And the Baby comes in the NIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!

Ok so the baby didn't come in the night. She came in the afternoon! On Saturday, September 20 at 2:22pm, Audrey Elizabeth Scott came to live with us! She weighed 7lbs7oz and was 19 inches long and she just is so adorable. Really- I'm pretty sure we have the cutest baby there ever was- but of course I am biased. :)

Us waiting for Baby to come!

Still waiting... and I was only allowed to eat those darn ice chips. But Thomas brushed my hair for me so I'd look pretty for the picture!

And here she is! Happy Mama!

And a very happy and proud Daddy!

Well I guess I should fill in some of the details. So Thursday night I started having contractions about 10 minutes apart, pretty regularly. This lasted all night and all day Friday (meaning no sleep for me! It's kind of like hitting the snooze button all night long.) and eventually they started getting closer together and stronger and stronger. Friday night we had planned to do a little birthday celebration and go out to some campgrounds and make a fire and have dutch oven peach cobbler! But I was having pretty bad contractions, so we decided just to do it at home instead. So Michael and Qait and Ender came over and shared in our celebration. I was not really able to enjoy the yummy cobbler- because I was quite nauseated by the pain, but I did get one bite at least. And it was a great bite! Anyway so Michael and Qait hung out with us, and somewhere around midnight that night I decided I'd had enough and I was ready to go to the hospital. I figured- hey- I've been in labor for almost 30 hours here, I'm tired and ready to get this done with!

So by this point Thomas had fallen asleep on the floor in the living room. I was very grateful that Michael and Qait were still there, as my attempts to wake him proved... fruitless. We finally persuaded Thomas that there really WAS a good reason for him to get up off the floor and go to the hospital with his pregnant wife who was in labor with his first child and that he needed to do so in a timely manner. Once we got him up, Michael and Qait helped us get our things together and Michael drove us to the hospital. We got there and got paperwork filled out (Thomas forged my name on some of them because I was in some serious pain by this point) and they took me back to check me out. Turns out I was only dilated to 1.5cm... so the nurse told me (her name was Nancy) that I'd either have to go home for a while or do laps around the building until the contractions were twice as strong. I started crying because I already felt like I'd had enough and I did NOT want to go home until they were twice as bad! So she went off to call the doctor and make sure that's really what he wanted me to do and I laid there crying and Thomas muttered something like "I told you so". I think he was still miffed about having to wake up and get up off the floor.

So Nurse Nancy came back and she had great news- the doctor (Dr. Barton was the one on call) said that I was already overdue, and to let me stay and put me on pain medication! I was so happy to hear that! So they took me back and gave me a room and started me on some pain medication... and it made me sleepy and I slept for the first time really in 2 days... that was amazing.

After a few hours' nap, they came in and checked me again and I was dilated to a 4 and they said- "we can give you an epidural now, if you want one". I said "Oh yeah that sounds great!!!" Thomas said something like- "are you sure you really want one?" since we had talked about keeping our options open, and the nurse looked at my face and said- "Ok we'll get you an epidural!" About 3:30am Saturday morning I had my epidural, and it was the greatest thing ever. I couldn't feel a thing. Initially I had been really nervous about actually GETTING the epidural. I was worried that I would have a contraction at the time they told me "DON'T MOVE" and involuntarily jerk and end up with something horrible. But everything went really smoothly and it was just fine. I loved my epidural. It was great. It was amazing. I still have a numb spot on my right kneecap from it. I treasure that numb spot- I didn't feel a thing!

So 10 hours later, around noon on Saturday they checked me and said- ok, you're ready to start pushing! And I was like- wow, ok! So we pushed for 2 hours and then the doctor came in and said, "Let's get this baby out!" First they tried using the vaccum, but that didn't work. Then they had to use the forceps, which eventually worked, but they did have to give me an episiotomy. But after 20 minutes or so, baby Audrey was born! And she was beautiful, even though she had little forcep bruises on the sides of her face and a vaccum hickey on her head. And her head was all lopsided and squished. But all I could do was cry because we did it! And she was my little baby girl and she was healthy and wonderful that was all that mattered to me.

Windex: The Dilemma

I should write about my excitement the other day. I really don't care if this story is interesting to anyone other than myself, I just think it's a fun story and I feel like telling it.

So the other day... I guess it would have been Monday, although it seems like a lot longer than that. (I guess that's how it goes when you're just waiting for something to happen!) So Monday I was sitting at the kitchen table, happily sewing some bags for MissionShoe, just minding my own business. I had to figure out how to work this sewing machine we inherited from Thomas' uncle and aunt, Stephen and Lori. It actually works really well- I really love having it! It just makes loud clackety noises when it runs and it has a few fun quirks. :)

So because I was so concentrated on making this thing work, and distracted by the loud noises, I was totally ignoring this buzzing noise that I kept hearing from the window behind me. I heard it a couple times, and I figured it was just another fly caught between the window and the blinds. We had had one stuck there just the other day, so I really didn't think anything of it. So I'm sitting, just sewing away. And I keep hearing the buzzing and finally it enters into my concious mind that- hey, that thing is still buzzing. So I turn around to look and check things out, and what do I see on the inside of the CLOSED window? A fly, a spider, and a BEE all within a few inches of my face.

I freak out appropriately, and my brain automatically through process of elimination decides that the bee is the most urgent of the three to take care of. I then run over to the sink, still freaking out appropriately, and look underneath to find something to kill it with. At first I wanted to find something to hit it with, but I was afraid I'd miss and it would fly around in my house. So I next thought to squirt it with some chemical that would incapacitate it and further kill it. Windex was my first instinct- since that is my chemical of choice when killing household pets for some reason. But then I thought- wait, bees are serious stuff- what if it doesn't work well enough? So I put the Windex back and keep looking, all the while still in a panic hearing the buzzing coming insistently from the window. Then I see some "Wasp and Hornet Killer" that we had bought to get rid of some wasp's nests we had in the outside of our house when we first moved in. (Side note: Thomas learned that this Wasp and Hornet Killer is not appropriately flammable enough to complete the manly ritual of burning insects killed around our house. They tried hairspray after that, I believe, and were still disappointed.) I figure- well, bees aren't wasps or hornets, but they are pretty close, right? Worth a shot?

By this point I had spent close to a minute trying to figure out what chemical to spray on this bee guy, and my panic finally reaches the end of its patience and I just grab the spray can of Wasp and Hornet Killer and run back over to the window, praying the bee is still there and spray-able. A quick glance at the window reveals that Mr. Spider has disappeared, which enters my mind but really doesn't concern me because Mr. Bee is foremost in my mind and thus my top priority. I give the can a good shake and pull off the top, taking aim and Mr. Bee. I'm not a very good shot, because I hit Mr. Fly first and the poor little guy crumples and starts dying instantly. So I re-aim and get Mr. Bee finally. I squirt him pretty good with this stuff, and I stand back to watch him die (heh heh).

However, to my dismay, he does not display any of the normal signs of dying when an insect is squirted with something labeled "Wasp and Hornet Killer"! He couldn't fly because his wings were soaked with this stuff, but he kept crawling around just like he had been two seconds before! I figure- ok, maybe it just needs a minute to work. So I wait for a bit to see if it starts to take effect, but he keeps running around and it's kinda making me nervous. I decide at this point to squirt Mr. Bee again, to see if he just needed a bigger dose than Mr. Fly. I again step back to admire my handiwork, and this is when Mr. Bee decides to try crawling up the window, away from the thing that is squirting him with harmful chemicals. He starts to crawl and is actually doing ok, and then I get nervous again and decide I should try squishing him since the Wasp and Hornet Killer isn't doing the trick.

I run over to the sink and grab a sufficient amount of paper towelage and run back to the window. I look at Mr. Bee and he appears to be struggling, so I watch for a minute. He indeed cannot make it up the window and falls into the cracks in the window frame. This makes the squishing idea tricky, so I decide to watch some more to see if he indeed is dying of Wasp and Hornet Killer poisoning. He squirms around some more, and I notice that there is a wooden rod on the windowsill that normally sits between the closed window and the wall. The little lady who lived in the house before us put them in all the windows. So I'm like- hey- maybe this will fit in that little crevice and squish Mr. Bee. So I roll it over the top of Mr. Bee to see if it will squash him. It actually does NOT fit in the crack where lies Mr. Bee, who is looking not so good at this point. But it does trap him down in there, so I stand there, holding the paper towels and holding the little stick so he can't get out. Every now and then I check on him to see if he has succumbed to the aforementioned Wasp and Hornet Killer poisoning. Eventually he does, and I feel ok with leaving my station. I hurriedly finish the bag I was working on and run far away from the dreaded window, all the while wondering if Windex really would have been the better chemical of choice.

Mr. Spider is still AWOL.

So far it's only one person's birthday at our house...

We made it! Here we are at my due date... and still no baby. Not a huge surprise to me, I admit. Thomas is getting very impatient! He is so ready and excited for her to come! It's really cute to see him so excited about it. We are definitely ready for her to come whenever she feels like it- sooner would be great, but I'm doing ok. Just hanging in there!

So... I really didn't realize until yesterday that today would be my birthday... I had been so fixated on "when will Baby come?!?" that it really didn't even cross my mind until yesterday at dinner. We didn't make any plans or anything, because we weren't sure when Baby would come. I guess there's still time left- she could still come today (HINT HINT...) In the meantime, today I am hanging out with myself, doing four loads of laundry! Wahoo! Not the most exciting way to spend one's birthday, I admit- however I'm ok with it. At first I was a little sad that I was going to be home alone all day on my birthday, but I just turned the music up loud and sang along and decided I would have a great day anyway. Besides, Thomas isn't here to complain about whatever crazy music I feel like listening to! :)

Endings and Beginnings

We made it!!! It feels very nice to once again be insured and know that when Baby comes, whatever happens is covered under insurance. I think it's more for my peace of mind than anything, but either way- I can now breathe a little easier. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday, and he said that Baby hasn't really grown a whole lot in the past week, and that's good because if she gets too much bigger we might have some problems! I'm not a very big person! So we're hoping she comes sooner than later, and that she doesn't do too much growing. He also said I haven't dilated at all yet, but I am thinning and softening, which is good. It's interesting to feel the changes my body is going through- I can definitely tell that we're getting things rolling so that she can come soon. We are so excited!!!

Thomas started school today! Hurray! We got everything all together last night so he would be all ready. He even got up early so he could be out the door on his bike to class. I always loved the first day of school- I think I might have been more excited for him than he was!

I just recently started as an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics-- hooray! I am really excited about it- I think it will be really awesome. Not only do I think it will be a great opportunity to do something a little different and out of my comfort zone, but I have all these wonderful ladies I'm meeting and getting to work with! I'm really excited, because I can already see how it's helped me make more new friends and get myself out of that little bubble and meet new people! I already made two new friends and I'm finding myself working to be more outgoing and caring about people beyond just "Hi, I'm Thomas' wife and mother of his firstborn". Thomas is so good at meeting people and being friendly and getting people together socially, I've always just kind of let him be the social drive and organize what we do with our weekends. I'm excited to have an avenue to develop this skill for myself in a way that is uniquely mine, not Thomas' or MissionShoe's or anything else. Plus we get to play with makeup. :)

On Saturday we went over to the Wahlquist's house and made CORN! Well, I guess they grew the corn, and we didn't really "make" it, but we got to help shuck it and cut it off the cob and "make" it. Well- I really didn't help a whole lot. I kind of just sat there and watched. One, because Baby wasn't allowed to come until today, so I was taking it easy still, and two because I'm actually really allergic to the corn silk (I get a lovely not-so-fun rash). But I was there, so I "helped". And I scooped the cooked corn into baggies. So now we have a freezer full of corn! I didn't get any pictures of it, but we were pretty covered with corn goop stuff. It was fun to get dirty! Heh heh heh...

Yesterday was also our first adventure in canning! While at the Wahlquist's house on Saturday, Thomas got it in his head that he HAD to go pick some green beans and take them home with us. Well, Thomas doesn't really like green beans. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him take more than one bite of green beans- EVER. But he DOES like Dilly Beans... which are pickled green beans. The Wahlquists make them, and so Thomas decided that he wanted to make some too! And when Thomas gets it in his head to do something, he DOES it! So he picked a sackful of green beans, and we took them home and stopped by Wal-Mart to get some canning jars- and we made Dilly Beans. Basically, you cut and wash the beans, put them in hot jars with a clove of garlic and a head of dill weed, pour boiling water/vinegar/salt over them, process them for 10 minutes and you're done. It was way fun! And I hope they will be good. We won't know until Thanksgiving. But we DID it! It was fun!




We have 8 jars of dilly beans, and then we still have a whole sackful of green beans left. We think we will cook those and then freeze them. They can make friends with the corn in our freezer. And the raspberries. Isn't it great living where things GROW?!?

Thomas also decided to use the zucchini we got from the Wahlquists. They're humongous zucchini. He made zucchini bread and muffins- they are absolutely delicious! I love having a husband who is such a good cook.

This is me, enjoying the amazing zucchini bread. And that is Baby, also enjoying the amazing zucchini bread.