2nd trimester

With only 8 weeks to go, I feel the need to update our story. I went back and forth with myself about how much to share about this very eventful trimester. I finally decided to share it all.

Like most parents we were excited to enter the 2nd trimester. We announced to everyone on Facebook that we were adding to our family and the excitement began.

At 20 weeks we had our ultrasound. We were both very nervous and excited to see our little for the first time in 14 weeks! It was wonderful to see how much change had happened,the little blob from the first ultrasound was now looking like a real baby! We also found out that the baby is a girl! While we waited to see the doctor after the ultrasound we talked about what her name would be and how we were so sure it was a boy. 

We were not expecting any complications so you can imagine the shock when we were told there may be something wrong. They had seen a spot on her heart, an echogenic intracardiac focus. The doctor was sure it was nothing to worry about and ordered a genetic blood test for "peace of mind".

A few days later I got a call from the doctor. I knew it wasn't good because with her no news is always good news. We were told we be referred to a high risk specialist for further ultrasounds because our daughter has Turners Syndrome. 

If you have find yourself in high risk OB office you find the office full of rules, restrictions and other women with "complications". The staff is sensitive and friendly, but the rooms feel so sad. Seeing the high risk OB is the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. In the week that went by between the test results and our meeting, every possible situauton went through my mind. It was reassuring to hear that our daughter looked healthy. It was not reassuring to hear that it is impossible to tell how this will affect her until after she is born. All we have now is hope.

No parent wants to hear that there may be something wrong with their perfect little baby. If I had sat down to write this entry at the time we found out, I can assure that it would be much more emotional. The fact is, at 32 weeks, we have accepted the situation God has given us. She is our daughter no matter what happens once she's born. We love her and are preparing for her like all parents do for their babies. 

The doctors can't tell us if she has Turners or not because we denied further testing on our unborn child. They will test her at birth and we will begin to prepare for any complications after that. I am lucky that I have already found a support group and find comfort in the things the mothers there talk about. It is amazing to me that only 1% of girls with this abnormality are ever live birthed and many of them do not survive the first trimester. 

As far as anyone can tell, they are not expecting any complications at birth and she appears to be healthy. Our daughter is truly a miracle. I wrote about our expierence because I found comfort in hearing the stories of other families going this. I hope that I can bring that same comfort to a mother expierencing that overwhelming emotion that I felt the day we were diagnosed and the emotion I continue to feel. 

Our little one- 1st trimester

I don't really know why I have been absent from the blog except that getting pregnant and pregnancy has been a time consuming journey. I am going to attempt to catch up in the next few days.

We first found out we are pregnant in May. We had been trying for several months and had given up and were waiting for August for me to have surgery in hopes to fix the issue. God had other plans and we are thrilled. 

Then in June we went to the doctor and it became very real. We saw our sweet little baby and a strong heart. I think we have expierenced what every new parent goes through, extreme excitement and fear. I was lucky enough to take a very distracting and relaxing trip to Hawaii to wrap up the first trimester.

Our sweet baby is due January 10th.

Spring Break

Every teacher in the world loves Spring Break. Shoot we all loved it as students and I'm sure no one would complain about a week off of work. Do not be fooled, I don't really have a week off. I'm a coach, a track coach. I will be going to a track meet tomorrow. 

I haven't let the fact that I have to work stop me from getting some things done 

Piece one stained

Piece two stained and drying 

And I painted this for my nephew. My  husband made it I painted. I don't typically work with saws. 

Now I have anniversary gift to work on and a gallery wall to finish. 

But first here is a picture of the momogram I made 

The best acne treatment ever

Allow me to be candid for awhile. Coming back from Spring Break is tough, I'm exhausted, stressed and I gotta keep going. This combined with the extreme winter we have had have really done a number on my skin. I mean I think I have more pimples than my teenage students. Oh wait I can call them "blemishes" now, right? Anyway they are annoying, even more annoying than when I was 17. 

Luckily, I have found an acne treatment that works!! It's all natural, super cheap, has not dried my skin out yet. It also smells good and my darling husband says it also tastes good. So here it is...

2 parts honey

1 part nutmeg 

1 part cinnamon

This is no secret, in fact it's all over the Internet, but unlike most things on the Internet this is true. This stuff cleared up my face in 3 days. I have found that it is not a cure, those nasty little bumps will come back, but if used regularly it works great. 

I'm not really into beauty products, but I am into not looking like a teenager. Hope it works for you. 

It's not pretty and it is really sticky, but it works like a charm!!

This old house

We love our old house but it has quirks. When we bought this home there were no interior doors. We decided today that that would change. 

We ordered the two doors for the downstairs bedrooms during Christmas. We ordered plain slab doors because we need then cut for a mortise lock and we needed them to fit in out door jams. 

First the doors had to be shaved down. I know there is a correct term, but I didn't work on that part. Then tools were sharpened. 

Then the place for the hinges had to be chiseled out.

Then we, I mean Miles while I tried to help, hung the door and then started working on drilling out the space for the mortise lock. 

After the holes the rest had to be chiseled and slowly worked out. Then chiseling around the outer part if the lock piece, I got to help this time.

Then several fitting attempts, a little more here, and a little more there...

Finally a bedroom door!! Yes it would have been a lot easier to hire someone, but it was fun! Using a regular style lock and knob would have been a lot easier too, but it was important to keep it time period. Still have one more to go. 

23 things response

Many people are writing responses to a recent blog post titled, "23 Things to do Instead of Getting Engaged Before You're 23", I have decided to weigh in here on my wedding blog turned family blog. I think many people that are responding are missing something... We are all different. 

Marriage is a controversial topic because it involves two of three things you shouldn't talk about with people and expect to get anywhere, religion and politics. The other is money. We were all raised with different values and we have all experienced life differently. 

I was engaged at 21 and married at 22. I am very happily married and I wouldn't want it any other way.  I met my husband at a young age and we have had a relationship in some capacity for the last 10 years. We continually have to work on our relationship: how we speak to each other, the amount of time we spend with each other, expectations of one another, etc. Marriage is a lot of work and not a commitment that either one of us took lightly. 

Many people my age that I know are getting married right now and maybe for the reasons this young woman listed in her post. To making a lifelong commitment to someone should not ever be referred to as "hip" or "cool". Marriage is not a fad or a trend that will go away when something else comes along. It is true that many young women are getting pregnant and may feel pressure to marry after they have made a child; a child is not a good reason to get married, especially if one of the people involved isn't ready. I think many people have unrealistic expectations about marriage, marriage takes work from both partners. Like this young woman, many people my age are selfish, entitled and live in a fantasy land*.

*See the Huffington Post blog entry http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3930620/

I don't think either one of us know exactly who we are, I don't think you ever know who you are because you are always changing and growing. I also don't feel that I have any kind "inexpierence". I am educated, open-minded, career-oriented and I have traveled, although I would not say well traveled.

My marriage is by no means a "cop-out" and I wasn't in a rush. I dated my husband for 5 years before we married and it was important for me to graduate from college and get a job before I became his Mrs. Why wait around and "party, cuddle, travel, learn and explore" with the person you want to be with as your "friend", when they can be your spouse? I do all of those things with my husband and I prefer it that way. 

This young woman's immaturity and ignorance is proof that she is not ready for marriage and should continue her selfish, juvenile and otherwise strange dreams for the coming year. She should also maybe stop expressing herself to the world if she wishes to "develop alone". As millennials, we are more connected than any generation before us. Most of us have also been through a divorce once as children and don't desire the same outcome for our marriages, but our unrealistic expectations of life hurt our chances.

The most important thing I would like to address is this though. As a young married person, I do not feel in anyway that I am setting a standard for what people in their 20s should be doing. Yes I am married, educated, live in a house with a white picket fence (literally) that I own, I am happy with my career and I also dream of being finished having children by 30. This is not normal, there is no normal. Dr. Seuss said it best, "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you" Please get married for the right reasons, to the right person, at the right time, no matter what age you are. If you want to eat an entire jar of Nutella during your single years, do that too, but do what's best for you today because there may be no tomorrow.