Hello Hello...I am at a place call Vertigo!

Bright and early Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of my poor Sam coughing. It sounded more like he was hacking up a lung so I jumped out of bed to get him a cough drop. It is my fault he is sick but I was starting to feel better. When I got to his side of the bed I practically fell into him. The room was spinning! I laid back down and stayed down the entire day. No church, just sleep. Around midnight I was ripped from sleep needing to throw up. I ate dinner at five so there was nothing in my stomach but my body kept right on trying! I can imagine all the lovely visuals you guys are getting. :) I haven't been that sick for...well as long as I can remember. I continued heaving until around seven am when I called my mother in law to take me to the doctor.

When we got to the ER they insisted on asking me a ton of questions before wheeling me over to labor and delivery. There they made me get in the hospital gown and strapped baby monitors on me for twenty minutes then asked me to get dressed again so they could wheel me back over to the ER. This whole time I am still throwing up all the time. When I get back to the ER they make me again put on a hospital gown, made me sign all these things, and asking all kinds of questions. They gave me something so I wouldn't throw up, hooked me up to an IV, and took blood. I have three monster bruises for proof. After I kept down two bites of a sandwich they tried to send me home. The nurse that wheeled me out brought me right back in telling them I shouldn't leave.

So I stayed over night and most of this hospital stay was a complete blurr since I kept my eyes closed and slept most of the time. I was awakened every so often to be annoyed with the same questions. The best were from the social worker. She asked me if I had previously taken care of myself and if I ever wanted to hurt myself. If I hadn't been feeling so terrible I would have smashed her head into the wall and screamed at the top of my lungs the following: "YES! I TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! IN CASE THE OTHER TEN PEOPLE I SPOKE WITH DIDN'T TELL YOU I HAVE A JOB THAT I GO TO EVERY DAY. I AM A NORMAL 29 YEAR OLD. I HAVE A JOB, I DRIVE, I READ, AND I WRITE! THE ONLY PERSON I WANT TO HURT RIGHT NOW IS YOU FOR ASKING THESE DUMB QUESTIONS...AND MAYBE THE NURSE THAT PUT IN MY IV!"

It was the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced! On top of it I was in a room with this obnoxious lady who blared her tv so loud we couldn't watch tv. Sam and his Mom just had to sit there bored. We asked that she put in her headphones since she was alone and there were three of us but nope, she thought that was unfair. She also called for the nurse at least every half hour and repeated the things she thought were funny from whatever show she was watching. Sam tried to help me understand by reminding me she was on a lot of drugs but to that I said, "Well, they obviously don't have her on enough!"

Diagnosis-Vertigo or inflammation of the inner ear. I kept getting different answers. They cannot give me anything because of the baby so I have to wait it out. Here I am, a week and one day later. I feel ok. Moving very slow and feeling like I have on the wrong pair of glasses. I can't drive, I can't read for very long, I can't shower alone, and I need a spotter just to brush my teeth. I am in a really good mood about it today but I get really depressed and had a bit of a break down over the weekend. I am sure there is some lesson in patience I am supposed to be learning but it just feels pointless and completely inconvenient! Sigh...pray for me. :)

Dr. Rivera

This week was Sam's second week at work. His new sparkling white doctor coat came in. They put his name on the door. He is seeing his own patients. He can even treat pets outside of the hospital but "not for free" as he told his parents. We have those school loans to pay for. :)

It was amazing to see him graduate. It was wonderful to see him get dress for his first day at work. I love hearing all his stories when he comes home. I know I have a couple friends who have husbands in grad school or about to start grad school. I just want to say, hang in there!

Happy Father's Day

Erica and I were Daddy's girls no doubt about it! The three of us were best friends! I miss my Dad a lot and I wish that I saw him more often. He was a great dad! He could make me laugh until I pee...in fact I think years of being tourtured by "The Claw" is the reason I am still so ticklish! Whenever I would start to fan my eyes to keep from crying he would say, "Come here boo." I'd crawl over and just let it all out while he would rub my back. He wasn't afraid of getting puked on. Erica and I always would lay on his bed to talk. When he'd come in we'd scream and giggle and hid under the covers,even in our twenties, and he'd always pretend he was mashing lumps out of his bed. He watched New Kids on the Block videos and Nsync concerts with us and we've even catch him singing along some times. :) I always knew the stories he'd tell and the jokes he would make. He used to sing a song my Grandpa sang to him, "Once upon a time in a nursery rhyme, three little kids got lost." When we'd ask him to finish he always said, "I can't, that's all my dad knew." LOL

Now with Sam's first Father's day I wanted to do something special, that he'd never forget. So I scheduled an appointment at this special ultrasound place to find out the sex of the baby. We were planning on going for their 3D ultrasound when I was further along anyway. So when I consulted my Dr....Meghan, she said she was worried he might want to be there so I text some of my guy friends. They all agreed they would want to be there. After talking it through I decided on having the doctor write the sex in an envelope and letting Sam tell me. Sam went off to the library to study and I drove all the way to Newport and got the ultrasound. The baby was being shy always turning away from the camera and crossing it's legs. After she made the ultrasound DVD she tried again to find the sex. She made me walk around, lay on my right side, jiggled my belly, lay on my left side. Finally, she got a good shot and she then verified from a few different angles.

I drove home and picked up a few things to put in with my surprize. Sam of course knew I'd give it to him right away so he was ready for it. When he got to the bottom I had wrapped the packet from the doctor. I said, "Before you open this I want to explain." I told him what I had done and that the envelope contained the baby's sex. His face light up and I have never seen him so excited! It was great and I watched as he went through it. "Ok here's a CD, here's an ad, a picture, a.....AHHHHHHHH!" He was yelling so much and I was like, "What?! What is it?!" "A son, we're having a son!" I started bawling because I had never seen him so happy! It was the best and then we watched the ultrasound DVD. It was one of the best days of my life! It was such a perfect moment and I will never forget it!




His name will be Samuel James Rivera. James is my Dad's middle name. We are thrilled! My mom has to return all the girl clothes she already got. :) I am on my way to Babies 'R' Us to pick out stuff for my baby boy on the way!

Cabin Fever or Murder Plot

I have told a few of you about Sam's crazy study schedule this year and how the time away from school tends to send him off the deep end. Well, last time it actually sent him to the dollar store to buy loads of random crap. ie A variety of medications, alarms for the doors, lasers to annoy the bird, and the plastic cone on my desk that says "Excellent Work"!

Today I get a text that he had gotten four pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, a dvd for our nephew, and a video game for $40. Where? At Goodwill. All day I wondered why he would randomly go to Good Will. Cleaning out the closet...no way. Then it hit me, his cabin fever is back! He is taking a month off to study for his CA medical test and rest from school before he starts work. Well, at least it's clothes and not more junk. No big deal.

When I came home there was a strange feeling in the air and I walked further into the kitchen trying to figure out what was amiss. I saw power tools and the tv area was all moved around. I saw what is pictured above. What in the heck is that? I went up stairs, more power tools, more trash. Then Sam explained. Today was the switch to digital so when he tried it out channel seven (The channel the NBA Finals are on) didn't come in. With a crazy look in his eye he told me how he researched antennas on the Internet and found a video showing how to build one of wire hangers. We didn't have any wired hangers so that is why he went to Good Will. When he asked the cashier for hangers he saw a "Jeans for $5." And know you know...the rest of the story. So what do you think? Should I get him out of the house or just stay on his good side?

PS That instrument of death is now on our mantel between the two pictures we displayed at our reception. I am sure you ladies can imagine the look I gave him when he put in there. Just a few more weeks until he's working.