Valentine’s Day Part 2

Warning: TMI following! Lots of talk of womanly issues. Male readers beware! :)

Towards the end of our Valentine’s party I started to feel really crampy. (I had felt crampy the day before at church as well, and took some Ibuprofen…so I thought. In my pained stupor I took a prenatal vitamin out of habit. Those don’t work for pain, FYI. Someone gave me an Aleve, which didn’t do anything either.) So after I put the kids to bed I laid down to try and take a nap but couldn’t really sleep because I was in so much pain. I dozed on and off for maybe 20 minutes and then felt fine. I made dinner and we put the kids to bed and I settled down to watch some Bachelor. Derrick went to bed at 9 and around 10 I started to feel a little achy again. I made my way to bed around 11 after taking some Ibuprofen hoping it would die down and I could sleep. Well, that never happened. It started to get worse and I laid writhed around in pain for an hour and half or so with what felt like contractions. They were every couple of minutes or so and felt just like contractions in intensity and pain. I was on my period at the time so I thought maybe I was just having those crazy cramps I sometimes hear about from other girls. In between contractions I googled my symptoms but couldn’t find anything conclusive. I finally had to wake Derrick up and tell him I thought we should go to the ER. At this point it’s 1:30 am. I don’t think I can drive myself, so we call our good friend Ann to come stay with the kids while we go to the hospital.

After being stopped by the Menomonee Falls police for a burned out headlight, we make it to the ER, which was thankfully dead, and I was taken right back. I got an IV and some morphine and the doctor came all within like 10 minutes. It was amazing. The doctor does a pelvic exam and says he sees something protruding out of my cervix and that he’s never seen anything like it. Comforting, right? He says he’s going to call my doctor and see what she says. Thankfully, my doctor was on call that night and she came to see what was going on. She confirmed that there was indeed stuff stuck in my cervix. “Products of conception” she called it, leftover from my miscarriage back in NOVEMBER. She used forceps and ridiculously large Q-Tip looking things and pulled out half a specimen jar full of stuff. Leftover placental tissue, likely.

Even though she was pretty sure she got everything, we decided to go ahead and do the D&C just to make sure. By this time it’s Tuesday, her day set aside for surgery. Another blessing. I was admitted to my own room and my surgery was scheduled for 9:30 am. Since I was in a bed this whole time I slept on and off while poor Derrick was stuck in a stiff chair, trying to sleep in any position he can. I felt horrible for him.

I had to leave my glasses in my room while they wheeled my bed to pre-op, which I hated. I’m practically blind. But everyone was so nice and comforting. In the OR the anesthesiologist told me I might feel a little bit dizzy, and I told them I still had on my underwear, which I guess I was worried about, and then the next thing I know I’m waking up in my room. Craaaazy.

Meanwhile Ann got Summer ready for Joy School and sent her on her way and was totally taking care of everything back home. I was going to send Valentine’s for her friends but that didn’t happen obviously and my friend noticed Summer didn’t have any to give while everyone else did and helped her make some really quickly. I don’t know why, but that little act of kindness STILL makes me cry thinking about it!!

After recovering for a bit I was discharged, and back home by 2 pm. I felt fine, no pain, just really tired. I took a nap and Derrick took the kids and let me rest. My amazing friends set me up with dinners for the week and just took good care of me. I had beautiful flowers delivered from sweet girls at Derrick’s work. I was feeling very loved, for sure.

Since November I’d been having my blood levels drawn to make sure my pregnancy hormones were dropping like they should. And they were, just soooo slowly. But they were still falling so my doctor wasn’t concerned. Who knew my uterus was a hoarder????

This whole thing is just a big frustrating mess. I feel like I am wasting so much time by not being pregnant! If I were going to have another baby spaced the same as Summer and Hannah I would be having a baby in 9 days. CRAZY!! So it’s so weird to me to not even be close to pregnant. And while I thought I would be able to start trying now, now I have to wait ANOTHER 2 cycles, so that I can have a better chance at getting and staying pregnant next time. I know in the grand scheme of things it’s really nothing, but I really just wanted to crank out all my kids and get it all over with, as horrible as that sounds. I’ve come to terms with it though, and am really enjoying my two girls and where they’re at now. They are both a great, predictable age, and both are starting to do and say some fun things. So I’m just trying to focus on the NOW, instead of on the what could have been.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Valentine’s Day Part 1

The day before Valentine’s Day we had ourselves a little play date with our friends and everyone, kids and adults, exchanged Valentine’s. It was really cute to see the kids excited to exchange Valentine’s with each other, and it was fun to see what the adults came up with. We had yummy treats, candles, lipstick, nail polish, and more. We munched on yummy Valentine treats and just had a good time just loving on everyone!      
Stay tuned for Valentine’s Day Part 2, which was not as happy and joyful as Valentine’s Day Part 1….

One year older and wiser too,

Happy birthday, to me!

Ok, so I’m still playing catch-up. Derrick was in Orlando for my birthday for the annual Kohl’s Conference, living it up at the Magic Kingdom and being entertained by the Jerry Seinfeld, but I managed to have a great birthday anyway. It happened to be the first day of Joy School, so I had the morning with just Hannah to do a little birthday shopping. Can I tell you how amazing it is to shop with just one child who has a very limited vocabulary? Bliss.

And even though he was miles away, the hubby hubs sent flowers. With daffodils. He knows me well.

 

I got myself my free Noodles & Co. lunch and headed home to put the kids down for a nap. My sweet friend Tamara brought me gorgeous roses. Then later it was PF Changs for dinner with 6 of my besties. Honestly, the kids were driving me crazy that day so it was a much needed girls night out! And as if dinner wasn’t enough, and all I was expecting, they all surprised me with 2 Wii games!! Michael Jackson the Experience and Zumba!! So fun!!! I look like a moron doing both, but they are both awesome. I wish we had taken a picture that night. Love those girls.

It was a perfect ending to the day. Plus, I had so many texts, phone calls, and facebook posts that I was definitely feeling the love. And I got some fun gifts from my family….a new knife to match the one I got for Christmas, and fun pancake making gadgets. Plus some gift cards and cash money, which is always nice, and socks and other gifts that I love. And an Edible Arrangement! I love birthdays!

It’s weird for me to think I’m 31. Used to sound so old to me, but I still feel young. Well, all of me except for my knees. Those feel pretty old some days. And my gray hairs….those aren’t feeling so spry these days either. :/  

Thanks to everyone for making me feel special on the best day of the year, February 7!

First day of school!

So I finally talked enough of my friends into starting a Joy School. It’s a small group, and all girls, but I think it’s perfect so far! Of course, I haven’t had to teach yet….

Summer loves it. She asks everyday if she is going to school with her friends. It’s nice for her to get out and be in a learning environment and I like the 2 hours I get to run errands, or just hang out with Hannah. And to be honest, I think Hannah loves having rule of the house while she’s gone.

 

And since we’re talking about Summer, here are a few funny things she’s said lately.

“Daddy is a nice person. He is my cousin!”

We asked her if she learned about being thankful at church. “Are you thankful for your family?” “No…..ice cream!”

I was doing Hannah’s hair and she walks in and said, “Looking good, Hannah!”

“Daddy has to go to work to make money for Summer, mommy, and daddy.” “What about Hannah?” I asked her. “No, Hannah will try to eat it,” she said. (Probably true.)

Our babysitter Ashley was helping her get her pajamas on and Summer had her hands resting on Ashley’s chest. She looked up at her and asked, “Ashley, is there a baby in there?? ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A BABY????” She never asks me about a baby in MY boobs. :(

She’s pretty terrified of dogs. We were sitting at the table eating breakfast—she was on the bench with her legs folded and I had one leg folded underneath me. She looks at my leg on the floor and says, “Mom, pick up your leg so the dogs don’t eat it!”

Here’s to hoping dogs don’t eat your legs!

18 months!

Our sweet little Hannah is a year and a half! I can’t believe it. I really can’t. She has changed so much just in the past month. Now she’s walking, talking, and holding her own. She’s 19 lb 4 oz (4th %) and 29.75” long (15th %). Smaller than Summer at this age. Derrick thinks it’s because we forget to feed her. Haha. She’s just a little thing. And don’t worry, she eats plenty. One of her favorite words is “sna!” (snack, for those who don’t speak Hannah.) Some of her other favorite words are uppie (when she wants picked up), mommy, daddy, mih (milk), wawa (water), doggie, ducky, stinky, hi, bye, thank you (cutest ever), ball, uh oh, peeee (please), watch Elmo, more (signs it usually), cheese, shoes, and sockies. She knows where most of her body parts are. She loves to copy her sister. Loves to snuggle. Chatters constantly.

She’s forever being bullied and getting toys and snacks stolen from her by her big sister. We’re working on the whole sharing thing. So far not going so well. I’m hoping it gets better!

Hannah is definitely not the sleeper that Summer is/was. She’s an early riser and rarely takes long naps. But she’s usually pretty easy going and happy so it’s ok. The rule around here is if you don’t sleep you can’t be crabby!

She loves to eat pretty much anything, especially meat. Summer never ate much meat but this kid will eat anything put in front of her. Loves tomatoes, cheese, avocado, fruit, and slams green smoothies like they’re going out of style.

She’s my climber. If there’s a stool or a chair low enough for her to climb on, she will. I found her like this today. I have no idea how she got in there or how she planned on getting out. Now that she’s 18 months old she gets to go to the church Nursery for the 2nd and 3rd hours of church. She loves it. She waltzed right in the first day and never looked back. And it wears her right out and I do get a decent nap out of her on Sundays!

She makes us laugh and we sure do love her. Happy half birthday, Hannah!

Complete and utter randomness

I don’t really have much to say, and not really a lot of pictures either. We’ve been pretty busy lately, but I’m not sure with what! Life is crazy like that sometimes, right?

It snowed last weekend and Summer was dying to go out and play in it. Good thing that’s what dads are for! She had a blast, and then promptly got a sinus infection and an ear infection. They tried building a snowman but it was horrible snow for that, but apparently good enough snow for our snowball makers which were thrown at me. (My cousin Amanda sent me the snowball makers…and they are super awesome!)

Summer and Hannah fight like cats and dogs. Seriously, I feel like I am pulling one off of the other all day long. So when I catch glimpses of them acting like they love each other, I have to take advantage of it.

Hannah thinks she’s hot stuff now that she can walk. It was like she just decided overnight that she would start walking and now she never stops. I love the beginning walking stage, with hands up high and the unsteady waddle. It’s already fading, how sad.

She thinks she’s pretty funny, too. I found her like this the other day and then she stayed like that and said “Cheese!” while I took her picture. I’ve decided to try my hand (foot?) at running again. At the recommendation of my friend Tamara I went to Performance Running Outfitters and had my food mapped and videotaped and fitted for a proper running shoe. OH.MY.GOODNESS. I know this probably is no news to you, but what a difference!! All I had ever known was running up and down the aisles at Kohl’s or wherever and deciding that it “felt good”. Turns out I over pronate like crazy—practically running on my ankles! I tried on like 8 or 9 different pair of shoes before finding a super supportive one, and then needing orthotic inserts on top of that! But let me tell you…running is now amazing for me. I feel so great. No more sore knees, ankles, nothing. I literally feel like I could run forever. I’ve always wanted to run a half marathon but thought I just had too bad of knees to do it. Turns out I just had bad shoes! I’m planning on running Crazylegs again in April and then we’ll see how the half marathon plan is looking. Who knows, maybe I’ll be knocked up by then? Anyway, I highly recommend this place. If you’re local and need a new pair of running shoes, definitely go there.   

Latest obsession: Downton Abbey. A few weeks ago it was all over Facebook…practically all my friends were talking about it and I had no idea what it was. Thank you Netflix and now I’m completely caught up and totally hooked. It’s on PBS and I didn’t think I’d really like it but after the first episode I was in looove! Check it out if you like mystery, suspense and intrigue! Ok, not really, but it does have some pretty good drama. And really because I need more people to talk about it with me.

And with that, it’s on now and I need to go watch it!

Bit the bullet

As you know, one of the main reasons I love the state fair so much is because I love to walk through the Expo Center and check out all the new gadgets. And every year I stand in front of the VitaMix demonstrator in longing, nudging Derrick to just let me buy it already. And every year we walk away, Dixie cup of tortilla soup and smoothie in hand, to see the dryer balls and steam mops (which I also long for!) and drink my misery away.

When our Costco opened last year VitaMix was there, doing a road show. Two of my friends have bought VitaMixes in the past couple of months and have been praising its glory, as if all the Amazon reviews weren’t enough for me. And yet my kitchen remained VitaMix-less.

I wanted to whip up delicious soups, smoothies, green drinks, ice cream, sauces and more. I wanted the high power of commercial blenders. I wanted high quality appliances. And so I put it on every wish list I had. Christmas, birthday, whatever. I was going to get my VitaMix one way or another.

And then I went to Costco last Monday.

Blendtec was doing a weeklong demonstration this time. I’d heard of the Blendtec before and my favorite food blogs use it but I’d never seen it in action and besides, what could possibly be better than my beloved coveted VitaMix? One 10 minute demo from Jim and I was totally sold. VitaWho?

I went home to do a little research. Seems like everything Jim told me was pretty much true. VitaMix and Blendtec are probably the top 2 high end blenders out there, and I don’t really think you can go wrong with either, (shoot, if someone gave me a VitaMix, I’d sure as heck take it!) but for me, the Blendtec just seemed like a better fit, and I’ll tell you why.

• It’s shorter. Sitting at 15.5’, it sits well underneath upper cabinets, which are usually 17” from the counter. The VitaMix is 20.5”. This was probably my #1 convincing factor. If it’s not going to fit on my counter, I will never use it.
• It will grind grains such as wheat, oats, rice in the same pitcher. VitaMix requires a separate dry blade container to grind grains, which means an extra $100+. Since I do not already own a wheat grinder yet have pounds of wheat stored in my basement, this was a definite bonus. As a side note, my SIL who is a wheat grinding extraordinaire, said the Blendtec grinds wheat faster than her electric wheat grinder.
• The blade is two-pronged as opposed to 4-pronged. This means that if you are blending sticky or pasty foods you can get it out easier. No more wasted product stuck to the bottom of the blender that you can’t get out.
• The pitcher has square sides with no indentations for food to get stuck on, again reducing waste.
• Preset functions. There are 6 preset buttons with 14 different types of foods that have been preprogrammed to cycle at different speeds and for different amounts of time. No need to turn a dial or increase speed manually. I literally put everything in and walk away and it does it all for me.
• Those buttons sit flush to the base and are sealed with a membrane. No food to get stuck in between buttons or dials. And since I’m a little anal about cleaning in between cracks and crevices this is perfect for me.
• No plunger/damper to mess with and push my food down. The Blendtec does it all by itself!
• The nifty counter. It tells you how many times you’ve used it! Not super useful, but I love knowing stuff like that. We bought it on Saturday and used it 10 times!
• Cheaper! At only $349 at Costco it was a great deal less than the VitaMix I wanted with the three presets from Williams-Sonoma.

So there you have it. Of course they both do an amazing job at blending, especially frozen foods and whole fruits. I haven’t regretted my decision once, and can’t wait to use it even more!! If you want to try it, just come on over and we’ll have a smoothie party!

Summer has definitely been enjoying her “drinks” in the morning…can you tell??