Babymoon

With 9 weeks to go until the baby comes, I'm reminded that these next two months will be the last months of "just the two of us" for me and Jason. Although we are looking forward to being parents and have been assured by others that it will be the most amazing experience of our lives, I am a bit sad that this time of our lives is almost over. Our first two years of marriage have gone by so fast! Are we ready to go from a two-some to a three-some?

I've read how some couples have one last "hurrah" before their baby is born and take a "babymoon" together. Usually, these babymoons involve an exotic trip to Cabo or Thailand or somewhere equally exotic. As appealing as a week at an all-inclusive resort sounds, our bank account is not equipped to fund such a trip. My second (okay, ninth) choice, a nice weekend trip to Chicago or Mackinac Island also turned out to be out of our price range right now. So, instead of spending our monthly grocery money on one weekend, we opted for a more economical day excursion to Lake Michigan. After all, the important thing was to spend time together.

Last weekend, we took the entire day Sunday and headed to South Haven, a beach town on Lake Michigan that we have heard a lot about but never been to. It has a nice harbor, lighthouse, cute shops... and that's about it. After a couple of hours we were bored - probably because we really didn't know all of our options of what to do. We decided to head down the coast 20 miles to St. Joseph, another beach town where we spent our one year anniversary. For some reason, Jason and I both love St. Joseph. It is less crowded and touristy than many other beach towns, and the pier and beach are absolutely beautiful. The sunsets are amazing too. We set up camp on the beach, took photos, and enjoyed a marvelous sunset together.

If anyone wants to sponsor a real babymoon, let me know! Otherwise, I'll be satisfied with Lake Michigan...

Shocking Discovery.

Maybe I should think about a career in health care...

For the past several months, I have been having "attacks" in the middle of the night of severe pain in my upper abdomen. I had one attack in July, one in August, and have had one a week for the last four weeks. The attacks always happen late at night or in the middle of the night and last between one and several hours. The pain feels like someone is trying to rip my insides out. It is also accompanied by nausea, fever, chills and back pain. After the second episode, I called my doctor's office, and the nurse told me it was heartburn and that I should take some antacids. I really didn't think that severe of pain could be "heartburn," but I decided not to press the issue. During my next attack, I took antacids, and they didn't help relieve the pain at all. I called the doctor's office again and the nurse still insisted it was heartburn. I had read about gall bladder symptoms online, and I they were similar to what I was experiencing. So, I requested that I have a test (ultrasound) done on my gall bladder. The nurse still did not think it was necessary. At my next prenatal appointment, I again asked to have a gallbladder test done. The nurse told me that they would "do the test to appease me, but she would be SHOCKED if that's what is was." My appointment lasted all but 5 minutes and I was practically pushed out of the door. I don't think she appreciated my questioning her expertise on heartburn during pregnancy.

This picture somewhat shows what I've experienced:




So, I had my ultrasound on Wednesday. In the words of the ultrasonagrapher, my gallbladder is "gallstone city" and "there is no question that is what is causing me problems." SHOCKING. I will have to have surgery to remove it after the baby is born.

I've been thinking of some passive-aggressive ways to express my frustration to the nurse, like giving her reading material about the symptoms of gallstones vs. heartburn. But, probably the best thing I can do at this point is sit down with my doctor, politely express my disatisfaction with the way the situation was handled, and make sure I recieve the care I need from this point on. (And maybe slip the nurse a webMD printout about gallstones too).

Blue Gate Farm

We spent this past weekend at my Papa's farm in Ohio. My 'Papa' is my grandpa - my mom's dad. He's 80 years old and is still running the farm he grew up on - the "Bule Gate Farm" The farm is located in Lowellville, Ohio, just outside of Youngstown, one mile from the Pennsylvania border. My great-great-great-great grandfather (or so) first acquired the 80 acres of land in 1802, before Ohio was even a state. Back then it was the 'wild west.' The house my Papa and Nana live in was constructed sometime in the mid-1800's, and a second house was built on the property later on, when the land was divided between 2 sons, each receiving 40 acres. My Papa still owns the 40 acres his father owned, and also purchased approximately 6 of the other 40, following a lot of litigation and heartache surrounding the death of his cousin who owned the land (but did not specify who would get the land in his will). So, my Papa's 45+ acres includes two houses, a barn, a pond, half a dozen other out buildings, and apple orchard, and corn fields. All of this he tries to keep up on his own. He is actually trying to renovate the second house so that his sister, my great aunt, can move in. Jason and I were glad to be able to go down to help for a weekend, but felt as though we should stay for several weeks and months instead. There is a lot of work to be done, and while my Papa is in good health, there is more work than any one man could possibly do.

We did find a lot of humor over the weekend with my Nana. She is in a wheel chair and has alzhiemer's, but also has a kind spirit and a great sense of humor. I know she doesn't mean to be funny, but she cracks us up! Jason and I were laughing half the way home as we retold Nana stories from the weekend. Like how she opened a gift from my brother - a movie - and asked if it was pornography. Or when the pastor told the congregation in church that he was going to show us a slide and she loudly blurts out "But, why?" And how she insisted she had never seen a red pepper in her life. It is in reality very sad that she often times cannot remember what she did an hour ago, and sometimes forgets her children and grandchildren's names. But, we are fortunate that in her sickness, she has retained her sweetness, she laughs often, and is truly loved.

While at the farm, there was a lot of apple-picking. My papa said it was his best crop in years. The apples were beautiful, and we made out like bandits, bringing a trunk full of them home with us. If anyone wants some amazing apples, he's selling them for only $10 a bushel, but you'll have to drive to Ohio to get them!