Is it August yet?

Pack the bathing suits and sunscreen because we’re going to the beach, well not until August. We booked the condo for our beach trip this morning and I don’t know how we are going to make it through the next 4 months. We are staying at the same place as last year, with the same awesome friends (the Walker’s), but this year we are staying a whole week. Oh, that is so exciting!!
Ok, so Marty and I will get the bad parent award but that’s ok. Abby is going to miss her second full week of school. Yes, we are taking her out of school to go to the beach, bad parents I know. We will have to have some learning time on the beach or by the pool.
I also just realized that we will be at the beach for Ella’s birthday and also for mine. It’s going to be a birthday week, what a great present. Hurry up August, get here already! Well, not really because that will mean that my baby will be in Kindergarten, oh I can already see the tears flowing (mine not Abby’s)

Going to the chapel

Last time we were at my dad’s house, Abby found my wedding veil and thought it was the greatest thing ever. Ever since she was a flower girl in my sister’s wedding (back in 2005) she has loved pretending to get married. Last night she asked Marty if he would marry her. A little forward of her don’t you think, we have to work on the fact that the guy asks the girl. Marty asked her what about mommy; she went on to tell him that she can’t marry me because I’m a girl. No silly girl, daddy’s already married to mommy. Well, I’m obviously no obstacle for her because she said it didn’t matter, they could still get married. When Marty said he couldn’t marry her, she went onto Andrew and he gladly said yes.

Gatlinburg, 2007

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend. We went to Gatlinburg with Marty’s family for a little quality family time and had a blast. Enjoy!!

A picture is worth a thousand words

I thought this was awesome

We Survived

Sporting their doggie ears and tatoos, thanks Keri!

Jumping fun!

Birthday Boy

Jumping

More jumping

One, Two, Three Blow!!

PRESENTS!!

Well, the rain held off for the most part and we were able to have Andrew’s party outside. YIPPEE!! It started sprinkling right at the time we were going to eat so I put a quilt on the floor in the living room and the kids had a picnic inside, which they were completely happy with.
Abby and Andrew didn’t know that we had rented the jumpy thing and the look on their faces was priceless. They were so excited and honestly Marty and I had fun jumping too. All and all, party day was a lot of fun. Well, that is until about 10:30 pm. Marty and I were dead dog tired and went to sleep around 10:00. At 10:30 we hear Andrew saying “daddy, daddy” Andrew NEVER calls so Marty went to check on him. I hear the door open and then Marty promptly calls me. I knew exactly what I was going in to. Andrew had thrown up all in his bed. Marty puts him in the bath and I strip his bed. Marty and I were still holding onto the thought that it was just all the junk food he ate at his party (he was camped out in front of the puppy chow for a good 15 minutes) We put him in our bed and 15 minutes later we figured out that it was not the junk food. He had the stomach bug AGAIN. Andrew had it 2 Friday’s ago, I got it the following Monday, Abby had it last Wednesday and Andrew got it again on Saturday. I want this bug out of my house and I want it gone now. So far Marty has stayed well and we are keeping our fingers crossed. Poor Andrew baby, he threw up 6 times from 10:30 until 2:00. We only had to change our sheets once, after that we were able to get him to the bathroom in time. Marty and I did have to laugh at his expense though (maybe we were just delirious by this point) He would lean over into the toilet bowl so far that we thought he was going to stick his face in the water. He would also put his little foot up on the toilet bowl rim to get more leverage; it was pretty darn funny in the middle of the night. I guess you had to be there because writing it out seems pretty gross not funny, but at the time we were cracking up.
Party planning is over for a few more months until we start planning Abby’s horsey (that’s what she wants at the moment, it could change by tomorrow though) party. I love planning their parties.

Bonus photo. Andrew's actual birthday.

Rain Rain go away

Come back another day (other than Saturday) We are having Andrew’s birthday party on Saturday and it is supposed to rain. I promise this kid must think his birthday lasts a whole week. He got a present from my sister on Saturday, Sunday brought more presents, Monday brought a present from my dad, we finally gave him his present last night and Saturday will bring even more presents. Good gracious!! Anyway, there is a 100% chance of rain tomorrow and we have invited way more people than can fit in our tiny house. Not just that, but we rented a jumpy bounce thing for the kids to play in (again trying to keep everyone outside) I have been avidly watching the weather all week in hopes of a miracle, so far no such luck. We are praying for the best but planning for the worst.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Andrew is 2. I can’t believe it!!
I am a planner through and through; well Andrew threw us for a loop. Abby was planned, Andrew was not. I found out I was pregnant with Andrew the day before Abby’s 2nd birthday on Friday the 13th (that should have been a sign as to what was headed our way) I will admit that I was not jumping up and down with excitement, in fact I called my sister at 11:00 at night crying, she has since repaid me by called me at 6:45 in the morning to tell me she was pregnant. I have always said that mom had something to do with Andrew, he was born a year and a week after her funeral, talk about bitter sweet. Marty and I were not going to have any more babies because I had such a hard time laboring and delivering Abby and we were scared of me getting Pre-eclampsia again. I talked to my doctor and she gave me a 3% chance of getting PE again, I could handle those odds. Again, Andrew defied all the odds and at 14 weeks my blood pressure started creeping up. My BP stayed decent until about 32 weeks, and then it really started climbing. At 34 weeks I was taken out of work and put on bed rest, there is no such thing as bed rest with a 2 year old by the way. I start seeing the doctor twice a week, Tuesdays was my biophysical ultrasound and Thursdays was my non stress test. I had a great doctor that took excellent care of me, very proactive. At 38 weeks I go in for my non stress test and my BP is way up, I get sent to the hospital for monitoring. While there my doctor decides that tomorrow is the day. We are to be back at the hospital at 9:00 the next morning to be induced. Let me tell you how hard it was saying bye to Abby the next morning. Marty and I knew what was going to happen but the poor baby had no idea, we were about to turn her life upside down and she just happily kissed and hugged us goodbye.
We get to the hospital and my biggest fear was having to be put on Magnesium Sulfate again (that stuff is the enemy himself) I was able to avoid Mag for 9 hours but Dr. Z said she just didn’t feel comfortable without it anymore (Mag is used to prevent seizures in women with PE) I bawled because I knew what it did to me with Abby. Dr. Z knew my feelings and started me with a very low dose thankfully. When I got my epidural, it lowered my BP so much that I had to be given a shot epinephrine to raise it back up (yes we had been fighting high BP the whole pregnancy) It was a wild and crazy ride. We sent the family home (except for my sister) at about 11:00 pm because I was stuck at 5 cm. My labor nurse came in at 11:35 and said that we were going to have a baby by midnight, WHAT?!? Marty calls his mom and tells her that she better get back to the hospital if she wanted to see her grandson being born. I wasn’t convinced that he would be born by midnight because I pushed for 3 hours with Abby, but I was excited to finally get to that point. Well, Andrew was born at 11:47 pm, 13 minutes before midnight and just minutes after Jeannie and Gidget get there. He weighed 7 pounds 12 ounce and was 19 ¼ inches long, 2 weeks early. Our life changed for the better yet again at 11:47 on April 8th 2005.
I think back to what a blessing and a pleasure he has been. Had there not been an Andrew, I wouldn’t hear “mommy, get me” in the monitor in the mornings, or get sweet slobbery kisses, or have a mommy’s boy. Oh don’t get me wrong, I know what’s in store for us, he is Marty’s son after all. But he is just so darn cute and it melts my heart to see him and Abby playing (nicely) together. We might not have meant to but we did a good thing. Happy Birthday sweet boy, ok a day late.

Good Friday

Have you ever wondered why Good Friday was called Good Friday? It is the day that Jesus was on the cross and was crucified, I wouldn’t exactly call it good (well, for him at least). I guess I always thought it’s because the outcome was good or maybe because what he did for the sinners was good.
According to Wikipedia here’s the real reason:
It is likely that the name "Good Friday" came from the earlier English name, "Godes Friday," meaning "God's Friday." In much the same way as "God be with ye" was shortened to "goodbye," so did "Godes Friday" become "Good Friday."

Now you know and don’t have to wonder anymore.

When did that happen?

Waffle House and credit cards. Those words do not belong in a sentence together. Don’t get me wrong because I am thrilled that WH will now be accepting credit cards but I remember the many nights of scrounging up change so you could get the yummy scattered, covered (and chunked if you’re Marty) hash browns from WH. I also remember the days that WH would accept checks, but never credit cards. Our WH by our house just recently put in an ATM machine but we refused to use it because it would charge you some outrageous amount just so you could get access to your money. We were thrilled to see those notorious Visa/MasterCard stickers right at the front door. We are not big frequenters of WH, but that might change now. Marty and I just never carry cash so that pretty much ruled out the good ole Waffle House, until recently. Watch out WH here we come.