Going Along with the Crowd

Since many of my other favorite Bloggers are posting their "Top Moments in 2007" lists, I might as well do likewise. There's a bit of a lull in our Arizona vacation at the moment (waiting for a pizza), so I'll give you the top 10 moments of the year:
(Unless our dinner arrives before I'm done, then you're out of luck.)

1. Jan. '07-Attending my first college bowl game ever! We may have lost, but it was still awesome to see it live and in person. (I'm hoping for better results this year.) And proving to myself I could drive cross-country with the kids on my own was empowering as well.
2. Feb '07-Getting a real-live paying job for the first time in almost 10 years.
3. May '07-I turned 35 and was honored (or roasted) by Chris and Lanie on my own blog. Good times.
4. May '07-Getting my Master's Degree-it really was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears.
5. Aug '07-FRED 2007, getting some long-overdue closure with an old friend AND meeting Toni, Jen, Stef, Libby, Angela, Kelly, Mimi, Tonya, & EMILY (This is why I never list names. I always forget someone and I never mean to-just ask my kids. Sorry Em!) in person-the stuff really good dreams are made of. It was worth all the friction at work and the loss of two regular blog readers to follow my heart and do what I knew I needed to, even if there were those who thought it was a bad idea. (This, of course, has everything to do with the closure incident, not attending FRED. Yay me for doing things the way I wanted to for a change and a big thank you to Daniel who respected my need for closure even though he was good without it and an even bigger thank you to both of our spouses who trusted us enough to be OK with it.)
6. Sept '07-Bachelorette Party Cruise!!! I knew this would be fun, but even I was unprepared for how awesome it was! I loved getting to spend more time with Wendy (my roomie on the trip), Chris, Lanie, Lis, Jean, Mom and Kay (Mom, I loved having all of us together too!) and I really enjoyed getting to know Lanie's other friends on the flight home. I hope we do make this an every other year event! It was the most fun I've had in years.
7. Sept '07-Ft. Smith Weekend!-That was a bit more impromptu than the cruise, but equally lovely. I got to eat good ol' Southern food at the Calico Kitchen, hang out with Anne for the second time in a year, to see Julie on her birthday and to get to know Julie as a person and not just Anne's little sis, AND I finally got to see my good friend Jennifer for the first time in about 15 years and to meet her husband (who I can tell loves and respects her, which really made me like him)! I did not see that trip coming, but it was a lot of fun.
8. November '07-I got to see a picture of little old me and my kids in print when my Women's Day interview was published. It was pretty exciting.
9. December '07-Lanie's wedding! It lived up to every bit of hype and then some. Lanie was beautiful in her dress, we danced ourselves sore (at least I did) at the reception, and we all looked GOOD!
10. December '07-The ice storm-No, really. It was nice to know that our family's survival skills aren't as meager as I feared they were. It was nice the way we all banded together at Aunt M's bedside, and how we've all worked together just a bit more since then. It was all impressive to see the way Oklahomans in general tend to pull themselves together and work as a team when things go wrong.

And so, 2007 was a good year and I thank all of you who lived it with me. Happy New Year and GO SOONERS!!

We Made It!

We are all back in Tucson again, another year older and (in the case of all the kids) another year louder. I'm grateful to have made it here safely and I think the only thing more precious than coming back to the place where I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas breaks spent here with best friends is watching our next generation do likewise. I've only sung Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home" to myself once since we arrived last night, but it's definitely to song of the weekend. Good Times!

Hiatus

I'm posting this from a motel in Albuquerque because I lost my ever-lovin' mind and decided to take another road trip to Tucson this year. Today brought onslaughts of sleet,snow, bathroom stops, and more "don't make me stop this car"s than I've ever before experienced all in the same day. I'm more than a little nervous about how tomorrow will be.

Would it really have been so bad for OU to have gone to the Cotton Bowl this year?

Taken on the First Try

It was by far the easiest Santa pic ever taken since I became a mother. I guess my babies are growing up...

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I know we did.

Music Monday-Christmas Edition

I was going to post my iTunes "Holiday" playlist, but I've got over 41 songs on it and thought I would spare your scroll buttons. Instead, I'll just post the song that has touched me the most this Christmas season. If I could sum up my political views in ONE Christmas song, it would definitely be this one. (My playlist has the Stevie Wonder version, but that one can't be embedded. Besides, now you get a double dose of Disney from me!)

What's your favorite Christmas song this year? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Christmas Cheer!

My kids have made me play this not less than 10 times in the past two days. Enjoy!

The 12 Pains of Christmas | Funny Jokes at JibJab

I Elfed Us!

Check it out!

Two Weeks Ago

Before the ice storms, before Aunt M fell, and before I spent my week buying up all the novelty inventory of lots of stores with the word "Dollar" in their title so we could sell them back to adorable school kids for about twenty-five cents more than we paid in the first place; one of my best friends got married in a beautiful ceremony at Meinder's Hall of Mirrors located, appropriately, inside the Civic Center in downtown OKC. Among the highlights were Dirk nervously placing his arm around Lanie at the altar only to wind up grabbing her rear-end (must be a nervous groom thing, because I've seen it happen before), taking "cleavage" pictures with the rest of the former Rainbow girls at the wedding, seeing the looks of surprise on my daughters' faces when I started dancing with Chris, Lanie, and Wendy (that seemed to say "Who are you and what have you done with my mother?!); and being joined on the dance floor by Vickie and Mary Kay. I could go on and on about it, but you probably just want to see the pictures (and you can thank Chris for those!):

Friday Flashback: We Need a Little Christmas

Some of the best Christmas Eve's in my life were spent in that living room with those two dorkfishes. If you look at the picture, I think the reasons why are self-explanatory. I'd almost wish we could go back, but I like my kids and both of their significant others a bit too much for that. Still, this is one of my all-time favorite pictures from what were definitely the best times in my life.

Thursday Thirteen #39

Since I'm such a whiner most of the time, I thought this week's list should be 13 things that have made me happy this week-and there are at least that many.

1. I just got off the phone with Harbor Freight Tools where I ran into a little assistant management difficulty yesterday. They called to apologize for my experience AND to give me a gift card for my trouble. This will, of course, go back to the PTA since I was shopping there for them in the first place. I cannot put into words how very impressed I was by how quickly someone called me to apologize (a district manager) and how very professional they were about handling the manner. So, despite what I said yesterday, Customer Service is alive and well at Harbor Freight Tools. (Don't get me started on Sears.)

2. The privilege of working at the Jingle Bell store this year. It's a crazy place, but also really fun. And the best part was how many other moms were there this year with me. I've done it alone far too many times in the last two years.

3. Getting to take time out from that and spend yesterday on a field trip with my son and his 2nd grade class. Did you know three little boys can tour the entire Crystal Bridge at Myriad Gardens in about 5 minutes? Well, now we both know it. And yes, when you've got 30 minutes to look around, it's about 6 trips from one end to the other. At least I didn't need to use the elliptical trainer last night!

4. The fact that I was almost finished with my shopping before the ice storms hit. I still have a couple of items here and there-but I'm not stressed at all about Christmas shopping and a lot of people are right now.

5. My three year-old! She is so cute, so funny, and so precocious (and precious). She makes me laugh with when she says things like "I miss Caroline SO MUCH when I'm at school that I cry. And sometimes I miss you too, Mommy."

6. My son! He loves me so much more than his sisters do. OK, not really-but he shows it so much more.

7. My five year-old! Especially when she wears her little green corduroy dress accompanied by her multi-colored matching tights and little UGG-wannabe boots.

8. My just-turned-ten year old with whom I had THIS conversation last week:
Me: Natalie, put on your bra before you wear that.
Natalie: But WHY?! I hate wearing them-how long do I have to do it?
Me: For the rest of your life, Kid. I'm sorry.
Natalie: Do you think Aunt M still wears one?
(Aunt M is 98 years-old...OK, maybe it's only the two of us who found that funny.)

9. Moments like this with my husband:
DH: Honey, if there is ANYTHING I can do to help you get through all this stuff you have going on, just tell me and I'll do it.
Me: Is the laundry folded?
DH: No, but I shoved all the baskets in our room.
Me: Did you run the dishwasher?
DH: No, but don't you touch those dishes-I'll get them. (This means they will sit in the sink for three more days unless I take action)
Me: Can you either work a shift at the school store or go on Tristan's field trip with him?
DH: No, I have to work. And that reminds me, Best Buy called-they will be delivering our washer and dryer between 3:30 and 5:30 tomorrow-do you think you could get home early in case they get here right at 3:30? I won't be home until at least 4:15.

Thanks for all the "help", Honey. (At least I know he means well.)

10. Yes, you read that right, "new washer and dryer!" Merry Christmas to me and I am IN LOVE with them. They are Whirlpool Cabrios and actually have the capacity to wash and dry the clothes of a family of 6. I've never been more fond of an appliance in my life, and I was pretty excited about the new fridge purchase of '04 back in the day.

11. The Cat in the Hat and other little Dr. Seuss cartoons on ABC Family this season. Does anyone else remember watching them in school?

12. My Christmas tree with Rudolph and the other Misfit Toys on it. Some people have classy decorations, I have cartoon characters and kid-made ornaments. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

13. The anticipation of Santa's visit AND this year's post-Christmas road-trip to Arizona to again attend the Fiesta Bowl. I'm bringing my mini-fridge that plugs into my cigarette lighter and stocking up at Trader Joe's. Oh how I miss it.

BONUS: Playing hooky from Sunday School and R.S. with a friend and commiserating over glasses of lime-flavored Perrier about our joint releases from YW. We will get over it, we will be awesome in our new callings. But we needed a day to wallow and we took it. So there.

Reaping What You Sow

You all will be glad to know you've escaped a tirade nearly identical to the one I posted yesterday only because Harbor Freight Tools has an email complaint department (and a very praiseworthy response time). A little 20-something assistant manager thought she would flaunt her authoritay in front of her co-workers today by picking on me for trying to use "a fake tax ID number". It was the one for our school's PTA, and believe me, it's not fake. I've offered to fax a copy of it to their headquarters along with a copy of our receipts for the huge amount of money we spent there this week stocking the Jingle Bell Store. Needless to say, she picked the wrong person to mess with!

Edited to add that not only was the response from the Harbor Freight Tools very quick by email, their follow-up by phone was amazing. They have been very generous to our little PTA, we are all very impressed by the way both corporate headquarters AND the local manager handled the situation. I posted more about this in my next post, but I have noticed this post in particular is being read by the Harbor Freight ISP and I wanted to acknowledge again how very professionally they handled the situation. Props to them!

Between yesterday's post, a scathing note that I left in St. Anthony hospital's "suggestion box," and what happened today at the tool store; I had to double-check my calender to make sure it wasn't my hormones doing the raging. It's not. Apparently, things like customer service and human kindness are just in short supply these days.

On the other hand, I pink puffy heart both the employees AND the customers at the Moore Dollar Tree. I've left there in a great mood both of the nights I've found myself rushing from store to store trying to re-stock the school's Jingle Bell Store. And just remember that I may be the lady who writes complaining emails, blog posts, and post cards; but I'm also the one who gave up the cutest one of the last three teddy bears at the aforementioned Dollar Tree simply because another customer asked me where they were and I didn't have the heart to tell her there weren't any left because they were all in my cart. Even I have my good points sometimes.

Notable Conversations this Week

In Aunt M's hospital room (Aunt M desperately needs, but refuses to wear, a hearing aid):

Nurse: Hello Mrs. B, how are you?
Aunt M: Come again?
Nurse: How are you Mrs. B?
Aunt M (to me): What did she say?
Me: She wants to know how you are, Aunt M.
Aunt M (to me): Where I am? WELL I'M IN THE DAMN HOSPITAL BECAUSE YOU GUYS INSISTED ON CALLING THAT DAMN AMBULANCE WHEN YOU KNEW I'D RATHER JUST BE LEFT ALONE!!
Me: She wants to know HOW you are!
Aunt M (sweetly to the nurse): I'm just fine, Honey. Thanks for asking.

To Whom it May Concern:

If your need to speak with me doesn't involve watching my kids while I am helping my parents arrange for the supervised home care of my 98 year-old great-great aunt (leaving the hospital today and needing round-the-clock care at home for the forseeable future), helping with the PTA Jingle Bell store, getting the ginormous oak tree OFF of my parents' crushed living room roof (or off of their now-destroyed Pontiac Silhouette-yes, these are the same parents who are also caring for my great-great aunt), OR acknowledging that it is Christmas in less than 10 days which just *might* be something a woman with four children needs to have ready in advance; then you are just gonna have to keep it to yourself because MY PLATE IS FULL! Thank you for your cooperation.

Melessa

Music Monday

RIP Dan Fogelberg, thanks for all your songs and especially for this one:

Ten Years Ago Today: The Real Story Pt. 2

My regularly scheduled labor and delivery began to go awry sometime before 4 p.m. when they told me it was time to start pushing. I'm not sure why it is that few doctors have women 'labor down' or allow their contractions to do the work of pushing the baby further down and waiting until the end to start pushing, but that seems to be the way it works. When I started pushing, Natalie was at a 'plus 2' station which is as high up as a baby can be. Initially, the pushing wasn't so bad because that window of feeling in my epidural helped me to know when I was supposed to push. But about half an hour into it, something went wrong. I felt a contraction start, begin to build, and then to just freeze. The pain was steady, never increasing or decreasing. Because I had had an epidural, because I didn't really know what I was doing; I just kept pushing for another half-hour just because they told me to. Nothing felt right and no progress was made with the delivery. The only feeling I was sure of was growing exhaustion. It was about then that they determined that the baby was stuck.

Dr. P got out the forceps, and things went from bad to worse. Apparently, my epidural had worn off quite a bit more than anyone realized...UNTIL Dr. P tried to use the forceps. At this point, no one was more eager than I was to finally meet my baby and to have all this labor business over with; even so, pushing with forceps was excruciating. I'm cringing as I type this some 10 years later. While the forceps didn't seem to do much to unstick Miss Natalie, they must have helped some because my contractions returned. They were nearly unendurable. Between those and the forceps, I felt as close to death as I ever care to again. I tried to call on God and couldn't wrap my brain around enough words to say even the smallest of prayers. Chris and Janet tried to alternately tell me I was doing a good job OR make jokes. I wasn't in the mood for jokes (told you it was bad). I started telling Dr. P and the nurses about every other contraction so that I only had to endure the pain of pushing half as often. Natalie's heart rate began to plummet with each contraction. I felt useless...and horrible. Dr. P went to find an OR for an emergency c-section and THERE WASN'T ONE TO BE FOUND, even in an emergency. Natalie was still stuck, struggling, and there didn't seem to be anything I could do to fix things. I have never been more scared in my life.

Finally, Dr. P thought he might do the c-section in my room. It wasn't ideal, but what else could we do? They let me take a break from pushing while they figured everything else. I'm relieved that the pain of labor kept my brain in a kind of fog, because it kept me from being too aware of what was going on around me. I was frightened enough as it was. I remember very little about those next few minutes except that I couldn't focus on the fetal heart monitor even though I was desperate to know what it said. Chris and Janet made a joke about the three-eyed newt on the ceiling and I wanted to throw something at it and break it. I was told my MIL and my youngest sister were out in the waiting room playing. My youngest sister is an Atheist, but my MIL had a way with people. I had to smile about that one. Then Sallie, my favorite nurse ever, came in and said "Now that you've had a rest, let's try one or two more good pushes and see what happens." With the second push, things changed. The baby was no longer stuck. Could I deliver her in time?

By the time Dr. P. came back, there was no longer a question of a c-section. I was pushing again and this time things were happening. The anesthesiologist FINALLY made it back to re-dose my epidural and was surprised he wasn't knocking me out for a c-section. So was I. A surgical nurse who had been paged came in to assist, and had the nerve to be MAD that it was going to be a "normal" delivery. She appeased herself by being a ginormous b*tch to me. I let my desire to smack her guide my pushing efforts. It worked well. Just before Natalie was born, my dumb (ex) BIL called my sister from his cell phone in the waiting room for the umpteenth just because he could. I almost threw the phone through the wall (but only had strength for pushing at that point), and that is the only time in our married life I have ever seen Dave hang-up on anyone. Then, he unplugged the phone. In one final go-for-broke push that literally made me see stars and just may have caused me to pass out for a second or two, Natalie Kathleen was born at about 6:30 p.m. By then, two nurses were pushing on my stomach and the mean one was standing at the end of the bed telling me "all that noise you're making isn't helping!" (Why didn't I kick her? Why?!) Dave had counted to ten so many times I'm not sure he ever bothered with it at any subsequent deliveries and Chris and Janet deserved a medal of valor. But it wasn't over yet...

She didn't come into this world kicking and screaming like other babies. She was bluish from the lack of oxygen and a little green from passing her meconium during delivery. The cord had been wrapped around her neck, and her head was badly bruised from the use of forceps and from being stuck under one of my pelvic bones. Had her bright little blue eyes not been scanning the room anxiously, I would have been ever more afraid. But while she was tired and limp for the most part, those eyes were moving-taking it all in and seeming to say "What in the hell just happened to me?" I knew that question well. It was the same one I was asking myself. They rushed her to the nursery, but not before she finally was resuscitated enough to scream all the way there. I found relief in that. Little did I know I had three more months of non-stop screaming to look forward to.

Somehow in the aftermath, Aunt M walked in while Dr. P was stitching me up. She was mad at me for "being so immodest and not thinking of a better way to let him do such a thing." (And he was supposed to do that in WHAT other way exactly?) Wendy came in with some beautiful flowers and she and Chris went to celebrate Melissa G's 21st birthday. Janet and the ex BIL came in and I scared him off by pulling down my blanket and showing Janet my wicked stretch marks. (I didn't get too revealing, I was on a lot of drugs, and I was GLAD to see him go.) They brought in a food tray, but my hands shook too badly to eat anything from it. So my Dad fed it to me bite by bite. I begged to see the baby, but was told it would be awhile before either one of us could leave our beds in their respective places. I was exhausted and scared and very relieved when it was just Dave and I in the room. Then...he did the unthinkable. He left. He said he wanted a shower. I begged him not to go and to shower at the hospital, but he lied and said he would "be right back." And there I was...bound to the bed by an IV, a Foley catheter, and enough astromorph in my system to tranquilize a horse. I was in no condition to be left alone and I told him so. He simply did not care. He didn't come back for 6 hours.

Those 6 hours were some of the worst in my life. The unwanted visitor came, and seeing that I shouldn't be left alone, refused to go. At least her heart was in the right place. She annoyed me with talk about how much she was going to hold my baby when they brought her in (something I hadn't done yet), and speculating about what must be so wrong with her if she was still in the nursery. This went on forever and Dave wasn't there as promised to escort her out. I was trapped. The drugs blurred my vision so badly that I couldn't see to dial the phone or to tell the time, but the pain without them was unbearable. The one day I had looked forward to the most was one of the worst ones I ever experienced. Finally, two nurses came in and wheeled me (and my lovely cath bag) to the nursery to see Natalie. She couldn't stabilize her body temp, so she hadn't been washed yet. She couldn't regulate her blood sugar, so her little feet were covered with cotton balls where she had had repeated heel sticks to test it. Her head was bruised and she looked pitiful. Nurses kept trying to tell me all that was wrong with her, but I was too out of it from pain meds to make sense of what they were saying. Too shaky to be allowed to hold her, I put my hand in the little baby bed and she screamed bloody murder each time that I touched her. (The only times she had been picked up previously were for heel sticks, so that's what she expected from me.) My unwanted visitor was literally staring at us through the window with her face pressed on it. I begged the nurses to shut the blinds since it was after midnight. Apparently, that ran her off and I was too relieved to feel that badly about it. I looked at my poor baby, thought about how awful I felt, marveled that her dad could dare leave us when we were so bad off; and I sat next to her little hospital bed in the broken-leg wheelchair (because all the other chairs were in use) and cried about what a rotten day it had been for both of us.

Over the next few hours, we both rallied. Her blood sugar stabilized enough to try nursing and my shakes improved enough that I could hold her. On my third visit to the nursery, she had been cleaned up with a little pink bow on her head. I wasn't sure how I felt about her Dad, but I knew I loved her. Some ten years later that hasn't changed. While her birth might not have been one of my most pleasantly memorable experiences, or really any kind of pleasant at all, I am certainly glad it all ended well and that she's been a part of my life for the last ten years. Happy Birthday Natalie!

Placeholder Post

I'm midway through my story here, but with a big 10th birthday celebration here today; I'm out of time. Here's the "after" picture some ten years later. Enjoy!

Ten Years Ago Today: The Real Story Pt. 1

Ten years ago today, I became a mother. Some girls look forward to their careers, some to their wedding day, but even though I knew I wanted some kind of job someday and certainly hoped to get married; the one thing I wanted more than anything was to be a mom. It occurred to me first when I was about 8 and a friend of my father's handed me his 2 week-old son. I held him for what felt like hours (much like the flashback scene in "She's Having a Baby") and I knew. That desire was only enhanced by the birth of younger cousins and my little sister Selena. Certianly, I would go to college, and I had no desire to marry at the age of 18 (when Dave first offered); but I wanted a baby so badly that I could taste it from childhood until this day ten years ago.

I got pregnant thinking my life couldn't possibly get any better. I had recently married a man who doted on me completely. He didn't (and doesn't) laugh at my jokes, but he worshipped the ground I walked on-or seemed to-and I thought it was a fair trade. I finally lived in Arizona with my best friend Anne living two doors down and her younger brother and his wife lived in the same apartment complex. I was pursuing a Master's in Classical Archeology, but hadn't yet progressed so far in my studies that taking time off would be too much of a setback. I was 25 years-old, in my mind the perfect age to become a mother. My sister Janet's venture into teenaged motherhood notwithstanding, infertility is a bit of a problem in our family; so I wanted to start trying early on in our marriage 'just in case.' We were married in January, started trying in February, and were pregnant by April; all while Dave still lived in Oklahoma and only saw me every other weekend. (Though I was home for a whole week in March for Spring Break.) We found out while he was visiting Easter weekend. I took about three at-home tests and was only convinced that it was true by a nurse in the University Health Clinic. (I'm one of those people who is convinced that one of God's favorite games is to take from me the things I want most and I couldn't believe I was being given a baby so easily.) But there it was in black and white, I was pregnant and while I mentally held my breath over the next 9 months, not even a fairly horrible car accident did anything to change that.

As the pregnancy progressed, it became obvious that life as I knew it had to change. I hated that Dave missed out on the little Dr.'s office milestones like the first heartbeat and one of my early ultrasounds. I was resentful that he wasn't around to help when just the smell of the dishes from the sink made me dizzy with nausea when I walked through the front door of my apartment, that he wasn't there to help me stay awake when I crashed in front of my books at about 8 p.m. each evening, that he wasn't there to listen to how unbelievably miserable and exhausting the simple walk to and from the bus stop to school each day was becoming. I felt alone. To add insult to injury, he decided the best thing for our family would be for me to quit school and move back to Oklahoma since his job was "the one with the real future." In the end, my schoolwork was suffering so badly from my pregnancy-induced fatigue and I was so afraid of failing at marriage before it had even started that I complied and even told myself I was happy about it.

I came home, found a new doctor, and having been relieved of my intensive studies, found myself really enjoying the rest of my second and third trimesters of the pregnancy. No longer living apart, Dave and I were still newlyweds and fairly blissful for those months. We went to movies, he did the dishes and the sweeping, I took care of our tiny apartment; and in October we bought an almost-as-tiny little house of our own. My due date came and went and, with no apparent progress a week after the fact, Dr. P scheduled an induction for December 15th. I thought this date was perfect. It wasn't too close to Christmas or to the niece and nephew birthdays already on that month's calendar. We washed all our new baby clothes, set up the crib and bassinet, and waited for the 15th in eager anticipation.

Because there had been little progress, they actually had me come in the night of the 14th for a couple of cervidil applications. Since those can, in some cases, induce labor-I would stay at the hospital from that time until the birth of the baby. It was a Sunday and we went after church. We said goodbye to everyone and they all wished us luck. We went home, changed clothes, ate sandwiches, and grabbed the suitcase that had been sitting packed in the hall for the last 6 weeks. We giggled in the hospital parking lot about how we were going to walk into the birth center and ask for our "reservation" at the desk. Soon, I was in bed signing papers and getting a very uncomfortable IV needle placed into the back of my hand. The cervidil was applied, and then all we could do was wait...I had a couple of good contractions, but then nothing. They did a second application. I was beginning to get hungry. Dave was beginning to get hungry. He asked if he could go eat without me. I said "no way." He got a vaguely familiar pouty look on his face that I didn't like. I think it was the first time I had ever told him 'no.' Soon, it was determined that nothing was going to happen that night. Dave went to get our dinner (Braum's, of course) and I settled in. Some 10 years later, I still remember how miserable that IV catheter made me. I struggled to go to sleep that night on the most uncomfortable bed ever made. Dave refused to unfold the sofa bed, preferring to sleep on it as a couch. Every nurse that came in to check my vitals woke me up to ask me if he knew he could fold that couch out into a bed. They were worried about his comfort. Mine didn't seem to matter much to anyone. It was a sign of things to come and not a good one...

My pit drip began at about 8:00 a.m. the following morning. For the next four hours, things moved at a very steady pace. At around noon, I started getting a little uncomfortable. They gave me Stadol. This was the only one of my deliveries that I would allow that. It did nothing for the pain, but it did make me sleep between contractions and spout nonsense when I tried to talk. I remember trying to tell Dave and my mom that 'even if I was in pain, at least I was catching up on some sleep.' I tried to say it twice. The second time, both Dave and mom still looked completely puzzled at what I was saying, but Dave patted me on the leg and said "it will be OK, Honey." Fortunately, the stadol wore off just in time for my epidural. I highly recommend the epidural. This one wasn't the best one I had because there was still a fairly large "window" (area of my body that still felt everything), but it did let me know how much I was progressing. I had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. My mom, Dave's parents, my grandparents, and (to my chagrin) Aunt M were all in the waiting room; while Chris, Janet, and Dave preferred to stay in the room with me. At some point, Anita came in a few times and Chris worked a shift at Don Pablo's. The one thing I was relived about was that none of my visitors were the dreaded "friend" from church. You know, the one that talks a lot about everything that can go wrong during labor and delivery (or so she's read in a book or magazine somewhere) AND the one who calls 5 times a day to see "if you've had that baby yet." I wanted no part in dealing with her on such a big day and it was Dave's job to run her off if she showed. But so far, so good.

Until about 3:30 p.m., everything went fine. My nurse was sweet, Dr. P stopped in regularly, I had an epidural given to me by perhaps the most beautiful man I had ever seen ("Mark" for those of you who've delivered at NRH), and I was surrounded by friends and family. Chris, Janet and I were passing the time cracking jokes-especially jokes about "the three-eyed newt" on the ceiling. (Lanie once asked a Rainbow chaperone "what's that light on the ceiling" in reference to a motel sprinklr system mostly just to be annoying and her answer was "It's a one-eyed newt, Lanie. Now shut up and go to sleep." That line has stuck with us ever-since, but THIS system had three-eyes and we were sorry Lanie wasn't there to see it.) But at 3:30, it became time to push and that's when everything changed, and not for the better.

To Be Continued...

Friday Flashback

Ten Years Ago Tonight...

We celebrated Juliet's 3rd birthday



And I spent my last night ever as a person without children



Yes, my cheeks and chin get just as pregnant as my belly. Still, I look at this now and think "Who is that sweet young thing and why did she think she was old enough to pro-create?"

In Case You Missed the News

Here are three good pictures of my parents' house and driveway:

The interview with my Dad can be found here.

Exhausted

When my cousin Jonathan first moved here, he originated one of my favorite quotes ever:

"When you first get to know Melessa, you think she's kind of a b*tch. Then, time goes on and you realize that she's just tired of being the only sane person in a family of crazies."

I don't know how sane I am, but after sitting in the hospital for a couple of days helping to care for Aunt M and discussing DNR's, advanced directives, and now post-hospital care with Gran D, my mom, and my sisters out in the hallways and waiting rooms; I'm really feeling his words tonight. And also...I'm feeling very, very tired.

As far as Aunt M goes, she is fairly coherent now. She rallied the morning after being brought into the ER, but was basically asleep from then until late last night. Today, she was feeling downright chatty and is pretty sure that if anyone can DEMAND that she be released, it would be me who had the most success. Obviously, I don't think she's in any condition to leave the hospital even though being bossed around by her feels a lot better than I ever thought it would. Still, trying to keep her in bed, keep her from pulling out her IV's and other tubes, and explaining endlessly that even if I did take her home she still doesn't have any power in her house (which is how she wound up in the hospital to begin with) is starting to wear on me. I'm glad she's alive and feisty, I'm thankful we have power at home, I don't mean to sound like I'm whining when obviously we are very blessed around here...I just remember when weather-related school closings meant we got a lot done at home and spent a lot of time together (like maybe LAST year). Snow is in the forecast tomorrow and Natalie's birthday party is on Sat. I hope at least one or two kids make it. She was sick last Thurs. and Fri. and we never got to hand out invitations with all the school cancellations this week. We've made some calls, but haven't heard back from too many of the little girls. Even so, I hope Dave actually ordered the cake like he said he would. Since I leave for the hospital or to go back to the hospital each time he walks through the front door, we haven't had a conversation since sometime Tues. afternoon.

I need a break...

Random Stuff

I am starting to feel some stress here. Between the week-long school cancellation, Aunt M's hospital stay, and the fact that I can't get through to work by phone (I get a recording about lines being down), find anyone at the office (I stop by and check each day when going to or from the hospital-and yep, the lines ARE down), or ascertain that I still even have a job there (though I'm guessing everyone has their own stuff going on what with the whole state being declared a "state of emergency") and I'm finding that I just don't have much to say this morning. Fortunately, one of my very favorite bloggers, Millie, posted this list earlier in the week. She has clarified that it was a forward from her uncle and that neither one of them authored it. Still, if you aren't one of Millie's regular readers, you should be. She makes me laugh.

Top Ten Reasons to Vote for Brother Mitt:

10. We can do away with secret ballots and manifest our support of the candidate "by the usual sign." And we can get rid of costly recounts by simply saying, "opposed, if there be any."

9. In addition to dark suits, sunglasses, and earpieces, the Secret Service would be equipped with CTR rings.

8. The vice presidency would be replaced by first and second counselors.

7. At inaugural balls, dance partners would have to be separated from each other by at least the width of a Book of Mormon.

6. NASA could commission a satellite to "hie to Kolob."

5. The prayer closing each Cabinet meeting could include the phrase, "that we all can travel home or to our various destinations in safely."

4. The President not only could explain things in layman's terms, but in Lemuel's terms as well.

3. At his inauguration he would swear on the Bible "as far as it is translated correctly."

2. All foreign policy statements would begin with, "We believe."

1. The presidential limo would be a black Suburban with a vanity plate: "RULDS2?"

Of course, you do realize that this list is meant to be funny and is not in any way indicative of who I would support for president. (Still not sure who that is, in fact...)

Finally, if you go to the msnbc website, you can click on "Dark Days" for yesterday's footage, or go back to page 3 or 4 and click on "wintry blast kills at least 18" for some actual interview footage with my Dad. Apparently, their house has been the poster child all week. I just haven't been watching. (And no, no cameras IN the house-there are some things children just shouldn't have to see, even on the news.)

Disaster Area

For those of you who see this in time, my parent's house will be featured as one of the "poster houses" for all the ice damage here in the midwest. It will be on NBC's national news today at 5:30 CST. Little do they know that the downed trees, damaged roof, and crushed car serve merely to compliment my parent's usual housekeeping style.

Good News and Very Bad News-UPDATED

Well, we still have power this morning which made it easier for my Dad to call us and tell us that they found Aunt M (my elderly Great-great Aunt) at home on the floor again after another fall. Apparently, she lost power at some point after calling to let my parents know she was OK. Being a stubborn old biddy, she didn't call and tell them it went out. As they had a tree fall across the roof of their house AND on a couple of the cars in their driveway, Mom and Dad weren't as vigilant in checking on her as they usually are. They drove straight to The City when they couldn't reach her for the better part of the evening. They rushed her to the hospital. She's still alive, but has hypothermia and pneumonia and at the age of 97...no one really knows what will happen.

For those of you new to my life, Aunt M has been the family matriarch for the better part of it and the Emily Gilmore to my Lorelai since I hit puberty. (Though I passed on the whole teenage mother part of it-I left that to my sister.) She is far from a saint and, even at the age of 97, packs quite the passive/aggressive wallop with that iron fist that rules our family. I spent every weekend of my life at her house from infancy to the age of 7 and her presence in my life has been both the bane and biggest blessing of my existence. She's aged a lot in just the past couple of years, and in the back of my mind I've tried to prepare for something like this-I guess you're just never ready, though. She feels like my last living link to my Great-great Grandmother Mac (her mother), my Great-Grandma Bessie (her sister), my Papa Mac (Great-great Uncle, but he and his wife raised my mother), and my Uncles Charlie and Gratton (her brothers). I have no memories of my early childhood that don't include them. And very few of those that don't include her. I can't imagine a life without her in it.

She is feeling much better, seems quite herself, and is being quite a pill to us and her nurses because she wants to go home-NOW! I never thought I would be glad to see her in this state. Obviously, she's not going home today-but things seem to have stablized. Thank goodness.

Just In Case...

More ice is headed this way and our lights are flickering, so here's a cute little Blogthing for tomorrow:

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be nostalgic and sweet. The holidays bring out your inner child. Your favorite holiday memories are complete and very visual. Past holiday events play out like a video in your mind.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

So Much for Hibernating...

...it's all about survival! We had no power for most of today and at the rate branches and trees are going down on our street (my yard alone is a tree graveyard); I wouldn't be surprised if it went out again. Props to the OEC guys who haven't left their spot at the top of our hill for most of today (and to the guy with a backhoe who keeps cleaning the branches off the road, I've seen him all day too). So far we're doing a good job with our water and food storage, but I think Dave has finally talked me into a generator (once they're back in stock somewhere) and into hooking the gas fireplace back up-I had it disconnected when we moved in to keep Elisa (then just a year-old) safe. Also, what good is having your own well when you need an electric pump to get the water out?

I give our emergency preparedness efforts a C for the day. We were never really cold or hungry, but there were so many "if only's" that I think there is room for improvement. And for that reason, I hope the power stays on tonight...

A Couple of Things Before Bed...

First, a huge THANK-YOU to aka Monty for calling me "splendiferous" and mentioning me in her blog today. I had the pleasure of meeting her once at the 2006 Okie Blogger Round-Up and missed her very much at this year's get-together. Bunches of love to you! You're da' bomb too! Thanks again.

Second-It's official, NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!! I know some parents hate this, but I don't work tomorrow and I HATE HATE HATE driving on ice. (Which explains why I haven't applied for two dream museum jobs I saw come open in Colorado and Wyoming-well that and my husband would never move from here, but it's always the ice that comes to mind first when I think about applying.) More hibernation to come...

Flood Washington with Relief

OK, I'm coming out of hibernation to pass along some important information. Those of you who know me in real life know that some of my most beloved family members live in the Seattle area (FavoriteUncleBob, FavoriteAuntDeb, FavoriteCousins Eric and Megan, and fellow freddie; Libby). Some of my favorite bloggers live there too. Both Katrina and Katherine have posted at length about the flooding and devastation in their areas and posted ways in which you can help. Please do.

Hibernating

The wedding was beautiful, we danced like we were 16 again at the reception (which my feet are making me pay for today), and I had planned to write a gushing post about all of it in addition to my traditional Week In Review. However, church was cencelled today because of the ice storm (a welcome surprise given how tired and sore I was when I woke up this morning) and I've pretty much spent the day in my pj's watching Heroes episodes in front of my favorite space heater. I'm enjoying this more than I thought I would, so I think I'm just going to stick with it for a little while longer. The gushing wedding post IS coming...but perhaps it would be better when I've got some pictures to go with it. (And since dummy me forgot her camera, I'll have to wait until some get emailed to me). I may do a Week In Review later tonight. But for now...I'm hibernating and I like it that way.

Friday Flashback

From this:


To this:







Congratulations Lanie and Dirk!! We are all so happy for both of you. See ya tomorrow! I'm guessing you'll "be the one in the veil down front."
(And yes, I'm totally getting choked up as I type this. I'm such a baby!)

Thursday Thirteen #39

Well, I think my hopes for a better day today were dashed when I heard Natalie throwing up at 6 a.m. And four hours later, I can say that the fact that she didn't make a mess and that the washing machine was empty when I went to put her bedding in it have been today's high points. But, I don't think further venting or dwelling on it will help. So, I'm going to write what I had originally planned for today:

As my first official act as someone who will no longer be expected to set a good example for the teenaged girls at church, I think I will share my list of very funny, yet very inappropriate quotes I wrote down back in September during my friend Lanie's 4-Day Bachelorette Party/Cruise in honor of her wedding this coming Saturday. Just a warning, they are NOT for the easily offended. BUT as I no longer have to fear someone forwarding this to my Branch President as evidence for why I should be released from YW...here goes:

Quote #1

Vickie (as the plane took off): "Oh my God! We forgot Jean!" (Jean had flown out a few days earlier, we knew it and laughed-the other passengers weren't sure what to think.)

Quote #2

Chris (as I pulled out my notebook to start recording): "You're going to need that whole book just for MY quotes, Baby!" (true)

Quote #3

Wendy (assessing the attire of some of the other passengers): "Just because it comes in your size doesn't mean you should wear it."

Quote #4

Me (referring to all of us being together on one tiny plane): "This right here is Linda Neely's WORST nightmare."

Chris (to another passenger): "Sorry we can't offer you ear plugs."

Quote #5

Jean (drunk and hyper in the crowded, hot limo): "I can't feel my face!"

Chris (carsick in the hot limo): "Dibs on slapping Jean to test that out!"

Quote #6

Me: Mom?! Are we there yet?!

Chris: I'm gonna kick your a$$ if you say that all the way to California!

Me (ten minutes later): Mom?! Are we there yet?!

Chris: I'm thinking of 2 words and 7 letters.

Me (sarcastically sweet): Aw Chris! Love you too!

Chris: Well, there was a "u" in it. In fact there were two.

Quote #7

Chris: You know what? Just f'y'all! Hey, I like that...F'Y'ALL!!

Quote #8

Wendy (drunk from the limo ride and trying unsuccessfully to walk down the hall to our stateroom): Hey Melessa! This place is just like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! The hall just keeps getting smaller!

Me: Yeah, that must be it Wendy. (It was Wonka magic and not the 1/3 bottle of vodka she consumed)

Quote #9

Me (talking about seeing very pale people naked-and yes, I know I am one.): All I remember about the evening was just the really white glare-but I'm gratful for the glare. I mean, who wants to see the real thing?

Lanie: You mean like this? (flashes us)

Chris: Nah! A girl with pale skin is considered a lady. A guy with pale skin...

Me & Chris (almost simultaneously): Is ALSO considered a lady.

Quote #10

Wendy (talking about husbands who answer phone calls during *ahem* intimate moments): Don't you HATE it when they answer the phone and it's his MOTHER?

Me: Well, for us that would be a miracle. A phone call from heaven! But there are those times that MY mother calls....

Wendy: Oh, those are phone calls from hell!

Quote #11

Chris: I'm a foreign travel virgin.

Vickie: Me too, Honey.

Chris: And we're about to get f**ked by Mexico.

Quote #12

Me (learning new and not-so-favorable info about our pal John): He really did that? That's it, John is an A$$!

Chris: Yeah, but you'll forgive him for it. It's what we do. (Indeed it is.)

Quote #13

Lanie: It's time to conga line my a$$ to bed, Ladies.

Bonus Quote #1 (it happened during a very mediocre musical performance on the ship:)

Me (earnestly sarcastic): Ohmigod! I hope they have this CD for sale in the gift shop!

Chris (shaking with irritated laughter): You are a b*tch!

Me: Thanks, I learned from the best.

Bonus Quote #2:

Chris: Umm...Lis, you did know that you aren't wearing pants, right?

Yep, I knew and I liked it that way. And what I said to Chris was right, I absolutely DID learn from the best. Thanks for the awesome cruise, Ladies. And Lanie...you've got 48 hours left as a single gal...(not that I'm counting down or anything)

For better (and cleaner) TT's, click here!

Is It Friday Yet?

All in all, this has not been one of better days. I woke up this morning with that all-too-familiar lower back pain that meant Advil was on my brekfast menu. Then, I had a little fender-bender first thing after dropping off the kids at school. Even though it was a "day-off" I got very little done at home or marked off of my Christmas shopping to-list because I was too busy driving back and forth from the kids' school. First, I had to go and supervise Tristan's play rehersal because (big surprise) he has become uncooperative and difficult and prone to eye-rolling, waving, and making faces while on stage not to mention talking with his mouth right on the microphone. (He does this in all Primary presentations at church too, at least he's consistent.) Then, I went out to do some shopping but was still feeling pretty gloomy about the little wreck (it didn't amount to more than parking lot paint scraping, but still shameful to a later-in-life driver like me). That was interrupted by another phone call from the school telling me that Natalie was sick. By the time I got back to the school, there were 10 minutes left before the start of the afternoon play performance. The very nice school nurse let her stay in her office while I chose a seat in the gym and watched my son do all the things he had been good enough NOT to do during rehersal. In the meantime, no one else could pick Natalie up, so she had to sit in the car and wait for all the other kids that ride home with us anyway. Tristan screamed from the school parking lot to Elisa's pre-school because I wouldn't take him to Classic 50's to reward him for misbehaving so badly during his first play performance. Natalie pouted because I wouldn't let her play at a friend's house after spending two hours in the nurse's office swearing up and down that she was sick. (She's also not allowed to go to Valiant Girls tonight. In my house, if you come home sick from school-you are SICK and spend the rest of the day in bed. End of story.) Elisa was at least glad to see me and ready to go home. During all of this, I didn't get a chance to take more Advil before I really needed it. I took it as soon as we walked into the house and I've pretty much spent the rest of my day curled into a ball of crampy whiny-ness on the couch. At least there was dinner in the crock-pot and Rudolph on the Tivo. Otherwise, the best thing I can say about today is that it's almost over. Maybe tomorrow will be better...Maybe I should put bumper pads on my car...Maybe Tristan will be good for tomorrow's big evening show...Maybe I should take more Advil...Maybe I will write something better tomorrow.

Updated to add that as soon as I posted this I went to church for the weekly YW activity and they released me from the calling BEFORE I managed to earn my YW medallion. (I've been working on it, juggling that with school, graduating, working, and parenting 4 kids didn't make it an easy task.) Why didn't they just put a bullet in my chest? It would have hurt less. (Yes, I'm hormonal AND dramatic tonight. And it's my blog so deal with it.)

A Day in My Life

Today is a slightly busier example than most, but a lot of my days are really like this so I'll go ahead and use it:

5:30 a.m.-Alarm goes off, sometimes I get right up and sometimes I abuse my snooze button. Today was a snooze day.

6:00 a.m.-Wake up kids, the girls are much slower this morning than Tristan.

6:10 a.m. Eat my Weight Watcher's muffin while intermittently begging Caroline to get dressed between bites. Tell Elisa to get out of bed.

6:15 a.m. Switch the load of towels I washed last night into the dryer. Put another load into the washer. Go into my room and get myself dressed.

6:30 a.m. Tell kids to put their bowls in the sink and to empty them out first so the cat doesn't eat their cereal and milk and get sick. Tell Caroline to get dressed AGAIN. Tell Elisa to get out of bed AGAIN.

6:45 a.m. Physically drag Elisa out of bed and have her start dressing herself. (She eats breakfast at school, so I let her sleep while the other kids are eating sometimes.)

7:00 a.m. Start telling the kids it's time to get ready to leave. Sign various homework folders, permission slips, Book Order checks, last minute homework help, etc...

7:15 a.m. Start putting on coats, hats, gloves, etc...load car.

7:20 a.m. Leave house (on a good day)

7:40 a.m. Arrive at older kids' school. Some days, I do PTA work until 8:30ish, today I drop the kids at the door.

7:45 a.m. Arrive at Elisa's pre-school. Sign her in. Visit with her teacher briefly.

7:55 a.m.-9:00 a.m.-Do volunteer shift at pre-school Book Fair

9:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m.-Stop at Wal-Mart and buy lunch. Drive to work.

10:15 a.m.-2:15 p.m.-Work-Today it was doing archive work at the computer, sometimes it is teaching classes to visiting field trip groups, giving museum tours, writing out inventory lists from each room in the museum, and various other activities.

2:15-2:55 p.m. Drive to the school, stopping to get gas when the light goes on

2:55 p.m. Arrive at the school. Feel grateful that I get to park today instead of driving in the endless carpool lane. Find my kids and the other kids in the carpool, settle them in the library and get ready for PTA Exec. Board mtg.

3:30-4:20 p.m.-PTA meeting, as we have just finished a major fundraiser and don't have anything else really big coming up for a bit; the meeting was shorter than usual.

4:30-4:50 p.m. Drive kids home while Dave picks up Elisa and a bucket of KFC.

4:50 p.m.-5:20 p.m. Finish loading the dishwasher and hit start. Move this morning's load of clothes into the dryer. Set table, sweep floor, check email, Dave arrives

5:20-5:40 p.m. Quick KFC dinner

5:45 p.m. Drive older kids the Skateland for school fundraiser

6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Skateland with the kids. Tristan spends the two hours whining for snacks, Natalie spends half of it pouting in a corner and refusing to skate because "it makes my legs hurt." Caroline (the fit-thrower at the last party) is good this time.

8:01 p.m. Leave Skateland for home at last!

8:15 p.m Dash in, turn on last week's Grey's, order kids out of living room. Check on their homework progress and rehearse Tristan's lines for the school play with him during commercial breaks. Also nag kids to lay out clothes for tomorrow. (If they don't we WILL be late in the morning.)

8:45 p.m. Send Tristan to bath. Finish Grey's. Start blog entry.

9:00 p.m. Send kids to bed...(still working on this one)

Hopefully, I will be in bed myself by 10 a.m. so I can start this show again tomorrow. (I don't work tomorrow, so the 9-2 slot will be filled with marathon catch-up attempts at errands, Christmas shopping, and house cleaning.) Don't you wish you were me?

Music Monday

I know most of you have already seen something like this-but I was amused at the flashing reindeer and snowman.

Week In Review

Reading-

Love in the Time of Cholera-

After so many people who had read the book said they hated the movie, I decided to make my own decision. Now that I've finished, I still liked the movie; but I don't think I would have had I read the book first. It was amazingly good and occupied most of the drive to Borken Bow and the first night there.

Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart-

This was a book in our rental cabin. It was light reading compared to the book I mentioned above, but easy to skim while watching multiple football games yesterday. I had more of an appreciation for this one, but I think it's because of where I work right now. It was a very entertaining, honest, and yet not depressing look at life on the western frontier. It also doesn't require a lot of time or concentration to read which makes it a real plus for me because I have neither in much abundance.

Watching-

LSU v. Tennessee-

My FIL is from Tennessee and my Louisiana-dwelling sister and brother-in-laws are avowed Les Miles haters. Nonetheless, we all had to admit that he got the job done and much though it pains me to say so, I think they should be the ones to play Ohio State for the National Championship. (Which means I would absolutely be rooting for Ohio State.)

OU v. Mizzou-

It goes without saying that this game was much more enjoyable for us. That first half was tense, but I was feeling pretty good by the 4th quarter. I would like to thank Chase Daniel for both talking smack on us as well as appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated-I think those two things alone lit enough of a fire under the Sooners that they knew they wouldn't leave San Antonio without a Big 12 championship. It was a good game!

Shrek the Halls-

It was a cute little show, but a lot more same old, same old of Shrek being grouchy until Fiona shows him the light and he changes his ways. Maybe if it had been an hour-long it might have been better.

At the Movies-

Enchanted-

I was reluctant to watch this even with all the good reviews. For one reason, it stars McDreamy who is on my McSh*t list for the way he treats Meredith on Grey's. Still, Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, Idina Menzel, James Marsden and Peter Pettigrew himself were in it and most in supporting roles. I thought it must be something special and I was right. We went to see it for last week's FHE, had the theatre to ourselves for the 4:30 showing, and I can't think of a better way for us to have kicked off the holiday season.

Out and About-

Territorial Christmas-

This is a very fun evening hosted by my place of employment. If you missed it this year, I feel bad for you. It was a really lovely evening. The barn has never looked more festive, the crafts were a lot of fun, and the whole atmosphere that night was lovely. My kids, of course, skipped out to go to Holiday Art Night at their school. So it was their loss too.

Broken Bow Cabin trip-

It went so well I would write a trip report, but as it was just a very mellow time of eating good food, watching football, reading books and magazines, playing board games and watching cousins re-connect; the posts wouldn't be too long. It was a lot more fun than I anticipated and completely drama-free. I don't know what I was worried about (actually, I know exactly what I was worried about-I just didn't know the worry was unecessary). Step-MIL and I are hoping to make it a yearly event. I'm glad we went.