NEVER Visit The ER During Flu Season.

So, the day after our car accident, I was feeling really run down. I figured it was just from being almost 6 months pregnant, and from the stress of the accident and hospital visit.

About 4 pm I left to pick up Stephen from work. When I was getting off the freeway for his work, it hit me. Shakes, dizzy, sweating, chills.... I was sick! Stephen drove us home, and I went straight to bed. Monday night I was very sick. Up all night hurting, throwing up, freezing then sweating. My fever was up to almost 103 thru out the night. I know Tylenol is safe in pregnancy, so I took it to help try to contain the fever. I put in a call to my midwife who said if I get worse at night to go to the ER, but if I can make it thru the night, to call my primary care doctor in the morning.

At 8 am when my primary care doctor opened, I called them. They got me in at 9:45. To the complete shock of the doctor, me, Stephen and the nurse who was seeing me also, the flu test came back negative. So did the strep test. The doctor said it was probably something viral, and sent me home to rest. He did do some blood work before I left, just to see what was up.

I slept pretty much the rest of Tuesday. I was feeling somewhat better Wednesday morning when my doctor called me at 8:15 am to tell me that my blood work came back. He said my white blood count was "thru the roof" and started asking about any other symptoms. He suspected pneumonia or a UTI. I did not have any urinary symptoms, so he said it was most likely pneumonia. The test for this is a chest x-ray, which is not something you can do in pregnancy. He immediately put me on an antibiotic, and said if I was not feeling better by Friday, to see him again.

He called me today to check on me. Such a great doctor! I told him I am feeling pretty good, just still really tired, which could be pregnancy related. He agreed, but said I need to get my white blood count tested again to make sure the infection is gone. I can get this done at my next OB/GYN appointment, which is a week from today. If I start feeling sick again, I am supposed to call him ASAP.

Its been a rough week for us!

We did get some good news today though! Our car is not totaled. There is almost $4,000 worth of damage, including the axle, suspension and such. It should all be repaired by the end of next week. The body shop is also going to repair a hole in the bumper from me backing into something a few months ago at no charge! They are already doing work on the back bumper, so they figured they might as well. Apparently the car that hit us, hit us in the front, and kinda pin balled off of us and bounced at the back end too, because there are scratches and dents all the way down the passenger side of the car. I only got pictures of the front end, and they are from right after the accident. I never got pictures of the back of the car, or side, but the front has most of the damage. The car held up REMARKABLY well for being hit at 60 MPH.





And for good measure, Little Mans new car seat. We did upgrade a little, only about a thirty dollar difference from his old seat to his new one, but it has features we like. It is a Britax Boulevard, and yes he is still rear facing at almost 2. His seat rear faces till 35 pounds, and we are going to keep him that way untill he hits the weight limit. That should be any day now at the rate he is going. If you want information on why extended rear-facing is safer, check out my older post.



We got the check from the insurance for the car seat replacement today, nice to have that money back. The insurance got us in a rental car so we are back to having two cars. Well, we had two cars because my mother-in-law let us borrow one of hers (father-in-law was out of town) but that car had to go back to her. We are very impressed with the other drivers insurance, which is Geico. They are really going out of their way to make sure we are happy. The body shop that is doing the work has us at the top of their work load, and the parts for our car have been overnighted to them. They seem to be very on top of things, which is nice.

We picked up the police report earlier in the week. The other driver was 28 and said she started to hydroplane and that is why she hit us. I totally believe that from the angel she was pointed when I saw her coming at us. She was not ticketed for the accident, but she is still at fault.

I am hoping for some good news on the house this next week too. Stay tuned for that!

Car Accidents While Pregnant Are NOT Fun.

We decided yesterday to go visit my Grandmother who lives over an hour away. It was a nasty, rainy day, and the trip takes us on 5 different freeways around Atlanta. We were on the final leg of the trip when we passed an accident. I commented to Stephen that people need to learn how to drive in the rain and went back to my book. Seconds later something caught the corner of my eye, I looked up from my book and saw a Caddy coming at us from the lane to our right. I think she was going to go around the car in front of her and didn't look to see us passing her in her blind spot. She JERKED over, right into us. She was headed for my door, and Stephen saw her in enough time to take his foot off the gas so she hit more at the front of my door and the front tire. The force pushed us into the grassy median, where Stephen just rode out the median to stop the car safely inches from a ditch on the side. I immediately looked back to check on Little Man, who was still asleep. Then I searched for my phone that went flying and called 911 cause I didn't know if we were all ok at that point.

The police showed up and blocked the freeway so we could safely get our car out of the median and onto the side. At this point I was feeling crampy, but figured it was just from the seat belt across my growing belly. The firemen were asking us what happened, and if we were all ok. I denied going to the hospital via ambulance, because I figured I was fine, and that we could just drive ourselves if I needed to be checked.The police officer got all of our information, and then cleared us to leave, being as it was not our fault. He told us the report would be available in a few days.

While we were waiting for the police officer to do all his business, I put a call into my doctor to see what they wanted us to do. The only jolt from the accident was the initial hit, since my husband did such a great job steering us clear of other cars and the ditch. They wanted me to get checked out, which was fine with me. We piled back into the car, and buckled up to go to the hospital. We drove all of two feet and realized the car was not drivable. When we pulled it to a stop, we heard a loud pop.

Thankfully my sister, who has a car that seats 8, was a few miles ahead of us. She had turned around and showed up right about that time. We unloaded the important things from our car and piled into her car. She took Stephen and I to the hospital so I could be checked, and she took Little Man and her kids on to see my Grandmother.

When we got there they checked my blood pressure, and it was high. They took blood and started an IV to try to get my blood pressure down. They hooked me up to fetal monitors, contraction monitors, and a blood pressure monitor. The whole time I was on the monitors, Little Miracle was kicking very well, so I knew he was ok. I was in the emergency room for about 45 minutes before they moved me to labor and delivery. My blood pressure was still climbing and I was getting contractions every 8-10 minutes, which is considered pre-term labor. About an hour after being in labor and delivery they decided that the contractions were not stopping on their own, so they gave me a shot designed to relax your uterus to stop contractions. This shot worked almost right away. For 45 minutes I did not have any contractions. I then had 2 in the course of five minutes, but then they fizzled down in strength, and almost stopped. Two hours after they gave me the shot, they asked if I wanted Ambien to help me sleep later. I questioned how long they were going to keep me, and she said she would call the doctor and ask. I did not want to stay any longer, but knew if I needed to, I would. She came back around half an hour later and said I was free to go. I have to monitor Little Miracles kicks and contractions, and if either of them change, I have to go back to the hospital.

We went this morning to get Little Man a new car seat. I am so thankful that we had him in a very safe seat and still rear facing. We bought him the same brand seat, but a step up from the one he was in. I just have to wait now for the other drivers insurance information so I can get paid back for his seat. Any accident requires you to replace car seats, even if the child was not in the seat at the time. Britax is the ONLY brand that has a test and if you answer no to all 5 questions, you can keep using the seat. One of these questions was if our vehicle was able to be driven from the scene, and it was not.

I am so thankful that things happened the way they did. We were in a minivan and it took the hit very well. Stephen is a great driver that stopped us without causing any more damage to the car, and Little Man and Little Miracle are both doing great.

Planning Little Miracles Birth

Some people say I am crazy. Why try natural birth when medicine is made to make labor and delivery less painful?

Well, I have decided to have a DRUG-FREE, natural birth. I am hoping to get my insurance to let me switch doctors also, so I can have a water birth.

My labor and delivery with Little Man was nice. Being my first child, I decided to have the epidural and everything the hospital offered. I think the only thing I declined was the Ambien to sleep, since it causes me to hallucinate.

When I found out I was pregnant with Little Miracle, I decided to entertain the idea of a natural labor and delivery. I had thought about it with Little Man, but was scared to do it since he was my first, and I only had one hospital choice in the town we lived in.

Now that we have moved closer to a big city, I have many more choices. I am hoping to switch to the hospital that offers water birth. I have thought about a home birth, but I do not think that they are for me. My own personal choice and belief that things can go wrong in labor, and though they are rare, I would like to be in the hospital if something happens.

We met with a doula a few weeks ago. A doula is someone who "mothers the mother" in labor. She talks women thru contractions, helps with natural pain relief, helps the mother change positions, and explains everything that is going on to the mother. I think a doula would benefit us greatly, so we hired the one we met with.

We start our birth classes tonight. I know this is early, since I am only 24 weeks, but the next one that the doulas offer is not until December, and that would be too late.

I am excited to see that my body can birth a child without much help. I know it can, given the chance. My body can grow this child without any help from me, so I know it can birth it too.

I am currently reading three books on natural birth. "HypnoBirthing-The Mongan Method" which was one that a good friend of mine used for the natural birth of her daughter, "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" and "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" were both recommended to me by our doula. The Thinking Woman's Guide is so far my favorite. It discusses almost everything that can happen in labor and gives you the pros and cons to everything the hospital can offer, so you can make a true informed decision.

Little Miracle will be here in 16 weeks, and I am very excited to help him come into the world!

I am going to post Little Mans birth story here now so for those of you who have not read it can.

"
10-9-07

We woke up really early (5:30 am) to go to the police station to return all of hubbys police gear. After that, we headed to the Marine Base to get signed up for Tricare. We walked around the base, back and forth from the Deers office to the Tricare office. After we signed up for Tricare, we went to cancel our other insurance. While there, we talked to the assistant City Manager to see about hubbby getting off of probation, since the Chief of Police won’t do anything about it. We were told to find the letter we got stating he was off of probation in June. We came home and tore the house apart trying to find it. We made a mess! We never found it, and had to go pick up hubbys friend and take him to class. After we dropped him off, hubby dropped me off at home, and went back to pick up his friend and go to his house to help him fix his car.

Contractions started around 5:30. I was timing them, and they were anywhere from 8 minutes apart, to 14 minutes apart, lasting longer than a min each, so I figured it was nothing. At about 7:30 I decided to try to clean the house from the mess we made earlier trying to find the paperwork. I was cleaning in between contractions.

I called hubby around 8 to see when he was coming home. He said in about an hour, but when I told him about my contractions, he came straight home. We went for a long walk to see what would happen. When we were on the walk, we ran into a neighbor that comes to my work, so we talked to her for about 45 minutes, all the while I was still having contractions, but nothing too strong. We got back to the apartment around 9:15. I laid down on the couch hoping to sleep. I had one really strong contraction that felt like Little Man turned his head from one side to the other. I told hubby about that one, and about 2 minutes later I felt wet. I felt something coming, so I got up to go to the restroom. As soon as I stood up, my pants were soaked. I told hubby I either peed my self, or my water broke. I got to the restroom, and it kept coming, so I told hubby that we need to get stuff together and get to the hossy. I called my mom while hubby was getting our pillows and last minute stuff. After I called my mom, I called my doctor, and we headed out the door.

The drive to the hossy was only about 5 minutes long but it seemed so long! Hubby got stuck at a red light and asked if he should run it, I told him yes, and when in his life will he have a better excuse for running a red light.

We got to the hossy and L&D is next to the emergency center, but upstairs. Hubby dropped me off at the front, and went to park the car. I went upstairs and told the lady behind the desk that I think my water broke. At this point, my dr. calls me back and tells me to go to the hossy… I told him I just got there and he said ok, that they would call him when he is needed. The lady in the registration desk was new, and needed me to give her my info. Hubby got there and they sent me back. I waddled to the nurse’s station, and they put me in room 8, my lucky number. A nurse had me sit on the toilet and she patted the area with fluid with paper, and said ‘yep… it’s your water’. She gave me a gown and I hopped into bed.

They hooked up the heart rate monitor and the contraction monitor, and that beautiful sound of Little Man's heart rate filled the room.

At this point hubby came back from fixing our insurance info and got comfy. The L&D nurse came in and I told her I would like an epidural as soon as possible. She told me it would be later in the night, because I was not into a good labor pattern yet. She said I was supposed to get into a good pattern before my water broke, and that now that it broke, it will take a few hours to get to a good pattern, and if they gave me the epidural too soon, then it would slow my contractions. She told me that she does have Stadol for pain, and I could have an Ambien to sleep if I wanted it. I told her no on both, because I was not in that much pain yet, and Ambien makes me hallucinate. She left the room and told me to call her when I wanted the pain meds.

I tried to rest and sleep, but I was too excited, so at 1:30 I asked for the pain meds. My contractions were starting to hurt, and I wanted to sleep. The nurse came in and gave me the Stadol, and it hit me almost instantly. AH! Sleep at last!

Around 3 am, the contractions woke me up. The nurse came in and said the epidural guy was on his way, and she gave me some more Stadol. At this point, the contractions hurt so badly! I don’t see how women do natural labors! I was squeezing Stephens’s hands so hard that they were turning purple. I slept between the contractions.

Around 4 am I woke up and the room was really bright. There was a bald man telling me he was here for the epidural. I wanted to get off the bed and hug him! He did the epidural, which did not hurt nearly as bad as the contractions. All I remember was a small needle poke, some pressure in my tailbone, and then him asking me to wiggle my toes. He was in and out quickly from what the drug haze lets me remember.

I woke up around 8 am and felt great! I looked over to the contraction monitor and saw that they were at the top of the chart, so I knew that they would probably hurt if I could feel them. Around 9 am, my midwife came in. It was the one that I had seen the most in the office, and the one I have heard is great at making you push, so I was happy. She checked me and said I was about 7-8 cms dilated and that it would be about an hour till I could start pushing. I called my mom and told her that Little Man would be here sometime soon!!

At around 10 am, the midwife came back in, checked me and said all that was left was a little lip around Little Mans head, she had me push during one contraction and the lip was gone. At 10:15 I was laid back and ready to start pushing. I had 2 contractions, and noticed during pushing Little Mans heart rate would disappear. My midwife noticed this too, and had to put the thing into his head to monitor his heart rate. I don’t remember what it is called, but it sticks into his head, not too far, and monitors his heart rate.

Around 11pm, after pushing for 1 hour, I was very tired. They had told us that Little Mans head is stuck in my pelvic bone, and they had to keep my legs up all the time to keep him from slipping back down. Every time I pushed, hubby would tell me he could see the head, I eventually told him to stop telling me that , because I thought that meant his whole head. I told hubby that until he can see the whole head, I don’t want to hear it!

Around 12 pm, I noticed everyone putting on blue gowns and changing gloves. I knew the time was close. They put my feet in stirrups so they did not have to hold them. They had turned down the epidural, so I could feel the contractions coming. They did the episiotomy around this time, which I did not feel. Around 12:15 pm, my midwife told me that this was the last push, and I felt like saying "if it is not, I am done, you are going to have to cut him out” but I did not. I pushed really hard, and my midwife told me to look down, I could see his head! The whole time my midwife was great. She motivated me to push like no other, and Stephen was great too, holding my head, and my hands, and helping me thru the contractions.

At 12:17 pm my sweet Little Man made his way into the world. They put him on my stomach. He was surprisingly very clean. I got to hold him for a minute and they clamped the cord. The doctor asked hubby if he would like to cut the cord, and he had already decided that if they asked him, he would, so he cut the cord. They took Little Man to be cleaned and weighed, and they started sewing me up.

Little Man was not crying too much, just complaining, until they gave him his first shot, then he started to SCREAM. He must have mamas temper! Once he was all clean, they weighed him. 7 lbs, 4.6 ozs. They round up, so he measures at 7 lbs 5 ozs. They brought him to me so I could try to breast feed him, and they all left the room. I finally had my little man!

That hour of peace and quiet with Little Man and hubby was the best hour of my life. After that time, they came and moved us to mother baby care, and that is where we spent the rest of our hospital stay. It was a day I will never forget. Definitely the happiest day in my life!"

SO Sick of The House Crap!

Ok. Time for you all to know whats going on with this house!!

We put in the offer in what, April, maybe early May? Well, between then and a few days ago, the process was crawling. We are eligible for a grant from the State of Georgia, since the house we picked was a foreclosure. We got all of our paperwork turned in in May. In June, my husband went to a home buyers class that was required for the grant. We were supposed to close in late June.

A few days before our first closing date we got a phone call from our lender, saying the grant money was not in yet. From there, it all went downhill. We found out that it had not even gone to underwriting yet, our lender had not locked in our interest rate, and that this was going to take longer than we thought. We fought and fought to get it to underwriting, and fought to get our interest rate back down. In late July, the underwriters told us what they needed from us, and we got it turned in the next day. A few days later we heard from our lender that the underwriting was complete, and we should be closing in mid-August!

Fast forward to yesterday. We get a call from our lender saying that our underwriters were shut down by the federal government. Apparently they were not turning in what they needed to, and fraud is suspected. So all the loans that were not closed yet are in limbo now.

We have no idea what is going to happen. Our lender is looking to find a new underwriter, and she says that someone is already looking at it. We shall see. We have also found out that since this process started, my husbands credit has gone down by over 70 points from all the inquiries to our credit, and an error. We have fixed the error, but it takes 30 days for it to be reported.

We are thinking that if this falls thru, we will just find a new house and go with our bank since we know they are not going anywhere! We have to get my husbands credit score back up before we can do that though. We called everyone on our report today to see if they can update it today, instead of at the end of the month, so we again will see.

So for now we are still homeless. We are staying with my sister, who has 3 kids, so its a full house!

Updates on Us

I realized today that with all the posts about Little Miracles health concerns, that I have not updated everyone on us in a while.

Little Man is growing like a weed. He is almost 22 months. He is OBSESSED with trains. We are going to have his 2nd birthday party somewhere with trains, and we are going to do his room in the house in trains. He is talking more and more, and it is fun to see what his newest words are! He pulls some out I didn't know he knew! We have made lots of new friends since we moved.

Stephen is working a lot. He has put one person in the Army National Guard so far. They are being very picky because they are full, so people get sent home from processing for various reasons.

I am doing ok. Really stressed out. We still have not closed on the house (almost 4 months after we put in the offer). Don't ask why, because we don't even know. We are getting the run around from our lender and we are frankly very tired of dealing with it. So tired, that we are about to say forget it to the whole thing and just get an apartment for now. We have had 3 closing dates, and all 3 have come and gone. We have our 4th now, and I pray that we finally close on the house. We have to get out of the house we are renting by tomorrow, so we are going to stay with my sister for a few weeks. No apartments up here rent monthly, and the extended stay hotels were just not going to work for me.

I found a GREAT play group up here. My ladies have been such a great support to me during all of this! We have play dates several times a week, and have moms nights out often. It is nice to get out of the house without kiddos!

That is our lives in a nutshell right now. Please say some prayers that we will close on our house soon!

Health Ultrasound Today ~ Results

Wow. What a ride this has been. First off, let me say that our Little Miracle looks perfectly healthy!

It was a long night last night. I have a nervous stomach, so I get sick when I get nervous. I also don't sleep when nervous, so I was prepared for a night of no sleep. Our Little Man (21 months old now) decided to keep mommy up too. He was up every 30-45 minutes from 8:30 until about 1:30 when we finally caved and gave him Tylenol and more milk. We had tried milk around 10, and we were rocking him or rubbing his back every time he was awake! I don't know if he is teething, or just felt sick last night, but he finally crashed around 2 a.m.!

We got up at 7:30 this morning, and woke up Little Man. We took him to my sisters so she could watch him while we went to the ultrasound. My appointment was at 9, and we got there early again, about 8:30. They took me straight back, and the ultrasound tech started looking at Little Miracle. My husband was sitting in the chair next to me, with a pen and paper in hand, ready to write down anything that they said, so I could remember it. Needless to say, he did not write anything down!

The tech did all the measurements of the bones, the head, the belly and looked at the heart and brain for a while for details of them. She also re-confirmed it is a boy! She didn't talk much during the ultrasound, which kinda made me nervous. I mean, he looks healthy to me, but what do I know? I don't know what his heart and brain and bones are supposed to look like on an ultrasound. Before she left to get the doctor, she said that he was going to come in and review everything, but she does not see anything that concerns her. PHEW!!!

The doctor came in shortly after she left, and took a look himself. He told us about the amino before he looked at Little Miracle, and said he would do it today if we decided. After he looked at the ultrasound pictures and had a look around himself, he told us that he sees NO markers for Downs at all, and that the baby is measuring right on - even confirmed it was a boy, again. He did not even mention the amino again after he looked at Little Miracle. He told us our risk went down from 1 in 181 (I had the number wrong... I thought he said 1 in 151 earlier) to 1 in 780 with the lack of Downs markers, which is more on target for the risk for my age group. We are going back to see him around 28 weeks, to get another look at Little Miracle when he is bigger, but that is just more for peace of mind, the doctor said.

The ultrasound was very short, so we were out of there in about 30 minutes, which was nice. We went to the bank and to breakfast before we had to pick up Little Man, so my husband could get to work.

Our risk for Downs is still there, but now it is so small, that we are not going to think about it anymore. We will find out at birth if he has it or not. Thank you all again for all of the thoughts, prayers, emails and comments. They really helped me calm down my racing mind!

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the prayers and supportive comments, emails that I have received. I feel like I will have a great support system if Little Miracle does in fact have Downs. I have skimmed the blogs that were recommended to me, but can't bring myself to read them until we know for sure what is going on with Little Miracle.

Monday is my ultrasound appointment. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I will enjoy seeing him, if nothing else. I will be happy to have a little more information coming out of the ultrasound. We will be debating the amniocenteses after the ultrasound. I really want to do it, but my husband does not. We will see if there are any Down markers, and see what the doctor recommends, and go from there.

In other news, I got the results on another test they did, and Little Miracle has little to no chance to having neural tube defects. One more hurdle passed!

Ultrasound Results for Gender

Well guys... Looks like all my sicence experiments were CORRECT!! Little Man has a Little Brother coming!



We arrived at our ultrasound early, and they took us straight back. They put the ultrasound probe on my belly and saw the baby on the screen. She asked me what I thought I was having. I looked at the screen and said "well, that looks like boy parts". She said, "yes, it does".

I am over joyed to have another son on the way! I would have been just as happy with a daughter, but I really don't know what I would do with daughters. I want 3 boys and then a girl, so I am on a roll so far!

More Gender Games and An Update

Ok. Since having fun with the Draino and Walgreens test yesterday (which is IntelliGender, in case you were wondering, CVS and Walgreens sells it, and you can get it online(oh- and I got a response to my email from them, they read that as BOY also)) I decided to look into all the other tests and tales. Here they are.

The Ring Test: Take a strand of hair, and thread it thru your wedding band. Hold it above your stomach and if goes back and forth, it is a boy, if it goes in circles, it is a girl.

Mine went side to side, stating it is a BOY.

Where the baby kicks: If the baby kicks more to the right, it is a boy. If the baby kicks more to the left, it is a girl.

This baby kicks my right side more, meaning it is a BOY.

Linea Nigera: If you get this annoying dark line from your belly button down, it is a boy. If you do not get the line, it is a girl.

No line this time, meaning it is a GIRL. (I did have the line with Little Man)

Heartbeat: If the baby's heartbeat is 130 or higher, it is a girl. If it is less than 130, it is a boy.

Always in the 140s, so GIRL

Cravings: If you crave sweets, it is a boy. If you crave more sour things, it is a girl.

Gimme my limes!! GIRL

Color of your urine: If it is neon yellow, it is a boy. If it is dull yellow, it is a girl.

BOY (Was true with Little Man)

Chinese Lunar Calendar: Takes your age at conception, and the month of conception, to tell you what you are having.

According to them, BOY

Old Wives Tale Test: Take the test, and they will tell you what you are having

According to them, 71% chance of BOY

Madame Zaritska:- A fun website that predicts the gender.
"The day you deliver, outside will be hot. Your baby will arrive in the late afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 9 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 12 pounds, 14 ounces, and will be 21 inches long. This child will have dark violet eyes and a lot of brown hair. "

GIRL (lets hope she is wrong on the 12 lber!!)

Now if you were keeping count, that is 5 BOY and 4 GIRL.

We shall see in almost 6 hours. I decided to find out earlier than my 19 week appointment partially because I am so impatient, and partially because I want my focus to be solely on Little Miracle's health at that appointment. I don't want to go into the appointment wondering what we are having.

Now that all the fun is over, onto an update. We should be closing on Friday on our first home! The lender messed up our interest rate, but she is working hard to get it back to where it should be. We have had plumbers, termite people, tree removers, appraisers and inspectors all at the house in the last few weeks. It has been fun. We can't wait to get in it and make it our home!

Fun With Science

As I mentioned earlier, I am the most impatient person in the whole world.

I decided yesterday, Fathers Day, that I wanted to know the gender of this baby, and I want to know it NOW! Well, after calling all 15 elective ultrasound places in the greater Atlanta area yesterday, only 3 answered their phone, and none could get me in yesterday.

So what does a girl do? Well, I could go to the hospital, fake cramps, and get an ultrasound there, but that is not a good thing to do.... so I get online. I look up the "Draino test" which I have heard many pregnant ladies do when they want to know the gender. You buy some crystal Draino, add some urine to it, and when the reaction stops, you observe the color. Cool.

Off to Home Depot.

I also heard that CVS and Walgreens sell a "gender kit" that tells you what you are having too. I headed there and bought it too.

I got them both home last night, and was so excited! I know they are not 100% accurate, but hey, its all in the name of fun, right? I tore open the package from Walgreens, and was disappointed that it said I had to use first morning urine! That means I had to WAIT till the morning.

I tossed and turned all night, partly because my husband snores, and partly because I had a full bladder, and refused to empty it until a decent hour.

7 am rolls around, and my husband is getting up. Now, I don't consider 7 am a decent hour, but those people who have to get out of bed and go to a job probably do. So I race to the bathroom, pee in a cup, and start the fun.

I do the Walgreens one first, since it takes 10 minutes until you can read the results. While I was waiting on that one, I headed outside (always play with chemicals outside kids) to play with Draino. That stuff STINKS, so while it was doing its reaction, I went back inside and looked at the Walgreens test.



The test box says if the color is orangish, it is a girl, if it is brown/greenish, it is a boy. I think it is safe to say, that this is a boy result. I emailed the company with this picture too, just to get a second opinion.

Back outside, to the Draino, which by now has stopped bubbling, fuming and all around smelling. I looked at it. If it darkens to a brownish, it is a boy, and if there is no darkening or color change, it is a girl. Well....I didn't know what it did, since I had nothing to compare it to. So I added some more Draino crystals to a cup, and this time added water. Waited the same amount of time, and looked. Looks like mine did darken, so it says boy too.



You think I will be happy with these "science experiments" determining the gender of Little Miracle? Nope.. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday night to get a peek. I know, patience, but I am working on it.

*even though I really wanted to, I did not play with the color on these pictures. The only editing done was to re-size, put the two Draino tests next to each other, and add the frame*

Yea!

I emailed the "molar God" as he is known. It is a OB/GYN doctor up in Boston, that specializes in molar pregnancies, and is very willing to talk to people who are not even his patients via email. I wanted to know if there was any possibility of a link between the molar pregnancy I had in December, and the possibility that Little Miracle has Down Syndrome.

He said that he sees no link in the two! So no matter what the outcome is, I know it is nothing I did. I know it is nothing I did anyway, but it made me wonder if I was cleared too soon to try again, or if I got pregnant too soon after the molar.

It makes me feel a lot better.

Plans

After talking to the high-risk doctor, and my personal OB/GYN this week we have plans.

I wanted to have the Quad Screen done, which shows your risks for all abnormalities, but my OB/GYN says that will only mess up my risks. She says once you opt for the first trimester screening, you don't do the Quad Screen also.

We are going in July 13th for another ultrasound with the high-risk doctor, to look for more Down markers, and see the over all health of the baby. We will find out what we are having at this time too. I half way want to wait on the sex, but I know that I will never have the willpower to not find out.

If they see several "hard markers" we will discuss having the amino done. Hard markers are ones that babies with Down Syndrome are known to have, like shorter limbs. Where as the missing nasal bone is considered a "soft marker" in that it does not happen in all Down Syndrome babies.

I really want to have the amino done, my husband does not. The procedure carries a small risk of miscarriage, and he does not feel it is worth it. I really want to get it done, because I know the risk of miscarriage is smaller than my risk of Down Syndrome, and I would like to be as prepared as possible should this child need me to be.

So, hold on to your seats till July 13th, and we will let you know the plans then!

I am feeling better, knowing how many people are praying for us. I am NOT praying that this baby not have Down Syndrome, I am just praying that if it does, that we can accept it and that it be over all healthy and that we will know how to raise it. I don't consider a special needs baby a burden, but a blessing. If I am meant to raise a special needs baby, then I will accept that job and take it head on.

In other news, we have a closing date on our house! We should be closing June 26th! We are very excited, and ready to get in it and stop living out of storage!

Now I Am Worried.

The perinatal doctor just called me with my blood work results. The risk that this baby has Downs is elevated. It is 1 in 151. For my age, it should be about 1 in 1,288. My risk is the same as a 40 year old. I am only 28.

I am so scared. I have thoughts running thru my mind. Pictures of a life that this baby may have. I don't know if and when we will have a definite answer. I go back to the perinatal doctor the middle of July for another ultrasound, and I guess we will discuss my options for definite testing then. The only definite way to know before the baby is born is to have an amniocentesis. I am not sure I want to go thru that. The risk for miscarriage after having an amino is 1 in 300-400.

I have too many numbers running thru my head. I don't even know what to think anymore. I am still trying to remain positive, but that is getting harder.

NT scan

I had my Nuchal translucency scan yesterday morning. It is an ultrasound that looks for markers for Downs and other chromosomal abnormalities. I figured since the molar pregnancy I had last year was a genetic fluke, I would like to have all the tests for this baby, to make sure Little Miracle is healthy.

I picked up my mom bright and early, and we headed down to the hospital. I needed someone to come with me to watch Little Man while Mommy was on the ultrasound table. My husband was supposed to come, but he had a meeting to go to. I figured my mom would enjoy the ultrasound too.

We got there a little too early, and had to wait in the hall for them to open. They told me to come with a full bladder, so I had an over full one! I had to pee so bad it was starting to hurt.

We went back to the ultrasound room and the tech did the scan. She looked around for a bit, took some measurements, then let me pee. THANK YOU!!! After that, the doctor came in and looked around some more. He said the nuchal translucency is in the normal range and with my age we should not be too worried about Downs.

The only thing that scared me is when I glanced over at the doctor and tech. They were both staring at the screen and tilting their heads. Looking for something. So I asked what they were looking for. They said the nasal bone. The doctor then asked the tech if she saw it, and she said no.

As soon as I got home, I googled "missing nasal bone at 13 weeks". Yeah, don't do that! Apparently that is a marker for Downs. They did draw blood, and said they would call me within a week to discuss results of the scan and the blood work. I am trying not to freak out about the nasal bone. In my heart I know everything will be OK. Having a child with Downs will not change a thing, but I would like to know so I can be prepared.

I have been praying a lot, and I am at peace with whatever happens. Like I said earlier, I feel in my heart that this baby is perfectly healthy. I am not going to dread hearing from the doctors. When I do hear something, I will let everyone know!

Here is my Little Miracle at 13 weeks. It is just the head.

13 weeks!

I am almost 13 weeks! YEA. The end of the first trimester is a nice place to be.

For the most part, I think my energy is coming back, and my morning sickness seems to be headed out the window. I am SO happy to have that morning sickness gone! It hit me like a brick in the head the past few weeks.

I had an appointment on Thursday. It was supposed to be a normal appointment, listen to the heartbeat, talk about concerns, etc... it turned into a sick visit.

I woke up at 4 am with the stomach flu. I was out of town also, so I had to drive over an hour and a half in traffic while sick to get to my appointment. My doctor gave me medicine, and my sweet mom came over and took care of me and Little Man. She brought me medicine and some fluids, and loved on me and played with Little Man until he napped. I napped when he did, and when he got up, my mom, or Gram, as she is called, got Little Man up and fed him lunch and played with him until my husband got home. I am SO happy to be back up here and close to my family!

I slept pretty much all afternoon and night on Thursday, and was back to about 90% on Friday. I am 100% today and very happy to be back to normal!

We also had a pre-inspection on our house on Friday. It did not go well. We had the actual inspection today, and the inspector made us feel A LOT better than the guy did on Friday. The guy from Friday freaked me out! Today, our inspector told us pretty much everything that needs to be fixed on the house, and honestly, its not that much. Some siding needs to be replaced, we have some termites (termite guy coming out Monday to tell us how much damage has been caused. I don't think much, since the main foundation of the house is concrete), the porch top rail needs to be replace, minor stuff like that too. My only concern is the termites. If they have invaded the whole house, we will have to walk away, but I highly doubt that they have. We only saw evidence of them in one place on the whole house.

I did have to reschedule my nuchal translucency scan because I was so sick. They asked me to have a full bladder, and I could not even keep down water, so there was no way! I have that on Tuesday morning.

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun

Something Old, Something New,
Something Borrowed, Something Blue,
A Silver Sixpence in her Shoe.


5 years ago today I married my husband. It has been an interesting 5 years. We have moved five times (wow! that's the first time I counted!). We have gone through the deaths of both of our grandfathers, and his grandmother. We have rented our first apartment, and we are in the process of buying our first house. We have gone through the birth of our first child, and our first loss of a pregnancy. We have been through many ups and downs, but I would not change a thing.

Looking back, 5 years ago today, I was excited and nervous. I was finally getting married. We dated for almost 5 years, so it was about time! I spent the night at my moms and we went to breakfast together, a mother daughter ritual. She drove me to the "church" and helped me get ready, along with my bridesmaids.

We got married at Marietta Square and had the reception at the Marietta Art Museum. It was perfect. We planned an outdoor wedding, with no back-up plan. Looking back, I must have been crazy, because May 23rd 2004, was the only day it did not rain in May of that year.

I remember several things very fondly about my wedding. I remember freaking when I found out my groom-to-be was eating pizza only an hour before the wedding. I was afraid he was going to get pizza sauce on his white vest. I remember taking pictures outside the fountain and the gazebo, such a beautiful setting. I remember walking across the street from the art museum to the gazebo, and having traffic stopped. Strangers smiling at me. I remember the look on my grooms face when he saw me walking down the aisle.

I don't remember seeing strangers at our wedding, or hearing the horns of cars honking all around us. I don't remember my bridesmaids brushing ants off of my dress mid-ceremony. I know this all happened thanks to the video of our ceremony.

We had a lot of fun on that day, and never imagined then that we would be where we are now. When we got married, I wanted no children. My husband slowly convinced me that children would be great, and I am very glad that we made that decision. I never imagined we would ever own a home, and while we don't quite yet, if all goes well, we will in the next month. I never imagined all of the things we would get to do together.

Tonight we have dinner plans at a beautiful restaurant, and we have booked a hotel room for just us. It will be our first night with out Little Man. A good friend of mine told me that "HE will be fine, YOU will be a nervous wreck". How true that is. Thanks for that bit of clarity. I know he will be fine, and I am only hoping I can sleep. A few glasses of wine would help me sleep better, but not this year.

Happy 5th Anniversary to my husband, the love of my life, the father of my children. I love you.

From My Heart

I can not believe I am almost 3 months pregnant. It is finally starting to become real to me. I have been holding my breath for the past 11 weeks, waiting on something to happen.

I guess anyone who has had a pregnancy loss, no matter how early or late, understands my feelings. My loss took the innocence out of pregnancy. Before I was living in the "nothing happens to me pregnant" world. My first pregnancy was simple and for the most part free from problems and fears. Now, I have fears.

I am still terrified that something will happen to this baby. I know that the odds of something happening to it now are slim to none, but the odds of me having a molar pregnancy were even less, and it happened.

I wish I could go back in time and have the innocence back. Have the fears gone. I know I can not live in fear, it is just hard to allow myself to get excited over this child, knowing what can happen.

With that said, I am slowly allowing myself to let go of those fears, and accept the fact that yes, I AM PREGNANT! I will have a newborn baby in December! Hearing the heart beat daily along with the morning sickness and my growing belly are all helping to heal my heart. I don't think I will ever "get over" my loss, but I am moving on, which is a good feeling.

Little Miss Impatient

I admit it, I am the MOST impatient person in the world. When I want something, I want it NOW. This is sometimes a good quality to have, because I have learned how to get what I want!

Well, my next OB appointment is in 2 1/2 more weeks. That is when she will try to listen to the heartbeat with a Doppler. Well... I'm too impatient to wait that long to hear Little Miracles heart beating. We heard Little Mans at 9 weeks, so I know that at almost 11 now, I should be able to find it.

So, I went online to the company that I rented a Doppler with for Little Man, and they have a great deal on one to buy! Heck yeah! I, of course, paid the extra to get it sent over night to me.

It came yesterday, and as soon as I got that puppy inside, I had it open and working. The sweet sound of an unborn babies heartbeat is like no other.

I wanted to share this sound with the world. Easier said than done. I spent 3 hours this morning working on figuring out how to get Photobucket to accept an audio file. I downloaded three different audio conversion programs, and none of them worked. Finally I saw a "Windows Movie Maker" on my computer. Opened the audio file, added a picture, and BAM. That simple. I wish I would have seen that earlier this morning!

Here it is! Just click on the picture and you will hear the heart beating. It has a little static, but you can still hear it.



I hope you enjoy the sound just as much as I do.

Hey Guys

Hey Guys, Little Man here. I wanted to have a chance to type something! Don't tell Mommy I stole her laptop for a minute!

We went out tonight, and Mommy kept saying we were gonna pick up a slide. Well, I love slides, so I was excited! I couldn't understand what Mommy was talking about though, cause all the slides I have been on have been at the play ground.

We met some guy from Craigslist, Mommy said. They loaded this big, colorful thing into the back of our van, and Mommy said it was my slide. I kept pointing to it on the way home, cause I wanted to go on it!!

When we got home, Daddy set it up on the back porch for me. It was my bed time, but Mommy said I could play for a minute. I was not too sure about this thing, but once I figured it out... OH MAN!! It's GREAT!!

It's got a door! I like to open and shut the door!!


It's also got these... openings on the bottom sides that I fit thru!!


I like to kiss Mommy thru the openings! This is how I tell her "thanks" for the new toy!


My favorite is the slide! I went down it, then Daddy taught me to climb back up it! Mommy said something about not letting me do that, something about I will try to do it at the park, but Daddy ignored her.


Well, it is past my bedtime, and Mommy says if I don't go to bed soon, that I wont get to play in the morning on my new toy.

Good night everyone!

Little Man

Saving the Dog

I totally forgot to add this in my Mother's Day post!

Friday when we got to the lake, we decided to fish for a little before it got dark. We walked down to the dock, and about half way out, we see a dog. The dog was STUCK under the dock, on top of the Styrofoam that keeps it floating. We tried to get the dog to jump into the water, and it did not want to move.

We called animal control, and they close at 5 pm. Nice. This was about 6 pm. An hour late. Story of my life.

About this time, a boater showed up to dock his boat. He jumped in the water, and tried to get the dog out too. We found some rope, and put it around the dog's neck, trying to pull it into the water. He kept getting stuck on the re barb on top of the Styrofoam.

More and more people were showing up. At this time, I decided to call the police department, thinking maybe they could get in touch with animal control to free this poor dog. It took animal control an hour to call me back, and he said he would be there in about an hour.

Meanwhile, some guys showed up with a saw, and cut part of the side of the dock, making it easier for the dog to get into the water. That dog did NOT want to get wet. We think he ended up in the water somehow, and freaked, swimming up under the dock, and that is why he did not want to get back into the water.

The guys tried again to pull the dog into the water, they tried to push him into the water. This dog was not going into the water.

Just when they were about to give up, someone shows up with a drill. They take two planks off of the top of the dock, and the dog emerges! FREE! The dog stayed around for a little, just to say thanks, then took off for the woods.

We headed back to the house, right as the animal control guy was calling me to tell me he was on the way. Little late, buddy. I felt good that we helped save a trapped dog, but bad that animal control could not pick him up, and help him find his home. Hopefully he headed that way!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day this year. I am not all about gifts and presents, I enjoy just spending the day with my family. Last year we went to a bed and breakfast, then hiking. It was perfect!

This year, we went to the lake!



We loaded up the car and headed to the in-laws for a weekend on the lake. Saturday it was supposed to rain, and the whole day as we were getting the boat ready, my mother-in-law kept saying that we were crazy, and we were gonna get rained on. Well, as soon as we got the boat in the water, the skies cleared, and it turned into a beautiful day!

It took us a long time to get the boat ready. We hauled it to the launching dock, and took the cover off, only to discover mildew. The in-laws had not taken the boat out in 2 years, due to the drought we have been under, and the low lake levels. Then as we tried to test the battery (after hooking it to a meter and seeing it was fully charged). Guess what? The battery did not work! So we had to un-hook it, and take it to Sears, where they tried to charge it, and that did not work either. So they just bought a new battery. While we were at the mall that had the Sears, we grabbed lunch, and Little Man got his first spin on a carousel. He was not too sure about it once it started moving. He got a little scared!



We finally got the boat in the water, and it would not start! It took almost half an hour of praying and trying before it finally started!

We drove around the lake for a while, then fished for a while too. Little Man enjoyed running around the boat, and trying to drive.



He had so much fun, he tuckered himself out, and passed out on the boat.



He kept falling over, and had a hard time standing back up due to his massive life jacket. (Call me a safety nerd, but whatever! My child was in a life jacket the whole time.... federal law ya know?)

Sunday we took the boat out to a marina to eat. Well, it was a restaurant in a hotel near a marina. Close enough. It took us almost an hour to get there, and then an hour to get back. It started raining on the way back, but nothing too bad. It was a bit chilly too.

We headed home Sunday night. I got a little too much sun, due to the clouds. I was only gonna go sun-screen less for about an hour, then put some on, but since I could not feel the sun burning on my skin, I forgot. Oh-well. Lessons learned.

I learned one more lesson too. I should always check the camera before handing it over to someone else to use. This is the picture my loving husband took of Little Man and I on Mother's Day. I wanted something for the scrapbook. I don't think this will work.



Yeah, it's called FOCUS honey....

I did get a present for Mother's Day. When we were at Target getting fishing rods, I saw a pair of rain boots for Little Man. I have been looking for rain boots for him for a while now. After I found his, I went and looked for some in my size. They had them!! I told my husband that I wanted those for Mother's Day!

Come on rain! I wanna puddle jump with Little Man.

Moving Foward.

We have a house! We put in an offer on one we fell in love with, and the first offer was rejected. We really love the house, so we decided to up the offer in hopes that this one would be taken. It was! We will officially be under contract as of Monday or Tuesday. Now starts the fun.

Inspections, appraisals, paint, possible new pipes, appliances... my list never ends. All of this while fighting morning sickness all day long. But I know it will be worth it in the end.

Closing is going to be in about 45 days, which falls on Fathers Day. I plan on getting Stephen a great present to go in the house. I won't tell ya'll what it is, as I am unsure if he reads my blog. (Hi honey if you do read this! I love you)

I am feeling OK. Tired all the time and nauseous if I don't eat ever hour or so, or if I eat too much. Its a vicious cycle, but one I want. I found out last week that I have a UTI due to Group B Strep, so I will have to have antibiotics at delivery to make sure Little Miracle does not get sick.

We are narrowing down our list of names. We have a girl name picked, not sure if it will stick, so I will not share it right now either. Boy names we are having problems with.

I will try to be a better blogger in the next few weeks, and I still have pictures from when I was computer less that I want to share.

Way Behind

So sorry guys. This move has us living out of suitcases, and it's hard to find a minute to post between looking at houses and trying to stay organized.

I think last I posted, we had just put in an offer on a house. Well, the bank took a different offer, so we are back to looking. It is getting frustrating, but we know our house is out there.

I met with my new OB/GYN yesterday. She is super sweet, and I think she will work out well. They got all of my history, and blood work. They also did a quick ultrasound. We got to see the heart beating again, which helped ease my nerves.

Here are my ultrasound pictures from both ultrasounds.

6 weeks 1 day - You are seeing the baby, and the yolk sack...


8 weeks 3 days - You are seeing the baby, its head is on the left, with its arms under that. Look farther and you see the legs.


My next appointment is at 12 weeks. My new doctor said I am no longer considered high risk, since there is a baby with a heartbeat in there! That takes a lot of stress off of me. The only thing that will happen different with this pregnancy is after the baby is born, they will send the placenta off to make sure there is no molar tissue in it.

Life In The Fast Lane

So I just got my computer back. I did well with out it. I stayed busy!! Let me just say in the past 5 days we have a new baby on the way, a move date set up and an offer put in to buy our first house.

Tuesday I had my 6 week ultrasound. GREAT NEWS... it is a BABY! No molar tissue this time! And we got to see the heartbeat. It was beating at 112 beats per minute. I am going back for another ultrasound at 8 weeks to make sure Little Miracle is growing as s/he should.

We left for Atlanta that night, to start setting things up. My husband had his in-processing on Thursday for his new job. We also set up our move date. THIS WEDNESDAY!! WOW. That was fast! That's the military life for you. You wait around all month for the in-process, then you get it, and move in a few days.

We also decided it was time to become home owners! We got pre-approved for a loan, so we started looking. We found a great house and put in an offer today. We will see if we get it!

That's about all the updates. I will be back later with pictures. I have over 500 on my camera that needs to be uploaded and edited... so it may be a while!

Easter Egg Hunting

Our church had an Easter egg hunt today. Perfect day too! Not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was about 75. They had bounce houses, face painting, potato sack races and of course, egg hunting. We all brought picnic lunches, and hung out on the church lawn. It was great!

Little Man and his first Easter basket. He had a great time just walking around carrying the basket. It wasn't until the egg hunt that he realized what you actually do with the Easter basket.


He didn't want in the bounce house. But let him play around it, OK!! I put him in the bounce house, and he started screaming. Soon Little Man, soon you will learn that they are really fun!


We tried to get his face painted, but he didn't want to sit still that long, with something going onto his face. So we opted for his arm instead. They painted a blue Easter egg with green polka dots!


All the "hidden" eggs for the 2 and under group.


We had to hold the kids at the orange line until they said go. That was REALLY hard! Little Man wanted to know what all those colorful things on the ground were!!


Once they told us to go, Little Man took off and started picking up the eggs. Its like he was born knowing how to pick up eggs!


And he was good at putting them into the basket too!


Of course, Mommy had to help too!


His stash. These had everything from candy, to necklaces, to balls, to rings in them. We traded the ring to a little girl though. He didn't want it!


The computer is going away for about 7-10 days to be serviced. The fan stopped working, and it overheats and shuts off all the time now. So, I will be missing for a while!! I may try to post some from the local library, if I can ever make it over there!

Blood Work Results

Ok. My doctor called. hCG went from 319.5 to 2054, so that is GREAT. However, with the good, comes the bad. My progesterone dropped from 25 to 18.5. This can cause spotting. They like to keep it about 20, so I get to start suppositories. Oh the fun! I had to do this with Little Man also, cause his progesterone was 19. I apparently, like to stand on the edge!

Flood Pictures and Blood Work

I have been having some spotting, which I consider normal for pregnancy, because I had it all throughout the first trimester with Little Man. Well, my doctor wanted to do some more blood work just to make sure everything is still going OK. So Little Man and I packed up and headed in.

After the blood work, Little Man and I headed to the river again to take some more pictures of the flooding. It has finally stopped raining, and the sun has come out!

Remember this tree that I wanted to sit up in and watch the river go by?


If I sit on it now, I will be IN the river.




Anyone for a concert at the local amphitheatre?


Take a look at the light in this picture


Do you see the lights in these?




Needless to say, that's a lot of water!

I am still waiting on my doctor to call me back and tell me about the blood work.

Rain Rain Go Away...

It is still raining here. Another 4.5 inches since yesterday. We got a much needed break tonight, so we ventured out to look at our river. This river flooded in 1994, and destroyed half of this town. We were not living here at the time, but everyone here talks about it all the time.

The river is no were as close as it was in 1994 to flooding (apparently the sewer backed up in 1994, causing the flood) but it has spilled its banks.

I dug through my collection of pictures, and found some old ones for comparison.

My favorite bridge here in town


Same bridge tonight


Another bridge


Same bridge tonight


We are going to venture out tomorrow to get some more pictures in better light. It is supposed to stop raining tonight. But it will be back on Sunday.

Great News

I had the second round of pregnancy blood work today. My hCG went from 42 on Thursday, to 319.5 today! It is supposed to, at minimum, double every 72 hours, so this is good news.

My doctor is having me come in for an ultrasound at 6 weeks, which is April 14th. Please keep praying for our Little Miracle!

Let me also say a HUGH THANK YOU for all the prayers so far! They are appreciated!

Tornado Warnings and Puddle Jumping

We had a day of severe storms yesterday. When I say a day, I mean from 9 am till about 6 pm, we were under some sort of warning. Tornadoes, severe weather, flash flooding, you name it, the news people were telling us about it. The worst of the weather came about noon, right at Little Mans nap time.

If you know me, you know my fear of this kind of weather. Needless to say, Little Man did not sleep upstairs in his crib. He skipped his nap, well, pushed his nap till about 3 pm.

In the mean time, we colored, watched it rain, wrestled with Daddy, and looked for tornadoes.



When the rain came, it POURED for hours!!


My little frog was sitting outside, waiting to tell me how much rain we got.


I took these pictures from our bedroom, this is our normally grassy back yard.




Well, after the storms passed, I decided it was time to take Little Man puddle jumping for the first time. This was something I remember doing with my mom, so I want Little Man to enjoy it too. We put on his sandals, so he could feel the water, and off we went.

We looked around for a good looking puddle. We found this one, but Little Man did not realize I actually wanted him to go into it!



After a little convincing, and making Daddy show him what to do, he dove in!





He had a BLAST!! We jumped, splashed and giggled for over an hour in those puddles. By then, it was time to head home for a much needed bath and off to bed for all of us.

Oh-yeah! My frog that weathered the storm all day, reported almost 4 inches of rain to me.