Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Catching Up
Sorry for the lack of updates (I warned you!) but it has been crazy busy around here. We had fun at my parents house over the holiday weekend. Abhi loves her Grana, and didn't even want to stop and get a candy bar on the drive there. She just wanted to get there to see her Grana. My dad was also there all weekend, which was nice. He is currently training for the Texas Water Safari, which is a 262-mile canoe race. He is 69 years old and is going solo this year. He went on the very first race back in 1963, then took a 30 year break. Since 1993, he has been on the race almost every year. He has finished solo once before and set the record for the oldest person to finish. The next year, someone a few months older finished and he has been trying to reclaim his title ever since. The race starts June 9th, so send him some good thoughts!

Back to this weekend....

Abhi had a blast at my parents house and now calls my dad "my friend Grandad." Abhi is usually very shy around him since she doesn't really see him often. She found one of my old dolls laying around and immediately attached herself to it. The doll had a "broken" arm that needed to be sewed back on, so my dad got some needle & thread and had Abhi help him by holding the doll while he fixed the arm. After that, they were friends for life. She had been talking about Grandad's big red truck before we came, so he asked her if she wanted to go for a ride. She said yes, and then he asked her if she wanted Mama to go too. She said, no way, just her and Grandad (much to my surprise!).

Abhi also had her first real haircut this weekend. My mom and I took her to the mall, with her dolly Bella and a lollipop for moral support. She didn't touch the lollipop until after it was all over. She spent the entire time glaring in the mirror at the girl cutting her hair. At least she didn't have a screaming meltdown!


I had lots of fun taking pictures of the girls around my mom's beautiful flowers. Here are a couple of my favorites!



Fiona is chewing on a leaf. Oh God, that reminds me. Fiona ate her first bug this weekend. When we got there, she almost immediately crawled over to a dead roach and shoved it in her mouth (gag!). I was able to get most of it away from her, but later she was kinda gagging on something and I pulled a roach leg out of her mouth *shudder*. Ugh, at least my mom doesn't use poison in her house.

Anyway, back to the pictures....



And to wrap things up, here is a video of Fiona doing her latest "trick."



Night, night!


Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Lots Happening!
So, lots of things have been happening lately. I thought I would just wrap everything up in a nice little bulleted list.

* I talked to another mortgage broker today and we have a preapproval letter!!! Now, when we are ready to start looking, we will be all set. Yay!

* My mom told me today that she wanted to pay for Jim to have a vasectomy. She came in to town on Saturday for my birthday and we all went out to dinner (with no kids, woo hoo!) and somehow got on the subject of birth control. She was telling me how bad birth control pills are and I told her I wasn't taking them. So, of course, then she asked what we WERE doing (condoms). Great dinner conversation, right. She wondered why Jim didn't get a vasectomy and I told her we couldn't afford it right now. So, today she calls and offers to pay for it.

* I just reconnected with my two best friends from elementary school - Melissa and Kelly - on MySpace. One of these days I am going to go up to WV and have a reunion with them.

* I am going to be a busy little bee for the next few weeks. We are going to Victoria to see my parents and Jim's mom on Memorial Day weekend. In June, we are going to Dallas for my company's Spring Picnic which should be fun. The weekend after that, Jim is going to New Orleans for a Flatland competition and I will be on my own with the kids for 4-5 days (wish me luck!).

* Things have been pretty busy at work and I hear it's only going to get busier, so if my posting gets sporadic (more so than it already is), that is why.

* Abhi's newest obsession....


* And finally, the latest cute video....



See ya on the flip side!


Friday, May 11, 2007
The Big 3-0
Tomorrow is my 30th birthday and I am really looking forward to it. My mom is coming in town and we are all going out to eat. Z agreed to watch the kids while we are at dinner, so this will be the first time in almost 3 years we will eat in a restaurant with no kids!

I am excited about being in my 30's. I feel like I am truly an "adult" now. I struggled a lot in my 20s trying to figure out who I was, who I wanted to be with, and what I wanted to do with my life. I am in a good place now. We are about to buy our first home. While we are not swimming in money, we aren't struggling. I adore my husband and daughters. I think I have made some good choices and bad choices in the past 10 years, but it has made me who I am. Let's run down what has happened in the last 10 years (in no particular order).

* I met Jim 7 months after turning 20, dated for 3 years, and have been married almost 7 years.
* I graduated college.
* I gave birth to 2 daughters.
* I have moved 8 times and lived in 4 cities.
* Since graduating college, I have changed jobs 3 times.
* I cared for my grandmother who has dementia for 2 years.
* I have had 4 different cars.
* I lost my grandfather.
* I have made friends, lost friends, and reconnected with friends from the past.

Lots of change, right? I am hoping the next 10 years won't have so many life-changing events and definitely not as many moves! I am ready to settle down and stay in one place for a while and watch my kids grow up. I have a good career with a great company with lots of potential to go far. We live in a city we both love and have a great group of friends.

Life is good!


Monday, May 07, 2007
MBSM - May 7th
I missed last week, so here are 2 photos for MBSM to make up for it! I don't think these need any explanation.



To see other MBSM posts, visit Tracey over at Picture This.


Friday, May 04, 2007
Notes from the Midwide
I thought it would be fun to post the midwife's notes from Fiona's birth. They were really well done and she noted things that I didn't remember from the birth.


Wednesday, September 6, 2006
For several days Mary has been having warm up contractions. She told us that it wouldn't be long until the birth.

She didn't sleep well last night. She was having a hard time getting comfortable and falling back to sleep after the routine ups & downs of late pregnancy. In the morning she began having some different contractions and they started timing them around 10:30 on Sept. 6, 2006.

On Wednesday morning Mary did sleep between 2-5:30, then Jim had to be at work by 6 am and Abhi had school at 7:00. After that was done Mary was having & timing some mild irregular contractions.

11:30 am
She called us at 11:30 to let us know this was different. She kept in touch with Debra throughout the day as the contractions continued to get longer, stronger, and closer together.

5:00 pm
At this time Mary called to say that the contractions were getting stronger. They were about 10 minutes apart but sometimes 12 minutes. She asks that I come over now.

5:20 pm
I load the birth kit and head over. At this time Mary calls me to say that the contractions are strong now. I am almost there.

When I arrive I find Mary bouncing on the birth ball and she gives me a really big smile. Their home is all ready for the baby. Abhi is next door with friends and Mary and Jim are together working with this labor.

5:45 pm
Exam -

FHTs - 152
B/P - 120/76
Vitals - P=86, R=16
6 cm - ROA sutures felt, -1 station, waters intact

This labor is moving along. No bloody show. I call everyone to come because this will not take very long! Mary wants to get into the tub and we light some candles for a soft calming break. Mary baked chocolate chip cookies today white waiting for Fiona.

6:05 pm
FHT 136
Sheri here - continuing to set up.

6:15 pm
MariMikel here. We set up for the IV antibiotic. This is necessary for the Beta Strep.

6:20 pm
Aleah here.

7:20 pm
Mary out of the tub for IV. MariMikel gets IV in on 1st try. Contractions really strong now.

Exam - 9 1/2 cm almost complete - oh - complete. Mary can start to push.

7:23 pm
We do get the bag of antibiotic in right as Mary starts to push. Deb gets the IV out of her arm. Great pushing. Baby coming down fast.

7:30 pm
Water breaks during pushing - a small amount 1/2 cup of clear fluid. MariMikel & Sheri are helping Mary give birth.

7:33 pm
Baby girl born. Place baby on Mary's abdomen. She is beautiful. She takes her first breath with gusto! Beautiful spiral cord!

7:38 pm
Placenta born - very healthy - almost no blood loss! Mary has a very small tear. We will numb and stitch.

7:57 pm
Nursing. Great latch. Great nurser.

8:30 pm
We do the newborn exam. Abhi - big sister - comes home. Very sweet meeting. Mary & Jim give her a new dolly! Good idea. She squealed with joy! Mary is doing well. The couple is nursing well, resting. Jim is so happy it seems. We clean and pack and get ready to leave.

All is well and we are happy to have been a part of this birth. Thank you and may God bless this family.

10:00 pm
Midwives depart.


Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Taking the Plunge
Yesterday I talked with a Realtor and a Mortgage Broker and started the process of buying a house. Our lease is up at the end of October, so now is a good time to start gearing up for it. We started doing this around this time last year, but we didn't have a good mortgage person (we met with her once and then never heard from her again). Plus, I was pregnant and my due date was really close to the time we would need to close and move. So, we decided to wait another year and now it is time.

I filled out the application for the pre-qualification yesterday and was on the verge of an anxiety attack the whole time. This is a huge leap for us and I am excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time. The Realtor we are using is a friend of a friend, and he has a son the same age as Abhi. Abhi and his son have played together a few times, so I know him a little outside being a Realtor. He is a nice, laid back guy and I don't feel like he will put a lot of pressure on us like other realtors I have talked to. He recommended the Mortgage Broker, and after talking to him a little yesterday, I think this will really happen!

Wish me luck!!

And now....baby, drum, toddler, and crayons...yeah!



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