Back in the Hospital

Well, we're back in the hospital. Amanda is progressing, so it looks like we're here for good. The little man is sideways, so unless that changes, we're in for a C section.

Amanda isn't having any contractions, so it probably won't be tonight, but it will most likely be within the next few days.

We're so grateful for all the family, friends, and neighbors who have helped so far, and for my employer Magnum Energy, who has been so incredibly gracious through all of this.

We'll keep you posted...

My Millie

I was going through old pictures to pass some time and I came across this...

I miss playing with my little one. This is one of my favorite pictures of Millie and I. She is always making me laugh and I hate being stuck in this bed when I only have a small amount of time to be ONLY her mom. I wish I could spend my days playing with her, going to the zoo, the park, and taking in every moment before becoming a mother of 2.

I love you Millie and although I can't wait for your little brother to join our family, I am going to miss it being just the two of us.

Another Day

I had my appointment today and things are looking good. I have not progressed since last week. HOORAY!
You think I would have been celebrating and although I am of course happy that our baby boy is behaving a little better I had a rough time today. All in all I have been doing pretty well emotionally with all of this, but I was teary all day. You win some and you lose some. I do count myself lucky that I have such an amazing family. Everyone has been so wonderful. I haven't had to stress about one thing. Millie is taken care of, my house is clean, my errands get done, dinner is served, and all I do is sit here.

Thank you so much for all the help! I really am blessed!

Naughty Boy

If words like "cervix" and "thinned" gross you out then don't read this post.

I had my regular OB appointment August 4th and because we were getting ready to head to Lake Powell and I'd had a little stomach tightening my doctor decided to do an internal. I HATE internals. It doesn't matter how many times I get them done or that I have already had a baby, my knees always jerk together. I can't help it.
Anyway, I was shocked to find out I had been contracting quite a bit. I don't really feel any pain with my contractions until after my water breaks. At least it was that way with Millie and so far the same deal with this pregnancy. I was dilated to a 2 and 50% effaced. Dr. Rappleye sent me straight to the hospital to be monitored.
I was so freaked out! Luckily I wasn't contracting so they gave me a steroid shot and told me to come back tomorrow for another one. With lots of prayers we made it through those crucial 48 hours after receiving my shots and now we are playing the waiting game.
When you hear someone is on bedrest, there is always a part of me that thinks, "Lucky Rats, I want to sit in bed all day". Of course I know that really it would be awful, but it does sound a bit relaxing when you're not the one stuck there.
I have never been so frustrated. It's so hard to sit here and have someone else do everything for me. I am only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom. I can't even sit up to eat. The heartburn that comes with eating laying down is horrific. Sometimes I just want to cry. It never feels like my food is totally settled, it's always in my throat.
I had a follow up Tuesday, Aug 11 and I am still dilated to a 2, but now I'm 70-80% effaced. I hit 29 weeks tomorrow and am doing good. At this point I will have a check up every Tuesday and hope things don't progress too much more. As long as I can stay at a 2 I will be happy. I'll let you know how Tuesday goes.

A FLAMMILY Affair

All 6 of the Flamm boys decided to do a triathlon this year; the ah famous SPUD MAN held in Burley, Idaho. Crazy boys!

We drove 3 hours Friday and the guys got all their gear set up for the next morning. We ate a fabulous carb loading dinner that night of cafeteria spaghetti, baked potato, roll, and green beans; vomit. Trust me, I don't need a carb load at this point in my life!

That night we hung out a bit and I got to watch some first hand sibling rivalry unfold as two of the brothers went at it in a good ol' fashion wrestling match leaving one with a small, black eye. BOYS!

It really was awesome to have the whole gang together (minus Michele and Bryce; we missed you!). Adam just got home from his mission a few weeks ago and Cody flew in from Arizona. It was awesome! We even had Andy's bride to be Kim with us, and Adam's cute girl friend, Elizabeth joined the party as well.

Notice the sun just coming up...the racers had to be there about 5:45 and we joined them around 6 am. I don't see that time of day very often and I like it that way!

This is Brady's oldest brother Bryan and his cute family. Kim, Bryan, Hannah, Abbie, and Lincoln

Kim (she'll be the newest member of the clan on SEPTEMBER 12!) and Andy

Got to love Grandpa Jeff!

The fans telling Grandpa Jeff good luck.

Brady running to give Millie a goodbye kiss before jumping into the Snake.

The cute girl holding Millie is Elizabeth, she's Adam's girlfriend.

They're in there somewhere.

Nancy, Abbie, Lincoln

Millie, Carly, Hannah

(click on the collage to make it bigger)

Jeff bought them all matching jerseys so we as the cheerleaders could find them easily in a crowd. It was GENIUS! It really made it so much easier for us to spot one of them coming.

From the Top left, Brady running across the finish line, Adam coming up on mile 24 on the bike, Andy running in, Cody running in.

Second row, Brady on the bike, Cody on the bike, (top small pic, Adam crossing the finish in style, bottom small, Bryan running in), Jeff giving us a smile as he finishes the Spud Man.

GO BOYS!

Andy was the champ of our group finishing in 2 hours and 12 minutes!

Brady right after he ran in.

The brothers: Andy, Cody, Bryan, Adam, Brady

After a 1 mile swim, 24 miles on a bike, and a 6 mile run, they are not only still standing, but cracking jokes. I think I would have passed out!

# 1681 has a mighty fine behind if I do say so myself!

All 6 of the guys after finishing: Adam, Cody, Jeff, Brady, Bryan, Andy

And last but not least, we got a picture of the whole gang. I'm the giant pregnant lady on the far left! Me, Brady, Bryan, Andy, Kim, Cody, Jeff, Adam, Elizabeth, Kim,

Carly, Hannah, Millie, Nancy, Abbie, Lincoln

We had an awesome weekend and I am so proud of all the guys. They did GREAT!

Beauty And The Beast

Popeye the One Eyed Cat

I don't write much on our blog, it's usually Amanda, but I thought I'd tell you about our new kitty. My good friend Manny used guilt to get Amanda to adopt a sick cat that he found at the end of the week-long rainstorm about a month ago. She was a little sick at the time, but nothing too bad. As time wore on, the cat's eye began to have more and more goobers, until one day, about a week ago, it ruptured, as you can see in the image above.

Amanda told Millie that we should call the cat "Popeye," to which a frightened Millie responded "Mommy, I don't want her eye to pop out." After she thought about it, she said "Mom, can I be a cat and have my eye pop out too?" What a child we have...

The pictures don't do it justice. The eyeball was too big to fit in the socket, and as time went on, it got somewhat lumpy and took on a cloudy white color.

At this point, Amanda frantically called the vet, with whom she already had a follow-up appointment scheduled for the next day, and he said we could either have the eye removed, or put the cat down.


The first day after her eye was removed was quite entertaining. We don't know if it was due to the now missing eye, her trimmed whiskers, or lingering effects from the drugs, but she ran into nearly everything in our house. She fell of a chair, down the stairs, and off the table. As you can see in the picture above, she would often get her leg stuck in her cone. Watching her hobble around at high speed with a leg in her cone as she ran into furniture was quite entertaining. I'm very sad we didn't videotape it as it surely would have been a YouTube sensation.

Here she is today, less than a week after her surgery. She's a funny little thing who wants to be outside all the time and takes off running as soon as you open the door - I guess that explains why she was found lost...