Day 15

Good afternoon friends! I know I’ve been slacking ab it this week with writing, but I will do my best to catch up. Yesterday was a very busy, but good day. Chris and all the kids got here around 11:45 I think, and stayed till about 5:30. Grace colored two pictures for me, as well as a little wooden caterpillar thing she got for Easter. One picture was some flowers growing from the ground, (they mostly resemble tulips), and the other picture was presumably of the Easter Bunny, and it was very well done! Grace is definitely our talented little artist. Who she got that from, I have no idea cuz neither me or Eric can draw. Lol. Emmett drew me a picture of a sunset. That kid really likes sunsets. Lol. They also brought me the picture they got back from the school dance, and that turned out pretty well! My smile is the worst out of everyone’s. Lol. I never know if it’s better to show teeth or to not, so my on-demand smiles always look awful. Lol. Ezra also had his Spring pictures taken at daycare last week, so Chris brought me the proofs to order those. Neither this time or in the Fall ones did he smile. Lol. I feel like they could try a little harder getting him to smile because he has such a good one, but I guess it’s okay. Lol. Can we take a min to talk about how ridiculously priced daycare pictures are though?! I think Emmett and Grace’s school pics are like $35 for the package we normally get, and with Ezra, the only decent one was $65. I feel like they know people will feel guilty and pay the prices so they charge that much. Both the daycare ones and school ones use Lifetouch so it’s not like they’re from different companies. Oh well, the things we do for our kids, right?

Anway, more about yesterday. So when everybody got here, we chilled in my room for a little while and Grace made a huge tower out of the blocks the librarian gave to Ezra, and Grace stole my Cheez Its. lol. By 1:00 they were pretty hungry so we headed downstairs to get lunch. I still wasn’t too hungry cuz I didn't finish breakfast until around 10:30, so I just got a slice of pie again. It was like an Andes mint chocolate mousse; it was sooo good! Emmett got a slice of apple pie, which is always a risk for me because half the time they have nutmeg in them, which I’m allergic to. But I tried a small bite of his and it didn’t have any! So now I know that’s safe for me to have, and it was pretty delicious as well. They have an interactive game thing set up over on the Children’s side of the hospital, but it wasn’t working last time they came to visit. This time it was, so we asked the people at the front desk to turn it on for them and they did. It kept crashing every few mins so that was pretty annoying, but overall they still had fun. Emmett kept begging to go to the gift shop, and eventually we caved but told him to expect not to get anything cuz gift shops are nearly always overpriced, but right when we walked in, we found the Squishmallow that matches my tattoo! Even better, it was only $7! Grace saw it and thought it looked like her cat, Elsa, so we obviously had to let her get it. Lol. Since we let Grace get the cat, we told Emmett he could pick an item $7 or less as well. This kid walked around the entire store looking at every. Single. Item. After about 15 mins Ezra was fed up so I told him he had two mins to pick something out. Grace noticed this little plushie that was in the shape of a ball, but looked like Harry Potter. (Emmett has recently gotten into HP.) At first he brushed her off, but after he was given his warning he decided that’s what he would go with, as everything else he picked out was over budget. Turns out, the toy is actually a ball that’s wrapped in fabric! It bounces pretty well, so he was having fun bouncing that against the wall and catching it, and even played with Grace for a little bit as well. There’s also a piano over on the children’s hospital side, so they took turns playing that as well. (No they can’t actually play piano. lol) After being downstairs for some time, we started walking back to the side of the hospital I’m on, and Chris wanted some Starbucks so we stopped there for coffee for him first. OH! Chris, always thinking of his boo, brought me two Biggby coffees, so those should last me 4-5 days. I always get their caramel sweet foam cold brew, the 24 oz, and nurse that for a few days so I can make it last. Best part about cold brew is you can just stick it in the fridge and it’s good to go! I’ve really missed my Biggby so I really appreciated that. After getting Starbucks, we headed back upstairs to hang out for a bit. Grace remembered that last week the nurse brought them ice cream, so she asked for that again and of course the nurse obliged. As I’ve mentioned before, Ezra is allergic to milk, so he can’t have any ice cream, but this time they brought him some lemon Italian ice, and that kid TORE IT UP! He grabbed the spoon from me, used it mostly properly, and literally ate the entire thing! I was amazed. Lol. I can’t blame him though because I also love lemon Italian ice. He tried the strawberry flavor last time but didn’t really like it. Every time I tried to take his spoon away, he threw a fit. Lol. We both got a little messy and sticky, but that’s okay. Nothing some soap and water can’t fix. At 4:55, one of the kids pointed out what time it was, and we honestly had no idea, so a bit after that, they started packing up to head home. As we were saying goodbye, I was trying to figure out the next time they would be able to come visit, and I made the mistake of pointing out it would be two weeks until I get to see them again, due to Eric picking them up today (Sunday) evening, and then Chris won’t pick them up until next Sunday evening, so then they won’t be able to come until the following weekend. Poor Grace started crying, so I felt bad. :( But I reassured her she was still only spending one week at her dad’s and that Chris would go pick them up next Sunday, and they can still call me anytime they want. I don’t know that it helped, but they do really enjoy calling me. I’ve gotten two phone calls already this morning. Lol. Emmett & Grace had make these little “rooms” for Ezra to play in. They had set up blankets and pillows, blocking out an area of the living room for him, and even made little stations for him, some with toys, others with books and snacks, and even a section to take a nap in. lol. It was really sweet and creative. They wanted me to be the judge of whose side was better. Lol. Of course I couldn’t decide.

Back to yesterday, shortly after Chris and the kids left, Erika came to visit! Chris even said he thought he saw her in the parking garage as they were leaving. Lol. Now as I’ve told you before, Erika is one of my fav humans on the entire planet, so I was very happy to see her. We just hung out in my room while she was there, and had “dinner” together. Lol. By “dinner” I mean I had ordered dinner and she brought snacks to eat. Lol. But always a good time seeing one of my besties. :) And next weekend she’s gonna come and bring her new boo, so I can either give him my stamp of approval or tell her absolutely not. (Only j/k a little bit because only the best for Erika <3). Speaking of next weekend, my new van should be at the dealership by now, or very soon, so Chris will likely go pick it up next weekend, and then drive here to see me. I’m hoping to go down to the parking garage so I can go see it in person at least, even if I can’t drive it around. Lol. 

On another note, only 19 days until we get to meet this little baby! It’s crazy to think that I’ve been here 15 days already, and we’re almost to the halfway point until delivery. While it is a bit exciting, I’m still very nervous for the surgery itself, and hopeful I can meet baby on the day of their birth. The surgery will probably be closer to 6 hours or more, as I’m also asking if they can repair the hernia I have after the delivery and hysterectomy, so that will obviously add some time. But if they can do it all at once, that would be preferred because any time going under general anesthesia is terrifying. I’m also pretty worried for the recovery itself. I can actually handle pain pretty well, but I’m sure that will be another level entirely. I’m also a bit worried about being able to get adequate time off of work, because I’m still not sure if the time I’m currently admitted will be considered short term disability or FMLA, and if it will affect how long I can get off after surgery. Granted I know they have to give me whatever the doctor orders, but if they’ll make me use all of my PTO and/or if I’ll get paid or not is another story.

Unrelated, but I decided to come write outside today since the library is closed and it’s a nice day. There was a medical chopper that just flew above and was very low, so it was obvious they’re bringing somebody here. My heart dropped a little bit when I saw that, because that could’ve been me. Had delivery been imminent when I first wen tot McLaren, that’s what they would’ve done for me, and that would’ve been absolutely terrifying for so many reasons, including the fact that Chris would not have been able to come with me, as there’s only room for 1-2 medical professionals on there, and that’s it. (I had asked my MFM doc about it previously because I like to be prepared for everything.) I’m very thankful that I only needed to be transported via ambulance, and that we didn’t have to rush here. (No lights or sirens on during the drive, just normal speed.)

I know I’ve written a lot today, and I honestly still feel like I could write more, but I’m getting hungry so I’ll have to go upstairs to order lunch soon, and I have to pee. Lol. I wish I could stay outside for much longer, but I also don’t have sunscreen on and I’m hoping I don’t burn. Lol. I’m sure my computer will overheat at some point too, as I don’t have a cooling fan for it. So I guess I’ll wrap it up for now. I’m hoping to be back tomorrow. I hope y’all are having a lovely weekend. Get out and enjoy the sunshine if it’s nice out where you’re at! As always, Jesus loves you!