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Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Here's your fair warning...This is a birth story. If that's not your thing, just look at the pic of my beautiful baby girl and I'll see you next post. :-)

The week of May 17th was an interesting one for me. I couldn't go to sleep Monday night and at 11:00 pm I started having contractions every eight minutes like clockwork for an hour straight. I won't say they were painful because I knew I needed to reserve the word "pain" for something more substantial than that. I could feel them, but that's about it--they weren't just Braxton-Hicks fakies playing with my emotions. So after some debate in my head, I woke Adam up and told him. Wouldn't you know the dang things stopped! I had Adam's attention though..he NEVER wakes up that easily, at least without incoherent responses. So we both lay there in bed waiting..and waiting. Nothing happens any more. He finally falls back asleep. They start up again..eight minutes apart, for at least an hour. By then, I figure getting in a panic about it just causes them to go away so I fall back asleep.

The next morning, I continue to have them off and on. In the afternoon, I go in to see Bonnie, my midwife and I tell her about our false alarm. She strips my membranes hoping to help labor along. We also do a non-stress test to make sure the baby is still healthy. This was really just for me because I was worried there would be a repeat from when Ben was born and his heart rate would go down each time I had a contraction. But this time all was good. I was still having constant contractions, but I was only dilated to 1 cm. From the non-stress test though we were able to observe how she would handle the contractions. She passed her test with flying colors..That's my girl! The position I was laying in for the NST caused me pain each time I would have a contraction where she stripped my membranes so when Bonnie came in, she thought for sure that I was in labor since my face was kind of red.

But we go home and Bonnie fully expects me to be back in that night or the next day in full labor. No such luck. The contractions did keep coming though, but I went on about Wednesday and Thursday as normal. I lost my mucous plug on Thursday. Then Friday at 6:30am, a contraction woke me up. It was just uncomfortable, not painful really. I noted the time and went back to sleep. Ten minutes later, another one woke me up. So I got up and told Adam before he left for work. Neither of us was too anxious about it. I kept having them throughout the day. Adam called at lunch just to make sure he hadn't missed anything, you know, like a baby being born or something..

After lunch, my good friend Melinda called asking how I was doing and if there was a baby yet. I filled her in on the latest and she suggested that I just go in and get checked before the three-day weekend for Memorial Day began. I figure I might as well. I wasn't going to be able to sleep any way with the contractions coming the way they were. I was also curious if all these contractions had caused any changes.

So Adam came home early to get Ben and I go in to see Bonnie at about 3:30pm on Friday. She checks me and there is very little change. I'm 90% effaced, -2 position, and dilated 1-2 cm. I was really surprised that all those contractions hadn't done a little more than that. Bonnie tells me that I am in "latent labor" and that I have chosen the harder way by going VBAC. I could likely be in this kind of labor for days and that I can take a unisom or benadryl to go to sleep if I need to, although it will probably stop the contractions. She also mentions that the least VBAC-supportive doctor is on call that weekend so if I made it through to Monday, life would be easier for everyone. I should have taken that as a positive thing that labor wasn't starting yet since I really had my heart set on NOT having another c-section, but instead I was almost in tears wondering how I was going to get any sleep (I wasn't about to take unisom, benadryl or anything else if it was going to stop labor, unless it got A LOT worse than it was now, not to mention the paranoia it would cause me that it would hurt the baby) and thinking how bad it sucks that my Memorial Day weekend was likely going to be spent having contractions that aren't doing a dang thing besides keeping me from sleeping. So what's a bummed-out prego to do? Rip it up on some Guitar Hero of course!

I get some good playing in before Ben wakes up from his nap and insists that it's his turn to play. I'm having contractions continually while I play and sometimes I pause the game to let it pass and sometimes not. Either way, sadly, it didn't affect my average much at all. Adam goes to grab some food and makes me the most delicious-smelling burger to be followed by some candy-loaded ice cream. Although I'm tempted, I just wasn't really up for food. I must have had some hope too because I kept thinking that if I am in labor, I didn't want to screw any anesthesia up by eating. Whatever..

So I sit in the recliner smelling the burgers as Adam and Ben munch down and the contractions are steady coming. I was generally timing them like I had been all day. They'd be eight minutes apart, then three minutes, then four, seven, etc. so they weren't consistent. They weren't even long. I was only in real pain for about 30 seconds each time, if that. Finally I just gave up and would yell to Adam that another was coming. I should have known that this baby is soon coming when I was on the phone with my mom for twenty minutes (one of the many times I called her that night)and I had four of five contractions within that time.

Finally, Adam insisted that I call Bonnie and ask her if this was normal. She doesn't sound worried at all, but says she'll call in about an hour to check on me since she was just leaving Jennings and for me to call her if anything else changed. The contractions started being consistent when they were three to four minutes apart, but still didn't last very long. By then, Adam had already packed the car and called to make sure that Ben's sitters were still up for keeping a two-year-old very dependent on his mom for getting (and staying) asleep. (Yep, he's still in the bed with us. Another post, another time...) Adam called Bonnie to let her know we were on our way to the hospital.

It was at about 9:30pm, maybe a little later when Joan arrived here to keep Ben. I told her that we'd probably be sent home, but, after she saw me go through a contraction, she said she'd be very surprised if they sent me home. It was just time for Ben to go to sleep and I was filled with a lot of emotion as I kissed him bye and tried to help him understand that we were going to the hospital to hopefully to get our baby. He wasn't crying and was glad that Nuw-nuw-nuw (Sister Newton) was there, but he was also uncomfortable too because he was tapping his left and right fingertips together as I tried to help him understand.

He was doing better than me at least. I mourned for him that things would never be the same for him again--in some ways better, but in some ways worse. Specifically, I mourned that his and my relationship would never be quite the same. We had always been what I felt like good friends. He always listened pretty well to me and seemed to still like enjoying playing with his mom and such. I was also sad thinking he would feel kind of cheated on when he saw me and Adam with the new baby, despite all the reassurances we gave him. Lastly, I worried how he would sleep without his normal routine and his mom's (or even dad's) shoulder to sleep on. Not a thing I could do about any of my concerns, but it didn't stop me from feeling them.

Finally we got out the door (thankfully we had packed our bags completely earlier in the week after Monday's little excitement). Contractions kept coming and I was feeling every bump we hit despite Adam's efforts to drive as "gently" as an anxious husband and dad could. We got to the patient drop-off and one comes just as I'm getting out of the car. (They seemed to come any time I tried to walk even if I had just had one a second before.) I brace myself on the car door as Adam rushed around to help brace me. A hospital maintenance worker (I think) had been sitting in his truck and saw what must have been a familiar sight. He was an elderly man, but he snatched up a wheelchair and had me back to pre-labor before I could exhale. Adam looked like he had a hard time keeping up since he had to stop and answer questions from someone at a desk I think.

Once we got back to pre-labor, they didn't have my file (even though Bonnie had called to give them a heads up that I was coming in) so they are asking me all kinds of questions. I remember being handed the phone to talk to some lady I didn't know to answer more questions. I also remember talking to Bonnie. She said she would be there in about 20 minutes. The nurse checked me (thank goodness for that nurse with small cold hands..lol) and I was dilated 4-5 cm. That kind of surprised me. I had expected to be in a lot more pain to be dilated that far.

Finally the nurses leave me and Adam alone for a minute while they are preparing my room. That's when those painful contractions I had been expecting started coming. One minute I told Adam that I *think* I might need an epidural. The next I'm telling him to get the nurse to get me an epidural NOW! He goes and gets her, a new one this time. This nurse looks to be fresh out of nursing school, maybe even high school from the looks of her. She came in and she said this, (I will never forget it), "I don't have orders for you to get an epidural". That's when I say as nicely as I can while still being in some intense pain something like, "That is what this is. Your orders are to GET ME AN EPIDURAL!" My attempts at being nice obviously didn't work because she kind of eased backwards out the door while watching me and saying okay. (I mean, really though..If "orders" for an epidural don't originate with the patient, then where do they originate???)

A second later, Miss Teenage Nurse comes back in again and says they have my room ready. They wheeled me over and got me settled. By then, I was roasting hot and I asked if I can have some water. They say I can have some ice chips. I have yet to see those blasted chips. I have yet to see that epidural either because after they got me in my room and got the IV going, I tell the nurse with the tiny hands that I think I might have pushed a little on that last contraction. She tells me not to push yet and then she checks me. She says I'm full and that on my next contraction, I can push. Bonnie still wasn't there and I was surprised to hear that they'd let me push without her being there, not that I could have kept myself from pushing any way. I didn't have time to have another contraction before Bonnie walked in the door, smiled at me, washed up, slapped on her gloves just in time to be there while I pushed. It was literally that fast. Just before I started pushing though, I remember asking if I should labor a different way to avoid tearing. Dumb question considering nothing that size has ever come out of that space. She tells me to listen and push when she says as hard as she says to avoid tearing.

I got through several pushes and ask her about how many more I have. She said she figured about four more pushes till the baby is out. I get through a couple more and she told me that she knows the situation is intense but that she needed me to hurry and get the baby out of there because her heart rate had dropped. I had no idea how much it had dropped but it was just the catalyst I needed to up my game since Ben's drop in heart rate was the very reason (fetal distress) that I had had to have a c-section before and since I knew it was too late for that this time, I was worried. I pushed as hard as I could and often as I could. I ended up pushing through four contractions with about four pushes in each contraction. So total I pushed about 16 time or so the nurse estimated. It felt like a little less to me.

In between one, I remember looking over at Adam who was standing by my head. His eyes are red and he was obviously concerned. I ask him how he is holding up. I can't remember what he said. I try to reassure him that I'm okay and that I'm just working. Then another contraction came and I pushed. I felt first her head come out and then slightly more painful was her shoulders and then the rest of her little body. I could feel each inch of our precious baby coming into the world.

I heard Bonnie say that the baby was thick meconium so they didn't let Adam cut the cord. They just take her straight over to the warmer and check her and syringe her. They tell me she is fine and Bonnie looks at me and says I needed to push the afterbirth out. I look right back at her and say, "I'm finished, see? Baby's over there." She and the nurse with tiny hands laugh. After that's all done, she takes about 15 minutes to stitch me up. So much for listening to her and not tearing. Then again, a healthy baby was obviously the higher priority.

Stella Lucile was born at 10:40am about 40 minutes after we got to the hospital. 7 lbs, 7 oz, 20 3/4 inches long with dark hair. She nurses well and sleeps pretty well so far too. (Knock on wood..) Ten days later now, Ben is still adjusting but doing better. He still tells me "back" as in put her back in her bed, especially when he's ready to go to sleep, but he also rubs her head, gives her kisses and likes to hold her. Thanks for all the prayers, meals, well wishes, baby sitting, and good intentions on our behalf.

Here's an Update

I'm tired as heck, my body hurts and is tired of being pregnant, but I need to make it through next week because I have way too much to do with finals and getting last minute things ready for her arrival. My midwife thinks that I'll be pregnant at least through the 11th, probably longer, which is fine because I'm not even due until the 20th.

I lost a week last week of getting things because our AC went out..OUR AC WENT OUT ON AN 8 1/2 MONTH ALONG PREGO! Let me say--ankles the size of softballs! At least it wasn't July..But they did take their sweet time fixing it. Actually Adam ended up fixing it after they changed a part and said they'd come back tomorrow to fix the rest. My husband never looked so good as when that cool air started coming out of those vents! So the AC people showed up 8:30 the next morning to finish fixing it (or just root around and cause my bad mood and swollen ankles to get even worse) but I was sleeping and it was MY turn to be in no hurry. I don't feel one bit bad about punting them either..actually, call me spiteful, but I kind of feel good about it. muhahaha :-) Thanks to those who offered us a cool haven and other help during that time.

I think Ben's Little Sister Would LOVE this!

Grosgrain: Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!! What do you think? I know I have to wait till May to get to foo-foo her up, but I'm getting started early, at least in spirit!

Thinking Pink!

Although we found out about a month or so ago, I was reminded that I never posted whether we're having a girl or boy. Well, it's a GIRL! The ultrasound tech said she was 100% sure. I like those kind of percentages. Looks like I need to get a part-time job to pay for all the clothes, shoes, and prom dresses that are sure to come! Adam is thrilled that he going to get to torment her dates one day. He wants to buy a gun just so he can clean it when boys start coming around.

Not Letting Laura Have All the Fun!

(I'd knew you'd like that title, Laura :-) I've been trying to get better deals at the grocery store and, in my attempts, have been clipping coupons like my life depended on it. I don't think I did too bad today at Kroger, for a newb.




My receipt says that my total savings is $28.99. I paid $9.11 out of pocket and got:
Gushers--2 boxes
Simply Orange with Mango
Dannon Yogurt La Creme 4-pk
Yo-Plus Yogurt 4-pk
Grands bisquits--8 cans
Multi-grain Cheerios--2 boxes
Colgate Maxfresh toothpaste

Go me..it's my birthday..not really..but go any way..
(BTW, seriously Laura, thanks for the help in figuring out the tricks!)

December

What a crazy month December was! The first part of it was spent engulfed in writing papers and taking finals and once I had that out of the way, I could actually start to get into Christmas. We were able to get the tree up and decorated just in time for me to get sick...twice. That's pregnancy for ya!

The Christmas tree was an adventure in and of itself. When we first pulled out the ornaments, Ben took one of the balls and threw it (isn't that what every boy does with a ball??) directly at the tile the first throw. It shattered every where of course. We spent the rest of the month trying to keep him from repeating it and at the very least not grabbing one of the nicer ornaments. Can you see the mischief on his face? He is wondering whether he should grab an ornament and run or play with the outlet that is screaming his name.


Early in the month, we went to the local Christmas festival. It was pretty neat, especially for the small size of our town. They had Santa Claus, fake snow, and a little carnival with games and rides.


Can you see the specs of snow?


Less than a week later, we got REAL snow! Ok, real for Louisiana.. I snatched Ben out of bed so he could see it. We weren't brave enough to go out in it though. It didn't take long before it all melted away (the rain didn't help) and afterwards I was missing Utah snow pretty bad. Throughout the day, I found myself daydreaming about pushing Ben in a sled, making a big snowman, having a snowball fight..I even missed when Adam used to come home when we lived in student housing at the University of Utah and he'd throw a snowball at the window to scare me!


Within just a couple of days, we had hot weather. Then cold, then hot...Here's a cute pic of Ben all bundled up for a cold day.


At the church Christmas party, we got to experience Christmas dinner cajun-style! The menu was gumbo, potato salad, and more sweets than Santa could eat in a year. I learned after that that to really experience it cajun-style, I was supposed to put my potato salad IN my gumbo..is that right??? Any way, it was good nonetheless. Primary (the kids of our church)put on a nativity that no one heard (although Ty did a great job reading from Luke 2) because the mic crapped out. The kids were pretty cute all dressed up like shepherds, sheep, a star, wisemen (and a wisewoman), Mary and Joseph.

At the party, Ben watched Santa Claus from a distance and reached to give him a kiss at one point (from like 10 feet away), but when we got closer, it was all over with. I could have handed him over to Santa, but I already have that picture from last year!


Last year's photos..I've got to get an ornament made of these or frame them or something..hilarious!



Speaking of Primary, I was released from serving as Primary president. I should have seen the release coming since I was actually feeling like I was coming into my own in the calling, but I didn't..Nonetheless, it will be good. I was asked to be the enrichment counselor in Relief Society. I will miss miss miss those kids! I really learned a lot from my counselors and the teachers I served with, but I'm excited to be in Relief Society again too. And just like the kids are so incredible in Primary, their moms and other women in there are equally amazing in my experience thus far. But it will be harder to think of reasons to break out my talent of catching cheerios with my mouth in there!

With everything so crazy, I didn't get to make all the goodies I wanted to. I got some done and delivered which was fun, but there's a lot of friends I just didn't get to. Please know that you are loved and appreciated nonetheless! Here's Ben enjoying the spoils of my treat-making.


I canned a couple jars of spiced apples (a little for food storage) which I was pretty proud of. I couldn't find red hots anywhere so I settled for hot tamales candies which was kind of a bummer since the gummy part didn't break down as much as I would have liked. But they were pretty and yummy and for my first stab at it, I was happy.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, we went to Florida where my family lives. My dad and stepmom came up to visit as well as my cousin Amber who I don't get to see very much. She had her little boy Zac a couple of weeks after I had Ben, both were our firsts, both of us had c-sections and she and I are pretty close in age. It was nice to visit with everyone, although we missed my sister Jessica who lives in Utah and couldn't be there.

Ben got one of his Christmas presents early--a John Deere tractor bicycle. It is too big for his legs right now, but that will only be the case for a little bit. He had (is having) fun getting pushed around on it and pushing it himself. We got some pretty funny looks on the way home with it strapped to the car roof!



Thanksgiving dinner was at my uncle's house. He has a horse, a donkey, chickens, a rooster, and probably critters I don't even know about. His donkey would he-haw every now and then and Ben LOVED it. He is still making the noise to this day. Actually, he knows the difference when we ask him, but he is making an association between deer (with all the reindeer he's seen in Christmas movies, etc.), donkeys and Paw-Paw since his Paw-Paw was the one showing him the donkey. He is also associating Paw-Paw with M&Ms for some reason I just can't imagine. (It COULDN'T be the never-ending supply of M&Ms Paw-Paw would put on his knee one at a time for Ben to grab!)



Thanksgiving night, we got together at my brother's place just the immediate family (less my dad and step-mom) again for more Thanksgiving eating! I can't believe I didn't get one single picture there, but then again, a pregnant woman with that much food around is more likely to be carrying a piece of cake or roll around than a camera.

We also got to spend some time at the beach. One of my sisters lives right on the water and, although it was cloudy, we had such a nice time walking the dog, playing in the sand, and taking pictures. Ben especially liked the birds and the waves. He tried to jump in the water a couple of times!

Look at that water! Tell me again why I live in Louisiana???




Ben gives the best (albeit sometimes drooly and/or snotty)kisses spontaneously or if he is asked. He doesn't really discriminate either. He gives them to everyone.

English Toffee Giveaway

Like I even had a choice whether to post this or not. In my current state, my appetite does the driving. :-) (Thanks, Andrea for the hot tip!) To the two people who still read my poor, abandoned blog, go check this out: http://englishtoffeeanytime.com/index.php

My Two Cents on Twilight, the Movie

Ignore this post if you're not a fan, mostly bc you'll see how much of a dork I am..haha.
Going into this and any book made into a movie, I look for two things: Does is stay fairly true to the original story? Does it incite in me the same feelings as the book? If I can say yes to both of those things, then it's been a successful movie and anything else is icing on the cake. That was indeed the case with Twilight.
I was able to see things on screen that I had only imagined when reading the book or that I just wasn't able to visualize come to life before me on the big screen. Going in knowing that the movie would never be as good as the book (they never are), it was good for different reasons. Here's some things that I wasn't crazy about:

Bella--I didn't understand her character as much here. I never understood why she loved Edward so much even though this was from her perspective. From the book, I could see that his beauty and that he was perfect in everything were what did it for her..didn't get that from the movie though. I didn't mind that she never smiled. I didn't think she ever smiled much any way so I felt like that was true to character. I would have loved to hear them say they love one another at some point though.

Edward--nice beautiful face and I think he really transformed from Cedrick Diggory to be this character well, but, man, someone needs to tell him to stand up straight and hit the gym! Book Edward was PERFECT for goodness sake!

I really really hoped to see the "stupid shiny Volvo owner" scene. Deleted scenes maybe..

Meadow scene--I could what they were trying to do with his skin like diamonds, but to me "sparkly Edward" came across as "blurry Edward". It was weird. Maybe it was the screen and it will look better when on DVD. (Oh yes, gotta have the DVD.) Other than that (major) detail, this scene was better on screen than I had visualized from the book.

One of my favorite things was the addition of a new character: Charlie's mustache! That thing was awesome! It should have had it's own lines or something. Team Charlie's Mustache over here!

I thought I'd try something new for a change and, hey, actually post something. Madness, I know! I'm not feeling too philosophical or creative at the moment (and you know my blog is known for in depth philosophical matters and creativity) so I'll brag on my cute kid instead. Here's some pics of him in October.



The cutest puppy ever!



Jailhouse rock Elvis..bc I just couldn't decide on one costume




Walking up to his very first trick-or-treat house.



At the pumpkin patch..even though it wasn't really a patch bc everything was pre-picked. So pumpkin store maybe?? It was also my *gasp* 28th birthday.




Ben with pumpkins. We got him a Halloween book ("Happy Halloween, Biscuit!")to learn about pumpkins and Halloween and boy did he ever..he won't quit asking to read that book and point out the pumpkins. Aye..I'm going to have to buy a Thanksgiving book now so he'll move on. (Wouldn't you know all the Thanksgiving books for his age group are all checked out at the library.)



NOT a different Ben costume. But it was just too cool of a handmade one to not post. He could see out of black mesh that the eyes were made out of. Too bad all the other kids could easily run past him and get all the candy first. That's the price to pay for looking good though.




Elvis and his hound dog Boomer at the church trunk-or-treat.

Back to High School, More Like

The other day, I was pushing Ben in his stroller at McNeese taking care of some last minute school stuff. We are coming out of the handicap ramp in Kaufman Hall. It's like a two-lane ramp with a rail in the middle dividing the "lanes". Three police officers, pretty young, were walking towards the ramp and the middle spotted Ben and started talking to him, not paying a lot of attention to where he was going. Can you see where this going? He walked right smack into the middle rail! He bowed over in pain, holding his groin and his co-worker buddies started howling laughing at him! I felt like I was in high school for minute there. It was the funniest thing I've seen in while.

Funny Stories..true stories

My little boy, Ben, cracks me up! It is amazing to watch him take the things he learns and use them himself. Here a couple of examples. He has learned to make all kinds of animal sounds (cow, pig, sheep, elephant, dog, bear, lion, etc.). He also makes sounds for his dear parents. He likes to imitate us snoring. Now I'm not sure where he gets MY sound from because I am confident that I don't snore! :-D Adam on the other hand, well...Funny enough, he makes the same snoring sound for his dog, Boomer, a pug. So we are in church the other day and there is a family with a newborn. I had noticed Ben watching and had explained that it was a baby. Shortly after we got there, the cute little newborn did what all newborns do when there parents are awake--he went to sleep. Ben, using the new sounds he learned, saw the baby sleeping, pointed and started snoring!

Another funny Ben story..We are riding in the car and asking him what a cow says, what a dog says etc. He responds with the appropriate sounds. Then we ask him what sound Ben makes. He doesn't know so he just makes one up. We tell him that Ben says "waaaa" but we could never get him to do it. The other night we are about to go to bed and we ask him sound he makes. I thought he would have forgotten since we only told him that one time. He starts whining and waa-ing with a big grin on his face! so cute!

From Shaggy to Shorn

I finally broke down and cut Ben's hair. This is his second haircut. I like it long, but it just got of control. I missed it though the minute I cut it. Adam was probably tempted to roll his eyes at me when I cried over it..lol. I don't think I cried as much as Ben, but he just didn't like sitting there. I don't guess I blame him. It turned out cute I think although I'm kind of partial to the kid it's on. :-)

What a Deal!

There's nothing like getting a good deal to put me in a good mood. The other day, my neighbor stopped by asking if I wanted to walk with her down the street. She had seen some lamps that someone had put out by the road for trash pick up and she wanted to get them. So I went with her. We get there, she's checking out her lamps and I start rummaging through the boxes and stuff. Now this isn't the kind of thing I EVER do, but having someone with you always makes you a little braver for some reason. It's mostly moth-ball old lady stuff. Then I open this one box that has an entire set of comforter, shams, bed skirt, and curtains. It had never even been used. The receipt was still in there from 2001 and it's like a $500 set. Would you believe they were actually the right size for our king-size bed?! When does THAT ever happen? So there's my FREE find! And the only thing better than a good deal is a free one! (Don't worry, I washed it all before I ever used it, just in case.) And to my neighbor, if you're reading this, whose comforter set this was--If you didn't mean to throw it out, I'm really sorry, but I'm attached now. You can have my old one.

More Vacation Pics

Right now, I'm bored in the middle of summer trying to survive the heat, I'm kind of trying to relish in our Florida vacation memories a bit. Here's some pics I haven't posted yet.

We went to the zoo in Gulf Breeze. It isn't the fanciest, that's for sure, but it has animals and that's really all ya need for a zoo. Although, paved sidewalks instead of the gravel ones would have been good, especially trying to push a stroller through it..not so fun.

Here's Ben and me in the train that takes you around the zoo. (A MUCH better way to see the animals than pushing a stroller through gravel.)


On the train ride, we caught a view of the reindeer who must have been vacationing in FL too waiting for Christmas to get here.


At the petting zoo..Ben did NOT like those aggressive, hungry goats and sheep. I really think they could have jumped that fence with proper motivation.


Adam had already gone back to work when we went to the zoo, but came back the weekend just in time for the beach! These pics are in Destin. I'm from about an hour from there. I really really miss it this time of year. There's just a feeling on the beach there that I don't get anywhere else I've been. Sure did used to tempt me to ditch a lot of class back in the day though!

Here I am doing a little body surfing.


A couple of family pics



Here's Ben and me watching the waves roll in. Just beautiful.


What a view..


Here is one sleepy kid.


He fell asleep in the car in the couple minutes we drove to the restaurant. (PF Changs..my favorite!) I ate most of my lunch with him asleep on my shoulder. He did wake up finally though..kind of.


Alright, I'm ready to go back now!

A Sad Day

We planted a garden in the spring time. It was perfect--just enough plants to produce just enough food for our little family. It was growing fine until one afternoon it started to rain. And the next afternoon, it rained. And the next. And the next. Until our cute little garden that Adam worked so hard (with the neighbor's gas-powered tiller) to put in was drowning to death. We dug trenches around it. Didn't work. They filled in with rainwater and became motes like to protect our plants from invaders or something.

Then one night I lay in bed awoken by a noise. Actually, it was a lot of noises--frogs, really loud croaky ones. And guess where they were..Yep, in our used-to-be-cute little garden. I almost bought dirt to fill in the whole lot the next day, but I didn't. I was patient. The rain stopped. The garden dried except for the "motes". They didn't. And how could they? They were now home to lots of babies..that's right. Tadpoles were in our garden!! We were trying to grow vegetables and we grew frogs instead. Where did we go wrong? Adam fixed our frog problem though. Froglegs, any one?

Just kidding about the froglegs part. Actually, he just filled it in with sand and we're going to move our best plants into planters until next year when we start the garden anew in a different, higher part of the yard. It was a pretty sad day for the tadpoles though.

An Eternal Teenager

Takin' Lisa up on her question, here's what year I apparently belong to..Does this mean that I don't belong in '08?? In '98, I was a junior in high school, so I guess I'll always be a teenager in my head!

You Belong in 1998

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

http://www.blogthings.com/whatyeardoyoubelonginquiz/">What Year Do You Belong In?