i'm a slacker

so, blogging isn't my forte. I don't have much time to myself these days so I'll just post some pics and skip the chatter.

But first, I must address this one issue - my tan. No, I do not have cancer or live in a cave. I do know that vitamin D is best sought through sunlight, yes, I do. But, I was thinking since in two scary months, I am turning 30 and will be old, I ought not contribute to my deteriorating appearance cause ya know what happens when you get old? WRINKLES. Guess what causes wrinkles? SUN. (or really, skin damage) So, my new best friend has been sun screen. However, I am beginning to rethink this masterfully designed plan of mine to stay young forever... I look like a chemo patient! (thanks for that, Dad :))

Anyway... pics as promised! Enjoy!







Me and Dad




Me, Kaitlyn and Dad




Kaitlyn and Rhett dancing at Kruger Farm




Audrey, Taylor, Kaitlyn and I at Enchanted Forest




Kaitlyn at Kruger Farm




again...





Taylor and Kaitlyn




Audrey - always ready to smile!




yay! toes!




double fisting the corn




that's my girl!



Audrey... little cutie

again, because she's so loveable

yes, i know these all look the same but they're all so cute! I couldn't pick just one.

Kaitlyn the cookie monster on 4th of July

Before I die... or turn 30

In a little less than four months from now, I will become a 30 year old and my life will be over.

four months. THIRTY. life = over.

I'm not looking forward to this event at all and have been kicking and screaming throughout my last year of 20's. However, I've recently come to realize that kicking and screaming isn't going to stop time and I ought to do something else to keep me occupied for these last four months of youngness. My plan... make a plan!

I don't feel as if I've done enough important things... or at least I haven't been as proactive as I could have been in making a difference in the world in my 20's. A difference that matters to other people than myself... something I can teach my children... something I can write about. So, I'm making a plan to live by. A list of things I want to accomplish before I turn 30 and a helluva list to live by during these inevitable dark ages so that maybe it won't be so dark.

#1 - be more green. I try to be aware of my ecological footprint now, but I can (and should) do more to reduce the amount of waste we as a family produce and consume. This will become a new hobby of mine and forever a way to live.

#2 - travel. and not to Canada or Mexico! Ok - so traveling may not reduce my ecological footprint but this is for my own sanity. I have insisted that we go on a childless vacation around July - October 2009 and I have insisted it be Europe. I'm not sure where exactly we will go but as of now, Prague is definitely on the list. I'm also shooting for Italy (since I could prob get by with the language) and one other stop. time to do some research! Or maybe we'll just let the Czech wind take us where it may... that sounds more fun.

#3 - go back to work. I've been very fortunate to stay home with Kaitlyn and Audrey but am looking forward to returning to the adult world in the next two years or so. I'll play this by ear as to when I feel Audrey is ready... in the meantime, I need to figure out what I want to do! I have no idea.

#4 - be fabulous. (before I turn 30 and shrivel up into an old woman) I'm going to be in the best shape of my life and be as fabulous as possible before October 2nd as I'm sure on October 3rd my bones will become brittle, my hair gray and my face lined with wrinkles no cosmetic could cover. This is my last chance.

#5 - no regrets. I will try to get in touch with old friends who have vanished and ones I have a) pissed off and/or b) have pissed me off. luckily, this is a short list!

#6 - live in the moment. For the most part, I spent my twenties working. I was the first of my friends to own a home, first to get married, first to have kids... being first is overrated. I want to slow things down and live in the moment for a while. We're always looking forward to and working for tomorrow, but guess what - tomorrow is never here. Now is here NOW and I don't want to miss it.

#7 - be first. this first isn't overrated and is infact, very important. I will allow myself more time to be first. Being a parent automatically sends you to the bottom of the totem pole but one should climb up to the top every now and then. Making myself a priority has become a new priority.

#8 - write more and read more. period.


I'm sure my plan will change once the Alzheimers and dementia kick in - my reason for writting all of this out. But I think this is a healthy start.

Love thy neighbor

We are so fortunate to live near people who are intelligent, witty and thoughtful - much like ourselves, of course.

As I write, Jerry and Bunyan, (Jerry is our very dry humored neighbor across the street who is also Bunyan's BFF and Bunyan is our neighbor to our right who has been living in the states with his wife, Chantan, since the late 70's when they fled Cambodia) are building a shared fence between us and Bunyan & Chantan. (Jerry is a contractor - giving a good deal since they mostly just stand there and drink beers while smoking cigars) We've been talking about doing this for a few years now and finally have come together. Anywho - I went out to say hello and confirm our dinner plans for tonight with Bunyan & Chantan (sushi and sake at Koji's - mmmmm) and we all got talking about politics. This is always a favorite topic for Bunyan. he is a die hard republican & church goer - very much the opposite from us which makes debates that much more interesting among the drinks and thick accent. They both think the democratic representation is atrocious and Jerry threw in his two cents about Hillary. Apparently, he met the professor at Lewis & Clark whose signature Hillary forged on a letter of recommendation (his reasoning for calling her bad names) and thinks he's uber cool. I asked him for his autograph. He walked away. I told them to come get me when they start the next round of beers. :)

I also spent a few minutes talking with our neighbor to the back who is watching the fence go up since we have also decided to halvsies on a fence with them. This neighbor is pretty strange. He's super nice and his wife is normal, but he's just a little off. Poor guy - lol. I walked over as he was talking pictures of my dog. yes. he was taking pics of MY dog. strange. Then, he proceeded to show me ALL OF THE PICTURES on his camera (all of his yard - weird) while pointing out that I have three different kinds of grass growing in my yard (he knows everything about grass) and told me all about his plans to asphalt his driveway. I think he's lonely... I had to use the excuse of the children to slip away. I felt kinda bad since he really is nice, but at the same time, he's a little creepy.

there really is no point to all of this aside from hopes to inspire someone to meet their neighbors, spend some time talking to them and being neighborly, invite them over or out for dinner, build a fence - something. It's nice to be surrounded by friends.

riddle me this

what do you do when...

after spending 2 hours at OMSI and decide it's time to head home, your devil child - I mean, DARLING child, chooses to lay on the floor and refuse to leave just as a school field trip is forging through the museum... at which point, you, being a loving parent, think it would cruel to allow your child to be trampled by other well-behaved children and try to coax her outside by having a rational discussion about why we need to leave. At which point, she, the sweet little thing she is, begins crawling and rolling around on the floor - in the midst of the crowd.

PAUSE

OH! don't let me forget to mention that you are carrying your lunch in a paper bag because between trying to keep her food on the table or in her mouth while nursing her infant sister during lunch with your friends, you didn't get the chance to eat. And you are carrying the baby in a wrap on your front.

RESUME RIDDLE

Now... in order to get outside and to the car and to protect this lovely little girl from being trampled you decide to get tough and GET 'ER DONE. In horror, you grab the sweet princess by the arm as she dead weights herself and DRAG her flailing, screaming body outside. I say "body" because it seems an exorcism may be necessary. Now, just as you get outside, your lunch bag rips and food is now all over the ground. Your soda explodes. And the cutest little girl ever is laying on the ground screaming. Your face is turns bright red,n you start sweating and you wonder "WHAT THE _____ DO I DO NOW?!". (insert expletive)

So... riddle me this folks - what do you do?!

You thank your lucky stars that your friend forgot her coat upstairs and exits the building just as you are standing there looking absolutely mortified and wondering how the hell you are supposed to now make it another 2 city blocks to the car and is able to help you get to your car even though she has TWIN two year olds.

Or, you learn from your mistakes and realize that Murphy's Law will come into effect 99.9% of the time when young children are involved and you bring a freaking STROLLER. Isn't that a bright idea.

I'm a f'ing genius.

a few pics...

She's Here!

I'll post pics soon...

Audrey Belle Hughson made her grand appearance February 25, 2008 at 11:52pm! here's the details:

7lbs 15oz
22 1/4 inches long
13 in head
APGAR: 9

Chris and I were watching "A Raisin in the Sun" after getting settled for the night. I had a doctor's appointment earlier in the day where I found I was 4cm dilated. She said I could go to hospital if I wanted an "elective induction" because I was far enough dilated but didn't think it would be more than a day or so before I went on my own. So, I declined.

At 10:15pm, I felt the first contraction. It wasn't painful, but different from the braxton hicks and got my attention. A few minutes later, I felt another... I grabbed my cell to check the time and exactly 3 minutes later, another contraction. Another 3 minutes, another contraction... Chris was sitting beside me watching me look at my phone over and over and asked what I was doing.

Me: "Timing contractions"
Chris: "What?! should we go to the hospital?!"
Me: "I don't know... they don't really hurt but they're 3 minutes apart"
Chris: "I'm going to call my parents to come over... I think we should go"
Me: "ok"

He calls his parents - they'll be here in 30 minutes (this was at 10:30pm). Within that time, contractions went from nothing particularly interesting to needing to breath through them. Still not too bad though...

They get here around 11:00pm, we jump in the car and head for the hospital. By this time, my whole body has started shaking and contractions are closer to two minutes apart.

Chris: "we need to stop for gas"
Me: "you're kidding, right? (he's obviously not kidding) ok - just don't fill it, only get what we need to make it there" (we are driving the Expedition which takes FOREVER to fill)

I'm not really paying attention to the ride there, just watching the clock and timing contractions to make sure this really is labor. 20 minutes after leaving the house, we're turning into the hospital parking lot. Chris is driving a little fast and hits a speed bump which takes my contractions to one minute apart. I'm breathing through them ok and still have my wits about me enough to let him know he's driving the wrong way through the parking garage. We find a spot on the second floor near the stairs and grab my bag.

I'm very calm and concentrating on walking as quickly as I can between contractions. Chris is frantic telling me to hurry up and trying to get me to walk during the contractions. I tell him to calm down. lol

We walk down two flights of stairs, across the walkway and into the hospital. During this time, I've needed to stop three times for contractions. Once inside, I decline the wheelchair and walk as fast as I can to the nearest chair and hold on while I breath though the next one. As soon as that's over, we hurry to the elevator and up to the third floor.

Upon check-in they ask if I need a wheelchair.

Me: "no, I'm fine, let's just wait for the next contraction to be over and then walk fast"

The nurse brings us into the triage room to check me out and make sure that I'm in labor. She asks how far apart the contractions are and i tell her "one minute apart" (I don't think she believed me). Before they check me out, I have to get into a gown and pee in a cup. while I'm trying to breathe through the contractions and pee in a cup at the same time, Chris is telling me to hurry up and get the gown on. I sternly inform him that they aren't going anywhere and will wait for me. They're on my time now! By then, things are starting hurt and I KNOW this is real labor.

The gown is on and I climb up on the bed. Nurse comes in and checks me.

Nurse: "you're 9 centimeters. Ummm, Chris, would you please hit that red emergency button?"

Moments after Chris hits the red button, 2 or 3 nurses come in and it's like a scene from ER! They grab the bed and rush me across the hall to the delivery room.

Me: "oh good, I don't have to walk!"
they all laugh

We get in the room and there's now 5 or 6 people in there scurrying around, gowning up, bringing in carts of stuff, calling for the doctor, etc. I'm starting to push as the doctor runs in.

Two contractions later, Audrey Belle Hughson is born! No drugs! woohoo!

Me: "That hurt"
they all laugh

Then a nurse comes over to me and I notice a needle in her hand going straight for my leg.

Me: "what's that?! I don't like needles! Is it going to hurt?!" (I'm very serious)
Nurse: (laughing) "It's pitocin to help the bleeding stop and it won't hurt nearly as bad as what you just did."
Me: "ok"


It was quite the exciting night and surprisingly, natural labor and delivery really isn't too bad when you don't have pitocin and a host of other drugs in you.

Anyway, we are home now and doing well. Audrey is a little angel. She nurses like she's been doing it all her life, has a good appetite, sleeps well (for now) and her big sister thinks she's a "nice baby".

Happy "D-Day" to me - NOT!

February 24 has come and almost gone and I am STILL freaking pregnant!



The doctors are big fat liars. "second babies usually come early" she says. uh-huh, whatever. I guess the key word here is "usually" cause I for one am still pregnant and in two hours will be joining the over-due club.



I've got them all figured out now. They tell women these lies because they know without us, our species would die and realize after one has experienced 10 months of pregnancy, labor and childbirth, there is no way in hell they would do it again unless there was some incentive or promise that it would all be over sooner than the first time. that's a dirty trick. anyway...



Kaitlyn is really talking now! Over the past month, she's gone from 1-2 words to express a need, to forming complete sentences, singing songs and communicating thoughts and ideas and past events. it's really cool and she says some funny things. This morning, for example, Chris brought her into our bed and she crawls over to me to snuggle and we have a little talk.



Me: "good morning Kaitlyn! come give me a hug!"

Kaitlyn: "Hi~i, hug mommy" (gives me a hug)

Me: "does daddy get a hug too?"

Kaitlyn: "daddy broke the tv" (points to the blank wall where the tv once was - now moved into the FINISHED garage/office/gym)

Me: "oh he did? so he doesn't get a hug?"

Kaitlyn: "nope"



He never did get a hug.

That's all my preggo self has the energy to write... my next post better contain pics of little Miss Audrey!

two week wait....

thank god this baby is due in two weeks! I'm so ready to not be pregnant, but with my luck, she'll decide to cook until my kidneys give in. damn. eh well, I just keep reminding myself what hell the first couple of weeks/months are and how much more difficult it will be this time around with an almost 2 year old running the show. I get Chris home for two weeks (including the time I'm in the hospital), then I'm on my own.

note to self: add 10lb bag of coffee to the Costco shopping list.

hhhmmm - better make that two.

State of the Union

Highlights from Monday's address:

1. The military official who, when the camera panned over him, looked like he just threw up a little in his mouth.
2. The Democrats sitting stone faced while the GOP jumped in glee at every fifth word.
3. The Justices looking utterly disgusted.
4. The signing of autographs after the address.
5. The fact that it was G.W.B.'s last address.
6. We taught Kaitlyn to make monkey sounds whenever "W" was on the tele.


And now, the other state of the union....

I am 9 friggin months pregnant. NINE. This means I have completed nine months and am IN my TENTH month of being hijacked. Enough is enough already!

Chris' work is having a baby shower for us on Friday... it's so much fun to meet people for the first time when you're resembling a woolly mammoth more than ever.

I really don't think I'll be making it to the 24th, but if I do, someone is going to pay. I had a dream that at my Thursday appointment, I was diagnosed with Pre-Eclampsia again and had to be induced immediately. Not that I'm hoping my kidney's begin to fail again, but it would nice to get the show on the road! The baby dropped last week, which has it's pros and cons.

The pros:

• I can eat more than one ounce of food at a time without feeling like my head will fly off my neck from the terrible reflux.
• hmmm - maybe that's the only "pro"

The cons:

• my hips hurt and often feel like they are going to fall out of the joints anytime I move - ouch
• my back hurts more
• I have to use the loo 500 times a night

I'm just a happy person this morning :)

jesus christ

This is so gross...

The other day, as I was driving Kaitlyn and myself home from the indoor park, I started feeling a bit woozy, light-headed, hot, etc. Being somewhat hypoglycemic, I figured my blood sugar was low (it was close to lunch time) and perhaps I should take some help from our friend Ronald McDonald and not worry myself with cooking a nutritious lunch that day. ( my defense: I NEVER eat McDonald's unless it's an emergency. AND, I never feed fast food to Kaitlyn. But since I'm pregnant, anything I say is an emergency, is. This counts. ;) )

So, we hit the drive through and I order an ungodly amount of food. We get home and Kaitlyn eats six fries, a quarter of a cheeseburger and some fruit that I lovingly prepared for her. Before she finishes her lunch, I have inhaled (in record time):

1 double cheeseburger
1/2 of her cheeseburger
2 small fries
1 yogurt parfait with granola
1 small DIET coke
3 Hershey kisses

And, I was not full... I could have eaten more (and debated it) but figured I ought to stop while I was ahead. This is where the 3 chocolates came in to the picture... I don't even really like chocolate but needed to munch on something whilst deciding if I should eat more.

Not surprising, I felt better (blood sugar wise). But I was surprised that I didn't get sick from all that crap!

This entire pregnancy, I have only gained 17 pounds. I'm guessing that if I weigh myself now, that number will be up to 18 pounds. I think I'll sue.