Things that don't last like they used to ...

Inspired by Meredith's blog!!

1. Money. Where does it go? I remember when $10 allowance would last me a week. It doesn't even cover a meal anymore!

2. My figure. In high school I could have a candy bar and a coke every day and still fit in my size 2 jeans. What happened? I can eat a salad every day now and I'm still in a size 6ish.

3. Hair color. Wow what prenatal vitamins do to the growth of my hair! It grows so fast, thus the color grows off so fast...thus back to the $ issue...

4. The evening hours. Yeahhhhh....they use to last all night....now they last until 3 am...then 5 am.... :)

5. Things around the house(with Gus). Lets see, he has chewed up his 3rd pair of shoes and the corner of 2 8x10 rugs. Repeat after me "I love that dog, I love that dog, I love that dog!"

6. Maternity leave. I realize that this isn't something that I haven't done in the past, but it sure is going by fast this time! She is already 6 weeks...that means I only have 3 1/2 more weeks with Reegan....brings tears just thinkin' about it!

Cutie Patootie!!!!

Sorry ‘bout your BAD luck

There are 2 crosses on the side of the road where we turn to go to one of the whitetail ranches. They’re at a stop sign that is pretty hard to see until you are right up on it. The names on the crosses are Gloria and Vanessa. Sooooo…..every time we go to the ranch and pass the crosses it’s the rule that you have to say Hi to Glo’ and Van’ and say “Sorry ‘bout your bad luck”!

Reegan was all dressed up cutie patootie the other day when she pooped so powerfully (with a noise that sounded like a grown man!) it ran down her pants leg and was on her toes! Reegan my sweet baby….“Sorry ‘bout your bad luck”.

One of the ranches that we hunt on was suppose to sell on Friday….which means that we would have had to move all of the hunters to other ranches….it was going to be a huge ordeal…..but the people buying it hit a snag and now it won’t close for a couple more weeks…..which means they were able to hunt the ranch all weekend….and killed a deer that scored 182! Hey Mr. Ranch Buyer Dude….”Sorry ‘bout your bad luck”!

My Mothers ex-husband who donated the sperm to produce me (ok, ok he’s my father…but only biologically)…has been playing the ‘poor pitiful me’ card around town because he hasn’t gotten to see Reegan. TRUST ME I definitely haven’t inquired about him, people just seem to think I actually WANT or care about this information. We have not spoken in over 5 years, and it was barely every 6 months for years before that. (Incase you were wondering my life has been wonderful and MUCH less complicated without him in it!) To set the record straight he does not have a grandchild…his daughter has a child. He made his decision A LONG time ago about how our relationship would work…if he wanted grandchildren in his life he should have thought of that then. I remember when I was twelve years old and poured my heart out in a letter to him basically begging for him to want me, to love me, and to want to be more involved in my life. He stuffed the letter in a drawer and refused to talk about it….Nothing ever changed…it only got worse. DON’T think that is the ONLY reason we don’t speak, it was just a SMALL, small example. Soooo here’s to you Mr. Sperm Donor “SORRY ‘BOUT YOUR BAD LUCK”.

Ta-Da!

I am alive! Really I am! Aaaaannnnndddd I have had some sleep! I'm a new woman. With my Mom staying over and taking feeding #1 last night, and Reegan being absolutely exhausted I was able to sleep for almost 7 CONSECUTIVE hours! Woo-Hoo!

Lets see...whats new in my life...I've been peed on, pooped on, puked on....and its all ok! Never thought I'd say that! :)

Koby's week long hunt started Monday...that means 7 days and 7 nights with no Koby. Even when I was pregnant Reegan wasn't without his voice for that long! Thank goodness for Moms because I couldn't do it with out her! Who knew taking care of an 8 lb hungry bag of poop and puke would be so hard some days!

Heather and Mere came ...mmm....2 weeks ago (it's been a while since I blogged). Reegan loved them. By the end of the weekend Mere was a pro at 'handoffs' and Heather was great at stepping in as mom (and giving advice!).

Pictures!

Here is the link to our maternity pictures and Reegan's infant pics. She was kinda irritated that day so I'm surprised we got any good ones at all! http://howell.photoherald.com/

I had 5 more pgphs earlier but when I uploaded they got lost! AHHHHHHH!

Short and sweet version:

Reegan is wonderful! She loves to eat and be held and we do plenty of both!

Heather and Mere are coming tomorrow! Hip-hip Horray!

Mom - Week 1

She is her fathers daughter! Wow do they look alike!

Wow what a week! I can't believe she is finally here. In case you didn't know...or had ANY doubt in your mind she is absolutely the most PRECIOUS thing in the whole wide world. She is absolutely perfect!!!

Lets see...delivery wasn't bad- gotta love that epidural! After that started wearing off...well you know!! Koby has been the sweetest husband ever! Once we got in a real hospital room the nurse helped me to the bathroom to take a sits-bath. My sweet husband crawled in the shower with me, washed my hair, soaped and rinsed my body, dried me off, got me dressed...the whole time telling me how much he loved me and saying the most wonderful things!

Have I told you that Reegan is a perfect beautiful little girl?!?!?!

Nursing is going well. We are a good combination, she loves to eat and my body is producing PLENTY for her to eat! So far so good. I'm sore, but nothing like...um....a little further south! I've ordered some nursing bras online because the only places in town that lave them are Target, Walmart, and a new maternity store in town...but they have dumb sizes...what kind of store doesn't carry a 32G!!!! Yeah...ordering online was my only option!

My mom has been a saint cooking, cleaning, doing laundry....who knew how out of control things can get when you add 6 1/2 pounds to the family!

We've gotten out of the house a couple of times. I get tired pretty quick so we've been home quite a bit and taken lots of naps. Koby, Reegan, and I went to Henry's the other night and wound up getting our food to go because the princess was unhappy about the situation. Apparently mexican food isn't her thing! We got home ....she ate and pooped and was fine!

Gotta go be a mom now!

She's Here!!!

9-18-06
9:16am
6lbs 8oz
20"

Mom and baby are doing fine!

Nine Months....

(one of our maternity pictures)

I am officially 9 months pregnant today.

By tomorrow I will be 9 months and 1 DAY pregnant, and by Sunday I will be 9 months and 2 DAYS pregnant....(do you see the pattern!)...grumble-grumble!

Anyway, I'm still here...Mr. Braxton and Mr. Hicks visit often....long enough to give me a lot of false hope.....but not long enough to mean diddly-doo-daa-squat!

The plan right now is to induce on Wednesday the 20th.

I am getting use to the "you're STILL pregnant" comments...though they aren't any less annoying. Now its the people that look at me as if I have something to do with the fact that I am still pregnant...and want an explanation!! Mother Nature, you people! Thats my explanation...she is apparently on vacation, and I hope to be one of the first to know when she gets back!

I had someone ask me yesterday...that I don't know very well at all, I might add...if I minded visitors WHILE I was in labor. WHO ASKS THESE KINDS OF QUESTIONS???

I know I sound grumpy, and really I'm not...I'm just ready, tired, anxious, excited, nervous, apprehensive, eager, restless....all of those things, all of the time, waiting for that one twinge in my stomach that will mean something. I'm ready to get this show on the road!

We're famous...not really...

A few of our pictures are on the Great Expectations Photography website.

http://greatexpectationstx.com

Click on Photography, then on Maternity and Babies. There is a silhouette of mine and Koby's stomachs, one of me in a black top, and one of me in a wrap thingy.

Not Crying over Spilled Lemonade!

I started out the day with one of those "nothing's going my way" mornings. It didn't matter what I did or didn't do it was just going to make me run late! However, during this stress filled morning I did something that I was very proud of myself for....I didn't cuss (REALLY)! Even when I was backing out of the driveway and spilled 64oz of pink lemonade (yep, down to the last oz!) all down the front of my shirt and into my lap....I didn't cuss...I did have to swim out of my car and change EVERY article of clothing I had on....but I didn't cuss....even when I got back into my car and realized that my cell phone and blue tooth were a bit on the drippy side....I didn't cuss....after everything that had happened this morning, this should have been the final straw where I screamed really bad words at the top of my lungs....but I didn't....WHERE IS THIS TONGUE HOLDING ABILITY COMING FROM!

For all of you that are asking YES I AM STILL PREGNANT! I promise that I or SOMEONE will let you know when I am not...so until then Please, PLEASE, PLEASE just assume that I am.

I know that you are anxious and want to call and ask....and I LOVE talking to everybody and am sooooo grateful that I have friends and family that care so much...I REALLY AM....but could you just call and ask "how are you doing" or "what did the Dr. say this week" instead of "You're STILL pregnant?".

I know, I know, I am sounding a little testy about this...but put yourself in my shoes...9 months pregnant...tired of being pregnant...tired of going to the Dr. and there being no change...anxious to meet this baby girl...microanalyzing(if that's a word) every one of Reegan's movements and twinges...looking at my watch every time I have a Braxton-Hicks contraction trying to find some sort of a pattern...even at times thinking gas pains might mean something!!! I promise that I am more tired of ME being pregnant than you are! (clunk, clunk, clunk....(that was me stepping off my soap box! Sorry 'bout that!))

I go back to the Dr. Tuesday (tomorrow) afternoon. I don't suspect that there will be any change at this visit either (but there is always hope!). She hasn't dropped anymore, I do have Braxton-Hicks but they aren't regular or intense, and that 'bottom falling out' pressure that everyone talks about...isn't there yet! I think I'm going to be an oven for a little while longer! The Dr. said that he wouldn't let me go past September 24th. Since that is a Sunday, that means that the last possible date he would induce is the 22nd. He did say though that at either one of my next appointments if I was dilated even to a 2 that he would take me in the next morning and induce. But....I really and truly DON'T feel like it will be this week.

We went and looked at the pictures Koby and I took last weekend. They made me cry! The lady that took them did a great job! They made a video out of them...I'll see if I can upload it. If not she said that they would be on their website by Wednesday...I'll post the address then.

Any bets on what date we'll get to meet the little darling? One of the teachers at school says he lost $25 since I didn't have her this weekend! HA! :)

Reegan's Room

Getting there....

I am finally feeling some since of accomplishment. I was worried that unless I was left completely alone this weekend that nothing would get done and I would be in the same place today that I was Friday....and at this point EVERYday counts! With the help of my mom and Terry shopping, sewing, painting, and decorating and Koby painting, cutting, hanging, screwing(not that kind!), and just keeping me sane we got A LOT done! The nursery gestapo put us on track and we got organized, made decisions and put our rears in gear! (thanks terry!) I'll try to post pics of her room tomorrow.

I'm sleeping less and less. between averaging getting up 5 times a night to pee, Reegan moving around, Braxton-Hicks contractions, and being hot/cold....sleeping just doesn't happen. My Dr. gave me a Z Pack to take last week because I was getting sick....but I think that I am just so run down (not sleeping doesn't help) that my body is not getting completely over it.

10ish days and counting ...ish.....I am such a planner....I want to know when, and how, and what is going to happen all the time....the problem is I don't know the 'WHEN' right now and it is driving me nuts! I wish I just knew that at 1:17 on September 15 I would need to be ready to go to the hospital and by 6: 42 I would have her (i considered being realistic and putting a later time than 6:42.....but then I would have to face the hard truth that I might have to miss a meal during all of this....from what I hear they don't feed you while you're in labor......I'm not to hot on that idea...)

I started packing my bag this weekend and went through Heathers hospital list again that she made me. It's a list of things to take, not to take, to know, to not stress over...yada-yada-yada. It's great, especially since I have no idea where to start with some of this. If anyone else has suggestions I'm all ears!

Reegan(if she comes out a girl! Ha!) is going to wear home from the hospital what I wore home from the hospital. It's pretty cute! Hmmmm, does this all seem like a dream to anyone else?

Far, Far, Away...

I wish I could run away for the weekend! Far FAR away! Or that someone would just lock me up and send me food and water occasionally. I don't even want a phone! I have SOOOO much to do before Reegan gets here! I just REALLY want to be antisocial, get all of my crap done, and then with whatever time is left (HA...time...) do absolutely nothing! But I'm pretty sure this 3 day weekend consists of none of that!

The dogs are doing better. Some how in the ruckus of things Annie's eye got scratched. I took her to the vet and they gave her some antibacterial drops with cortisone in them. They are friends again...but cautious friends. We are doing our best to teach Gus that he can't play rough with her.

We are going to get maternity pictures made this weekend. I'm kinda funny about the whole taking pictures while I'm pregnant thing....especially bare belly....so we'll see how they turn out.

Koby's work was so sweet and gave him a surprise diaper shower yesterday! What a great gift! He even brought some of the cookies and cake home for me! AAAAAAAnnnnnnnddddd when Koby got home he put all the diapers and wipes up where they go!!!! Woo-hooo! (I know it sounds like a little thing...but I am so overwhelmed right now...it's the small things that matter!)

Highs and Lows (this is a long one!)

Highs:

I have a sub, I have a sub, I have a sub hey-hey hey-hey! I am so excited! You don't knooooowwww what a huge relief this is for me! Plus I really like this lady and she has common sense! Woo-hoo! It's all coming together! Now I can stop writing lesson plans and instructions for a retarded monkey to take over my room...she's a real human, normal , sane woman!

I went back to the Dr. yesterday and he said that Reegan has REALLY dropped and I have REALLY thinned out...he sounded almost surprised about it! (doesn't he do this for a living? nothing should shock him...HMMMM...Is he REALLY a Dr.?)

Koby got a new truck! It's Preeeettttttyyyy! I know I shouldn't say a truck is pretty....its MANLY! (But it really is pretty!) It has some ghetto tires and rims on it, but he's gonna get rid of those. It is definitely a big boy truck. If you're not careful getting out of it you'll fall out!

Lows:

Now onto my terrifying morning. Annie(the older dog) almost killed(no exaggeration) Gus this morning. REALLY I'M NOT KIDDING!

Let me preface this story with the fact that Gus picks and plays at her all the time. To the point that I put tobascco sauce on Annie’s collar the other day so that Gus would quit chewing on it and ripping it off her neck. But Annie is always a good sport about him just being a puppy.

They were out in the back yard playing, I was hauling all of my school stuff to the car, and I heard this horrible screeching wounded animal sound. I just assumed that they had nabbed a cat in the yard, but when it didn't stop in a couple of seconds I went out the garage door to see what was going on. Annie had Gus by the jugular...Gus was upside down on the ground curled up in the fetal position SCREAMING (it sounded like one of Koby's predator calls...it was a HORRIBLE pathetic sound). Annie had the top part of his body lifted off the ground growling as her jaws were clinched tightly in his neck........I immediately start screaming at Annie...nothing....my arms are full of stuff and I drop everything as I am running towards them still screaming....no change Gus is still screaming...not dog sounds....SCREAMING! I get there assuming that when I get close Annie will let go....no change....I drop to my knees in the mud and still yelling at her in the meanest loudest voice I have and try to pry Annie's death grip off of Gus's throat. As I'm sitting there with both hands around Annie's jaw trying to open it with every bit of strength I have(Still yelling at her) All I could think about was what if I'm not strong enough to get her off and she kills him. Koby said later that I should have hit her and she might have let go....but at that point I didn't want ot let go of her top or bottom jaw....I was CERTAIN she would kill him if I lost my grip. It took me a good 30 seconds to pry Annie's jaws apart with my hands (I'm still yelling-Gus is still screaming). I don't know if Annie ever let go or if I just pried her teeth apart enough to get Gus free.

I have never felt so HELPLESS or scared in my ENTIRE 28 year LIFE! There is NOO DOUBT in my mind that if I hadn't been there Gus would be dead.

Anyway, both are still alive. Gus is at my Granddads this morning for supervision. After all that I couldn't just put him in his kennel and HOPE that he was ok and leave for 8 hours.

Annie knew as soon as she let go that she had screwed up (believe it or not that was BEFORE I beat her). I don't know what happened that made her snap like that. Even if Gus did piss her off somehow, she can't just snap! What if she did that to Reegan? I know it's probably not very likely...but what if?

If this morning didn’t put me into labor…nothing will!

My Wonderful Boys!

Gus The Wonder Dog:
This is a really old picture of Gus...actually it's not that old...it was July... he's just grown a massive 30 pounds since then!

Onto my point...Gus is a Champion!

Over the weekend we saw Koby's aunt Janie who breeds and trains really awesome expensive champion dogs. (Rewind: when Koby bought Gus we got some paperwork with him about his blood line, but not all of it. Anyway the guy said that Gus's mom was a Certified Master Hunter and his Dad was a National Field Trial Champion. It all sounded good...we just hoped it was true) They started talking about Gus...yadda, yadda, yadda....ANYWAY, Janie said that if Gus was the dog that they portrayed him to be that some of her dogs would probably be in his blood line. Sooooo we pull out the paper work that we had and there are 5 of Aunt Janie's best, incredible, champion dogs in his family tree, and that's just on his mom's side! Theeeennnn after She insisted that we contact the breeder to get more of his information.....a couple of phone calls later.....we have his dads history, and it's just as great!! Almost every dog on both sides of Gus's family have some sort of championship title....and some are National championships. Oh...they all have something to do with hunting. It's cool!

Like I said Gus is a Champion!!!

Koby has already put pen and paper to it and decided that Gus's net worth is higher than mine, so I now get to sleep in the kennel and Gus gets the bed! Yeah...let's see how well that's gonna work!!!!

So it looks like we might be breeding him. Lets see....we send him off somewhere for a conjugal visit...and we make money....hmmmm....SOUNDS LIKE PROSTITUTION TO ME!!!! Go get 'em Gus!

My Sweet Thoughtful Husband:









(I thought y'all needed 2 pictures!)

Koby gave me an early 'Having Reegan' present. It is a band for the other side of my wedding ring. So, I have my wedding band, engagement band, and now a family band!

He gave it to me on Saturday. He said that with all that was going on that he realized how important 'family' really was and he wanted me to have it early. So of course I'm bawling and about that time all his family walks in the door and is wondering what the big pregnant lady is blubbering about! I proudly and quickly showed them! So I am constantly looking at my hand saying holy s#*t! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! He's the sweetest husband in the world I tell you!

What a weekend...

Koby's Dad passed away Friday night. Prayers were answered that when the time came he was able to go peacefully in his sleep. 5 of the 6 siblings were present and accounted for when he passed (the last one was contacted but wasn't there by choice). It was nice that they were all able to be right there in his final hours.

And so began the long weekend...it is always emotionally exhausting when someone dies, then add 3-4 days of company(trying to play "The Good Hostess" a little bit), then the 8+ months of pregnancy. Even so, I am still not as tired as Koby is from just being emotionally exhausted.

There were lots of Doc's old friends from Seminole at the funeral, and lots from Robert Lee. Seeing all those people there reminds me what a good man he was. There were also LOTS of Koby's friends at the funeral...many who drove a long way to be there. Some were old friends, college friends, new friends, people he works with, people he does business with, etc. Many of them didn't know Doc or had just met him a few times....they were all there for Koby. THAT makes me proud of my husband! It warms my heart to know that people think so much of Koby that they would travel hours and hours to be there for him during this time.

Now it's just a matter of time before the reality of it all settles in. For me it probably won't be until we all meet back out at Doc's house Labor Day weekend to....well...do the things you do when someone is gone...and get the house ready to sell. I can't imagine what Koby is feeling.

Reegan is doing fine. I think it is irritating her that she has grown so much that she is out of room, so she just kicks harder! Sleeping is difficult...real difficult. Either she is being a busy body, or I have to pee, or I'm hot, or I can't get comfortable...and when everything finally comes together where I can catch a few winks...I have to pee again! Oh well! 3 1/2 weeks left and no purple streatch marks to speak of (yet! knock-knock-knock).

The Doc's

I went to the Dr. yesterday and through his little laugh he said "no baby yet"! Apparently my cervix is VERY long, hard, and it too is curled up in the fetal position! He said maybe the week of Sept 12 - 15 but if everything looks the way it did yesterday it would be the week of the 19-22. He has promised me that he won't let me go past the 24th! I am pretty sure he understands the repercussions of breaking a promise like that!

On the other side of that....my body and physical exhaustion is telling me that I am ready to have her....but the rest of me....isn't quite ready. OKAY, hear me out! I have so much to do between now and then; finishing her room, redoing her closet, putting all her new stuff away and together, writing thank you notes, finding a sub, writing lesson plans, finishing the school website, etc. .....along with the fact that I am scared to death and have no earthly idea what to do with a baby and keep thinking that if I procrastinate having her (HA!) that I will get everything done AND be able to read my "Babies for Dummies" book so that I don't screw her up!.......Ah-Ha.....maybe there is the truth....I'm afraid that I don't know what I'm doing and that I'll screw her up.

If I ALREADY can't get all my stuff done...will that make me a bad teacher, wife AND mother? Right now I can pretty much choose if I want to be a bad teacher or wife on certain days (by what gets pushed to tomorrows To-Do list) ....but I have to be a good mom...and that will take up twice as much time....so am I doomed at being a good teacher and wife? I KNOW, I KNOW there are TONS of people that do it all the time...I just haven't figured out how I AM GOING TO DO IT. I am probably worrying over nothing......

Now onto the other Doctor in my life, my father in law. He is constantly in my prayers throughout the day. He health is diminishing week by week. He HAS had a good life, he HAS helped a lot of people, and he HAS been a great dad, granddad, and father in law! I can't imagine what he is physically, emotionally, and spiritually going through. I just think that MY talks with God about it are long...I can't imagine his...or even Koby's. It makes me want to put up a GIANT billboard and BEG people not to ever, Ever, EVER pick up a cigarette! It is a huge blessing that Doc is sleeping as much as he is....and I continue to pray that he will peacefully go to Heaven during that time. I do REALLY hope that if it is God's will, that he will have the opportunity to meet Reegan....but I also know how much he is suffering now and I could never selfishly pray for that to continue...

Things I Know.....

• I know that I was REALLY tired after the first day of school
• I know that my classroom air conditioner use to be set on 79...Now it's on 72! It's great!
• I know that I am tired of being pregnant...It's been ok until now...But I'm ready to be done!
• I know that I really do like my job
• I know that my favorite student that I taught in 4th grade is now coming to Christoval and is in High School (yeah-yeah I'm not suppose to have favorites!)
• I know that a 17 year old girl is getting induced today and says she'll be back at school by the end of the week. She didn't get induced yesterday because she didn't want to miss the first day of her Senior year!
• I know that I want to die in my sleep....NOT NOW....but when the time comes...I think everyone should get to go to heaven that way.
• I know that high school kids are tootier than middle school kids...and they are always right!
• I know that I don't like leaving Gus in his kennel all day long...but I don't know what else to do with him when it is 100 degrees outside...And he's a digger....I like my yard....
• I know that I have no IDEA who my sub will be when I'm out
• I know that apparently the more free time you have the more $ you spend...according to OUR account anyway
• I know that I should blog more often
• I know that there is a lot to do between now and September 15!
• I know that Koby cooked a wonderful dinner last night ...and the best part was I didn't have to stand on my fat feet and do it!