Going to England

It had been almost two years since we last went to England and with the way that ticket prices had been we thought that we might never be able to afford to go again. Luckily, after some searching I was able to find straight flights on British airways for a price that wouldn't quite break the bank. Spenser gave his blessing so I booked 5 tickets for our spring break getaway.

Spenser had convinced me that I should leave a few days earlier with the kids. I was worried about it, but bribed Thomas and Olivia with promises of a new DS game if they were good helpers. The trip to the airport was a little stressful. It took the driver a while to get us to the airport from the car park, I managed to lose all of our bags off the cart as I walked across the sky way, and when I checked in I realized that Olivia's car seat had been left on the bus. We then had to dash to our gate and none of us had still eaten. Luckily, the flight was slightly delayed which gave us a chance to get some food and use the bathroom. I knew that Zach probably wouldn't be too keen on using the toilets on the airplane since he is afraid of falling down the toilet without his seat. Airplane toilets are enough to make anyone scared! Once we were sitting on the plane I thought that maybe we might be able to survive this.

After watching some movies Zach and Olivia tried to go to sleep. Thomas started to complain of some stomach ache and so I moved closer to him to make sure he was OK while trying to hold onto Zach so he didn't roll of the seat, while also preventing Olivia from kicking everyone. I was happy when we just had over an hour to go and they served up breakfast. The lights and noise woke Zach up though, and he wasn't a happy chap for the last part of the flight. We were all happy when we were finally off the plane and through immigration and had our bags in hand. A helpful grandpa was there to take them off my hands once we were through the other side. After a 9 1/2 hour flight we then got to enjoy another 2 hour car ride home. Luckily, Zach slept most of the way and Olivia was busy entertaining her cousin Liam. Thomas was still trying to feel a little better.

One of the reasons that I had been so nervous to fly home alone was because I was pregnant and was worried how I would feel. Unfortunately, as soon as we got back to my parents house I started to bleed fairly heavily. I called my OB office and the nurse recommended that I go to the hospital since it sounded like I was probably miscarrying. I told Thomas what was happening and put him in charge. In true Thomas fashion he told me that I should stop crying and just have faith that the baby would be OK. I love that kid! Hayley and dad then drove with me out to the hospital.

Our experience in the emergency room was less than desirable. When I finally got to see a Dr. he said that I would need to go up to the ward to be accessed. Once I was up there I was quickly seen by the resident OB who told me that I should probably stay in overnight since she was worried about my bleeding getting worse and so I could get a scan in the morning. It was then that I started to cry. We had just got here and I hadn't seen my kids all day. My husband wasn't even going to be in the country for another couple of days and I wanted him to be with me. But I stayed anyway!

I was happy to finally get to talk with Spenser and during a sleepless night I came to understand a few things. I like to think that I can do everything myself, but I came to realize how important a supportive and loving spouse is. Without him I felt so alone and afraid. I also came to feel that whatever was supposed to happen would. No matter how much I wanted too, I couldn't will the baby to be there if things were supposed to turn out differently.

In the morning I called home to see where dad was. Mum told me that Thomas and Olivia had both already thrown up. Boy was this going to be a fun trip! They then came to get me for my scan. I was afraid to sit alone. I wished that dad had been there. The technician quickly told me that there was definitely someone in there moving around. I was both relieved, but also afraid because we still didn't know what had caused this. After a visit with the Dr. and a hot chocolate to drink they finally let me go home with the promise to take things easy.

I slept for a good portion of the day while the kids enjoyed playing with baby Liam and visiting great grandma Ivy. It actually was a good thing that I got so much sleep because Zach was awake for most of the night and both Thomas and Olivia woke up around 4 a.m. and had a hard time settling back down. I definitely moved beds a lot during the night. Jetlag stinks, but we are here and still hope to have a good time!