My First C-section~ October 4, 2007

Well, A, you know I had to post it!

I attended my first birth after coming off of maternity leave in September. It was at Presbyterian of Plano and it was an induction. I thought for sure it would have a not so great outcome, but it turned out beautiful! Quick and easy birth and I was home for dinner. Gotta love those.

So a few weeks later, you can imagine my surprise when I have another birth and it ends up with that not so great outcome.

It started with the fact that Tom had just had surgery like 12 hours before I needed to be at the hospital for the induction. I did some quick rescheduling and canceling and arranged for Dunkan to stay home and Heather to bring them dinner. All was well.

The induction was pretty uneventful most of the day. I came home twice to nurse Isabel and do a few things for my client. That was really great. I was at a nearby hospital, so that helped. By nightfall though, a shift change brought a nurse with a different agenda and things got rolling quickly. Well, I won't go into all the details. She worked so hard though. I was so proud of this mama. She had to give up everything she had hoped for in a birth experience. Below is the slideshow I put together. It tells the story better than I can. Ultimately, after being away from home for almost 34 hours, this one takes the cake. It was long and hard. I figure if I can make it through that and the family is still alive when I get back... we're doing ok.

This mama seems to be doing great. I am so proud of her. As far as me, well, they have made it great. They even sent me a giant flower bouquet... made out of fresh fruit! I was so glad they still found it useful to have me there and didn't feel like I had let them down. That was a relief. Having done the photography, it was healing for me to watch the video as well. I know I made the video, but I still sat there and cried. I know though that she can be successful. We'll just have to wait for the next baby.

A~ this one's for you girl... you did great!

Tom's Knee~ The saga continues

So after having his ACL replaced 2 years ago, and then having a torn miniscus fixed twice after that, he had his ACL replaced... again. On September 11th he went in for another surgery. This one hurt alot more than the last one he said, but I just think he didn't remember it hurting that much. Pretty sure it was about the same.

So after the surgery he went to have his routine check up and it didn't seem to be doing as well as they hoped. There was still quite a bit of swelling and it was looking slightly infected. No biggie, yet.

So on October 1st, he went in to see the doc again as it had gotten so infected that the incision sight burst open. GROSS! They decided he would go in again for surgery the next day. They need to drain it and restitch the wound. Off he went again!

It turns out that he has a staph infection and is on mega doses of antibiotics. Unfortunately though at his last appointment, they were still concerned that there wasn't much improvement. We are waiting patiently to see how it develops. In the meantime, I am going to pump him full of echinacea and garlic and see what happens.

The bad news is he won't be released for work until probably December. He will continue the job hunting, but it is hard to take a job when you can't work until then. Keep up the prayers that whatever is meant to be, will be!

Our swimming pool~ August 2007

Merry Christmas to us!

This last Christmas, Nonna bought a swimming pool for us. Sadly it was August before we could use it because of the rain. When we finally got it set up, we definetely enjoyed it!

Dunkan showing off his goggles.

Zachary smiling underwater.

Everyone laughing in the pool.

All my babes... the pool was plenty big enough for us all to swim.

We put tiki torches around it to keep out the buggies. We also strung twinkle lights in the trees around the pool. It was really nice.

My addiction on a clothsline

Yep, you guessed it! Those are cloth diapers blowing in the breeze. Aren't they great! The big rectangle ones are the kind my mom used on me, prefolds. I died them and the one on the end I tie dyed when my sis was visiting. The ones in the middle are All in Ones and work just like a disposable. I love looking out my window at all the colors on the line. Makes me feel like I live in the country... even if I don't.

So why in the world would a person cloth diaper you may ask? I'll tell you why I do:

1. It's cheap. Really cheap. I probably spent $200 total for all my diapers. That was what I spent in 2 month in disposables.
2. They are so cute! I love the colors, embroidery, fabrics, and such. It is just so much more fun on sister's bum than boring sposies.
3. Your baby's health: The chemical used to make disposable diapers super absorbent, sodium polyacrylate, was removed from tampons in 1995 due to its link to toxic shock syndrome. and can cause allergic reactions. Dioxin which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is the most toxic of all chemicals linked to cancer, is a by-product of bleaching paper. Dioxin is so toxic that even the smallest detectable quantities have been known to cause immune system suppression, liver disease, and genetic problems in lab animals. There are also potentially irritating, or even health damaging, dyes and fragrances used in the production of disposable diapers. The long term effect of any of these chemical being in close contact with a baby's skin and genitals for as long as 18 months to 3 years has not been studied.
4. The environment. Poop isn't meant to go in the landfills. It is meant to go in the toilet.

Now with that all said... I mostly cloth diaper for the first two reasons and consider the last two a bonus. And I do use sposies on occassion. I really need more diapers so on wash day it isn't so hard to find a diaper! If you want to learn more about cloth diapers, I highly recommend visiting http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm to learn more.

Flooding~ July 2007

Well, if you haven't heard it on the news, you're going to hear it here. This summer has been a wet one! We have had serious flooding and our rock hard clay can't absorb much more. The first picture is the park down the street right after a rain. The pavillian and fishing pier are almost completely covered with water. The park benches are gone altogether.

The next picture is how seriously we take rain around here...

Ok, so I totally found him in the back yard, just like that! Rain boots and his life vest. Apparently Zach felt those were the only necessities! Gotta love it. He "cracks" me up.

Dunkan goes to Scout Camp~ June 2007

Tom and Dunkan got to spend the week at Clement's Scout Ranch in Athens Texas for a week of fun and merit badges. This was Dunkan's 2nd year there. He came home with 5 merit badges complete and was one very tired camper. Here is the video I put together for the boys. This makes me wish that I was allowed to go... ok, as long as there was no farting. You'll see what I mean! Boys are just gross!

Our Trip to Seattle~ May 2007

We started our summer by visiting my family in Seattle for 2 weeks in May. It was great. We had so much fun. Here is everyone at the airport... poor Tom had to take the picture.

Here I am with my dad and the kiddos at the Seattle Aquarium.

My mom and the boys at the "zoo".

Tom and the boys in a giant guitar at the Pacific Science Center.

The boys checking out a crab at Richmond Beach.

My sweet smiling baby girl... she is soooo cute!

The boys loving on their sister in their Seattle gear after a day at Pike Place Market.

As you can see we had a blast and can't wait to go back! Thanks Nonna and Grandpa D.

I have a blog!

I have been fighting the urge for a long time. Tom insists that I already spend way too much time on the computer as it is. He is right!

So, under the guise of making it easy for family to hear updates and see photos, I have started a blog. We'll see if I keep it up. More to come soon.

My Picture...

Sorry... just trying to upload a picture!