Rockin' the Vote

I voted today. :D

Being a whopping 25 years old, this is only the second presidential election I've been eligible to vote in. I was soooo excited about voting in 2004, I remember it like it was yesterday. My vote was really more of a protest vote then. I didn't love the Kerry/Edwards ticket, but I hated George Bush so much (still do!) that it wouldn't have mattered it a communist was running against him, I'd have voted for the communist. Jake was already deployed at the time of that election and I was not a happy camper about the Iraq War. I never have been, but I digress.

This time, I love my candidate. Love, love, love. I told the girls at work I'd have his babies. LOL (I hope no one thinks I'm talking about John McCain here!) He really inspires me to want to go out and help others and just generally be a better person. It is a really strange feeling to be so moved by a stranger.

He's having a rally in Springfield tomorrow and I'm very tempted to make the drive. I need to see if I can get some details worked out, we'll see. I know it is about 2 hours from here and Jake won't come with me, so I'd either be going by myself or with Spencer. I don't think Spence would appreciate being dragged 2 hours for a political rally, although it is quite adorable to see him point to Obama on TV and say "That's Barack Obama!" which sounds more like "That's a rock baaama!"

Don't forget to vote!

Some music for your enjoyment

I think my kid totally has a future in music. ;-)




This is the song he was singing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIkqEF2Mvc8

My mother-in-law got him a great children's CD by the Barenaked Ladies for his birthday and that is a song from the CD. He loves it and it is actually a CD that Jake and I don't mind listening to over and over and over. Two thumbs up from us!

Oh Boy!

I am totally delayed in putting up the news, but we are going to be having another BOY! I am really, honestly thrilled. I think a girl would be fun, don't get me wrong. Have you seen baby girl clothes? I would seriously break the bank. But there is just something about the way boys love their mommies that make all the shirts with trucks, dinosaurs, and construction equipment worth it.

We went in to see Shea not intending to find out the sex. Well, that's not totally true. I wanted to know b/c it would make shopping easier. This, of course, was of no concern to Jake since he wouldn't be doing any of the shopping. Everything from cloth diapers to swings and car seats are getting gender specific these days. So when Jake consented to let us find out I was thrilled. I knew it was a boy all along, but it was nice to have confirmation.

A few ultrasound pics for your enjoyment:


The first is a pic of his little hand all stretched out. Shea said this eliminates the chances of Trisomy 18. The second is his little profile (the top of his head is to the right, for those who are proficient ultrasound readers). She said he looked great and was big and strapping!

Before we left Little Rock, I made Jake take me by The Yarn Mart on Kavenaugh. Any guesses as to what they sell? LOL The yarn store here is quite sad, full of acrylic yarns. Nothing against acrylic, but I just don't knit with the stuff. You can't use it for longies, soakers, or shorties and it isn't nearly as warm as my yarn of choice, 100% wool. The Yarn Mart has a ton of 100% wool yarn so it is like Mecca for me.

Jake picked out a yarn for his winter hat while we were there. I just put it on the needles in this pic and you can see it is being fiercely guarded by Catch.


There was so much yarn in that skein that I should be able to make the baby something out of it as well.

I also picked up enough yarn to make several pairs of soakers and longies.


The green and yellow will make a pair of striped longies and a soaker or two. The light blue will probably make a pair of solid longies. Under the yellow, you can see a variegated yarn that will make some longies and hopefully also a pair of shorties for the summer. I need to find a trim for that one. I didn't think about that while I was there the last time, so I'll probably stop back by the store while we're in Little Rock this upcoming weekend. I also have 3 skeins of yarn dyed by some very talented ladies at Hyena Cart. Baby Jack will have a beautiful wool stash come March!

And, just for kicks, the hat I finished for Spence last week. It is made from some left over Peace Fleece (which is 100% wool), so it will be super warm.

The Marion County Fair

Last week was the Baxter County fair. Jake was working crazy long hours, though, and we didn't manage to make it to the fair until after 7 pm on the last night. And, of course, as we are pulling out of the driveway it starts to sprinkle. Spence got to ride 2 rides and Jake and I got to eat some fair food before it started raining enough that we decided to leave. It was about as much fun as you can have in roughly 20 minutes.

Jake called yesterday to say the Marion County fair was going on this weekend, did I want to go? Marion County is sparsely populated and the fair was to take place in Yellville, which is about 20 minutes away, but I figured the fair would be at least halfway decent if the Baxter County fair was decent.

Wrong.

When we arrived at the fairgrounds, we saw horses. Lots of horses. Now, I'm not opposed to the equine portion of any fair, and goodness knows my child loves the livestock, but this was different. There were no rides, no game booths, no vendors selling funnel cakes or corn dogs. Beyond the horses you could see about 5 big, inflatable jump houses (or so I call them) and that was it. All. Finito. Horses and jump houses.

Needless to say, at this point I was happy that Spencer had fallen asleep in the backseat. This fair was LAME and I didn't want to waste what little cash I brought on it. A moment of spontaneity seized me and I turned to Jake and said, "Let's go to Branson." He said, "We need to go get some gas."

We very rarely do things on a whim, so when he obliged me I was thrilled. I hadn't been to Branson since I was a little girl (and it turns out Jake hadn't been in forever either) and it is not what I remember.

We went with the intention of eating at Joe's Crab Shack. They've been running commercials here forever and my mouth waters at the sight of their crab legs, but the closest one is up in Branson. As we were trying to figure out where it was, Jake mentioned Greek food and we had an immediate change of plans. One of the biggest things we miss about living in the Little Rock area is going out for Greek food, so now that we were among civilization, we were certain to find some.

Jake found a review on his iPhone for a place called Zoey's and we set off to find it.

It was very "hole in the wall"-ish. It stood alone, on a dark road, away from the Branson strip. But we walked in to be met with the wonderful smell of wonderful food.

We almost choked when we saw the price tags, but decided to stay and eat anyway. Jake got the moussaka, I got a roasted leg of lamb, and Spencer got the kid's spaghetti. And, man, YUMMY! Well worth the $60 (*choke*) price tag. It wasn't the Greek food we were used to, which is mainly Greek salads and gyros, but I think it was much more authentic Mediterranean food.

Afterwards we told Spencer we'd go play games, so we made the slow trek back up the strip to a kiddie ride place. Which, of course, was closed (it was 8:30!). We went across the way to the go-kart place, very nervously, because we'd promised Spencer we would do something fun and I was almost certain he'd be too small to ride with daddy on a go-kart.

I was wrong. Thank goodness. One hour and $20.50 later, Spencer and Jake were happy campers, which made me a happy camper, so we left. We swung by Coldstone Creamery on the way to Hwy. 65 and grabbed some ice cream and then were on our way home.

It was the most fun I've had with my boys in a while.

How Dare You?

Once upon a time, I was able to stay up late. And when I did so, I almost always watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Sometimes I feel like they are able to call out the BS better than anyone else.

A friend of mine posted this on a message board and, wow, it really resonated with me.

Enjoy.

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184928

Premature Blessings

I am a member of a message board for mothers of toddlers who were premature at birth. Most of us met on the Preemie Parenting board at Baby Center and most of our kids were born between late 2004 and early 2006.

I am constantly amazed and awed by these women. Some of our children have little to no residual effects of their prematurity. If I didn't tell you Spencer was premature at birth, you probably wouldn't guess on your own. Some of our children have moderate to severe disabilities that are an effect of prematurity. We have children with CP, IVHs, and PVL. Children who are deaf or blind (or both). Children who, still, are in and out of the hospital on a bi-weekly basis.

As I was reading the blogs of one of these women, gratitude swept over me. How many times did Spencer (and I) dodge a bullet in the NICU?

In the beginning, they weren't expecting his lungs to have developed. They thought he would have lungs that were, literally, hard, and therefore unable to expand. This would have been fatal.

Next, they had a hard time getting his blood gasses to stabilize and had to put him on a gas called nitric oxide (different from the nitrous oxide you get at the dentist). Nitric oxide can cause brain bleeds, so the less time a baby spends on it, the better. Brain bleeds (or IVHs) can range from a level I, which resolves on its own, usually without consequence, to a level IV, which causes brain damage. Spencer spent days on nitric oxide and never showed a hint of a brain bleed.

Then, I received the middle of the night phone call that every NICU parent dreads. Spencer was having a problem (NEC, they said) that was going to require a transfer to a different hospital and surgery. NEC can be mild, fatal, or somewhere in between (with the in between requiring an ostomy and a second surgery). Turns out it was a "simple" hole in his stomach, put there by the nurse who inserted his feeding tube. I was so grateful that it wasn't NEC that it never occurred at me to be angry with that nurse (well, at least until much later).

The potential for Spencer to be disabled was there, and yet he's not. He's an outgoing, beautiful, amazing, perfectly normal little boy. And, thank you, thank you God, I am so grateful for that. I'm grateful that he lived. I'm grateful that he's thriving. I'm grateful.

He's still so small.

Sometimes I look at Spencer and think about how big he is. And, really, compared to where he started and what he's been through, he's aged a lifetime's worth.

But, he's 3. And sometimes, when I hold his little hand in mine and see how much of a difference there is, I remember. He's been in my life for 3 short years, less time than I've been married and for only a little over 8% of my life. I've had all of my cats longer than that. And yet, do I remember, really remember life before him? Sometimes I feel like my life began on May 23 of 2005.

When I get frustrated or angry with him, I try to remember that he'll only be this way and do these things for a short time. I think, sometimes, of how I'd like to be able to sleep all night in my own bed every night. Or how I would absolutely, positively like to stop picking up little dinos off the floor all the time. But how long will I get to do this? One day he'll be big and he won't need me anymore. He'll go to college, get married, have kids of his own, and I'll wish he was my little boy again, throwing toys and protesting bedtime. And I think that is very key to enjoying every second with him in his childhood.