Pee Pee on the Potty!!!

Hayden is well into his second year of life now and is still a ball of fire. His current favorite word is "NO!" and he is intent on causing trouble. Luckily his climbing has subsided but he is still a whirlwind of terror... I actually think Osama bin Laden could learn a thing or two from this boy.

One of his most recent escapades was to flush the spindle that holds the toilet paper down the toilet. He did this the day we moved into our new house and we have been cursing him ever since. So, our downstairs toilet has been a "pee only" toilet. This was a ton of fun for me in my last couple of months of pregnancy and kept me running up and downstairs a couple dozen times a day. For the boys this was no big deal as they don't need toilet paper every time they go potty... so the sense of urgency was non-existent. We could have called a plumber but we just kept putting it off... the economy is tough right now and we are not swimming in extra dough so we thought we could just fix it our selves. So, finally two months later Mike's dad came over and brought his "snake" to see if we couldn't push that spindle down the tube. Didn't work.

Mike's dad recommended taking the toilet off and pulling it out from the underside. Not wanting to take that route Mike borrowed the "Snake 3000" from his Grandmother, being motor powered and all it was sure to do the trick... although Uncle Henry recommended taking the toilet off and getting it out from the underside. (Hmmm... pattern developing here?) Alas, the "Snake 3000" didn't work.

Finally with no other ideas it was decided we needed to take the toilet off. I think Mike's hesitation in doing this was simply that he'd never done this before and was probably a bit intimidated by the task. However, I being an avid HGTV viewer have seen this done plenty of times and knew exactly what to do. So, Mike went to Home Depot and got the supplies and started the task this afternoon. Once the toilet was removed we were disappointed to discover we couldn't get to the spindle from that way either... the darn thing is really wedged in there... so, with the help of a neighbor we thought for sure we would win the battle of the porcelain god... but alas it was a loosing battle.

So, one more trip to Home Depot and $80 later we have a new toilet. Installation is almost complete... my man is sweaty and stinky from an afternoon of physical labor and our front yard looks like we just moved here not from the cosmopolitan city of Portland, Oregon but rather like we walked barefoot directly from the hills in West Virginia. In the end however I will have a beautiful new toilet. My guests will not have to choose between putting their toilet paper in a plastic bag hanging from the back of the bathroom door or trekking upstairs to use the commode in the boys bathroom... how does one choose between those two evils??? So for now I'm drinking a lot of water and holding it in because I want to be the first in our clan to christen our new potty!

Alana is one week old!

Alana is a week old today... actually at the time I write this she is one week and 40minutes old to be exact. It's been a great week. She has me in awe most of the time. Each coo and grunt she makes has me wrapped more and more around her finger. At this point she isn't doing much other than exsisting... eating, pooping, and sleeping but she is darn cute while she does it.

She is just too precious for words. It's also hard for me to express in words how lucky I feel to have her. I have my boys and they are wonderful, smart, funny, and I would have felt lucky just to have them but I cannot ignore the part of me that sensed I was missing something wonderful by not having a daughter. It crossed my mind each time I went to the nail salon and saw mothers and their daughters, young and old, sharing girl time. Each time I walked pass racks of clothes in a store I never got excited over boy clothes but was drawn to the girl clothes and wished I had someone to buy pink for.

I know someday she will hate me... or at least think she does. But I look forward to those days just like I look forward to Barbie shoes mixed with Legos and buying Prom dresses. As with my boys I cannot wait to see who she grows to become.

Our family is complete now. No more babies for us. There is a saddness there knowing I'll never carry a baby inside me again... although god knows a week ago I never thought I'd think that! There is a relief that she is so tiny because I feel like I can hold on to this new born for a bit longer than normal because of it. I'll never feel that overwhelming rush of love one feels the second your baby is born and thrust upon your chest still sticky from your womb. It's memories now and I know a phase in my life has passed and there are still memories to be made. For now, I'll take my sleepless nights and not only see them as sleep depriving and sometimes hard but also as a gift of quiet moments that are shared only by us.

Well, that's enough of my emotional rambling for one day. Blame it on the hormones or perhaps the giddy little girl inside me who feels like she got her best gift from Santa.

Ohhh... she pooped! Gotta run!

Hunting Kitty... A day in the life of Biff

The boys got a hold of my camera and decided to take the opportunity to snap some shots of our kitty...

Alana Owen has arrived!

Hey everyone! I've been off the radar lately but it's been for a great cause. On October 28th I just didn't feel right and after calling my doctor it was decided I needed to head to the hospital to get checked out. At barely over 35 weeks it was still too early for Alana to enter the land of the breathing so they stopped my contractions and decided to keep me overnight for observation. They also noticed my blood pressure was running a bit high and I was dilated to 4cm.

The next day after some conversation with my doctor it was decided I was staying put until I had the baby. At 36 1/2 weeks they did an amniocentesis which showed the lungs were not quite ready so they set my induction date for November 12th which put me at 37 1/2 weeks. My due date was November 30th so this was a lot earlier than than we expected.

During the the two weeks I spent my time cross stitching, reading and doing puzzle books. I also got more than my fair share of Dr. Phil and my favorite "trash TV"... The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I also had lots of visitors and made friends with the nursing staff at the hospital.

On Sunday the 9th I started having some pretty strong contractions and it looked like my time had finally arrived but they stopped the contractions again and the wait continued. I was really upset because by that time I was really just "done" with being in bed and missed my kids a lot... I was just ready to get the show on the road and get home.

Finally, it was Wednesday, November 12th. At 7:30 AM I got an IV and the Epidural was soon to follow. At 8:00 AM my doctor arrived and broke my water and started the Pitocin to get the contractions going. After that we just waited. My mom, Mike and I were just chit chatting and playing the waiting game. We didn't have to wait long at all. At 9:45 AM the nurse said she was going to check me again at 10:00 to see how much I dilated. A few minutes later I felt the urge to push and told my "coaches". My mom jumped up in a hurry and ran for the nurse. I think the nurse was surprised when she checked and saw I was fully dilated and the baby was coming out. Within about 5-10 minutes the doctor arrived and it was roll time. At 10:07 AM and with one small push Alana Owen was born.

She's a beautiful baby and so far is pretty easy. Now we just need to adjust to having a third child but so far that's going pretty well. It feels great to be home... although I have to admit at this moment I am missing the peace and quiet of my hospital room with just me and Alana getting to know each other.