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Somebody's Thirrrr-ty...

Yesterday Eva and I made a cake (angel food, because it’s fat free and because I love it). Well…I made a cake. Eva was there for company and also because someone needed to play with the flour.

This is a special cake. It’s a birthday cake. For me. Because today's my birthday. And I’m 30. I’m going to spend my day trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I’ve been in this world for 30 years. I emailed my Grampa the other day and I told him that 30 suddenly sounds very young to me. Go figure. Perspective’s a funny thing, isn’t it?

Go have fun on my behalf today. And under no circumstances are you to eat Jell-o OR rice cakes.

Blowing Bubbles

I've always liked the change of seasons. Doesn't matter which one it is, people just seem a little happier and a little friendlier at the start of a new season. Maybe it's the promise of change or the anticipation of all the fun things each season brings with it. No matter what the cause, there just always seems to be an excitement in the air when the seasons change.

But I never expected how magical it would be to experience a new season with a kid. As Spring is settling in here and Eva is becoming more aware of her world, I'm just beginning to fully realize all the new things she has yet to discover. And Mike and I get to be the ones to show them to her. How cool is that?

Yesterday, Eva and I sat outside on a blanket and blew bubbles. Of course, she loved it. She was completely mesmerized, and we sat there for probably 20 minutes just blowing bubbles. (That's a long time for a 9-month-old) And you know? For all the things I get to show Eva and all the stuff I get to teach her, she's teaching me something too. She's helping me see that it's important to slow down and really look at things. That sometimes I need to forget about all the things I "should be doing" and just sit back and blow some bubbles.

So Pink!

Man, with the whole gallbladder debacle last week, I'm really off my game here. I've lost a week, and now I'm scrambling around trying to get back on track. (Beginning with two week's worth of laundry. Fun.)

That weekend was such a blur for me, and I'm just now realizing I never filled you guys in on Eva's fun with her Grandma and Grandpa. So I'll hit the highlights...they went for some walks, they had some alone time while Mike and I were at the doctor, they read lots of books, they had lots of giggles, Eva showed off her new skills, and, most importantly...

Grandma and Grandpa brought Eva some new, very bright, very pink sandals! Bring on the summer.

 

Short Sleeves!

Is it as nice where you are as it is here? The windows are open, a breeze is blowing, things are growing out in our yard. Aaah. Spring is here, folks!

Eva and I washed all of our bedding and put it out on the line to dry in the sun. Now we're heading out for a walk. What a perfect day. Enjoy yours!

An End to the Drama

Wow, do I feel better! Mike and I met with a surgeon yesterday. Dr. Beckman. Nice guy. The first thing he told me was that I do have gallstones, and that there are a lot of ways to treat them, but only one way that will work. He said "I could try giving you a bologna sandwich, but that's not going to get rid of the gall stones."

Yeah. My surgeon's got a sense of humor. And that did wonders to help Mike and I relax after being jerked all over the place this week.

So basically what happened is this: I have some small gallstones that probably aren't going to stay in my gallbladder, which is what happened last Friday. One of those little guys escaped and blocked a bunch of stuff it wasn't supposed to and gave me a run for my money in the pain management department.

But! I am a tough cookie. I fought back and passed that stone (sorry if that's gross), and that's why I started feeling so much better on Tuesday. Which means that I can slowly begin to add fat back into my diet (yay) and eat things other than Jell-o and rice cakes.

I do have to have surgery, though. He thinks I should have my gallbladder removed because if the stones are left in there they will almost certainly cause me pain again sometime. When I heard that (with the memory of so. much. pain. fresh in my mind) I said "Yes. Please remove my gallbladder. I won't be needing it."

It's an out-patient surgery, and the kind that won't leave a big scar, so things should go very smoothly. My surgery is scheduled for April 2nd, so now I just have to lay low for a week and try not to make the stones angry.

Stupid gallbladder. Why do they give you one if you don't really need it, and all it does is cause trouble? Have a great weekend, everyone! Eat some pizza or something for me, ok?

I Love Paula

Because my initial visit to the doctor for this whole gallstong thingy was on a Saturday, I had to go to Urgent Care. And Urgent Care had (supposedly) been communicating with the clinic I got my ultrasound at yesterday. Except apparently there's a giant, gaping, chasm between the two buildings, making communication of any sort extremely iffy. And no one seemed to want to take control of my case, so I have spent the week in a kind of limbo, wondering whether I had something major to worry about or not.

But yesterday, Mike finally got someone on the phone who could tell us what the hell was going on. Her name is Paula. She's a nurse. And I think I'll name my next child after her.

After my ultrasound yesterday, we were told to go home and wait for a phone call. So we did. When we hadn't heard anything by 4:30, I asked Mike to try to find someone to talk to us and give us some answers. Enter Paula. My new favorite person. After apoligizing profusely for all the confusion (which she even admitted was on their end AND offered to send us a service complaint report for it), she explained A LOT.

Evidently, my appointment for surgery today is actually an appointment to TALK with the surgeon about what's going on with me. And the phone call we were told to wait for yesterday? It never would have arrived because I didn't need a phone call since I had an appointment today. Makes sense, right? Thank you Paula!

Also, she was the first person to tell me that at this point my situation wasn't an emergency, and the only reason they told me to go to the emergency room if I felt lots of pain again was because it was Saturday and the clinic was closed.

Huh. THAT would have been good to know.

She said I was doing and eating the right things. She said she had been through it herself and suggested a few more things I might try eating. And then, and this is my favorite part, do you know what that Paula said?

She said "For some women, the pain involved with gallstones can be worse than labor pains."

And that alone, just having a medical-type person acknowledge the fact that I really, really, REALLY did hurt, that erased (almost) all of my frustration with the whole deal.

 

Still Waiting (and Really, Really Hungry)

Well, I had an ultrasound today. A 45-minute ultrasound which so far has told us exactly nothing. I'm hoping to know something by this afternoon because of that whole "surgery scheduled for tomorrow" thing. I'd hate to go have surgery and then find out I didn't need it, you know?

So I'm still here, slurping Jell-o and crunching rice cakes. I'll let you know when I know more. Until then, here's a cute picture of Eva for you all:

Ho Hum

Ok. The nurse called yesterday and said she scheduled me for an ultrasound on Wednesday morning. And then I have a tentative appointment for surgery on Thursday.

Sigh.

That's a long, long, LOOOONG way away when you are subsisting mainly on Jell-o and water. I'm getting really frustrated because I don't usually get sick. Like ever. I've been pretty lucky that way. So when I do get sick I don't handle it well. I want to be up and taking care of things and playing with Eva, but I've got so little energy that I'm pretty much couch-bound.

Mike has been wonderful. He's been working from home so he can be here to help with Eva (and make me Jell-o). I'm so lucky!

I'm afraid I don't have much else to tell you today (except that red Jell-o is infinitely better than green Jell-o), but I'll let you know what we find out from the ultrasound tomorrow.

HA!

Did I say I thought I might have a beer on Saturday when Mike and I went out? Well ha. Double ha. The universe had other plans. Here’s what happened instead:

On Friday afternoon I suddenly got a huge stomachache. Like huge-huge. Luckily Eva was taking a nap at the time, because when Mike got home from work he found me curled into the fetal position in bed trying not to cry. Or scream. Or puke. I spent the evening thinking I had food poisoning or a flu bug or something along those lines. And I went to bed that night begging Mike to get me an epidural. I truly felt like I was in labor all over again. (Except there were no blessed moments of relief between contractions. Just a constant aching. So much aching.)

Still with me?

The next day I felt considerably better, but I was afraid to eat much of anything. I had a small piece of toast and started to feel achy again. By that time, my parents were in town (luckily), so they watched Eva while Mike took me to the doctor. I gave blood. I peed in a cup. I got x-rayed. I waited in a total of three separate waiting rooms. All to find out that I probably have gall stones.

I know. What the hell, right? Who gets gall stones?

So for the rest of the weekend I ate mostly Jell-o (and eventually graduated to plain rice and canned fruit.) I had to stay away from any fat in food, because that’s apparently what triggers your gall bladder into action. (And I did a lot of laying on the couch--thank you Grandma and Grandpa! So glad you were here.) Next, I have to have an ultrasound to see what’s up and whether or not I have gall stones—and then most likely I'll have surgery to get those guys out of there.

So yeah. I didn’t make it out on Saturday night. A beer. Ha.

Possibly the Cutest Thing She's Ever Done

Will you look what Eva's taught herself now?

She likes it when you do it back to her, so remember that the next time you see her. Do the lips and you're totally in with my kid.

Have a great weekend everyone! Eva will be kickin' it with Grandma and Grandpa while Mama and Daddy hit the town Saturday night. I may even have a beer. Woo.