Playing with the new camera

This new camera is fun! I have no idea what I'm doing yet though. Just trying to figure it all out & I got the girls to pose for a couple pictures. (The camera is a Nikon D60...digital SLR. My Mom bought it for me...thanks again Mom!)

Birthdays you remember

As we get older we tend to conveniently forget our birthdays. Emma kept asking me why I wasn't having a party...and, for that matter, why her cousins were not invited. It's hard to explain to a five year old why grown ups don't really have parties every year anymore. Though I've had a nice birthday I got to thinking about birthdays you remember & I have to say one of the coolest I have ever had was my 20th birthday. I didn't do anything super exciting that I remember, what made it so cool was the fact that early that morning (before I'd even really woke up) my Dad & his wife at the time, Carol, called me to wish me happy birthday. I remember being a little irritated that they were calling so early & waking me up. What was that all about? You wouldn't think it was that big of a deal right? Wrong. The reason they had called so early (for me anyway) was because Carol had just had a baby girl & as my birthday present they were going to let ME name her! My sweet little sister Rachael Kristine & I share a birthday. It's pretty cool. Even though we don't see each other often & don't talk to each other all the time, she's still my little sister & I love her very much. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful baby sister. I love you & miss you & wish you all good things (and thanks for letting me steal your picture)!

Fun with Aunt Skye

So while I was in the hospital this past weekend & while Coray was at work, the girls were hanging out with Aunt Skye. One of their favorite things to do is play dress up...yes, they're definitely girlie girls. I think they must have been in heaven. Thanks again Skye! I don't know what we would've done without you!

Ectopic pregnancy, ruptured fallopian tube & emergency surgery...and how was YOUR weekend?!

It’s been a very long, very unexpected weekend & I’m a little drugged up right now so pardon me if it all sort of blurs together. Thursday night I was planning to watch McCain speak at the RNC. Just after he started to talk I got hit with a wave of nausea so bad I ran for the bathroom. Looking back at it I can say that is when my right fallopian tube ruptured. It quickly escalated to intense pain in my abdominal region & I was literally on the floor curled in a fetal position. That’s how Coray found me at the top of the stairs when he got home from work about 45 minutes later. I managed to get into bed & must have drifted off to sleep for awhile because I woke up & it was around 10:00. He had gotten the girls to bed & came to see how I was feeling. I had him look up a couple things online like ectopic pregnancy & appendicitis. I had taken a pregnancy test the prior Monday & knew I was pregnant so those were two things I knew it could be. Honestly because I was so nauseous (didn’t know what end it was going to come out of) I really thought I’d eaten something bad initially. When it didn’t go away that’s when we started trying to figure it out. Anyway, I went to the ER around 11:00 & they did blood work & gave me an ultrasound. The blood work ruled out appendicitis & confirmed I was pregnant. The ultra sound showed a lot of fluid but they couldn’t find the fetus anywhere. The ER doctor consulted with the OB on call & at around 3:00 in the morning, ready for this, they SENT ME HOME. My discharge papers told me to follow up with my OBGYN in 1-2 days or (of course) the standard “come back if your pain continues”. By the next morning I was in so much pain Coray was going to rush me back to the ER but I had no desire to see them again when they’d just dismissed me. We called my OBGYN & they got me in at 10:00. Thank you to our neighbor Emily who took Emma to the bus stop with Logan, watched Gracie & picked up Emma at noon. Anyway, my OB's office had requested my lab work & ultrasound report from the ER but of course it wasn’t there by the time we got there. When she finally got it she sent me in to the ultrasound tech there & confirmed I’d had an ectopic pregnancy & that the reason there was so much “fluid” was because I was, and had been, bleeding internally! She was quite upset when she said they should have admitted me to the hospital & sent me into surgery the night before. She had to call around the local hospitals to find out who had an OR available to do an emergency laporotomy…I think that’s what it is called…not the exploratory laproscopy, the other one. Anyway, by 12:30 she found the hospital (NOT the same one I’d gone to the ER at the night before, thank goodness) & basically said to Coray “go there now” because I was having surgery in one hour. Honestly, I’m kind of glad it happened so fast. I really had no time to process & that was good. I got admitted to the hospital & sent to surgery prep. I’ve never had surgery of any kind & only been in the hospital for normal, uneventful vaginal deliveries so it was pretty scary for me. Coming out of the general anesthesia in recovery was surreal. Knowing I’d a had a breathing tube, they had obviously hooked me up to a catheter & now had a lovely four inch incision with staples….very strange not having been aware of any of that taking place. So that was Friday & I spent yesterday & most of today in the hospital recovering. My sweet, sweet sister in law Skye basically came on Friday & took care of the girls until last night when Coray finally sent her home. He had to work yesterday so she brought the girls to see me. I know they had fun with their Aunt though it was sweet to hear them tell me how much they missed me & wanted me to come home.
I really feel like we need to say something to someone about the ER experience but I don’t know what or to who. If anything, I’d be really grateful if they’d not make us pay the ER bill.

What a weekend. I wanted #3 but after this experience I’m a little gun shy. Even though my doctor said I should still be able to have another baby. My birthday is at the end of the week & I’m not too sure I want to push it much longer. It’s been a very scary weekend & I think I’m just now starting to process it all. At least that explains the hormones for the past couple weeks.