Lucky Unicorn.

Well, yesterday was the day I finally got to go see my O.B.G.y.n. I've been looking forward to that day since the two little lines first appeared on my little stick. And because this pregnancy has been a bit rougher on my back than the previous two and something has just felt "not quite right" the whole time...I was extra excited to be driving off to her office once again.

It was so wonderful and very cool walking through the doors of my O.B.'s office 4 years later. It does not feel like 4 years have past, but they have sure enough. I was greeted instantly and given a refresher course in the way things go at the office: check in, check your own urine, weigh yourself (blahh), and then give your results to the receptionists. I am up almost 20 lbs at month number 6 so, despite that being a bit frightening to see on the scale, it puts me about on track for where I was with Maddie and Jamie (I gained exactly 35 lbs with both of them. Sadly they each weighed just under 8 lbs, but whatever. BTW...did you see that clip of Minnie Driver saying "Oh, well...all my weight gain was baby so that is why I look so great now just 2 days after giving birth" or something to that affect. Good for you Minnie.) :-P

Then I was shown into the exam room and the very nice and friendly nurse came in to update all my info., take my blood pressure, measure my "fundal height" (I believe that is what it is called...it's just them checking to see where your uterus has expanded to now), and get the baby's heart rate. And, yes, she let me listen to it for a nice long time. I swear, I almost cried. It's just one of those incredible little moments. The baby's heart rate was 139 and so, despite the fact that she and I both know there is no medical evidence behind this old wives tale, the nurse could not help but kid with me and say, "Ah! It's a boy!" {I had told her about my 2 ultrasounds - the first lady saying she was "quite sure it was a boy" and the second lady, at the horrible ultrasound, saying "well, I don't see any boy parts"}.

Then I heard the familiar voice of my wonderful doctor coming down the hall. She greeted me as "Norma", but I'll forgive her for that (for now. I'll have to correct her next time lest she drive me crazy). I was so happy to see her! I could have hugged her...but I kept my looney-preggo-girl hormones in check for the moment. She brought a student doctor in with her (asked if I minded first) which actually worked out great because then I got to hear all about "my case" which is "an interesting one".

Hmmm. I knew I had some weird things about me, but I didn't know all the details and the ones I thought I knew I had wrong! It's amazing how little you can know about yourself!

Turns out what I have is actually called a "Unicornuate Uterus". I'm a unicorn! The girls will be thrilled. What this means in a nutshell is..."A unicornate uterus is one that hasn't developed completely. It is smaller, generally only half the size of a normal uterus, and only has one fallopian tube. This makes conception and pregnancy difficult."

I had no idea. Here is a blurb off of one woman's site on the web:

"This web page is dedicated to the uterine anomaly unicornuate uterus. I put this web page together because I have this anomaly and I have found there is very little information on this condition. Although is it similar to the bicornuate uterus, which is unfortunately much more common, they are totally different in that research for one does not encompass the other. As of this date there are over two dozen of us [Two dozen! That's IT?!? O.M.G.] with this same condition. Some of them have children, some have had miscarriages, some have lost their babies and some of them went into pre-term labor. All of us have gone through some ordeal to get pregnant and that is usually when we have found out about our rare condition. There is, however, hope for all of us to one day to become a parent. Just knowing that I was not alone was an enormous comfort.

I have e-mailed other women who have this condition and asked them for their own story. Even though we all have the same anomaly our situations and conditions are different. Besides Our Stories, I have included articles that I have found on unicornuate uterus. If any one knows of any other sources please let me know. All of the articles have been used without permission from the authors. If you want full reprints I have put the addresses where you can obtain them. My best to all of you who have this anomaly. The best suggestion I have is to find a doctor who understands your condition, is willing to listen, and for pregnancy purposes, treat you like the high risk patient you are. Even though I went full term no one knew if that would be possible. Everything worked out in the end but it took a lot of prenatal care on my part, my husband, as well as my doctors."

Wow. Okay. Yeah, now I'm a bit scared.

Yesterday my doctor re-measured my uterus as she felt it was quite high...and it was. I'm at 29 cm whereas I should only be at about 24-25. This puts the baby about a month ahead of schedule - "size-wise" and that is because he/she doesn't have as much room to "roll up in"...he/she can only "stretch out" up my one, left, side. This also, btw, explains all the pain on the right side of my back. Not only am I carrying a heavy load - it is an off-balanced load! And, the RMT on Wednesday was right...the baby is up under my ribs already. But, the big problem with this is...the baby only has so much room to grow and once he/she is out of room it signals labour. Pre-term labour.

My doctor is very concerned about this and she said she will need to watch me very carefully and keep a close eye on the baby to see how he/she is doing. She has put in an order for another ultrasound a.s.a.p. and I will be going for several more throughout the rest of the pregnancy.

{Ok. This is about where my jaw drops all the way from the exam table and hits the floor}.

How could I have two children already and not know this?! I mean, I had NO IDEA that I was a "high risk" pregnancy. I had NO IDEA that it was extra difficult for me to get pregnant (having 50% less chance than other woman from the get-go). And I had NO IDEA that I was at risk for delivering pre-term. All I really knew was that I had a funky uterus, the baby would lay kind of sideways across me and, therefore, had to be delivered by c-section.

My gawd! I'm so lucky it is amazing. I got pregnant with Maddie on the first try. I got pregnant with Jamie on the second try. And I got pregnant with this baby on the fourth try. I always thought that was very, very, lucky but knowing now how the odds were really stacked against us...it's pretty incredible. I'm literally shaking to find all this out.

So, well, I just can't even say anything more about all of this right now. I'm sort of in shock. Even more so than I was yesterday as it all begins to sink in, I guess. Maybe I should have left the office feeling scared or upset or something...different. But, all I really felt was a huge sense of relief. Is that weird?

I don't know. I just felt like this all explained a lot about how I've been feeling and the knowledge that I was now with someone who knew exactly what was going on and who was going to look out for me, carefully, was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Now I'm just freaking out a bit...learning more about my condition and how rare it is...on the internet. But, still, feeling very

very

lucky.

My Little Buttercup.

Since I've been wallowing in self-pity for awhile now I thought I'd share with you this one little, tiny, kinda' cute moment I had with Jamie the other day that made me smile...

Jamie was playing away on the computer (it's amazing how well she gets around on there considering she is 3!) when I asked her, "Is there anything you need, Sweet-pea?"

And Jamie responded, "Why do you like to call me 'Sweet-pea' better than 'Buttercup'?"

I said, "Why? Do you like 'Buttercup' better?"

And Jamie said, "Yes".

So I said, "Okay Buttercup...is there anything you need Buttercup?"

Jamie - "No thanks, Mom".

And then she went back to her Clifford game.

:)

So cute. I just love that little kid.

What's With the One-Word Answers??

I was going to do another post in the "Things to be Grateful For" (sorry for the poor grammar), genre, but my old, old, old pal over at Widney Woman tagged me in this game of "The One Word Meme". I'm so thrilled to be picked to play that I thought I'd show my gratitude by playing along right away! Although, I do like me some adjectives and adverbs...so this may be tough for me but...here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? Hmmm?
2. Where is your significant other? Outside.
3. Your hair color? Dark-Blonde
4. Your mother? Alive.
5. Your father? Deceased.
6. Your favorite thing? Sunshine.
7. Your dream last night? Forget.
8. Your dream/goal? Self-Employment
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Failure.
12. Where do you want to be in six years? (MY) Office
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Dishonest
15. One of your wish list items? Couch.
16. Where you grew up? Ontario.
17. The last thing you did? Ate.
18. What are you wearing? (Preggo) Jeans.
19. Your TV? Dexter!
20. Your pet? Several.
21. Your computer? (Frickin') Slow.
22. Your mood? Anxious.
23. Missing someone? Yep.
24. Your car? Truck.
25. Something you’re not wearing? Socks.
26. Favorite store? Chapters.
27. Your summer? (too) Short.
28. Love someone? Several.
29. Your favorite color? Pink.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today.
31. Last time you cried? Hmmm?

If you want to play along with this meme...please Do!! And, be sure to let me know so I can go see all your one-word answers. Hey...this is kind of like asking a kid about their day at school, isn't it?

The Ever Expanding Belly.

For more fun Wordless Wednesday posts be sure to CLICK HERE.

So Much to be Thankful For...

Did you all (all you fellow Canadians, I mean) have a wonderful Thanksgiving? I hope so. We sure did! What a beautiful day it was. We got really lucky.

We woke up bright and early to head out to a local fair (good thing we did, too, because by the time we were leaving all the lots were completely full. There were no parking spots anywhere and it was total gridlock). We got there so early, in fact, that the rides hadn't even started up yet but that was ok because that gave us a chance to walk through all the exhibits first. I have never seen such amazing looking ducks, and chickens, and roosters before in my life! I snapped a shot of the girls in front of the first "winners" we came to...only to discover the dreaded..."Oh, shite, my batteries just died". So, I didn't get any more pictures of the beautiful birds, the gorgeous baby horse, the beautiful, beautiful, cows, the baby goats (who I got to pet. You know me and goats. Well, maybe you don't. But, I love baby goats!). While I walked around "Ohhhhh-ing" and "Ahhhh-ing" and petting all the cool animals, the girls went and played in a big sandbox full of corn while their Daddy kept an eye on them.





We then headed over to the horse shows. Some pretty huge horsies there, I must say. Just amazing. And so clean! Even their feet were spotless and their shoes were glistening in the sunlight as they marched about. Very cool. I'm telling you...all of this stuff is ~right up my alley~ and I had such a great time.


Then the rides opened up. We grabbed a big vat of greasy french fries (what's a fair without some junk food?) then headed over to get some tickets. Not cheap my friends. Not cheap. All told we went on three rides and it cost $35. Wow. But, it was so much fun. The weather was just incredible: warm and sunny. In fact, it actually got kind of hot in my long sleeve shirt...but I wasn't about to complain!

The first ride we went on was the Ferris wheel. The carnie-boy working this ride totally forgot to take his happy-pill, unfortunately. He was barking orders out to all of us in the line-up every 30 seconds and moaning and complaining about how he was getting sick and tired of having to go over the rules all the time (uh, isn't that your job, bub?). His favourite line was, "And if you try to race past me to the ride once you get up here, you might as well keep on going...cuz' you ain't getting on this ride!". He must have said that 5 times at least while we waited. But, the good part was all of us in the line were still just having a great time. The weather was so damn beautiful you couldn't help but be happy. So, we just all laughed about him amongst ourselves and, as a group, made cracks about his grumpiness. It almost made it all the more fun because we had something to do to pass the time: make fun of him!

Once up there I became immediately nervous and kept trying to look at all the other cars to see just what it was that was holding us up! Eeeee. It was very high! Maddie and Jamie and Dave all had a great time, though, and it did give us a great view of the whole fair grounds. [OH, and while we were up there I decided to try my camera one more time. I thought if I turned off the flash, and the display, that I may have enough juice for a couple more shots. It worked!] Also, it was while we were at the top of this ride, that we were able to scope out our next adventure: The Dragon!



I didn't think it was a great idea for my pregnant-self to ride this one so Dave went on with Jamie and Maddie got to go all by herself. It was very difficult to get shots of them on the ride because I just had my wee, crappy, pocket camera which (especially with almost no battery life left) tends to take the actual shot about 2 seconds after you press the button. By that time...especially with fast-moving, roller-coaster, type shots...your actual subject tends to be out of view and you are grabbing shots of some stranger having a great time, instead. Ah well, I still managed to get a couple...such as they are....





Jamie looks like she is absolutely petrified and perhaps even crying in this shot, but she was actually having the time of her life. She wanted to go back on as soon as she got off.




As it was getting quite late, I knew there was going to be no chance of me baking pies in time for our dinner at the In-Laws that afternoon. Fortunately, they were selling pumpkin and apple pies right at the fair! So, I scooped a couple up before they were all gone and we had time for one more ride. The girls picked the "Super Slide". They were both tall enough to go on this one by themselves so we watched them make the hike all the way to the top and I scooted over to the end of the ride to try and catch some pictures of them coming down.


Jamie went first and as she raced down the gigantic slide, she picked up more and more velocity until...just at this point...she went flying up into the AIR! The grown men who stood all around me as I snapped away with my camera were yelling "Look at her go! Whhhoooaaa!! She's Airborne!!". Dave said a slight look of terror did come across her face, but when she stopped and heard everyone cheering for her she was thrilled! She was so impressed with herself. Adorable. Luckily, she did land back on her butt and was fine. Again...she was ready for another ride right away.






Maddie's ride down was almost as much fun, but she didn't achieve quite the velocity or pick-up that little Jamie James did.




Now it was really getting late so we had to head out, with our pies in hand, to head off to Dave's Mom's house for dinner. Turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots cooked in garlic...drooooool. It was delicious. Dave's brother and his wife (who also happens to be my good friend...I knew her before I met Dave. Well, I know Dave because I knew her!!} were also there so it was just such a great time. Dave's brother is so great with the girls and he played and danced with them for, literally, hours! He must have been exhausted. And my sister-in-law and I just gabbed away {above the noise of squeeling little girls} the whole time, while the new addition kicked away inside of my belly.


It was a great night. It was a great day.


So much to be thankful for.

Thai for Two.

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time again, folks...

so I bring to you this recipe from "Crazy Plates" by those two Canadian ladies I love, Janet and Greta Podleski (did you know they are actually the youngest of 6 girls! Wow. Imagine trying to get in the bathroom at that house when they were all growing up):

Thai for Two (Linguini, Shrimp, and Veggies in Plum sauce).

Here are your ingredients:

1. 4 oz. uncooked linguini



2. 1/2 cup each plum sauce and low-fat chicken broth



3. 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar



4. 2 tsp grated gingerroot



5. 1 tsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce and sesame oil



6. 1 clove garlic, minced



7. 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes



8. 1 cup each carrots, zucchini, and red bell pepper, cut into thin strips



9. 8 oz. uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled



10. 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Here are your directions:

1. Cook the linguini (but...I'd do this closer to the end so you can just plop it right into the sauce/toppings...otherwise it gets cold and sticky)



2. In a small bowl, combine plum sauce, chicken broth, vinegar, gingeroot, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.



3. Spray a large, non-stick wok or skillet with non-stick spray. Add carrots, zucchini, and red pepper. Cook over med. heat until veggies begin to soften (about 4 mins.). Stir often (really, you should "shake" the pan like they do on the t.v. shows because it makes you look much, much, cooler than just stirring). Add shrimp, green onions, and sauce. Increase heat to med.-high. cook and stir until mixture is hot and bubbly, and shrimp is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked linguini to wok or skillet and mix well. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Verdicts:

Maddie said, "I don't like Ginger. Did that just hurt your feelings Mom?". Isn't she cute? I told her, "No, sweetie, that doesn't hurt my feelings, but `cha ain't getting anything else". She then managed to eat the rest of her dinner...as did Jamie when she found out that she wasn't getting any junk food (cookies) until she ate some healthy food (her dinner). There was nothing too hot, or too spicy, about this dish...so I wasn't letting them off. I figure if it is really spicy then I won't make them eat it, but if there is really nothing wrong with it then...no such luck.

Davey gave it a 7/10. He said "It would be an 8 if you made it with some beef." I said, "Mamma don't cook cow". And he said, "It would be a 9 if you made it with veal". {He likes to press my buttons. Can you tell?}. Then he told me about an episode of Anna Olsen's cooking show that he just saw in which she was using veal. So, of course, I went off about how cruel that was and how people are just ignorant about how these animals are kept and treated. It is just plain mean and heartless. Dave just sat there quietly smirking to himself.

Me, I say this was quite good. It had a lot of that ginger heat that I love. I think it would have been so much better had my noodles not been finished before everything else because then they just sat there getting cold and forming a big sticky mass before I could get them into the sauce. Next time, I will definitely make the noodles near the end of prep...but I'd for sure make this again. I seem to be getting over my fear of shrimp and I'm hearing more and more good things about the health benefits of shrimp so I'm glad to add some variety to my diet.

For more recipe ideas please go check out the Fairy BlogMother's site...the home of What's Cooking Wednesday. And, if you have a great recipe you'd like to share...feel free to join in the fun!!

Two side notes:

1) I just got listed on The Mom Blogs!!! Yay! So, if you like my site, please rate it up on the top left-hand side of this page. Thanks!!! All votes for "excellent" will receive their cheques in the mail promptly (JK!!!).

2) The other pizza mom called me!! So, she will hand out the pizza and I can be here to get my kids' bunk-beds when they arrive...and do my homework...and, um, maybe just run out to The Bay for a quick second to buy the frickin' KitchenAid Artisan Mixer that I have been obsessing over for days...weeks....years!!! It's on sale. And, frankly, I'm just getting sick of thinking about the damn thing. I think I'd really just better buy it already.

The Purse Meme

The Fairy BlogMother did a post a long time ago about a purse meme that her pal Leah had started. I thought this was a great idea for me to get in on - since my purse was so full of stuff that I didn't even know what I had in there anymore.



Lots of papers. That's pretty much all I could tell.



Oh dear. Lots of mess. What is all that stuff?



An organized mess.

So, let's see...

• some fruit strips for the kids if they were to get hungry (I deduce this woman is a mommy).
• some candy that was handed to us at the Canada Day Parade (further evidence).
• an empty "Jelly Belly" container - I thought I should keep it because I could refill it with jelly beans and put it in the girls' lunch as a treat.
• Three toothbrushes. Yep. I had three toothbrushes in my purse (this woman must have braces or something).
• Oh, and there is my urine specimen container (and she is pregnant). Not used. Don't worry.
• A little plastic, toy mirror. Never know when you are going to need one of those.
• Some packets of Splenda, some Tim Horton's gift certificates, and a "free coffee" from the "Roll up the Rim" campaign (Has...or has had in the past...a rather significant addiction to coffee).
• A medical requisition form - ultrasound and blood work.
• A calendar from my dentist's office.
• Oh, and my passport. Good place to keep it. (She is also likely to jot off to Paris at a moment's notice - very devil-may-care kind of personality).
• Some spare change and my keys...but...funnily enough...no wallet (apparently expects her husband to pay for everything all the time - or she relies on the kindness of strangers).

Oh dear.

Well, the detective work would have been fairly bang on...up until the last couple of items.

Clearly, this purse over-haul was long overdue.

Much better! Now I have my wallet in there and my keys and I have pared it down to one toothbrush. But, I still can't fit my nice, big, day timer in there...or my camera. Every good mommy must carry a small digital in her purse for those surprise, super cute, moments you know. Only one answer that I can think of...

Meet my new purse. Isn't she pretty? They just happened to be selling purses at work one Friday (they sell things outside of the cafeteria fairly regularly...for some reason. It's usually jewelry, or pj's, or books, or stuff for kids, sometimes even scrubs...this week it happened to be purses!).

Now I can fit my wallet, my toothbrush, my keys, my day timer, and my camera in there no problem...and still have room for my passport. Paris here I come! Oh la la.

Wish Me Luck.

I think I may try to turn this into a pie.

For more Wordless Wednesday posts go HERE.

Yummy Shrimp Gumbo

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time again and Shan has so much on her plate, she has no time to blog about putting food there! So, if you have a great recipe you'd like to share this would be a great week to do it. Please just click right HERE to get all the details - and pick up some other great recipes from The Fairy BlogMother's pals.

But, before you go...

let me just tell you that if you are looking for a nice, hearty soup that fills you up and leaves you feeling all warm and cozy inside (just in time for this colder...waaahhhh....weather) then look no further than Michael Smith's Recipe for Shrimp Gumbo which you can find right HERE. I really love Michael Smith's "Chef at Home" show...not just because I get such a weirdly huge kick out of watching him duck in and out of his pantry door (this man is really, really, tall)...not just because he has a really adorable son named Gabe who often makes guest appearances...but because Michael Smith has some of the very best, easy to make, and fool-proof recipes on his show.

This recipe has been made a couple of times now by my wonderful hubby, Davey. I just love it when Dave cooks because he is really good at it, actually, and he usually does it (when he does) on the weekend so that when I come home from work the house smells so nummy when I step inside. Isn't that the best? When you are driving home from work, starving, and wondering what the hell you are going to have for dinner and you open the door and smell...mmmm...good food. And, I find, for some reason, that food always tastes better when I don't make it. Oh...is that a weird phenomenon or a comment on my cooking ability?

Anyway. Because I don't eat pigs or cows (which, apparently, makes me a "flexitarian". I never knew that before. I guess they have a name for everything these days), Dave just switched out the Italian sausage for turkey sausage, but everything else remained the same. It was delicious.

I'm just sorry that poor Mike (The Fairy BlogMother's wonderful hubby) who will be recuperating this week can't try this one - unless he wants to head back to the hospital early! But, if you aren't deathly allergic to shellfish then you have to try this one out. It is really, really, good and I ate the left-overs for the next two days straight!

Happy What's Cooking Wednesday and

We'll all be thinking of you Mike...and sending you our best wishes for a speedy recovery.