The Day After

Sydney stayed home from school yesterday and I will probably want to keep her home at least one more day just to keep an eye on her.  I know I can't protect her every second, but I sure want to try.  The doorbell rang after her nap yesterday and we both went to see who it was.  I had completely forgotten we had ordered a dollhouse for her birthday (in November) and sure enough it was the UPS guy delivering her dollhouse.  She shrieked with delight and ran around in circles saying, "My dollhouse is here! My dollhouse is here!"  Now how could I deny this poor innocent little child who mere hours before had received seven stitches such a small thing that brought her such obvious pleasure?  What kind of mom would I be if I didn't immediately open the box and present her with the dollhouse? Even if it was still almost two months until her birthday.  SO... she has now been playing with said dollhouse nonstop except for eating and sleeping and it is so much fun to watch her singing to her dolls and walking them up the stairs. This particular dollhouse came with twin babies (which is why it was the obvious choice for her) much to her delight.  She is so enamored with babies right now and everywhere we go when she sees a baby, she asks if she can go see the baby.  Most of the time I tell her yes and so off she goes.  She touches the baby's feet (the only place we allow her to touch) and very quickly proceeds to inform the mother that she is having two babies. Which I think in her mind makes her special and different from everyone else. We were at the library the other day picking out books and I tried to get her to pick a book about a mom that is having a baby. She flipped through a couple of pages, but was quick to inform me that this mommy was only having one baby and she was having two.  She put it back on the shelf.  Do any of you ever wonder when our children got so smart?

Most Accidents Happen at Home

Funny how a quiet night at home can turn so quickly.  We cooked a nice dinner of beef stroganoff with ground turkey for a change of pace. After we cleaned up, Sydney suggested we go for a walk to look for flowers.  We told her that was a great idea so off we went.  We found flowers of every color along the way, climbed "hills" of dirt in an empty lot, and walked the "balance beam" around a statue.  Any number of places where she could have potentially injured herself. But she didn't.

We got back home and Sydney and I went upstairs for our bedtime routine.  Get in jammies, pick out books, brush teeth, hop in bed, and turn on her night time music.  All was going well and we had just finished brushing her teeth when it happened: the nightmare at our house.  She was stepping off of her wooden stool that was beautifully hand-painted by someone at our church and somehow it toppled over and upside down.  She landed with her face/mouth on one of the four legs.  I was right there and watched it happen in slow motion helpless to do anything to stop it.  I quickly scooped her up knowing it was going to be bad just no idea how bad.  The cries that came out of her were cries such as I have never heard before nor do I ever want to hear them again.  I was yelling for Tony to "get up here" as fast as I could because there was blood everywhere and it just kept coming.  He came thundering up the stairs and took her from me to assess the situation as only daddies can do sometimes  and this was definitely one of those times. He took one look at her and said she needs stitches right now. And something else I was not expecting: she needs a plastic surgeon.  The wound was such that not just anyone could stitch it up.  It was looked on the upper left part of her face known as the vermilion border which is the area where the lip skin meets the facial skin.  He explained to me that if it was not done properly she would be permanently disfigured around her mouth because the two skin types would not heal properly.  At this point the five month pregnant lady is just barely holding it together and I run to look up plastic surgeons, clearly forgetting for the moment that Tony is a surgeon with way better connections than I have.  He thrusts Sydney into my arms and runs downstairs for his phone. Five minutes later he has a plastic surgeon (AKA the hero) on his way to the ER to meet us and he has arranged for a room to be made ready for our imminent arrival there.  I get Sydney in the car with her DVD player and Tony brings an ice pack to place under the only washcloth I could find in Sydney's room: a white one.  She is doing pretty good for now and Tony takes her into the ER while I park the car.  I am unsure where they are as I enter the building until I hear my baby screaming at the top of her lungs. No one is even touching her, she is simply scared beyond endurance.  The surgeon arrives, the "muscle" wraps her up like a baby burrito and the real fun begins.  It takes all three of us to hold her still so the doc can numb up the wound; she is strong.  It takes three stitches to close the wound and we had to fight her for each one; she is strong.  We gratefully thank him and we take our little baby home to bed.  As I am tucking her in and Tony is getting her some Motrin, I notice she isn't closing her mouth. I asked her why and she said it tickles.  I look closer and sure enough one of the stitches is really too long and I ask Tony if he can cut it shorter. Upon his inspection, he realizes it is not just too long, it has come out!!!  He calls the plastic surgeon again and explains what happened and we leave to meet him again, luckily at his office this time instead of the ER.  This time there are just two of us to hold her down where before there were three. Did I mention that she is strong?  This time it takes four more stitches for a grand total of seven altogether (two had actually come out.)  

The moral of the story is: brushing your teeth can be hazardous to your health.

I Have Been Remiss!

If you are still reading this blog, thank you.  I have not posted in a long time and I vow to post more frequently again.  Here are my excuses: throwing up too much, was in a wedding (my pre-pregnancy dress still fit!!), went on a cruise in Alaska, loads of laundry and cleaning after being gone two weeks, preschool started- lots of errands, and general laziness.

I have read all of your blogs so I am up to date on all of y'alls' goings ons.  Thank you to those of you who do post regularly.

As you can see from the gestation "webcam" we are 18 weeks along.  I have finally gotten over the morning sickness and have not thrown up since August 20th HALLELUJAH!!!!  Well, I did throw up twice in Alaska, but there were extenuating circumstances: one- we were in a sea plane and it was not a beautiful picturesque day for flying and I made good use of the little white bag they so thoughtfully provided and two- we were on a bus in Victoria BC and it the gears kept sticking, lots of jerking, etc., etc. and unfortunately they did not provide little white bags. Other than that, I am in the clear!!!  Now the little thing I like to call dragon breath has started and with a vengeance. If I remember correctly with Sydney, the heartburn did not go away until after she was born so I think I am in this for the long haul. Oh well, I will take heartburn over constant vomiting any day.

Mark this date on your calendars- October 6th.  We will have our sonogram!!! I cannot wait to see my little babies and how they are doing! What do they look like? And are they boys or girls or both?!!!!  This is sure to be a banner day for our family so be sure to tune in. If I can figure out the scanner/computer thingie I will try to post some pix of them for y'all.  As far as pix of me go, I really am not that big yet, I have just now gained a pound. Trust me, I had plenty of extra weight before the babies came along.  I will post some pix when I get a little bigger.