Never would have guessed

I never would have guessed that I would hate having to lay around so much. I usually seek out the moments when I don't have to do anything and have to try not to be lazy very actively. Right now I have been put on bed rest. The Dr. says they found evidence of cervical funneling, which means my cervix is starting to open from the inside. Not good!
So for now I am couch and bed bound and having a really hard time with it. I have my 4 year old in school (I have permission to pick up and drop off, but that's it) and an increasingly cranky, hyper 2 year old. Poor Paul never gets to rest. He has to come home from school and then go full speed ahead watching kids and cleaning up the tornado of a mess they have made throughout the day. So he is tired and I am getting more and more frustrated at my lack of abilities.
I think I have hit my first little bought of nesting, which is coming at a horrible time. Everything in this house is grossing me out. I just want to scrub down the whole thing, but not a lot I can do from the flat of my back. Still trying to be positive, but I seem to be having trouble balancing my mommy duties. I somehow have to be a good mom to Bryant and Briley, while being a good mom and laying down for this new little baby that I love so much. Any ideas on how to keep 2 kids entertained and happy throughout the day without ever leaving the couch? Let me know!!!
We are one week down and hopefully not the rest of my pregnancy to go, but that is a possibility. I go in for my 4th ultrasound on Friday Oct, 1st and then go to my Doc the following Monday. We will know more then.

Little Sweetie

There is one perk to having an ultrasound every 2 weeks. I get to see my little girl pretty often. These are the best ultrasound photos I've gotten so far in the last 3 times.

Fixed my Laptop finally

My HP TX2000 tablet laptop has been acting funny on me these past few months. The video card would heat up really hot and the picture would go out on me. I searched online forums and found out that this is a common problem with this model laptop and the previous version, but HP will do nothing about it. So some smart people posted videos on Youtube on how to fix the overheating problem and how to push the video card back into the motherboard. So here are some pictures of taking my laptop apart. It is not as complicated as I thought it would be.

Here is the picture after I used a Mini blow-torch to "re-seat" the videocard. I pushed on it for about a minute and then put some thermal paste on it, then an older copper penny between the heatsink and the videocard. This allows for better heat transfer. The total cost of this project was under $5. $4 for the thermal paste and $0.01 for the penny. HP wanted us to send the laptop in and charge us over $300. Thank you Youtube for saving me money and for learning more about computers. If you know of anyone that has the same computer and problems let me know and I can help them out.

It's a Girl!

I went in for my 18 week ultrasound on Monday. It's a girl and a crazy drama queen at that. You could literally see her pushing off one side of me to hit me in the bladder as hard as she could. She is a mover. I have felt her for a weeks already and it's not just the cute tiny movements. She's aggressive. She keeps her hand backwards on her forehead until you poke at her too long. Then it looks like she shakes her fist at you. After an hour of the ultrasound she balled up her fist and shook it. It was so funny. Everything with baby is good except my end of the deal. Holding her in to get big and strong. Stop reading if you don't want details.

So they say my cervix is too short. Meaning I have the cervix of a women about to go into labor. Only 2 cm thick. I have now had 2 ultrasounds. The second was done by a specialist who says I am at high risk for placenta privia as well. A little scary, but they told me for now I am ok to walk around and do my business, but no lifting or exercising. I have another ultrasound in 2 weeks to see if it's improving or getting worse.
If it gets worse they will have to put in a stitch to ensure my cervix stays shut and if it gets worse further after that, I will be bed rested the rest of my pregnancy. Lets all cross our fingers that my body cooperates so we can bring this little girl into the world safe and sound. I can always use a little more drama in my life and can't wait for her to give me a run for my money. I probably won't feel so enthusiastic about it once it's happening!

My Briley turned 2

My baby girl turned 2 on me. Grandma Roberts sent her presents early and with her permission we opened them early. She got an outfit and 2 babies. A Cinderella baby "Rella" and a Snow White baby "No White". She loves them and packs them around everywhere.

We celebrated her birthday the Thursday before with lots of Friends. I mean tons. At least 17 kids showed up along with their parents for a swimming party. We were lame again and missed the whole swimming pictures.

When we got home she first wanted to try on the tutu Grandma Fawson sent. It was an Angelina Ballerina outfit and came with the doll. So cute!

Then went on to accessorize further with a crown.

Outfit change and a pony. She insisted I paint her nails with her new nail polish too.

She got some great puzzles and even more tutu's. We were hoping for dress up and got just what we ordered. Thank you everyone for making my babies day special!!!

First day of school

We put our little buddy in preschool this year. So far he has loved it, but I think he was a little nervous his first day. He looked so cute in his uniform.

This is him and his class waiting for the parents to pick them up. Most days they are running around playing on bikes and running relays when we get there. He never is ready to leave.

The big boy did it and never complains about going. I think this is just what he needed. I like it too!

Date DAY!!!

Paul and I had an excellent, one of a kind tour of Miami's inter coastal and the island keys from a good friend. We were fortunate enough to have our oldest son, Cash, come babysit for the whole day so we could go out. We got to his house at about 9, hooked up the boat and out we went. We went through the Inter Coastal and saw Miami in a whole new way. Our first stop was Boca Chita. It is a Key Island that you can't get to except by boat.

This water is 3 feet deep, but looks like a couple inches the sea weeds are so clearly seen. Gorgeous clear aqua colored water all around. From Miami all the way there, the water never went over 13 feet deep. You could see the bottom almost the whole time. So pretty!

Far shot of Miami from Boca Chita.

Pauly enjoying his boat ride. We then drove out to Key Biscayne Park Museum. Not a lot to see there, but there was AC so it made for a nice little break from the sun.

Next stop...Fowey Rocks lighthouse. I guess the water is so shallow going into Key Biscayne and Miami the the ships were getting grounded. So they put in this lighthouse, 7 miles out from the Key Biscayne lighthouse to let ships see where they should go to be safe. It was amazing. I've never seen water like that in my life. As clear as tap water and the most beautiful green-blue color I have ever seen.

We pulled up next top the lighthouse and got out to go snorkeling. Those who know Paul, again, know that that is a big step for him. Very afraid of sharks, especially since shark week on the Discovery channel just got over.

We swam around hand in hand for about an hour and had such a great time. We had never done anything we did that day before and may never have the opportunity again, but it was so much fun, and what a great day out, just me and my hubby!

water shot

Key Biscayne lighthouse

Miami from far out

Miami's Inter Coastal

American Airlines Arena from the water

Floating at last

Briley has been kicking around the pool with floaties by herself now for months. Quite the fish! We've been hoping that some of her confidence would rub off on Bryant. Sure enough one day down at the pool he asked to put on some floaties, jumped in the pool, we showed him the places where he could touch, and off he went.

We would throw a ball out and the 2 of them would race out there for them. Glad he is getting more and more confident.

Spiders in the sky...

Paul has the whole month of August off. After buying the van we needed to buy and getting some of the cleaning we needed, we decided to have a park day. We had heard of a park close by that was supposed to be cool so we went over to check it out. This is what we saw driving through the entrance. Giant Florida spiders hanging overhead.

These spiders are the size of Paul's hand so those of you who have seen his hands know how big that is. After driving in, we came to a playground. They were hanging all over it too. We decided a different park might be better. We ended up in Hollywood at T. Y. park. They abbreviate because the real name is a way long Indian name.

Paul and the kids had a blast on all the equipment, but especially the teeter totter. Not sure if you spell it that way, just sounded right. The kids loved having Daddy home to chase them around. Me too!!!!