Too much excitement!

Well, we had quite an exciting weekend! I had plans to meet two friends at Carlo's Bakery (of Cake Boss fame) on Saturday afternoon. I brought Ellie with me and on our way there we got into an accident. We were turning left and a car hit the front of our car on the passenger side. Luckily, the accident was right in front of a fire department and across the street from the mayor's home so we had help instantaneously! I didn't even have Ellie out of her car seat before three firemen were there and the police and EMT were there in less than two minutes. We were also fortunate that we were almost at my friend's house so she met us at the scene within a few minutes. When she got there, she informed me that the kind woman who came and sat with us on the curb was the mayor!

Luckily, Ellie and I were not seriously hurt. We were both very shaken up and I was terrified that Ellie was hurt and not telling us because she was scared they would give her a shot (that's all she kept asking). At the advice of the EMT, we spent a few hours in the nearby emergency room getting checked out (while Lori anxiously paced the floors back at home!). Today we're both sore and stiff but mostly tired.

Our car is repairable but not drivable. While we were in the ER, my friends picked up the stuff from our car and took pictures for us. The car will be towed tomorrow from a lot to a body shop, where we were told it will take at least two weeks to repair. My friend generously gave us her car to use this weekend and tomorrow morning we'll pick up our rental car. We are thankful for our friends and insurance coverage!

So after our visit to the emergency room, we weren't going to let an accident ruin our weekend and still made it to Carlo's! If you haven't seen the show, the cakes that they make are amazing. We all ordered samples of their pastries and they were delicious. We tried the creme puffs, napoleons, lobster claws, canoli, and chocolate covered strawberries - all were great! We won't be heading to that area for a while, but we'll stop there again next time.

Ellie and I outside of Carlo's - the line was out the door!

Ellie excited to see all the yummy treats

My friend ordering her goodies

Car accidents and emergency room visits - BAD!

Chocolate covered strawberries - GOOD!

Embarassing baby moment

Yesterday the library organized a sing along for kids and families. It was my first day home alone with both girls and we were definitely looking for something to do! There were about 20-25 kids and their parents there. When the high school aged volunteers where getting started, they were asking the kids lots of questions about songs they like. You can imagine that it was pretty loud with that many kids. Right before they started, the volunteer yelled out, "OK, let's get started!". You could have heard a pin drop. I was impressed that the kids quieted down so quickly.

However, this is when Audrey decided she had to poop. In the middle of this silence, all everyone (and I do mean everyone) heard was the very loud sound of Audrey's incredibly forceful pooping. Kids and adults all turned to look at me; no one smiled or even laughed like I would have! I mean, we all have kids and we know this stuff happens at the worst moments so you have to laugh.

I had a choice then - make Ellie come with me to the bathroom and change Audrey right away, making Ellie miss the beginning and losing our good spot on the floor OR stay for the sing along and change her later. Well, even though everyone knew my baby had a diaper full of poop (and if they didn't hear it then they could definitely smell it!), I sat on the floor and let Ellie enjoy the whole sing along. As my pediatrician says, the newborn won't remember these days but your toddler will. So sorry, Audrey, about the poopy diaper, but your sister was busy belting out I'm A Little Teapot! I'm sure you'll pay us back someday.

The Rescue Squad

When Ellie was 13 months old she had a febrile seizure at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. It was so scary. We called 911 and the first group to arrive was the local Rescue Squad. They were amazing - they helped to calm me down and let me hold her on the couch while they evaluated her. Everything worked out well that morning and obviously Ellie is fine. I always appreciated what the Rescue Squad and volunteer Ambulance Corps did that day. I also always meant to send money to our local Rescue Squad when we got that yearly letter in the mail asking for donations.

But I never hoped to see them again.

Today the Rescue Squad came to our house but not for an emergency. They came because I am an idiot. I'll start at the beginning...

When I was pregnant with Ellie I didn't try to take off my wedding ring until it was too late so I ended up wearing it throughout the entire pregnancy. It was tight during the last trimester, but I really didn't want to get it cut off. And there was no other way it was going to come off.

Fast forward two years. When I was about two months pregnant with Audrey I took my wedding ring off before I even gained a pound because I was scared that I would wait too long again. I haven't worn my wedding ring since then. I have missed the weight of the ring on my finger and have simply missed wearing it for what it means. Today I thought that I would try to get it on for the first time since taking it off 8 months ago. I only weigh a few pounds more than I did when I got pregnant and far less than I did when I was 9 months pregnant with Ellie so I thought for sure that it would fit. Can you see where this is going???

When I put it on I knew that it was too small. I thought that if I could just get it past my knuckle it would be okay. I pushed it past my knuckle and knew immediately that this wasn't good. The circulation in my finger was getting cut off so I had to either take the ring off or push it all the way down. Well, it wasn't coming off so I only had one choice. As soon as I got it all the way on, I ran downstairs, yelling that I had just done something really stupid. I told Lori what I had done and we got to work right away on all the tricks - cold water, ice, dish soap, olive oil, hand soap, holding my hand over my head. I went on the Internet and learned about Windex and dental floss. WE TRIED EVERYTHING!

Stirring the green beans with my hand in a cup of cold water

Eating dinner and then nursing Audrey with my hand over my head.

Ellie was upset about all of this. When she heard us talking about getting the ring cut off, she came running in the kitchen with her little safety scissors and asked, "Mama, you want me to cut your ring off for you?", with a very sympathetic look.

By this point the ring had been on for about 2 hours and it really hurt. And of course all our efforts left my finger more and more swollen. There was no way that ring was budging.

We had talked about going to the ER when it first happened, but then I read on the Internet that most fire departments and Rescue Squads (ahhhh!) carry a tool for just such a situation. It sounded like I could just go to my local fire department and have this taken care of. As awful as the thought of cutting off my wedding ring was, it was starting to really hurt. When I called our police department they explained that the Rescue Squad would actually have to come to me to do this. How embarrassing! (The dispatcher assured me though that they've been called for much worse!)

So the Rescue Squad came to our house to cut off my ring. There were four of them, three of whom appeared to still be in high school. When I explained how embarrassed I was, they told me that it was kind of exciting for them because they hardly ever get to use this tool - oh, great! They tried to get the ring off after making one cut but couldn't. They made another cut and removed a small section from the back of my ring but still couldn't get it off and then it was cutting into my finger and hurting even worse. Eventually they made a third cut and removed practically the entire back of my ring so that it just fell off. And let me tell you, it was not a painless process!

Ellie sitting on the couch and taking it all in. She was not happy about all the commotion!

Finally off!

Thankfully the ring is off, but unfortunately it is in pieces and is hopefully fixable. Did I mention that Friday was the 6th anniversary of our commitment ceremony where we exchanged these rings? Lori said that if we believed in bad luck, then this is a big one!

So thank you Rescue Squad for saving my finger! I should have asked if they knew a good jeweler...