Weekend Update

What a beautiful weekend it was!

Saturday Emma was off to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch near San Antonio (http://wildliferanchtexas.com/) with her grandparents, cousin and great-Aunt. Since David was off we decided to go see a movie and spend some time together. We finally got to see Couple's Retreat and it was so cute! We got in the car and it was such a beautiful day I suggested to David that he roll down the windows- I NEVER let him do this because "it will mess up my hair". But I didn't care, it was friggn' gorgeous out! We still had a few hours until Emma would be home and David said, I feel like sitting out somewhere and having a beer. David knows I've been itching to go to the Oasis and so we headed out 360- beautiful drive, beautiful day!

The Oasis was sooo pretty. Even though the lake was visibly low, it was still relaxing and there wer lots of boats out enjoying the water. David had a beer and I enjoyed the chips and queso while we visited. David had his eye on this little boy wearing a fireman hat and said "I can't wait." I think it's cute to hear him talk like that/see the sparkle in his eye. We've been talking a lot lately, just about things and life in general and it's so comforting to be with someone that you know feels the same way about those things. I felt great and wasn't tired from our "outings". We stopped at HEB for some gametime necessities and then headed home to meet Emma and later my parents for some BBQ and a Missouri-beating.

Sunday was a different story. David had to work an overtime gig in Bee Cave (which turned out to be WAY more than he bargained for). Emma watched cartoons, played in her room and got herself a snack and drink so I could stay in bed...I ended up being in bed for like 6 hrs during the day. I felt so sick! I think Cody and I had problems with the BBQ. Some sauces have preservatives that messed with my tummy during my first pregnancy. Emma and I napped and I was finally feeling human a couple of hours before David was due home.

Low Point

Struggling to figure out where to start with this one. I left my office to pick up something for lunch and at the intersection of Burnet/Anderson I notice a couple getting drenched in the rain, carrying their baby in their arms under the cover of a thin blanket. After sitting through the light I was able to catch up to them (finally) past the Sonic. I pulled over and tried to offer them my umbrella. The woman just froze and the dad who was carrying the baby said "Oh, no. No thank you. You'll probably be needing it." I told him I had a second one and asked him again to take it. Nope. I was shocked but felt like I had no choice but to give up.

I'm generally pretty shy around people I don't know and I got anxious, but had to try. This couple looked pretty much like David and I or any of our friends or co-workers and it just broke my heart to think about that little baby getting so wet. It also made me feel so thankful for what we have, for what I've always had. I know that no matter what, we'll always have a roof over our heads (at least I pray we do).

I drove away feeling angry and heartbroken and text David to see if he could talk (and we did). But pretty much at that moment it completely stopped raining.

One day last week on our drive home Emma said to me "Mommy, do you know that not everyone has a house?" We started a conversation about that and she interjected with, "Well I want a bigger house!" It's our own fault. She's heard us talk about moving into a bigger house and getting a bigger car so those are some things she mentions from time to time. We talked about people not having homes, their own rooms, lots of clothes and toys etc. I know she's only four, but I hope that we (David and I, our family, schools, church etc) can teach her how blessed we truly are!

1 Corinthians 13:4

A scripture read at our wedding that means so much more today...

“Love is patient; love is kind
and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4

Today David and I have been married for a year and a half. It seems like so much longer (in a good way) probably just because the last year has been so jam-packed with life experiences. I think about the times when we were dating, then living together and during our engagement- my have we come a long way in such a short period of time!

I'm not putting this out there to brag about our relationship, but I know so many people going through divorces, broken relationships etc. that need to have faith that 'the one' is out there! Love is real and so amazing! It's truly the greatest gift God has for us.

In my experience I knew unconditional love first as a mother and then as a wife. But that's exactly what I feel for David- no matter what I love him and support him 100%. We're not perfect by any means. We disagree, we bicker, we get bogged down in stress, but early on we committed to never go to bed angry, to forgive and compromise. We both tell people our communication is the key to the health of our relationship. I'm so lucky that David loves me so much that he's willing to both talk and listen so much! I can't even imagine how much time we spent talking the first couple of years we were together. We came from very different childhoods and different family dynamics which was a big deal considering David wanted to raise Emma with me and have children together at some point.

David has kind of had to wait for me to grow up in certain aspects. When David and I met I was living on my own with Emma in my Granny's house which we were renting from the family. Keep in mind we were just blocks from my parents, but this was my first experience with paying bills, cooking meals by myself etc. and even though I was 'out on my own' I still had lots of help from my family and friends. Oh how I miss the days that David was M-F 8-5! He would come over to my house after he got off of work and we'd have dinner, play with Emma and visit. Pretty much right away he joined my bowling league team so we did that together every Thursday night. I was 22 years old when I met David, recently divorced and trying to manage school and working full time. I really wasn't looking to meet anybody, but my plans didn't matter.

It wasn't even two weeks until David wanted to meet my parents. We met on May 21st and David bought tickets to take us all to the UT Baseball regionals on June 3rd. This won big points with my dad. I don't think my parents expected me to meet someone so quickly either. I wasn't really going out and definitely wasn't looking. My whole family and I were still reeling from the hand my ex had dealt us. Leaving me, leaving Emma and walking away from the past four years. But he was a boy and David was a Man. A man who had learned from his own failed relationships and who was willing to give me time to let him in, love and trust again.

I think I can speak for both of us when I say that David and I are so, so, so happy! Sure, there could always be less bills, more money, less stress at work etc. but no matter what I know David is always right when he tells me, "It's going to be ok." We have each other and that's what's important.

PS- today marks the 24th week of my pregnancy = 6mos. :)

Routine Weekend

David and I are watching Jeff Dunham (we love him) and I have to share something funny.

Jeff was reading comment cards from the audience and someone wrote in and asked: "how come I gag when I'm brushing my tongue but not when I give my husband oral sex?" Walter (the puppet Jeff had with him at the time) said, "Obviously your toothbrush is bigger." I'm sorry but David and I just thought that was friggn' hilarious.

David had to work all weekend but was sweet enough to come straight home after work (instead of working out) because he knew I was feeling a little down about being alone all weekend. Since Emma and I had plans for Saturday morning, she had dinner with her grandparents Friday night instead of breakfast on Saturday. So David and I went to dinner at Texas Land and Cattle Co. and then ran into Academy for some Longhorn gear for Earl Campbell to sign on Saturday.

Earl Campbell was in Bee Cave on Saturday at a restaurant in the Galleria called Zinger's. David is friends with the owner of the restaurant so we met him there to eat lunch and watch part of the game. It was a beautiful day and the food was yummy! Just before halftime we left the restaurant and Emma and I headed back to Austin to go to the Terrytown United Methodist Church for their pumpkin patch. We took some cute pictures, Emma played, and we bought three pumpkins.

Sunday we slept in but went to church since Emma's preschool was going to sing during the 10:45 service at Redeemer. We went to lunch at Red Lobster and then came home to nap. Emma played quietly while I rested and we had a very relaxing afternoon. My parents came by on their way home from Dallas to visit for a little bit. David got home from work and we went to Wal Mart and had dinner.

Scary Stuff

The last few days have been mentally, physically and emotionally rough in our house. I'll start from the beginning.

All week I haven't been sleeping well. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so in-tune with the babies' movements or what, but I haven't slept "hard" in days. Wednesday night I couldn't get comfortable on either of my sides and tossed and turned. About 3AM I got up and went to the bathroom and for some reason checked on Emma. At 4AM David's alarm went off and he got up and started getting ready for work. I asked him to check on Emma and again, she was fine and sleeping soundly. He kissed me goodbye at 5AM and a few minutes later Emma walked into our bedroom crying and shaking. She was holding her stomache and asked if she could use our potty. She said her tummy hurt and asked for DD. I thought she was going to throw up but as soon as I touched her, knew she was burning up. I took her temperature, gave her Motrin and put her in bed next to me. I tried to cool her down but she had chills and was still shaking badly. I called the after-hours clinic but since it was minutes until the regular offices opened, I waited until then to make a Dr.'s appointment. About 6:30 I called David to fill him in and then Emma and I got some rest until it was time to get ready to go to the Dr.

We went to the Dr. at 9AM- what a mad house! There were kids coughing, bleeding and puking, gross. Emma did not have (and has never developed) any other symptoms but I knew her fever was too high to mess around with. I think when I had taken it early that morning, it was almost 103. By the time we got to the Dr. she had no fever. Her pediatrician told me to watch her closely but at this point there was no reason to test her for the flu. We stocked up on soup and went home to rest. I believe her next dose of Motrin was about Noon after lunch. She wouldn't eat anything that morning so I was glad to see her take a few bites of her chicken noodle soup and she drank a good amount of gatorade and water. About 2PM I had her lay down to take a nap. I tried to rest as well since it had been another interrupted night of sleep for me. I woke up about 3PM to her talking. I asked her to please be quiet and try to sleep. She mumbled something like "I'm still asleep Mommy" but I could clearly hear noises coming from her room.

I went to check on her and she was burning up and shaking again. Her fever did NOT go down after that dose, it went up and was 103.4. Geez, way too high. I put the cool washcloth back on her forehead and stayed with her. She seemed more comfortable and rested until about 4:30 or 5. I was taking her temperature every hour and keeping her hydrated and from 2PM-2AM her fever didn't drop below 102. That evening we put her in a cool bath twice and kept the washcloth on her head. She ate about half of a lunchable, turkey, cheese and crackers and drank another whole bottle of gatorade at dinner. I was so glad she was eating something. She was in better spirits, especially after David got home. When David got home from work I called the night time phone nurses because I didn't like that her fever was climbing. They told me she was still in a safe range, but that if it got to 105, to take her to the ER.

There were a few times during the night that David wanted to pack us up and take her but my intuition just told me we weren't quite to that point yet. In the back of my mind I knew how traumatic a hospital trip would be for all of us, not to mention probably not the best place for me. If Emma didn't already have the flu, we wouldn't want to unneccesarily expose her to it. In the wee hours of the morning, Emma's temperature gradually started to fall about one degree every three hours or so and by the time we got up it was 98.6. Hallelujah! I went to work since David had the day off and there were a few things I really needed to get done there, plus- I'm try to save every second of my sick/vacation time. About 9:30AM I get a phone call from Emma's pediatrician. She had noticed that we had to call the nurse line during the night and wanted to follow up on Emma. When I told her how high Emma's fever had gotten and remained, she immediately said it was the flu. She said that since Emma looked so good on Thursday, that's why she didn't test her then. But 28 out of the 30 cases she tested that day were positive flu cases. And it's not the seasonal flu.

I forgot to mention that Thursday while I was home with Emma, I called her school to let them know she was sick and they told me that a lot of the Fours had been sick this week with a fever.

Dr. Bryant said she would call in a prescription for Tamiflu for Emma. While we were chatting I told her I would call my OB immediately and let them know. Since we weren't face-to-face she had forgotten that I was pregnant. She said, Oh my God, call immediately and try to stay away from Emma. Yeah right, stay away from Emma? I called my OB and they recommended I go to my regular Dr. ASAP. Thirty minutes later, I had Cloroxed my desk and every thing I had come into contact with at the office and was on my way to the Urgent Care clinic. With no visible symptoms and no fever, they didn't test me for the flu but did give me an Rx for Tamiflu in case I started to see symptoms over the weekend. The Dr. told me that 90% of the cases they are treating for the flu are h1N1. He also said as soon as I get a fever, to start taking the Tamiflu. The sooner patients are taking it, the more mild the flu will be. After a good wait at CVS I got all of our prescriptions filled and came home. Evidentally pharmacies all over town are running out of Tamiflu and are having to mix it by hand...which cost me a small fortune.

While I was waiting for our scripts, I ran by Emma's school to pick up her nap stuff so we could get it washed. I talked with Emma's teacher who told me that another little girl in their "grade" had been positively diagnosed with h1n1 the day before. When I got home Emma was playing happily and still had no fever. Hoping the worst for her was behind us, we took it easy that afternoon and David and I were just waiting to start feeling badly ourselves. I ended up taking a four hour nap. Emma ate normally yesterday, just much less than she usual and she was drinking water and gatorade like a champ! Unfortunately long about bed time she had a low grade fever of 101+ so we gave her more Motrin. Hours later during the night David got up to check on her and took her temperature and it was about the same. However, the rest of the day today her temperature has been perfectly normal. The Dr. told me that she is contagious as long as she has the fever so I really hope it does not come back. He also told me that someone is coughing to stay at least 6' away.

Before her fever came back I wasn't convinced that Emma had the flu, let alone the h1n1. But now I am and started looking up info about it. The CDC website has some great information but it also scared me enough to call the nurse again. I'm reading conflicting information about taking Tamiflu as a preventative and all the info I'm seeing about pregnant women and complications (IE death) from h1n1 really has me freaked out. The nurse called the OB on call and then called me back. Basically she told me not to take the Tamiflu unless I have symptoms AND test positive for the flu. She said the pregnant women that are dying with it are taking Tamiflu when they didn't really need to and then when they do have the flu, the Tamiflu is ineffective. That answered that question, but I'm still just so scared. I feel so helpless. Where is this vaccine we keep hearing about? For now I'm doing everything I know to do to be proactive. This afternoon I cleaned the kitchen, cloroxed everything in the kitchen, bathrooms, door knobs, remotes, laptop etc.

Here's what I've learned to look for over the past few days:

• Fever, generally high
• Cough
• Congestion/Runny Nose (generally more often in children)
• Red, scratchy eyes
• Nasuea, vomitting and diarrhea

Emma's Dr. told me that there are numerous strains of the flu going around in our area. So if you only have one of these symptoms and no fever at all, still seek medical advice! The key to this flu is catching it early. The majority of cases they are seeing in Travis Co. are "mild". If you're sick, stay home, if you're children are sick, keep them home from school!

All I Ask for Anymore

It was a home run when the game was tied,

a pick up truck when I could drive

one pink line when katie said I'm late

it was a passing grade, a pretty girl

all the money in the world

what mattered then kept changing every day

But when I bow my head tonight

there'll be no me myself and I

just watch my wife and kids please Lord

that's all I ask for anymore

Now a days it's crazy how

a passing storm, a siren sound

can make me drop it all and pick up the phone

to hear her say that all's okay

is all I need to know these days

can't wait to see their faces when I get home

and when I bow my head tonight

there'll be no me myself and I

just watch my wife and kids please Lord

that's all I ask for anymore

let 'em outlive me by a hundred years

let their laughter dry up all their tears

let 'em love and be loved back like I have been

When I bow my head tonight

there'll be no me myself and I

just watch my wife and kids please Lord

that's all I ask for any more

that's all that matters anymore

I love this new song by Trace Adkins! Emma has been extra loving and affectionate ever since school started. Emma has always been very loving, but even more so lately. She's telling David and I she loves us so many times during the day- it's wonderful! Not to mention more hugs and kisses. She's also had a lively imagination and an ever-expanding vocabulary. Here are some of her newer phrases:

"I think I got bit by a seahorse"

"Oh my gracious"

"That's awesome"

"I'm bored"

"Mom, why can't you keep up?" Nice...

"How does the baby come out of your tummy?" I told her the truth about this one and the questions continue...

"When can I have a baby?" to which I said "After you go to school for a long time and get married." Which usually leads to...

"When can I get married?"

DD and I think we should start saving for law school instead of Vet school as Emma has become quite the negotiator. We try to give her options and here's an example of how she puts her twist on things. If we're at a restaurant that has peppermints, she'll ask for one and we'll remind her that if she has something now, she can't ask for a treat when we get home. When we get home and she remembers there are fruit gummies, pudding etc. she'll ask and try to say that she didn't want a peppermint, that we made her eat it. Also, if we say she can have one of something, one m&m, she'll try to work a deal for more. Stinker. But my stinker, love her!

Feeling PRETTY Pregnant

Saturday morning Emma, Grammy and I went to the Harvest Festival at Redeemer. Cousins Lily and Trisha met us there and we had a great time! The girls, jumped in bounce houses, got their faces painted, went in the petting zoo, did the cake walk (Lily and Emma both won) and had a great time together. Afterwards, we headed to Cedar Park for baby Kaylie's 1st birthday party (one of Emma's cousins) and then came home to crash.

I couldn't seem to take a nap all weekend. I was so exhausted, but could never quite fall asleep. I just felt off. Cody is moving a lot these days and the past three days have been different. I'm tired, achy and can't tell if I'm hungry or nauseous.

Sunday was much the same but with a little less running around. I couldn't believe Saturday flew by as quickly as it did.

Today was Emma's first field trip! She's been dying to ride the school bus at RLS ever since she started there. This morning they were headed to the Buda Fire station where they could spray the water hose, climb the tower, sit in the fire engine etc. Mommy and DD couldn't go this time, but got some great pictures from the parents that did go! I can't wait to talk to Emma about it. They've been working so hard learning about 9-1-1 and what emergencies are, and their addresses etc.

< Insert Witty Blog Title Here >

Here it is Friday again and it's been another whole week since I've blogged. What a busy week it has been! This week Emma's "grade" began their two-week lesson on Community Helpers and my wonderful husband, for the second year in a row, volunteered to be "Officer DD" and go to the school. This year I tagged along to take pictures and help out. All three four/five year old classes came and we started out in their Science Enrichment classroom and then moved outside so they could see the cruiser, hear the sirens, see the lights etc. I passed out Bee Cave Police Badge stickers and other goodies to the kids after they had taken their turn sitting in the car.

David did a great job and got excellent compliments. It was really special for me. Of course I'm very proud of David and it was nice to do something like this as a family. It was so sweet to see Emma absolutely beaming with pride- that was her Daddy. At Redeemer they talk about "real heroes" and that Batman, Spiderman etc. aren't real. It was cute to hear the dozens of whispers about "Is that Emma's dad?" "Yeah that's Emma's dad!" Emma sat up so straight and had a huge smile on her face.

When we walked outside to show the kids the car, the little boys froze as soon as they caught sight of it, "Cool, a police car!" After all was said and done we stayed to have lunch with Emma. While we were in the cafeteria the RLS Science Enrichment teacher told David she'd seen hundreds of presentations over the 20 years she'd been at Redeemer, but his was the best she'd seen. She said he was so warm and caring and gave great information. Proud wife.

Before I met David I had never known a police officer. At all. But I've come to feel very strongly about his profession and am extremely proud of the difficult job he does. After all, he's not the only one sacrificing. Emma and I won't have Daddy at home with us this Christmas morning, but know that we have to share him. I'm proud that he's my husband and very blessed to know other wonderful men who have taken it as their personal responsibility to protect me and try to keep some order in these crazy times. Even though these four and five year olds' have but scratched the surface about police officers, they definitely know Police Officers are our friends and will help us when we need them! They've learned a cute song about calling 9-1-1 and Emma is singing it constantly. We have been talking about dialing 9-1-1 and giving the operator our address. This makes Mommy feel pretty good considering I'm pregnant and my wonderful cop husband works long hours at least 30 minutes from home.

Anyway, very busy at work so I better get back to it! 21 weeks pregnant feels pretty good. I haven't thrown up all week but I am getting more tired when I go for "big" outings for a long period of time. But on a happier note my complexion looks amazing and I even put makeup on today! I think I've worn make up a total of two times so far this whole pregnancy.

I almost forgot my two favorite moments of DD's presentation! We were talking to the kids about stranger danger and most of them answered correctly about running away and screaming for help. But then sweet Jacob says (when it had gotten quiet), "Or you could go 'Hi-yah, Hi-yah'" and showed off some of his ninja moves. We also talked about wearing seat belts at all times. When we were outside Mrs. Summers (Emma's teacher) asked the children "What are we supposed to do when we see a police car turn on its' lights?" I want to say it was Jacob again this time who said "Put your seatbelt on!" Cute kids. Wonderful morning.