I'm happy to report that we had a happy, productive, fun 4^th of July.

It started in a horrible way though.

Grant was up SCREAMING from 12:30am until 3:30am. SCREAMING. He was clutching at his feet saying his feet hurt. We inspected them really closely... couldn't find so much as a red spot on them. He wouldn't let a blanket touch them... and screamed bloody murder if either one of us touched him. He had some mosquito bites so I thought -- okay -- it's the middle of the night -- we're going to take care of this. I gave him an almost full dose of Tylenol (in case he was having growing pains) and a half dose of Benadryl (in case he had itchy mosquito bites). After an hour or so he calmed down and slept (in our bed) for about 30 minutes. Woke up -- right back at where we started... screaming about his feet. This time there was nothing at all we could do.... he just screamed bloody murder. At one point, he moved and I noticed that for the first time in more than a year he'd peed out his diaper. I'm assuming that was just because of all of the thrashing and kicking he'd been doing.... but the screams he let out while we changed his diaper were piercing and painful. That sent him over the inconsolable edge...
Finally, we tried gas medicine. About 10 minutes later he calmed down, laid down and went to sleep. So we can assume that he had a stomach ache.
This morning, when we asked him what happened he tells us that monsters were trying to get his feet.
Really? Monsters at 2?
Could he have had night terrors and the screaming caused gas?
Is the peeing out the diaper a symptom or by-product of his insane fit?
Could it have been his stomach all along?

We'll never know.

At 7:30 he woke up happy as a clam... as if nothing had happened.... leaving an exhausted mom and dad to pick up the pieces today. I spent the day having contractions (braxton hicks) because of the exhaustion and stress. Drew spent the day trying to power through – but made it thanks to coffee and will power.

Drew got up with Grant --- giving me an extra hour to sleep. I willed myself out of bed at about quarter of nine – because A) I needed to wash sheets and B) we had a LOOONNNGGG list of things to get done today.

My blood sugar was on the low side again this morning – clocking in at 70. I need to keep it between 70 and 80.

Anyway, we just dove right in. Drew & Grant worked outside – mowed the lawn, spread mulch, etc... while I swept the porch, cleaned the breakfast dishes, etc. Then we headed to Hope Depot, Auto Zone (so Drew could get stuff to detail his car... how cute!) and the grocery store. Came home... had lunch... put Grant down... I got my ribs marinating... Drew worked on his car. All of the walking around had my contractions really going – and I was really uncomfortable. I got the ribs going and just laid down... the rest really helped everything to just relax. I got Grant up from his nap around 3:30 and we went for a ride in Drew's car... got a soda... and came home... did more house stuff... and then I started grilling ribs.

I've never grilled ribs before.... they sort of scared me.... but this weekend I want to break us out of our food rut. Last night we had snow crab (delicious but a lot of work to eat). Tonight I decided to tackle ribs. I used Ina Garten's marinade... which is complex but AMAZING. Let me tell you.. my ribs were delectable. Seriously... amazing. I wish I'd made more. We also had grilled corn on the cob and I made the guys french fries. It's one of the best dinners I've made in a while.

After dinner Drew finished up a couple of house projects while Grant & I played on the swing... then we popped off a few fireworks (Grant had NO interest in them... could barely be bothered to look up from his truck to see the bottle rockets!) and then bath time and bed time. I'm holding my breath hoping that he'll sleep through the night. I'm so physically exhausted and tomorrow is just as jam-packed. (And we're having kebabs for dinner... steak and shrimp! YUM!)

The weather here was amazing... warm but not humid... so being outside was comfortable and tolerable (for the time I was outside... I wasn't spreading mulch like Drew so he may have a different take on the heat). I guess if you go back and read my blog from last 4^th of July... and as I remember it... I was so sick with that weird dizziness... and scared because of it... and in such a rotten emotional place... so sad and stressed... this year is 180 degrees from that. I spent most of the last 4^th of July laying on the couch wondering why the dizziness just wouldn't go away. Today I felt so physically great (despite being 7 months pregnant) and got to spend the whole day playing and working with my family. I'm so happy to be pregnant and to be expanding our family... bringing another little guy into our home. I think I'm just so much happier in general ... with everything that's going on... not that anything bad was happening last year... eh, I don't know... just rambling at this point... but last 4^th of July was a tough one... and today was just wonderful. Hoping the fun continues through tomorrow... and that we can really get more house projects done (need to run cable to move our internet router... maybe take Grant swimming).

He did it.

Drew bought himself a new car.

I couldn't be happier for him.

He went with the Volvo S60.  A surprise as it's A) not a German car and B) automatic

Drew's previous car was a 1982 VW Rabbit. He's had it since 1994... has driven it into the ground... and now, the Rabbit will be meeting a dignified end in a junkyard somewhere.

Drew has worked very very hard... through college, working in industry, going back to grad school and now as a tenure-track professor... he's put me an Grant first... watched me upgrade in cars while he drove a jalopy with no A/C... and now... it's finally his time to have a nice car. I'm so proud of him for how he manages our finances, how he is the sole bread-winner, and how we truly want for nothing as a family. If I sound like I'm gushing, I am. Drew is such a great husband and I have such true joy in my heart for knowing he is finally getting to enjoy the rewards of his years and years of hard work. Drew is a wonderful, supportive, loving husband and he's the kind of father everyone wants their children to have. I'm positively starry-eyed.

So what else has happened?

Well, I had my first low-blood-sugar attack. Scared.The.Hell.Out.Of.Me. I woke up at 2am Monday morning... sweating, heart racing, hands shaking. I knew immediately what it was. I asked Drew (who was up installing hardwood floors in the baby's room) to get me some crackers and juice. I felt better immediately after. I figured that in the morning my blood sugar was going to be really high considering the juice and crackers. Nope. It was 57. Low. Very low. Juice was gone so I ate a bowl of golden grams and and hour later my b/s was 175... high, but high isn't as scary as low. Saw my diabetes doctor today and she agrees that because we've been SO active, I'd had a very early dinner the night before and it just all added up to scary. I've backed down my evening insulin dose to 24 and I'm not supposed to be as aggressive in increasing it.... it's a good thing, really. I'm really responding to the insulin. I have another ultrasound tomorrow to check for baby size and placenta placement... can't wait to see the little guy again.

If I thought our house was topsy-turvy before... it's REALLY topsy-turvy now. We have primed and painted the baby's room (flowered wallpaper... gone). The somewhere between pink and red (maybe a really ugly rose color??) is GONE. That carpet was a stinky, dusty horrible mess. It's gone. Garbage. Adios. Drew is, at this very moment laying down hardwood floors in there. Yes, surprising to go with hardwoods in a baby's room... and we will need to put an area rug in there... but when we compared the cost of carpeting vs. hardwoods... and considered the fact that we would never be able to match the carpet that covers the rest of the upstairs... it really just made sense to go with hardwoods. The hope is that by the end of this week... the baby's room will be mostly done (we'll need to get curtains for the windows and I'll probably paint something like I did for Grant). I can't wait to reclaim my house!

Also – I think Drew is going to put an offer in on a new (to him) car tomorrow! Drew still drives the first car he ever had... a 1982 VW Rabbit. It's old. It has no A/C. AAA has towed it back to our house many many times. It's been a good car for Drew... and he has lovingly maintained it since 1992. It has had a long, good life. Now, though, it's time for Drew to have a reliable, stable car with A/C. He's narrowed it down to a 2004 Audi Sedan and a 2004 Volvo S60. Last I heard, the plan was for me to go with him tomorrow morning and take a look and tell him what I think then he'll make an offer.

In the meantime, I'm getting bigger and more uncomfortable every day. It's crotch hot with no wind here...combine that with all of the work I've been doing on the house and it means I have quite a bit of Braxton-Hicks contractions these days. I'm trying to just listen to those and know it means it's time for me to lay down for a bit. I have a fair amount of energy, which is a wonderful change. My blood sugars have been pretty good. I'm up to 30 units of insulin a night... and I'm doing really good about knowing when I need to take some fast insulin to get me through a carb-heavy meal. Today at lunch I had a low-carb lean cuisine (8 g total) plus a peach. The last time I had a peach my sugars were insane... this time, I did great! My blood sugar was under 100!! I have an ultrasound on Thursday to check baby size and placenta placement (last time they thought it was a little low). I'm hoping the placenta has moved up a bit and that the little guy is growing at a steady rate.

Grant is doing amazing. He's just blossomed into such an amazing little man. He's communicating in complex sentences... and when he sees my cell phone he says “hi Danny” which means he wants to call and say hi to Granny (my mom). He spent a lot of this weekend outside with Dad... and has some nasty mosquito bites to show for it. He was really uncomfortable tonight... didn't want clothes on... no blanket... I could tell he was itching... so I put our after-bite on it and gave him a little Benadryl to take the edge off. He's sleeping right next to me... so sweet.

So there you have it... busy time and an even busier week ahead!! Wish us luck!