I Can't Believe She's 8

8 years ago my oldest daughter came into the world and blessed my life. I was due Nov. 5, 2001 with my first child. My due date came and went. No baby. I was growing impatient. My body wasn't giving me any signs I was ready to have a baby. Baby never dropped. I never dilated. My water never broke and I never lost the mucus plug.

The week after my due date (Nov. 13th) I went in for a regular check up and had a sonogram. The sonogram tech said there wasn't enough amniotic fluid, it wasn't alarmingly low, just not quite enough to let me go any longer waiting for labor to begin. I went home to pack a bag and my mom took me to the hospital later on in the evening. I was hooked up to a pitocin drip over night to jump start labor. The next morning my doctor came in to check my progress and NOTHING HAPPENED. I wasn't even contracting yet and had been on pitocin for 12 hours at this point.

So, the nurses increased the pitocin dosage every 15 minutes until I was at the limit. As the day went on I began feeling some of the contractions. Doctor checked me sometime after lunch (now on pitocin for 18 hours) and STILL NO CHANGE. Baby still hasn't dropped into position, no water breaking, no dilating.

By dinner time I was getting contractions every 2-3 minutes and they were getting really uncomfortable. Around 7:30pm (24 hours on pitocin now) the doctor checks me again . . . and . . .

Yup.

You guessed it.

STILL NO CHANGE.

No dilating. No baby dropping. No water breaking. Nothing but uncomfortable contractions. The nurses take me off pitocin because my body is saturated with it and it hasn't worked well enough to jump start labor. So I relax, have some dinner (Chick-Fil-A sandwich and nuggets provided by an old high school friend and his girlfriend).

Around 11pm the nurse comes to let me know that Tabytha's heart rate is a little too high, so she has me lay on my left side for about 30-40 minutes to see if that will help. It doesn't. Her heart rate actually increased a little. The nurse comes back in and puts an oxygen mask on me thinking maybe Tabytha isn't getting enough oxygen and I continue to lay on my left side. Another 40 minutes goes by and still, Tabytha's heart rate is too high (around 210-220 bpm).

The doctor comes in and explains to me she doesn't like the way things are going and my lack of progression. Tabytha's already a week overdue, the amniotic fluid is low and her heart rate won't come down. She wants to do an emergency c-section to get her out since my body wasn't responding to pitocin and wasn't going into labor.

(12:30am, Nov. 15) I muster up enough of a voice to ask if I can call my mom so the doctor can explain what's going to happen. I dial. Mom answers. Doctor says "Emergency C-Section" and mom's dressed and out the door to come be with me.

I'm prepped and taken into the OR. It takes about 10 minutes for the anesthesiologist to get the spinal going.

It.

Hurt.

So.

Bad.

Mom gets there just as the anesthesiologist gets the spinal in. My body gets warm and goes numb. I LITERALLY feel nothing below my ribcage. So much so that I begin hyperventilating because I can't feel myself breathing. Mom reassures me I am, in fact, breathing.

Then it happened. I couldn't feel it, but I knew it was coming. My mouth began to water. I was going to get sick. This should be fun. I can't move. Can't wrench my stomach like a normal person getting sick because the stomach muscles are sleeping from the spinal. I turn to my mom and say "I don't feel so good" and no sooner did she grab a kidney dish, I let all my chick-fil-a out. I didn't feel much better, a couple minutes later I get sick again.

I'm getting so sleepy. I hear suctioning. I'm opened up and they're close to getting Tabytha out. They need to push on the top of my belly to get Tabytha closer to the c-section opening. The nurse says "Ok dear. You're gonna feel a little pressure". Boy, was she wrong. I thought someone jumped on my abdomen and let all the air out of my lungs in a huge "Ouf" I Mom stands up to peek over the curtain and they've got Tabytha's head and one shoulder out. She watches them pull her out and proclaims "That's My Grandbaby!!!!". She goes with Tabytha to finish cutting the cord. I hear her cry and I feel relief. She's here!

The nurses take Tabytha to the recovery room. Mom stays with Tabytha while the doctor puts me back together and staples me up. I'm then wheeled into recovery to meet my new daughter.

She's perfect. She weighed 8lbs, 12oz and was 20 inches long.

It's hard to believe she's 8 years old today.

Happy 8th Birthday my sweet Tabbykotka!

Ebay Heartache

My husband is not an avid sports fan. He doesn't spend his weekends glued to the television watching whatever sports game happens to be on. But, he has been a Washington Redskins fan since childhood. If a Redskins game happens to be on and he's not busy with other things around the house, he'll sit and watch it.

He mentioned early in the season that he'd like to have a John Riggins (retired Redskins player) or a Chris Cooley (current Redskins player) jersey one day.

Aha! A Christmas gift idea. I went to Ebay to search out a Riggins jersey. There were several. More expensive then I was expecting to find on Ebay, so I sorted by lowest price and found one for around $15. Shipping was $19!!! More then the cost of the jersey!!! But, it was still far less expensive then the other jerseys I'd researched prices on. So, I bid on it. I won the item and paid immediately through the paypal account.

2 weeks goes by. Still no jersey. No word from the seller. I email the seller asking were my item was and why it was taking so long to receive. A few more days go by and the seller sent a message saying he'd been sick and in the hospital for 2 weeks. He automatically refunded my purchase w/o seeing if I still wanted the item. There's plenty of time before Christmas. I still wanted the jersey. But, it wasn't going to happen. At least not with that seller.

I search again and find another Riggins jersey, this time a couple bucks cheaper, about $13 for the jersey. But shipping was $19 again. I bid on it. I won.

2 weeks goes by AGAIN. Still no jersey and still no word from the seller. I go check the shipping details for the item and the seller states items ship within 2 days of confirmed payment. Well, paying through our paypal account puts the money into the sellers account immediately. The item should have shipped by now. I contact the seller to find out when he plans on shipping my item and tell him that since he didn't ship within 2 days like his shipping details specify I thought it only fair that he refund my shipping charges, but keep the $13 for the jersey because I still want it. A couple days go by. Still no contact from the seller. I send another email, same as before, but this time a little more firm. 'I want the item, you still haven't shipped it, please refund my shipping cost, but still send the jersey, I'm willing to pay what you've asked for it minus the shipping cost'.

The next day. A message from the seller. All the money has been refunded to me, sorry for the inconvenience. But NO JERSEY!!! ARG!!!!!!!!! What's a girl gotta do to get a simple jersey?!?!?!

At this point I've given up. I told Charlie he wasn't gonna get his Christmas gift and told him my ebay fiasco. He asked what I'd gotten him that's causing so much trouble. I tell him what I was trying to get him a John Riggins Jersey. Since I can't seem to get it I figure it's no big deal to tell him. He was really bummed out. I told him I was really sorry, but everywhere else I looked was more expensive then we can afford at the moment. So he tells me to call his buddy who's got a couple Redskins jersey's and find out where he gets them.

So, we hang up and I give his buddy a call. I tell him my story and ask where he got all his jersey's. His reply?

wait for it . . .

EBAY!!!

I wanted to scream!

So, needless to say, Charlie's not getting a Riggins OR Cooley jersey for Christmas. I'm sorry. Maybe I'll use a little bit of our 2009 tax return to get him one and save it for Father's Day next summer.

#2 For Dinner

I made "Stew Beef Casserole" for dinner yesterday. It's my grandmothers recipe and it's very simple and ANYONE can make it. It takes about 5 minutes to prep and 4 hours to cook and your house will smell like a little piece of heaven. I typically make egg noodles to go with it. So, I plated everyones dinner and we sat down. Charlie prayed and we ate. (I actually made myself 2 small chicken patties because I don't like beef). John scarfed down his egg noodles and rubbed his belly saying "Mmmm". When I told him to eat his meat he looked down at it and said "Ewww! Poo!!!"

Well, that made me feel REAL good to have the meal I prepared for my family compared to 'poo'. We couldn't help but laugh, though. He's only 2. He doesn't know any better. I can understand the comparison because what he 'deposits' in his pull-ups each day is very similar in color to the beef that was on his plate.

I've made it before and he's happily eaten every other time. Guess I'll be making him something different for dinner next time I make it. Charlie, Tabytha and Jessi tore it up. Charlie and Tabytha liked it so much they wanted to take leftovers for their lunch today.

My Grandma's Stew Beef Casserole

2 lbs stew beef

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, diluted

1 pkg of Lipton Onion Soup mix

cooked rice or noodles of your choice

(I like to add a can of mixed veggies)

Combine ingredients and place into a casserole dish. Cover & bake at 300 degrees for 4 hours. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.

(told ya it was easy! Enjoy!)

Handmade Memories

A package came in the mail today for Tabytha from my Aunt Georgette. She'd been cleaning out a closet and found a box that had an afghan crocheted by my mom's mom (my Babci). Babci was always crocheting. Baby clothes, doll dresses, scarves, hats, afghans. . .if it could be crocheted, she did. She always hummed while she crocheted. I still hear it every time I think of her.

Babci passed away nearly 6 years ago. Tabytha was 2 years old. She has no actual memories of Babci, but I have lots of pictures of them together. Tabytha was her first great grandchild.

So, out of sheer curiosity for what could be in the box sent from Aunt Georgette, I opened it. (I felt 'justified' opening the package because the label was addressed to "Tabytha, c/o Charlie and Jamie"). I read the note and then took out the afghan. Tears began to well up in my eyes.

My mind was flooded with memories of my Babci. I loved her so much. I got teary eyed for the short time Tabytha had to know her, but this afghan, crocheted with Babci's own hands will be a treasured possession for her.

So, after composing myself I took the afghan back to Tabytha's room to lay it out on her bed for her. I waited outside for the school bus to bring her home and told her she had a surprise waiting for her in her room. She perked up and wanted to know what it was. I told her it was something made by Babci many years ago, before she passed away and she wanted to hurry up and see what it was. I told her to go look on her bed. I followed her back to her room and heard her exclaim "AWE!!! It's SOOO beautiful!!!"

My heart melted.

Grandmothers Are Special

Tabytha brought home an assignment she'd done in school. It was titled "Grandmothers Are Special". While I was reading it I immediately knew which grandmother she was talking about. My mom. It was a fill in the blank paper. Here's what said (her answers are in italics). . .

"Grandmothers Are Special

Grandmothers are special in many ways. My grandmother treats me in special ways because she 'takes care of me when I am hurt' and 'talks to me on the phone.' Sometimes grandmothers have hobbies. My grandmother's hobbies are 'praising the Lord' and 'making breakfast'. My grandmother lives 'over the bridge'. When grandmothers get older they begin to change. Now that my grandmother is older, she 'has hair that changes color' and 'has a deeper voice'. My grandmother is very special because 'she loves me for who I am' and 'she loves me and I love her'. I love my grandmother."

I'm not sure about the 'deeper voice' thing, but all in all it was touching to read what makes my mom, Tabytha's grandmother, so special to her.

Paging Dr. Mom

All children dream of what they want to be when they grow up. I was no exception. I wanted to be an actress or a teacher. Neither of those career choices panned out. At least not in the way I expected.

As a mother I am indeed an actress and teacher in my own way. I'm also a head chef, personal shopper, chauffeur, accountant, house keeper, Laundromat, events coordinator and Doctor among a few others.

During my pregnancy with Tabytha I worked at a nursing home and received my CNA and GNA certificates (Certified Nursing Assistant and Geriatric Nursing Assistant). I took care of the elderly's basic everyday needs (bathing, feeding, dressing, changing. . .ect. . .). This helped prepare me for motherhood in it's own way. Most of motherhood is 'on the job training, though, no matter how much "prep" you do for it and advice you get from other mothers.

I recently received some tips on how to fend off the cold and flu viruses that are floating around. I reminded Tabytha the importance of washing her hands and coughing into the crook of her arm if she gets a tickle in her throat. I told her it was also important to use the Germex that's kept in the classroom as often as possible to keep the sick bugs away. She told me "I always use it. It says it's 99% so I use two squirts so I get the whole 100".

In the list of tips for fending off the cold/flu virus it said to swab the inside of your nostrils with warm salt water or peroxide and to gargle with warm salt water. So, I collected the peroxide, warm salt water, tissues and Q-tips. I had Tabytha gently blow her nose and then swabbed the inside of her nostrils with peroxide and had her gargle with the warm salt water. When she was finished I swabbed inside John's nose with peroxide. While I was doing that Tabytha asks "Mommy, when you were a little girl, were you a doctor?". I chuckled and replied "No sweetie. I was a little girl when I was a little girl".

Step By Step

For quite a while now Jessi's been standing up independantly and cruising along the furniture and bracing herself on the wall side stepping down the hallway (when she isn't speed crawling to catch up to big brother or big sister)

This past Friday I was in the living room with her and she stood up and took 3 small steps towards me. I was able to witness her very first steps (which is not something I can say for Tabytha or John). I scooped her up in excitement and smothered her in hugs and kisses and "Good Job Baby!!!!" and "That's my girl!!!". I set her down and grabbed the camcorder and tried to get her to take a few more steps so I could record it. After about 15 minutes she still wouldn't take anymore steps, so I put the camcorder away and called Charlie to tell him what his little angel just did.

He said it was great and he was a little sad he couldn't be there to have seen it for himself so I told him I'd push her down if she tried to take anymore steps before he got home from work. (Of course I wouldn't actually push her down, but it made him feel a little better, lol)

So, when Charlie got home Friday I sat down a few feet away from Jessi and called her over to me and she took 4 small steps towards me for Charlie to see. He was so excited!!! She's so close to being a walker and she's not a year old yet.

I'm certainly ready for her to start walking. I've heard from a couple friends of mine who have a couple kids of their own that the last one was always the hardest to watch grow up. Not the case for me. I'm honestly ready for it and look forward to Jessi growing into a toddler.