Okay, so it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted. I’ve been crazy busy trying to get all the Christmas presents made (and a few of them bought). Unfortunately that of all came to a standstill a few days ago, but more on that in a minute.
Nick ended up buying the truck from my dad. We used part of the insurance money to pay off some bills, which got rid of some high interest stuff and freed up more than enough to cover taking out a small car loan at a low interest rate to pay for the truck. It also had to be registered and have new tires (the others were seriously dangerous), and it will have to have a new fuel pump, but the rest of the insurance money has pretty much covered that.
Now, baby news:
At my doctor’s visit on the 1st, I had gained 10 pounds (from a starting loss of 3). She had wanted me to start gaining some, but I was a little unhappy to see 10 pounds in one month. Still my doctor was fine with it, so I decided to be too. My blood pressure was up a little at that visit, but I had forgotten to take my pill that morning, so we assumed that was why.
Wednesday I went in for my next visit and an ultrasound. My weight was up another 11 pounds (in 13 days time!) and I kind of freaked out. There was just no way that I had gained 21 pound in 6 weeks. It turns out it was all (probably including the first 10) fluid. My bp was very high, despite having taken my pill that morning.
We discovered the high bp after the ultrasound. Nick had come with me to the visit, and we anxiously watched the monitor to see how much the baby had grown and how my amniotic fluid level was. As it turns out, things were not ideal. My fluid level was pretty low, somewhat concerning, but even more so coupled with the fact that the baby was showing smaller than he should be. At the last ultrasound 4 weeks prior, he was in the 35th percentile on the growth chart. This time he had dropped to the 15th percentile.
The ultra stenographer had me go out to have my bp taken and to talk to the doctor. I was kind of worried at this point, but Nick was saying, “Look, don’t freak out, I’m sure it’s no big deal.”
Then my doctor came in. Now I LOVE my doctor. I’ve had her for all three babies, and besides being just an awesome practitioner, she’s also got an amazing bedside manner. She’s very low key and laid back, so when she came in with a grave look on her face and said, “Okay, we need to turn this around. I want you to go check in and we’ll get you on the baby monitor and hooked up to an IV”, well, I really started to panic. Even then though, I assumed she was talking about a 3 or 4 hour procedure, after which I would go home.
Nope, this was to be at least an overnight visit. At this point Nick was looking a little pale himself, but we grabbed my purse and headed over to the women’s pavilion part of the hospital to check in. We called my mom on the way to let her know what was happening since she was watching Daisy, and she assured us they would get Morgan after school and keep the girls overnight.
I got checked in and put in a room on fluids and a baby monitor, and they gave me a steroid shot to help mature Jack’s lungs in case he needed to be delivered.
They did some blood work to see if it looked like I was in danger of needing an immediate c-section, but fortunately that all came back okay for the time being. After a bit my doctor came to check up on me and let me know that I would be in there till at least Friday to give the amniotic fluid time to build back up and my blood pressure to get under control. She tripled my bp meds dosage and told me she would come do an ultrasound Friday morning.
Friday morning there was absolutely no change in my fluid level after about 30 hours of being on an IV as well as drinking plenty of liquids orally. The placenta shows some damage from the combination of the low amniotic fluids plus the stress from the high blood pressure. At this point it’s not unrecoverable damage, but it’s very important that the fluid levels come up and the bp stay down so that the placenta can grow and recover. Right now it’s showing a diminished level of blood flow, which is why the baby is so small. They’re measuring him at about 3 lb 1 oz.
She told me after the ultrasound that the very, very, very earliest she was willing to even speculate that I might be able to go home will be Monday, and that’s only if everything looks great on the ultrasound she will do then and my bp is consistently low. If there’s not been a marked improvement by Monday, then she will most likely induce labor or do a c-section.
I’m 32 weeks and 2 days now, and she’d ideally like to get me to 36 and 1/2 weeks. She said that with the steroid treatment (I had the 2nd shot 24 hours after the 1st) that at that point I should be able to take him home with me. But if he comes now, we’re looking at several weeks in the NICU, possibly up to 8.
This has been such a crazy surreal experience for me, mostly I guess because it just happened with no real warning. I never had any sort of problems with Morgan’s or Daisy’s pregnancies, at least not to the point that it would have caused them to have to be born too early. Morgan came 3 weeks early on her own, and Daisy was induced 2 weeks early because I was halfway dilated and she was fully developed and considered full term.
Nick stayed overnight with me Wednesday and Thursday, then went to work the next day, but tonight I’m by myself. There was a family Christmas celebration tonight (which I was pretty sad to miss), and he attended and took the girls home with him to give my parents a break. They did stop by to see me for a few minutes, but it’s killing me to be away from them so much. Prior to Wednesday, Daisy had never been away from us overnight. She did okay that night, but Thursday night she got to missing us really bad.
I would really appreciate all your prayers on this situation, most especially that I can hang onto the pregnancy long enough for him to not have to go to the NICU.
Showing posts with label new car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new car. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Crazy, busy, blessed life
Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been 11 days since I posted! Ah well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. The last time I posted was right after Nick’s car accident. Let’s see…
The next day (Wednesday) we had an appointment to have an inspector come look at our roof. There was no real reason for this other than that the company called offering free inspections and there have been some pretty bad storms in the area in the last year. We really weren’t expecting any sort of bad news, but it turns out that we had an actual hole in the roof about 6 inches in diameter, along with various other damaged spots. The roofing guy made it sound like it was the worst roof he’s ever seen, which naturally worried me a bit. I called my father-in-law (who is head of construction at a large hospital in our area), and he came over to check it out after the guy left.
The hole in the roof does indeed exist, but it’s on the edge of the eave. While it does need to be fixed, it’s not as urgent as the roofer made it sound. My FIL did a temporary repair with sheet metal, and we’ll have to see if we can get the insurance to pay for a new roof. The issue there is that we had to get a new insurance company a couple of months ago. The damage on the roof seems to be clearly from prior to that time, so we’re going to have to try to get the old company to pay for the repairs/replacement. Just another thing we’ve got to leave in God’s capable hands.
Thanksgiving was that Thursday. Ours was nice. We spent it at my parents’ house, as we do most years. Afterwards Nick and my brothers went hunting while Morgan, Daisy, Kelly, Faith, and I went to a local Christmas tree festival. This is something I’ve attended a number of times over the years, and my mother-in-law’s co-worker got us free tickets, which was very nice. It did turn out to be pretty exhausting (the perils of hauling a two year old around while 7 months pregnant), but it was a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.
Thursday was also the day I was supposed to get the final payment for the wedding Nick and I shot in October. We were actually supposed to be paid the previous week, but the bride asked if we could wait till she got paid again on Thanksgiving, and I agreed. This was the money I was counting on to pay our electric bill. Because it was Thanksgiving day I texted the bride and told her I’d be happy to wait till the next day if she needed me to. She texted me back saying that she would be out of town till Friday night and asking if she could pay me the following Thursday when they got paid yet again. Unfortunately I had extended our electric bill final notice as far as possible after the bride couldn’t pay me the first time, and the coming Monday was the last day we had to pay before disconnection. I explained this to her and she said she would try to come up with the money by Saturday.
Saturday she texted me and asked me to meet her to get the money at 2PM the next day. But the next day she called me and told me that she wasn’t going to be able to pay me that weekend after all. At that point I told her that I understood and that I would just be praying about it, and I asked her to please call me if she was able to come up with the money. A few hours later she called and said she had $200 (of the $300 due) and asked me to meet her. While it wasn’t quite enough to pay the electric bill, it was certainly better than nothing, so I headed out to meet her. When I got there she had the whole $300. I don’t know how or where they came up with it, but it was certainly a relief to be able to put it in the bank and pay the electric bill the next day!
The next hurdle on the horizon was the house payment. The very last day it could be paid without being late enough to go on our credit report was this past Wednesday. You know, there have been many times in the last couple of years especially that we’ve been in a relatively desperate situation financially, and God has come through for us. Every. Single. Time.
But this time, although I knew He would provide, I was completely stymied as to how He was going to do it. There just seemed to be nothing at all on the horizon, especially considering Nick’s car wreck, the whole roof issue, and the fact that his next paycheck looked to be shaping up to be pretty short due to the holiday (and resulting lack of customers at his job).
On Tuesday the car insurance guy came out to do the adjustment on Nick’s car. He not only totaled it out (the best possible outcome for us), but he gave us about $2000 more for it than we expected. This allowed us to pay the house payment as well as supplement Nick’s paycheck as we needed to for the rest of the bills. We still have some money left to put down on another vehicle for Nick. My dad recently bought a used truck at auction for a good price, and he’s told us that he’s willing to sell it to Nick for what he has in it. We’re still praying about whether or not this is the direction God wants us to go, but He has been so amazingly good to us, and I know He will lead us the right way!
On Wednesday my friend Elizabeth had her baby – a beautiful, perfect 5 lb 12 oz girl! She’s tiny, but oh so beautiful with tons of gorgeous dark hair. Elizabeth was just 8 weeks ahead of me, and I can’t believe my own pregnancy is getting so far along!
Thursday I went in for my 30 week appointment, and I’ll go back on the 14th for another ultrasound. Friday I went in to see Elizabeth and the baby and took her hospital pictures for her. It was so awesome to get to snuggle that precious baby girl, and it just made me ache to have little Jack in my arms!
Tonight was Nick’s company Christmas party. This was the first year he didn’t win any prizes, but it was so much fun to get to dress up and have a date night with my hubby! We also got to go see a movie this past Sunday. We hadn’t been to see a movie in a theater since May of last year, so when my mom offered to watch the kids, we jumped on the chance. We still had the movie gift card Nick got for his birthday in 2010, so it was completely free except for $4.00 toward the drink we shared (seriously – $5.75 for a drink! You’d better bet we got a refill!). We saw Hugo in 3D, and it was a really neat movie.
Anyway, this has been a crazy long post, so I’ll save the ABC’s of Gratitude and the pregnancy update for the next one.
The next day (Wednesday) we had an appointment to have an inspector come look at our roof. There was no real reason for this other than that the company called offering free inspections and there have been some pretty bad storms in the area in the last year. We really weren’t expecting any sort of bad news, but it turns out that we had an actual hole in the roof about 6 inches in diameter, along with various other damaged spots. The roofing guy made it sound like it was the worst roof he’s ever seen, which naturally worried me a bit. I called my father-in-law (who is head of construction at a large hospital in our area), and he came over to check it out after the guy left.
The hole in the roof does indeed exist, but it’s on the edge of the eave. While it does need to be fixed, it’s not as urgent as the roofer made it sound. My FIL did a temporary repair with sheet metal, and we’ll have to see if we can get the insurance to pay for a new roof. The issue there is that we had to get a new insurance company a couple of months ago. The damage on the roof seems to be clearly from prior to that time, so we’re going to have to try to get the old company to pay for the repairs/replacement. Just another thing we’ve got to leave in God’s capable hands.
Thanksgiving was that Thursday. Ours was nice. We spent it at my parents’ house, as we do most years. Afterwards Nick and my brothers went hunting while Morgan, Daisy, Kelly, Faith, and I went to a local Christmas tree festival. This is something I’ve attended a number of times over the years, and my mother-in-law’s co-worker got us free tickets, which was very nice. It did turn out to be pretty exhausting (the perils of hauling a two year old around while 7 months pregnant), but it was a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.
Thursday was also the day I was supposed to get the final payment for the wedding Nick and I shot in October. We were actually supposed to be paid the previous week, but the bride asked if we could wait till she got paid again on Thanksgiving, and I agreed. This was the money I was counting on to pay our electric bill. Because it was Thanksgiving day I texted the bride and told her I’d be happy to wait till the next day if she needed me to. She texted me back saying that she would be out of town till Friday night and asking if she could pay me the following Thursday when they got paid yet again. Unfortunately I had extended our electric bill final notice as far as possible after the bride couldn’t pay me the first time, and the coming Monday was the last day we had to pay before disconnection. I explained this to her and she said she would try to come up with the money by Saturday.
Saturday she texted me and asked me to meet her to get the money at 2PM the next day. But the next day she called me and told me that she wasn’t going to be able to pay me that weekend after all. At that point I told her that I understood and that I would just be praying about it, and I asked her to please call me if she was able to come up with the money. A few hours later she called and said she had $200 (of the $300 due) and asked me to meet her. While it wasn’t quite enough to pay the electric bill, it was certainly better than nothing, so I headed out to meet her. When I got there she had the whole $300. I don’t know how or where they came up with it, but it was certainly a relief to be able to put it in the bank and pay the electric bill the next day!
The next hurdle on the horizon was the house payment. The very last day it could be paid without being late enough to go on our credit report was this past Wednesday. You know, there have been many times in the last couple of years especially that we’ve been in a relatively desperate situation financially, and God has come through for us. Every. Single. Time.
But this time, although I knew He would provide, I was completely stymied as to how He was going to do it. There just seemed to be nothing at all on the horizon, especially considering Nick’s car wreck, the whole roof issue, and the fact that his next paycheck looked to be shaping up to be pretty short due to the holiday (and resulting lack of customers at his job).
On Tuesday the car insurance guy came out to do the adjustment on Nick’s car. He not only totaled it out (the best possible outcome for us), but he gave us about $2000 more for it than we expected. This allowed us to pay the house payment as well as supplement Nick’s paycheck as we needed to for the rest of the bills. We still have some money left to put down on another vehicle for Nick. My dad recently bought a used truck at auction for a good price, and he’s told us that he’s willing to sell it to Nick for what he has in it. We’re still praying about whether or not this is the direction God wants us to go, but He has been so amazingly good to us, and I know He will lead us the right way!
On Wednesday my friend Elizabeth had her baby – a beautiful, perfect 5 lb 12 oz girl! She’s tiny, but oh so beautiful with tons of gorgeous dark hair. Elizabeth was just 8 weeks ahead of me, and I can’t believe my own pregnancy is getting so far along!
Thursday I went in for my 30 week appointment, and I’ll go back on the 14th for another ultrasound. Friday I went in to see Elizabeth and the baby and took her hospital pictures for her. It was so awesome to get to snuggle that precious baby girl, and it just made me ache to have little Jack in my arms!
Tonight was Nick’s company Christmas party. This was the first year he didn’t win any prizes, but it was so much fun to get to dress up and have a date night with my hubby! We also got to go see a movie this past Sunday. We hadn’t been to see a movie in a theater since May of last year, so when my mom offered to watch the kids, we jumped on the chance. We still had the movie gift card Nick got for his birthday in 2010, so it was completely free except for $4.00 toward the drink we shared (seriously – $5.75 for a drink! You’d better bet we got a refill!). We saw Hugo in 3D, and it was a really neat movie.
Anyway, this has been a crazy long post, so I’ll save the ABC’s of Gratitude and the pregnancy update for the next one.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thankful Thursday - Extra Edition
Sometimes I feel like I must be such a huge burden on God with my many constant needs. Somehow though, He always comes through. This week we’re facing some incredible obstacles financially. I won’t say that we’ve never been in this tight of a spot before, but it’s rarely been this bad. Nick’s work has been unusually slow, and we’re staring down the barrel of several pay-it-this-week-or-it-will-go-against-your-credit bills, among them the car payment, the house payment, and the electric bill. We just don’t have the money to pay them all. I have to remember though, God is bigger than all of our problems. He knows our needs, and His pockets are certainly deeper than ours. I’m not afraid to post this here, because I know that His promises are real, and He has promised to provide for us. With that in mind, I want to go ahead and do my next Thankful Thursday, early for once!
ABCs of Gratitude:
At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana.
By 21 weeks pregnant, your baby swallows at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day — not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practice swallowing and digesting — skills your baby will need as soon as he or she arrives in your arms. And keep this in mind: The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you've eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on your baby. That's because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. Want your baby to eat his or her broccoli later? Eat yours now!
Your developing baby still has a great deal of room in your womb — though like anyone who lives in one space for a long time, this tenant will soon begin to feel cramped. Until those uterine walls start closing in, however, there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, and even an occasional somersault (so that's what you were feeling last night!).
With all that belly dancing going on, it's hard to believe your baby gets any sleep at all. But believe it or not, your fetus sleeps as much as a newborn, perhaps 12 to 14 hours per day! (Now if only you could get some sleep!)
ABCs of Gratitude:
- Italian Ice – okay, this one is kind of silly, but the one and only thing I’ve craved with this pregnancy are Lindy’s Orange Italian Ices. I’m eating one right now, and it is soooo good!
- Innocence – It is such a privilege for me to be able to be home with my children, and I just drink in the innocence in them. I feel like I missed out on a lot of the baby years with Morgan. Even though I only worked part time until she was four, I was still away from home for parts of 4 days every week, and they just change so fast at this age.
- Ice Cream – right now one of Daisy’s favorite things to say is “Eye-keem, Mommy?” It’s cute enough to get me to share those precious Italian Ices with her.
- Insurance – I am so incredibly grateful that we have medical insurance right now. Although I’m having a serious issue with our homeowner’s insurance! Out of the blue they decided (after ten years with them!) that they don’t want to renew our policy. This wasn’t precipitated by anything on our part, but rather by new policies on acceptable home value set out by management. Apparently our home doesn’t meet their minimum replacement value threshold. Or actually it does, since our agent sent over updated numbers, but they then decided that because our roof has never been replaced (even though it’s in decent shape), we’re too much of a risk. Very frustrating since the next cheapest company is going to take our annual premium from $425 to $788. Plus we have to get new car insurance because it’s with the same company. But even this is a blessing, because I have to believe that God is guiding us away from them for some reason, so I’m trusting Him to lead us to a good company with good rates!
- Income – I’m so blessed to have a husband who was willing to be prayerful and follow God’s leading about going to a single-income lifestyle. It’s never been easy, but it has been rewarding, and the gift Nick has given me and the kids in allowing us this time together is priceless!
- Okay, first the big one: my dad had his heart cath test and it came back with absolutely no blockage! I don’t know if the stress tests showed false positives or if God just removed the blockage, but I am very, very grateful! They’ve put him on some new blood pressure medications, and we continue to pray that he won’t have any further episodes.
- Today I was so stressed out about everything from money to the insurance issues to housework. I went out to get the mail and found a package from Kate. It was full of precious little clothes for the new baby, and even a couple of outfits for Daisy! It was just what I needed to brighten my day! The things she sent the baby are soooo precious, and I can’t wait to get them on him. Included was this outfit (minus the bib), and I think I want to bring him home from the hospital in it!
- Daisy has been ridiculously cute the last few days. She’s started saying so much stuff! My favorites include “Yokay, Sissie?” (Are you okay, Sissy?) – said during the many occasions Morgan pretends to fall down to entertain her. “Pimmy-uh, pimmy –uh!” (Pick me up, pick me up!) – made even cuter by the come-here hand gestures. “Hin me a nanana” (Hand me a banana) – about eighty times a day! I had to cut her off after four the other day! “Hin me baby” (Hand me the baby) – said whenever she drops her baby doll. Today she was reaching for a scented rice bag and said “Hin me smell, Mommy!” Maybe the best was today when she said “Hin me book”, and when I handed it to her, “Good job, Mama!” She will also, if lying between me and Nick, put one arm around each of our necks and hug us both at once. Today I was scolding Morgan for something, and Daisy climbed up on the couch between us, put an arm around each of our necks, said “Guys…”, and pulled us in for a group hug. It was pretty hard to stay upset at anybody after that!
- Besides getting the clothes from Kate today, Nick also brought home a huge garbage bag full of baby boy clothes from a guy he works with.
- One big blessing is that even though we don’t have the money we need right now for bills, we do have most of the stuff we need for day to day living. We have plenty of diapers, wipes, dish and laundry detergent, fabric softener (actually I’m trying a homemade recipe right now, and it seems to work great), toothpaste, toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, Tums (life or death for a pregnant woman with crazy heartburn!), etc. And we may be a bit sparse on meat for the next few weeks, but we have enough for a few days anyway, and plenty of rice and beans for after that! The only things we should absolutely have to come up with are milk and bread and maybe butter.
- Wednesday as I was driving home from lunch with Nick this metal plate about 6 inches by 6 inches and maybe a quarter of an inch thick came bouncing down the interstate right at my car. There was no place I could go, and it hit the bumper and put a pretty nasty gash in it. Unfortunately the insurance company (them again!) will count it as an at-fault collision and charge us a $500 deductible if we want to report it. Honestly, we’ve never had so much as a hint of a problem with them in 10 years time, and suddenly all this stuff! I’ve never heard of a company that will count road debris as an at-fault collision! But the blessing here is that it didn’t hit higher up on the car and bounce up into my windshield. I honestly think it would have caused a very serious wreck if it had done so. It definitely would have cracked the windshield, if not broken all the way through it. Or if it had hit the road and bounced up under the car it could have done some serious damage mechanically.
- While there’s not been any real mention of DD lately, Nick has at least (at my request) given me one room a day to focus on for the last few days. I could really use some stress relief, or even some motivational help, but I’ll take what he can give.
Week 21 of Pregnancy: Baby's Taste Buds Develop
At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana. There's still a great deal of room in your womb — though your tenant will soon begin to feel cramped, so be prepared!
At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana.
By 21 weeks pregnant, your baby swallows at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day — not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practice swallowing and digesting — skills your baby will need as soon as he or she arrives in your arms. And keep this in mind: The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you've eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on your baby. That's because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. Want your baby to eat his or her broccoli later? Eat yours now!
Your developing baby still has a great deal of room in your womb — though like anyone who lives in one space for a long time, this tenant will soon begin to feel cramped. Until those uterine walls start closing in, however, there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, and even an occasional somersault (so that's what you were feeling last night!).
With all that belly dancing going on, it's hard to believe your baby gets any sleep at all. But believe it or not, your fetus sleeps as much as a newborn, perhaps 12 to 14 hours per day! (Now if only you could get some sleep!)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thankful
So I’ve decided I’d like to do a series of gratitude posts again. While doing a series can sometimes end up feeling a little bit like a chore, it also always (at least with the gratitude series) makes me really appreciate the wonderful things about my life, large and small.
So this is going to be a hybrid sort of thing – part alphabetized Gratitude Tuesday (but on Thursday), part recent blessings, and part baby update (since Thursday is the day the I go from one week of pregnancy to the next – I’m 11 weeks today). WARNING: I’m pretty blessed, so these may be some looooong posts!
ABC’s of Gratitude:
Again: As in, pregnant again. What a wonderful and unexpected blessing!
Amazing Grace: Not just the song, although it’s one I love, but more importantly the meaning behind the song. I truly once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
Autumn: my favorite time of year, and the season of both my birthday and Daisy’s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recent Blessings:
I cannot begin to tell you how very much God has blessed and taken care of us recently, but I’m going to try. Some of this I’ve mentioned before.
- After over a year without insurance of any kind, this pregnancy not only qualified me for a FABULOUS insurance plan through our state, but it also provided Morgan, Daisy, and eventually the new baby with full medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- The hospital where my doctor primarily delivers, the same one where I’ve had both of my girls, did not accept this insurance plan – until right around the date this pregnancy got started.
- My hospital only works with one group of anesthesiologists. This group was not in-network for my insurance plan, and with my last pregnancy I ended up with a $900 bill that accrues interest at 18% (which I’m still trying to pay off by the way). I knew that we just could not afford to have another interest accruing bill piled on top, but I also knew that an epidural is not what I’d call an optional procedure. (I know lots of women have babies with no pain meds, and more power to them, but it took 45 minutes just to stitch me back up after I had Morgan. I’ll take that needle, please.). After many, many phone calls, I finally reached someone at the anesthesia group who let me know that, despite the fact that none of the doctors in their main office are listed in my provider directory, they are in fact in-network for my plan because some of the doctors in their other offices are in-network, and they subscribe to all insurance plans that include any of their doctors, and I should be covered fully. Yay!
- With the rest of the family covered, we have been able to pick up medical insurance for Nick through his work with the cost being about $120/month as opposed to $1500/month for employee plus spouse and first two kids, the reason we were without insurance in the first place!
- Monday Nick was able to sign the papers and bring home our brand new used Toyota Sequoia!
- Trading in my Camry on the Sequoia saved us $13 a month on our car payment and $50 a month on our car insurance!
- This is a small thing, but our insurance company also started accepting payments by phone for free, saving us another $5 a month.
- Getting the Sequoia means I get to go to Texas! Hooray!
- When we bought the Sequoia, the dealership sent it home with Nick with a full tank of gas, no small thing with today’s gas prices!
- This week has been Vacation Bible School at our church. Besides offering the standard kid fare, they’ve also had an adult class and a full meal every night, so we’ve gotten to not only have some great fellowship, but also have dinner for free all week!
- Yesterday my brother-in-law C found out that he was hired for a new position in his company, something we’d really been praying for. He loved working for his old boss, and the job was one he enjoyed, but the new position is a move up.
- Coincidentally (or rather through God), my friend D had applied for a position at the same company. She’s been having a REALLY tough time with her job at the bank (where C and I both used to work), and she was just ready to walk out, but had no job lined up. C saw her name on some paperwork there at his current company and recommended that his old boss hire D for the position he (C) just left. D has an interview next week, and she couldn’t be more excited!
- Daisy has been officially weaned for a week now. I never intended to nurse her past 18 months (when I weaned Morgan), but she just didn’t seem ready to give it up then, so I didn’t push it. Then I got pregnant, and it was like she sensed something and wanted to nurse ALL THE TIME. I really wanted to get it done sooner rather than later so that she wouldn’t see the new baby as encroaching on “her” territory. Finally my mom suggested I try weaning by the Farmer’s Almanac. Whaaaaaaat? But I was desperate, so I decided to give it a try. The suggested dates were July 12-19, and I have to admit, it was surprisingly easy to accomplish during those dates. She hasn’t looked for it more than a couple of times, and she was easily distracted when she did.
- Recently we’ve noticed that when Daisy runs, her left foot tends to turn in. This concerned us, so today I took her to see the doctor. Fortunately, after a thorough exam, he declared that while there’s a slight turning right now, it’s nothing to worry about and should correct itself over the next few months. Whew!
Baby Update:
Your Baby in Week 11 of Pregnancy
Your baby (now about two inches long) has been pretty busy this week, growing hair follicles, fingernails, and ovaries (if she's a girl). She has distinct human characteristics by now, with hands and feet in front of her body, with ears nearly in their final shape, open nasal passages on the tip of her tiny nose, a tongue and palate in the mouth, and visible nipples. What else makes her look human? Those hands and feet have individual fingers and toes (meaning good-bye to those froglike webbed hands and feet). Hooray!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Bunch of randomness :)
Gosh, I feel like I never post anymore, but it seems like the days have gotten shorter, not longer! Did you all have a good July 4th? Ours had a bit of drama.
The night of the 3rd we went to a friend’s house after church for fireworks and a cookout. They had a bonfire for us to gather around, and a big trampoline within viewing distance of where we were. Morgan was playing on the trampoline just like she does every time we visit.
Suddenly I heard a scream, then Morgan calling for me, sounding pretty breathless, scared, and desperate. I ran to her, and she was rolling around on the trampoline, unable to really speak. It scared the crap out of me, and I was begging her to tell me what hurt. Finally she was able to tell me that she had been trying to turn a flip and landed on her head/neck. It knocked the wind out of her, which was why she had a hard time talking, but what really terrified me was the fact that she was crying so hard. Morgan can be a whiney, dramatic preteen with the best of them, but she very rarely cries if she gets hurt. I ran and got Nick, and we got her into the house to lie down. Within about 15 minutes it was clear that she was still in real pain, not just scared, and we headed to the ER. It turned out (thank God!) that she had only strained/bruised her spinal cord (which is certainly serious enough, but at least she didn’t break her neck!). The doctor gave her strict orders to stay off the trampoline until she healed, and to stay away from flips on the trampoline forever! She was pretty sore for a few days in her chest area from the way she scrunched up when she landed, but she’s all better now.
I’m 10 weeks pregnant now, and the baby is the size of a prune. Sadly I look like I’m about 4 months pregnant instead of 2 and 1/2, although I’ve not gained any weight. I’ve heard that you show earlier with each child, and I know that was certainly true with Daisy. I didn’t even know I was pregnant with her until I was 13 weeks along, but I remember getting really frustrated because I was losing weight but seemed to have developed this unexplainable extra (extra) padding – above my belly button! My ab muscles never really regained their former strength after Morgan, and when my uterus started expanding, it started pushing everything up and out.
For now I’m still in regular jeans, but maternity jeans are starting to look awfully appealing. Funny story – my friend Elizabeth is about 8 weeks ahead of me, and about, oh ONE DAY before I found out I was pregnant I took her all my maternity jeans. I had a ton of them because jeans were all we ever wore at my job, and I gave her every single pair. She’s been kind enough to offer to give them all back, but I told her it would be great if I could just get back a couple of pair.
Oh yeah – I got spanked Monday night! I was just kind of feeling down and stressed about everything from money to the housework to a crazy day with the kids to the fact that Nick and I never seem to get date nights anymore (I know, we had one just last month, but it was the first in AGES). Nick took me upstairs, pulled out the Spencer paddle, made me bend over the side of the bed, and told me that I needed some motivation and some stress relief. He let me keep my jeans on, but he spanked hard, and I didn’t do a great job of staying put. I think I got somewhere around a hundred swats, and by the time he was done I was crying. He put the paddle down and picked up a bottle of lotion and began to massage first my back, then my arms, and he eventually took off my pants and massaged my legs and my poor throbbing bottom. When he was done with the lotion he moved on to an even more effective form of stress relief, and it ended up being a very good night after all.
Today Nick brought home a used Toyota Sequoia from the dealership where he works. He wanted to see what I thought about it, and honestly I’m a little bit in love. I have a built in bias against buying a (new to us) car, just because I never think we can afford it, but this one just may be different. We would be trading in my Camry, and our car payments might actually go down. Insurance should stay about the same. The only downside that I can see is that we would be losing just a little on gas mileage, but this would be my daily driver, not Nick’s, and I don’t do all that much driving unless I’m picking Morgan up from school 20 minutes away. The thing is, we really do need a bigger vehicle. It’s just not very doable to squeeze Morgan into the back of the Camry between two car seats. Honestly, it would be a tight fit back there even if there were three kids not in car seats/booster seats (which there won’t be for another 8 years or so). Anyway, this just came in yesterday, and we’re really praying about it. For it to work for us, we would really not be able to go up at all on our car payments.
Let’s see, what else? We’ve had a trip to Texas to see Kate and her family planned for the end of July/beginning of August for months now. We’ve made this trip for the last two years with Kelly, and this will be the first year that Grant is also able to go, something we’ve all been looking forward to since last year. A few weeks ago it became apparent that we (Nick, I, and the girls) just couldn’t afford to go. Last year Kate flew us all down, but this year we were driving. True, we were planning on splitting the cost of gas with Kelly and Grant, but with there being 6 of us total, we were going to have to rent a van or something else capable of hauling all of us, and that was just more expense to split. Plus, it’s a long, long way to Kate’s house, and the first year we drove Nick and I had to get a motel room and make the drive over two days.
SO, I decided that Daisy and I would stay home and just let Nick and Morgan go. That way they could rent a cheaper vehicle (or maybe just take Nick’s Xterra) since there would only be four people, get a single motel room instead of two if they had to stop, and it would just be cheaper to feed two less people on the road and in Texas.
Last year we had like $40 to go on the whole week – not that we didn’t try to save, just the way it turned out. Kate kept suggesting all these cool things to go and do, and finally I had to sit down with her and explain that we just didn’t have the money to really do anything. THAT was an awkward conversation, and one I really didn’t want to have. Kate and her husband are extremely well off (thus them flying us down last year), so the conversation had the unfortunate result of making her feel like they should just pay for everything for us while we were there (very generous, but NOT my intention, and it really embarrassed us and made us feel like we were imposing, especially since we were staying in their home and they had flown us down).
Anyway, I felt like Daisy and I staying home would automatically take two people out of the equation if Kate and her husband did decide to treat everyone to lunch/dinner/entertainment. Nick was not happy with the plan, and honestly I was pretty heartbroken myself, but I just didn’t see another way, and I felt like it was important that he and Morgan get to go and visit. Now that this Sequoia has come up as a possibility, and if God does allow us to get it, it kind of changes the game. First of all, we can take all 6 of us without renting a car, and with 4 adults, we can probably just drive straight through instead of stopping at a motel. Nick has assured me that he’s totally fine with just hanging out with me and Daisy by the pool while everybody else goes and does fun stuff (Morgan automatically goes along because Kit wants her to), and he’s sworn to live off McD’s $1 cheeseburgers on the road (yuck, but affordable). I’m still trying not to get my hopes up, but it would be sooooo awesome if I got to go too. We would really appreciate your prayers – both for the trip and for God’s guidance on the car!
I’ve got another Eden Fantasys product review coming up in a few days, but I’ve got to get a chance to actually try the item first.
Oh, more randomness, I’ve sold a few things from my etsy shop now. Actually I got a request for a custom order yesterday, although that lady has not yet actually pulled the trigger on buying. And I booked two weddings for this fall for my photography – one in October and one in November! Nick’s going to second shoot for me, and I’m sooooo excited!
Anyway, that’s all – I’m off to bed. Have a great weekend!
The night of the 3rd we went to a friend’s house after church for fireworks and a cookout. They had a bonfire for us to gather around, and a big trampoline within viewing distance of where we were. Morgan was playing on the trampoline just like she does every time we visit.
Suddenly I heard a scream, then Morgan calling for me, sounding pretty breathless, scared, and desperate. I ran to her, and she was rolling around on the trampoline, unable to really speak. It scared the crap out of me, and I was begging her to tell me what hurt. Finally she was able to tell me that she had been trying to turn a flip and landed on her head/neck. It knocked the wind out of her, which was why she had a hard time talking, but what really terrified me was the fact that she was crying so hard. Morgan can be a whiney, dramatic preteen with the best of them, but she very rarely cries if she gets hurt. I ran and got Nick, and we got her into the house to lie down. Within about 15 minutes it was clear that she was still in real pain, not just scared, and we headed to the ER. It turned out (thank God!) that she had only strained/bruised her spinal cord (which is certainly serious enough, but at least she didn’t break her neck!). The doctor gave her strict orders to stay off the trampoline until she healed, and to stay away from flips on the trampoline forever! She was pretty sore for a few days in her chest area from the way she scrunched up when she landed, but she’s all better now.
I’m 10 weeks pregnant now, and the baby is the size of a prune. Sadly I look like I’m about 4 months pregnant instead of 2 and 1/2, although I’ve not gained any weight. I’ve heard that you show earlier with each child, and I know that was certainly true with Daisy. I didn’t even know I was pregnant with her until I was 13 weeks along, but I remember getting really frustrated because I was losing weight but seemed to have developed this unexplainable extra (extra) padding – above my belly button! My ab muscles never really regained their former strength after Morgan, and when my uterus started expanding, it started pushing everything up and out.
For now I’m still in regular jeans, but maternity jeans are starting to look awfully appealing. Funny story – my friend Elizabeth is about 8 weeks ahead of me, and about, oh ONE DAY before I found out I was pregnant I took her all my maternity jeans. I had a ton of them because jeans were all we ever wore at my job, and I gave her every single pair. She’s been kind enough to offer to give them all back, but I told her it would be great if I could just get back a couple of pair.
Oh yeah – I got spanked Monday night! I was just kind of feeling down and stressed about everything from money to the housework to a crazy day with the kids to the fact that Nick and I never seem to get date nights anymore (I know, we had one just last month, but it was the first in AGES). Nick took me upstairs, pulled out the Spencer paddle, made me bend over the side of the bed, and told me that I needed some motivation and some stress relief. He let me keep my jeans on, but he spanked hard, and I didn’t do a great job of staying put. I think I got somewhere around a hundred swats, and by the time he was done I was crying. He put the paddle down and picked up a bottle of lotion and began to massage first my back, then my arms, and he eventually took off my pants and massaged my legs and my poor throbbing bottom. When he was done with the lotion he moved on to an even more effective form of stress relief, and it ended up being a very good night after all.
Today Nick brought home a used Toyota Sequoia from the dealership where he works. He wanted to see what I thought about it, and honestly I’m a little bit in love. I have a built in bias against buying a (new to us) car, just because I never think we can afford it, but this one just may be different. We would be trading in my Camry, and our car payments might actually go down. Insurance should stay about the same. The only downside that I can see is that we would be losing just a little on gas mileage, but this would be my daily driver, not Nick’s, and I don’t do all that much driving unless I’m picking Morgan up from school 20 minutes away. The thing is, we really do need a bigger vehicle. It’s just not very doable to squeeze Morgan into the back of the Camry between two car seats. Honestly, it would be a tight fit back there even if there were three kids not in car seats/booster seats (which there won’t be for another 8 years or so). Anyway, this just came in yesterday, and we’re really praying about it. For it to work for us, we would really not be able to go up at all on our car payments.
Let’s see, what else? We’ve had a trip to Texas to see Kate and her family planned for the end of July/beginning of August for months now. We’ve made this trip for the last two years with Kelly, and this will be the first year that Grant is also able to go, something we’ve all been looking forward to since last year. A few weeks ago it became apparent that we (Nick, I, and the girls) just couldn’t afford to go. Last year Kate flew us all down, but this year we were driving. True, we were planning on splitting the cost of gas with Kelly and Grant, but with there being 6 of us total, we were going to have to rent a van or something else capable of hauling all of us, and that was just more expense to split. Plus, it’s a long, long way to Kate’s house, and the first year we drove Nick and I had to get a motel room and make the drive over two days.
SO, I decided that Daisy and I would stay home and just let Nick and Morgan go. That way they could rent a cheaper vehicle (or maybe just take Nick’s Xterra) since there would only be four people, get a single motel room instead of two if they had to stop, and it would just be cheaper to feed two less people on the road and in Texas.
Last year we had like $40 to go on the whole week – not that we didn’t try to save, just the way it turned out. Kate kept suggesting all these cool things to go and do, and finally I had to sit down with her and explain that we just didn’t have the money to really do anything. THAT was an awkward conversation, and one I really didn’t want to have. Kate and her husband are extremely well off (thus them flying us down last year), so the conversation had the unfortunate result of making her feel like they should just pay for everything for us while we were there (very generous, but NOT my intention, and it really embarrassed us and made us feel like we were imposing, especially since we were staying in their home and they had flown us down).
Anyway, I felt like Daisy and I staying home would automatically take two people out of the equation if Kate and her husband did decide to treat everyone to lunch/dinner/entertainment. Nick was not happy with the plan, and honestly I was pretty heartbroken myself, but I just didn’t see another way, and I felt like it was important that he and Morgan get to go and visit. Now that this Sequoia has come up as a possibility, and if God does allow us to get it, it kind of changes the game. First of all, we can take all 6 of us without renting a car, and with 4 adults, we can probably just drive straight through instead of stopping at a motel. Nick has assured me that he’s totally fine with just hanging out with me and Daisy by the pool while everybody else goes and does fun stuff (Morgan automatically goes along because Kit wants her to), and he’s sworn to live off McD’s $1 cheeseburgers on the road (yuck, but affordable). I’m still trying not to get my hopes up, but it would be sooooo awesome if I got to go too. We would really appreciate your prayers – both for the trip and for God’s guidance on the car!
I’ve got another Eden Fantasys product review coming up in a few days, but I’ve got to get a chance to actually try the item first.
Oh, more randomness, I’ve sold a few things from my etsy shop now. Actually I got a request for a custom order yesterday, although that lady has not yet actually pulled the trigger on buying. And I booked two weddings for this fall for my photography – one in October and one in November! Nick’s going to second shoot for me, and I’m sooooo excited!
Anyway, that’s all – I’m off to bed. Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Yay!
I got a new car today! Well, new to me, but still pretty new. It's a 2007 Toyota Camry, and I am SO happy with it! We traded Nick's truck for it, which we were thrilled to be able to do. He had a big old V8 Dodge, and it was costing him about $20 a day to get to work and back. It held about $85 worth of gas, and that lasted him all of 4 days. We've been looking for a while, but we couldn't find anything that would work with our budget since nobody wanted to give him enough to pay off his truck on a trade.
We've really been praying about it though, and this just fell in our laps. Our payments went down, we got a newer, lower mileage vehicle which will hold its value much better, our insurance cost has gone down, and we will be saving a TON on gas! And I love, love, LOVE this car! Nick will be driving my Xterra, which he likes a lot, and which also gets a lot better mileage than his truck did. I think he was a little sad to see his truck go, but this was his idea and his decision, and I'm so proud of the deal and the interest rate he got!
Thank you so much, baby!
This isn't my car, but it looks just like this:
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Not much going on...
Hey, guys. Kind of boring here lately. Let's see, what's going on in my life?
Ummmm....
Not much, it seems.
Work has been unpleasantly busy. Nick and I always know that a busy day for him is good (since he works on commission), and a busy day for me is bad (since I don't get paid by the number of calls I take).
We finally had enough money to get tires for Nick's bike, but we're still trying to come up with the money to actually get them mounted and balanced, so for now he's still driving the gas guzzler truck at $17 a day to get to work and back. I know, I know, mounting the tires on the bike would pay for itself in gas money, but not, unfortunately, in one paycheck, which is what we would need right now.
Only 35 days till my next vacation!
It turns out that the roughly $900 we were expecting from the court settlement was a "total sent so far" figure, not an amount that had gone astray somewhere. So we got $175 the other day (thus the new bike tires), and have no promise of anything more.
Morgan is doing really well in school this year.
The chaos in my house is taking on a life of its own. I have to clean!
My parents bought a used pontoon boat last week, so we got to spend a pretty fun day on it last Monday.
We've been doing a food program for a few months now where we purchase discounted groceries. If you've never heard of Angel Food Ministries, I highly recommend you check it out. It's a fantastic deal, anyone can do it, and I'm pretty excited about this month's menu!
And now Nick and I are off to help my brother and his girlfriend close the deal on a good used car for her. Have a great weekend!
Ummmm....
Not much, it seems.
Work has been unpleasantly busy. Nick and I always know that a busy day for him is good (since he works on commission), and a busy day for me is bad (since I don't get paid by the number of calls I take).
We finally had enough money to get tires for Nick's bike, but we're still trying to come up with the money to actually get them mounted and balanced, so for now he's still driving the gas guzzler truck at $17 a day to get to work and back. I know, I know, mounting the tires on the bike would pay for itself in gas money, but not, unfortunately, in one paycheck, which is what we would need right now.
Only 35 days till my next vacation!
It turns out that the roughly $900 we were expecting from the court settlement was a "total sent so far" figure, not an amount that had gone astray somewhere. So we got $175 the other day (thus the new bike tires), and have no promise of anything more.
Morgan is doing really well in school this year.
The chaos in my house is taking on a life of its own. I have to clean!
My parents bought a used pontoon boat last week, so we got to spend a pretty fun day on it last Monday.
We've been doing a food program for a few months now where we purchase discounted groceries. If you've never heard of Angel Food Ministries, I highly recommend you check it out. It's a fantastic deal, anyone can do it, and I'm pretty excited about this month's menu!
And now Nick and I are off to help my brother and his girlfriend close the deal on a good used car for her. Have a great weekend!
Friday, April 01, 2005
No More Catching Rides!
We finally bought a car today! An Xterra, actually. It's not new, a 2000, but the mileage is low, and it's been well cared for. We bought it at the dealership Nick works at, and he spent most of yesterday hammering out the details. I had to come down to sign the paperwork today because our trade-in (my still-not-running pile of crap that we got $500.00 for) was in my name.
I'm usually a pretty mild mannered person in dealing with strangers. But when it comes to finances, I can be a tigress. I took apart the deal Nick and the salesman had come to and put it back together with a couple fewer pieces. I wouldn't back down when the salesman tried to talk me back into the really-not-worth-it warranty, and I insisted on getting a full tank of gas. When our insurance company tried to give me the run around on getting an updated quote, I raised hell with two departments.
Tonight when I got home, Nick was waiting up to give me the grand tour (it was getting the tires mounted and balanced when I had to leave for work, so he drove it home). He showed me all the bells and whistles, and I took it for a test drive. I haven't driven a straight shift regularly for several years, and I was surprised at how right it felt again.
When I got back from my spin around the neighborhood, we sat and talked. I told him that I was sorry if I had embarrassed him and come off as bitchy in front of the salesman. He said, "You know, I was a little embarrassed, but I was really proud of you too. You really don't take crap from anybody."
That made me feel ridiculously happy. Not that I embarrassed him, of course, but that I also made him proud. So what do I care if the salesman made a smaller commission? I didn't let us get screwed. Not that Nick was going to, but he has to work with these people, and I made it so that he didn't have to be the bad guy.
And it makes me feel really good to surprise people. When Nick and I were dating, I drove a very sexy hunter green Camaro. Even though it was just a V6, it had a surprising amount of power, and I felt like a goddess in it.
One day we decided to test drive the more powerful Z28 model, and we went to our local Chevy dealership. The salesman was an absolute jerk who barely looked at me. Nick told him from the beginning that the Camaro belonged to his girlfriend (me), and that I was considering trading up. After shaking Nick's hand (without glancing at me), he said, "Sure, buddy! Let me get a copy of your driver's license, and we'll take it for a test drive!"
"Well," Nick said, "she's the one interested. Don't you need hers?" "Nah, that's okay," the jerk answered. A few minutes later we were in the Z28, Nick behind the wheel, me beside him, and Mr. Big Smiles For The Man Customer in the back seat. Nick took the car through it's paces, testing all six gears while the idiot in the back chattered on about how much he loved a powerful car and how his first vehicle was a '69 Camaro. After a few minutes, I said, "Honey, why don't you let me try it out?" Miss Sweet and Innocent.
The salesguy gave an indulgent chuckle as I climbed behind the wheel and buckled up. He lost the stupid smile 10 seconds later when I white smoked the tires, skipped second, then dumped the clutch in third and took off like a bat out of hell. The picture in the rearview mirror of his bloodless face was especially gratifying.
He seemed to be trembling a bit when he climbed out of the car. "So," he offered shakily, "what do you think?" I flashed him a huge smile.
"I think I need something with a little more power."
Nick still tells that story seven years later, bursting with pride as he describes his little hellion. Sadly, my Xterra is only a four cylinder.
But it is a very sexy hunter green.
I'm usually a pretty mild mannered person in dealing with strangers. But when it comes to finances, I can be a tigress. I took apart the deal Nick and the salesman had come to and put it back together with a couple fewer pieces. I wouldn't back down when the salesman tried to talk me back into the really-not-worth-it warranty, and I insisted on getting a full tank of gas. When our insurance company tried to give me the run around on getting an updated quote, I raised hell with two departments.
Tonight when I got home, Nick was waiting up to give me the grand tour (it was getting the tires mounted and balanced when I had to leave for work, so he drove it home). He showed me all the bells and whistles, and I took it for a test drive. I haven't driven a straight shift regularly for several years, and I was surprised at how right it felt again.
When I got back from my spin around the neighborhood, we sat and talked. I told him that I was sorry if I had embarrassed him and come off as bitchy in front of the salesman. He said, "You know, I was a little embarrassed, but I was really proud of you too. You really don't take crap from anybody."
That made me feel ridiculously happy. Not that I embarrassed him, of course, but that I also made him proud. So what do I care if the salesman made a smaller commission? I didn't let us get screwed. Not that Nick was going to, but he has to work with these people, and I made it so that he didn't have to be the bad guy.
And it makes me feel really good to surprise people. When Nick and I were dating, I drove a very sexy hunter green Camaro. Even though it was just a V6, it had a surprising amount of power, and I felt like a goddess in it.
One day we decided to test drive the more powerful Z28 model, and we went to our local Chevy dealership. The salesman was an absolute jerk who barely looked at me. Nick told him from the beginning that the Camaro belonged to his girlfriend (me), and that I was considering trading up. After shaking Nick's hand (without glancing at me), he said, "Sure, buddy! Let me get a copy of your driver's license, and we'll take it for a test drive!"
"Well," Nick said, "she's the one interested. Don't you need hers?" "Nah, that's okay," the jerk answered. A few minutes later we were in the Z28, Nick behind the wheel, me beside him, and Mr. Big Smiles For The Man Customer in the back seat. Nick took the car through it's paces, testing all six gears while the idiot in the back chattered on about how much he loved a powerful car and how his first vehicle was a '69 Camaro. After a few minutes, I said, "Honey, why don't you let me try it out?" Miss Sweet and Innocent.
The salesguy gave an indulgent chuckle as I climbed behind the wheel and buckled up. He lost the stupid smile 10 seconds later when I white smoked the tires, skipped second, then dumped the clutch in third and took off like a bat out of hell. The picture in the rearview mirror of his bloodless face was especially gratifying.
He seemed to be trembling a bit when he climbed out of the car. "So," he offered shakily, "what do you think?" I flashed him a huge smile.
"I think I need something with a little more power."
Nick still tells that story seven years later, bursting with pride as he describes his little hellion. Sadly, my Xterra is only a four cylinder.
But it is a very sexy hunter green.
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