Summer

I'm blogging from my phone! So glad I figured this out!

Last night Janie Ann had her cousin spend the night with her, according to them they are best friend cousins!

Rough beginning to summer...

I think I'm ready to tell my story.... and please- no sympathy comments. I truly am doing much better than I ever expected. I am mainly writing this as documentation for myself...

This story begins on Thursday afternoon, May 10, 2012. I had been very nauseated, moody, emotional, etc. any symptom of being pregnant you can think of...so on our way home from Auburn we stopped at the store and purchased a pregnancy test. Let me stop here to say, we were not trying to get pregnant, yet. We got home and I took one....then another...and finally the third one- all positive. We were so excited! Nervous, but excited! My first thought was, "Janie Ann is not going to be my baby anymore, but she will be an amazing big sister!" I call the doctors office the next day to set up an appointment to confirm what we already knew- and since I am diabetic I go to the doctor more than most. I talked with Dr. Litsey's nurse and she laughed at me when I told her overall we had taken 5 test (ok, so we went and purchased 2 more!). She said you are most definitely pregnant. That was the Friday before Mother's day, so we decided that we would tell everyone on Mother's day- we tell early because my diabetes and the early weeks of pregnancy do not go well together- I would randomly drop extremely low and while family would recognize it once it happened- if they knew we were expecting they watch me a little closer! Anyways- we celebrated and everyone was so excited!

Well...Wednesday, May 16th our world was crushed with the beginning of the hardest 3 weeks of my life. I started bleeding. Of course I immediately call my mother and then my sister-in-law, both nurses, who tell me to take it easy- this is a normal side effect of pregnancy, sometimes. Especially since I wasn't cramping or anything at all. I needed to lay on my side, drink lots of water and stay hydrated and I was told to call the on-call doctor to let them know. So, I called and Dr. Golden was on-call. He again reassured me that this was common and not to stress- the first step would be to have my hCG Levels checked- hCG is a hormone that your body  produces once you become pregnant. The range of the numbers to prove you are pregnant are crazy- during week 5 they should be between 5 and 5,000! So, we had to have that checked on Thursday and then come back on Monday to have them checked again to have numbers compared. My first hCG level was 251, then we had to wait ALL.WEEKEND.LONG! Needless to say, Seth would not allow me to do anything at all that weekend. I have never been so tired of taking naps! :) He truly went above and beyond to keep me rested, fed and hydrated- along with keeping our very active toddler occupied. The weekend finally came to an end and it was time to face the doctor's office, again. Now, mind you-- this was the last week of the school year and for my school it was time for finals and 1/2 days! I went first thing Monday morning, with the approval of my principal to return to work late on Monday after my lab appointment. So, I went and had my blood drawn and then went to school to wait....and wait...and wait... I finally received a phone call from Dr. Litsey that afternoon and he told me that my numbers had increased but only to 346- my numbers had not doubled. Which could mean a number of things, but most definitely meant that this was not a viable pregnancy. He was very through in explaining the different situations and told me to come back in about a week to have my numbers checked again, but to definitely call if I began having any cramps or abdominal pain because that most definitely meant that it was a tubal pregnancy and it could cause my tube to rupture, which could cause problems if not fixed quickly. So, of course the tears came-- along with having to tell all the family about what we were going through (although most of them already knew).  It was an extremely hard night thinking about what I could have done differently to prevent this from happening- researching on google (HUGE MISTAKE!). Of course, I know there is nothing that I could have done differently to prevent this from happening and this was in God's plan- while I might not understand it right now, there was a reason that this was not meant to be and this is something that I have to constantly remind myself of- especially when I see on facebook all of my friends who are currently expecting/having babies. The next day I'm giving a biology exam and I start to cramp up extremely bad- to the point of tears. I know the group of boys that I was reading the exam to were extremely confused as to why I was crying about the tundra! I called the doctor and his nurse called me back and told me to be at the office that afternoon at 2:30 for an ultrasound to try to identify where this pregnancy was located and to ensure that my tube had no ruptured. Since this was the last day of school- my school released at noon, but Seth's class was celebrating at the swimming pool! Thankfully he has a very understanding administration and a great team of teachers that he works with that allowed him to leave to be with me during the ultrasound. So, we arrived at the doctor's office and waited for our name to be called. I can't remember the US Tech's name, but she was great with us when I was pregnant with Janie Ann and she was also great this time. She asked questions and then explained everything that she saw in the US. I had a mass of red blood cells in the left tube- meaning I had an ectopic pregnancy. She was so sweet when I broke down in tears in her office. She called Dr. Litsey to see what the next step would be, which was surgery, and because I was crying she gave me a hug and found Seth and I a seat that was not in the waiting room- away from everyone so people wouldn't look at us/talk. (I'm crying as I type this- she truly was great at that time.) Dr. Litsey then called Amy- the lady who we went to discuss the surgery with- he requested to speak to me and explained that while he would love to be able to do the surgery and be with me at this time, he was getting ready to leave the country on vacation and was leaving shortly. He asked if his partner, Dr. Marino, could do the procedure for me and that was fine with me- Dr. Marino actually helped to deliver Janie Ann. He answered all of my questions and we were prepared to be at the hospital at 4:30 for surgery. 

Of course, we called everyone and while I did desperately want my mother to be there, but I understood it was not possible. When we were in pre-op talking to the doctor my Aunt showed up- I couldn't believe it, but it made me feel so much better because she didn't want Seth and I to be there alone. (Even though we told everyone not to worry about coming) Dr. Marino came in and talked to Seth and I about the surgery and then another option, methotrexate, which is used during chemotherapy to help your body stop reproducing new red blood cells. With the shot it was possible that I would be very nauseated, tired, headaches, and the big kicker was- it might not work and we might end up in surgery anyways. Of course, Seth and I talked about it and Seth went and called Sheena and Dr. Marino was wonderful and talked to Sheena and explained why he thought it was the best option. (And being the great SIL that she is- she asked about our upcoming beach trip which we were not able to go on. :() Sheena thought it would be the best option, along with my Aunt and Seth. So, we chose to have the shot and not undergo surgery. I had to have a lot of blood drawn to check different levels and then I also had to have the rH Factor shot because Seth and i have opposite something (dealing with blood...not positive what exactly it does, but I know that I had to get it when I was pregnant with Janie Ann, too). We were finally able to leave the hospital that night at 9:30ish. Thankfully everyone was going to Clark's pre-school graduation so Janie Ann didn't even realize we were missing because she was with her best friends! A huge thank you to Memaw, Grandpa and everyone else that night that kept Janie Ann for us and I would like to apologize to my niece because we were not able to make it that night- I know she will never remember or even realized we weren't there, but I cried and cried because we had to miss it. With the shot I had to go back to the office for blood work on the following Tuesday to ensure that my hCG levels were decreasing- and I had to continue to return every week until the levels were at zero. The first week following the shot, my levels were back down to 251, the next week they were down to 130, the next week they were down to 98- this past week I was certain they would be at 0, but they were at 37- so I have to return on Tuesday for more lab work. Praying that they will be at zero and this phase will be done. Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

With the chemo-type drug it is recommended that you wait 3 months from the shot before you attempt to get pregnant again...I am assuming it is because of all the drugs and the unknowns of what they do to the body. It has been extremely hard to look on Facebook and hear friends talk about finding out they are expecting or seeing pregnant women in the doctors office while I wait to have my blood drawn knowing that I am not longer pregnant. It sucks, but I know that there was a reason this happened and while I might not understand it now- I will one day. I have repeatedly had to tell myself, "God will not give you more than you can handle"   

Now that this is off my chest- hopefully I can update the blog some more and it be about fun summer activities that we are doing! And more pictures my blog has been picture-less here lately, and that is no fun!! 

Summer is here!

YIPEE!!! Can you hear me screaming?? I have been out of school for over a week now- while the beginning of my break started off pretty rough and emotional (something to be discussed at a later time, not ready to talk about it yet.)-- it has quickly turned into a wonderful time! :) Why? Well, because there is no more alarms to wake me up, no more tests to give, no more students complaining about why math sucks, no more rushing to finish IEP's before a deadline....it is pure bliss. Waking up only when I hear Janie Ann scream, "MOMMMAA!" and returning to the bed so that she can watch a little bit of the iPad every morning, enjoying swimming at Memaw's (for 5 days straight), taking a day break to lounge around the house, only to wake up the next day to join some friends at Frog Legs and swim with them in the neighborhood pool (and for me to make a GRAND entrance into the pool!). It is nice, very nice. Seth's garden is producing like crazy- currently we have 70 quarts of green beans that he has canned- that is not including the ones he is currently canning, gave away or we have eaten! We have squash overflowing in the freezer and we are starting to have tomatoes produce (even though I don't like them), our blueberry plant is ripe and ready to be picked- we have turned into those people that I said I would never be! :) And I'm LOVING it! 

I'm thinking about purchasing one of those rugs that you see on cruise ships that will tell you what day it is (of course, we would have to switch them out)- but during the summer with no routine- I have no idea what today is! Granted- on Monday Seth will begin teaching drivers education for 4 weeks, so we will have to get into some form of routine...

I hope to keep the blog more up-to date now that I have nothing else to do (but have fun), but I'm not making any promises! I also have to figure out how to link my phone/instagram pictures to my blog so that I can upload pictures. (I also need to pull out my nice camera and actually use it!). 

HAPPY SUMMER everyone! 

Summer??

I'm pretty sure I sound like every other teacher out there right now, but I'm so ready for summer I can hardly stand it! We have 9 days until we, teachers, are DONE! One of those is a work-day, so I won't mind it too much, but I will still have to get up and go- so that is why I include it! Tomorrow is the 9th grade field day- I also have a meeting at 8am, I have to schedule approx. 8 more meetings to be held within that 9 day time period! Stressed and exhausted doesn't even begin to describe how I am feeling. I am thankful that I work with some awesome people who are going to help with those meetings! :) So, maybe after we get out for summer I will have time to upload pictures and actually blog about important stuff!!

Wow, can we say slacker?

I have not given any time to the blog lately...a lot has happened in the last few weeks, hopefully I can get it all covered!

Last week was our spring break and my mom came home to visit with us! My mom arrived on Wednesday of the previous week and stayed through the Wednesday of our spring break. We had a wonderful time and we were able to enjoy some time at the beach! Janie, mom and I left on Friday after school and headed straight to PCB! Janie Ann LOVED the beach and the swimming pool! The pool was a little cool for me, ok a LOT, especially in the morning time, but by mid-afternoon it warmed up enough for us to enjoy it. The ocean was also cold, but not bad enough that we couldn't enjoy a walk down the beach! I didn't take many pictures while at the beach, but we will be going back soon!

Also during spring break Janie Ann went to her first dentist appointment with Dr. Keri Miller! She did AWESOME! It is a pediatric dentistry and they take the kids back without the parents- I was worried that Janie would cry, but who am I kidding, my child will go with anyone!! She went right on back without even turning back to look at us! It took about 20 minutes and they brought her back out, with a bag of goodies and a new shirt! She was then able to take us on a tour of where they cleaned her teeth and she showed us the chair she sat in, the glasses she wore and what they did! She was a champ! Let's just hope she will still love the dentist on May 10th when we have to return to get a cavity filled... yep, my baby has a cavity! We thought we were doing good in the teeth department because we never let her sleep with a sippy cup and always tried to keep her teeth clean! But, it happened and now we just have to get it fixed!

Another fun activity that we have started taking Janie Ann to is Frog Legs in Auburn. It is a huge building with inflatables. Janie Ann LOVES it! (And that might be an understatement!) Now, she request that we go to Frog Legs every weekend, and thanks to a wonderful friend and avid doll collector- she has been requesting some Lala Loopsy dolls. (Yes, that was totally random and related to this paragraph is no way!!)!

I know a lot more has happened, but my mind is extremely foggy right now and so I'm going to post this, so you will have something to read and now that I'm alive! :) On another note- before I go- I have entered Janie Ann into the PARENT'S Magazine Cover contest- please go vote for her! She is currently in the weekly contest- voting ends April 22!

http://photos.parents.com/parents-cover-contest-2012/16/2012/

Possible buisness??

I have been making invitations for friends and our Church's baby showers for a while now- saving them as PDF and having them printed at a local shop in Auburn. I have now completed 3 invitations for friends and they have all seemed extremely pleased with the results. I'm thinking about possibly just charging $10-$20, depending on what you want,  and I will design/edit the invite or whatever you want and I can email them to you and you can have them printed wherever you would like.

Again- this is just an idea that I have been thinking about doing...and I'm not even sure how many read this blog, but if you read- what do you think?? Here is an example of an invite that I have done (of course, information changed)

So, if you would be interested- PLEASE let me know! :) You can leave a comment here or you can email me at tsjaclark@gmail.com !!

Ramblings

Well, it has been a while, again... I thought once I graduated from my master's program at Auburn University I would have more time to blog, but I don't! On Tuesday and Thursday I attend Zumba for an hour, then I enjoy my time with Seth and Janie Ann! She has changed SO MUCH over the past 3 months- her communication skills have GREATLY increased (she has always been a talker, but now she provides a lot of details), her personality is really shining through and I just don't want to take the time to sit down and type- I'm scared I will miss something! So, tonight she is already asleep and so I decided it would be a great time for a blog update!

Let's start with the biggest news...Janie Ann is POTTY TRAINED!! YIPPY!! She only wears diapers at nap time and night time! She will occasionally have an accident, but its only because she waits until the last minute to go potty and she will be at the potty pulling down her panties and start to tee-tee. It took one weekend- we would set the tee-tee timer for every 20 minutes and at least try to potty- of course we would then do a crazy dance when she would successfully potty and cheer and clap for her, so that helped out, but by Sunday she was able to tell us when she needed to potty! I was one proud momma! We had attempted the potty training a few times before, but I don't think she was ready, this time she was ready! While I didn't think about it when I wanted her trained- going out in public with a toddler that just has to check out every public restroom- public restrooms are disgusting! It really grosses me out having to sit her on those potties, I've tried holding her over the potty, but that didn't turn out like I planned for it to! Any suggestions?? I don't let her hold onto the potty- the potty covers always slide from under her hiney when I sit her down, so it doesn't work...

Moving on... Janie Ann has really started to enjoy watching movies, but not your typical princess movies, no...her favorites right now? The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Cat in the Hat and my favorite one...Harry and the Henderson's! We try to watch all the Disney movies that she has, but none of them keep her attention like Harry! Oh, she does like The Lion King, especially the part where Pumba and Timon poots...yes, so much for my pretty, pretty princess little girl, I have a tomboy on my hands who likes anything gross, but I wouldn't trade her for the world!! But, another thing Janie Ann has started doing is going through her clothes periodically throughout the day and changing- nightmare for me #1- because her furniture isn't bolted to the walls! She has already pulled her nightstand on top of her- I'm praying we can get the furniture mounted before something big falls on her! #2- I already hate washing clothes and when she changes 1 million times throughout the day, that increase my laundry load! Although it is extremely cute to see exactly what she has picked out to wear- usually when I notice her she says, "I so pretty momma," with a HUGE grin on her face!

Well, I guess that is all for tonight- hopefully I will update more sooner rather than later! Super Bowl tomorrow- we will have a few friends over, hopefully I can remember to take pictures and maybe have a post about that!