Out With the Old, In With the Apes

You know you're getting old when you sleep straight thru New Years.

Last night, after a picnic-style meal of Mexican Take-out on the living room rug, the whole family curled up on the couch to await the ball-drop. Jew dropped off by 9:15. Littlun became obnoxious by 9:30 and was banished to bed. My oldest was determined to stay awake but even a Planet of the Apes Marathon on AMC was'nt enough to keep him alert. He was gone by 11pm. And me? I was comfortably settled in my recliner, cuddling the baby, enjoying the misadventures of Taylor and Dr Zaius, when suddenly I woke up! A quick glance at the tv brought me the realization that Taylor had already damned us all to hell and 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' was in full swing. 12:31am. Yep, I missed the countdown to 2008 entirely. Ah well. From what I understand, things went just fine without me. And I ended up staying awake until 3am, watching the Apes.

I blame it all on a late Sunday night. My husband and I accompanied another couple to Nashville and enjoyed our first real date in months. We ate sushi in Hillsboro Village and saw the premiere of J.D. Wilkes' documentary 'Seven Signs' (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=97701277) which was disturbing and interesting. Then we went to a nice restaurant for dessert and a 'caucasian' (Dude!) before attempting to head home. I say 'attempting' because after leaving the Sunset Grill, I discovered I'd lost my keys...of COURSE I'd lost my keys! We looked at the theater, the restaurant, and were GOING to search the sushi place, only to find that it was closed. Our only course of action was to have our good friends drive us ALL the way home (over an hour away!) and see if I could find my spare set of keys. I didnt find them so they went on home and left me to stew all night, cursing myself and not getting much sleep. As it turns out, my husband was able to go back to Nashville the next day and lo and behold, there were the keys at the sushi place. Upon further examination, it also happens that I left ALL of my spare keys in the glove compartment of the car...aren't I smart?

Anyway, today was a good day. We went into 'town' as a family and ate lunch and then we got one of those new Hot Lattes from Sonic (since Lebanon/Carthage are still without a Starbucks). By the time we got home, it was snowing heavily and my big beautiful Bernice was running around in circles, being hilarious. The snow has since stopped but ball-drop or not, it was a highly satisfactory start to the year.

Minivans Anonymous

And so against my wishes, I am back in the ranks of minivan mom. My 1998 Honda Odyssey wagon (which had four hinged doors, drove like a car, and got AMAZING gas mileage) was declared totalled two weeks ago and I was kind of forced into finding something quickly. The insurance company treated me right and gave me even more than I spent on my Honda, which is nice, but 6000 doesnt buy all that much and unfortunately, there are a severe lack of 1998 Honda Odysseys around. I have owned two minivans in the past, a Nissan Quest and a Mercury Villager (which are incidentally the same vehicle), neither of which I liked and both of which got mediocre gas mileage. I told myself I would never have one again but with three children, we are sadly limited. Our only other options were those giant SUV's w/ a third row seat, most of which were out of our price range or rediculously inefficient fuel-wise.

I looked on every internet site, including ebay, and finally settled on this 1998 Toyota Sienna which was in Knoxville. It's fully loaded, obscenely heavy, and drives like a dream but I miss my Honda. We drove to Knoxville last night to pick it up and for once I had no buyers remorse since I had called and tied them down to a price over the phone before I made the trip. I haggle much better over the phone...heh heh.

In other news, we have all been down w/ the 'crud' lately and are very slow about recovering. Even Victor has a stuffy nose which makes it difficult for him to eat and he sounds like a little snuffling piglet most of the time. It's cute, but sad.

We have tons of company scheduled to arrive Thursday, in rotation, so I'm sure another entry will be in order by next week. We aren't used to having company so it's a big deal for us.

Toodeloo!

Tiny Loss

Sadly, Mrs. Roper's tiny puppy did not survive.

Last week we had some frigid nights but oddly enough, Mrs Roper succeeded in keeping the puppy nice and warm so he seemed to be fine. However Sunday my husband noticed Mrs Roper carrying something in her mouth and upon further examination, it turned out to be a dead puppy. We were sad until we realized that it wasnt the one we had seen. I guess there had originally been more than one puppy in her litter and she was simply putting it to rest. We looked at her 'nest', and saw that the other puppy was still there, whimpering and crying loudly. I was so relieved!

But two days ago I noticed that the living puppy was not gaining well. He was obviously very weak and no bigger than when I had first seem him a week and a half before. Mrs Roper was still steadily caring for him and loving him so I left them alone, hoping for the best. I even called the vet to ask if I should take the puppy and try raising it myself but she advised against that since the mother had not abandoned it. She said if it was naturally a sickly puppy, the mother could take better care of it than I ever could. Since the rest of the litter had died, it was evidently just a 'weak litter', which is supposedly kind of common with a dog's first pregnancy. Sigh.

Yesterday morning I went out to give Mrs Roper her food and noticed that the puppy was gone. My dog was happily covorting around the yard, seemingly very happy to be 'free', which depressed me. I don't know what she did w/ his tiny little body but I'm kind of glad I didnt see it dead. It was such a precious little thing. One of its ears was permananty flipped inside out which was a birth defect but also very endearing. After a good cry, I soothed myself with the thought that at least now I didnt need to keep Bernice tied up for fear she'd eat the puppy or worry that racoons would find it. But it's still very sad.

Mrs. Roper Multiplies

Mrs Roper, my 3 year old beagle, has had a puppy. That's right. One puppy. She was pregnant and we knew she was ready to go any time but when she kind of 'disappeared' over the last day or two, we knew she'd gone off to have her litter. My husband found her this morning under an old boat we have and noticed that there was only one puppy. I guess if she had any others, they didnt survive for some reason. (In the picture above, you can just barely see the puppy's back legs and tail peeking out.) Anyway, she stays with the puppy like a good little mommy and only leaves it alone to eat a few bites. It's cold outside but since the puppy survived last night okay, we figure the nest Mrs Roper made for it is doing it's job. She dug out a hollow under the boat and is well protected from the wind. We're going to get some hay to put under there too and keep Bernice tied up for a while.

There's something strangely comforting about watching her take care of her one baby while I'm taking care of mine. We're bonding, I think.

Stupid Bambi!

Yes, deer can be very pretty. Right now, there are scads of them all over the county. Frolicking on the frosted hills in the morning, standing and gazing with soulful eyes when they're disturbed, dancing into roadside bushes at dusk w/ a flash of their perky white tails. I sit on my window seat daily with my two older sons and stare at them as they forage our hillside for food and brazenly ignore my huge puppy's ominous barking. They walk by the kitchen window in droves every morning as I get my boys their breakfast and we have shared a few magical moments watching them. Sweet li'l Bambi.

Stupid Bambi. Friday night, I was on my way home from Carthage w/ my tiny son in tow and a sackful of Sonic by my side. It was already dark, though barely 7pm, and I had my brights on since the highway was mostly deserted at the moment. POW! From out of nowhere a huge buck ran into the road and I slammed into him at a full 60 mph! I saw him fly into the air, bend in half, and come down flopping in the yard to my right-his long legs flailing helplessly. Fortunately for Victor and I, no one was hurt and I was surprisingly self-possessed as I brought my smoking car to a halt on the shoulder and got out to assess the damage. As you can see, I hit him absolutely DEAD CENTER and not only is my hood and fender horribly messed up but I think my radiator is shot. Part of the headlight assembly has disappeared also and who knows what else was causing all the smoke and leaking fluids. My poor Honda! (As most of you know, I just got this car in May and I love it dearly!)

After checking on Victor, who was frowning but fine, I flagged down a passing motorist for help. You can't get a cellphone signal on this particular highway but luckily, this guy was a fireman and able to radio in to the police. He also had a special cellphone w/ a stronger signal so he called my husband for me. No one was able to find the deer, which I find very unsettling. All that and no deer carcass to show for it? How is this possible?

So now I'm without a vehicle. I know that since my car was older and had alot of miles, the damage may ammount to more than the vehicle is worth and the insurance company may total it out. This would make me very sad since I searched so hard to find this car and it will be difficult to replace. But it would also be a blessing in that I wouldnt have to pay that stupid 250.00 deductible.

On the way home, my husband said 'Now, do you see why they need to be hunted?' I laughed and said 'Yes, I do. It's just a shame this one had to die without my getting to claim even one steak.'

Victor

Yes, he's here. Thus follows the 'birth story' of Victor James Westmoreland, born at 5:25am Oct 1st, 2007.

First a little 'background' on the day in question. Most of you are aware that my due date was originally September 30th but was revised to Sept 28th after an ultrasound conducted in April. The 28th was actually Friday, as you know, but instead of waking up in labor on that fateful day, I actually woke up with the world's WORST stomach virus. It was horrifying indeed. The mere idea of trying to cope with labor pains while also dealing with congestion, vomiting, and diarrhea was unthinkable to say the least. I was terrified that I would suddenly find myself faced with such an obstacle and so the sickness was even more intensified by just thinking of those things and became and all out panic attack! I sobbingly called my husband, my mother in law, and a sister in our hall begging for help because Johnson was home from school and he and his little brother were blissfully unaware of the severity of it all and wreaking havoc. Jonathan came home, Linda (his mom) came over to take care of the boys, and the aforementioned sister stopped her busy service day to bring me gatorade. After finally getting to the point where I could take some Phenergan, the virus seemed to loosen its hold a little and by evening I was able to eat a little plain rice. No labor yet. Whew!

Saturday I woke up weak and tired but the day was uneventful and I was able to eat a sandwich by that night.

Sunday, I felt great. I ate a small normal breakfast, went to the meeting, cleaned my whole house, and went grocery shopping by myself (which was pretty stupid but turned out okay). Sunday night, I began to feel a few contractions but nothing out of the ordinary. I stayed on the couch until they subsided which was about 1:30am. Then I went to bed. Sleeping was difficult and I kept having crazy nightmares and night terrors, which is really wierd for me. Around 3:30am, I woke with a strange cramping in my lower abdomen that was not similar to any contractions I had ever felt. I got up and started getting ready to leave because I had that 'feeling', you know? The cramp persisted and I was worried so we went ahead and planned to go the hospital, calling a neighbor couple to come stay w/ the boys while we went. I also called my sweet coach, Barbie, and told her to meet us there.

As the babysitters arrived ( less than 10 minutes later), I began to worry because the cramp was getting worse and I told them to tell my husband to hurry, as I was outside waiting by the car. But suddenly, my water broke! I ran inside to change and even though I was a little freaked out (the cramp I felt was obviously my waters pushing against my pelvis), I was glad that I now KNEW this was IT. By the time we got to Carthage (4:08am), there were strong steady contractions present. Strong enough to have to breath through. They were about 4-6 minutes apart. We got to UMC in Lebanon at 4:35. After trying several locked doors, we remembered that only the ER was open at this hour and when my husband dropped me off at the door, I was to the point that I was panicked. The contractions were RIGHT on top of each other. I walked into the completeley empty waiting room and made this known from the center of the floor since I didnt know which desk to approach. A harried man w/ a wheelchair appeared out of nowhere and took me to the maternity ward where Barbie and Granny Linda were both waiting.

There was NO ONE in the maternity ward but 3 nurses, two of which were not really attending nurses, but nursery personell. A young nurse named Tambra w/ short stri-pedy hair got my gown and began grilling me about the facts. By now the contractions were excruciating and I could NOT talk through them so I did my best and waited for her to get my iv in and check me. When she did, I was dismayed to find that I was only 5 cm dilated! It seemed I had a long while to go. And I was almost to the point that I didnt think I'd make it because, since my waters had ruptured, I wasnt 'allowed' to move around the room but had to stay attatched to machines in the bed. This was almost intolerable, let me tell you.

When the time came where I felt like I couldnt take any more, I asked the nurse to check me again. It was now to the point where it felt like one long contraction, with no break to speak of. When she checked me, I saw her eyes go wide and she said 'Oh wow. You're complete. I'm calling the doctor now.' So I went from 5 to 10 cm in less than 20 minutes.

Barbie was trying to help but by this point I was severely blinded by pain and I hate to say, I wasnt being very nice to her (sorry, Barbie). But she did a GREAT job with what she was given. The nurses were scurrying about like so many scattered hens, trying to get the room ready for the birth and all the while telling me 'don't push!' in unison. I saw Tambra say that the doctor was still at home and then I really began to get frantic because I knew I wasnt going to be able to wait. I told her 'I have to push NOW!' and with every ounce of coherence I could muster, told Barbie that I was now going to inhale and begin pushing and that I needed her to count to seven. She did and Tambra resigned herself to the fact that this was going to happen, whether she liked it or not. With one very violent and very intense push, I felt the baby's head emerge and with one more push, the body rushed out. You have not experienced relief until you feel this feeling! It is indescribably wonderful.

Anyway, I had been at the hospital for 45 minutes total when Victor was born. He was perfectly pink and very wrinkly. He doesnt possess the same newborn 'prettiness' of the other two boys, but he is full of Nichols character in his little face. We all think he looks alot like his uncle Josh and his Papa Nick.
His vitals were all perfect and he weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long. Unfortunately, due to the intensity of the birth and inexperience of the nurses, there was no time to immediately bond with him. They took him off to the empty nursery immediately and Tambra proceeded to try and extract the placenta, which was being mighty stubborn. At this moment, the very ticked off Doctor arrived, and griped at poor little Tambra for not having called him sooner. We were all pretty annoyed with him. Basically, he came to get the placenta out and do a little 'stitching up', which I'm sure is kind of a pain for a highly paid obstetrician at 5:30am.

Yesterday I spent the whole day in my bed, bonding w/ my little wrinkled son and getting him aquainted w/ the phenom of nursing, which he has taken to wonderfully (and yes, my nipples are screaming). Unfortunately, I woke up this morning at around 3:30am with another bout of that nasty stomach virus and was unable to enjoy my last hours at the hospital. I was given a phenergan shot and some Immodium which left me feeling more exhausted than I should and made me all too anxious to get back home. Which I did. Which I am. Which I love.

When it rains...

You know that saying, 'When it rains, it pours'? I'm finally beginning to understand the meaning behind that.

Yesterday, all the way to the doctor's office I was having strong, regular contractions and I thought I was actually in labor (which would have been unrealistically convenient). But it turns out these are still 'false labor' contractions and aren't causing any changes to speak of. I'm actually still at 2cm and 30% effaced. The doctor is not very optimistic about my going into labor by my due date (the 28th) and is now throwing the word 'induction' around, which makes me crazy. I do NOT want to be induced. Being induced means being stuck in a bed until contractions regulate, not being able to eat anything, and relying on stupid chemicals to do what mother nature was meant to do all along. No offense to those of you who have been through it with good results, it's just not what I'm used to and I don't want it. So I'm currently doing research on what I can do to stimulate labor myself and hoping against hope that I don't have to deal w/ the induction issue at all.

THEN, this morning, my three year old proceeds to swallow a very powerful magnetic rock- the shiny ones that you can get at places like the discovery center and which I THOUGHT we had put away where the kids couldnt play w/ them unsupervised. I freaked out a little bit, having heard horror stories about kids swallowing magnets, and promptly called both the Poison Control Center and the kids' doctor. The PCC told me that he'd probably need an x-ray to make sure it wasnt 'hung' anywhere but as long as it was only one that he swallowed, the danger was minimal. I also checked Web Md to verify this and made an appointment for the doctor to see him as soon as possible, which was 9:20 am. The doctor promptly sent us to the radiologist at the neighboring hospital and so we had to wait a good half hour in the outpatient waiting room for the x-ray lab to be ready. The waiting area was overcrowded w/ growly people of all ages and I have never seen so many 'crocs' in my life! (Is it odd that the mere sight of these shoes immediately throws me into the pits of depression?) Anyway, the magnetic rock was actually already in his lower abdomen so they sent me home w/ the happy mission of 'searching' through each of his stools until I find it. If he doesnt pass it withiin five days, he'll have to go back and be x-rayed again. So far, I've searched through one batch w/ no luck. Yay.

Beautiful Bernice...

A Great Pyrenees at full size...about 100 pounds of doggage.
Bernice


Meet Bernice. She is our new 12 week old Great Pyrenees and we already love her dearly. We decided some time ago to get a large dog that may help prevent other dogs from taking over our property and from what we understand, this breed is ideal for that purpose. They are calm, mild-tempered, and extremely loyal. I've never met a puppy like her. She doesnt jump and galavant or get under your feet. She lays in a watchful position on high ground (even w/out being trained to do so) and when she's not doing that, she's making continuous circuits around our property like a palace guard. She rarely barks and when she does, it is an intimidating sound indeed. It took her exactly one day to become familiar w/our family and only one trip around the property line w/ my husband to realize her job. She follows us around obediently, always staying a few paces back, and hasnt been agressive or unfriendly to our current cat and dog as of yet. However, when the dreaded brown lab puppy from next door tried to come around yesterday, we saw her tail go up immediately and she made a low growly sound in her throat. The chocolate lab hightailed it back home immediately (Bernice, at 12 weeks, already outsizes the other dog).

For those of you not familiar w/ the breed, the 1st picture is how she should look when she's full grown, minus the pure white cleanliness...hahah. Living around here, I'm certain she won't look like a champion but she will still be beautiful. The lady we got her from said that her fur will start to 'fill out' in the next couple of months and soon get really long, like the dog in the 1st picture. Typical of the breed, she doesnt get wild and jump up on the kids...as a matter of fact, she doesnt do anything suddenly or compulsively. She seems to be thinking through every move she makes. I know this may not be the ideal 'puppy' for some families, but in our case, it's exactly what we needed.

And yes, it will cost a friggin' fortune to feed her...but at least I'm not inadvertantly feeding four strays instead.

29 Weeks and the District Convention...

Another great Convention and another month passed.

If you look to the left, you can see an interesting view that we found in the nice little pond across from our convention site. One huge coi fish, lots of smaller gold fish, a bunch of tiny baby ducks, and one mama duck enjoying the leftover lunchables of convention delegates and park patrons alike. I thought it was so odd to see them all so close together like that and seemingly unaware of one another's presence. But I digress.

The convention theme this year was 'Follow the Christ' and I am pleased to say that I got almost everything there was to get out of it. A nice little 'last gift' before I am stuck w/ a nursing infant. Luckily, Victor will be one year old almost by next convention so I shouldnt be too overwhelmed. The circuit assembly in Oct is another story altogether...voivais! Both boys were extremely good and Johnson has taken to looking up all the scriptures and taking notes-without our coaching too much. Nathan draws pictures and looks at his Bible Story book for two minute intervals, climbs on me for two more, before eventually settling down to sleep for long stretches at a time. He loved the baptism and the drama, for the most part, and was very confused (as were many in the audience, I'm sure) by the new 'audio program'. heh heh. During lunch, we enjoyed leisurely strolls across the street to the very nice Huntsville City Park. Yes, it was hot and very humid but the boys didnt care a bit. My favorite talks were the ones dealing w/ Christ's different 'titles' and the Public Address on Saturday. The brother who gave that one was one of those 'gifted' speakers who speaks very deliberately and quietly so that you have to listen very closely to what he says. Extremely effective teacher. He used to be a circuit overseer but goes to a local hall now so I've heard him a few times before. The final talk of the convention was also great...given by a brother from Bethel. We had about 6,000 in attendance ,on average, and 46 were baptized.

We stayed at the Couryard Marriott again and we really like it there, despite the absence of free breakfast. The pool area is very nice and cozy so if you have a 'pool-facing' room, you can watch from your balcony as your brothers and sisters self-conciously tug at their swimming attire. Good stuff. We swam once, Saturday night, but our swimming was cut short when Nathan has an 'accident' in his swimming shorts and I had to leave in embarassment. It rained Friday night, unfortunately. We're gonna try to come in earlier on Thursday next year and leave on Monday so that the kids can take advantage of the hotel amenities a little longer.

Huntsville is my favorite place for Conventions. It's a small city but has lots of convenient eating establishments and nice hotels. It also has a beautiful downtown area that most people overlook. Friday night we went w/ some old friends (12 of them!) to a local Mexican Cantina called "Rosie's". Pretty good food but more 'tex-mex' than the traditional stuff that I'm used to...and yes, I did partake of a Dos Equis amber in spite of my condition...LOL. Couldnt help myself. Saturday we had us some yummy vittles at Chile's w/ a smaller group (just us and a close friend) and had a nice evening at the hotel. It was a relaxing 'vacation' in spite of the dressing up everyday and walking alot.

Other than a few minor ligament pains due to the extra weight, everything is good with the pregnancy and I was pretty comfortable for the duration. We'll see how things work out next year, when we add another youngn' to the mix.

I'm looking forward to all of your own convention stories! Get to bloggin', my friends!