Your Own Best Advocate

We had the busiest day ever.  I don't care to recap it, except to tell you that I got my van back.  Kinda.  They did NOT replace the hood (like the insurance paid for) or even repaint it! (like the insurance paid for.  A full $4800+).  Cough, cough.  I complained, and they are going to repaint it one day next week.  I'd already turned in my rental car, and we had baseball and boy scouts to skidaddle to!

..and I saw my obgyn today, and I'm still pregnant (it's a tiny bean with a blip-blipping heart!). : ) We did see a heartbeat (yes, I'm thankful!), and it was about four days behind where it should be, so they moved my due date, and he said maybe I ovulated late.  (since I certainly wasn't watching!)

The other thing.  I asked him to check my progesterone again even though it was fine last time.  I do a lot (too much..) internet-intelligence-building (heehee), and I know that progesterone should increase slowly through your pregnancy, topping out at least at 40-180 (see here, here, and here).  My doctor reassured me that I was over 20, and not to worry.  I pressed.  He said if it'd make me feel better, he'd draw up the lab request..and I did insist.  I even wondered on the way to the lab (for a voluntary blood draw) if I was CrAzY.

Now, I know I'm totally sane.  My progesterone has dropped to 17.6.  They called this afternoon and put me on prometrium (synthetic progesterone).  I feel better, I just hope it's enough and soon enough.  I'm just thankful for my experience, and that I pushed as my own advocate.  I've slowly learned that no one can/will speak up for you like you can.  No one else has the investment, motivation, or possibility of loss.  (same goes for your child's best advocate: no one is as invested as you in them.)

And..he said he'd see me every week till I could feel the baby move. (Can you see me smiling?)  He'll do ultrasounds every week until we can get the heartbeat on Doppler, then keep it up till movement, and we'll do testing around 12 weeks to check on everything.  I am also requesting progesterone testing again next week (not surprised?) and hematocrit and hemoglobin too.  Can't be too careful.  And now?  I have to advocate for my child too.

Is there anything else to test?  I've already done anti-phospholipid syndrome and NK (natural killer) cell levels.  Hmm..more research is calling my name. ; )  What did we ever do before Google?  Encyclopedias were so out-of-date by the time they were printed.  (and remember those little CD's of Encyclopedia Britannica that came with your PC back in the 1990's?  haha!  that's even funny now.)

I'm off to medicate and gestate.  Thank you for your prayers...and I might need them a little bit longer. : )  Hugs!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Sweet, sweet day..a much better birthday than the past three. ; )

Let's see..last year Ches was sick, and I cleaned the garage on my birthday after just having had uterine surgery.  Two years ago, I had just miscarried, and it was awful.  Three years ago, my grandmother's funeral was planned for MY birthday.  It was a long, hard day.  It was about time I had a restful, calm day.

I woke up to three very happy children!  It is so sweet that they wanted to spoil me today.  They are precious.  Here was the table (our Birthday Central):

there was a small crowd of fluffy sweetness and they were holding up a sign.

It says, "Happy Birth Day!" (3 sections!)

and?  There was a "cake":

A triple-layer cake! ; ) (and yes! that IS a Brighton bag back there!) heehee

So, we sat in the floor, and opened presents, cards, and coupon books (for hugs and massages and help cleaning and even laundry!).  They went out with their daddy and bought some thoughtful things: a glass vase with an "H" etched in it, a rhinestoned stapler, tape holder, and pen cup, and some jewelry!  They were thinking of me. ; )  I'm buying a Silhouette SD machine online, but I'm having trouble deciding and committing.  I want the adhesive acrylic to go with it too-and I have to make a decision about colors and length of acrylic rolls...DeCiSiOnS!

Anyway, we had lunch and dinner out, enjoyed a fab-u-lous cake from Rick's Bakery!  (and my daughter somehow thought it needed embellishing?  She added an "M" and a heart.  In red.

We seriously didn't get a picture of it pre-M, or even out of the box.  But it was DELISH! : )

And in the afternoon, everyone settled in and we all did our own thing...and I made baby shower invitations. ; )  I know, but it was fun!

I started with blue baby footprint paper, added a cute poem about tiny baby feet, printed on vellum, then tied them with sheer baby blue ribbon:

Ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes, with love and grace the Sloat family grows..   God bless them!

And..I hesitate to tell you.  But I've known a couple weeks, and it's all that's on my mind right now.  I didn't make a birthday wish, and didn't blow out candles.  I got a happy wish-early.  We had totally stopped trying and thinking about it..but I'm pregnant.  My lab tests week before last were very good (772 and 1637, with progesterone at 21.7), and I have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday morning.

I'm totally fine, and now that I've passed my first hurdle (six weeks), my next one is twelve weeks.  Only God knows the plan He has for me, and He'll follow it through to completion, and I'm only here for the ride.  

I know how I feel when I tell no one and miscarry.  I know how I feel when too many people know, and I miscarry.  The fact is I have too much experience at this.  But, I'm willing to take my chances.  I just feel different.  And if it doesn't go well..Well, I may need to talk about it. : )

Thankful for a day of joy with my three sweet kids and my thoughtful husband-and ready for what God has planned for the next year of my life.  : )
Hope you had a great day too!

Sugar Free Rewards!

Sweet, sweet day. (But sugar-free!) ; )

I had a meeting yesterday with Mary Claire's grade level teachers about her diabetes and what to watch for, i.e. lows, highs, and the symptoms.  I cried (not surprised?) when we talked about the reality of dying faster from lows than highs, pulled it together again, and we talked about management of lows and highs, field trips, and treats.

Her sweet teacher gives out rewards to the kids, and she'd bought special "sugar-free" candy for Mary Claire...except that it was 17 grams of sugar alcohol!  That stuff is brutal on a child!  You still count half the carbs, but you have to set a dual-wave bolus because it'll come back later to bite you...and it causes gas and diarrhea! : (  So, I didn't tell her that exactly, just that there really are sugar-free foods low in carbs that don't cause tummy pain. ; )

She asked me to make a list, and I had to go overboard...and make her a gift basket! (well, for my daughter...)  I was looking for a clear paint bucket..but our local stores have quit selling them!  But a trip to Target later-and I found something close enough.  It was in the bath section (love clear!), and it was the perfect size.  I'd been debating between getting a basket and monogramming the liner or just making a ribbon handle with stamped words...decisions, decisions. ; )

I think the key is lots of colors all jumbled together.  And no black or brown, unless you do a black/red or brown/blue type scheme.  ..hey, that'd be great for a team gift! : )

I decided to decorate the handle with jillions of ribbons! (my favorite!) Then I added all the sugar-free stuff I bought: Extra key lime pie and strawberry shortcake SF gum, Trident watermelon gum, tic tacs, Extra orange and mint chocolate chip gum (wonderful, if you've never tried it!! But they were sold out of 3-packs!  And..these new Icebreakers in Bubble Breeze (not guaranteed to give you date-worthy breath..unless your date is 15), and more fruity tic-tacs.  Just lots of little treats that are 2 grams of carbs or under...requiring NO insulin! : )   Now, that's a treat!

and it needed a cute tag!  This is from a set I got from Stampin' Up!  I printed the writing on cardstock, then stamped over it (yes, I made three to get it off the bird's head!), then used the shaped punch and layered it.  And it is clipped with the most darling teensy clothespin! : )

And..Mary Claire forgot to take it to school this morning. : (  So, I took it when I went to check her out to take her to the orthodontist to....get her braces off!!

This is how she smiled right after she got her braces on, so no big surprise.

After some coaxing...I got this! : )  Not all her teeth, but shiny, straight, white teeth! (and a flashy new pink/black retainer she's very proud of...and a new sound: constant sucking of spit.)  Joy!

All in all, a good day.  There's so much more, but I never have time!  We had baseball and teeball practice, shared a van for both (at the same time!!), and enjoyed some Sonic, and got supplies for baby shower invitations.  I'm sure you'll see them soon. ; )  I also have a contest coming up for some fun software, and...I'll leave you with this.  Have you always wondered how Barbie's family fits together?  Here is what I found on my fridge:

A graphical chart of Barbie's sisters, with ages.  Kelly, 6   Stacy, 10   Skipper, 13   and Barbie, 20  How did she figure ages?  I'm guessing by body type?  At least she realizes Barbie isn't 13!! : )  (Oh, and they are doing gymnastics.  The first two are doing jumps touching their toes, SKipper is on a balance beam, and Barbie is um..dancing?  cheering for them?  shaking her hips?)

Hollister, right outside Branson

Let's see..where did I leave off?  I had an amazing time in Branson, spent a day at the outlets, then a day down on the Landing. : )  Excellent girl-bonding time!  We adopted some friends a few years ago, and they live in Branson.  So..whenever we are there, we call them up and spend some time together!  We took Dina to lunch and did some shopping at a little purse/wallet/watch/jewelry boutique next door.  (It was overwhelming...even to me!)  It was full of stuff wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling!  And the colors..turquoise, orange, red, black and white, purple, leopard, and tons of silver.  A real girly-girl place...and they were getting ready for Christmas!  Ornaments and MORE color.

Down at the Landing we went to a bunch of stores that aren't at the Outlets (some of them are though, strangely enough).  And I checked out another "cool" store, at Dina's request.  Her son shops there, so she's in-the-know!  It was Hollister (please ignore the kissing couple on the website).  I know a million people already shop there, but I'd never been in.  I thought it was just a man's store, or for teens.  After all, the shopping bags look like Abercrombie, all chesty guys with low pants!  How on Earth could that be for ME?

But, aloha!! It was for me. ; )  It was first of all, Dark.  Second, it was 9 or 12 little rooms..trying to remember.  The employees (guys leaning on tables with no name tags looking "cool") couldn't leave their Rooms.  (hahaha!)  So, when I wanted to try a shirt that was on a mannequin, first he told me to check the back room (Sale).  Then, when nothing resembling the shirt I wanted was back there, I went back to His Room.  He yelled to the next room (over the super-loud music!) to ask someone else (Manager, maybe?) if he knew where a shirt was.  Let me tell you, it was a creamy white shirt with some ruffles and buttons.  They had a table full of about 8 designs of creamy white shirts.

Mangager Man came, and they looked all over.  (kinda funny that they work there, and don't know where stuff is!  Maybe it's because they aren't actually looking at the stuff in Other Rooms?  Or they are too busy looking cool to actually work?)  (And I have to tell you..there are two young guys parked in the big leather chairs in the entryway.  They.  Never.  Moved.  There when we went in, there when we came out.  Are they paid employees too?)

So..back to my shirt.  I finally found it..Myself!  (Yes, they are only paid to look like they are hanging out there.)  It was cute, and I found some shorts to go with it.  BUT you can't take accessories into the dressing area.  I had to come out, try on the belt (Braided is Back, BTW!!  Do you remember it from the late 80's, early 90's?  I had a homecoming date wear the matching braided Polo belt and braided suspenders in the Fall of 1988!)  Crazy!  Anyway, I took it off, went and tried another pair of shorts, and retried on the belt.  Weird rules.

Then.  The checkout.  We had gotten in a hurry since Angie's husband called to say that her dog had fallen down the stairs, and he might have broken his hip!  She had to get home fast (it was already 7pm!)  We found a Manager Man, and he came to ring us up.  I loved the smell in there so much...I bought the perfume at the counter.  It's very light, smells store-y, and very fresh.  Not musky, not too floral, but perfect.  I also got the little old-fashioned squeezy ball that mixes the perfume with air as it comes out.  It even wheezes a little. ; )  Very Audrey Hepburn.

I have to thank my friend, Leigh, for keeping me in the game.  I've had some really Off days lately.  Mary Claire is now in the school choir, and has to be at school at 7:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Ethan has to be in Rogers by 7:55am (25 minutes north of here), and my van is getting the hail damage repaired, so we are sharing a van till Friday.  It means everyone leaves at the same time, so we are getting up really early!  We've also had boy and girl scouts, and the boys' baseball/t-ball teams are just starting up.  Overwhelmed yet?  Add to that the JDRF Walk (and tshirts!), planning a baby shower, I'm teaching PRE this year (helping my friend Tiffany with the First Communion class!), getting ready for our school's Husky Hoedown, and finish our Bible study's book group book (Come Be My Light, by Mother Teresa..she's SO humble, and begging to help the poor, and they won't let her yet-it's slow, but good reading)..none of it is too big, but all together = A Lot!  Trying to Keep Calm and Carry On.

And Mary Claire gets her braces off Thursday! and we see our endocrinologist on Friday! : )  Pray for a great a1c! : )

I have some other stuff brewing...but it's not time to talk about it yet. : )  We'll get there, slowly but surely.  God is good, and He hears my heart.  He knows I'm trying to take it day-by-day, and I'll make it.  I just have to keep my expectations lower (like Homer Simpson) so I can reach them easier ; ) haha!  ..I'm a virgo, it'll never happen.  Oh!  And my birthday is coming up, and it's a dilemma!  I have about 4 choices of what to do over Labor Day weekend, and do I:
a.) grow up and do what they want me to do on my day/weekend?
or
b.) enjoy my day and do what I want to do?

Growing up sux.
And to answer your question: Hollister is a real city just south of Branson, in Missouri!  So, I always thought it was stuff from Missouri, didn't know it was a Store. ; )
And to answer your other question: 38.


Sending you hugs!  (and S.W.A.K. mail!)  Hoping to get caught up on thank you notes today!! : )