Adventures in Living- Southern Style!

Easter Pictures!

2008-03-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to put pictures on here. Here are some pictures of our little family on our first Easter with all of us together.

Other Adventures: Stone Mountain & Amicalola Falls

2007-11-07T05:15:00.001-08:00

So last weekend Paul and I decided we needed to get outdoors and enjoy the cooler weather and fall foilage! We visited Stone Mountain first. For those who haven't heard of it, Stone Mountain (http://www.stonemountainpark.com/) is sort of an outdoor-naturey theme park. The center attraction is a huge "mountain" of granite, one of hte highest points in the area. You can hike to the top or take a gondola up. On the steeper granite face there is a carving, a Confederate version of Mt. Rushmore with individuals like General Lee. The grounds are gorgeous with camping, a hotel, lakes, nature trails, picnic areas, rides on amphibious vehicles, and a little old-fashioned "town" whose theme changes with the season. Here are some pictures:

This is a pumpkin tree. Don't ask. Part of the "Hallween them"...

Next we went to Amicalola Falls. Amicalola Falls has a campground and also a hotel set higher up the mountain. There are several trails around the 700+ ft falls, including the start of the Appalachian Trail! It was a gorgeous time of year with the leaves changing colors, some enjoyable crisp air. We did a great hike with Caedmon, who mostly enjoyed sucking on the baby carrier. Actually he really likes the outdoors and is very calm outside....

Halloween Party!

2007-10-28T20:10:00.001-07:00

Caedmon is four months old now, and tons of fun. He is belly laughing, babbling, and giving big grins all the time. We are enjoying him so much! This weekend we had a pumpkin carving party with friends Erica, Joe, Erin, and Mike. Photos courtesy of them!

SO the "pumpkin sequence" happened when Paul and our friends decided to see what would happen when they allowed Caedmon to stick his hand in the pumpkin. He came up with a big ol pile of pumpkin guts, though he obviously seemed a little perplexed by the laughter and camera flashes!

Pictures of Stone Mountain and the Appalachian Trail to come...

New Developments

2007-10-03T07:39:00.001-07:00

Baby is getting too big for his bath!

Sweet boy!
Puppy robe!
Caedmon in a kimono!
Thumb sucking and favorite elephant

Caedmon "reads" his book
Little builder
Pretend drink from daddy
Getting stronger! (And chubbier)

Caedmon is growing like a weed! I can't believe its been nearly four months since he was born!

The last two or three weeks he has changed so much. About a week and a half ago, we realized he has half a tooth sticking out! Poor baby, we didn't realize that's why he was so fussy....we just were not expecting a tooth in his little mouth. It's a strange tooth too. Instead of an incisor, his first tooth is one of hte first molars. Weirdddd. There seem to be some waiting in the wings, but who knows if this was a fluke tooth or if he is on the road to teeth? Silly baby.

He is also starting to "talk" like crazy. He makes purposeful and loud sounds, and is so delighted when you talk back to him. The past three days all day long its "AAAAOohhhh. AAAAH! Ohhhh. Woaaoowww"! He is laughing more and more now too, especially cracking up when daddy tickles him or blows on his belly.

Also, he is exploring objects now with his mouth. Anything he can get his hands on....straight to the mouth. Objects promptly become drenched in drool (Poor thing even has a little rash or sore under his bottom lip from all the drool plus pacifier).

Finally, he is nearing rolling over. Usually he gets himself on to his side and then becomes distracted by his delicious fingers.

Paul and I are quite smitten with him and are enjoying all his new, fun stages.

Hope you enjoy all the pictures! I just couldn't help myself.

Too Cool for the Pool

2007-09-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

It is very important to Paul that Caedmon is a water baby, and subsequently a surfer. Therefore it was about time to introduce Caedmon to the fun that is the pool!

Ok so he may not have been that impressed by the cold, icky looking water. However, based on the fact he loves baths and even loved a warm shower after the pool experience, I think he will be a happy play-in-the-pool baby...eventually.

First Week of School & Georgia Aquarium

2007-09-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

This week was really hard. I started back to school, and while I have fewer units than I ever have and my classes seem to be not too much work, it was super stressful. I am strugglig with whether this was the right decision. Its only 8 hours a week I leave him for, but it makes me sad and since I am not used to it I worry a great deal about him when we are separated. Will he cry hysterically? WIll he get hungry but refuse the bottle? Will the person never want to watch him again? Will they know the best way to bounce him depending on his baby moods? Caedmon was of course fine. I was the one traumatized by the week. At least I have a few classes I know I could bring him if need be (one is a Lactation management class....babies are of course welcome!)

Also I am still getting the whole babysitter situation figured out. Paul will have him for most classes, but I have one class that I don't have a set person for during Thursday mornings. Although my instructor did say I could take him to class, this is not an ideal option as I am distracted half the time trying to either A. get him to sleep, B. Keep him asleep, C. Feed him, or D. Keep him occupied and quiet. While most weeks it would probably be fine, I have a feeling I won't learn as much and its a very important class. I am praying I find someone. If not, baby is going to learn an awful lot about conducting evaluations!

On top of that stress and leaving Caedmon for some of the first times, he also had his 2 month (he is actually 2 and a half months) checkup on Tuesday. He is 14lbs 11oz and 25 1/4 inches. Yay for a growing baby! He got all his shots and was slightly feverish Weds and has been extra fussy the past few days.

The week ended on a good note though! Paul got off of work early and we decided to go to the Georgia Aquarium. I have been dying to go, as it is really new and supposedly spectacular and one of the largest. It was really awesome- they have it set up kind of like a theme park. The highlights of the aquarium are the Beluga whales and another HUGGEE tank filled with sharks, rays, and some gigantic whale sharks. It has a huge tunnel you can walk through underneath it and look up. They also had great exhibits on river fish and the aquatic life of the Georgia coast. I think Caedmon liked the Beluga whale (he actually followed it with his head) and the pretty light coming through the water. Ok so he wasn't that entertained, but Paul and I had a great time and afterwards took a stroll around the Centennial Olympic Park. Funny that it took us a whole year to go visit these places.

Caedmon goes diving in his car seat:

Observing the sea lions

I pop in to visit a penguin

Mostly trying to calm a fussy baby:

Bet you didn't know I could be a mom AND the captain of a fishing boat did you?

One of the Beluga whales

California Dreamin

2007-09-03T21:00:00.001-07:00

Our two week trip to California was wonderful! We spent lots of family time, enjoyed the wonderful warm (b ut not hot or humid) weather, hit the beach, and looked forward to returning. Baby met cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, grandparents and even great-grandparents!

Here are a few pictures...more to come!

Four generations... (my goodness the women in my family look so similar!)
Aunt Sandra has Caed...

Caed & his Great-Gramma hang out on the porch, matching nicely in orange.

Caedmon was fascinated by the moving fans and the mirrors at the Elephant Bar in Santa Barbara.
Caedmon hangs out with Papa Chuck before falling asleep on his cast...

Bear hugs from cousin Laura! You better be ready little Ayrton!

Gramma and baby.
Since B & Paul are pretty much brothers, this is his lovely Aunt Lisa
Grammy Margie's makeshift kitchen-crib.
And finally, Caedmon's first trip to the beach at Jalama!

(dreaming of the day when he can catch a wave with daddy)

Play time!

2007-08-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

So I just have to say this next picture I have entitled "say no to crack". Apparently I don't know how to put on a disposable diaper correctly.

Caedmon is getting bigger and bigger and smiling more and more!

He is starting to enjoy playing in his play gym that Uncle Joe, Aunt Candace, Uncle James, Aunt Kelli & cousins got him. He especially enjoys the little hanging birds that "squeak"

I promised my mom some pictures of playtime today...so here you go mom!

The Dirty South*...Revisited

2007-08-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

*Title courtesy of Audrey

So just to top it off, the day after I wrote that blog we went to help my friend move from her apartment. I soothed the fussy baby inside while Paul and Beth moved furniture. Meanwhile the open door let in mosquitoes and I discovered about 10 minutes later that I had 10+ bites covering my feet and ankles. Needless to say, bugs like me, no one else got any bites. Thankfully my baby didn't either.

Then I pulled a Christy and slapped my hands together , killing a mosquito buzzing near my baby. Eww. As soon as the stuff was moved, I covered the car seat with a blanket and made a beeline for the car. Sooo many bug bites.

If I spike a fever soon, please consider West Nile Virus.

Annddd obligatory cute baby picture to pacify people anxious to meet little Caedmon. He is a happy boy after taking his bath! Kind of looks like he is throwing punches though.

Wife, Mom, Student....Exterminator?

2007-08-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

So its cliche to say a mom takes on many roles, whether it be chef, house cleaner, chauffer or accountant. Exterminator, however, was one role I did not count on. I didn't realize how "bug-free" my Santa Maria home was until I lived in Georgia. Every week we are fighting a new bug I've never seen before! Apartments are never free from pests, but I didn't expect to deal with ginormous silverfish, ants, roaches, mosquitoes and spiders day in and day out. Yes the apartment complex comes if you ask them the help, but a once a week treatment really doesn't do that much. Right now the problem is millipedes. These tiny wormlike creatures currently are taking over our house. It probably doesn't help living right next to a mini-forest. Despite spraying bug poison around our kitchen, windows, door jamb, bathroom and other corners of the home, it is completely normal to find 15-20 millipedes crawling over our kitchen floor and living room in the morning, not to mention the dead ones. So I kill, I vaccuum and I search and destroy. Yuck!

So right now when people ask me what I'm up to everyday, my answer now is: I feed the baby, play with the baby, hopefully get dressed and decent, and I kill bugs.

And a cute picture for good measure. I am trying to catch him smiling, but I have been unsuccessful so far!

My Little Chub

2007-07-23T20:26:00.001-07:00

I put Caedmon on the Boppy pillow to get some tummy time...
But he decided it was nap time instead....

Caedmon had his one month check up today! He got a clean bill of health besides little diaper rash. What's more, he is a whopping 12 lbs 7 oz already, which is the 95th percentile for his age. My goodness! However compared to his cousins he is probably quite average. Time is flying and he is growing so fast! He started smiling and cooing some, so I am hoping to snap a picture of it. Also he is starting to bald. I will miss his precious little newborn hair, but I am hoping some blond hair will grow in afterwards.

Sometimes I feel sad he grows so fast and other days I can't wait for him to get bigger and get more interactive and fun. Overall he is a pretty good baby, and while fussy at times, he is easy to calm with bouncing, a change of scenery, or a paci. Paul and I love him so much and are loving parenthood! We are still learning but I am understanding that we will be forever learning now...

More Pictures please!

2007-07-16T15:25:00.003-07:00

<-----This picture was taken by Miss Erin McKay-McElroy. There, ya happy Erin? :)

Ok so in these pictures Caedmon is dressed like a calf at Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A is a southern fast food restaurant based on the premise of the delicious fried chicken sandwich. Their whole advertising scheme includes cows encouraging people to "eat more chikin". So last friday was "Cow appreciation day" at a local Chick fil A where you could come dressed in a cow costume and get a free meal. So my friend Erin got the brilliant idea of dressing Caedmon up as a cow so we could get free fare (and get out of the house). So we colored black spots on paper, cut them out, and taped them to his mint green onesie and called him our "Mint Chip Calf". The staff at the joint got a kick out of it (as did we). Meanwhile Caedmon slept through the whole ordeal. Yes I used more poor baby to get free food.Poor baby, being dressed up already.

Baby likes to sleep with one or both arms up in the air!

Paul resting with the little man after a long day of work

What a precious face!

Another chubby nakey picture!

I have been kindly scolded by my gramma for not adding more photos! So I hope you all enjoy!

More baby pictures!

2007-07-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Because we are addicted to our baby....and who doesn't love nakey babies?

Visit with Family

2007-07-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

My brother: who will be training Caedmon in the arts of bowling and crazy Dodger fan antics.

My Sister: will be training Caedmon in the arts of fun baby playtime and modeling, as he is already her favorite camera subject.

My parents: Sooo excited!

Paul and I as new parents

The expanding Gibson family:

My parents and brother and sister came out to Atlanta to visit us when Caedmon was born. They are all so excited to have a new baby in the family! I just have to post some of the pictures, as they are really cute. Caedmon is so lucky to have so many loving family members. Just wait til he goes home and meets so many more in December!

PS Aren't my parents wonderfully young and vibrant looking grandparents? I sure think so! No they didn't pay me to say that :)

First Weeks as Parents

2007-06-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

So I am sure every mother (and father) can identify with the first week or two of parenthood being a whirlwind of learning and emotions. We are adjusting to having a little one in the home. I am really grateful right now to be home resting with Caedmon every day. Unfortunatley Paul was back to work right away, and unfortunately he has to work long long days at the job he is at now, but we are both learning and spending as much time with our little one as possible.

Here is what I love so far:

-Little sighs that Caedmon makes while nursing and afterwards

-The little fleeting smiles that pass his face as he falls asleep when full

-His smell, of course

-The periods of the day when he stares and tries to take in the world around him

-Having a sleepy newborn on my chest.

So far he is really pretty calm. Perhaps I am jinxing things to say that. No matter what happens, Paul and I feel extremely blessed. God has given us a beautiful, healthy child. As my mom told me, my job right now is to just take care of him and myself and to love him. There is no need to be anxious about that. ( I was definitely really nervous last week). Plus I was reassured this last Sunday that God would not give me anything I can't handle. I have all the tools to take care of him: my body, my love, a loving father for him, a safe place to sleep, and lots of support from family and friends.

Here are some fun pictures of our first week! Yes we are obsessed parents.

I did make a baby website for him but I am debating whehter to keep it. They don't allow that many photos to be put on it. We'll see.

The Birth of Baby Caedmon

2007-06-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well it had been a week of weird sleep- I would go to bed at 2:30 and sleep in until 11 or so, I couldn’t quite get on a normal sleep schedule. This turned out to be quite unfortunate for my water breaking at 6 in the morning; I had only gotten 3 and a half hours of sleep. So I woke up Saturday morning on the 16th to what felt like a gush, like when you start your period and there is a gush of blood. I stood up, went to the restroom, and sure enough more and more came! The water kept coming and coming all day too. I didn’t know what to do, I was just soaking, but I managed to get into new clothes. My usually sleepy Paul awoke with a start when I told him my water broke and he jumped up to kiss me, so happy we would soon have our baby!

I called the midwife on call to let her know, and Jen told me to come in so they could monitor the baby and make sure he was alright. I then called my mom who promptly changed her Tuesday flight to that day so she could try to make it out in time. Next we called the doula, Julie (our labor assistant) to let her know we were on our way to the hospital and she left to meet us there. After some quick clean up and bag packing, we headed to the hospital. At this point I was only feeling very mild contractions. The midwife on call (now Maggie, Jen went home) allowed me the option of laboring at home until 6 that evening to see if I could try to get things going on my own without interventions. Our doula was really supportive and her and my midwife suggested alternating vigorous exercise with rest.

So I did all these things but by 6 o’clock not much was happening but a few stronger contractions. After getting to the hospital though, they pretty much stopped. Unfortunately I hadn’t progressed since earlier that week, I was only 1 cm dilated and 50 percent effaced still with a posterior cervix. It was so sad. So I was given the option of taking a sleeping pill and hoping my body would start labor, or using some induction methods. I was afraid of the sleeping pill (in hindsight a mistake?) since they knock me out for 12 hours at a time. I was afraid of being drowsier later. So I decided to do a very small dose of cytotec after a long discussion with the midwife about its risks. Later I took another dose when the baby and I reacted well to it. The rest of the night was spent alternating between attempts at sleeping and vigorous walking around the hospital. My mom arrived after some quick flight changes in the middle of the night and got in on the action of helping me through labor. Not much was happening though until early in the morning. My doula was great and SO encouraging and helped me to stay fed. I also took both a shower and a bath to try to relax through the gradually increasing contractions. More contractions were happening by 5 but not enough, so pitocin was started at 6. Being on pitocin meant I had to be continually on the contraction, fetal heart rate, and BP monitors as well as receiving a constant IV.

I labored naturally as long as I could and I am so glad that I did. It was hard being on a monitor and having regular BP readings, but my doula helped so much, as did my mom and Paul. I labored in all sorts of positions, especially those meant for back labor as I started to feel most of it in my lower back. We used all sorts of positions to relieve back labor and also to try to change the baby’s position. Paul and my doula did a great job of massaging me and talking me through each contraction and coaching my breathing and responses. My mom also helped me move around with the IV and did several labor positions with me too. However by about1 or 2pm I couldn’t take it anymore. I only made it 7-8 hours on the pitocin naturally. I could deal with each contraction individually, but they were so close together, every 2 to 2.5 minutes, and I was likely to still have 6 more hours to go. Plus I was getting exhausted having had very little sleep during the night and very little sleep the night before. So my doula and midwife and I decided getting an epidural might be helpful, especially as I had progressed to 5-6 cm. It hurt really bad going in, I have scoliosis and the anesthesiologist had some problems putting it in. It really scared me actually, luckily it was over fast. Then I got regular BP readings and a catheter. Boo. I relaxed quickly though and was soon able to take a nap.

After relaxing and napping I started feeling more pressure. The midwife was called in. There was no longer a midwife on call, Maggie had gone home, but Jen was so so so kind enough to come back in and see me through my pushing and labor. I don’t even know if she got paid for that, I’ll need to send her a big thank you. I was checked at this point and was at 10cm and baby was at +1. The midwife decided to help me save energy and gave me an hour to allow the baby to come down more on his own.

At 6 o’clock the midwife and an L&D nurse who is a midwife in training came in to help me start to push. I was moving pretty well with the epidural and could feel the need to bear down, but after a while of ineffective pushes, my epidural was lowered (perhaps stopped?) so I could feel it. BOY DID I! What a powerful feeling to push! I gave it my all. It was hard figuring out how to push, but I certainly tried and gradually got better. As time went on though, it got frustrating as he wasn’t moving much. The midwives started feeling around his head and figured out that he was sunny side up and with his head turned a little to the side. So the on-call doctor came in, who was really great and kind by the way, and tried her best to turn him inside of me. That was one of the craziest feelings I have ever felt, It was very, very painful, especially when contractions came on while she was moving him. She was up to his ears trying to turn him. Even if he did budge though, he moved right back. Stubborn baby! The hospital staff and the doula, Paul, and my mom were great though: they were so encouraging and didn't let me give up during contractions. I kept pushing in many different positions, with a squat bar, on hands and knees, on my side, leaning over the bed, but nothing was working. I also threw up really bad, which felt good afterwards but scared me with its force.

By about 3+ hours of pushing I was totally exhausted. The long day and lack of sleep caught up to me. I could no longer respond to questions from anyone and I wasn’t making sense. I couldn’t move myself anymore either, I was too exhausted to do anything but try to keep pushing. So they decided eventually to give me the epidural again so I could take a break. It still felt the urge to push though. Anyway after half an hour they came back in and gave me the option to either keep going a little longer while the doctor would try with the vacuum, or to go to a c-section. I wanted to bad to go straight to a C-section. I had given up pushing; I was so frustrated not feeling him move down at all. It was heartbreaking to me. I could even see the top of his head in the mirror sometimes but I just COULD NOT move him down. I wanted so bad to give up. Paul though, bless his heart, was the only one who could convince me to try a little longer. So I did. I gave every ounce of me I had left for those several contractions and then a few more contractions using the vacuum. I felt I would explode. But nothing happened. The vacuum couldn’t help get him down any further. So a c-section it was.

I was both heartbroken and relieved at the same time. I was so ready to just see my baby. In fact I just kept repeating that near the end of all the pushing. So they upped my epidural and prepared us for a C-section. I got the shakes really bad from the epidural, and the C-section was a little disturbing feeling so much pressure and pulling, but I made it through with my eyes in Paul’s eyes as we talked about our baby and what he was going to look like. Soon, his head was out and Paul shot up to see. His head was so large everyone thought he would be 10 lbs or more! Paul just kept saying how beautiful he was. Soon he was out and wailing in the most beautiful voice I ever heard. Paul went and took pictures right away so I could see on the digital camera.

Caedmon Lee Halsell was born at 11:03 on June 17th, 2007, Father’s Day! He was 8lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long, and with a big head. He was very healthy and needed no interventions except some suctioning. The doctors were amazed that after all those hours of labor there were no infections and he had no meconium when born. He really tolerated the labor well, his heart rate responded well to contractions and pushing.

We couldn’t get over how sweet and beautiful he looked. I cried so hard the anesthesiologist freaked out thinking I was in pain. The doctors and midwife and other attendees all agreed there was NO WAY he would make it out without help. His head was too big. The place they thought was molding to come through was a small section of his head. The suctioned part from the vaccuum was also crooked on his scalp, off to the left. If he was properly positioned they thought it was still doubtful. They all made me feel so good though, and tried hard to make me feel good about my effort, even though a c-section I wanted to avoid more than anything.

I was so happy he was here and he was healthy. I finally got to hold my beautiful baby Caedmon and have been absolutely in love with him ever since.

It was not an ideal labor and delivery; it was really hard and was nothing like what I wanted it to be. I made a lot of decisions that were really hard for me. Altogether it was 41 hours since my membranes ruptured which included 17 hours of active labor and four hours of pushing followed by a C-section. The reward was priceless though, and I don’t regret anything that happened. It was all worth it to see him out safe and healthy and absolutely beautiful.

Labor, delivery and our precious baby Caedmon!

2007-06-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! This is Paul posting on behalf of our family. Grandma Gibson stayed at the hospital with Lacey last night to give me some much needed rest. I'm sure Lacey will make a much more detailed post when she can, so check back in a few days. We hope you enjoy these photos of our exciting weekend at the hospital.

Savannah Part II

2007-05-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

(See below for part one!)

Here are just some more examples of pretty architecture in the city! So gorgeous! All the buildings have such interesting histories too. For example, one restaurant overloooking the riverfront has a map drawn by General Sherman's army on the wall! It was discovered when they removed some coats ont he wall to remodel the building and is now preserved. I am not very good with history, but Savannah was the last city on General Sherman's march to the sea of devestation during the Civil War. However it was never called the Civil War once when we were there. Instead it was the "War Between the States" or the "War of Northern Aggression". How interesting! Speaking of food too, we had great Southern food all weekend. Fried Green Tomato BLT anyone? Shrimp, Greens and Grits? Deviled crab cakes? Pralines? Pecan Pie? So good! I was happy to have some healthier food back at home though.

Ok last few pictures. These are on the riverfront. And one picture of Paul and I. I am very round and pregnant looking now. Unfortunately round in the face too! :) It was a short trip, but a nice little vacation before we become full time parents! I feel lucky we got to travel some as we haven't visited too many places in Georgia yet.

Savannah Georgia!

2007-05-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well Paul and I made our way to Savannah, GA. I am so glad we did, it had so much fun Southern character that the city of Atlanta just doesn't have. It is one of the oldest cities in the South with tons of history, neat mixtures of architecture, beautiful foilage, and a beach nearby. We were cheap on hotel and touristy stuff, but ate good food and enjoyed just walking around and hanging out at the beach. Here are some pictures:

Here are some pictures from Tybee Island, the beach 10 miles or so from Savannah. It was windy but warm and much to Paul's delight he got to surf. I sat on a swing and just soaked in the sun.

Here is the cathedral in Savannah, it is the oldest Catholic church in Georgia.

A pretty example of all the historic inns scattered through the historic district.

One of 20+ plazas in the historic district. This is a large one, most are really small and provide little mini parks throughout the city.

This is what all the streets look like. They are gorgeous! Huge oak trees line the streets and meet over head to form a canopy. All the Spanish moss hanging down is really neat...and really creepy at night!

Ok this post is getting unwieldy, the pictures are not easy to maneuver. I will post a second one with more pictures

In case you thought I was exaggerating about the pollen...

2007-03-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/03/29/pollen.pain.ap/index.html

Spring has Sprung in Atlanta

2007-03-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

The view outside our apartment. Its pretty! (Of course you can't see the train 50 feet away down that incline, hehe)

Pretty blossoming trees in the parking lot

You can tell I am not from the area by how excited I get about the trees changing. I've never seen such a dramatic spring!

2 weeks ago, it still looked like winter. There were still some 55 degree days and all the trees wee still bare. Then somehow, within one week's time, the whole city came alive with color! I've never seen so many blossoming trees! Driving through residential areas you will see trees covered in bunches of white, purple, baby pink, yellow, and mauve colored flowers. Simultaneously, leaves are growing back on all the dead trees, and it is so beautiful outside! Many people are planting their tulips and buttercups and other Easter flowers. I know its not Easter yet, but it certainly looks like it outdoors, its kind of hard to feel as if its still Lent.

Needless to say, this sudden blossoming has brought a LOT of pollen. The parking lot is covered with a thin layer of lime green powder. It looks like some crazy pixies dusted the place. You can literally draw pictures in it with your feet. The pollen count right now is off the charts...I think in the 5000 range (!). You can feel it on your eyes outside. Luckily I haven't had bad allergies yet, but people tell me it would be worse were I here next spring. Paul and I tried to go to the pool this last weekend as it was 85. I found a maternity bathing suit that fits and most importantly is modest enough (it was hard to find something modest on top!). Much to our dismay, the pool had a floating layer of pollen along with a good sprinkling of leaves and flower petals. Kinda gross, hopefully they keep it cleaner.

Which brings me to my good news (that most people might know already). There is about a 95% chance Paul and I will move back in December. Yay! I should be done with all my classes by that time, and will just have my thesis to finish. I should be able to do that at home though. I enjoy living in a new place to some extent, but its just toooo far from family. Its such a big deal for us to go home or people to come here. I want to be at home with the baby...

So thats pretty much all that is going on here. Spring, and classes. I took way too many classes, but its ok because I only have 5 or 6 weeks of class left. Then I will have to find some way to keep busy for a month and a half waiting for the baby to come. Some way that doesn't involve walking around a bunch in 95 degree, 90% humidity weather. Ick.

An Ode to Citrus...

2007-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

If a day goes by without orange juice, it makes me very sad.

If I could eat 10 grapefruits a day I probably would. The only thing holding me back is the price, not the fact that it would probalby make me quite ill to eat that much grapefruit.

I like citrus fruits more than chocolate right now.

Thank you Lord for citrus!

Most Embarassing Moments..

2007-02-15T07:24:00.001-08:00

Embarassing moments. We all have them. Some of us get over them quickly, some of us (ahem myself) play them over and over in our heads hoping somehow the moment will no longer exist. Well I wasn't going to post this, but it is kind of funny and silly, so I will...

So one night 3 weeks ago or so, I was itching really badly in my upper middle back. It was driving me crazy, but I didn't think much of it. Until I reached up and felt a weird, raised, circular bump. So I looked awkwardly in the mirror and freaked out because it looked like a very large spider bite. I should say we have tons of spiders in our apartment and are constantly fighting them through bug treatments the complex offers, and we are pretty sure some of them are poisonous. So I called my mom and she didn't know what to do so she said to call my midwife. Which I did, and she didn't think it was anything to worry about, but didn't know anything about spider bites and so sent me to the ER to get it checked out just in case.

Bad time to go to the ER. It was 8:30 on a Weds night when we arrived. Shouldn't have been too bad, right? Wrong. It wasn't packed, but when it took 2 hrs just to get triaged, I knew it would take forever to get treated. Basically to make a long story short, by 1:30 am I was a cranky pregnant woman who needed to sleep, and none of the other 10 people in the waiting room had been taken in over 2 hours. Plus I didn't feel anything besides itching so I figured it could wait til the next day. So I asked a nurse inside to be discharged (ok so maybe I cried a little too), and she wasnt too worried since I had no other symptoms,but still begged me to stay to make sure everything was ok since I'm pregnant. So I waited on a random bed in the hallway waiting for the doctor (only one on apparently...at a metropolitan hospital. Craziness). Two hours later, I see him for a total of 1 minute and am quickly diagnosed with.........ringworm. Thats right, just a fungal infection, easily treated with some antifungal cream. The worst part is, I totally know what ringworm looks like having raised sheep: I've even had it before.

Got home at 4. I was exhausted, Paul was exhausted. What a crazy night. Ugh. How embarassing. I would be more embarassed if it werent for the fact that all the nurses, midwife, etc. kept telling me to stay. But ya, thats my story. I went to the ER for just ringworm. Go me!

Moral of the Story: I don't know... don't get ringworm? Don't go to hospital if you are only itchy?

But in more pleasant news, the ultrasound was great (I am sure most people reading this already saw pictures). It felt so euphoric to see our little baby moving around and wiggling on the screen. And so nice to know that he looks healthy right now. Paul is very excited. He has grand plans to turn him into a little carpenter and surfer. So much fun thinking about the future!

Long time, no write

2007-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

Oh dear its been a while since I posted anything. I have been in shock from the beginning of school and trying to keep track of eight different classes and my part time job. On top of that Paul and I have been sick so things have been a little crazy. I am excited about my classes though, and get to learn lots of new exciting things and get lots of hands on experience. Here is a little peak into my semester...

-Principles of Instruction/Curriculum Design
-Measurment in the Behavioral/Health Sciences
-Applied Behavioral Methods (basically a class learning a statistical analysis program, luckily I learned it in undergrad)
-Spanish for Healthcare Professionals
-Prevention of Mental/Behavioral Illness and Mental Health Promotion
-Intro to Epidemiology (Epi for non-epi people)
-Intro to the US Healthcare System (another required core class)
-Community Needs Assessment

Its probably way too much, but I would rather get a lot of units done before the baby comes. Then I should only have 3 or 4 classes left to take before I can graduate. I am really excited about being a stay at home mom when the baby comes, and I don't want to be in too many classes after that. But anyway I am excited about this semester. I may even get to design a curriculum for the SBC public health department as an assignment for a class, possibly with Avian Flu preparedness for county employees and doctors in the area.

So what will I do with all this school work? I really don't know at this point, or know if I will even use it in the next ten years. But when else would I do it? At the very least I would be really happy consulting part-time for non-profits in our area, even if it meant getting paid very little. Maybe I could help them conduct needs assesments and design health education curriculum? Or just help them evaluate their programs. I don't know, but I don't feel too stressed about it, if God wants me to use it, I will.

Baby News: Paul and I are getting really excited for next friday, Feb 9th! Our ultrasound is that day and we are really hoping we can find out the gender and start calling this baby a name besides "It". Hopefully baby isn't too shy. We also want to see the baby move around and see if he/she is healthy. I certainly feel the baby move around all the time now. It's such a pleasant feeling, too bad it can't stay so pleasant. Anyway I definitely can't wait until next friday!

Pregnant News: Feeling great. Going through massive transition into crazy-hungry woman. While I hadn't gained more than a couple pounds total, I think that will have changed at our next prenatal on Monday. I have mostly just grown around the waist. I think it grew 2 inches in 2 weeks which is nuts. It feels so stretched and Paul and I are in disbelief at its rapid growth. The rest of my body has not changed though, so my clothes no longer fit and maternity pants are annoyingly baggy. I would post a picture, but its from a week and a half ago and it just looks completely different. I am still getting exercise by walking to my shuttle, but I am definitely making up for it! Its also been freeezzinngg, so I feel like a bundled rolly poly walking outside in the morning. There may be ice storms tonight...

Anyway thats all for now. When I stop being embarassed about it, I will tell a really dorky story about going to the ER last week....

TO BE CONTINUED!

Late Night Worries

2007-01-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

Its funny the things that keep you up at night. I mean its normal to worry about becoming a parent and about your baby, but tonight I am up with the strangest concern...

How do I dress a baby for 90-95 degree heat with 90% humidity when he or she comes in the summer?

I mean, if it was freezing like it was today (35 when walking to school) I can totally picture bundling up a little newborn in hats and a warm jumper with booties. But 95 degrees? Thats hot, I don't even know how to dress myself for that weather. Ick. I guess I won't be outside that much anyway, but what if I have to walk to the grocery store or something? What about going outside in general? Ok I guess just a tshirt onesie (is that what its called?) will work just fine and I can gauge how the baby responds. Or just not go outside until late October.

This is ridiculous, the baby will be fine. Women in Ghana walked around with their little babies attached to them with a cloth outside all the time, and it was the same weather as summer in Atlanta. Time to get sleep.

Accomplishment

2006-12-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

What is accomplishment? Accomplishment is making your first genuine, vegetable-full, home-cooked meal in 7 weeks without puking. I made Chicken Tortilla soup with lime, and I was even able to eat it. And enjoy it. NO GAGGING INVOLVED. Someone call the presses.

I could get used to doing this cooking thing again.

A visit to North Carolina and a change of weather...

2006-12-09T07:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend Paul and I had the pleasure of visiting my Aunt and Uncle and two of their kids from Florida in N. Carolina. They had gone up to Murphy, North Carolina and stayed at a beautiful little cabin in the quickly-dying Appalachians. Whereas a few weeks before the trees were burning with oranges, reds and yellows, most leaves had dropped or faded to nearly brown, leaving bare, tall, skinny trees. However it was so beautiful to get up into the mountains with all its peacefulness. My Aunt and Uncle invited us to come stay with them, and we quickly agreed, it was only an hour and 45 minutes drive! (Did you know Georgia borders both North and South Carolina?)

We stayed in a cozy little cabin Saturday night and Sunday spent a long day fishing in one of the many rivers. It was so much fun! It had been a long time since I trout fished. My Aunt is great at it (as is my mom). My Grandpa and Grandma loved to fish and taught all their kids. They went up to the Eastern Sierras every year when their kids were little and spent a whole month there. When they retired they spent a third of each year as campground hosts near Big Pine. They loved it, staying all summer in their motorhome; fishing, chatting with vacationers, watching kids play, and making friends with other yearly visitors. It was so sad when they could no longer make the drive, no longer meet the host duties. My Grandpa died a year and a half ago. It was nice to fish and think about him. He was probably fishing too, but with a much greater fisherman.

Anyway we each caught a fish, Paul and I each caught a 9 or 10 inch trout (they each looked like they could barely feed a child). But my Aunt caught a big 16 inch trout. It was even a brookie, a native species unlike our rainbow trouts. It was great fun (though under 30 degrees in the morning!) However I will admit I am bad with catching fish. I am afraid of them. Don't ask. When I caught my fish I started screaming as it flopped about near my rock and I nearly dropped the pole. (Similar reactions occur when I try to snorkel. I just don't want them to touch me). Needless to say I didn't help eat the fish. It was a great trip though, beautiful, relaxing, and great to hangout with family. It was like breathing after holding my breath in the city. I am so not a city girl.

P.S. the weather has changed. There were definitely some 80 degree days in Nov, but now its been 20 degrees when I walk the 2 miles to my shuttle. Brr! Baby is cold!

Of OB's, Midwives, and Hospitals...

2006-11-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

So I've never been one to be scared of hospitals or doctors offices. I am more fascinated by them. I have even had the mother-of-all hospital experiences---- overnight in a developing world hospital. I was in extreme pain, the nurse didnt speak much English, and I am still unsure of what they hooked me up to (although I think it was morphine, all I know is it certainly felt good). So giving birth in a cushy hospital in the public health capitol of America should be fine right?

Well now that my next major hospital stay will involve my little baby, it seems so much scarier. Wil they do everything right? Will I know how to do anything right? What if my midwife is mean or weird? What if they do something wrong with my baby? Ahh! So many unknowns I can't really control. Its always a little scary to put yourself in the hands of others.

I do like the hospital though and the office we went through. We are going through the Emory clinic that has both OBs and midwives who work together at the hospital. Paul and I are going to go through the midwife/group program. Instead of just coming in once a month for a one-on-one appointment, you meet monthly with a couple midwives and a few other couples due in the same month as you. They do all the check up stuff still, there is just more time to ask questions and recieve more education as a group. I've really liked the midwives I met so far, so I think it will be a good way to go. The hospital we will give birth at is Emory Crawford-Long hospital, one of 3 hospitals Emory owns. It is in the middle of downtown, which kind of scared me going there for a checkup. It was so big! But everything is newly-renovated and the Labor and Delivery floor is supposed to be nice. The hospital rooms look like bedrooms instead of scary sterile hospital rooms, they encourage you to walk around a lot and take baths and use alternative methods of pain control (still not sure about the epidural though). There is even a couch for daddy there and in the recovery room.

Wow, I dont think Ive ever spent so much time analyzing a hospital or doctor group. It doesn't help being in public health. I have extreme criticisms of medical establishments, especially OB-related ones, because I have access to all the research about evidence-based medicine, what works and what doesn't. I am also really interested in health literacy and whether doctors and nurses make their care/instructions/demeanor accessible for those with limited literacy skills or limited understanding of health and healthcare.

Case in Point: Foods you shouldnt eat during pregnancy. At no point in time during any of my checkups was information given to me regarding foods that are and arent ok to eat during pregnancy. Of course I know this information because I obsessively examined pregnancy websites and books. But many people dont know things like unpasteurized cheeses and deli meats are potentially harmful. If you dont have books or access to the internet, how in the world would you know that? Assuming patients have access to that information (when 1/4 of Americans have difficulty reading above a 4th grade level too) is dangerous and irresponsible.

Anyways, there is my rant for the day. I am done. I know I am being over critical, and perhaps oversensitive. This is why I shouldnt blog, I just ramble on about uninteresting things.

Here is a link to the hospital, we are so excited yay! (As Audrey said, "I am not going to want to come back to Marian after giving birth here")
http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/maternity_center/index.html

Well I am off to attempt to make some thanksgiving foods: Chocolate pecan pie, buttnernut squash roast and stuffing. This is my first attempt cooking in a while... maybe I need a clothespin for my nose :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

New Experiences

2006-11-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

So this is my first attempt in a while to try to "blog". I don't usually have interesting things to say, but it as my sister-in-law Christy pointed out, it will help me keep up with family and friends as Paul and I figure life out here in Atlanta.

EEK there is a major southern thunderstorm going on right now! Paul is working a very long day. I love thunder, but never really enjoyed it by myself. Anyway onto blogging..

Mommy/Baby Update:
Up until now I pretty much trusted by body. It gets mad when I push it too hard, it tells me when I am sleepy, and I am well aware of its physiological functioning and am in quite awe of it. However, pregnancy is temporarily changing this. While now I am in awe of that little tiny body growing in me, I am somewhat doubtful that my body knows what its doing. Is being horribly nauseous REALLY conducive to growing a baby? I don't think so. Come on body, you need FOOD to grow a baby. I have been losing weight so far, not good, but fortunately I have some organic insurance around my hips and other areas, so I should be fine. Now the sleepiness I understand, the body needs to work harder to help grow this little life, but the nausea- nope don't see a purpose.

In more exciting baby news, Paul and I have almost conclusively decided on names. If its a girl, her name will be Magdalena (Maggie for short). For a boy we were debating some early church fathers names like Augustine, Ambrose, Athanasius etc. But I decided I wasn't bold enough. So we are going with Obadiah for a boy (Obie for short) which means "servant of Yahweh" or Tobias which means "goodness of the Lord. My motherly intuition thinks its a boy (my mom was able to predict all three kids). Hey, I have a 50% chance of being right. Well, 50.05 or so considering the gender ratio. Either would be a lot of fun!

Atlanta Life:
So what's it like living in Atlanta? Well I am not sure yet. I have spent half the time here home bound, and the other half setting up home. It looks exciting though... The most conclusive thing I can say is that trees changing colors are really pretty. Decatur, the city we live in, is right outside Atlanta, and being slightly less urbanized, is full of big, tall beautiful trees that are now red, orange, yellow...and making a mess everywhere. Decatur is pretty trendy, lots of different ethnic groups and restaurants and shopping areas. My favorite part is what is called the "Dekalb International Farmer's Market". Its this huge warehouse building with tons of fresh produce for great prices from all over the world. I even found real yams (white yams), the kind used to make fufu in Ghana! Visits there are lots of fun (though I don't go shopping much anymore as I currently cannot cook). Paul and I are hoping to go camping in either the Blue Mountains or on the coast (since there may be some semblance of surfing there).

Here is a list of things I hope to do while living here:

-Go to Savannah, GA- supposed to be beautiful and fun historically
-Camp in Appalachians, hike part of the trail
-Find an awesome southern food restaurant
-Go to Charleston
-Visit the Carolinas- supposed to have pretty beaches and beautiful forests
-Get involved in a ministry- this will be the longest I have stayed in one place in a while!
-Go to the Museum of High Art

Ok so this is kind of a lot, and is budget-dependent, but we'll see!

Well, I have several assignments due this week, and I am rather unmotivated. Time to get going on them!