Why?

*Warning--Not a happy post.

Why is everything happening seemingly all at once?  One of my aunts died unexpectedly in December after surgery complications.  My maternal grandmother passed away in January, a day short of the one year anniversary of my maternal grandfather's death.  Tragedy actually struck twice that day when we found out a longtime neighbor and family friend had also died.  Then Eric found out he had the tumor in his femur and had to have immediate suregery to remove it.  Thankfully, all of that turned out okay.  Now I've just been told my paternal grandfather's kidneys are failing and it's only a short matter of time.  Why?

This is supposed to be a time of happiness and joy for Eric and me, but instead we're spending our time at hospitals and funerals.  I know that probably sounds really self-centered and I don't mean for it to sound that way; I am truly grieved by each one of the incidents.  I worry about the baby.  I know my stress easily passes to her and I have been stressed, really stressed.  Please keep my family in your prayers.  The best way I can look at this is that our baby girl will be a blessing among all of these tragedies.

Hodge Podge

• Thank you for sharing your opinions on the bedding sets.  Hopefully Eric and I will make a definitive decision soon!
• A couple of you asked where I found the different bedding options...Most of the ones I posted can be found at multiple sites--babysupermall.com, Babies "R" Us, Pottery Barn Kids, and Target.
• I've decided that I'll probably never get around to a DC post.  If you really want to see pictures of what we did, look at Eric's blog here, here, and here.
• Today is class picture day.  I decided to wear the outfit that makes me the look the most pregnant.  I don't want to look like I'm just chubby!  :)
• Eric has his follow-up appointment this afternoon. We'll find out how his femur is healing and if he'll finally be able to put some weight on his right leg.
• Eric and I are going to start a baby regsitry soon and need advice from moms with experience.  What are the products that you couldn't have done without?  What was a waste of money?  What did you wish you had?  ALL advice will be greatly appreciated!

Choices, Choices, Choices

*Update #2:  I've changed the Tulip picture.  The new one is much better.

*Update #1:  I've included a poll on the right so you shy stalkers can share your opinion as well.  :)

There are soooo many options out there for crib bedding and if you know me, I don't need hundreds of choices.  I've spent HOURS looking at different designs and now I need YOUR help.  Tell me which one of these you like best, or maybe you can even point me in the direction of a totally different bedding set.  Keep in mind that we don't necessarily have intentions of buying all of the extras--diaper stackers, rugs, lamps, wall paper, wall hangings, etc--so try to focus on just the bedding.  Without further ado, here are the selections:

Hannah-$

Jacana-$$

Love Bird-$$

Madison-$$

Mod Butterfly-$$

Penelope-$$

Tulip-$

Apathetic and Misbehaved

Those are the two adjectives I'd use to descirbe 95% of my students this year. It is scary to look at them and think that they are "our future." I don't know how much longer I can stand to be in the classroom environment since I don't find it enjoyable or fullfilling. There's so much more I'd like to say, but can't because this is a public blog.  I guess I'll leave it at that.

Don't miss the MUCH happier post below.

The Results Are In

The pathologist called yesterday and said Eric's tumor was just what the surgeon suspected--a BENIGN giant cell tumor.  Yay!  Now we can just focus on his recovery.  Thanks for the prayers, calls, cards, visits and food!  We've been blessed with some fabulous friends and family.

There's No Place Like Home

Eric will be discharged from the hospital this afternoon.  Yay!  We're both going a little stir crazy sitting here in his room.

We reported to the hospital at 5:30 on Friday morning.  Despite it being so early, Eric had quite a crowd to see him off--wife :), parents, sister, mother-in-law, grandparents, friend, and pastor.  Of course Eric had to keep us entertained while we waited for him to be taken to surgery.

Finally at 7:30 the anesthesiologists took Eric to the OR.  Three hours later our family was called to the consultation room to meet with the surgeon.  He told us that he felt really good about the operation.  Based on what he saw when he removed the tumor, he's 98% sure it's benign.  The surgeon ended up using bone cement to fill the hole that the tumor left behind and he used a couple of screws and a plate to help support Eric's femur.  Because things went so well, he is anticipating that Eric will only be on crutches for two weeks, instead of the previously anticipated six.  Another yay!

The recovery from the surgery has been rough.  I don't think Eric realized this was going to be major surgery with intense pain that he's going to have to work through.  Yesterday afternoon he decided to start weaning himself off of the morphine since he won't be able to take that home.  The doctor prescribed a strong oral pain killer that Eric LOVES.  He says it makes him feel good, but it drives me nuts! The medicine makes Eric itchy and a little loopy.  From 5-9 this morning he was humming away.  I asked him what he was doing and he said he was singing to himself.  I didn't recognize the song, so apparently it is one that the pain killer made up for him.  The nurse decided we'll cut his dosage in half to see if that will keep him sane and still manage the pain.

Throughout this whole process our 21 week old baby girl has been dancing around in my belly like crazy!  It is so strange to not only feel her, but to be able to see her moving around.  Eric's been too drugged up to care, but I can't wait until he gets a little more rested so he can watch her too!  :)

Probably, Maybe, Possibly, Depends

We heard those words a lot today at Eric's appointment with the tumor specialist, who happens to be the surgeon as well. Here's what we do know for sure:

Eric's CT scan came back negative meaning that the tumor hasn't spread elsewhere. The surgeon has decided that since the tumor will need to come out no matter what, he'll skip the biopsy and go straight to surgery. During surgery he'll remove all of the tumor and send some of it to pathology so they can determine exactly what kind of tumor it is. The surgeon will also install a screw and plate to provide structural support for Eric's pelvic bone as he recovers from the surgery. One of Eric's first comments after the appointment was, "Now I'll set off metal detectors!"

The surgery will be done first thing Friday morning and will last about two hours. Eric will stay overnight and should be released on Saturday afternoon. He'll be out of work for about a week and on crutches for six weeks. He is NOT happy about that. About a week after surgery we should get a response from pathology and then we'll go from there. Dr. W still thinks the tumor is most likely benign since it has distinct borders and Eric seems to be in good health otherwise.

I'll probably update again sometime this weekend and you can always check Eric's blog for his view on this and other things. Thanks for the prayers, and keep them coming!