It's been a trying time at Chez West

Ok. So, this may now be the most requested blog I've ever had. You guys are ruthless!

First, Lily is doing fine. She's slowly returning to her usual self (i.e. awesome). Her stumbling has gotten better, so she's no longer Stumblily McGee. Her medication made her a little loopy, but now she's wooing and snorting and always excited to see us again!

Second, Carly's phone is working once again. Words cannot express my deep loathing for AT&T.

But, I'm going to try. AT&T is an evil, corrupt entity that belongs in the darkest pit of Hades.

My bank sent a check to them on the 19th of June. They disconneted our service soon after saying we didn't make the payment. No late fee, no nasty note, no nothing. Just, "Oops, you didn't pay us. DIE, MAGGOT!!! YOUR PHONE'S SOUL IS OURS NOW!!! (dramatization)".

So, I called them. From my phone. Because they ate Carly's phone as a side dish with their daily feast of small children and the tears of the innocent. They reactivated our service and told me that all I had to do was send in a copy of my bank statement showing the payment and all would be forgiven. So I did.

Two weeks later: "RRRRAAAUUUGGHHH!!! NO PAYMENT!! WE FEAST ON YOUR SUFFERING!!! (artist's rendition)"

Today, I called them again. Now they want a copy of my cancelled check. So, I'll fax it in tomorrow. Maybe next they'll want blood. And my death.

Third, Carly called me today at work, crying. She had been nauseous all day and was hurting in her hips, her back, her chest, her stomach, and was crampy almost all over. She called our doctor and then the OB department of the local hospital (which is 2 blocks away).

Then I get the call. "I'm going to the hospital. Can you get off work and come with me?" My very awesome co-workers told me to just go. So, I made a mad dash to the hospital, 30 miles away.

When I got there, they had her in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines with boops and bleeps and an IV drip and that thing on the finger that I think measures husband's anxiety levels. The nurse said that she was mostly dehydrated and the IV was replenshing her fluids. She said everything was looking good: the baby was fine and squrmy (she had a hard time getting a reading on the heart rate), Carly was healthy and as far as they could tell, nothing was wrong. Except for that pain. They ruled out early labor and did a fantastic job calming my fears.

The final issue was that she was craving the Mexican food yesterday afternoon and last night when we went to see Harry Potter (it's awesome, by the way). Now, you may be saying, "But, Jon, you impressive specimen of manhood, why won't you return my phone calls? Oh, and what does Mexican food have to do with anything, you stud? (call me)"

The gallbladder is quite the interesting organ. One of it's duties is to release bile produced by the liver when the digestive tract has fat present. If you've had too much fat in your diet from, say, Mexican food, your gallbladder may not be able keep up. Then you hurt.

This is what has happened to Carly, we think. It's common in pregnant women, and it will probably go away when the baby comes. So, for now, we now have to try and keep a low fat diet and she needs to rest a lot. To her credit, she's been the one of the most pleasant pregant women that I've ever seen. No weird cravings, no unbearable mood swings.

Now that my two favorite girls are on their way back to good health, Lily's been a little protective of Carly. Case in point: The above picture.