandfather's 90th birthday party. His birthday was earlier in the month, but this was the first weekend we could get everyone together. It was fun, but also drama filled and stressful as only family events can be. Ryan was gone on Saturday (more about that later) and Carson was either not feeling well or just overwhelmed by all the people. He was very clingy and for the first part of the party would not leave my lap. Most unusual for my social butterfly.

Hubby was gone on Saturday for a job interview! He interviewed with a school just across the river from downtown St. Louis. He thought it went well and we will hopefully be hearing something from them soon. He also had a phone interview for the position as Chair of the Percussion Department at a school in Boston, and had another phone interview yesterday afternoon with a university in Missouri. The scuttlebutt on the "local" job has been interesting to say the least (at least to us), but Hubby has not heard from them as of yet. He would really like to at least get an interview, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I am 28 weeks as of last Saturday, and start going to the doctor every two weeks. My glucose screen came back normal (no three hour test, yeah!!), so at this point everything looks good. The doctors in my practice are meeting this week to go over the current research regarding women with elevated hormone levels in quad screens followed by normal amnios (me) to see what changes, if any, they are going to make to their protocols for third trimester care. The midwife said they would do an ultrasound at 32 weeks for a growth check, but we won't know how often I need to be seen after that until my appointment next week. While we will do whatever we need to for a healthy delivery, going twice a week will be a pain, not to mention I doubt the insurance company will cover all the visits. We already had to fight over the Level 2 ultrasound, even though I called and told them about it before it was done and was told it wouldn't be a problem as precertification wasn't needed for that. I'm sure the maternity care coordinator enjoyed the phone call we had after I got the letter telling me they were declining it as "not medically necessary."

On Monday we had to have our cat put to sleep. Since he had to have twice daily injections for his diabetes he had to be kenneled over the weekend while we were at my parents. He seemed to be doing better at his last appointment with the vet, but they called Sunday morning to say he had been throwing up and was dehydrated. We put him on IV fluids, but when we talked to them Monday morning we were told he had full blow ketoacidosis, which they could treat but it is not an easy treatment, it may or may not work at all, and it is very expensive. The vet and her staff were wonderful, supporting our decision and doing everything possible to make things easier on us. The sweet vet came out to talk to me when I picked him up Monday and gave me a hug (I'm not sure she knew exactly what to do with a pregnant woman and her hormones, but who does? I don't.); they also gave gave us a pawprint they had made and sent a sympathy card that we received yesterday that included handwritten notes from the vet and the office staff. So far Mess 1 has not missed him, which is good, as Hubby and I are still not in complete agreement as to what to tell him. Whether or not pets go to heaven is not something I ever expected to be a topic of scriptural debate...

Yesterday was Graduate Student day at the university, and included an awards ceremony where Hubby received two awards. One for outstanding teaching from the School of Music, and one from the Graduate School for outstanding teaching in the arts and social sciences. He also was asked to perform as part of "paper" presentations, and may or may not have given a poster presentation (I lost track of what was happening with that one). We know at least one of them included a cash award, so the savings account (aka the moving/medical expenses fund) will get another nice deposit. And he took me out for ice cream at Sandy's (although we ended up using my cash, how did that work??).

Tonight we are meeting with the first of the two realtors USAA recommended to start the process of getting the house on the market. We have a number of projects scheduled for this weekend, and I'm sure there will be more once we meet with the realtors. I'll just be relieved to get the process started, even though I am not looking forward to having to keep the house "show ready" all the time.

So I think those are all the big things. As time permits between house projects I'll try and post some of the pictures and funny stories from the last few weeks. Time to lighten things up in this little corner of the blogosphere :0)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

What is it with boys and cars?

The conversation on the ride home yesterday afternoon:

Mess 1: “Mommy hug?”

Me: “No, I can’t give you a hug right now I have to drive the car.”

Mess 1: “Mommy drive the car.”

Me: “That’s right, I’m driving the car.”

Mess 1: “I drive the car.”

Me: “No, you have to be 16 to drive the car.”

Mess 1: “When I’m 16 then can drive the car.”

Me: “That’s right; when you’re 16 you can drive the car. How old are you now?”

Mess 1: “I’m two!”

Me: “So, 16 – 2 is 14. So in 14 years you can drive the car.” (trying to add some new dialogue to a daily conversation)

Mess 1: “In 14 years I drive the car.”

Heard this morning on the way to school:

Mess 1: “Mommy drive the car.”

Me: “That’s right, I’m driving the car.”

Mess 1: “16 I drive the car; then I drive the car.”

I really thought he’d be a little older than two before he became obsessed with driving. What are the conversations going to be like when he’s 13???

Monday, March 3, 2008

Two year olds say the darndest things!

Heard over the weekend:
  • "I play with balls at church" - after waking up from his nap. Apparently he had a lot of fun playing in the gym at church last weekend.
  • "Give me hug" - to the gas stations we pass in the car, the sea lions, the crocodile, and the stranger sitting on a bench at the zoo, and to both the bag girl and the checkout clerk at Publix. Apparently he made the checkout clerk's day by giving her a hug. How do you talk to a two year old about stranger danger?
  • "I hugs are nice" - after being told he couldn't hug the gas station.
  • "I popped" - After the balloon he got from the check out clerk popped.
  • "I shake it off" - as he's standing up after tripping over his own feet at the zoo.
  • "Are these pull-ups?" - while putting on his pulls ups after he wet his underwear.

But the best was in Publix Saturday afternoon. First some background.

Mess 1 has a Toddler's Bible that he reads every morning at breakfast while Daddy reads his Bible. It is not the most theologically sound thing around with its one page summaries of some of the "main" stories, but it's helping develop a habit which is its main purpose. On the front cover is a slightly characterized picture of a very WASPish Jesus with a bunch of animals and one or two of the disciples.

So Saturday afternoon we are in Publix. The boy is saying hi to pretty much everyone we pass, which is typical for him (he has zero fear of strangers, see the second bullet). As we are walking down one aisle we pass a tall man with brown eyes and very long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. As we pass the first time Mess 1 simply waves and says "hi," and the man kind of smiles and keeps walking. Mess 1 then turns around in the cart to keep watching as the guy makes his way to the end of the aisle.

The next thing we know our little boy yells at the top of his lungs:

"HI JESUS!"

Needless to say we hurried out of the aisle.

And I think we are going to need to look for another toddler Bible. Suggestions?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wonderful news!

I heard from the geneticist, and the amnio results came back normal. Little Miss does not have Down's or any other chromosomal problem! Praise the Lord!!

I'm hoping to hear from the OB as to what this means for the rest of the pregnancy, but for now we are doing our happy dances and singing praises. Thank you all so much for your prayers, we can't tell you what they mean to us!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Whew!

The last week and a half have been just crazy; sorry for not updating before now.

Starting with baby stuff:
  • The results from her second ultrasound were wonderful: no soft markers at all and her heart looked great! This sonographer spent a lot of time looking at and taking pictures of her heart, so we are very, very grateful for that news. Surprisingly, we actually had a lot of fun with this ultrasound, as we got to spend nearly an hour and a half watching her flip around, wave at us, and just generally act like a little jumping bean. Maybe she will be able to keep up with her brother and they can tire each other out…
  • The meeting with the genetic counselor was very positive, as we got a number of questions answered. It seems the numbers from my blood work that really threw things off are the ones that have to do with the placenta and how hard it is having to work, and not the ones that are directly related to the baby. This doesn’t really change much as far as risk factors and all that sort of stuff, but it made Hubby and me feel better.
  • The amino Thursday was very strange, as you can see the needle in the ultrasound. It wasn't painful, but very nerve-wracking. I think I held my breath the entire time, and probably cut off all the circulation in Hubby's hands. Good thing he was done playing for the day.
  • We will have the results of the amino by the 21st. I’ll post as soon as we hear anything.
Other recent developments:

I got to spend part of Saturday afternoon at the vet with Jonah (the cat) where he was diagnosed with diabetes. I just looked at him and sighed. The short of it is the cat now requires special food, and we are trying a pill treatment that will probably not work at all, but will definitely not work long term. When it doesn’t, he will have to get twice daily injections of insulin. He is a great cat, but this is a bit much at this point in time (not to mention expensive), so Jonah is looking for a new home. If you are interested or know anyone who is let me know. I even have lots of handouts for you to read to aid you in your decision (I didn't know there was so much information on diabetic cats).

The biggest (and fun) news at the moment is that Hubby's mentor from our undergrad univerity was named Dean of Faculty on Monday, effective March 1. We had dinner with him and his wife a few weeks ago when Hubby gave a Master Class up there so we knew this might be coming, but it was still a surprise to truly realize the percussion position is now open. (Side note: we are very excited for him regardless of what this means for us. He is very excited about the position, and he will do a wonderful job.) There had been some mention of a possible one year interim appointment, but when Hubby talked to Dr. B last night we found out they are going to go ahead and start a national search.

In the meantime, there is a possibility they will call on Hubby to do some adjunct work to help cover the studio for the Spring semester (starts March 1; they move to a traditional semester system starting in August). That means he may be spending one night a week in Greenville and spending lots of time on the road while he teaches at three universities, but it will give him an opportunity to prove himself outside of just an interview and audition.

So now instead of obsessing over the job search in general, we will now obsess over this one job, and the possibility of the “dream job” and the “first job” being one and the same. We actually had a date last night, and basically spent our entire dinner dissecting all the possibilities, why Hubby would or wouldn’t be a good fit, the kinds of questions he might get asked in an interview, etc., etc. I’m sure this will continue for a while :0)

So we’ve kind of been on information overload the last 10 days (actually almost three weeks; seems like much, much longer). Thankfully, my Mama and I are running away for the weekend. The plan for Saturday is to sleep late, have a massage, eat lunch, take a nap, have a nice dinner, and then go to bed, with some reading and cross-stitch thrown in as the mood strikes. Sunday we may do some shopping, we may just spend most of the day in the hotel room, it depends on the weather and our mood. I can’t wait.

We appreciate all of your prayers, and ask that you continue to remember us as we deal with the craziness of the next couple of months. Hopefully things will start to settle down soon, before you get tired of my mega posts (if you’re not already) :0)

Monday, February 4, 2008

It's a....

First the fun stuff:

We went for Mess 1's two year check-up last Monday. He's 29 lbs 2 oz (60%), 35 inches tall (55%), and his head circumference is 50 cm (80%). Pretty consistent with all his other checkups.

He has reached all his milestones for development, and the doctor had a great time playing catch with him to check his motor skills. After he and the doctor had a long talk, during which he learned the words "pediatrician" and "stethoscope," the doctor declared him brilliant. The doctor then asked if we knew what a challenge that was going to be and told me that we are going to have our hands full.

Um, yeah, we'd kind of figured that out. I never expected to have to tell my two year old I don't know all the words to one of the songs he learned at daycare. He's up to 15 or so songs that he can sing completely by himself, and seems to know a new one each week. I'm already dreading his math classes ;0)

Oh, you thought this post was going to be about the baby?

Really?

Well, it is, mostly. We had our ultrasound on Friday and found out we are having a girl. We were so excited to hear that news!! Once again I guessed correctly, and her Daddy's face when he heard was priceless; I wish I had a picture of it! Here's her sweet profile:She measures dead on for her due date of June 21, which was good to hear. Other things that were good to hear: the umbilical cord has three veins, her hands were open and her fingers had all three bones, she doesn't seem to have a cleft palate, her nose bone was visible, the chambers of her heart were well developed, and the skin fold at her neck was a normal thickness.

Why was all this so good to hear? Here is the not so fun stuff of the last two weeks.

The day of Hubby's recital my quad screen came back abnormal; our risk for Down syndrome went from 1:500 (due to my age), to 1:29. This is very high; apparently from what the doctor said you move into the high risk category at 1:200. When all of the positive factors listed above were figured into the picture our risk factor moved to 1:48 which is much better but still high risk. The only negative thing they saw on the ultrasound was a possible area of calcification near her heart, but it was not definitive.

After a long talk with the OB last Friday (she must have spent at least 30-45 minutes with us), here is how things stand:
  1. We do not have a diagnosis. We have indicators that something might be wrong.
  2. Based on the ultrasound from Friday, even if the baby does have Down's there is the strong possibility it will be a mild case, with few or no other complications like heart problems.
  3. An amnio is the most conclusive way to diagnose Down's, one way or the other, until after birth. Because our risk factor is still so high, the doctor recommends we have it done, however it is completely our choice.
  4. We have decided to have the amnio, mainly because we feel this is the best way to plan for her care both before and after she is born if she does indeed have Down's.
  5. This may also be the best way to plan for care to get both of us to a healthy delivery. The doctor said, based on what she and others have seen in their practice, if the baby comes back negative for Down's the abnormal test result may have to do with me and some of my risk factors, specifically gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm labor.

The next steps:

  1. We have an appointment for a level 2 ultrasound on Wednesday. That will be followed by genetic counseling and an amnio on Thursday.
  2. We will have preliminary results in 7 days, final results by the end of the month.
  3. We may have an additional level 2 ultrasound near the end of the month to look at her heart again, if necessary.
  4. My GD screen is March 6. (Since I flunked my first one last time the doctor gave me some tips to help avoid a false positive, for which I am very grateful. The second screen was miserable! Since they have to do four blood draws in three hours they can't afford to miss any of my veins, which means they dig until they get the stick. Ugh...)
  5. Assuming everything is fine with the baby and my GD screen is negative, everything will progress normally until 32 weeks (end of April). At that point I will start seeing the doctor twice a week so they can check my blood pressure and some other things. Basically, things will get "really intense," (a quote from the doctor) as they do everything they can to detect any problems as early as possible.

Writing this out has really helped me organize the ton of information we have been given (it's taken me three days to write this so it makes some sort of sense, or at least it now does to me), but I'm not really sure how to wrap this up. I guess by telling you how we are doing with all this.

First, we are very excited about our already much loved little girl and can't wait to meet her! We currently have the same hopes for her as we do for her big brother, and if those have to be modified a bit so be it. We will give her the best we can no matter what.

Second, we are so, so thankful that overall she looks healthy and that the test results did not indicate anything worse; while not our desire, Down's is minor compared to some of the other results we could have been given. Also, that we are being given such great care by our physicians and their staff. The doctor who gave me the news balanced information with compassion very well, and the poor OB nurse has talked to me so many times in the last week I think she recognizes my voice without me giving her my name. She even pulled some strings to get our appointments moved up from the 26th to this week. All the specialists we need to see are here in town, which is also wonderful news.

Third, we are thankful to have all of this information. We had this test done when I was pregnant with Mess 1 and it was reassuring to get the results. While the results were not what we wanted to hear this time, they will allow baby and me to get the care we need for a healthy delivery and, if necessary, Hubby and I can have a support system in place to give our baby girl the best and earliest care we can when she is born.

So, we ask for your prayers. Waiting the week between the news and the ultrasound was very stressful, and I know the next three will also be hard, especially since patience is not one of my virtues. Also, this is now a high risk pregnancy, so we will be a little on edge until she is here even if the test results show everything is normal.

I'm sorry this is so long, and for sharing in this manner, but this seemed the best way to organize the information. Also, I know that I'll have more to tell as we travel this road, so documenting the beginning seemed to be a good idea.

Besides, I am planning to share the wonderful news that she is fine at the end of the month, and it will be so much more fun if you understand why, right?

(PS: stop crying Mama, we will all be alright, and yes I know even though I'm not supposed too. As Hubby says: "Apple - Tree" as he holds his fingers about 1/4 inch apart.)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

The week in pictures

It's been a crazy, mostly fun week, so instead of trying to tell you all about it I'm just going to show you the pictures.

This is the window in the master bedroom that broke at 4:30 Monday morning due to the cold. So, Monica, while it may not be -8, it IS cold. And hearing a window crack and shatter at 4:30 am is a horrible way to be woken up.


Mess 1 turned two on Tuesday. We had birthday muffins after dinner.

Dinner was leftover lasagna, so not all of the mess is from the muffin.

Thursday he tried big boy underwear for the first time. He made it about 45 minutes before he peed in them.

My sweet friend Lynn that I worked with in Tallahassee gave us this outfit as a baby shower gift. I've been waiting two years for him to be big enough to wear it.

Hubby gave the third of his four doctoral recitals Friday night. This was at the restaurant where we had dinner after. Aren't my boys cute??


Saturday was the birthday party. We had lots of friends and family come for the recital and the party. This silly group was playing with Uncle Andy's gift.

These cute train cakes were a group effort. I made the cakes and icing, Hubby cut them out, Devin iced, and Chef Uncle Dennis decorated. They turned out better than I had hoped.

This morning we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast before Anne and Devin and crew had to head home.

Sweet boys in their matching pajamas.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Ouch??

I keep a bag of Hershey's kisses in one of my desk drawers. It satisfies my chocolate cravings and keeps me out of the vending machine (although $.75 for a Snickers bar is a pretty good deterrent as well).

This morning I noticed that the little piece of paper in the kiss wrapper said "Ouch."

I actually had to do a double take, thinking I misread it. Once I confirmed that it did, in fact, say "Ouch," I wondered why in the world that was on a Hershey's kiss wrapper. Don't they normally say "Kiss," or if you get the variety pack, something like "Almond," "Dark," or "Caramel?"

So I looked in the bag to see if they all said "Ouch," or if it was some kind of fluke.

Here are some of the other things I found on my kisses:

  • Feel Better
  • Knock 'em Dead
  • Way To Go
  • Kiss Someone
  • You Love Me
  • Thank you
I even found two more labeled "Ouch," so it wasn't a printing error.

Are they trying to take the place of the little candy hearts? And if so, what is the significance of "Ouch?"

'Cause let me tell you, my first thought was something along the lines of "Ouch, do you really want to add me to your calorie count for today?"

Some of that probably had to do with the rather interesting (short) discussion a few of us had before this morning's status meeting regarding health care, including smoking, obesity, and prevention vs. treatment.

In case you are wondering, I did eat the kiss. At 18 weeks pregnant I've only gained one pound, so I think I'm alright. Still, I'm pretty sure that's it for the day.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Lazyish Saturday

I never did get out of my pajamas (lazy), but we did get a lot done this morning (ish).

We took the Christmas decorations down this morning, which included cleaning out the closet where they are stored and going through the decorations and getting rid of things we have never used [not much :0)] and/or were broken. In fact, by the time I was done throwing away/reorganizing we had an empty Rubbermaid container.

Since we are currently working on the list of things to be done before we put the house up for sale the Rubbermaid didn't stay empty for long. Thankfully the list isn't long, but my energy level is pretty much zero these days, so it is still proving to be a challenge. I think cleaning out the closets is going to be the worst of it.

We finally got Mess 1 moved to his "big boy" room last weekend, and nap time has been a challenge. He is quite content to play in his room, but getting him to stay in bed and actually go to sleep has not been working so well. Typically he spends a couple of hours playing, and then naps for 30 minutes or so. Today, however, he conked out as soon as he hit the pillow. I have no idea how long he slept, as my nap lasted three hours and I had to go check on him to find out he was awake and playing (he's never that quiet, it was strange). Maybe the fact that he was also still in his jammies helped :0).

This afternoon we played outside with some of his Christmas
presents:

The swing Baba (Hubby's dad) and Daddy built for him

The sandbox was from my grandparents

Our fancy new crock pot did a great job on the post roast for dinner, my wonderful husband went to one of the local restaurants that has homemade desserts and got me a piece of Oreo cheesecake, and the boy was in bed by 6:30 (as usual).

Since then we've watched football, and I'm getting ready to go to sleep. 9:00 is my bedtime these days, especially as, Sunday or not, we'll be up at 6:30.

All in all a wonderful Saturday. I hope yours was just as nice.