A great poem by Maya Angelou I found on Jill Conyers blog





A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
enough
money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
something
perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams
wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD
HAVE ...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy
enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her
old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who
always makes her laugh.. and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a good piece
of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her
family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight
matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for
a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of
control over her destiny..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD
KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit
a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend
without;
ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN
SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK
AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her
childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she
would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
how to live
alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY
WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to
go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a
charming Inn in the woods....
when her soul needs
soothing....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a
month...and a year..

Starter Kit For Change

Cool Site, this would make a neat gift, wish I could afford it!

http://www.starterkitforchange.com/

2 Months old!

Andy is 2 months old today, I can't believe how big he is. He went to the doctor today which was really rough because he got 4 shots-ouch. He is 22" long & 10 pounds, 12 oz. which is big compared to birth although, he is only in the 25% for height & weight (meaning 75% of children are bigger) Of course Tony said "What do you expect for a baby who came with the genes of a hobbit" :)

Father's Day

Wanted to share a picture of My Dad with Tony and Andy on Tony's first Father's Day. Note Tony & Andy are wearing Hawaiian shirts, so cute

Had to Share

So, we were at Sonny's BBQ last night (fine dining for Zephyrhills) and I see this tee shirt.

Hike Faster!
I hear banjo music

HA! That is funny

Scrapbooking Hiatus

I have been on a scrapbooking hiatus for the last two months! Can I just say how excited I am to be getting together with my friends on Friday Night. Now if I can just find the time to pack.

Fashion Show

Horsies, Sock Monkeys & the Red Campaign, Oh my!

For those who don't know about (RED) products visit the site http://www.joinred.com. Buy products to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.




Andy & Uncle Darrell

Spring (cleaning) is in the air

Maybe it is the new house, new baby, or new freedom from work but, I am on a kick. Although I have to say it is very different to do anything with a 5 week old baby. You don't just start your cleaning marathon. Cleaning has become a sprinting game. You sprint and do a small part of a project, care for baby (diapers, feeding, soothing, repeat as necessary) sprint to do a another part of the project. I am also realizing that I have way too much clutter. Getting rid of stuff & streamlining makes life easier, if I could just convince my husband that clearing out is a Good Thing! You hoarder, you!

Baby Crazy

Congrats to my friend D & her husband who welcomed their little Jackson into the world today. Glad to hear all are healthy & happy. Speedy recovery D, can't wait to meet your new boy

Mother's Day

This was my first Mother's Day & I thought I would post a picture. We went to the country club with my parents, brother & his girlfriend. We had a great buffet and a nice time. This was the first time my brother & Sam got to meet Andy. I got a really nice poem from Tony with Andy's footprints & paw prints from Ollie & Emmie-very sweet.

Rewind

Warning this will be a long read & TMI for some, proceed with warning(trying to get the details for posterity) OK-let's go back to April 15th (Tuesday)

4/15/08 (Tuesday)
3am
Tony & I had movers scheduled for 7am the next day. We were still trying to pack so we stayed up until 3am. As soon as I layed down the baby started moving like crazy. Now this was unusual because he had been running out of room & been a little quieter the past 2 weeks. I also was having very mild cramping. I said to Tony, I'm going to get up. He said "If it doesn't go away in 30 minutes wake me up"-thanks for the support. So it settled down & I went to bed about 3:30am.

7am
Got up & the movers started loading the truck. I went to McDonald's & got Egg Mcmuffins & hash browns came back & we ate.

9:15am
Standing in the kitchen, I felt a warm drip, went to the bathroom thinking-no can't be. Few minutes later, standing in the kitchen, another warm wet drip. Went back to bathroom & saw pink. This is a typical Chan situation. Now keep in mind Tony's car was in the shop-so we only had 1 car. I ran to my neighbor Kathy's & she ran me to the doctor to check to see if it was amniotic fluid. Wendy Whitcomb was in the office so she tested the fluid & the paper turned blue, she could also see the leak when I coughed. She told us I had an hour or so go home get my bags & head to the hospital-I was in labor. Tony came to pick me up at the doctor on the way to Zephyrhills (he had given the garage door opener to the movers & I called my mother off of the golf course to meet the movers) Sadly, we had to take the dogs back to the old house & leave them because they would have the doggie door & fenced yard. We got the furniture unloaded, showered, grabbed our bags
& headed to the hospital.

2pm
Arrived at the hospital. Things get a little hazy. I know that that I was dilated 1 cm at the doctors office. I was not having many strong contractions at the hospital & was not any more dilated so, the doctor started Pitocin to increase the contractions.

4pm
The contractions got pretty strong & I called for an epidural. Everything was good until I started to get bad back labor in the evening. To quote myself "It's not right, this is torture, I want a cesarean" flew from my mouth-amazingly (Tony said) no 4 letter words. I was also suffering from the horrible heartburn I had during pregnancy so Doc let me take Tums-yummm like candy.

Midnight
Unfortunately at midnight I was still 1cm dilated & the baby was not descending. I suffered back labor all through the night & they had to give me 5 bolus'. I actually went through 3 shifts of nurses before I delivered. The second nurse had to call in the tough nurse to get me back under control (actually it was the Bolus-drugs in the epidural that did it)To make this night more interesting, I was throwing up- funny side story-because the bolus numbs you from the waist down, when I needed to sit up to throw up Tony lifted me & went to reach for the barf bag. When he let go I fell back onto the bed because I had no control of my muscles. The only thing I saw was panic on his face as he reached for me barf bag in hand. He had to quickly sit me back up I give me the bag.

7am
My delivery nurse Dee came on staff & was really great, she was experienced & knew what to do since the baby was still not coming down. She put me on my right side to labor & told Tony what to do to comfort me. We tried some pushing to see how I would do.

9am
I was really ticked at about 7:30 in the morning because the anesthesiologist went into a c-section & couldn't come give me drugs for 1 1/2 hours. I was in agony. I knew I would not be able to push in so much pain so once I got the drugs I told Tony he is coming out now before this wears off in 2 hours!

10am
I was finally dilated 10cm & able to push. I couldn't feel the contractions very well because for the drugs, but I said to hell with this I will figure out what they feel like & learn to push with the limited feeling-he's is getting out before the drugs wear off. Tony was so excited yelling I can see his head, he's almost here, one more push. I said "When she calls for the doctor we are close." My mother was running to the hallway to give my dad updates. Finally I heard Dee say, can we have Dr. Whitcomb now. Finally

11:41am
Andy finally made his arrival at 11:41 am. Tony cried (don't tell him I said that) when he came out. He was still holding my leg, I told him to go see the baby. Here he is meeting Andy for the first time



Here is the first family photo-I look a little beat up after 26 hours of labor



2pm
We were moved up to the Mother/Baby room where we stayed for 2 1/2 days. not to bore with details, Andy & I were poked & prodded 24 hours a day. Our biggest problem was that Andy would not sleep at all. He would doze in our arms, but if we tried to put him down he would scream. So after very little sleep Monday night & being in labor Tuesday night it was very rough not sleeping Wednesday or Thursday night either.

4/17/08 (Thursday)
We had lots of nice visitors who came to meet Andy. Thanks for visiting Cheryl, Denise, Sandy, Christine, Kathy, Sean, Roxanne, Vitaly



4/18/08 (Friday)
We were discharged Friday about noon & were on our own

It's Been a Long Time

I can't believe it's been over a month since I blogged. With good reason, I have an excuse...no really-see below. More to follow, I will have to do a few posts to catch everyone up.



Told you I have been busy! Meet Andrew James

I think I need a cardiologist!

That Mac & Cheese was crazy. Don't get me wrong it was good, just not worth all of the cheese, calories & cost. I think I like mine with a sharper flavor. Maybe just Sharp cheddar, Velveeta & a little half & half.

On the paint front, we picked a different color that worked great. Pooh's Favorite Things (from Behr). Will post as soon as I bring the camera to the new house.

Happy birthday Deirdre & happy anniversary Tom & Denise!

April Fools Day

How many people can I fool into thinking I'm in labor today? Apparently several. We did start to paint the baby's room yesterday. Starting with 2 small walls & a quart (because I am smart & know I never get the color right the first time) We started with Behr paint Pooh color-Blue Balloon. Too dark, It would feel like a cave, so next quart will be Pooh's Thoughtful spot-i will post pictures if it's right.

OK-Tony & I are trying to learn not to watch the food network-especially late at night. I can not tell you how many runs we have made for pie, cookies, chicken, etc. at 2am. So last night-Throwdown with Bobby Flay was doing Mac & Cheese (my favorite) I am now making the the most expensive mac & cheese I think possible-why? because Oprah said it was the best in the country-I trust her opinion on mac & cheese. Here is the recipe from food network, if anyone wants to try.

Big-by the way! I cut the recipe in half & it made a 9x10 plus a smaller casserole dish. Maybe I will freeze for when the baby comes




Delilah's 7 Cheese Mac and Cheese
Recipe courtesy Delilah Winder


2 pounds elbow macaroni
12 eggs
1 cup cubed Velveeta cheese
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, melted
6 cups half-and-half, divided
4 cups grated sharp yellow Cheddar, divided
2 cups grated extra-sharp white Cheddar
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup grated Asiago
1 cup grated Gruyere
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
1 cup grated Muenster
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until slightly al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to keep warm.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

Add the Velveeta, butter and 2 cups of the half-and-half to the large bowl of eggs. Add the warm macaroni tossing until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining half-and-half, 3 cups of the sharp yellow Cheddar, the remaining grated cheeses, and salt and pepper, tossing until completely combined in the large bowl.

Pour the mixture into 9 by 13-inch casserole or baking dishes (approximately 3 (3-quart) baking dishes) and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of sharp yellow cheese and bake until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes more.

Serve hot.

We're Moving-I swear

We have a plan. We are going to move. Nothing like waiting until the baby is almost here. I attended a really nice baby shower & a great wedding yesterday, tired today-slept till noon. Well, since I do have some time on my hands I need something to read-anyone read any good books lately? Send me a comment.


Picture of the cake I made for the shower

Added a Widget

See to the right, Andy's Countdown. Found that on another blog, clicked add, named it & poof-it found my blog & appeared on it, man I love this stuff. Wasn't so easy 15 years ago with DOS!

HTML Code

Tony said he sent me the HTML Code for the baby's 4d sonogram. We'll se if this works



Andys First 4D Video

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Wow is it really March 14th

So much has happened...I will have to take a few days to get everything in. First things though, I had my baby shower this past Sunday. It was so nice to have all of my friends come to wish me well. And, all I can say is babys come with lots of gear. It took me until 2 in the morning to organize & show my husband all of the stuff-thanks again to everyone who made it special.

There was a very special surprise on the Friday before the shower. My parents called & asked if we wanted to go to dinner (uh unemployed, free meal-yeah OK) so we met at Red Lobster. Tony & I got there first & asked for a table for 4-they gave us a table for 5, so the waiter asked if we wanted him to take away the other chair & we said n o it's OK. My parents walked in & behind them was this woman. Now, I didn't pay any attention to her because I thought she was a server or another customer. Then this woman walks around the table & stands near me. I look up like ---yes??? And I'll be damed there is my Sister from Missouri standing there. Now, as some of you might know-I am not a huge fan of surprises-they catch me off guard-so there I sat in Red Lobster crying like a baby saying of my gosh, what are you doing here. I was so thrown that when they said she was leaving Monday I said-oh you can go to my shower on Sunday-duh-that is why she was here!!!

Hiccups again

He had hiccups again last night around midnight...what's up? Me, that's what -at midnight. Can't he figure out how to get them in the daytime? Well I have a doctors appointment on Friday, He seems to be hanging out a little lower in my belly, which I didn't think would happen this soon (7 more weeks to go) We'll see what Dr. Dillon says. We also start our childbirth classes this week, so that should be fun for 5 weeks, I hope he makes it that long.

Looking very forward to this weekend. First all of the job nonsense will have closure finally. There is a crop on Saturday night at YMCA, not sure if anyone is going, and Sunday is my baby shower-can't wait to see everyone together. What are your plans this weekend?-hope they are fun

So Cute

So, last night around 10pm the baby got his first hiccups (well, that I could feel anyway) Then he got them again this morning at 5am. I tried to think if there was anything I ate that was odd, but I couldn't come up with anything. So cute, but I felt bad for the little guy he had them for about 15 minutes.

Just trying to wrap up work, Wednesday is my last day-so sad. Then it will be on to nesting for the new baby! Now which house?----I know you all must be saying "Just pick already" --- Trying!