Sadness

I heard from a mutual friend a couple of months ago, about this one family. The Ronnes are a very inspiring family. They are a young couple. I'm not sure of ages, but they are young. They have three young children. They had been doing missionary work in Albania and came back to the States before their third child was born. Kaci, the mother, was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer a few months ago. Apparently, she had been having really bad headaches after their second little girl was born. She finally went to get it checked out, and discovered a tumor. They did a biopsy and found it to be cancerous. So began many months of treatment for Kaci. I have followed their blog, and have been inspired by her husband's strength and faith. Unfortunately, Kaci lost her Earthly battle Saturday morning, but we can all take comfort in the fact that she is no longer suffering. Please feel free to stop by and say Hi and send your condolences to the Ronne's here. If you have time, read through what they have been through the past few months. It is heart-wrenching, and I end up crying hysterically when I think about her story. It really touches a chord with me (and probably many mothers out there) as her children are so very young. I believe they are all under 5 or 6 (one boy and two girls-the baby is around 8-9months I think). So if you feel up to it, please stop by and send your condolences and help them celebrate Kaci's life.

Friday Night Leftovers

I missed last week's Friday Night Leftovers. I was truely intending on doing a post, but I was so incredibly tired from the Children's Museum and I still had to bake for her "party" the next day. Anyway, here we go...

• Today was my last Friday at work. It was also my last regular, full day. The next few days, I will be going in later and we will only be doing the encoding of the work. We do not have to run, process, balance, or do corrections on the work...which is pretty much what I do. So I will be stuck keying, but I'm okay with this.
• I have found that Alice will drink milk from a sippy cup if it has chocolate. She still isn't nuts about whole milk and will only drink a few sips, but she will drink 2%. So do I just give her 2%?
• I started physical therapy Tuesday for my sciatica and lower back pain. I go twice a week. Turns out I have sciatica, problems with both SI joints, and who knows what else. I have no idea how long I will be going to PT.
• Today, my PT appt was at 2pm. I got there at 1:50. Do you know what time a 2 o'clock appointment begins? If you guessed 2:30 or 2:35, you are correct! I left there at 3:18. I was supposed to be at work at 3. I got there about 3:40.
• Sean surprised me with a vehicle last night. He got a great deal on it. $1500 for a Buick Regal (I don't know what year). I want a mini-van. This car is a granny mobile (no offense anyone). We plan on keeping it for about 6 months, at which point we will hopefully be getting me a mini-van. We will either sell the granny car for at least $1000 more than we bought it for (it is actually work 2500-3000 but I guess the guy needed cash right then), or Sean can keep it and it can become a pappy mobile. It really is a nice car. I'm not opposed to it; I just want a mini-van. I have yet to check out the trunk space in this car, or drive the thing.
• I don't think I have to work Thursday. We technically won't have anything to do. We were just going to come in and do a dinner, but my manager wants to do the dinner Wednesday. Now he is trying to convince the powers that be, that we do not need to come in Thursday. I mean for what? To sit around indian style on the floor for hours? There won't be any furniture there by the time we get there.
• Since I will be transitioning to a SAHM next week, I need advice. Any tips or anything you can offer will be great. In particular, I will be needing suggestions on schedules (cleaning, etc.), and activities with Alice. Also, how do you SAHM's manage to get stuff done at home when your kids are there? If my weekend cleaning routine is indicative of how things will go when I'm home, I'm thinking my house may never be organized or really clean.
• I have my NT scan on Tuesday. They think I will be over 12 weeks. I will be right around 11 (and I'm right!), so I'm wondering what this will do to the results of the test, since it is supposed to be done between 11w6d and 13w. Who knows... maybe Sprout will be measuring ahead again. I'm just excited to see him/her again! And my sister will be going with me. Yay!

Go check out Danifred for more Friday Night Leftovers!

Alice's Birthday Part One

I have been meaning to post this earlier, but I kept forgetting to bring my laptop with me. Since the pictures were on my laptop, I couldn't very well do this post. I will be doing this in two or three parts (and there will be another post in a couple of weeks after her "real" party).

Part One of the Birthday: The Children's Museum (if you are ever in Indianapolis, and have kids you should check it out; it is a LOT of fun and is supposedly the Biggest and Best Children's Museum in the world!)

Our day in pictures. Please note, we did not get through the whole Children's Museum (it is rather large) as we wanted to spend time doing things that Alice was actually able to do, rather than make her sit and watch.

Aunt Lindsay and Alice by a Mastodon that was found in Indiana a WAY long time ago.


Mommy and Alice by a Mastodon head! Alice looks rather perplexed. And apparently, I am starting to show a little.



Carousel with Aunt Lindsay!


Look at them go!


Mommy tried to get Alice on a moving horse, but alas, she was too small. So this had to do!


Heading in to the Mirror House!


Look, it's me!


I'm not vain. I don't need to keep staring at myself.


Sitting at the Bear's table in the Mirror House. I had to watch her closely because she kept trying to put the "food" in her mouth. I can only imagine how many germs are on those things!


I'm pretty!


Let me try to climb this...


Okay, I DO like to look at myself. Side note: she was really trying to get that outlet...why aren't those child-proofed?


Ehh, I'm ready to leave this place.



Water! Let me get wet!


Playing in the Playscape area (an area specifically for kids under 4 or 5).


Daddy would be proud!


Dancing in the Barbie exhibit (they were playing disco-like music) and entertaining those around us! If you would like to see a video of her doing this please go here and see what my sister got! Seriously, check it out. It is hilarious!


Getting ready to go home! Someone was wore out! Actually, I think we all were.


Part Two will be Birthday Dinner!

One Year Ago...Happy Birthday Alice

I can't believe it has been a year! As promised, I will start off with how it all began. Well, not all the way of how it began because that would need to be censored *wink*.

Monday, 17 August 2009
Sean and I went in for my 40+ week appointment. My due date was 14 August. They did a NST (non-stress test) and everything was fine. It was neat seeing her heart rate and kick counts go up when Sean spoke. We then saw the OB, and there was NO progress. I was still about 1 cm dilated and 50-75% effaced. We then discussed induction and set it for Wednesday 19 August at 6 pm. I would be staying overnight while they did cervadil, and then start the pitocin at 6 am. With any luck, our little girl would be here by Friday.

We left the OB's office and went out for lunch (Mexican), and then went to Lowe's and walked around forever. I was starting to have some contractions and was BIG and tired, so I remember sitting down on a roll of carpeting... really annoyed that Sean was taking forever. I continued to have some contractions throughout the day.

Tuesday, 18 August 2009
The contractions continued, very irregular approximately 7-20 minutes apart. They were getting very strong and painful. About midday, they were extremely painful. I hoped on Contraction Master at this point, and tracked them. 4 minutes, 3, 5... I'm thinking this is it! Damn! 20 minutes. And so it continued all day. No longer than 20 or so minutes apart, and very painful. I would now writhe in pain. It felt like someone was stabbing me. I remember thinking "how am I going to make it, if I'm already a big wuss right now". I don't think I slept. I was up with every contraction. Seriously, who could sleep through that? I tried talking Sean into taking me to the hospital, but he refused, stating "We aren't supposed to be there until 6 pm tomorrow." ARGH!

Wednesday 19 August 2009
Finally! As soon as Sean woke up (and I know he was up a LOT over the night, as I was pitifully moaning and moving around) I tried to talk him into going to the hospital. No such luck. I got the same answer as last night. So I sat and stared at the clock, willing 6 pm to come quicker. Sean finally layed down for a nap around early afternoon, and I decided to go take a shower/bath and get ready to go. I felt great in the shower... for the first couple of minutes. And then the contractions returned closer and stronger. What should have taken about 15 minutes (I was trying to shave) took about 40. So I stumbled around throwing the rest of my stuff (all toiletries) in my hospital bag that had been ready for about 6 weeks. I grabbed the baby bag, and went to wake Sean up to go. Granted it was only like 2:30 or 3 but I couldn't take it anymore. My contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart and were agonizing. He told me to take a nap and we'd leave in a bit. So I hung out for a bit longer, writhing in pain (literally). And then I got smart. I threatened to do one of three things if we didn't leave immediately to go to the hospital, appointment be damned. I would a) get in the car and he could drive, b) drive myself, or c) kill him. I told him to make a choice. Like a wise man, he chose option A, and so he loaded everything in the car and off we went. I kid you not. Traffic was awful. My contractions were no more than 3 minutes apart (getting closer to 2) and were lasting well over a minute. And then the worse thing... we get stuck behind farm equipment! I lost my mind. I really thought that Sean was going to knock me out from all of the moaning (more like screaming) at this point. What should have been a 40 minute drive was well over an hour. We arrive at the hospital, and Sean starts to go park! I start screaming about pull up at the door and leave the car (they did tell us to do this during our tour of the hospital). We start walking to the elevator to L&D, people are literally scrambling out of my way (I guess I looked really pathetic?). Sean wants to know if I want a wheelchair. "No," I said. Then I change my mind, as a horrible contraction about brings me to my knees. Sean yells hold the elevator, which almost slammed on my hand mid-contraction. He proceeds to lecture me about holding the elevator, when I cuss at him. We arrive on the floor, and push the button. A nurse comes and I state, (with tears rolling down my face) "I'm your 6 o'clock induction, that doesn't need inducing. I'm also early." So they get me to a room, have me change, and start hooking me up. I was only 3 cm dilated and almost 100% effaced, but when they put the contraction monitor on me the nurses were shocked. I was having contractions (length and strength) that you wouldn't normally see until the transitional phase. So I wasn't a wuss after all! I had to wait about an hour for an epidural. And ahh, pure heaven!

My dad, aunt, and SIL came by to visit me (this was pre-epidural so I wasn't good company). They were at the hospital because my twin brother had surgery that morning to remove his parathyroid. What are the odds that we would both be in the same hospital at the same time? Granted, we were both scheduled to be there, but still.

Sean went home for awhile to rest and check on our dog. He returned about 11pm. He turned on the food network on tv. CRUEL! I was starving, as I really hadn't eaten since Monday. I did have a few bites of a snack here and there, but who really wants to eat when it feels like their insides are being torn apart? I finally convinced him (with some help from my nurse) to switch it to something else.

Thursday 20 August 2009
I remember my nurse kept nagging me about getting some sleep before the delivery. How do they expect you to sleep when they keep coming in to check you every hour, and it takes about 10-15 minutes to do that? Seriously, every single time I fell asleep the door would open and in would walk the nurse.

Around 3 am I was 9 cm and had stalled. So she brings in another nurse (or two) and they proceed to turn me in all kinds of directions. At one point, they even had half of my body on my little table. Dignity? I think I forgot to pack it. The nurse finally called my OB around 4 (?) and she said she'd be there shortly. She got there about 5:45 am, and checked me out. I was still at a little over 9, but she flipped the lip of my cervix, and stated, "We're ready to push!" Huh? So she wakes Sean up, and tells him to get ready. She proceeds to explain how to push. Yeah, I know how to poop, so I'm good lady! Then she tells me it usually takes about 3 hours for first time mothers. Great! It is 6 am and I'm starving and you're telling me I won't be eating until at least noon?! So we start. My epidural was starting to wear off, so I could feel the contractions coming on way before the monitor (which they didn't believe me until I proved it to them a few times). Well, I got Alice out in hardly no time. At 6:45 am, she was born! It was so surreal. I kept watching them weigh her and clean her up while the doctor was stitching me up-I had a third degree tear. They brought her to me and I just couldn't stop staring at her! She was the prettiest thing I had ever laid my eyes on. A healthy 7lb12oz, 20 1/2 in baby girl! I should note, that she didn't have a name yet.

I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her!


We had to wait an hour or two before they transferred me to our room. And the first thing I did was order food. I remember ordering two meals. And then the floodgates of visitors started coming. They seemed to work it out that no more than one set of visitors was visiting at a time, but I did not get any sleep. I think I finally got a shower late that evening (like 11pm).

Friday 21 August 2009
Around midday to early evening, we finally settled on a name for our baby girl. After much deliberating, we settled on Alice Oleandra. I came up with Alice. The nurse had brought her back from the nursery (early that morning) and she had a little hat with a bow on, and when I saw her the name "Alice" just popped in to my head. I had to work on Sean for a few hours. Sean came up with Oleandra, after his great-aunt Oly and his mother Sandra.

I knew her name as soon as I saw her!


**********************************

So that is where it all began. I really can't believe it has been a year. I know that time goes by faster and faster the older you get, but wow!

Happy Birthday, to my little monkey, Alice!!! Mama loves you so much, and this past year has been everything, and more, that I have dreamed of. You have provided so much amusement for your Dada and I. I love watching you grow and learn. Though, I wish time would slow down a bit. You will be starting kindergarten before I know it, and the thought makes me cry a bit. I can only imagine what a wreck I will be that day.

For your birthday, we (you, me, and Aunt Lindsay) went to the Children's Museum. You had a blast! In fact, we all did. I always have fun watching you. We then went out to dinner at Abuelo's, where you entertained everyone around us. You LOVED getting your ice cream and candle for dessert. Your actual party won't be until after Labor Day, as we want to announce your little brother/sister. Tomorrow, we are having a cookout at home to celebrate, since your Aunt Lindsay won't be here for the party. I know you had a great day to day, and while I know you probably won't remember it, I did take a lot of pictures (and write this) to show you how we celebrated!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ALICE!!!



*Note: pictures from the Children's Museum will be in the next post!

Randomness

I'm going to do a very random post today, as I have many things that I would like to talk about. And since tomorrow's Friday Night Leftovers will be the Birthday Version, I feel I should address everything else that I would have normally done then.

So...

• To answer Megan's question, we have: 3 rabbits (JackieBlue, Roxanne (Roxy), and Janie -and yes, I love rock. If I have any other female animals in the future they will probably be named after songs as well); 1 rooster and 5 hens (they are not named, but we get 6-7 eggs a day, so obviously one or two of the hens are very fertile); 5 cats (actually one mama cat-whom is probably off getting knocked up again-that slut! and 4 kittens)
• The thing I love about chickens is that they will eat just about anything. Seriously! All of our scraps and spoiled food (which I try not to have any). We still give them their feed everyday (well I do, I don't know about Sean), but I love to take the scraps of food (which Alice contributes A LOT) to them and watch them peck at them. I think our chickens are probably healthier than most other chickens out there. Plus with the recent egg recall, we don't have to worry about that.
• I have been meaning to make pickles for a few weekends, but things have been hectic since the accident. I will share with you the whole pickling process when I get around to it, and how to make your own spaghetti sauce.
• I was outside today, and I realized I never planted any flowers (well I did plant bulbs, but I don't count those) this year. It isn't too late, and I could in another week or two, so perhaps I will get Alice a little gardening set for her birthday and we can plant flowers in a few weeks! I just have to make sure to watch her like a hawk... she will probably try to eat the dirt.
• Speaking of the little monkey, she really is a monkey. Sean and I would tell people that we were hoping for a monkey when they asked what we wanted. I mean, seriously, doesn't everyone want a healthy baby?! Sean and I were originally planning on getting a monkey, but we got a different breed of monkey *wink*
• Ahh, yes, I digress... Alice, undoubtedly, did climb out of her crib. I'm still not sure about the falling to the floor thing or climbing down (but I'm leaning more towards climbing down after seeing her in action today-more on that in a second). This morning, I witnessed her pull herself up to see what was on the kitchen table and then use her legs to climb up more. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have been on top of the table had Sean not stopped her. And when we were outside, she climbed onto the tractor all by herself and sat in the seat and "drove". People, we are in TROUBLE!
• I have thought over all of the suggestions from yesterday (and Megan, my sister wasn't at our house, but if she is capable of teleporting I demand to know how!). I have looked at tent cribs, and like Jen, I don't think that is a viable solution. I don't think anything would deter her from trying to get out, and I sure don't want to find my baby strangled to death in a tent crib because I was trying to prevent broken bones. And I do agree that cribs should be lower. And with lids! Sean wants to put a piece of plywood on top, to which I pointed out that she would hit her head every time she tried to stand up. So, for now, we are just going to keep her in our bed with us.
• I have TWO WEEKS to go! Woo hoo! Which really works out to 11 days (counting today) but since today is almost over 10... and since I have tomorrow off, 9!!!
• At some point, this weekend, I will be posting Alice's birth story. Don't you all just love birth stories? I do. And hers is funny (at least the part before getting to the hospital-and I only think it is funny now).
• Oh, and in all likelihood, I will have two posts tomorrow, so keep an eye out!
• And to think that a year ago, at this exact time, we were at the hospital! Wow! Time is flying!

Let's Play a Game!

So the game we are going to play today is called "Guess What?!". The rules of the game are pretty simple. You just guess what you think was going on from the clues I give you. The prize you shall receive is a fortune from my fortune cookie (which I have not opened yet, but will and will tell you your fortune).

Okay, here goes. What in the world do you think that this adorable baby did this morning? (*Note: the pictures do not have anything to do with the story. They are there so you can look at my cuteness of a baby!)


She normally sleeps in the bed with me every morning. I put her in her crib when I finally get up (while she is still sleeping) and go outside to feed the animals; which takes about 15-20 minutes usually.



This morning, I had to give the chickens water, so that took an extra 5 minutes. Do you know what I returned to when I came back inside?



This cutie here! And do you know how she got all the way from her crib, out of her room (with the door shut), across the house, opened the swinging door to the laundry room (where the back door is), and stood there waiting for me with a teary face?



If you guessed either 1) climbed out of her crib, 2)fell out of her crib, or 3)a combination of the previous two then you are a winner! Let me know how you would like your fortune sent to you!

Yes, my daughter apparently decided she could NOT wait any longer for me to come get her. So she apparently (from what I can deduce from the carnage) threw all of her stuffed animals and blanket out of her crib. Somehow got her little leg up and over the rail (there is a small bruise on her inner thigh but that is the ONLY mark) and presumably fell to the floor. Though she could have just monkeyed her way the rest of the way down. Then she proceeded to grab her blanket and Marty (her mouse/lovey) and open the bedroom door (which wasn't completely shut but cracked) and trampled through the house (probably crying) looking for me. She came upon the kitchen and pushed the swinging door (which I did not know she was capable of opening) open, somehow getting her blanket stuck under it and jumped in to the laundry room. Her blanket acted as a stopper, so she was stuck in the laundry room until I rescued her. I'm very thankful that she was not hurt! Now, I have to figure out how to prevent this from occurring again. I never in a million years would have thought I'd have to worry about this this early! Oh, and yes her mattress is on the lowest setting. Now do I get a crib tent, or do we get her a "big girl" bed so she can get up and terrorize... er, visit us whenever she wants? I'd rather she only fall a couple of feet versus four plus, if I had a choice.

The Battles of the Milks

We are in the middle of a war, people. Seriously. An epic battle of the milks and Alice. Alice loves her mama milk. She does not, however, love her mama milk in the bottle any longer. I think this may have arose out of me calling it "Mama milk" instead of "Milk" or "Nurse". So you can blame me for that battle.

Since my supply was decreasing, I have had the babysitter (and now Lindsay) mix toddler formula (thank goodness for marketing, as I have received several free cans; which I otherwise would not have paid for) with breast milk. This worked for a few days at the sitters. Lindsay has had no such luck. Alice would just spit it at her. Lindsay has also had trouble getting her to just take just regular breast milk in a bottle. So I suggested the sippy cup. So Lindsay tried the sippy cup with the mixture, and straight breast milk. Again, no such luck.

So since she is almost one, I decided to buy organic whole milk and see how that goes. I realize it may take awhile for her to "like" the stuff. I also realize that we may have a much harder time than most families, as Sean and I do NOT drink milk. Sean will use it and drink it when it is in cereal, but I will not drink the stuff. I quit drinking the stuff shortly after my sixth birthday (really an interesting story-which I'll share another time). So I gave her a sippy cup with a bit of whole milk in it. She took a sip. Took another sip. Looked at me... and threw it at me! Lindsay has had the same results.

So I asked a few people for advice (which I'm asking all of you lovely bloggers the same thing) on getting her to drink any kind of milk. I have heard suggestions ranging from serve it at room temperature to add flavor to it. I have gotten suggestions of switching to soy milk also.

What are your suggestions? At this point, the only things that I can get her to drink are water and watered down juice in a sippy cup, and mama milk (but only from the tap).

Silly Girl

Sorry the picture is blurry, but I had to share. Alice decided to dress herself... in my dirty pajamas! She wouldn't hold still for the picture (hence the bluriness), so I held her hand and snapped one on my phone. If you look closely, you can see she got one of the straps wrapped all around her head. What a silly girl!

Friday Night Leftovers... The Scrambled Edition

I have been a bad blogger lately. I haven't been posting as often, or commenting on your blogs. Though, I have been reading what I can on my phone.

• We met with the attorney on Wednesday evening. We have not signed with him, but I am almost positive that we will. After talking to him, I have even more fears about Sprout. Hopefully they will all be unfounded.
• Alice is a talking machine. She will point as something and ask, "Waz diss?" And we will point to it and say the name. For instance, she pointed at my cookie and asked what it was. I pointed to the cookie and said cookie. Alice responded with "oookie?"
• My sister and Alice seem to be having a blast with each other! The plus to this for you, my lovely bloggy friends, is that Lindsay has been taking beaucoup photos of Alice so I will be posting some from time to time.
• Alice REFUSES to call me Mama, Mommy, or anything close to that. She does call me "Sawah". I'm not too thrilled about that. So for future reference, if you should be with me and Alice is around, you can all call me Mama.
• I started back to work yesterday. It was a bit rough. Today is even more so. I find myself in quite a lot of pain by 5pm usually. This is due to a few things... not taking pain meds during the day (because why would I want to drive all loopy-loo with my daughter in the car), and from sitting/standing all day. If only I could lay down for awhile at work everyday, I think that would help.
• The insurance company totaled out the car; which I knew they would. We got $2100 for it... quite a bit more than we were expecting, so Sean and I are pleased. Now we get to start looking for mini-vans. We were going to get one sometime after the first of the year, but that is getting pushed forward.
• Remember when I told you we had a cherry tree (here if you forget). Well that weekend, I went out to pick them and they were all gone. I guess the birds and squirrels had a big feast that evening because they knew I was coming to get them. Oh, and I just remembered to tell you about this!
• I went to Panera Bread for lunch today. I ordered my usual (You-Pick-Two: chicken salad sandwich and french onion soup... in case any of you come to surprise me and want to bring me something *wink wink*). They put a pickle spear in with my sandwich! They never do that unless you get a whole sandwich! Woo hoo! Lucky day!
• Today is Friday the 13th. I'm thinking it is my lucky day!
• I really, really, REALLY need to do dishes this weekend. We seriously have no clean forks, plates, pots, pans, etc. So you can pretty much assume that I have, indeed, been resting myself.
• I'm so over talking to insurance agents about this accident. Oh, and the adjusters, claims people, and rental car people. Don't they know that I don't feel well and need to rest? From here on out, all calls will be sent directly to voicemail; do not pass go, do not collect $200.
• I just took a pain pill. I don't think I can go another 3 (possibly more) hours before I get off work.
• I turned in my release for my severance. After going back and forth about it, I decided to take the 100%. Sean and I almost decided to take the lump sum (you know, to help purchase a vehicle, etc.), but then I decided I felt silly for pretty much throwing away $8K or so. So I will have to call (or go online) to unemployment and the company doing the SUB plan for the bank EVERY week. Ugh! But it will be worth it because I'm getting more money.
• 3 weeks and 6 days to go until my last day! Which works out to 14 work days! Actually 13 for me because I have Alice's birthday off... and that is a very important day! I think it should be a holiday.
• Speaking of birthdays, I need to hop over to Jen's shop and order some things asap!
• Oh, and I want to put up pictures of Sean, Alice, and I either on the sides or on my header. Can anyone help me with this?

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Go check out Danifred's blog for other Leftovers... she didn't have Leftovers up last time I checked, but I'm sure she will soon!

Meet Sprout!

I had my first appt on Monday. Sorry I am just getting around to updating you about it, but I have been very busy with car accident stuff (plus I have been very sore and spending most of my time laying down). If the picture shows up, that is Sprout. Anyway, Sprout (though I think s/he looks more like a shrimp, but won't call him/her that so as not to jinx them) has a healthy heartrate of 185. Alice's HR was never more than 160s, at least when checking it at appts. My EDD, according to u/s is March 17... St. Patty's Day! My OB's office is keeping my EDD at March 14, according to LMP. I should tell you I disagree. My EDD is March 20/22, according to O date. So Sprout is measuring a bit ahead. When I said I wouldn't call him/her Shrimp in hopes of not jinxing them, I did the same with Alice. She looked like an elephant at my first u/s, but I didn't call her Dumbo, out of fear of her having huge ears! I'm glad all is well with Sprout. I was worried after the accident. While we aren't out of the woods yet, we are getting closer. I'll attempt to do another post this evening, as we are meeting with the attorney at 6pm. Sent from my AT&T Smartphone.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This is a test post from my phone. The picture is of Alice smacking my face after they put the neck brace on in the ER. Lets start with the ugly. Wednesday, on our way to my father's to drop Alice off with my sister, we were in a car accident. I had just stopped and got gas. We were a few minutes from my dad's. I was stopped on a state road (with my turn signal on), trying to turn north. There were cars coming from the opposite direction, so I had to wait. Well, I see in my rear-view mirror a white mini-van that slowed down, but decided to go around us... basically they drove partly off the road, as there really isn't a shoulder. I was just thinking how stupid they were, when I see a grey van swerve left and then back towards us... brakes squealing, and then BAM! What happened? Oh shit, we just got rear-ended. I put the car in park, and frantically get out of the car to check on Alice. The rear windshield had shattered and there was glass all over the backseat and on her. Her carseat was at an angle. I tried to open the door. It was locked. I unlock it, only to discover that the door won't open. I go to the other side. Same problem... it won't open. At this point, a gentleman stopped and he climbs in through the driver's door and pushes the rear door while I tug on it. We open it, and he reminds me to leave her in the carseat in case she is injured. We get her carseat unlatched and out of the car. The Bad... The car will be totaled. The trunk was smashed in, and there is a lot of frame damage. I have whiplash and a sprained neck. We are still unsure whether the other driver is insured or not. We have gotten two different stories from his insurance. We will also probably "lose" money on the car. It is paid off and has 308K miles on it. It is (or was) in great shape. Gotta love a Toyota! So we will probably only get 800-1200 for it; though we may get up to 1500. Not exactly enough to get a replacement vehicle in the same (or comparable) condition The Good... Alice is perfectly fine! Thank God! I am fine also...very sore, but I imagine that will only get worse for the next couple of days. I got in to my OB today as I have been having a lot of cramps since the accident (the ER dr told me they wouldn't do an u/s as there would be no heartbeat at 8 weeks-which we know is a bunch of baloney). They tried to hear the heartbeat on the doppler (actually 2 dopplers and " different nurses) to no avail. I started crying, and the one nurse said we'd go do an u/s. So she does the u/s (and the picture was really dark) and says, "Let me go grab the tech. I think you may have twins". So I'm in disbelief. The tech comes in and gets a clearer picture. There is only one in there! And we have a strong heartbeat at 164. I have my regular appointment Monday, so I'll let you know how that goes. So thank the Lord that we are all safe and healthy! It definitely could have been much worse, and we were being watched over!