Blood Clot

Well, something was bound to happen, right? I'm 33 and this pregnancy was going WAY too smoothly.

A couple weeks ago, the doctor had me in for a regular check up. I told him about a pain I was having behind my knee. I thought it was a muscle pull from my workout at the gym. He had me in for an ultrasound to be tested for what he thought was a blood clot in my leg. And alas, he was right. It was a blood clot.

A little hiccup, but nothing harmful to baby. I'm now on Heparin shots (blood thinner) 2x a day for the rest of the pregnancy, because this is certainly a pregnancy-induced blood clot. I have to administer the shots via syringe by myself, which is a bummer. The first 2 shots sucked, but I'm getting used to it.

Luckily, I have someone around this house who knows a thing or two about giving shots to oneself. This is the only time I've been thankful for Matt's type 1 diabetes. Only now, Matt is on the insulin pump, so I actually have to do more shots in my stomach than he does!

I'm now going on 11 weeks. I feel great other than this clot scare. Not sick, a little tired. Belly is already growing. I look more like I did at 5 months pregnant with Emily than almost 3 months. The second time around in DEFINITELY different than the first time. :)

Baby, Baby

Matt, Emily and I are excited to announce that we are expecting a bebe this Fall!

We have tried for nearly 2 years to expand our family, so this was the most joyous news.
I'm currently about 9 weeks along and due September 15th. I had my first ultrasound a few weeks ago and there is a baby with a heartbeat in there. This week we hope to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler. Fingers crossed all will be safe in the next few weeks!!!

Everything is going smoothly so far, and Emily is beyond excited to be a big sister. We told her the big news this morning and here is (in a nutshell) what she said:

'I'M going to be a big sister?' (all of her friends already are, so this is big)

While digging under my shirt, 'Can I see it??'

'Oooooh, I can play catch with her!'

Pointing to the nursery, 'This is where she'll sleep!'

Clearly, Emily feels this baby will be a girl. With 8 girls in the family, odds are it will, but you never know. And neither will we until the baby gets here! We won't be finding out the gender. :) We did this with Emily and it made the experience all the more exciting, even though we were pretty convinced she was a she.

Stay tuned for more news!

The Ladybug

A few days ago when we arrived home from the park, I noticed a ladybug on Emily's jacket.

Me: Emily, look! A ladybug followed us home.
Em: Oooooh (as it crawled on her hand), can I take it in the house, Mama?

Of course.

So there she was, on the potty with the ladybug on her hand, giggling and talking to it. At the sink washing her hands with the ladybug right beside her. Brushing her teeth, ladybug on her hand once more. She went into her room and put the little bug on her bed.

Em: Can I nap with it, Mama?

Hmmmmm...I thought. I'm certain this bug will be squished if I don't give it some kind of protective armor.

So into the kitchen I went. I grabbed a cup, a few leaves from outside and placed the teensie weensie bug in the cup.

Me: Ok. Here you go. Remember, don't touch her. She's VERY tiny and you don't want to squish her.

2 hours later, Emily wakes up and happily skips downstairs to show me her ladybug in the cup.

Em: Look, Mama! The ladybug is still alive! I was really gentle. She put the bug in her hand and it kept falling out and landing on its back.

After a little bit, I noticed the bug was barely moving.

Me: Em, did you touch the ladybug during nap?

Em: Yes! I picked it up with my two fingers like this (while making a pinching motion).

Me: Hmmmm. Okay. Well, it looks like the ladybug's back legs are a little hurt, honey. It might be time to let the ladybug outside. Maybe she'll get better if she's outside with her friends.

Em: Is it dead or something?

Me: No. It's not dead, but it's kind of sick.

Emily's smile turned into a frown. She looked at me and tears started welling up in her eyes and her chin started to shiver. She sunk her head into my shoulder and literally sobbed. "But I don't want to let the ladybug go!!!!" I almost cried, too!

I finally convinced her it was the right thing to do, and told her there will be plenty more ladybugs to have later. So she went to the door, tears streaming down her face, and let the bug go. After the big goodbye, she told me she didn't want any more ladybugs as pets. I asked why and she said:

'Because they are too squishy! I'll just keep Jonas.'

Poor dog was trumped by a ladybug.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 to all!

We wrapped up 2011 with a trip to Snowflake Lane in Bellevue.

2011 was quite the year medically for me, so my biggest wish for 2012?
Good health and plenty of happiness. I wish the same for you and your family.

With Monday, January 1st being a stay-in-your-jammies/watch-3-Bowl-games-on-the-couch day, this year has started off great!

Resolutions? Eh. I don't believe in 'em. Too much pressure.
Every year, I try to lose weight, save money, floss my teeth, blah bitty blah blah. Around March, I find most of these resolutions go by the wayside and I think, "Eh, there is always next year."

In other 2012 news...

The Pull-Up Fairy (don't judge me, Santa pushers) paid a visit to our house today while Emily was in school. She snatched up every last Pull-Up in the house and left a little present on Emily's bed in return. So 3.5 years later, we are FINALLY diaper/Pull-up FREE!!!!!!

Merry Christmas from the Mullets

Very Merry Moments Christmas Card

Customize your Christmas cards this year at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Lights at Warm Beach

Emily's friend, Sara, was there, too!

Waiting for the pony ride

I am determined to make Christmas Lights at Warm Beach a tradition, darn it. I have a hard time committing myself every year to the same tradition, because I like mixing things up a bit. But this little diddy might stick around for future years.

Sure, it was an hour drive to Stanwood to get there, and it was kind of Jesusy-like with the HUGE nativity scene and some light and fun biblical singing here and there. I mean, HE IS the reason for the season, right?!? I'm not denying that. As a nonbeliever in the Jesus Christ the bible states was Jesus Christ, I totally mooch on this holiday. Guilty! But we are all for pretending we are Jesus folk for 3 hours. Everyone was super nice and very welcoming.
Just don't tell anyone at Warm Beach our secret. We might be denied entry next year. :)
The kid got to ride a train AND a pony AND look at dozens of wicked Christmas lights! Good fun. Not to mention eating cotton candy and freshly made donuts, waving at freaky live walking snowmen and reindeer, listening to string music indoors, and petting Llamas and sheep. Definitely worth the $15 you pay to get in!

A Winter to Remember

The holidays have begun!

November ended with a glorious bang with a fun-filled trip to the Washington Coast (Pacific Beach) with my favorite college girls, Meghan and Heather. Emily stayed at my mom's for the weekend, so it was just Jonas and the girls and a cute little cottage on the beach. What a lucky, happy pup! What a lucky, happy me!




Our Thanksgiving was wonderful, spending the day with my dad and Sheri and family. It's been years since we've been able to make it down south and I'm so glad we did. The meal was delicious, and it was so nice seeing all my siblings! Emily had a blast with her cousins.

Apple Cup....DAWGS WIN!



And now on to December. This month brings so much happiness to our family. Celebrating Christmas gets better and better every year with a little one in the house. You are transported back to your childhood and seriously live through your kid.
Emily's eyes and heart are filled with such wonder, and she believes everything - and I mean EVERYTHING we say about Santa Claus and his little elves. :) Our Elf on the Shelf watches her every day to make sure she's a good little girl, and she checks her cheap-o but fun drugstore Advent calendar every morning.

We started out the month visiting Santa. Our tradition has been to go to U-Village. We meet Santa, go to Starbuck's for a treat, play at Land of Nod, go to Crate and Barrel for new Christmas decor and hit up the play area/toy store. Then we have lunch together at World Wraps. I love my Santa date with my little elfkin!


Emily looooooved Santa this year. Walked into his cabin, and she gave him a BIG bear hug, then continued to ask him for a baby doll and big girl doll for Christmas. This Santa was as sweet as can be, and I reckon he was from the south somewhere. :) She was very smitten as you can see.

Next up...Christmas tree! We refuse to go 'fake' in our house, so off to Pilchuck Farms in Arlington we went to find the perfect tree.


The holiday fun continues this weekend as Emily, me and Grammy are heading downtown to see the Cinderella musical at the 5th Avenue Theater! Happy holidays to all!