First Ultrasound Photo of HotShot

I had a great OB appointment today! Rudy and I went to meet with Dr. Ford to have an ultrasound. I didn't know quite what to expect. It was much different from our 1st ultrasound with Caleb. At that appointment, we got a quick glimpse to make sure everything was intact and then we got to listen to a doppler of his heart beating. This time there was no doppler, but we got a much better look at the baby and its surroundings. We didn't hear a heartbeat, but Dr. Ford showed us the blinking pixels that indicate a strong heartbeat and we were assured that our little HotShot is doing just fine. I was pleasantly surprised to be given a printout of the ultrasound photo! (I added the arrows and labels so you can tell what you're seeing!) No, the baby isn't supposed to look like a "real baby" just yet, so don't be surprised that it's just a fuzzy white spot!

Next to seeing that sweet baby's heart beating, the best part of the visit was finding out that the subchorionic bleed is completely gone! That is such a blessing and a worry off of my mind.

The CRL at the bottom of the photo is the crown-to-rump length. HotShot measured 2 centimeters, which is just right for a gestational age of 8 weeks, 4 days. All of that put together gives us a due date of February 5, 2010. (Caleb's birthday is 5/2. Wouldn't it be cool if HotShot came on 2/5?)

We won't find out the baby's gender until either late September or early October. For some reason, I'm thinking it's a girl. Caleb goes back and forth. Rudy isn't sure. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

Sidenote for those who have asked: Yes, I do go to the same OB/Gyn office that Josh and Anna Duggar went to for their televised ultrasound. However...I see a different doctor. I'll be sure to let you know if I ever run into any members of the Duggar family - at the OB/Gyn or elsewhere. :)

Caleb's Ponytail

Caleb came home from daycare today with the front of his hair in a ponytail. I'm not exactly sure of the story, but he said Ms. Lindsay did it and he thought it was pretty funny. Honestly...so did Rudy and I. Because he thought it was so great, I took his picture. What amazed me was how I could take 2 pictures of him and one looks so much like his daddy (minus the ponytail, of course):

And the other one looks so much like me (when I was his age):

Meet My Friend, Zofran

I hate to take medicine when I'm pregnant. I will take an occasional Tylenol if I'm really in need. I take my regular medicines because my doctor has assured me that they are okay. Today, I met with the nurse at my doctor's office for a scheduled appointment and walked away with a prescription for Zofran - an antinausea medication. I am officially in love with Zofran.

My appointment was scheduled to go over the basics - what to eat, what not to eat, what meds are/aren't okay, travel safety, risk factor assessment, etc. I also had some blood drawn. Whew - glad they did that HIV test! (Ha!Ha!) The good news is that being nauseated 24/7 has made me lose a little weight - even though I haven't thrown up. After vacation, I was up a few pounds, but since I've been home and unable to eat anything but peanut butter sandwiches, I was back down to where I started. All is well. The nurse said that I don't have any risk factors for difficult pregnancy. I'll be able to deliver the baby at Mercy Medical Center and Dr. Ford will deliver the baby as long as she is in town...even if she isn't on call. That's great news! I asked her a few of my questions:

Q: I have a 3-year-old who is rough and tumble. What's safe for playing with him? Is it a big deal if he climbs on me, bumps me, etc?

A: The baby is perfectly safe and well-protected by several layers of "stuff." It's not a good idea to wrestle, but normal interaction is fine. I'm not supposed to lift anything over 25 pounds, but as long as I lift with my legs, I should be okay to pick Caleb up. I'm supposed to be really careful about lifting and twisting, because that could hurt my back.

Q: Ummm...I got my hair colored in week 4. Is that a big deal? (She said that the doctor recommends not getting hair color until after week 12.)

A. Not a problem. That's too early for anything to have passed through. (Now I just have to wait until after week 12 to get it retouched. This could be a problem considering how fast my hair grows on these prenatal vitamins!)

Q: I talked to her about the subchorionic bleed that was found in my ultrasound before my vacation. I asked her if this was something to be concerned about.

A: Probably not. Most women have those. Dr. Ford will look at it next Tuesday when I see her for another ultrasound and determine if it's a problem.

Q: WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE NAUSEA????

A: At first, she suggested that I take vitamin B-6 three times a day. When I told her that I already take a vitamin B supercomplex, she suggested that I think about taking Zofran. Dr. Ford approved it. I took my first one tonight and was able to eat my entire dinner of salmon, couscous and green beans. It was delicious and I don't feel sick at all. I LOVE ZOFRAN. Have I mentioned that already?

Oh...and I got a whole bunch of free stuff today. It's mostly magazines and samples, but I do love some free stuff!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon. Everything was just fine when we got here. Our housekeeper came while we were away, so the house was clean. We had laundry machines in our condo in Florida, so we had very little washing to do. It was great!

Caleb wasn't so keen on sleeping by himself Saturday night. He has been sleeping with someone for over a week and he likes it that way. Once we convinced him that he was going to his own bed, he crashed! He didn't even wake up until 8:00 Sunday morning!

I slept as much as possible on the way home to continue fighting nausea. It seems to have gotten a little worse every day. By Sunday, I was in tears (literally) because I felt so bad. I knew I had to suck it up and move forward because I was committed to volunteer at the Firefly Festival at the Botanical Garden on Sunday night. I did manage to get showered and dressed and got to Fayetteville to work for 4 hours in the blazing heat and humidity. We were so glad to see the sun going down! I had a great job, though - taking pictures. We all know how much I love to do that! When I got home Sunday night, Caleb was in bed and Rudy was relaxing in the living room. I didn't waste much time heading for bed.

Things were looking up for me on Monday morning. I made it through the morning without feeling too bad. I found that I could eat 1/2 peanut butter sandwiches without feeling gross and they seemed to help control some of the nausea for a while. I ate a total of 4 peanut butter sandwiches within 24 hours. I laid down during Caleb's naptime and fell asleep. When I woke up, Caleb and Rudy were in the living room. Apparently, Caleb never took a nap and when Rudy got home from the putting green, Caleb was walking around the house - unbeknownst to me. I guess I won't be taking anymore naps while Rudy's not home.

I felt okay after my nap and managed to take Caleb to Gymboree for his sports class. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but it took less time for him to warm up than it did last time. Maybe next week, he'll be okay with it. (fingers crossed) After Gymboree, we picked up Chick-Fil-A and brought it home for dinner. I ate about half of mine and felt like I was going to throw up. I actually GAVE AWAY a Chick-Fil-A sandwich...and fries. That should tell you something right there.

On the Road Again

I'm writing tonight from the lovely Holiday Inn Express in Pearl, Mississippi. We left Pensacola Beach this morning at about 10:00. We stopped in Mobile, Alabama to tour the USS Alabama battleship. Anyone who knows me knows that battleships aren't really my cup of tea, but I knew Rudy would like it and it would be something different that we could do to kill some time. Jackson is a good stopover spot between Pensacola Beach and home and there really isn't another place much farther north that would make sense for us to spend the night. We knew that we really wouldn't have much to do with Caleb once we got to Jackson, because we didn't want to get too far from the interstate. So - we took our time getting to Jackson and we'll get up and make the long leg of the trip tomorrow. The battleship was a good place for us to spend some time, but it was almost unbearably hot. It's only partly air conditioned and it was literally 100 degrees outside. We were glad to get back to the car and get the AC running. Caleb watched movies all the way from Mobile to Jackson and I dozed off and on when I could. When we got to Jackson, we found a Mexican restaurant and went out for dinner, then drove to a really nice mall and walked around to kill some time and try to give Caleb a chance to burn some energy. We got back to the hotel about 8:45 and got him ready for bed. As I type this, he and Rudy are sound asleep and I'm headed that way before too long. Rudy says we're leaving for home at 7:00 in the morning.

As of today, I'm seven weeks pregnant. My nausea seems to be getting worse every day. I told Rudy tonight that I really don't think I'll make it through this pregnancy without throwing up like I did with Caleb. I'm still wearing the SeaBands and trying to eat small snacks now and then, but most food really grosses me out. At lunch today, I choked down a McDonald's happy meal cheeseburger but the fries were one of the first things I've eaten in days that didn't make me sick. (Wouldn't you know it?!?) I ate some fajitas tonight at dinner and they were good. They weren't greasy at all, so I was able to eat the fajita meat without gagging. I go from being so full and nauseated to being so hungry and nauseated within minutes. I'm a little over halfway through the first trimester, and I'm banking on feeling better when I get to week 13 or so. Fingers crossed...

Thursday in Florida

Our last day on the beach was a great one. We did our usual morning routine of breakfast then head for the sand this morning. As soon as we made it to the tent, Caleb was ready to get in the water. Fortunately, we had already sunscreened ourselves to the point that there was absolutely no way we were going to get burned any more that we already had. (It only took us 4 days to figure out that it's easier to put on sunscreen in the condo than on the beach where it mixes with sand and hurts.) We wasted very little time grabbing the boogie boards and heading into the water. Caleb had Mr.L. and I laughing with his new favorite phrases: "ride 'em cowboy," "oh my goodness" and "ride, Clyde!" After what seemed like forever, Rudy finally convinced Caleb to take a break and come hang out under the tent to get some time in the shade after a lady on the beach said that she had seen a shark nearby when she and a friend were kayaking. We weren't totally sure it was true, because she didn't tell the lifeguard when he drove by, but we weren't taking any chances. There were some guys fishing with squid a little ways out from us and we thought they might just attract the shark up closer.

While we waited out our Jaws encounter, Rudy and Caleb made a "sand house" for a crab that Caleb found. Unfortunately, the crab was deader than a doornail...but at least he stayed put on top of his sand house. We kept expecting a seagull to swoop down and pick it up, but I never saw it happen. After what we decided was a sufficient wait on the shore (like we really had any idea), Rudy and Caleb went back out in the water. Caleb must've been feeling extra brave, because he told Rudy he didn't want the boogie board anymore. Rudy tossed the board up on the sand and carried Caleb back out in the water. Then he saw the sandbar and told Caleb he would have to stand up by himself. Caleb didn't protest, so Rudy tried it out. That was all she wrote! He stood on that sandbar and had the best time of his life. Rudy and I helped him jump a few waves and he loved it! He fussed a little when the water got in his face, but he toughened up pretty quickly.

We came in for lunch around noon. Mom pulled a miracle and got Caleb to take a nap. Rudy and I got cleaned up and went out for an afternoon by ourselves. We bought a couple of t-shirts at the Life Is Good store and then drove into Perdido Key to go to Target for some new shorts and a shirt for Rudy. Then we drove a little further and stopped at the Flora-Bama. For those of you who aren't familiar with the F-B, it's worth the trip. It's a beach bar that looks like a strong wind could knock it over and it is truly the capitol of the Redneck Riviera. We went in just to take a look around and say we had been there. The people watching is top notch and we think we may have met the mayor of the Riviera. His name was Alan and he was there with his daughter (?) or wife (?) and a 2-year-old with a prize-winning mullett. If I could've taken a picture without being so obvious I would have. It was hilarious! We also really enjoyed watching a guy windsurf. That was amazing!

When we left the Flora-Bama, we headed back to Pensacola Beach and stopped to pick up a few things. We got back to the condo to find Mom upstairs getting cleaned up and Caleb and Mr. L. back out in the ocean. They came in and Rudy gave Caleb a bath while I freshened up and ironed my pants. Rudy and Mr. L. went to Joe Patti's to get lobster for dinner. I went outside and scouted a place for our family photo. Mom started getting dinner ready. Caleb played and ate a snack.

Finally - we all made it back together and headed down to the dunes (accompanied by a very kind neighbor) to take our family picture. Once we got a few good shots, Rudy and I walked down on the beach with Caleb to take a few more pictures. I got some wonderful shots and I'm working to get them on Shutterfly as quickly as I can. My new camera creates such enormous files that it takes forever to upload the pictures. Hopefully, I'll get them all up by Monday at the latest.

After our photo session, we came back up to the condo to wait on dinner. Mr. L. fixed Caleb and I our "drink of the day" - a peach daiquiri without alcohol - which Caleb loved. The drink of the day has become Caleb's favorite part of the day. He greets Mr. L. chanting "drink of the day, drink of the day" when he sees him coming with our cups. What kid wouldn't love a sugar-filled frozen concoction in the 96 degree heat? Plus...I put an umbrella in our cups for an extra festive touch. I get the special treatment just for being pregnant...lucky me! :)

Once dinner was ready and on the table, we all gathered 'round for a dinner of lobster, corn, potatoes, salad and green beans. Caleb had mac&cheese. We sat down to eat and I took one look at that lobster tail and felt my stomach make a turn for the worse. I ran upstairs to the bathroom, but managed to keep from throwing up, which I hate more than almost anything. I eventually regained my composure and rejoined the family dinner, but stuck to the potatoes, corn and green beans for my dinner. Everyone else (except Caleb, of course) raved about how delicious the lobster was and I truly wanted to eat it, but just couldn't. Pregnancy does crazy things to a girl. I love seafood more than just about anything I can imagine, but I have had a hard time this week with eating even shrimp. It's awful! I have this prime opportunity to eat fresh gulf seafood and it turns my stomach to even think about it. Good grief! What next? I decide I suddenly don't like pedicures or chocolate? I shudder to think of it!

After everyone finished their dinner, Caleb helped Rudy and I give Mom and Mr. L. a couple of gifts that we picked up for them. We gave Mom a really cool picture frame to celebrate her retirement. (When we get back from FL, she only has four more days of work left!) We gave Mr. L. a Life Is Good t-shirt for Father's Day. He and Caleb had a good time playing after dinner and then we knew it was time to wrap up the fun when Caleb announced to us that it was "time to go inside! I ready for bed!" He practically ran up the stairs and is sleeping soundly right between LaLa and Pops.

Rudy went for his evening walk and then did some reading. I've been trying to upload pictures for about 2 hours now. It's time for me to head for bed too. We're leaving around lunchtime tomorrow to head for our overnight stay in Jackson, MS. We'll make the rest of the drive home on Saturday.

This has been one of the best vacations I can remember. I can't believe it's already over.

Wednesday in Florida

Rudy and Mr. L. played golf this morning. I slept in just a little and got up to find Caleb and Mom downstairs playing. After a lounging around for a while, we all got dressed and went into town to do some sightseeing and shopping. Caleb wanted a toy fish like the one Maddox had yesterday, so we were on a mission for a rubber fish. We looked everywhere we could think of and finally found one that was close enough. He has played with the crazy shark all afternoon! We also picked up a couple of t-shirts. Mom, Caleb and I had lunch at Bull Feathers on the boardwalk and came home to get out of the heat. When we got home, the guys were back from golfing and we all spent the afternoon in the condo. I took a good nap and slept so hard! When I woke up, we spent some time out on the deck (in the shade!) and then went to dinner. We had dinner at Peg Leg Pete's and it was delicious. There was live music and a playground for Caleb. After dinner, we came straight back to the condo. Rudy took Caleb out to catch a crab on the beach, then we sat on the deck and visited for a while. Mom, Mr.L. and Caleb have gone to bed now and Rudy and I are watching the end of the Arkansas baseball game. It is stressful! The score is tied at 3 in the bottom of the 10th with Virginia runners on 1st and 3rd...I gotta go!

Tuesday in Florida

OUCH! Day 3 on the sand brought our first taste of sunburn. I overestimated the shade power of the tent and then discovered the joy of coasting the waves on a boogie board. That equals a burned left shoulder, arm and back of thigh. Fortunately, that's all that got fried. My nose and forehead are a little red, but nothing major. I do, however, have a lovely white stripe across my nose from my sunglasses and a white stripe across each wrist from the SeaBands that I've been wearing 24/7 to help keep my pregnancy nausea in check. I'm not normally a tanner and I usually spend the entire year about the color of a catfish's belly, but on this rare occasion of a trip to the beach, I decided to go with SPF 25 rather than SPF 50, which is what we've been using on Caleb...who does not have a sunburn at all. Mom got too much sun today too, which is something I don't think I've ever seen in my life. Rudy has a pretty deep shade of red going on his back, but seems to think it won't last long. I sure hope he's right. Mr. L., of course, just gets darker. He says he's had a burn before, but I sure haven't ever seen it!

Other than the sunburn, today was great! We were on the beach by 9:15. Caleb readjusted to getting in the water and even handled getting some water in his face today. Every time it happened, he'd say, "Look, Mama! I not crying!" Around noon, Becca, Jimmy, Maddox and Aunt Harolyn showed up to play on the beach with us. They are on vacation in Destin, which is about 45 minutes away. We just couldn't be this close and not get the little boys together. Maddox wasn't so sure about the whole thing, so we came inside and had lunch. Once lunch was over, the boys played inside for a while and Maddox came out of his shell and decided we were alright after all. He and Caleb chased some balls around the living room and laughed and put on a real show. Finally, we all went back out on the beach and both boys played in the sand and then in the water with their parents. We had so much fun and it was good to see them playing together. Becca and I got some great pictures and we'll both get them on Shutterfly ASAP.

After they left, I got a shower and Rudy went back down to read on the beach. Caleb, LaLa and Pops chilled out together and read some of Caleb's books. The rest of the family ended up joining Rudy back on the beach for a while, but I decided I had met my sun quota for the day and stayed on the deck reading in the shade. Rudy made a wonderful dinner of spaghetti, salad and bread for our dinner and we all ate until we were stuffed...again.

Caleb surprised us all tonight by saying he wanted to sleep by himself. He has been sleeping with either me or Pops and LaLa. He decided he wanted to be Mr. Independent tonight. He told us to stay at the table while he went up to put on his PJ's. He made it up the stairs by himself and then called down to Rudy to help him go potty. I give him props for the initiative, even though he couldn't quite pull it off. He did manage to get his PJ's on all by himself...even his shirt and he was so proud! He decided that he wanted Pops to read his bedtime stories to him, because they had such a good time doing that last night, then he actually got into his own bed by himself. That lasted about 30 seconds. The next thing I knew, he was standing at the top of the stairs, asking for a hug. I gave him a hug and asked him where he wanted to sleep. He said, "With Pops and LaLa." I told him to knock on their door. When Pops opened the door, he took off like a shot and jumped in the bed with LaLa. As I type this, they are all 3 sound asleep. Rudy is reading on the deck and I'm trying to stay caught up on this blog so that I don't forget any of the amazing memories that we're making on this trip.

Tomorrow is our only day to stay off the beach. Rudy and Mr.L. are playing golf in Perdido Key. Rudy is super-excited because the course was a PGA tournament course for 10 years. Mom, Caleb and I are going to spend the day in town. We'll hit up the tourist shops and get lunch out somewhere before we come back tomorrow afternoon to meet up with the guys. Hopefully our sunburns will fade tomorrow and we'll be ready for our final full day of sun and sand on Thursday.

Monday in Florida

Today started just like yesterday: a few hours of sun and sand. We all took our respective spots and commenced relaxing all over again. It was HOT! Holy smokes...it was crazy hot out there and it's going to get worse tomorrow. That coastal breeze sure does help, but we all ended up in the water at some point today. In fact, Caleb even asked to get in the water. I was SHOCKED!!! Yesterday, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with that water. Today he was hesitant at first, but when Rudy took the boogie board out, Caleb wanted to join him. Pops took him into the water and held onto him while he got used to it. Then they started having fun. When a wave would come up, Caleb would yell, "Ride 'em, Cowboy!" and laugh like he was having the best time of his life. Eventually, he mustered up the courage to get on the boogie board with either Pops or Rudy holding onto it. He loved that! Mom and I sat right at the edge of the water and watched them for a long time. We packed it in for lunch around noon. I took a much-needed shower and then rested for the remainder of the afternoon. Rudy went "exploring" (driving around just looking at what was around here). Caleb watched a movie while Pops checked his eyelids for leaks. :) Mom and I loaded some music on her new iPod. Eventually, everyone came back together and decided to go for a drive. I opted out of the trip and spent the afternoon blogging and resting. The rest of the crew drove all over the place: Navarre Beach, past the Florabama, to the golf course to make a tee time for Wednesday, etc. They had a great time...and so did I. When they got back, the boys headed down to the beach again while Mom and I visited on the deck. After beach time, we all got cleaned up and went to Crabs for dinner. Caleb thought it was fun to eat outside by the ocean and we all had a great time! Unfortunately, we missed the crab races, which are billed as "the stupidest thing you've ever seen." When we got home, Rudy and I took Caleb down on the beach with a flashlight and his bug box and hunted for crabs on the beach. Rudy caught 4 of them and as I type this, they are out on the deck in the bug box. Tomorrow morning, they will go back into the ocean. Caleb even told them goodnight before he went to bed tonight. Tomorrow is a big day! Becca, Jimmy and Maddox are coming over from Destin to spend the day with us. We can't wait to get those boys out there on the beach together!


Best Calebism EVER~
We were walking back from our crab hunting adventure tonight and Caleb said, "Mama, look at all those stars." We sang Twinkle Twinkle. Then...
Caleb: I like God.
Me: Me too.
Caleb: God is my buddy.
Apparently, he had a spiritual moment under those stars...so did I.

Hot Shot

Me: Caleb, do you want our baby to be a boy or a girl?
Caleb: A boy.
Me: What should we name our baby?
Caleb: Hot Shot.

...and it stuck - for now.

Sunday in Florida

Note: I have pictures, I promise! I just haven't been taking my "good camera" down on the sand because I don't want to get sand in it. I've been taking the old point & shoot, but I forgot to bring the transfer cable so that'll have to wait until we get home.

We got up around 7:00 on Sunday morning. After a yummy protein-filled breakfast, we were on the beach by 9:30. Mr. L and Rudy set up our tent and we set up camp right in front of our condo. We lounged either in the sun or under the tent all morning and came in for lunch. Caleb was scared of the water and wouldn't go in it even if we were holding onto him. He wanted nothing to do with that! He spent his morning playing in the sand, digging holes, dumping buckets of water and kicking a ball around with Rudy. When we came in for lunch, Mr. L. and Caleb rested for a while, then we got cleaned up and all went back to Joe Patti's to get shrimp for dinner. We also stopped at the grocery store to round out our menu for the week. Five people in an unfamiliar grocery store is quite a sight. It reminded me of a really bad reality show. (But we did get a de-licious key lime pie that I'm savoring until the very last bite...then I might get another one.) We got back to the condo and back in our swimsuits and back on the beach. We stayed out there for as long as we could, just enjoying the afternoon breeze and the warm sunshine. When we finally packed it in for dinner, we came up and de-sanded ourselves. Mr. L. got ready to boil 15 lbs of red royal shrimp while Mom and I got the corn and potatoes ready. We ate until we made ourselves absolutely sick, then crawled into bed to sleep off the sun. Rudy went for an evening stroll on the beach and brought back a sandcrab for Caleb to find in his bugbox when he woke up...

Florida Vacation - The Traveling Days

DAY ONE - Rogers, AR to Jackson, MS
We got up bright and early on Friday to hit the road for Jackson, MS - a little over halfway to our final destination of Pensacola Beach, Florida. The trip was relatively calm. We drove straight through to Little Rock, where we stopped at Park Plaza to let Caleb get out of the car and run around the mall before eating lunch in the food court. We stopped for just over an hour and then got back in the car to make the rest of the trip. Caleb was a great traveler this time. He watched movie after movie and never complained at all. He got a little fussy just as we were leaving LR, but it was because his sippy cup wasn't working quite like he wanted - nothing major. We stopped for gas in Pine Bluff and then drove straight through my old stomping grounds in McGehee without even tapping the brakes. (The last time we drove through there, I tortured Rudy with a tour past the places I lived, my elementary school, etc.) We stopped for several potty breaks along the way - a necessity with a pregnant woman and a 3-year-old and finally rolled into Jackson right on time. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which we were pleasantly surprised to find had a pool - another necessity when traveling with a 3-year-old. He (like most kids) LOVES staying in hotels. The boys went to kill some time at the Bass Pro Shop, which Caleb said made him "sad" because there was a stuffed bear biting a deer or something like that. He did like getting to see an alligator there, though - and he loved seeing all the fish. The boys came back to the hotel to get me and we went to get some dinner. After dinner, we swam in the pool and headed upstairs to get some rest for Day 2.

DAY TWO - Jackson, MS to Pensacola Beach, FL
Caleb woke up on Saturday morning and said, "I so excited to go to the beach!"

Mom and Mr. L. met us in Jackson around 11:00 on Saturday and we followed them the rest of the way to the beach. As we had the day before, we made several stops along the way for potty breaks, lunch and leg stretching. We got caught in awful traffic going through Mobile, but Caleb got to see the battleship USS Alabama (from the car window) and we got our first glimpse of the Gulf. I was sure ready to stop seeing pine trees and start seeing palm trees! We finally made it to Pensacola and we were sure glad to get the trucks unloaded. Our condo is absolutely fantastic. It opens up right onto the beach. We don't have to haul our stuff across a street to ge to the beach or pack up in the car and park in a parking lot. We just go right out the back door, over the dunes and we're at the shore. In fact, I'm typing this on the back deck as I listen to the waves crashing and enjoying the cool breeze off the ocean. The condo has 3 bedrooms, a loft and 3 baths, so we have more than enough room for the 5 of us. The kitchen in this place is almost twice the size of my kitchen at home - which is good, because we sometimes all find ourselves in there at the same time. Mom and I took Caleb out on the sand for just a few minutes shortly after we got here. It was so good to feel that warm sand under my toes. I love that feeling. (I'm not so crazy about feeling sand in my bed, though...but it comes with the territory.) I haven't been on a beach since Rudy and I went to Mexico 5 years ago. There's just nothing like it. Caleb loved the sand and really wanted to make a sandcastle, but we convinced him that it would have to wait a little while. We came in and got some of our stuff unpacked while Rudy and Mr.L. made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on some essentials and to Joe Patti's to get oysters. When they got home, we had a quick dinner, then relaxed on the deck until bedtime. Caleb was exhausted and actually told us it was time to go to bed. He slept like a rock and I'm sure he was dreaming of sandcastles.

Scary Night with a Happy Ending

Last Thursday (6/11), I spent the day scrapbooking with Stacy. We had a great time, as usual. When I got home, I hit the ground running to get things packed and ready for our trip to Florida. After about an hour and a half of packing, I started to wear down and was having some cramping on my lower left side. I sat down for a while to rest and when I got up, a pain shot through my abdomen that was unbearable. I doubled over and hit the ground. I got myself up and went into the bathroom where Rudy was giving Caleb a bath. I told him that something was wrong and I needed to go to the hospital. We decided that he would stay home with Caleb and I would call Stacy to see if she could go with me. She gladly agreed to go so I drove over to her house and she drove the rest of the way to the hospital. When we got there, there was only one other person in the waiting area - which is a minor miracle. I was called back pretty quickly and answered the same questions about a thousand times: no bleeding, 6 weeks pregnant, last period May 1st, no vigorous activity, no heavy lifting, pain rated a 4 on a scale from 1-10. I kept telling them that the really bad pain was a one-time thing and I was more worried about it that anything. I explained that we were leaving town on Friday morning and as much as I love my Southeast Arkansas roots, I really didn't want to have to stop at the hospital in Pine Bluff or Dumas because I was hurting again or - God forbid - had an ectopic pregnancy rupture. As usual, Stacy kept me laughing through it all, even though I was worried sick. She also called Rudy every single step of the way so he wouldn't go crazy wondering what was going on. The staff ran a urinalysis and some blood tests, then I had the joy of getting a catheter so I could have an ultrasound. It wasn't as horrible as I'd expected, but certainly not something I'd want to do often. The ultrasound tech was wonderful even though she was the one who reversed that catheter to fill my bladder. UGH. She searched and searched and finally decided that she would have to do a transvaginal ultrasound. Again...UGH. However, through the miracles of modern medicine, she was able to use that ultrasound to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. AND - she showed me not only the gestational sac , the yolk sac and the fetal pole, but also the tiny little heartbeat. Just that one pixel blinking on that fuzzy monitor helped shrink my worries a thousand times. Not that it completely put my worries away, but it sure did help. I got back to my room and Stacy was patiently waiting for me. It was really getting late and we were just ready to get home at that point. The doctor came in and (with bedside manner severely lacking) told me that everything seemed to be okay, the fetal pole measured exactly right for a 5 week, 6 day pregnancy and I was free to travel. He then proceeded to tell me that the ultrasound did show a subchorionic bleed and that the baby's heartrate was lower than expected but in the normal range. He told me that I was just as much at risk of miscarriage as everyone else and what to do if I started bleeding or thought I was miscarrying. Either he did a terrible job of explaining what all of that meant or I went mental at the point of news that I didn't understand. So, when the nurse came in, I got my wits about myself and asked her to explain the whole subchorionic bleed. I wasn't too concerned about the heartrate thing. She said it wasn't a really big deal and lots of people have it. Would it have killed the doctor to say that???? Stacy and I headed for the car as soon as I was dismissed and spent the ride home convincing ourselves that everything would be okay and that the doctor was a complete social idiot while the nurse and the ultrasound tech were fabulous people. I did a little internet research when I got home and found out about subchorionic bleeds. I won't bore you with the details, but I can tell you that it's not completely serious, but something to watch for the next few months. My OB will be all over it. I go back to see her nurse on the 23rd and then to see her on the 30th. I feel okay about all of it. My main fear with that pain was an ectopic pregnancy and that didn't turn out to be the case at all. My urinalysis and blood work came back great. I'm trying not to think about it and just concentrate on getting this little one into the world safely. I've promised him/her that if he/she will just hang on for a while, I'll take good care of him/her forever and ever.

Summertime

Our family is officially in summer mode. I finished work on Wednesday (6/3) and Rudy finished at noon on Friday (6/5). I had a Children's Museum meeting on Thursday night. We spent the weekend kicking off our summer.

Saturday evening, we went to dinner with the Pratchards and left Caleb and their daughter, Bella, with a babysitter. It was the final evening of our 2009 Crawfish Feast. We've been out with them for crawfish once a month since the crawfish came in season this year. Afterwards, we sat on the patio at Jose's for a while, picked up ice cream and headed back to their house to relieve the babysitter.

On Sunday, we had Kathy and Grandma Voise over for dinner. Rudy grilled some delicious steaks and we enjoyed a nice evening with them. Caleb loved showing them all of his toys and all of his tricks. He's such a ham!

Other than that, I wasn't able to do a whole lot. I've been really fighting the nausea of early pregnancy and feeling pretty gross most of the time. I still can't figure out why they call it "morning sickness." It's more like all day and all night sickness! I haven't actually thrown up, but UGH it sure is miserable. Rudy has been an absolute life-saver. He has taken over most of the playtime with Caleb and has done more than I could've ever asked him to do around here. I keep promising him that this will pass and I'll be able to do more, but he just keeps assuring me that it's okay and he'll gladly do what needs to be done. I'm pretty blessed, right?

Yesterday, I went to my first OB appointment and then to get a few things for our beach trip. When I got home, Caleb was being his usual no-nap = cranky self. We hung out at home for a while until it was time to go to Gymboree. When we got to Gymboree, I found out that the class we're doing is just for kids - no parents allowed on the playfloor. I decided that was okay since Caleb is usually pretty independent. He went in just fine at first, then another kid started crying and he wasn't so sure. The class leader took a long time to get started and he got bored. That's when he decided he really didn't want to be there. I told him he could either go play or he could sit and watch the other kids play but that I wasn't going to hold him or let him leave the playfloor. He chose to sit for quite a while, then eventually decided he'd be okay joining in with the basketball activity. He shot quite a few baskets and then participated in the passing activities. He loved the 5 minutes of free play on the climbing equipment and was really excited about getting his Gymbo stamps at the end. When we left, he told me that he liked Gymboree ("gin-jo-wee") and that he would play more next time. We picked up dinner and brought it home and called it a night pretty early.

Today started out a little rocky - with Caleb waking up at 5:15!!!! He crawled into bed with me and Rudy got up to have a leisurely morning before going to teach trumpet lessons at 8:00. Caleb royally ticked me off by being wide awake that early in the morning and wanting to talk and play with me. Does he not know that I am NOT a morning person??? After an hour, I finally told him that he needed to stop messing around and he could either lay down quietly in my bed or go back to his own bed until it was time to get up. He tried to cry and then laid his head down and went to sleep. We both woke up at 8:15. After choking back the nausea, I got up and got ready, then got him dressed and took him to daycare. I had some errands to run and needed to get some things done today. We have to pay for daycare this summer whether we use it or not, so we're going to send him 2 days a week. It seems ridiculous to me that we're having to pay full price for daycare, but we can't afford to lose his spot for next year, so we're sucking it up and writing the checks. He loves going anyway and would be perfectly happy to go every day. I just can't bring myself to do that, though. I would feel like the world's worst mother and I would feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with him during my time off...even if I do feel like crap-o-la most of the time right now and can't do the fun stuff that I'd like to do.

Now we're getting ready for our beach trip. I'm going to do some preliminary packing this afternoon and finish it up on Thursday. I can't wait to get my toes in the sand and to watch Caleb play by ocean.

Approved!

I went to the doctor yesterday (6/8) for my pregnancy confirmation appointment. Basically, I had to take another pregnancy test so that they could tell me what I already know. It reminded me of the Saturday Night Live skit with the Target Lady who gets overly excited when someone's credit card gets approved:

Dr. Ford did confirm that I am, indeed, pregnant. Gosh - that explains all of the nausea, and exhaustion - not to mention that positive home pregnancy test I took 2 1/2 weeks ago...

All joking aside, it was good to hear the news from an actual medical professional. She did a quick pelvic exam and said everything seems okay. I go back on the 23rd for my nurse visit where they will give me all the do's and don't's and start the paperwork (payment) process. Then Rudy and I go back to see Dr. Ford on the 30th and she will do an actual ultrasound to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be, check for a heartbeat and do some measurements.

In case anyone is wondering, here's some information on being 5 weeks pregnant.

Transcending

I just finished reading Kelly Corrigan's memoir, The Middle Place. I thoroughly enjoyed the book but especially loved this essay that is printed at the end as a bonus. I looked for the transcript of it online but didn't find it, so I'm posting the video of her reading it. It's a very honest and well-written essay about my generation of mothers and friends - basically women in general. I hope you like it as much as I do.