"Please Hold"

The week before our vacation was insane. Work decided that I needed a few more deadlines. And all four projects had a deadline before I was set to leave for Cape Cod. I was required to work full days, go home, be a mom, cook dinner, bathe her, put her to bed and then head back to the computer. Some people do this all of the time; I am not one of those people.

Anyway, it was insane. And Sam, thank goodness, still new at his job, could pick up some of the slack. As our childcare provider couldn't provide care for Seren due to her daughter having pneumonia, we pulled her out of care and into Grammy Care. So, things were nutty.

At 5:30, I call home to tell Sam that I'll need to work late. He says that I should stay there because our home had no electricity. They were managing just fine but I should stay at the office. I settle in.

At 7:30, I call home. I was depressed that I hadn't seen Seren (a first) and I was hours from being done my work. I ask Sam how he is feeling.

"I am not good. Oh! I am SO not good."

Alarmed, I ask him what is wrong. Seren is screaming in the background and Sam says he is bleeding uncontrollably. He asks me to call the neighbors so that they can come over and help.

I call six neighbors.

I call two more families. No one is picking up their phones- our phones are all on those damn electrical landlines. I call him back. Seren is still screaming. She is fine, just scared. So he asks me to call 911.

I call 911. The local town in NJ picks right up (I work in Jersey, my family and home are in PA). I get transferred quickly to PA. Her first words to me?

"Hi, please hold."

(!!!)

So I tell them what is going on. She says, "Oh, this is an emergency!?" (Apparently, I was transferred to some non-emergency line). The EMTs get to my husband. And I drive like a bat out of hell from Princeton. Going 80 on I-95- good times!

Meanwhile, sam has stopped the bleeding. He has had this thing on his leg for over a month- it is very close to a birthmark. Apparently, he picked the scab and since it is sitting right on a vein, it just started shooting blood up into the air. And he couldn't get it to stop. Seren, meanwhile, was having a tubby and was stark naked screaming, "DIAPER!" for over 30 minutes while Sam tried to get the bleeding to stop and find a diaper for his toddler.

I arrive home to find all of my neighbors drinking wine on the front steps of one neighbors' home. They have Seren in their arms. I look like a stressed out, pregnant freak. They told me he was fine and that Seren was fine. Seren wasn't so sure about all of this activity.

I went home to our still dark home and found a flashlight, put Seren to bed in her clothes and would have poured myself a BIG ole glass of wine, but ya know, the pregnancy thing isn't about drinking alcohol.

Sam can be very sensitive about medical issues and can exaggerate colds and cuts. So I wasn't really sure how bad the situation was. That was, until I came home.

Our bathroom looked like a small dog had been murdered! It was horrible! There were bloody footsteps down the hall. Yuck!

Amazingly, Sam arrived home quickly- our neighbor kindly picked him up. And we settled into to eating McDonalds at 10 pm.

Seren's commentary on the whole thing the next day was classic. "Momma!! Daddy had a BIG, big, boo-boo."

Stories to Tell

I am alive and well! I am behind on everything but I'm hanging in there! We are back from our one week vacation to Cape Cod. It was amazing! I am actually tan and somewhat rested! Such a great week. And I have stories to tell! So many that I most likely don't have time to blog about all of them but will leave them here for myself and for my readers. (All 5 of you!) Any votes on which story to tell first?

1. Why the local ER knows my hubby
2. Seren's ride in a Pick Up Truck and why I know the insides of not one but TWO Pep Boys in CT and NJ?
3. Big Momma in the house- weight gain and major popping at week 22
4. Seren's House of Horror (our transition to Child care)
5. Sand, Water and Sun
6. Seren's two favorite phrases: "Momma! Whatcha doing?" and "I hear something!"

I can't believe our vacation is already over! So sad! I am behind in emails! Now that my two weeks of working like crazy at the office is coming to an end, I should be emailing all of you soon!

Another milestone- week 20

This pregnancy seems to be flying by at a break-neck speed! I can't believe week 20 arrived on Friday! Half way! So exciting! I have been feeling the little man kicking since early July so that is encouraging. It has been a wonderful experience.

I continue to be amazed at the LIFE inside me. Wow. We get the chance to see him again this Wednesday. And on Thursday, I am seeing new doctors. My current practice is simply too busy! They have made me wait for approximately 45 minutes during each visit. The low point came when the doctor was way too busy trying to get my chart in order to answer my questions. She kept saying, "Uh, huh. Don't worry about that." As I asked about my high risk pregnancy- all the while shuffling through papers. I finally said to her in a NOT nice tone,

"I really hope you don't mind me asking questions. After all, it is my body and my baby."

That did it. She actually made eye contact with me.

I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Again and again. But I want the best outcomes for myself and by unborn babe. And the current practice just wasn't meeting my needs.

So I'm switching to my friend's father's practice. (Hi Rachel!). Can't wait!

We still haven't come close to agreeing on a name. Sam has his list. I have mine. And frankly, we have been too busy and too stressed out dealing with the two new jobs and the new child care to really think about a name. Right now, "Baby Brother" works wonders.

Last week with child care went just fine. I can't complain. Seren didn't cry. And I didn't either. So I guess that is good. She seems to enjoy the other children. I don't know if the child care provider and I see eye to eye on everything yet but we'll cross bridges when we need to.

Sam and I are just holding on- vacation comes this weekend. We will be spending a week in Cape Cod. I hope to just sit around and eat. And sleep. Seriously. That and play my heart out at the beach with my girl. If the fun Seren has at the sand table is any indication, she is going to LOVE the beach (again) this year.

Summer Joy

Somehow it is already mid-way through July. Our summer has been full of days spent in the sprinkler, time at our kiddie pool, playing outside and exploring new playgrounds. Winter feels far away. Seren would sleep outside if she could. Every night for the last two weeks, the last words she says to me are, "when wake up, play outside with mom and dad!" One can sense the anticipation of the new day to come.



This weekend we added a lot of "fun" to the weekend. We got up on Saturday and went to Kids' Castle which is a huge wooden playground. It was so hot. The parents all looked like leaves wilting in the heat. Our faces flush, our shirts soaked with sweat. We would mention in exhausted voices, "5 more minutes, sweetie." Meanwhile, the kids are sprinting through the playground, running full speed and up to thier armpits in sand in the sand box. Pushing shade and liquids, us parents try to do what's best. It is so great the kids don't notice these things.



After nap, Sam and I went on a date near my parent's home. It was so nice to just sit and chat over dinner and talk about the future. We talked about our dreams- for ourselves and our family. It was just a really nice relaxed time. I think one great thing about Sam working is that we are forced to focus more on our "family" time and more "us" time since there is less of it.



Seren starts her child care today. She is very excited. (We have pumped it up a lot). I asked Seren if there was a special friend that she'd like to bring with her to Heather's House. She looked around her room at all of her stuffed animals and picked up a teddy bear that I had long before Seren. She calls him "Momma's bear." Without prompting, she picked him up, held him up to her face so they could make eye contact and asked him, "Want to come wit me?" Apparently he said yes beacuse she then told him, "Hug around neck, oday?" (Ok?) With that, it was decided that Momma's bear would travel with Seren to Heather's house. Wish us luck that she continues to take her good naps at child care and the transition won't be too hard for any of us.



I'll leave with a picture that I think sums up the title of "Summer Joy". It is a picture that my father in law, Bill, took of Seren playing in a sprinkler in Flint. Everytime I see it, I smile.

Where is he?

We have introduced the idea of "baby brother" to Seren. She doesn't really get it yet. That is ok with us. But she has begun to include him in family "pictures" she draws. "Momma, Dadda, Seren and baby brother." very sweet.

Weekly, a nurse arrives at our home to give me my injection. Seren LOVES this. My mom took some great photos of her "helping" the nurse.

We asked Seren, "Seren, where is your baby brother?"

Her response was so classic.

"In Momma's shirt."

She then proceeded to lift up my shirt and show the nurse.

Always the helpful one, that one.

I'm week 19 today.

Times are a' changin

I haven't been in a blogging mood. Well, that isn't true. I haven't found the time to blog. That is really the deal. We are adjusting to having Sam work. All of us. And we haven't even placed Seren in her child care situation yet! That will be Monday. The last two weeks have left me feeling a bit...dull? Burned out? We are having fun and Grammy Camp, as I call it, has been awesome! I have been spoiled by arriving home to my mom who has already started dinner. What a treat! And Sam, despite the fact that we anticipate him working until 9 each night, has been home at 7:30 at the latest. So that is good too- he misses Seren. And I think he has a renewed sense of how I felt all along. Kids are such amazing little people- it is hard to be away from them.

But as we have worked through new schedules and new expectations, I find myself a bit introspective. Questioning how this new little boy will fit into it all. How *I* fit into it all. I know that when Baby v 2.0 arrives, our lives will turn upside down. Again. And I can't wait to hold that lump of love! And kiss him. But man, is it ever intimidating to be looking at all of that change from the outside.

I find myself craving alone time. Time to create. Time to write. Time to do anything else other than work and follow the routine. I have always missed my girl friends. I crave the openness and wonderful times that are created when women friends all get together. There is something magical about that. My good friends are now all over the country. Getting "the group" together requires cooperating husbands, well rested, healthy children, airline tickets, cash flow, and free schedules. It just seems like a lifetime ago when getting together was as easy as picking which dinning hall to eat at during lunch or meeting at the local restaurant/pub after work.

But that is all part of just being an adult. I have a younger friend, she is 23, and my friend on facebook. (facebook is a subject of yet another post). She has an photo album called, "My life as an adult." Newly minted from college, she is an adult. This is true. But lord the life of a 23 year old seems like a long time ago! I feel like the older I get, the more I see myself sinking into the boring type of adult. I don't want to be boring!

Maybe I should pierce something. That would help. Should I finally pierce my nose? I don't know if I have a good nose.

But the more exciting news is that I feel the little man shaking and moving in his womb. So awesome! I remember missing that feeling after Seren was born. And people at work are getting more brave about asking me if I'm expecting. Sometimes, they don't ask but ask something more vague like, "How is your family?" I then share our news. You can almost see the look of relief come across their faces. "Whew, I noticed her ass getting bigger. Good thing she is pregnant. Now I don't have to pretend I don't know."

It is both wonderful and slightly embarrassing to have one's body be part of public discourse.

Being pregnant is so wonderful and such a blessing. However both of my pregnancies have brought many shifting hormones (read: moods). As I said to Sam the other night, "Just hold on tight, honey. Get ready for the ride!"

The times, they are a' changin.

What's going on?

Such a simple question. I ask it to my friends all of the time. But I am having one of those moments that when asked, I just want to respond, "What isn't going on?" :)

While last Monday's good "boy news" was thrilling, Tuesday's visit with the OB, combined with the shot, made me very anxious about everything. Then I had a deadline to meet on Wednesday and ended up loosing my entire draft. Then I attempted to travel to Michigan only to miss my connecting flight- arriving at 1 am. Everyone has those rough weeks where you just feel drained.

I felt drained.

That being said, traveled to Michigan this past weekend to spend time with Sam's parents. It was so good to see them! We had a really good time just relaxing, eating and enjoying Seren. So nice to see her with her grandparents.

This doesn't need to be said but sometimes it just hits you smack in the forehead: I really love Seren. She is a complete trip! She tells jokes and just laughs. She also throws fits and gets so angry at the "injustices of the world" such as shoes having to be put on or seat belts needing to be clicked. She is completely two and has my entire heart wrapped around her finger.

We got home Sunday. Sam did errands; I put Seren down for nap.

Then the lawn mower broke.
Then the washing machine broke.
Then we both freaked out.

Currently, HALF of our backyard is mowed.

We also spent a good 35 minutes bailing water out of our washing machine. It doesn't drain. So we had to take the water out ourselves.

Sam starts his new job today. As expected, it is suddenly upon us. I am so excited for him and know that it is going to be so good for him and for our family. But it is hard. And he is under pressure to do it all. We will need about six months to adjust to both working. By then, we'll be all good to go.

And then the new baby will arrive! :)

Send some good Karma to Sam to today! I can't wait to hear how his day was!