Monday, March 21, 2011

Finishing Up

The carpenters are coming today to put up the remaining molding and the mantle back up in the dining room/den. I'm finally finished painting the fireplace. Actually the day I found out that I lost the baby was the day I got a good portion of it done... I cried the entire time as I painted. Yikes, that was a project but well worth celebrating because the result looks amazing!!! I have a few touches that I want to add to the room so pictures will be up soon! So in my usual style as the finishing coat of paint was drying last night I was looking for colors for our boring living room. We've decided against creating a playroom downstairs for the kids and opted to save our money and make it into a Master Suite, complete with walk in closets and a private bath! The kids never really play downstairs anyway and we really could you a little retreat of our own. The only downside to this project will be the expense because we'll need to cut in egress windows and do some major plumbing. A plumber is actually stopping by today to do some work at the Ballroom so Will is going to ask him to stop at the house and give us a quick idea of what the damage will be. Meanwhile I'm trying to create a family friendly living space in our living room. I think I have finally come to a conclusion for a paint color. While at Home Depot a few weeks ago I picked up a Martha Stewart Paint Palette that is chocked full of some great colors. I chose a pale teal color called Artesian Well. It's a stretch for me because while I love color I tend to stick with safe neutral colors. I'm excited to see the result up on the walls. I want to use golds as accent colors in the dining room so I'll try to bring some of those into the room as well. I love the Karlstad couch that was recently added to the Young House Love living room, trying to talk Will into it is a challenge. He said he wants to sit in it and feel it before he is locked in. Usually he trusts my judgement on these things but he thinks that we need to spend a lot of money on a couch in order for it to be a good quality piece. Not too much of an IKEA fan, sorry. I just love the slate gray color, we want to have a sectional and it's under $1,000 which is a steal. Below are some pictures of the current space, it's pretty sad. Hopefully I can make it a more cheerful and kid friendly space!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Unexpected Changes

The past few weeks have been pretty tough. I went in for my 8 week pregnancy check, excited to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. The doctor came in and asked his usual questions and I got undressed and ready for the ultrasound. As soon as I looked at the screen I knew that something wasn't right. From previous experience with three other children, I knew that what was on the screen was not going to be good news. There was no heartbeat, no little pulse visible at all, just an empty egg. The baby had stopped developing somewhere between 4 and 5 weeks, the doctor said it looked to him like a miscarriage. I was mostly in shock...Will asked all the questions for me, it was like he knew exactly what to ask for me because I couldn't really speak. I asked to pass the baby naturally rather than go through a D&C or take some pill. I didn't want to believe it, I had some hope that maybe I just wasn't as far along as I thought. I read about people who thought they miscarried only to find out a few weeks later that everything was just fine. About a week later I started to bleed and yesterday was by far the worst part. I was having contraction like cramps all day and bleeding pretty badly. I felt week, lightheaded and every time I went to the bathroom I passed large clots. I know that there is some kind of reason that we are going through this, because it's an experience that we are all dealing with in different ways. Will has been the one to tell everyone, cards and flowers keep coming and while I really appreciate the thought, it's really just a reminder that we lost a baby. Simon told his teacher that he would like to add me to the prayer intentions at school, which was really sweet of him. I feel sort of empty, almost like I've failed at something. I always joked with people that the only thing that I was really truly good at was making cute kids, now I'm not so good at that. I know that it's not my fault, God has some kind of plan, maybe to bring us closer as a family. Will and I were fighting more and always angry, since our loss we've been really closer, talking again and trying to make more time for each other. It has really made me realize how very lucky that I am. Lucky and blessed with three healthy beautiful children, despite their daily complications. Lucky that I lost a baby early and not at 40 weeks. I'm trying to prepare myself for the next baby, just keep rolling with the punches. We wanted to conceive in April or May originally so now that just might happen, if we're lucky.