Independence Day

I couldn't go another day without checking in with the ole MotherJoggerBlogger. I am not feeling very inspired or enthusiastic, but there are only two things that me keep from blogging. No internet access and an attack of ovarian cysts/pancreatitis. I'd like to say the access-thingie was my lack of writing last night. It wasn't.

Anyhoo...after a wonderful morning run with the family and friends yesterday, we took a picnic lunch to the pool. We were all hungry, but the kids didn't seem too interested in stopping to eat. So we all wolfed down our lunch and headed into the pool. At some point I started to feel not so great in the belly. I wanted to chalk it up to not waiting the ole 30 minutes after eating before swimming. But I wasn't really swimming. I was standing in the baby pool, catching a jumping Stella off the side.

Then I realized it was something more than indigestion, and I took off for the house, leaving Mark, my friends, and three puzzled children. As I walked home, hoping to not pass out along the way from the ever-growing, searing pain, I thought about my recent TV obsession: I Didn't Know I was Pregnant. I was suddenly full of worry that I was one of those people that I had frivolously called idiotic that very morning. How the hell can you not know you're pregnant? Who doesn't notice the weight gain? I could barely wear Mark's boxers shorts at the end of my pregnancies, and these people are saying that their pants seemed snug, but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. What?!

That also tells you the direction of my pain. It was becoming comparable to labor.

A quick trip to Urgent Care where they took one look at me and said, we are not equipped. Off to Presby Main. A relatively quick wait at the ER (a horrible waiting room experience), and hours...I mean, hours, in the room. So grateful for my friends. They took over at the homestead and took excellent care of Heath and Stella while we were gone. Naps, playtime, dinner, baths. They took care of it all. We were home around 11. Not such a good 3rd of July

Much better today, though. Much time with my BFF, while Mark and her husband took the three kiddies out for an adventure of Starbucks, Target, and Freedom Park. Then an evening of 4th of July grill-out fare, sparklers, poppers, and smoke bombs. Then the Daddies took the three year olds to a fireworks show at a golf course nearby. Apparently they had a great time, while I put a very sleepy Stella to bed. She was very curious about the popping and cracking noises outside her bedroom window. She leaned in close and whispered, Wha' da'? I told her they were fireworks and rocked her for a few more minutes.

When I put her in the crib, she looked up at me, grabbed the silky tip of her blanket, and said, 'works, and gave me (and herself) a reassuring nod.