no baby

i am forgetful. according to the doctor the due date was today! i thought it was tomorrow, just like i thought my dr's apt was at 9:30 instead of 9:00 the other day.

So as of midnight we are past due. The Doc says anna/ella is not going anywhere anytime soon (dilated to a one and 50% effaced - same as 2 weeks ago). We scheduled an induction for next wednesday..........pray for the baby to POP! I'm actually hoping for a 4th of july baby. then i can name her independence. No just kidding that would be weird.

My mom gave me some great advice. advice #1 from my mom: take an enema. advice #2 from my mom: have more sex. I am definitely not taking an enema.

Anyone else have great midwife advice?

Sand Castle Day

CANNON BEACH OR

Come see us next June to celebrate baby B's birthday and we'll take you to this!

After checking out the sand sculptures we took the opportunity for one last worry free date on the beach. Good times - but better times are on their way................

the day has finally come!!!

My long awaited piece of furniture has arrived!

My dad brought my changing table!!! (fooled ya). It was definitally worth the wait. It is made out of birds eye maple and is cedar inside so it smells really really really good. (i couldn't get a good close up of the birdseye maple drawer fronts). This thing is sturdy. I really want to put it in my room - but as you can see - it came complete with a minky changing table matress and topper so I feel compelled to use it for it's designed purpose. THANK YOU DAD. Ella/Anna is going to love it. Actually, she's not going to care where I wipe her cute little buns - but I love it.

Along with the changing table came my family - including my dear 'ole dad [pictured above balancing on railroad tracks]. It was a delight to have him around. I never knew that he enjoyed exploring as much as I do. We went on a couple of labor inducing walks around the undeveloped parts of sherwood without much success.

Usually when I whip out red lentils for dinner people start asking where the nearest McDonalds is............but my dad said "do you know how long it has been since I had those!!! (in an excited tone)." I've never seen someone eat so many falafel sandwiches in one sitting!! He also made me some homemade ginger ale and of course..............fixed stuff (because that's what he does best). He pulled up my stinky pee carpet, fixed all the squeeks and weak spots in the floor, layed new carpet, fixed some wiring issues in the garage and who knows what else!!! Having my dad visit is like having a visit from the easter bunny. All sorts of good suprises hidden around the house.............THANK YOU DAD FOR THE THINGS I KNOW YOU FIXED AND THINGS I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT YOU FIXED.

It was really sad for me when my mom left - it was nice to talk to her about baby stuff while cooked together and she rubbed all my achy extremities. She kept talking to the baby "come out anna....come out and see your grandma." Well, she never came out. I think it's because my mom was calling her by the wrong name and because it's creepy to talk to your baby when they are still inside. But there is nothing like having your mom around to comfort you when you are nervous about something. And of course - she made me all sorts of good food while she was here. Enchiladas with chicken (i think rich thought he died and went to heaven). And I don't have any nesting left to do because my mom left me with a very very clean house. THANK YOU MOM FOR ALL THE BACK RUBS, FOOT RUBS, SHOULDER RUBS, COMFORTING WORDS and for trying to get anna to come out. Love you and can't wait to consume that freezer jam.

I can't forget to mention the caboose crew that comes along with my mom and dad. Pictured above are my little brother and sister (10 years younger than me). Mostly I was impressed with how content they were just hanging out at my house. I would have been begging my parents to leave the entire time if I was 14 and they drove me 13 hours to sit at my sisters house and do nothing.

I can't believe how tall taylor is getting. And how mature he is for a 14 year old. He was bored one afternoon so he goes "well I think I'll go clean out the van". What 14 year old just decides he is going to go clean out the parents car because he is bored??? I was impressed. He also pulled up the stinky carpet - a really nasty job. Thanks for coming and working so hard taylor. We'll see what we can do about hooking you up with megan when you turn 16 in a year and 1/2. Last but not least is my little sister jill. She made us some killer raspberry ice cream with berries we picked. She is making ella/anna a really pretty hat.......she better hurry up and get it done! She was willing to go swimming with her very pregnant sister and wasn't even embarrased by my makeshift swimsuit (pictured above and center). Now THAT is love (; Thanks for coming and being bored at my house tay tay and chewy monster. I MISS YOU GUYS ALREADY!!

(we spent a day like this in my kitchen while getting the floors ready for carpet)

the umbrella cord and the play center.

Considering we are down to 14 days - I thought I better post this email my friend sent me today.

The middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher :



I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself,


but the best "birth" story I know is the one I saw in my own second


grade classroom a few years back.


When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions


with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually,


show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model


airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never,


ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it


in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.



Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid,


takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow


stuffed under her sweater.



She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother,


and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'



'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put


a seed in my Mom 's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine


months through an umbrella cord.'



She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to


laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her


in amazement.



'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh,


Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked


around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing


a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)



'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't


have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie


down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the


wall)


'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case


he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like


psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming


water flowing away. It was too much!)



'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.


They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a


sudden, out comes my brother.. He was covered in yucky stuff that they


all said it was from Mom 's play-center (placenta), so there must be a


lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him


for crawling up in there.'



Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.


I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's


show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle


Wife' comes along.

lean cuisine.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's been a while since I said anything about food on the blog - but something on the today show this morning made me laugh. Watch the video above - and let me explain with the small tid bit of food science knowledge that I have.

No food is created equal and science is never 100% accurate. It's common knowledge that when you have a cow that is working really hard it's going to be lean and make nasty tough steaks. Same would go for a chicken. So when you get a food list that tells you that a piece of chicken has about 150 Calories and 3 grams of fat, you are getting an average of many pieces of chicken. DUH. Same thing goes for vitamin content in fruits and vegetables. Depending on what is available in the soil; a fruit or vegetable will contain a variable amount of any given mineral. Vitamin content can vary on the health of the plant and the climate and growing conditions. When the USDA makes their food lists (available here), they take an average of a bunch of different samples and give that as an estimate of what is in the food. The only way to really know exactly what is in food is to be God.

So when the today show puts out this expose telling all consumers that they are being lied to - they are showing scientifically inept they are. The segment displays sweet and sour chicken that has 350% more fat than the label shows! OH NO we went from 2 grams of fat to 7grams of fat! Really not a huge deal. That is the equivalent of about 1 tsp of oil. As the man from the food manufacturer said - Of course the calorie range is going to be off 10 to 20%. when it comes to calories - who cares about a variation of 30 calories. Not me.

Lets say lean cuisine slips up and somehow you end up with a piece of chicken that is mostly gristle. They put the food product in the package by weight. So instead of getting chicken that is mostly protein, you are getting chicken that is mostly fat. Up goes the fat grams in the product. Or possibly you got more sauce, or ended up with less vegetables, or possibly the sauce bag ended on your piece and you got the oily remains of the sauce. Food science is not perfect. And the numbers you read on ALL FOOD LABELS are going to vary depending on variations in ingredient ratios and variations in the ingredients themselves. It's not just diet foods that have this problem.

That being said - people should stop blaming food companies for their weight problems. While it is true you should be able to know how calorie dense something is - being off by 30-50 calories isn't going to make you gain weight unless you are making that mistake over a long period of time. If you are eating lean cuisine every day for lunch, you are making a better choice than eating a hamburger and fries. Mostly due to portion control - those things are TINY! And anyways, if you really want to lose weight you should buy foods that don't have food labels - ie fruits and vegetables. If you were to eat a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, and nuts, its highly unlikely that you would be overweight (note that i didn't include cheese and sweets in that list ...... which are rich's and my favorite foods.....).

Home Update

Well it really has been rainy up here in the Pacific Northwest. I heard that the May-June rainfall record is already broken and it is still rainy as I speak.

1) Patio Project turned into a swimming pool. If anybody had reservations about coming I am sure you are on your way now we have a new pool.


2) With the wet weather a new flower has imerged in our garden. It is called the
Stick Figure Marigold.


3) Also we have been in war with a new creature.


This is a slime trail. They are all over our flower beds and garden.

The other night we put down a lot of slug bait and now we have slug trails all over followed by dead slugs. I think we won the last battle but as you can see from our Stick Figure Marigolds" the slugs have won a few battles also.

4)The Garden

Saturday Morning Ride

its a bird, its a plane, its a watermelon......

or a basketball. or any other thing round that you can think of. what the what is this I say to myself every morning when i have to be hoisted out of bed...........

3 more weeks. 3 more weeks.