Birthday Blog

My birthday was yesterday. It was pretty uneventful. Just like every other birthday when you get older. Rebecca asked me why I didn't have a cake or get presents. I told her that when you get old, you don't always have a party or get presents or have a cake. She was confused. I probably scared her for life and she won't want to ever grow up. But, that is the way it goes.

I did however, get some presents. They just weren't very exciting, at least to a 4 year old. I got 4 different gift cards. Money is always good for me.

I also thought I was going to be free and clear of any ailments on my birthday. I was wrong. I always have some sort of issue on my birthday and I have ever since I was a kid. I remember having strep throat on at least two birthdays and the chicken pox on another and have just been randomly sick on several others. Well, this year I got conjunctivitis of the eye, which is known as pink eye. I looked real attractive on my birthday. I actually was diagnosed the day before my birthday, so it didn't look as bad as it did the first day. It was swollen and I couldn't open my eye completely. The second day, my birthday, my eye looked normal but was really red. I was still able to go out and have fun on my birthday.

My husband took me out for my birthday dinner. We went to Pappadeaux's, which is a Cajun restaurant. It was really good. It was nice to get out without the kids too. My mother-in-law watched the girls for us. My mother-in-law moved in with us and I am glad to have the extra help with the girls. I will write more on her big move from California to Texas.

My husband got some news on my birthday. He got a job offer for a job that he really wants. He has to decide if he wants to take it or not by Monday. I don't want to go. We would have to pick up and move out in the middle of no where. I have just started to feel comfortable with where we are at. I like it here. I like our church, our friends, our house, the area we live in, the big city. My husband wants to move us two hours from here, out in the middle of no where. Are you kidding me? I grew up in a little town out in the middle of no where and loved moving out here where you were close to everything and there is so much to do. Apparently, this small town that my husband wants to move our family has a Walmart. Woo hoo! I know it is hard to be sarcastic when blogging, but that was totally a sarcastic woo hoo. We are going out to the little town today to take a look. This job would pay my husband quite a bit more, benefits are better, cost of living is probably cheaper and my mother-in-law would move out there with us. I don't know, we are just going to have go see it. I will post on our decision on Monday, since that is when I will know if I have to move to the boonies.

A Wrinkle in Time

No, I am not talking about the book. I am talking about my face. Really.

I discovered several wrinkles on my forehead the other morning. Really. I know I am only 30. When I turned 30, I was not very excited to have crossed this milestone. In fact, I dreaded that birthday. However, people kept telling that 30 is the new 20. Okay, so I convinced myself of this and decided it was true. Now that I think back, on the people who were telling me that lie, were not yet 30. If you ever hear anyone tell you that, it is a lie. By the time that I reached 30, I had a husband, two kids and tons of responsibility and stress that I would not have wanted when I was 20. So, I guess being in your 30's is like being a perfectly ripe fruit. I guess when I turn 40 I will be rotten and spoiled.

Anyway, back to my wrinkles. I can see that I have aged in my face and am a little disappointed in what I see. Like I said I am only 30. That is not that old. I will be looking into some creams that help take away the wrinkles. I need some help around my eyes too. I wouldn't take the step towards plastic surgery because I am not that brave nor do I have the money to do that. So, if any of you out there have some wrinkle issues that have been helped by some over the counter product, let me know. I have heard there is some Mary Kay product that works. I will try that first.

Four in the Bed and the Little One Said, Roll Over, Roll Over.....

Early on Tuesday morning we had a huge thunder storm move through. We were under tornado watch earlier Monday evening but I think it had expired by the time we went to bed. But at 3:30 in the morning we had lightning and thunder and the hardest rain we've had in a long time. I was sure that when I got up in the morning I would find our fence blown down or a tree limb or two laying on the ground. Thankfully there was no damage.

Both girls were scared of the loud crashing thunder and made there way into our bed. At least we have a king size bed, so we weren't too squished. They did go right back to sleep while I stayed up and listened to the rain and the thunder. It lasted for at least 30 minutes. It stopped once but came back a couple of minutes later.

Even though I couldn't go back to sleep right away, I did enjoy the sleeping family moment and thought how wonderful it is. Although, I am not going to say that every time I am awake in the middle of the night.

Been Busy

Well, my title says it all. I have been busy. Not really with anything in particular, just busy. The girls have been congested and trying to get sick and so have I. I am running around trying to make sure everyone has all the right medicines on hand just in case it gets bad at night, like it tends to do.

I have to admit that I have not been running. With my schedule and my husbands schedule I am not finding a good time to get out and do it. Matt's schedule should cool off a bit and then I will get back into it. I did the first week of running went just fine. The second week started out well, but by the end of the week, I could not find a good time to get out and run. The third week well, it just didn't happen. Especially since the girls have been trying to get sick and the weather has changed and it has been raining too. I am not going to run in the rain on purpose.

Today, I took the girls to get their pictures made. They turned out great. Don't ya think?

Oh, before I end this post, I thought I would share that I made some homemade apple butter. It turned out wonderful. I have never canned anything, but have watched my dad do it several times growing up and helped out a bit too. Anyway, I love it on biscuits. Yum. Sami, you don't have to leave any at my parents house unless you want to. I actually would love to compare how yours came out vs. mine. I actually didn't make as much as I would have liked. I bought a lot of apples, but they really cook down. My first batch only made 3 pints. My second batch made 10 8oz. jars. I am going to give some away as gifts for Christmas.

Oh My Gosh!

So, I did my first mile run today. It hurt so bad. Really. I did a little warm up and stretched and got all ready to go. I had my watch set on stop watch mode so I can see how out of shape I was. I told myself that I was not going to look at my time until I finished.

I clicked on my stop watch and headed off for my mile run. Yes, only one mile. I told Matt that I wouldn't be gone long, I was only going to run a mile. Back in the day, it only took me 8-10 minutes to run a mile. Man, have things changed. So, I am running and I just start to hurt. My breathing is out of control and my chest hurt and I stopped to walk. I shouldn't have looked at my watch to see how long it took me to stop and walk, but I did. I ran for 3 minutes and thought I was going to die. Wow, I am so out of shape. What happened?

So, I thought okay, I'm out of shape but do a brisk walk and I'll get better next time. I walked and felt better and then tried to run again. That didn't last long. This is really going to be a tough goal to accomplish.

I got to my street and thought okay, I am going to run all the way home. Not, that did not happen. I finally got back to my house and it took about 13-14 minutes to finish that mile. The reason I don't have the exact time is because I forgot to look at my watch when I got to the house. Man, this is bad. My legs felt like jello and now they just ache.

Tomorrow is my rest day. Yeah, I am totally resting. I am going to accomplish this goal, it just might take me longer. I am going to do this, yes I can!

Thanks for all the encouragement. It really helps to know that people are watching my progress and are encouraging. This just adds to my motivation that keeps me going.

Half-Marathon

Okay, so I thought I needed to get into shape. I am going to run a half-marathon. I have done some research on how to start training and feel that if I keep up with my goal, I will be a better person for it. I have not yet signed up for a run yet, but need to start training.

While doing some research I came across several training websites that broke down a weekly schedule. I could only find schedules that were for 12 weeks training. I followed one schedule as a guideline, but added an additional 4 weeks. I am starting out really, really slow. I have not run since high school.

Here is my schedule.

Week-- Monday --Tuesday-- Wednesday-- Thursday-- Friday-- Saturday-- Sunday
1 -------Rest----- --1 mi-------- Rest------- -1 mi------ Rest--- ---1.5 mi ----1 mi

2----- --Rest------- 1 mi-------- Rest------- -1 mi----- CT/Rest-- 1.5 mi -----1 mi

3----- --Rest---- ---1 mi-------- 1 mi--------- 1 mi----- CT/Rest-- 1.5 mi -----1 mi

4----- --Rest---- ---1.5 mi------ Rest--------- 1.5 mi ---CT/Rest-- 2 mi-- ----1.5 mi

5 -------Rest--- ----1.5 mi ------Rest --------1.5 mi ----CT/Rest--- 3 mi -----1.5 mi

6----- --Rest------- 2 mi -------1.5 mi -------2 mi------ CT/Rest--- 3 mi----- 2 mi

7 -------Rest---- ---2 mi------- Rest------ ---2 mi------ CT/Rest--- 4 mi -----2 mi

8 -------Rest -------2.5 mi -----Rest---------2.5 mi ----CT/Rest ----5 mi -----2.5 mi

9---- --Rest-------- 2.5 mi------ 2 mi --------2.5 mi-----CT/Rest ---6 mi -----2.5 mi

10--- --Rest-------- 3 mi -------Rest-------- 3 mi ------CT/Rest ----7 mi -----3 mi

11 -----Rest --------3 mi -------Rest------ ---3 mi ------CT/Rest----8 mi--- --3 mi

12 -----Rest---- ---3.5 mi ------3 mi------ --3.5 mi------CT/Rest ---9 mi -----3.5 mi

13 -----Rest---- ---3.5 mi---- --Rest------ --3.5 mi -----CT/Rest ---10 mi ----3.5 mi

14 -----Rest---- ---4 mi -------Rest ---------4 mi -------CT/Rest ---11 mi ----4 mi

15 -----Rest---- ---4 mi -------3.5 mi------- 4 mi -------CT/Rest ---12 mi ----4 mi
16--- --Rest--- ----5 mi --------Rest-------- 5 mi -------CT/Rest ---13.1 mi--- 5 mi

After this 16 week training I should be ready to run a half marathon, which is 13.1 miles. I am going to work hard and document my progress. I am going to try to stick to this schedule. If I feel like I am not ready to up the miles then I will continue whatever miles I can do and up it when it better suits me. It is good to have a plan though. I can do this, yes I can!

If You Are In Need Of A Laugh....Read!

Okay, today, Rebecca milked a cow in her pre-K class. Really! It wasn't a real cow but functioned like it. Anyway, all the kids took turns milking the cow. When it was Rebecca's turn she tried it and told me that "the cow did not pee in the bucket for her." How funny is that? I just hope she doesn't stop drinking milk.

On more of a not so funny note, our refrigerator broke. We are thinking that we want a new one anyway, so we weren't going to call anyone out to fix it. We figured that we would spend a minimum of $300+ for parts and labor and might take a while get it fixed, falling into the weekend. So, we will splurge and break into our savings and get a new one. I will update you on this issue because I know my readers really care about my NEW refrigerator. I just pray that nothing breaks in the meantime like it did last time. Our A/C broke and needed a new part, $5oo later and then our water heater broke so we had to get a new one. Lets just pray that this is an isolated incident.

Flashback: Part 2

Continued from yesterday....I know you all were holding on to your seats! HA!

So, the doctor came in and checked one more time for any progression and there was none. I was stuck at a 3. We decided to have the c-section.

They got me prepped for surgery and it all went very quickly. The doctor said they were going to up my epidural, so I would feel nothing from my chest down. That was not the case. I was numb from mid abdomen down. That was not enough. I felt some excruciating pain and then they had to give me something that completely knocked me out. I really have no memory of my first child being born. That is okay, I have tons of pictures that I cannot locate on the computer now to show you all.

Rebecca Glenn Hansen was born at 1:45am on August 28, 2004. She weighed in at 8 pounds even. She was 20 inches long. She was so cute.

Flashback

Four years ago today, I was 37 weeks pregnant (3 weeks from my due date) with my first baby girl. It was a Friday and I was all ready for her arrival for the most part. My weekly visit to my doctor was on Monday and all was well. My doctor did however make comments about how big my baby girl was going to be. Which scared me to death.

Like I said earlier, it was Friday. I noticed since Wednesday that I had felt like I peed my pants, not a lot just a little. You know when you are pregnant, very pregnant that you have lack of bladder control. Well, that is what I thought until Friday. My husband went to work that morning and I told him that I think it was my water that had a slow leak and that I would be having the baby today. I made sure to tell him that he would have to find someone to come in for him when I confirmed with my doctor we were going to have the baby today. So, he goes to work and I get ready and get to my doctor's office by around 10am.

I walked in the office and told the lady that I did not have an appointment, but I think my water broke. She got me right back. Anyway, doctor checked and my water had broke, but I was not dilated any. He told me to go to the hospital. I said I would have to go home first and pick up my bag and call my husband. So, I was starving when I got out of the doctor's office and picked up a hamburger and fries on my way home. Knowing they were not going to let me eat while I was in the hospital. I called my husband and told him that he needed to get home soon. He had to wait for someone to come relieve him from work. So, I made my many phone calls to tell everyone that we were going to have a baby today. I was so excited and not too nervous because at that point I was not having any contractions.

Well, I waited and waited for Matt to get home. It was just before 1 pm and I knew that I needed to get to the hospital because my doctor said to meet him over there. So, I could not wait any longer. I drove myself to the hospital and checked in. The nurses were like, you drove yourself? I was not in pain so why not? I signed a bunch of papers and the nurses started me on potosin and an antibiotic since my water had started leaking since Wednesday. Matt arrived about an hour after I got there. It was a relief to know he got here and I would not have to do this by myself.

Some of Matt's cousins and his aunt and uncle arrived and wait for our baby girl. My contractions were getting pretty strong and consistent. It was funny because at one point Matt's uncle, cousin and Matt were all sitting in the room in front of me and watching the monitor telling me I was having a contraction. Like I didn't know. I can laugh about it now. At around this point I asked for an epidural. That helped a lot, however it slowed my contractions way down so they had to up the potosin.

My back was killing me at this point. The doctor came in and checked my status and I was dilated to a 3. The nurses told me I can take a bath and that might help my back pain. So, I did that but then I had to get out and back into bed, so they could hook me back up to the monitors. I forget what time it was at this point, but know it was getting late and I was hungry and so, so very thirsty. They would give me nothing. All but one cousin stayed and kept us company. I was glad to have her there. I got the best pictures from her.

So, I continued my ever so long labor and was mighty uncomfortable. My mom was on her way but would not make until early the next morning. My doctor was not happy with my progression so he said he would give me a hour to decide if I wanted to proceed with a c-section or keep trying. At this point I am still a 3 and have been in labor for 12 hours.

To be continued...........