LOCKED OUT!!!

Yesterday was a day of panic for me.  It's the type of day my friend Amy would have. No offense Amy,  I love reading of your adventures!  But this wasn't much of a "Ha ha, wasn't that funny!" Sort of moment.  It was more of a "...Ahhhhhhhhh!" kind of moment.

I was going about my usual mommy duties of getting Karis and I ready to go to grandma's house in Elmont.  I placed Karis in the kitchen and buckled her up in her high chair.  We live on the second floor of a private house in East New York so getting the car packed up isn't the easiest thing to do with an 11 month old.  I grabbed about 4 heavy bags balanced them in my hand and headed down the stairs to the car.  Nobody was home in the building. They were either out of town or at work, including Rick.  So that I could have quick access to Karis, I left the door open to the apartment with Karis in the kitchen facing the open door.  As I reached the bottom of the stairs I left the secondary door wide open, again for quick access to Karis, if need be.  So finally, I reached the door that leads to the outside of our building and I say to myself... "Self, don't lock the door."  And subconsciously I turned the lock on the knob of the door and closed the door behind me.

Now at this point I feel great because Karis is safely in her high chair upstairs and I have closed the door to the building so as not to welcome uninvited "guest" to help themselves to our stuff.  I place the bags in the car, close the car door, lock it and walk up the stoop to open the door.  "Click, click!"  Panic set in... I WAS LOCKED OUT!

Just as I was getting ready to have a nervous breakdown I caught myself.  The first thing I did was try to reach for my phone.  But had nothing with me only the keys to my car. "Ok, Rosie, think! ........ Go get help!" My first instinct was to call Rick, or maybe my mom could help.  But no,  I need to get to my daughter ASAP.  So I get in the car to look for a payphone to call 911.  As I drive I NO payphones anywhere so I make my way to my nearest police station, approximately 3 blocks from where I live.  I arrive, finally find parking and sprint down the block towards the station.  When I get inside there are tears welling up in my eyes and panic written all over my face.  Uniformed Police Officers pass right by me.  I found the civilians sitting in the waiting area paying more attention.  Finally, the woman behind the Plexiglas gets back to her desk and says, can I help you?  I tell her that my 11month old daughter is locked in my apartment by herself.  She looks at me funny and says, "You need to call 911."  .......I'm beside myself.....  I tell her I have no cell phone, everything is locked in my apartment.  She said, "Use a payphone it doesn't cost anything".  ........Baffled...... I asked her where there was a payphone because I had driven around and couldn't find one.  She said there is one right outside.  I turned to run outside and a nice man sitting in the waiting room offered me his cell phone so I could call 911.  I called and told them that I was at the police station and she sounded confused.... "You're at the Police Station" (as if saying why can't they help you there?)  So she asked me to go back home and wait there.  So I did.

I arrive back home and listen through the mail slot only to hear Karis crying.  I try to talk to her to say everything will be ok.  Then... it got quiet.  I called her name... nothing.  I try not to think the worse and assume that she's sleeping so I keep trying to call her name to confirm that.  I as I waited for help to arrive it seemed like an eternity.  I cried, I condemned myself for being so irresponsible.

In the distance I begin to hear a fire truck.  I think, "That can't be for me...?"..... but it was.  How embarrassing.  Now not only do I have to live with the fact that I locked my self out of my home, but now the whole neighborhood has to know as well.  So the firefighters came... in full uniform. With large metal hooks and crowbars.  I panicked more.  Now, because of me there will be massive damage to the front door of our building.  Sheesh!  They easily break open the front door and I run upstairs to my now crying daughter.  Unbuckle her and hug and kiss her to death.

I thank the Lord she was OK and had not nuzzled her way out of her seat.  But instead she sat there crying but safe.  I think I was more traumatized than she was.

So now not only does my neighborhood know of my locked out episode but so does the World Wide Web.  Or in the words of former President George W. Bush "The Internets"!
 

First & Second Ultrasound

Here is our experience with our first and second ultrasound:

Thursday, September 25, 2008
It was our first official prenatal appointment. We knew we were going to see our baby for the first time but had no idea what we should expect to see. As the doctor turned on the Ultrasound machine we saw something moving and immediately we recognized... a heartbeat! Richard and I stared at that screen with huge smiles on our faces. We couldn't make out much of the features of our baby but that heartbeat was undeniable and unforgettable.

(8 weeks) The baby is the small little blurry thing between the two plus signs. We saw a heartbeat!

We left that day excited and on cloud nine. The doctor assured us that everything looked great and that the baby's heartbeat looked great! We smiled and grinned all the way home.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008
This was the day the Doctor would conduct our first screening test with an Ultrasound and blood test. Rick and I had remembered what the first picture of our baby looked like and didn't expect to see all that we did on this Ultrasound. They squirted that cold clear gel on my belly and their was our baby on the big flat screen TV on the wall. Rick and I stopped breathing... We couldn't believe how clearly we saw our baby! Then all of a sudden the baby began, what seemed like, jumping! He/she would not sit still! The doctor was trying to take measurements but waited till the baby settled down. Finally, the doctor began taking measurements but there was another interesting thing that happened. The baby wouldn't sit at an angle the doctor need. She had me take a walk, jump around a little, turn from one side to the other. But the baby wouldn't budge. Richard asked, "Is this the early signs of a strong willed child?" We all laughed and jokingly agreed it probably was. After an extended amount of time the doctor finally was able to take the final measurement and we took home the photos of our baby.

(11+ weeks) The baby kept jumping around, and kept his/her hand by their nose.

We were so amazed at how quickly our child developed. Just a few weeks ago he/she was just a little blur with a heartbeat. But now we could see features, movement and a heartbeat! This was becoming a little bit more real. We called our parents immediately and shared our experience and amazement with them. How exciting! This little child is growing inside me and in a few more months we will hold him/her in our arms and get to know our little baby. We can't wait!

~Rosie

So... We're having a baby!

I have decided to slowly update everyone on our pregnancy journey. Many of you haven't heard the story of when/how we found out our first time seeing our baby and so on and so forth. So here goes...

Saturday 8/30/08
Rick's parents were in town bringing Melissa to New York to start her first semester at Nyack College. I (Rosie) tumbled sleepily out of bed to the bathroom. I decided "hmmm let me take a Home Pregnancy Test... just in case." As I was leaving the restroom I took a peak at the digital home pregnancy test and it said "PREGNANT". My mouth dropped. I thought I was seeing things and blinked a few more times to "help" my eyes focus on the test. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!" There it was staring at me straight in the face, the word "PREGNANT."

I fumbled out of the restroom still half asleep looking for a camera to take a picture of the result. No one is gonna believe this!!! So I had to take a picture just in case the result disappears from the result window.

Meanwhile, Rick heard a door open, a drawer slam followed by a door closing. I can't even imagine what he thought i was doing. I had wanted to tell Rick in a creative way that we were having a baby, so I had been planning for when that day would come. But instead, I came in the bedroom woke him up and said, "Guess what?" So much for creativity and plans!

We sat in our bed that morning in shock, but with huge smiles on our faces. All we kept saying to each other was... "Can you believe it?!"

We decided not to tell anyone yet because it was still early. But boy was it hard. We ended up telling our families the very next day....

We are excited, elated, overjoyed, scared, worried and just giddy with the thought of growing our family. I'm just beginning to come to terms with the fact that in a few months we will have a child to love and care for. And even in this early stage I have felt a new and strong sense of love for my child. I wanted to make sure that my baby new how much I love him/her even before we met. So I began writing letters to my baby which I plan on giving to him/her to read when he/she is old enough. They are letters of love, acceptance and just the many thoughts that run through my head as I think about holding him/her in my arms. My prayer is that those letters will not only be a wrtitten demonstration of my love, but that it will ultimately be but a small reflection of God's unconditional love and acceptance.

My prayer for my child, myself, my husband and you is that we would cultivate a life of prayer in solitude, in that secret place where only you and God meet. Where he reveals to us that we are His Beloved!

And so I leave you with a quote from an article written by Henri Nouwen:

“Prayer, then, is listening to that voice—to the One who calls you the Beloved. It is to constantly go back to the truth of who we are and claim it for ourselves. I’m not what I do. I’m not what people say about me. I’m not what I have. Although there is nothing wrong with success, there is nothing wrong with being powerful, finally my spiritual identity is not rooted in the world, the things the world gives me. My life is rooted in my spiritual identity. Whatever we do, we have to go back regularlty to that place of core identity. –“Parting Words”

~Rosie

P.S. In a few days I will update you with the story and pics of our first and second Ultrasound. Stay tuned!