Busy, busy, busy!

It's back to business here at home after a week of craziness. I flew to Charleston, SC last Friday to visit my brother in law for the week and to meet his new girlfriend. It's only the second time I've spent an entire weekend away from Ally and my boys who were spoiled rotten by Grandma, Pop-pop and Grammy (her great grandmother visiting from Arizona.) While I missed them all terribly, a weekend away gave me a nice opportunity to eat at a nice restaurant without chasing a toddler around, stay up late, sleep in even later, and just spend some quality time with Brian and Amy. The weather was beautiful and very conducive to a few good games of cornhole! I even got to stay in a brand new hotel that had just opened up the day I checked in so I was able to put my normal paranoia of hotel bedspreads and linens to rest. Bonus!

After hanging out at home for a full 45 hours, we loaded up the whole fam-damily again and drove down to the lake for a few days of R&R. Amazingly, didn't take one picture the whole time I was down there! What?? Ally enjoyed being the center of attention, the boys loved lots of playtime in the water and some good naps, and I was thankful for the extra sets of hands for a few days. Especially since I really needed to take it easy.... the day we went down there, I was experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions.

I woke up around 5am on Tuesday morning with some stomach pains which I immediately attributed to the Mexican food I'd eaten for dinner on Monday night. They pains continues on and off for several hours before it finally dawned on me that they were coming at 10 minute intervals and were lasting for approximately 30-45 seconds. While not unbearable, they were definitely painful and I started to panic. I emailed my doctor hoping to get some reassurance that there was no way I was having contractions at only 16 weeks- especially since I never had any with Ally. She responded back shortly and told me to drink lots of water and go to the ER if the intensified or I experienced any bleeding I considered not going to the lake, but in the end, decided that in the unlikely even that I did need to go to the hospital, I was going to need someone to watch Ally anyway. The contractions stopped by Wednesday morning so I guess all is well now. I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday so hopefully I'll get some reassurance then.

I've been fortunate enough to talk to Matthew twice in the past few days. His ship finally pulled into port in Bahrain for a few days. Sadly, his mornings and afternoons were spent on shore patrol but he was free to go out with the guys in the evening and enjoy some culturally diverse experiences... like an Irish pup with a Philippino band. Hummmm.... having a hard time imagining that one! Other than missing home and being really freaking hot, he is doing well. We're rapidly approaching the 4 month mark so I'll be planning a half way party before you know it!

Next week will be an exciting one at our home- we're expecting some visitors! My good friend Michele and her two kids, Ryan and Vincent, will be coming to stay with us for 5 days on their way to visit family in Philadelphia. We're really looking forward to the visit as it will serve as a great excuse to get out and do some of the things that I've not yet experienced in the Hampton Roads area- like the zoo, the Children's Museum, the water park, etc. Lots of pictures of our adventures to come.

Thanks for checking in with us!