MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #24-31

I have been slacking terribly the last couple months and I'm sure my blog has been more than a little boring. Being on bedrest doesn't really allow as much 'rest' as one might think particularly when one has two toddlers who love to wreak havoc. I'm going to work on doing better, so I'm going to attempt to play catch up with these fill-ins. Enjoy!


1. Aside from no deployments, what is one thing you would want to make the MilSpouse life “perfect”?  submitted by Oh How Delightful
That the Army would be more considerate of big events and holidays, therefore not scheduling Drill weekends when we already have plans. My Hubby hates that every summer they hold AT over Utah's big Scottish Festival and Father's Day. This year AT is actually in May, but he has drill over the Festival weekend. I hate that they are so inconsiderate, who plans the dates?
2. Just how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? submitted by Married into Army
However many his wife said he needed to bring back for dinner. ;)
3. If you could have any career in the world with nothing holding you back, what would you do? submitted by It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To
I would be an archaeologist, who travels that world and does all those amazing excavations that you only hear about.

4. Do you have a service oriented tattoo and if so what is it. If you don’t what would you get? submitted by The Squid’s Accomplice
 Nope, I don't have any tattoos
5. Imagine a block of time has opened up in your busy day for you to take a class in anything you like. What subject would you choose?  submitted by To The Nth
A creative writing class, I love to write and I always enjoy have new challenging things to write about
1. What is your favorite MilSpouse blog (not including Wife of a Sailor who we all love, or your own)? submitted by Our Crazy Life
 The Adventures of Mr Superman and Mrs S. I love her blog and find it entertaining as well as very down to earth

2. What are your favorite perks about your s/o being deployed (we all know there are perks)? submitted by Ramblings of a Marine Wife
I can go do anything I want, when I want. If I feel like I need a girls night out, I can just arrange it without worrying about interfering with other plans. More time for me, of course all of this comes from my Hubby's one deployment when we were first married and had no kids.
3. How long did you date your before getting engaged? Married? submitted by Utterly Chaotic
4 years before getting engaged and then we got married. We'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this year.

4. What do you think your would do if s/he wasn’t in the military? submitted by Adventures of M-Squared
He'd probably be a cop.
5. If you could talk to the Secretary of Army what is one suggestion you would like to bring to their attention in order to improve the lives of military families?  submitted by My Life as His (Air Force) Wife
Things need to be geared around the families. Like things on post being open during hours that families can actually go to. On our military installation the commissary hours are not conducive to working families. Our library isn't even open on Saturdays. That's really not convenient. Everybody seems so worried about having their four day work week, my Hubby works a five day work week and we find that nothing is open when we need them to be. Any paperwork you need done don't try going on a Friday.

1. Since most of the country has had nasty weather, what has your weather been like this week?
Some days sunny and other days snowy. We had 6 inches of snow this morning, but by early afternoon you'd never have known it had snowed.

2. What is/are your best money saving tip(s)?
Create shopping lists before you go shopping that way you are less likely to pick up unnecessary things.
3. What was your favorite vehicle you’ve ever owned??
My Hubby's 1962 Mercury Meteor. It is the coolest old car and I can't wait for him to finish getting it fixed up so we can show it off.

4. What is a question you’d like to see asked in a future fill-in? (Your question & blog just may appear one week!)
How do you deal with the stress of raising your kids, taking care of the bills and all the other things that have to be taken care of while your SO is deployed?
5. Fill in the blank: You might be a MilSpouse if….
you arrange your schedule around commissary hours, drill weekends, AT and deployments.


1. If you were a famous movie star, what types of movies would you star in?
Either romantic comedies or Romantic dramas
2. What is a vacation you would like to take if money were no object?
A trip of Europe and finish up in Egypt
3. Did you have pets growing up?
My family went through a lot of pets growing up, most didn't last very long. We had three dogs, 4 or 5 cats, 7 rats, a hamster, a bird, and a bunny.

4. What do you do for exercise?
Before I got placed on bedrest I was working out on the WII Fit, but that came to an end with bedrest. Once I've recovered from my c-section I'll probably start back up with that and work towards actually running and such.
5. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received as a MilSpouse?
Be supportive of your spouse and always be honest, if you can do that and communicate life will be a lot easier.

1. What do you usually want to know about someone when meeting them for the first time?
I guess obviously their name and just a little about them. If I have knowledge about how long they been married or if they have kids and what not then I feel more comfortable talking with them.

2. Would you rather know everything about your spouse, or be regularly surprised?
I love that I know my Husband so well, but even after nine years I'm still finding out new things about him. I love being surprised by the new things, but enjoy knowing that I know him better than anyone else.
3. If you could live in one city for the rest of your life, where would you live?
Probably somewhere not in Utah. Maybe somewhere in the Scottish Highlands
4. When you go out of town, what one material thing do you ALWAYS take?
My Nook, it used to be a handful of books, but my Nook now allows me the access to at least 1500 books and more with storage. It takes up a lot less space.
5. Using no more than 10 nouns, and ONLY nouns, describe yourself.
 Shy, creative, stubborn, weird, well-read, dramatic, playful, inquisitive, knowledge-seeking, friendly
1. What are you looking forward to most in 2011? from Jessica Lynn Writes
The birth of my daughter, Rhiannon
2. What is something random you do on a boring night when your significant other is away? from Lovin Ma Soldier
Watch all the shows my Hubby won't watch with me!

3. What has been your greatest adventure as a MilSpouse?
I think that would have to be deployment the first year of our marriage. What greater adventure is there?

4. What is the ugliest fashion trend you ever bought into (I’d like to make fun of you, so can you please provide a picture as well)? from More Than An Army Wife
I don't think that this one applies to me since I don't and never have been into the lastest fashion trends.
5. What was the high point of last month?
Taking my adventurous Life flight trip to a hospital in Salt Lake City. (Not exactly a high point as much as an adventure)

1. What is the best gift you have ever received or given? from Jessica Lynn Writes
An adventurous weekend getaway with my Hubby. Going to our favorite bed and breakfast and having the time to do whatever we feel like.
2. Do you celebrate holidays differently when your loved one is deployed/gone or do you keep tradition? from The Albrecht Squad
I try to keep up traditions. We didn't do Santa gifts during his deployment, but now we have kids so I think keeping things traditional is important.
3. If you celebrate Christmas, do you put an angel, star or something else on the top of your tree?
A star.
4. What are your three favorite websites?
I don't think I have any. I spend the most time on Blogger reading all the blogs I follow and Facebook since I like keeping up with my friends and families' lives.
5. On your man do you prefer… boxers, briefs or boxer briefs? Or commando? (yeah, I’m starting to get desperate for questions!)?
We actually wear Religious garments and they actually are like boxers, so I'd have to say that or commando. ;)

1. What do you see your life like in 10 years?
Probably being an active duty milspouse with three preteens going on adventures around the world together.
2. What do you like most about your job?
I'm my own boss as a stay at home mom. I have the flexibility to go and do what I like, when I want to. What's better than that?
3. What are three things you do every day, no matter what day it is?
Watch Disney Junior with my kids, take a nap with my husband (works graveyard shifts), and check on all the blogs I follow.
4. What would you do with an extra five hours in the day today?
Clean my house and get ready for my daughter's birth next week.
5. What is your favorite Christmas (or whichever holiday  you celebrate) cookie recipe (please share!)?
My Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 ¾ c sugar
1 c shortening
1 c sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp nutmeg (possible add more)
4 to 5 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients. Roll out and bake. 375 for 8-10  mins (makes 4 to 5 dozen)

Well Almost....

I started contracting yesterday afternoon after having crazy menstrual like cramps following my bloody show the day before. I started contracting around 2 yesterday afternoon and they were lasting about the same amount of time each time, but the intervals weren't all the same. So, we waited. My Hubby was at work and we really couldn't afford for him to take work off unless it was necessary. I was absolutely miserable all night. I couldn't sleep a wink thanks to the cramping and contractions. I did manage to doze for about 45 mins around midnight, but couldn't sleep again until another 30 min snooze around 9:30. The horrible thing with these contractions is that sometimes they'd ease off a bit and go a while without having one just by switching positions, but most of the time it didn't matter if I was on one side or the other, sitting or standing. By the time my Hubby got home this morning they'd slowed considerably and eventually went away. I'm still really crampy and achy, so I'm keeping up the TP watch for bleeding, but with having a more definitive plan for when she'll be here I don't feel quite as stressed about being done as I did prior to Tuesday. The end is in sight and I can really deal with this knowing that.

Update

Another week has gone by and I'm still pregnant. Against all odds and expectations I have reached 34 weeks. Though my Dr told me today that I'll do my Amnio test next Wednesday morning and should be able to schedule my c-section for either that afternoon or early Thursday morning! Hurray! Of course he pointed out that he honestly doesn't expect me to make it another week, he said he would like to see me do so, but at this point with all the cramping and contractions he doesn't expect me to.

Can I just tell you what a relief it is to finally have fairly set in stone plans for getting our sweet little Rhiannon here. I hate arguing with my Dr, my husband and I feel like every other Tom, Dick or Harry about the importance of her staying in me for as long as possible. But look at it from my point of view: I'm on all kinds of meds between nausea, helping with migraines, stopping contractions, and anxiety, I want to be done being a 'Druggie.' I can't wait for the swelling to stop in my feet so I can walk and my hands so I can type on my computer for longer than ten mins or even hold things like my kids. The migraines have been horrific this pregnancy and where during my non-pregnancy moments I can take all kinds of good stuff to prevent and help with pain, but can't while I'm pregnant. It royally sucks.

I hate having no energy, even getting out of my bed and making the like 20 steps from point A to point B wears me out like I've been running a race. Let alone to make a trip into town for Dr appts and shopping trips. Twice now shopping at Walmart in the past two weeks, I've nearly passed out thanks to feeling so winded after ten mins of being there (as we all know you go into Walmart, you usually spend lots of time in there whether you planned to or not) and feeling incredibly light headed. I had to hold onto my Hubby's belt loop so I could keep up or rather so that he could slow down to my pace. Not to mention the lack of energy makes it so hard to spend time with my kids, I miss getting down on the floor to play barbies or Transformers, but it just isn't really possible at the moment. Plus Bedrest sucks, a lot.

Not to mention all of the pregnancy complications in and of themselves that put Rhiannon & I at risk. You would think that they'd want to take her before those complications decide to rear their big ugly heads. You know do the c-section before the bleeding starts or I actually start to go into labor which can cause bleeding among so many other problems. But no, all I've heard for the past couple weeks is 'We have to do what's best for your baby.' But what about what's best for Mommy? Or better yet what's best for us both. Dr's are very set in their ways of thinking and its rather difficult to bring them around to your way of thinking. I do love my Dr, hands down, but I've been rather frustrated with him over the last few weeks. Maybe its all those raging hormones running rampant in my fat, pregnant body.

Anyway Dr appt went well, actually have plans in the works. I didn't gain any new weight over the last week which was so exciting to see. Normally I wouldn't mind so much the weight gain cause I'm pregnant and have a baby growing in me, but when the fact that your first pregnancy you gained 22lbs and the the second you gained 30, and then you have this one where at this point I have gained a grand total of 53lbs. I weigh the most I have ever weighed in my life and it sucks. I cannot wait to work all that weight off and be alot closer to my ideal weight. But it'll be a while. My blood pressure was a little high at 122/74 vs my normal 100/60, it could be worse but who likes to see the numbers go up? (Well, I guess unless its money numbers going up that you're getting paid. ;) )

Perhaps this is TMI but I think I had some bloody show earlier this evening and have proceeded in getting just a little bit more crampy and achy. I hope this means that I'll start to go into labor and can go to L&D knowing full well that I'm going to be having my baby vs the whole maybe I will, maybe I won't. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Well, that's my newest update. I'll keep you all informed as things happen. Night all!

A Night I Will Never Forget and The 2 Days That Followed

Yes, I am indeed a slacker, but these days I have almost no energy and what little I have goes to taking care of my two crazy toddlers. Fire me if you must, but I'm going to try and at least update every couple of weeks, if not more often. For now my update will just cover a four day span of time about the 26th day of January and like I said in the title it really won't be a day I'll ever forget.

The 26th started off as any day normally would have, my kids woke us up and what felt like an ungodly hour. They got their morning ritual of graham crackers and eventually some waffles. It really was just a normal day, but sometime in the early afternoon I started having contractions and they seemed to be getting stronger & more frequent. Seeing as our drive to my hospital of choice is almost two hours away, I tried to hold off as long as possible since I hate going in and be told 'our monitors aren't picking up any contractions so you must not be having any.' Very aggravating.

So finally around 4:30 I called a friend who is a nurse to get her opinion, especially since I was having some pelvic pressure. Unfortunately she didn't answer and called me back after I'd talked to a nurse at my Dr's office. She'd told me that I should go to the hospital and get checked out just to be on the safe side. She told me not to rush, it wasn't something I needed to be going 90 MPH to get there. So, with that we decided that we'd finish feeding our kids before we made the long drive. This put us leaving the house around 5:30 and we stopped at the gas station on post to fill up our tank, when we noticed the very long line of red tail lights going to the main gates and they weren't moving.

My Hubby works as a security guard here on post and so he had a few guesses to the reason no one was apparently being allowed off post, but felt confident it wouldn't be for too long. Well we sat there for thirty minutes and my contractions were about 15 mins apart, I was starting to get a little worried and a little frustrated with the hold up. I joked with my Hubby that if we had to wait too much longer we were going to have the baby in the car. I suggested that he call PMO (Provost Marshal Officers aka our very own cops) and see if we could get permission to be escorted off post to get me to the hospital.

An officer stopped by our car and my Husband spoke to him about the situation, and he told him that he'd see what he could find our or do for us. The next thing I know we see the ambulance creep up the other lane, but they passed us and I thought we were safe. See there is a hospital about 45 mins away from our Military Installation, but I've been there twice and have had bad experiences both times, so there was no way I wanted to go there. Not to mention if I was going to have my baby I wanted her to be delivered by my Dr at my hospital. I thought for sure that they'd make me go to the closer hospital and I told my Husband that there was no way I was going to that hospital.

Well the ambulance turned around down by the gates and started to creep back down our way. They were looking for us! Dang it! My Hubby got out and talked to the paramedics, told them what was going on and that I didn't want to go to the local hospital. Next thing I know the paramedic is climbing into the driver's seat of my car to talk to me. We talked about what I was feeling and how often my contractions were. He also talked about the fact that I didn't want to go to the closest hospital. He said he didn't have a problem taking me to the hospital of choice and didn't blame me for not wanting to go to the other one (apparently I am not alone in my dislike of that hospital.). He said he needed to talk to his supervisor, but he didn't think he'd have an issue either. So, he suggested that for the moment how about I come hang out in the ambulance  with them until we could get off post. He said it would give me a chance to stretch out, they could check my vitals and keep an eye on my contractions. So, I said ok.

Apparently, as I headed to have  a more comfortable seat in the ambulance my kids were upset that 'Mommy was leaving.' Sweet, huh? I got comfy or as comfy as one can get on a gurney and let them hook me up to the blood pressure cuff and the pulse ox machine. I was asked quite a few questions for their paperwork and then as time went on, it was apparent that my fabulous paramedic, Jim, was getting concerned about how frequent the contractions were and how long they were lasting. I was given an IV, in which he was having a very hard time locating a good vein thanks to me being so swollen. They did finally manage to get one in the crook of my left arm and they started pumping me full of fluid. So, they talked about getting a life flight helicopter to come and get me. A feeling of dread came over me and I was no longer enjoying my comfy seat in the ambulance.

They then drove the ambulance to the installations helicopter pad to wait for the helicopter to get here. They talked about having their supervisor talk to my Hubby and explain what was going on. About five minutes later, we were informed that due to the lock down on post they were not going to allow the helicopter to land on post. So, we had to make a very bumpy ride down one of the two roads that leads to civilization. Life flight then informed us that I needed to have a second IV and boy was I not excited about that. Now I am no stranger to IVs and have been poked & pricked by more needles than I can count, so they don't really bother me. But Jim and I had already discussed that the only other vein he could find was on the underside of my right wrist and he really didn't want to do an IV there. (More painful, often requires fishing around and blows easily.) In the end that was his only choice. He had to tell his buddy to slow down since the bumps were making it near impossible to place the IV, then he had to ask him to slow down again and eventually he had him stop completely. After all that the vein blew anyway and he couldn't stick me again since we arrived at the location to meet the helicopter right off of I-80.

The helicopter landed (although there was concern of fog) and I was wheeled out of the warm ambulance & over to the helicopter, whose blades were still going. Making it very cold, especially since it was after dark at this point. They made the switch from one gurney to the next and was slid into the helicopter. They wouldn't let me lay on my back, which probably would have made the ride more pleasant but they wanted me on my side. (I'm not sure the reason) Yet I wasn't really on my side nor was I on my back (so uncomfortable) and then they buckled me in. Then came the shower of questions (I had been warned, but hadn't really believed Jim) and most of which I had already answered before.

The paramedics on the flight were ok, but I really would have loved to take the ones from the ambulance over these ones any day. The flight was supposed to last about 25 to 30 mins and honestly I have no idea how long it lasted, but it felt like forever. We landed and I was moved once again from one gurney to another. One of the gentlemen that came to take me to labor and deliver had the most amazing British accent and kept calling me 'Love,' as weird as it might sound I was totally comforted by it. Weird, huh? Maybe its cause I like accents so much, who knows though. I was wheeled what felt like all over the place and it took ages to finally reach labor and delivery. There I was hooked up to all the monitors, asked more questions and even had to endure a speculam being placed in order to see how my cervix looked.

It looked like maybe a finger tip dilated, but nothing they were too worried about. Unfortunately, since their stupid monitors weren't picking up most of my contractions, I was treated a little bit badly. I had to be given loads of meds to stop contractions, some nausea meds and some pain meds (those came after like four hours of being in the hospital). I was so miserable I didn't sleep that whole night (yuck, yuck and double yuck). I talked to the anesthesiologist about the things they would do if I had to have a c-section and I also talked to a NICU nurse, who explained all the things they might do to Rhiannon should she come early. She seemed optimistic about the health of the baby saying that they wouldn't know anything til she was born, but that there have been babies born at that point who have only needed a little pressure to their breathing. I also signed paperwork so they could treat Rhiannon and I signed a form that they could do a c-section, as well as the possibility of a hysterectomy.

Yes, you read that right 'a hysterectomy.' I was informed since I had complete placenta previa that if the placenta had grown into my previous c-section scar tissue, there was no safe way to separate them, therefore risking my life so they would have to do a hysterectomy. I was surprised by the news, seeing as my Dr had never mentioned it, but surprisingly I wasn't too upset. We have plans to do a hysterectomy once we are done having our family, but if I had to do it sooner rather than later we'd find another way to have kids. We feel very strongly that we still have a little boy waiting to join our family, but we will do what it takes (legally, that is) to get him here.

By morning, they still weren't really seeing my contractions and boy was I frustrated. I really liked my day time nurse, who was a cute older lady. Around 10 AM I went in for an ultrasound to check and see where my placenta was attached, to see if I would need a hysterectomy. The tech was an older lady and was very friendly, but when she informed me that I did NOT have placenta previa I was upset, concerned and trying to think logically. I'd had an ultrasound three days before and had been told I still have placenta previa. I couldn't believe that in three days it had changed that much. (My Dr agreed with me when I went to see him the next week) So, eventually I was moved from Labor and Delivery to the Women's ward, with the talk of being released the next day.

I was frustrated, I had been hoping that they would need to take her since I'm not doing well this pregnancy and I feel it would be better for both the baby & I to do so, not to mention the strain it is putting on my family. I had quite a few visitors that night. Christopher came by before he had to go to work and was with me when I made the room exchange. My cousin and his wife came to visit, my sister & her boyfriend, later my cousin returned with his mother and brother in tow and then later still my parents and my two youngest siblings. It was nice having so many visitors, it made me feel loved. When my cousin had first showed up they had brought me a flower and a balloon wishing me well. I have never received a flower during my many hospital stays, it truly made my day.

I had a better night and was even able to sleep somewhat. I was release the next afternoon and made the long drive home to take it easy. My poor hubby, who had gotten very little sleep, had to go to work nearly as soon as we got home. It was such an incredibly difficult three days, but we pulled through and are continuing to do what we have to til this little one gets here. I promise I will write more later, but there is my big adventure story that I surely will never forget. Now if only those fairly expensive medical bills manage to be paid in full by the insurance I'd feel a lot better.