I'm ready for a healthly household!

I know I'm not the only one who is getting tired of a sick household!  However, this past 2 weeks has been a bit frustrating.  Here is the story:

Quinn was not eating very well and she had a cold.  However, since our little Quinn is so tiny as it is, I was getting nervous about her going for so long without eating very well.  Bronchiolitis was going around the daycare so I finally decided after a week of this, it was time to get her seen (she never had a fever nor sounded wheezy, but come on, it was time!)  Good news was that everything was great...except her ears.  We had a double ear infection which was our main culprit of not wanting to eat.

The hubby started feeling bad shortly after this (Super Bowl Sunday) and he is one that gets sinus infections pretty easy and they seem to be very hard for him to get rid of.  He went to the doctor that Tuesday, and they didn't really think anything was wrong.

Fast forward to last weekend.  Hubby was feeling a little better so he went on his dart tournament from Friday night - late Saturday (so he came home on Sunday).  Owen wakes up with a somewhat red eye, but otherwise seems fine.  So we all go on about our day.  Saturday morning, Owen looks about the same but as the morning progressed, his eyes got redder.  Hmm...was this pink-eye?  I hate always jumping to the conclusion that any red in the eye means pink-eye.  Finally around noon I go to the restroom and look in the mirror and look a bit closer and low and behold, one of my eyes is starting to get red.  Darn pink-eye!  Got us some eye drop antibiotics.  Luckily, Quinn didn't get it!

Then late Saturday I start coming down with a sore throat and hubby gets home and doesn't look so good either.  He goes to the doctor again on Valentine's day to be told he not only has a sinus infection, but bronchitis to boot.

Will it ever end?!?

One Car Family

I know that there are many families out there that get by with only one car just fine.  However, we have gotten so used to having two cars, it is amazing how much adjustment there really is when you only have one.

Brandon's car is currently being worked on (dropped off on Friday) so we only have my car.  When one of us leaves for some reason (to go out or take one of the kids somewhere), the other is literally stuck at home.  Ok, so that seems obvious, but we are literally . . . stuck.  On Saturday, Brandon took Owen to a fun get together (too hot for Quinnie) and they left around 3:30 and didn't get back until late.  I couldn't take Quinnie to run an errand and I even began to freak out about "what if something happened" and I needed to get to the hospital (of course, this is when 911 would prove very useful to know!)

So looking beyond just been stuck, what other problems occur you may ask - getting everyone where they need to be.  Just to give you an idea, here is how yesterday went:

Left house at about 7:30.  First, we dropped Brandon off at work (about 10 miles, primarily east) at about 7:50 (must be at work by 8).  Then I went back the way I cam from to take Owen to daycare/kindergarten at 8:05 (about 8 miles back).  Then I went to drop Quinnie off at daycare (about 17 miles) at 8:45.  Then I went to work (about 1 mile) and arrived at my offic at about 9am.

Went about my day (imagine very fun and exciting statistics activities..., yes exciting and fun.  really, it can be.  Ok, so that's for another blog...)

Then I left work at about 4:50 and got Quinnie at 5.  Left there to go get Daddy at about 5:25.  Then we all went to get Owen from daycare/kindergarten at 5:40 and all arrived back home around 6pm.

Thus, I was gone of 10.5 hours and was only at work for about 8 hours.  I was exhausted!  So now we know we can get by with one car, I just don't really want to anymore!!

Kiddos

Thought I'd give a couple updates on the kiddos!

Quinn

Still a teenie gal. She is drinking about 5 oz of formula every 3.5 - 4 hours (except at night). We are generally going about 6 hours at night before needing to eat and sometimes she doesn't seem all that interested. I might be able to just give her her pacifier and she'd go back to sleep but with getting up at 6:30 every morning and waiting for her to be fed at daycare at 7:30, it makes me nervous that then I'd run late. May have to plan on a week where it is ok and plan to get up at 6 and feed her at 6:30 and then go to school to allow for her to sleep through the night. Might try this at 3 months (about 2 weeks!!).

Other highlights include that she is actually beginning to wake-up happy vs. crying and wanting to eat. She "blew" her first raspberry over the weekend. She loves to watch The Backyardigans with her brother. I presume she like the bright characters and all the singing :)



Owen

He has been amazing us lately. He is doing very good at school. They have notebooks for the kids to write in and the teacher will write on the board. At first, he wouldn't write what they were writing, he just kept writing his name (first and last) over and over again. Now he will write about anything that he sees, but of course he wants to know what it is! He's learned about mixing his primary colors and what colors they make and he knows that adding an S to a word makes more than one :)

He has been a pretty big helper. He likes to help Mommy with laundry, cleaning up dishes, wiping the table and baking. He will also run to get things for Mommy that she needs for Quinn.

The last couple of times I have taken him to the pool, I finally got him to jump from the edge to Mommy (and of course, he wants to do this at the 5ft part with Mommy on her tip toes!). He always has to do a count to a certain number before jumping and he changes it each time. I wonder if my child is the only one that feels the need to count to 30 before jumping? He even does a little dance back and forth while he is counting!


With as great as the kiddos are doing - we still miss having the family around to get to share in all these new things with us. Owen always wants to go see Grandma(s) and Grandpa(s), Uncle Austin and Keira! Right now he gets his cousin Aden confused with his "best friend," Aiden. Can't wait to get to seem my family again and get to meet my new niece in person! Only seen her face-to-face over the webcam once.

Count down - 3 days!

I am admittedly nervous about the upcoming c-section. Very glad that my parents are going to be here for the arrival of our baby girl. They are taking off tomorrow (Wednesday) and staying the night about 2/3 the way through and then arriving on Thursday afternoon so they'll get to spend a little time with us before baby girl arrives.

My last OBGYN appointment was Thursday last week and all was looking find - not very dialated yet, which is a good thing for a scheduled c-section! My last weigh in there says I gained 15 lbs while pregnant - the more realistic number in my mind was the 17 lbs difference I have at home with my own scale (especially as that is what I'll be using later!) Still not too bad (especially as I gained almost 30 with O!)

Tomorrow will be O's last day at "school" (daycare) until August when him and baby sister will be going. Since I'll have my parents here to help for the first week and all, I think we'll be ok - I don't want him to think he is not part of it. It may be tougher to keep him home with me since I won't have a lot of family around to help out, but I think he would feel as though he was being replaced if I took him to daycare and stayed home with baby girl.

Guest room is (finally) ready for my parents' arrival. Only a last few things to do...mainly on Daddy's end since my lifting and general work ability has been greatly compromised.

It happens all the time...

I believe that one of the hardest things about many circumstances is that they have become so "routine" we don't think about the individual anymore. As a professor, I have students who have been tested to receive special accomodations that I abide by. I try to be understanding if certain circumstances arise (as long as I can get some form of documentation). The individual should still get attention!

As I'm getting closer to having this baby and knowing that my c-section date is getting closer, I can't help but worry. Multiple doctors have looked at my records/medical history and don't seem too concerned. But is this because it has become so routine to them? I need to discuss my concerns and fears with them.

I still don't have a "full" understanding of what happened during O's birth, but from my understanding, I went from real concern (will I make it) to possibly needing a hysterectomy, to a slow but full recovery. The doctors here have made me feel that what happened was attributed to a couple of extra things that won't be happening this time - big baby and being induced for such a long time.

I can't help but have this slight fear of, I'll say it, dying. I don't want to leave my children without a mother and my husband without a wife. I don't know how/if they would make it. The idea of needing a hysterectomy this time does not strike fear in me as if I have two children and get to be with them, that is enough.

Boils down to that I need to discuss this with my doctors and my family. I need them to know my fears so that they can be there for me. I have such a great family, I just don't want to be a squeaky wheel!

KY visitors

Last weekend, my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew came out to visit us for the first time. It was really nice getting to show them where we live and share our experiences with them.

Took them a little longer than expected to get here that Friday, but they made it safely and that is all that matters. O loved getting to see everyone, especially his cousins. It was even nice enough that we took the kids to the park one day so they weren't just cooped up inside together.

My 30th birthday was on Sunday which was a good day. I was able to sleep in, we played some cards, took the kids to the park and went out to eat at Cheddars.

Overall, it was a great weekend getting to have family out here. I hope that they had as good of a time and hope that their kiddos got back on their normal sleeping schedule back at home!

Coping and Moving On

Considering what I have gone through in the past week or so, I think I am doing relatively well. I can't help but wonder "why me" and this is what I am having the hardest time dealing with. I know that so many women go through what I am going through and all, I'm not special in that by any means. How many women have to go through all the complications with one birth that barely enabled me to have a chance of conceiving again and then take the first child that I conceive after that point? Now, I'm sure that some of you are thinking "atleast you already have one child" are wondering what I am so whiney about. I have always wanted two kids, that's it. I don't want O to be an only child and at this point in my life, I'm ready for the second one. How many couples out their get divorced? should they never be able to get married again since they already had one spouse? I think not! Ah, rant over.

Ironically in this month's parents magazine that I received the day after my D&C, there is an article on "second time infertility" - is this supposed to be some kind of sign to me?

I have my follow-up appointment next Friday to make sure that everything is healing as it should be. The doctor seems to think that we can start trying again as soon as we want - phycially maybe, emotionally may take some more time for us.

I've been really trying to get back into my routine as the beginning of the semester is quickly approaching and I really should be "over it" soon. (At least as it is seen by most people - i.e. no more breaking down and crying in front of non-family about it). Getting back to work is nice, but I will be even better once I can start working out again - need to lose some more of this darn tummy of mine! So you all better watch out - a smokin' hot mama will be coming your way soon!!

A tough week

This past week has probably been the worst week of my life. I had my first prenatal appointment. Now I am one that doesn't believe I am pregnant until I get to either see and/or hear my baby. The doctor and I were discussing who would deliver the baby since she is moving in September, and what day we would have it on (March 1) since I would get to have a scheduled c-section. They then do an ultrasound to see how many babies are in there and to listen to the heartbeat. Good news - only 1 baby. Seeing it just made my heart melt. But I could tell something was wrong with the way the doctor was searching for something. I asked what was wrong and she said she couldn't locate a heartbeat - my heart just sunk and I was in denial.

She wanted me to go to the hospital to get a second opinion with higher level ultrasound technology. Three hours later, the worst was confirmed - the baby was dead.

Then we had to decide what we were going to do - I had no signs of a miscarriage. I could either wait to see if nature ran its course or have a D & C performed to remove the fetus. After discussion a lot with my family, especially my Aunt Robyn who is a nurse, I was advised to go ahead with the D & C so that I would be under a controlled environment.

I went in yesterday and had the surgery performed. Although I was totally out for the procedure, the idea of my baby being taken out of me is very hard to deal with. Shouldn't have too long of a physical recovery, don't know if I will ever fully recover emotionally.

Nebraska Trip - Part III

While I was back in Nebraska, even though it wasn't a holiday season, I had lots of plans. I got to spend a lot of time with my immediate family - we got to play some cards, go out to eat, have a tea party, etc. It was a lot of fun getting to see my niece and nephew and how much they have grown. My brother also had his birthday while I was back and of course, we had to let him win a few games ;)

I also got to see a few of my aunts and cousins spread throughout the week, and even happened to get to see my Uncle Wayne since he happened to be in town.

I got to spend some time with my in-laws, and a most of O's great grandparents. O really loved getting to see his Uncle Austin, and definitely missed getting to see him the second time we were out.

I got to spend lots of time with my great friend, April. She is moving at the end of July to Minnesota, so it is going to be more work for us to get to see each other, but I am sure we will manage.

I also got to have lunch with an old friend from high school - it was a lot of fun catching up!

But one of my favorite parts of my trip was getting a pedicure with my Mom and April, without O! I really missed getting those and may have to find a place here to get my toes done!

Nebraska Trip - Part II

One of the more eventful part of my trip happened in my first 4 hours of being there. I had told my parents the week before that I was pregnant and due around March 8th, but I hadn't told my brother and sis-in-law yet.

I decided to "tell" my brother by sending him a picture of my positive pregnancy test shortly after he arrived. Once he finally got the picture, his first response was "yes". We both sort of looked confused at each other. And then asked, "so what do you think?" He then asked "is that yours" - which of course I responded "yes" and showed my sis-in-law. Then he gave me a shocker and told me that was where they had been today and found out sis-in-law is due March 15th! He then told me that he thought I had gotten ahold of their test - which is where the confusion came from.

As if we couldn't get the first two close enough...

Tis Life

I am really looking forward to this weekend for so many reasons-
1. NKU is on sping break next week.
2. My parents are coming out for a visit
3. We will offically be moved into our new house.

Looking forward to being in a bigger place where Owen can do more without getting into trouble (as easily). However, this will be a change for us as we have gotten use to our morning routine. Now that the rooms are on the second floor, going to have to work something else out.

Hoping that once we get settled we can start potty-training O. He has been showing an interest for about the last month, but we didn't want to start this until after the move - maybe after the first few nights we will take down his crib rail so that he will sort of be in a "big boy" bed. He has definitely outgrown the idea of a crib, but he does not like change at all, so the move will be hard enough for him at first.

Having my parents out will be nice to have some family to talk to in person for a change. Really wish it could be for longer, but it is better then nothing. Saddened that I won't probably be out to NE myself until after the 4th of July...not sure exactly when yet. B's parents are coming out in early June and then I teach until the 4th...so I may have to wait until after that...

Back in the saddle

Owen and I ended up coming back on Sunday. Things looked pretty busy for all the family that day so it just made sense to come back a day early and get settled back before going back to school on Tuesday.

So far, so good for Owen - he slept well last night with minimal fighting and ate okay last night considering we just got done with a bit over 12 hour total time trip.

It was really great getting to go back and see everyone. I began to cry a bit on Saturday when I said goodbye to Keira and Aden - though I will miss their parents a lot too! I think it was harder since I know I won't be back until either May or July depending on how my teaching schedule for summer is...that is, how much I am prepared for it.

Our little family has a lot of resolutions this year...Brandon has a few: quit smoking, drink a lot less pop, eat better, and to play more with Owen. I have a few typical ones - lose some weight (30 lbs by end of May), save more money. I want to cut back on my soda too! We haven't let Owen have soda yet so we think we should cut back a lot too so that we aren't being too hypocritical. We just don't want him to be as addicted to it as we are. I also want to start working out more, which will be hard to do, but I will just have to make time. A friend and I are going to play racquetball 2 mornings a week as our afternoons are booked on different days. Finally, I want to stress less about the mess of my house and live in the moment with my husband and son.

Going to work on getting everything I brought home with me put away today as well as grocery shopping. Back to school tomorrow...

Christmas Vacation

Sitting here at my Mom's house watching the Husker game while Owen naps. We are currently ahead, so we will see if it stays that way.

I have been in Nebraska since December 26th and am supposed to head back on the 5th. I have really enjoyed being here, but am missing being with the hubby back home. This is a nice vacation, but there are other things I wish I could get done too.

We looked at the one house last week - it was really nice, it just didn't feel right to me. We may be able to afford it now, I just don't think we could afford the upkeep of such a nice house. It did have a very small backyard too!!

Owen wasn't really into opening his gifts at the grandmas' houses. He did back in KY, but that was his first set of presents. I haven't let him play with many yet so that we can get them back home.

About to lose my battery and on gma's laptop...so I'll be back...eventually.

Back to Nebraska

Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Nebraska time Current mood: chipper Category: Life
We went back to Nebraska for Thanksgiving. Honestly, once we arrived it was like I had never been gone. Not much had really changed in Lincoln - though I was glad that the O Street bridge was finally finished!!

Made sure that we ate at Runza one night since that is one of our favorite places that we don't have out in Kentucky! (We do have some favorites from here though - Penn Station, O'Charley's and Max and Erma's are all great!)

I was excited to finally get to see my nephew - he is so cute, facially he reminds me a lot of his sister. She is currently potty-trained so I got to take her to the potty a few times as well - definitely a new experience. Makes me wonder how that will go with Owen - maybe we'll start trying after January when we get back again.

Seeing my new nephew makes me want to have another one - I just don't know if this is the right time with it being my first year and all. But after what happened with Owen, who knows if I can have another one and even if I can, who knows how long it would take. All of you that know me well know that I am a planner and this is just something I don't get a lot of control of, which of course bugs me to death!

Went up to UNL to see some old profs and classmates of mine. It was kind of weird to see people in my office but it isn't like I expected to them to leave the room empty and create and altar for me!

Really enjoyed getting to see my best friend. They say you know you are really good friends when you get together after not seeing each other for a long time and it feels as though you just saw them yesterday. This is one friendship that has really stuck. She is looking for jobs this year - which are going to be really hard to find with the economy the way it is. I hope that she finds something that she will like, but of course I selfishly hope that the place is closer to me!
Getting together with the families was a bit difficult with a cranky 2-year old. We only got to stay for a couple of hours before we had to leave, but it was great seeing everyone. A couple of my cousins are graduating this year and am sorry that I won't get to be back to see them graduate. They have both grown up to me pretty admirable women - it will be interesting to see what they do next.

The drive home was okay for the most part. Owen started get a bit restless just outside the Indiana border - so we only had about 2-2.5 hours left at this point. We'll see how the drive goes by myself in a couple of weeks!!