Or should I say WATER week.
I mean seriously. We hit record-breaking numbers for how much rain we got in one day. It's been nothing but rain for almost a week and it doesn't seem to be relenting anytime soon.
Last Thursday Ian and I drove to Virginia Beach for what was supposed to be a really fun weekend with old friends and new. Jim had a rugby game scheduled for Saturday and so Ian and I went up a little early to make the most of the long drive. We planned to stay with friends from college in their home.
Well, they had a pipe burst in their first floor. It destroyed all of their downstairs flooring. A home-owner's nightmare. Insurance put them up in a hotel with suites and so they invited us to stay with them in their home away from home. It ended up being amazing because the rooms were massive, we had our own bathroom, breakfast and dinner provided, and a pool to enjoy with our little boys.
I'm so grateful to Diana, Mike, and Luke for hosting us! It was so nice to catch up and spend some quality time together. The rain came harder and harder and soon the game was cancelled, meaning that Jim wouldn't be making the trek, as planned, with our friends. So, one day early and out the money for a hotel room, Ian and I headed back home.
Good thing he's a pretty amazing car-rider! We definitely had to stop a few times when he was desperate to get "UP!!", but hey... this 18 week pregnant mama was ready too!
We returned home to rain and an invitation to enjoy soups and homemade bread with our friends, who were all supposed to gather and enjoy time together at the beach. The next day we all decided to continue the party and head to brunch at the best place to go locally, The Palisades. YUM!
And then it kept raining.
And a skunk decided to walk into our back porch and spray. No joke. Ugh. Yuck!
Tuesday I noticed water coming in through the back door. The outside drain was completely stopped up. And I came inside to find that the inside drain was blocked as well. Wah. I carried bucket loads of water up the stairs, trying to limit the amount of water that would continue to come in. But it was futile, since the rain was pouring on top of me the entire time.
Landlords and their friend came with sand bags and plywood, but didn't unclog the drain. The inside drain miraculously started working. That night the water pump stopped working. No water was leaving the basement. The next day water was continuing to come inside and both the outside and the inside drain were stopped. Water entered EVERY room in the basement, including where Jim's new computer was sitting (fortunately he noticed in time to get everything up, except for a few key textbooks!).
The landlords' friend returned and fixed the water pump and got the inside drain working again. Water emptied for most of the day yesterday and now it's fairly dry. Nothing important got wet, but there's work to do.
More rain is expected over the next few days. We hope all of our issues have been handled and that we're prepared for the next 6 inches that are expected.
I mean seriously. We hit record-breaking numbers for how much rain we got in one day. It's been nothing but rain for almost a week and it doesn't seem to be relenting anytime soon.
Last Thursday Ian and I drove to Virginia Beach for what was supposed to be a really fun weekend with old friends and new. Jim had a rugby game scheduled for Saturday and so Ian and I went up a little early to make the most of the long drive. We planned to stay with friends from college in their home.
Well, they had a pipe burst in their first floor. It destroyed all of their downstairs flooring. A home-owner's nightmare. Insurance put them up in a hotel with suites and so they invited us to stay with them in their home away from home. It ended up being amazing because the rooms were massive, we had our own bathroom, breakfast and dinner provided, and a pool to enjoy with our little boys.
I'm so grateful to Diana, Mike, and Luke for hosting us! It was so nice to catch up and spend some quality time together. The rain came harder and harder and soon the game was cancelled, meaning that Jim wouldn't be making the trek, as planned, with our friends. So, one day early and out the money for a hotel room, Ian and I headed back home.
Good thing he's a pretty amazing car-rider! We definitely had to stop a few times when he was desperate to get "UP!!", but hey... this 18 week pregnant mama was ready too!
We returned home to rain and an invitation to enjoy soups and homemade bread with our friends, who were all supposed to gather and enjoy time together at the beach. The next day we all decided to continue the party and head to brunch at the best place to go locally, The Palisades. YUM!
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
(saving the good for last..._)
And then it kept raining.
And a skunk decided to walk into our back porch and spray. No joke. Ugh. Yuck!
Tuesday I noticed water coming in through the back door. The outside drain was completely stopped up. And I came inside to find that the inside drain was blocked as well. Wah. I carried bucket loads of water up the stairs, trying to limit the amount of water that would continue to come in. But it was futile, since the rain was pouring on top of me the entire time.
Landlords and their friend came with sand bags and plywood, but didn't unclog the drain. The inside drain miraculously started working. That night the water pump stopped working. No water was leaving the basement. The next day water was continuing to come inside and both the outside and the inside drain were stopped. Water entered EVERY room in the basement, including where Jim's new computer was sitting (fortunately he noticed in time to get everything up, except for a few key textbooks!).
The landlords' friend returned and fixed the water pump and got the inside drain working again. Water emptied for most of the day yesterday and now it's fairly dry. Nothing important got wet, but there's work to do.
More rain is expected over the next few days. We hope all of our issues have been handled and that we're prepared for the next 6 inches that are expected.
___________________________________________________________________________
Want to hear the good?
THE (REALLY) GOOD!!!!
Yesterday, after the issues in the basement were mostly resolved. Ian and I packed into the car and headed to the OB's office for our anatomy ultrasound!!! Jim's in the middle of a crazy busy rotation and so my expectations were incredibly low as to his ability to come. He'd told me that he would try, but I seriously set my expectations so low that I wouldn't consider him actually able to come until I saw him physically standing before me.
Well, who was there to greet us but "PAPA!!!" Ian screamed it with such delight and joy as we pulled into the parking spot and Jim exited the building. What a gift!!!
As we sat in the waiting room, Jim smelled skunk wafting toward him a few times. It turns out that my shoes had the slight aroma of skunk (Tips for cleaning leather Birkenstock shoes?). Ah well.
Soon we were called back by an incredibly kind and sweet ultrasound tech. My expectations were again VERY low because of how curt and rude the tech was when I was seeing Ian's 20 week ultrasound. This woman was absolutely incredible!
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| Ian's profile at 20 weeks |
She literally talked us through every.single.thing we were seeing. Last time I had gotten snipped at (he removed the wand and told me he was looking for the important things and five fingers aren't important... Yea. It was rough!) for asking if we could see all five fingers and this time, without asking, she showed me each one on both hands. She showed us both bones in every limb. I mean the woman was absolutely amazing.
Even the way she spoke to the baby was so sweet, calling him/her "Little One" and complimenting the baby on how well it was doing. It was very sweet.
More sweet than that was the interaction between Jim and Ian, sitting in chairs nearby. Ian still calls the baby "Moosey" every time he sees a picture of him/her. They chatted about Moosey's different parts and then Ian would find those parts on himself and on Jim. Ian said multiple times "Moosey's happy." How adorable is that?
It was special to share this time with Jim and Ian. Last time I was by myself and this time our whole family was together, celebrating the newest member of our family.
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| Moosey/Baby B #2 |
We still don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl. We definitely don't want to know! Jim and I don't think that the ultrasound tech even showed the anatomy, but perhaps she got a quick glimpse that we didn't know about.
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| 19 weeks on the LEFT, 8 week on the RIGHT |
We have both names chosen and are excited at the prospect of either sex! We actually have two boy names that we are waffling between, but one that I'm pretty sure is the one, and one girl name. That's all you really need, right? Ha.
The profile looks similar to Ian's. We'll see what he or she really looks like in about 21 weeks!!!
"Moosey," sorry but I think this is your nickname in the womb (!), is a very active baby. Surprise, surprise! In the last week or so I've really felt his/her presence. I started feeling movement around 16 weeks, but now they movements are getting stronger and stronger. Movement can definitely be felt on the outside, now. A few times the baby hit the wand yesterday, which always made me smile.
He/she really likes to have their hands up by their face or in their mouth. It's amazing to be able to see things like that so early!!! In this top picture you can see that his/her mouth is open and in the last picture you can see the hand up by his/her face. The middle picture is the one that shows his/her profile so well, really showing the similarity to Ian's profile.
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| 19 Weeks |
Directly after the ultrasound, I had an appointment with Dr. Champine, our doctor. She said that the baby was completely healthy with a normal heartbeat. She said that the only thing that the tech marked down in concern was that the placenta is located 2.5 inches from my cervix. Dr. Champine is not concerned about this at all because the placenta normally moves up the side of the uterus over the course of the pregnancy and it's still pretty early, at 19 weeks.
She said that we'll recheck with an ultrasound at 28 weeks just to be sure, but she has no concerns. If the placenta is too close to or over the cervix then it means that I would have to have a c-section due to placenta previa. She seemed completely certain and unconcerned that it won't be near my cervix when we check again. Jim, too, was unconcerned when I told him. So, we'll see. I trust them!
Ian and I listened to Moosey's heartbeat and it was 143 beats per minute, which is exactly where Ian's fell every time. I remember seeing 143 often.
The sun was out yesterday afternoon, finally, and we all certainly felt sunny in our hearts, getting to see and hear our sweet baby. It always makes the pregnancy so much more real, getting to learn more about them and getting to cherish them visually for minutes on end.
WHATTA WEEK this was!
Seriously.
I'm so, so grateful that we were able to be together for the goodness that happened this week. To pause and enjoy the now... because while the porch (and my shoes) might smell like skunk and the basement might feel slightly soggy and crazy right now, we have a miracle growing within our midst. A second miracle to marvel at within my womb. This new baby is working its way physically, emotionally, and spiritually into our lives and into our hearts.
We cannot wait for these siblings to meet face to face, quarrel, laugh, hug, and grow up and old together. And we cannot wait to enjoy our front row seats while we have them.
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