My week in review

So a blogger that I have been following since Anastasia was in NICU started doing this a couple of weeks ago and I thought "Hey that's a good idea. Maybe I should try it."  So here I am giving you all a peek at my life this week.

This past week I learned that a 17 month old who is silent for a long time is not necessarily in trouble.  I was talking to my mom about something when I realized I hadn't heard Anastasia for a bit.  I looked in on her and saw this

She was just sitting there watching Disney Jr. So glad that it catches her attention!!!

Later that same day she decided to start stealing her Grampy's hat

She made quite the fashion statement. Thankfully she also did not fall down or trip on anything while walking with the hat covering her face!

This week I found my former Dance Studio's facebook page.  It brought back such great memories.  I was also thrilled to find out they recently celebrated being open for 50 years!  I felt nostalgic and shared this photo of me when I was 4, at my first recital in 1983

I'm hoping they are still around in a couple of years so Anastasia may have the same opportunity to dance there.

Work was crazy this week....we did an initial set of Christmas cards...yes it was the final days of Summer and there I was setting up Christmas Cards...  

I do have to say though that I was quite proud on how it turned out.  It being my first big card set up and all by myself!

Now that brings us to today.  On Wednesday my husband is celebrating his birthday.  Today in celebration he wanted to do a wine tasting.  So we headed to Whitecliff Winery and Vineyard and our friends sampled some wines.  (I was DD...but I got to eat some kick ass cheese!)

Afterward we went to Neko in New Paltz and found our favorite Sushi chef (who used to make sushi in the Neko in Wappingers, which has closed :(  )  He treated us really well!

Finally when we got home I got to make the spinich dip I have been wanting for a few days now...

I totally blame my friend Amanda for getting me addicted to it when we worked together at Borders!

So there you have it, my week in pictures.....

Why do I support the March of Dimes?

15 Million babies are born too soon each year world wide!  This is a huge number.  To think that in 2012 my  precious Anastasia was included in that number is hard to swallow.  When we discovered we were pregnant in October of 2011 I was hoping for a "normal" pregnancy, and until my 20 week sonogram it was pretty normal.  Then we discovered the 2 vessel cord, which meant we had to see a fetal specialist.  There was a good side for that, we got much better sonogram pictures and instead of dealing with the ob clinic's freezing cold gel for the ultrasound machine, I got warm gel.  Nothing really to brag about but it's the little things that made me happy.

Everything was fine until my doctor's appointment after my chorus's competition, my blood pressure was a bit raised.  I had to do a 24 hour urine analysis and have blood taken.  2 days later I was back at the doctor's and I was admitted to the hospital with slight hypertension.

April 2, 2012 things went bad, I had what I thought was heartburn and it lasted all day!  I took tums, and pepcid and nothing touched it.  Just after midnight on April 4th 2012 I could not get comfortable so I pushed the nurse call button.  They called the OB on call and she couldn't tell me what was wrong with me.  That was a long night, thankfully I was given morphine so that the pain would finally stop.  I didn't but it did lessen so I could get some rest. Later that day it was decided I would have an emergency C-section due to suffering from HELLP Syndrome, a very severe form of Preeclampsia....thus causing my baby to be born prematurely.

Without the March of Dimes and their support of the NICU at Vassar Brothers Medical Center I probably would have gone nuts for the 5 weeks that Anastasia was there.  I am so grateful for all the work they do.

I am not only walking to celebrate my daughter Anastasia, but also a boy from my church Aiden, who is also a Preemie.  He was born 6 months after Anastasia when his mother went into early labor.  Another preemie I am celebrating when I walk on Sunday is my good friend's niece Gabriella.  Her mom also suffered from preeclampsia.

So this is why I walk.

Blessings to you all

My Baby Girl is One!!!

Hard to believe it's been over a year since the trauma of Anastasia's birth.  Today we had a small party for her.  It's so strange to see how our lives have changed due to this little life.  When she launches herself at me I feel so honored that this little girl loves me unconditionally.  She is truly the most important person in my life.  I would give anything for her.  I am also very happy that my husband's mother finally got to meet her granddaughter.  I have also made peace with the fiasco that was her baptism, there of course was drama.  My husband's aunt didn't know if she would come or not...not skin off my back but for someone who constantly complains to others that she never sees Anastasia for her not to show up is an insult.  She did show up, but I did vent to my mother-in-law about her.  Then I learn that she is saying that my husband and I never allow her to see Anastasia.  :-o  Seriously????  This is honestly not the case.  Every time we make plans to meet up, we are blown off.  It's not right to lie about something like this, I am truly offended by this and it truly put a damper on Anastasia's big day for me.  I however did not tell my husband about this accusation until after the party.

Anyway the rest of the party was great, my friend Cindy made a great feast for us all.  The kids that were there had a blast and were all pooped by the time was over.  Alex and I are truly blessed with such wonderful friends

Sorry for the rant on what should have been a joyful occasion....


Blessings to you all...

Jessica

So many changes, so little time

I'm sure this is a challenge for every mother out there. I started working PT at a Hallmark Gold Crown store in November and I have had very little time for myself.  I was so upset when I started.  How many milestones would I miss while working?  Well as it turns out I really didn't miss a lot.  Anastasia started crawling on my birthday, which was really special for me.  Now she is continually standing up in her crib, in her pack and play, where ever she can!

Now we are looking forward to her first birthday which will be in little over a month.  Not really sure what to do, we really can't afford much so we may just end up making a bunch of things and inviting our closest friends and family.

Any suggestions I'm open.....

That's all I got for now

Blessings to you all!

Jessica