Christmas lights on house...a bust

Well, since CKB is a wonderful and kind husband and wouldn't tell on me, I guess it's up to me to tell the tale...or tail....hmm.

Friday evening, after a day of shopping/errands with the children in which we bought a string of those large bulb lights (in blue because we thought CKB would like them) to put around the front door, I decided upon our return home that I would put them around the door as a surprise for CKB when he got home that evening.

So...it began innocently enough. I gathered the tools I thought I'd need -

- box of lights, check
- hammer - check
- nails - check

...and headed to the front porch.

I left the door open since the children were inside (and quickly assembled to watch, of course).

I put Miss E in charge of holding the nails for me and handing me one when I needed it and began. After 2 or 3 nails bent...I don't know, but I think it's siding on the front and not wood - it wasn't natural how these nails were acting, I finally got one in...partway anyway. Then I put another one higher up. Yes, a few more bent ones too. Maybe that should've told me it was time to cease and desist, but no, I persevered....then I realized I was not going to be able to reach the top corner of the door frame. Hmm, that small step stool in the kitchen should be enough, it's just one step.

Do pregnant women belong on step stools?

no.

But, I sent one of the children to grab the step stool for me and finished putting a few more nails in...and bending a few more. Ugh. Why didn't I just quit while I was ahead...or before I even started for that matter????

So, the next few moments are kind of a blur...what I *think* happened is that I stepped down/back off the step stool and then my next step back I lost my balance. Imagine that when you're carrying a of extra weight....and somehow in my efforts to not just fall hard to the ground I managed to hit my right elbow and scrape it a tad and my left knee on the outside and scrape it before actually sitting down on the walkway and then gracefully, ha ha, rolling backward to lightly tap the back of my head.

Yes, I'm sure the scene in your imagination is quite amusing...laugh, if you must.

I rolled to my side and sat up and sat there for a few moments before trying to get up amidst screams from the children of "Mama!! Are you ok????" Ugh. After a mn. or two I got up after a quick look around - amazingly the neighbor across the street wasn't out in the driveway like he ALWAYS is and didn't see my graceful stupidity.

I came inside and sat down on the couch and waited to feel baby move. Thank the Lord I felt her moving almost immediately. What a relief. I stayed put on the couch for awhile resting and thinking and berating myself for doing such a dumb, unimportant thing.

CKB came home from work and I opened the door for him whereupon he commented on the blue lights with a grin...that is, until I told him rather sheepishly of my fall and he naturally was not happy about it either. We talked and decided I should go ahead and call the dr. (I already had, but the office was closed and I wasn't sure if I needed to bother the on call dr. since I hadn't hit very hard) back and see what she said. I got the return call from the on call dr. and she said firstly it was good I hadn't fallen forward, of course, and secondly that she'd like me to go to the hospital to labor and delivery and get put on the monitor for 4 hours to monitor baby and see how things looked. I agreed and after a few frantic phone calls and no babysitter to be found, I drove to the hospital and CKB stayed home w/the children. I was feeling fine at this point and had my cell in case something did happen and I needed to get 911 or call CKB to come after me in the van w/the children.

I had an uneventful drive to the hospital and found my way to L&D pretty easily. Got hooked up to the monitors and commenced waiting. The lab came and drew blood - it seemed like a LOT (I didn't watch) since it took a little longer than the usual quick blood draws for blood sugar testing recently. Anyway, that was done and the lab lady left. A little while later the sonogram lady showed up and took a look at baby - it was nice to see baby girl again, just wish it had been under different circumstances! Sono lady said everything looked good to her. Nurse had been telling me everything was looking good as well. Only abnormal thing thus far was my temp was up a little at 99.2, but who knows why that was. I know I was burning up at the store earlier that day - I think I might've been dehydrated because I tend to forget to drink much water when I'm running around shopping and getting errands done. Anyway. Into the 2nd/3rd hour apparently some contractions were showing up on the monitor...not a happy thing for me to hear...and I drank the equivalent of an IV bag of fluids (water) and laid on my left side for awhile and prayed some more. I thank God that the contractions stopped, all the bloodwork came back normal and I was discharged to come home around 1:30 a.m. with orders from the dr. to rest and take it easy over the weekend.

So...the moral of the story pregnant ladies (and anyone else who shouldn't be doing something or other for whatever reason) is STAY OFF STEP STOOLS and BE CAREFUL. You'd think I'd know this by now, eh? :) I think we just tend to forget temporarily that we shouldn't be doing something when we're feeling fine and that's when we do something we shouldn't and things happen. I'm so thankful that all is well with baby girl and Lord willing, she'll stay put until closer to her due date the end of January.

So...Christmas lights on the house were definitely a bust this year. :)

They are still up around the front door - I asked CKB if he ripped them down after I went to the hospital, but he didn't - I think he left them up to remind me every time I see them to be more careful and not to be doing anything I shouldn't for the next few weeks.

Y'all be careful!