Christmas With Baby

Well, this was our first Christmas as a family....with baby Jack! It was also the first time that I put on makeup and "real" clothes (ok, not even real clothes - maternity clothes still) in 24 days! Of course it was the best Christmas ever. Having Jack made it so much more special than any other Christmas.

Of course, when I look at the picture I realize that I look...well...tired!

Babies Don't Keep

Well here I am, on my new laptop (it's an hp mini...if you haven't seen one, google it...it's so small it looks like a toy and I am still amazed that it actually works), which I have thanks to my wonderful husband. Jack is in sleeping in his little chair (thank you Polly, you got us this for our baby shower). I can't believe how hard it is to put him down, even when he's sleeping and I know that he'll be fine (well, I constantly have to keep an eye on him as Twinkie stalks him when he's in his chair). Every single day I am even more amazed that this perfect little being came from me and Charles. He is the most amazing little thing ever. I love watching him when he sleeps and his little face goes through a huge range of emotions in his sleeps - he gets mad, he might cry out, he looks worried, he looks surprised and my favorite of all he smiles and almost even laughs.

On the one hand, I can't wait until he is smiling and laughing. On the other hand, it makes me sad to think of him growing up because I know this time will pass so quickly and I want to cherish every moment I have with Baby Jack before he is Toddler Jack, Kid Jack, Teenager Jack, and then Adult Jack. Right now he is MY Jack (well, he's also Charles'!) but I know he will become his own little person soon and I don't want to miss out on a moment! Of course I will also cherish every moment with him as he grows and I know that will be exciting too, but sometimes I feel like I see him going to college already and I know that will be here before I know it so I don't want to miss out on one second.

My mom sent me this poem (and it made me cry) and I made a promise to myself to live by this:

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

A Present for Linda

Twinkie wishes you a very Merry Christmas.

Running on Fumes

Well, we are pretty much running on fumes around here although I am feeling better every day. I have been taking everyone's advice and resting as much as possible (not like there is much else I can do) and it really seems to be helping. I even have had a couple of bursts of energy which resulted in unloading and loading the dishwasher and doing several loads of laundry!

Jack is fabulous. Absolutely 100% perfect and more than I ever imagined he could be. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and hopefully he will check out fine and we won't have to keep him on the light anymore. Then I can spend all day holding him! :) I am kind of dreading the appointment tomorrow (the last one took a lot out of me, physically and emotionally). I feel much better equipped for this appointment though than the last one and I am looking forward to hearing good news from the doc, so I'm thinking positive and I know it will be easier than the last one!

The cats are so upset it's almost funny (it would be if they didn't voice their anger by running into the room and jumping on Jack's stuff as soon as I take it out of the dryer, meowing endlessly, staring at Jack with huge eyes and fully dilated pupils, opening every single cabinet they can reach - even Dinah - and then letting them slam, etc.). I do feel a a little guilty as just last week they had full run of the house and could do whatever they wanted to and had free range of my lap for their daily naps. They will adjust and as Jack gets bigger I'm sure I will worry less.

Janga also came home today. Jack's sleeping so she hasn't met him yet but she's been running around the house and smelling everything like she's never been here before. We'll introduce them when Jack wakes up from his nap.

How Funny the Post Below Seems Now...

If only I had known that I was about to endure my last night of that! :)

Of course, Im even more tired now...but I am able to occasionally sleep for a couple of hours at a time AND I don't have to pee as much.

Monday morning, December 1st, I woke up around 4:30 AM (after falling asleep again around, say, 3:45!) to extra back pain and a crampy tummy. And, without going into too much detail here, I was a little more leaky than usual. So I tried and tried to get back to sleep but I had two webinars that I had to do from home that morning, the first at 7:00, that I was afraid I not going to wake up for anyway, so I finally got out of bed around 6:00 and drained the rest of the apple juice.

In between webinars I took a shower and straightened my hair (what IF it turned out I was in labor - I would prefer to have straight hair in the hospital!). I kept thinking I was overreacting but Charles convinced me to call the doctor after I finished the second webinar, around 9:30. The nurse said it probably wasn't anything and sounded like pre-labor, which could go on for days or weeks, but to come in anyway to get checked out. So we made it to the doctor's office around 11:30 that morning. The doctor checked me out and I was a bit more dilated but still not showing any really strong signs of labor, although she did want to test the fluids I was leaking to find out if I might have broken my water. Five minutes after taking the sample she came back and said, "This buys you a ticket upstairs to labor and delivery." My water had broken, or had a slow leak, and it was time to have a baby!!

Charles and I were shcked, excited, nervous - we had really not been expecting this. My due date wasn't until December 22nd! It especially hit us hard when we walked up there and my doctor had already called to check us in and they took us to our room and said, "This is where the baby will be born." It didn't start to feel real until they hooked me up to the IV - and even then, it didn't feel real until the pitocin kicked in and my contractions starting coming hard and fast.

Lucky for me, things progressed very, very quickly. When I was dilated to about 6 I decided on an epidural, thinking I could have hours of this ahead of me - but then, as it turned out, when the nurse came back in 30 minutes later to insert the catheter and see if I had dilated anymore I was ready to push! I couldn't believe it. It was like things just kept happening faster and faster.

The baby was facing upwards and it turned out he had his hand up against his face, so pushing was hard. I pushed for about an hour and forty five minutes and at many times wondered if I would be able to do it. Charles was fabulous, as always, and kept motivating me and really helped keep me strong. At 6:26 PM on Monday, December 1st, Jack Lewis Lindsey made his entrance into this world and our lives will never be the same.

Some Sleep, Please!

So, people keep telling me that I need to get all the sleep I can now, before the baby is born...and here I am looking forward to when the baby is born so I can get some sleep! I mean seriously, I am lucky now to get 45 minutes of uninterrupted sleep before I wake up to pee, to roll over, because my legs are cramping or because Dinah has taken over my body pillow and my hips and back ache because I don't have any support under them. And getting out of bed has become more than the difficult task it was before - sometimes, it is damn near impossible to sit up. If I got two hours of sleep in a row I would probably feel like I had won the lottery. Even if I am waking up every two hours once the baby's here, there is something to be said for being able to sleep for two straight hours!!

Highlights From Jesika's Visit

1. Seeing Jesika (of course!)
2. Seeing space trash burn up in the atmosphere
3. Popovers at Kenny's
4. Watching Jesika ride Norman (who, for the record, is not trained)
5. Pedicures and manicures (much-needed!)
6. Baby shower
7. Western Cafe (biscuits!)
8. Harassing Twinkie (Jesika got some good Twinkie pictures)
9. Twilight (not that the actual movie was that great, it was just great that it worked out that Jesika was here to see it with me)
10. Having Josh and Marie and Aaron and Jesika all here at the same time

A poem, written by Norman with a little help from Charles (someone had to hold the pen):

The Clomping Steed

His ancestors grazed by a moat

In November came his winter coat

The ground shakes and rumbles underneath his feet

He paves his way down his equine street

Hunger comes on strong with such a great force

Longing for a feast of grain of course

Through trees and tall grass he does stride

With Mo and Seamus the white pony at his side

Down toward the stable and up the hill

His mouth and stomach he longs to fill

In through the gate and toward the trough

Pawing his hoof and beginning to scoff

Nothing but sweet oats and grain

After his hay his water he will drain

After the meal, there is nothing to lack

But one thing, Jesika on my back!

From Norman.

Cribs, Cribs, Cribs...and a Twinkie Picture!

Well, the crib dilemma is SOLVED. We took it back and looked around the store and found one that we somehow overlooked last time. And we got it instead. And...it matches and looks FABULOUS in the room. Charles did a great job of putting it together and it was so fun to put all of his little sheets and everything on it! Now it's looking like a real baby's room. No pictures yet, we are going to wait until we get everything up on the walls.

It is a convertible crib, which (for those of you who do not have babies or babies on the way) means that it can convert to a toddler bed and then a full-size (or maybe queen?) bed. So the saleslady (who was SUPER ANNOYING AND HAS BEEN A BIG PAIN, BY THE WAY) tried to use that as a selling point. She kept saying, "He can sleep in this bed until he goes to college!" to help justify the expense. But I have to agree with Linda on this one...he might not want to be 18 and sleeping in the same bed he was sleeping in when he was a newborn!! Plus, it's not like it will always be in style...I constantly ask Charles, "Who thought it was a good idea to build this house with funky desks and shelves and china cabinets built into each room in this house - didn't they realize that it wouldn't always be 1987 and maybe this odd-color stain wouldn't be in style anymore in 20 years and that it would be impossible to find anything to match it? Or maybe that the style of the desk would be outdated and the person that lived in this house would be stuck with it forever unless they could afford to hire a professional to come and remove it because it is BUILT INTO THE WALLS!?!?!"

But anyway, the crib is up and it looks so good...I can't wait to get pictures on here! And here is a Twinkie picture (blurry if you look at a large version but this was taken right when we got the new lense and Charles hadn't figured it all out yet - we'll have to get some new ones)!

When Did Boston Market Start Sucking???

OK, so last night we went to Boston Market after picking up a piece of our crib (more on that in a minute). WHEN DID BOSTON MARKET START TO SUCK SO BAD??? Not only do they not have tortellini anymore (seriously!!!) but they also advertise their "Premium Lemonade," which turns out to be no more than Minute Maid Lemon-Like Drink Mix or something of that sort. I remember going to Boston Market and getting a side of tortellini, cinnamon apples (they still have those but I didn't even want to try them) and a big glass of that yummy lemonade they used to have. I wish they would bring back the tortellini and lemonade and spend less money on redecorating. Oh - and it can't be that long since they took the tortellini away because it was still on the menu, they had just stuck a sticker with something like "sweet potato casserole" over it! How depressing. :(

So about the crib. This also sucks. We went to Lonestar Baby last night to pick it up (finally, almost four weeks late, it had arrived!). Of course the thing was so stinking huge that it wouldn't fit in the car. The whole reason we ordered this special crib is because it's the only one that came close to matching the furniture that is built into the baby's room. So even though we couldn't take the whole thing home, we of course wanted to see it. So we asked to look at it and they showed us the toddler rail (it converts into a toddler bed). We could fit that in the car so we brough it home. And...of course...it doesn't match.

It's not a horrible non-match, but not the perfect match that I had expected (well, hoped for). So now I am torn - do we make do with what we've got? It's a very nice (read: expensive) crib, it took over three months to get here, and I really want to wash all of the baby's sheets and crib accessories and put it all together and have it ready. Or do we return it (or I guess in this case, return the toddler rail) and then keep looking? I saw one at BabiesR'Us that looks like it might be a better match and is less expensive. Tomorrow when we go into Dallas for our Prepared Childbirth classes I think we are going to take the toddler rail for our crib and a drawer from the built-in furniture, and see if the one at BabiesR'Us matches better. Then, if they have it in stock or can have it delivered in less than two weeks (I'm feeling a time crunch here!) maybe we will get that one instead. I am never difficult when it comes to stuff like this, and I'm amazed at how badly I want it all to be perfect. UGH.

I also happen to be sick, much sicker than last week (I think that these might be the only two sick days I have taken all year - and now I am set up to work from home so it's not even like a real sick day). The only good thing to this (I think I have a sinus infection type thing going on) is that I slept for 16 hours, and I slept HARD, only having to get up every three hours or so to pee. This is something of a small miracle as I am normally up every two hours at least. So, yay for sleep! The Benadryl probably helped too. :)

And I needed to put a picture on here, so here's a recent Ziggy picture! He is so cute. Still looking for a home for him. Yesterday he killed a snake. So if anyone needs a snake-hunting pitbull, he's the dog for you!

Horse Guilt

Well, it's getting closer! This picture was taken last week at about 31 weeks. Today I am about 32 weeks and 4 days (so far as they can tell). We had an appointment this morning with the doctor. Right now they are pretty routine but they are about to start happening a lot more frequently! What's crazy is that he could be born in 4 1/2 weeks and be full-term. YIKES! I am kind of hoping for another week or two to prepare. But...ask me if I still feel that way next month, I guess! He's sitting on my rib cage right now which is not the most comfortable thing I've ever experienced, so I can only imagine what it will feel like in another month when he's got another two pounds or so on him!

I am feeling a bit guilty since the horses have been so neglected the last few months. Hopefully when Jesika is here we can give them some love. I don't remember the last time I even brushed them, although I hav been trying to keep their stalls clean. Mo is so unsteady on his feet he makes me a bit nervous as it's harder for me to get out of the way these days. Maybe Jesika will hold him for me while I brush his mane and give him a good massage. He loves massages. Poor Mo, I know he falls down sometimes and/or runs into things because I have seen his injuries. He is such a good sport though and doesn't let it get him down.

Seamus misses the attention he used to get, I can tell. He stands by the gate every night and on the nights I actually feed (Charles is so helpful and always feeds if he gets home first or if I have to work late) he waits for me to scratch him and love on him a bit before going into his stall like the good boy that he is.

Norman is Norman. He comes when he wants to, is always the very last one to go into his stall, and sometimes goes into the other horse's stalls first (basically, he likes to pee in the tall grass that is in Mo and Seamus' runs so he goes in there to pee but that gets Mo and Seamus upset so it just turns into a big PITA). But he is a good boy and is going to be a great horse when he gets trained! Norman could REALLLLY use some mane and tail brushing. Hopefully Jesika will work on the dreadlocks that make up his tail when she's here!

Twinkie Helps Paint

Thank GOODNESS tomorrow is Saturday! Even though I have to go into work this weekend (busy season!), I am so relieved to be able to sleep in!

Charles is working like crazy in the baby's room. He's hoping to get most of it done tomorrow! I can't wait to see the finished product (we'll post pictures as soon as it's completed). There have been a few hurdles...mainly, Twinkie pulling down all of the plastic drop cloths that were taped to the wall and then Twinkie refusing to get out of the paint tray (see the picture for proof of this - and as you can tell she is not pleased that I was photographing her). But it is, after all, Twinkie, so what can you expect! I think she actually wants to help since she seems to love the baby already...she is on my belly EVERY SINGLE TIME I sit down for longer than three minutes!

We still have Ziggy; his home didn't work out. I sometimes am amazed at how lucky Janga is and even how lucky Ziggy is. Even though he is stuck in a dog run most of the time (albeit a big one that has enough room to actually run in), he gets out for walks and he gets two meals a day and clean water which is more than he has probably ever experienced.

Speaking of Ziggy, he was barking and barking the other night and finally Charles went ouside to see what it was all about (he is not one of those dogs who barks at nothing - the last time he was carrying on there was a turtle standing outside his run). Anyway, imagine Charles' surprise when he found a giant Copperhead tucked in next to Ziggy's doghouse. As Charles ran in to get the 22 (yes, to shoot it - they are poisonous and can kill someone!), he almost stepped on a big fat dead snake that was right outside our back door that we hadn't seen before!! I guess we need to trim the 7-foot tall weeds in the pasture behind our house as this is probably where they are coming from. Snake paradise.

And as far as pregnancy news goes, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything is going exactly as it should. Yay! :) Today my feet are so swollen though that I think they look like tube socks. I guess 13 hours in heels a half size too small will do that! Ahhh...tennis shoes or flip flops tomorrow.

Happy Weekend!

Jesika Looks Like a Giant in this Picture

I have a bunch of cute animal pictures but I'm having troubles with them on this computer, so here is a picture of Jesika that Charles took last month. She looks like a giant destroying some cliffs.

Pets, Clean Stalls, and Apple-Bran Muffins

We'll start off with a picture of the potentially three most spoiled pets ever to walk the face of this planet. Dinah (front), Janga (back left enjoying both pillows ad the down comforter), and Twinkie (top right and enjoying not only the down comforter but also the freshly-dried laundry, which is always a big hit with both cats).

And you can see the tiny space wtih nothing on it towards the top where I was laying only moments before. The animals, of course, had much more room.

I was in bed resting my back for awhile because it was hurting pretty badly from the days activities. I started off taking Ziggy for a 40-minute walk (40 minutes is a long time when you are pregnant) and then cleaned the horses stalls and did about 8 loads of laundry. I was pretty tore-up from all of this!

But I didn't stop there. No siree. I also cleaned the entire house AND made myself dinner (ok, it came in a box and required about five minutes of perparation but did involve the oven!). While dinner was cooking I took things a step further and made apple-bran muffins (good carbs!).

It seems like I spend Saturday recuperating from my week and then Sunday I have all this crazy energy to get things done.

Charles was busy this weekend, too...he primed the walls and ceiling of the baby's room and we're very close to painting it!

Cross Your Fingers!

Ziggy might have a home!!!

I Want to Go Back to Boston

Today I was thinking about the trip we took to Boston two years ago in November and I really wished we could go back. This picture is from the Farmer's Market we attended (where asparagus was, like, 4 bunches for $1). It was chilly, the city was just starting to put out some Christmas decorations here and there, and we had really good bagels before walking the Freedom Trail. I also had my first ever Cannoli (not sure if I am spelling that correctly...I'm talking about one of those crispy, creme-filled pastries).

I hope we can go back sometime soon!

Funny Toilet Picture

I just felt like posting something funny today. I have no idea where this picture came from, but I think Charles took it with his camera phone. And it is pretty funny.

Doesn't Anyone Out There Want Ziggy?

Ziggy has a big head, yes, but he also has a big heart and lots of love to give! Some human thought it would be cool to have a pitbull. This one probably had big parents so they thought he'd be big too (he is, around 75 pounds). So they brought home a cute little pitbull puppy that would make them look tough. Then the dog started to get bigger, eat more, and take larger poops in the front yard (amazing how people don't think about these things when they get an animal...you know, the whole it-has-several-years-to-live-and-won't-always-be-this-cute thing). Then due to neglect he got mange and started scratching and chewing on himself, and slowly began to lose his hair and where his shiny coat had once been he was soon covered in gaping, crusty scabs. So what's a person to do?

Well, dump him, of course! So someone did. And he lived on our road for a week in 100+ degree weather before he found us. And followed us home. And the rest is history...

Well, kind of...the story hasn't ended yet! Ziggy is better now. He's been neutered, vaccinated, and gained a lot of weight! Ziggy needs a home. Ziggy doesn't like cats. We have four cats and of course we don't want life to be miserable for our current animals, so we are trying very hard to find Ziggy a home without cats. He loves people and so far has been great around other dogs. He likes to drink out of water human bottles. He likes to ride in the crate in the back of the truck. He was afraid of stairs the first time he saw them but once he learned he could go up and down them he quickly became a stair-walking pro. He likes everyone he meets. He jumps up and down when he sees the leash. He loves to go on walks and will lean on you when you stop for a break.

Please help Ziggy find his forever home!!

Things That Only Happen in Texas

Last weekend we were in Lowe's in Gun Barrel City looking through the books and books and books of wallpaper borders that they have. This is not a fun thing to do, even if it's for the very exciting purpose of decorating a baby's room. The books are huge and most of the stuff in them is ugly, but we continued to flip through one after the other in hopes of finding that perfect wallpaper border.

I had more patience for this than Charles did, and he soon abandoned me at the wallpaper border book stand and sought help in the form of a 40-something, east-Texan woman with brassy hair, tight jeans, a smoker's cough and old Reeboks. Here is the conversation that took place:

Charles: Are these the only wallpaper borders you have?

Her (now to get the full effect, you need to imagine an east-Texas drawl - and don't forget the smoker's cough): We have these over here that are in stock.

Me (leaves the wallpaper books and joins Charles)

Her: What are you having?

Me: A boy.

Her: Oh, well we have lots of boy wallpaper and this stuff is already in stock.

Me: How long does it take to get here if we order it?

Her: 7-10 days, but we already have this stuff in stock.

Charles: We're doing the baby's nursery and not sure exactly what we're looking for yet.

Her (leading us to the in-stock wallpaper): Oh, we got lots of stuff. If you're having a boy we have all this war stuff over here.

She promptly leads us to a huge selection of war-themed wallpaper borders. As in, tanks busting though buildings, camo backgrounds decorated in AK-47's, fighter jets dropping bombs and battleships. You get the idea.

SERIOUSLY!! Why would someone think I would want to decorate our baby's nursery in violent WAR wallpaper!?!?

To get an idea of what it looked like:

And unrelated to the story above, some other things that I realized today (as I was sitting in traffic trying to get home) that you never see in Texas:

* Tweeker blinkers

* Lowered trucks (well, like the kind they have in CA)

* Lifted trucks (again, like the kind you see in CA)

Just Because...Twinkie

Because Jesika Asked for One...

My Pregnancy = A Study in Human Behavior

You wouldn't think it, but being pregnant brings out the most interesting characteristics...in other people. Some things I have learned about others while I have been pregnant:

1. You can't please everybody. No, wait...make that, "You can't please anybody!" Seriously! A perfect example: at my baby shower, I had one person tell me I can't drink the glass of iced tea I was drinking because caffeine is bad for the baby. Later, that same night, another person gave me a hard time because I wouldn't drink a glass of wine and insisted that it would be good for me and that it was recommended that pregnant women drink a glass of wine a night. In this situation I wasn't annoyed by either one, but it's just a classic example of how you can't please anyone. Except my mom and mother-in-law, they think I am perfect! :)

2. Everyone has an opinion on proper child care. Miraculously, even people who don't have children! I take it all in because who knows what will work and what won't when I have my baby, but it's shocking how many experts are out there. You want to keep your baby in your room until he's sleeping through the night? One person says that will spoil him you'll regret it. The next says it's abuse to let a baby cry it out in his own room down the hall and he should be sharing your bed. You can't win! It's amazing anyone turns out okay.

3. It's okay to tell a pregnant woman she's fat. Well, I for one will never tell another pregnant person she looks like she's going to pop, but it's amazing how people you barely ever see to begin with all of a sudden think it's okay to tell you it's good to see you get fat, call you names like fatso and orca, etc., etc. This one does bother me a bit, but only after I had heard it like five times, because then I started to think it must be true, and that was confirmed when I looked at myself in the pictures from this weekend (see above - I actually think I was talking about Norman but this seems appropriate here)! But oh well, baby is happy and comfy and that's what matters right now. And back to Weight Watchers for me in January! :)

4. People are excited for you when you're pregnant. I mean, genuinely. People you might not expect to show an interest ask questions and get excited for you. For example, since I have been pregnant I haven't been going in to the local deli in our office building for my daily caffeine pick-me-up, so I probably haven't been in there in at least four months. But when I went in today the lady who owns it was all smiles and full of questions and congratulations to find out I was expecting. Babies bring people together!

Baby Showers and Optimus Prime

Well here I am, back in Texas again!

We had the BEST time ever in California. It was so much fun to see everyone and so hard to leave.
A quick rundown for those who are interested...

Thursday I went up to Orange and saw Jesika. Not only did I get to meet Jesika's new ride, River (hopefully Kalvin is back now!), but she also introduced me to A Cherry on Top. Frozen yogurt topped with all of the goodies I could fill in one cup. YUMMY. And the start of at least 5 additional non-baby pounds that I picked up in CA and probably won't be losing until December! Then we had lunch (see????) with Linda, Ken and their beautiful baby boy, Bryce! He has the greatest hair. Linda was awesome and told me all of the must-haves for a new baby. THEN, we went to Downtown Disney and got to hang out with Lisa and spend money in Sephora (and I bought pretty blush and when I got back found out I had accidentall grabbed the GOLD one...nice).

Friday we went to Hernandez Hideaway (more food) and had lunch with Karen and Nancy and I was reminded how much I miss my Elfin Forest riding buddies. From there it was on to the wedding rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner (eating again!!) at Richie and Jeanette's house.

Saturday AM Yvonne treated Polly, July and I to pedicures and I also got my nails done which was good because they looked like coke-head nails. And then, of course, the wedding! The wedding was great...I think the first keg was gone before the ceremony even started (not that I was able to contribute to that). It was fun to see so many people show up to share this special day with Richie and Jeanette. Jeanette was gorgeous, of course, and the weather was perfect. My favorite part, aside from the whole point of the wedding (you know, the whole gaining an awesome sister-in-law thing!) was to watch all of the drunks. There were quite a few getting pretty rowdy. OH YEAH, and one other wonderful part of the day was getting to see SARA!!! :)

Sunday was our baby shower and visiting with Valerie! I knew that it would be fabulous but I don't think I knew HOW fabulous. Valerie, Sara and Lisa (they put this big bash together) thought of everything. I mean it. No detail was overlooked, from the perfectly-wrapped party favor candy bars (thanks for Sara and all her errand-running and foil-wrapping skills) to the cutest ribbon clothesline you have ever seen strung with baby clothes to the cake that looked like a piece of artwork that I was afraid to eat! So many of our favorite people were there and it was so amazing to get all of the gifts, which were so obviously picked out with love and thought. I had so much fun looking at everything again when we got home that night and folding up the little onesies and putting them all in the suitcase. I can't wait to have a chubby little baby body in those clothes! And now I can't wait to UNpack everything and put the clothes on little hangars and put the little shoes and boots on the shelves. So, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who planned this and who was there!! It was so much more than I ever expected and Charles and I keep talking about how awesome it was and how fabulous everyone is.

This morning we had breakfast (thank you Sara for coming to see us again!) and then, it was pretty much off to Texas...

But not before Charles tried out the Optimus Prime mask that came in his Transformers DVD.

I Love Tony Romo!

Yesterday we watched the Cowboy game (well, most of it...I fell asleep for the end). I love Tony Romo! So does Charles. Charles tried to get close to him last year by becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

I Am SO Ready for it to be Tomorrow Already!

OK, so in all honesty I was never really addicted to MySpace...in fact I hardly ever logged on. But right now it's kind of late and I could either be watching The Wire with Charles (I hate that show) or playing on the internet, and aside from a couple of horsey forums I have nowhere to go anymore! Then I remember this, so here I am...

Today was kind of crappy. Our rescue dog, Ziggy, learned he could jump out of his run and went after my cat. At least she gave him a very bloody whooping across his nose before he chased her into the tree...

Then we put up some lovely white trash fencing to keep him in and so he tried to jump out of the other side, and managed to hang himself by his collar from a T-post. I started to panic but luckily he slipped out of his collar. But THEN we had to make the fencing even MORE white trash by stacking an old trash can over that end of it so he can't jump out...nice.

The whole reason I was outside in the first place in a place where Ziggy could see us and the cat (which gave him the idea to jump!) is because we were looking for a rabbit's nest. Janga found a baby rabbit that one of the cats had brought into the front yard. It was so tiny that it's eyes were still closed. It was covered in slobber and had a teeny bit of blood on one leg, but otherwise looked so perfect and precious! Well...we called the rabbit rescue place that is like 2 hours from here and they told us that it had a 1% chance of surviving at that age. 1%!! Apparently cat slobber can kill a baby rabbit from all of the bacteria it has in it, AND rabbits that age require a very specialized diet. We tried to find the nest but had no luck (I have NEVER seen a rabbit nest, I thought it highly unlikely that we were going to find one tonight and that turned out to be the case). So we tried to do our best by it and ended his life quickly and mercifully (well, Charles did...thank goodness for him).

Well, tomorrow's a new day!

Oh, and the picture is me and Coach, the horse I rode in Oregon. I thought a picture of me riding a horse would cheer me up and it did!

Jesika and Norman

I am adding this picture because I am back on here in honor of Jesika!