Monday, March 29, 2010

False Alarm

Annie began having contractions on Friday. The kind that make you go Hmm. We knew about false labor and how often people are sent home from the hospital from contractions that were not actually labor. We were determined not to have this happen. The universe was determined to annoy us.

Our doctor told us that if the contractions were about a minute long each, five minutes apart and if this lasted for at least an hour, then it was labor. I pulled out my clipboard and we checked off all of the symptoms.

Contractions.........check
5 minutes apart......check
1 minute long each...check
lasting for an hour..Check

Still, even though Annie was going through this for about 3 hours we suspected it wasn't labor but since I never received my honorary medical degree from Phoenix University we decided to call the doctor. The doctor said she was in active labor and needed to go to the hospital.

Once there and hooked up to various machines another doctor told us that while the contractions met all the requirements we did not meet the final mysterious 5th requirement. The contractions must be so painful that you cannot walk or talk through them. Why was this last requirement not given to us by the first doctor? Because it is the mystery requirement that you must pay $500 in hospital fees to learn. We were sent home.

I was content to wait weeks for the baby to come, but now blood is in the water and we are like frenzied sharks after having a taste of being so close.


To ease the pain I have put up this funny video of my niece and her catlike window cleaning service.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Follow Up

Nancy Pelosi stated Sunday night that Congress has made history and that the fore fathers would be proud. Why would they be proud of such an act you might ask. That is a valid question considering the fore fathers were horrified at the thought of the government having this sort of power. Pelosi stated that the reason was because the fore fathers intended for us to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that now every American has the LIBERTY to have healthier lives.

According to Pelosi it would seem that the fore fathers intended Americans to be liberated from all hardships and problems in life through government aid and programs. Lets continue to make the fore fathers proud by giving us the liberty of happier lives by having the government buy every one a home and a car. Then we will give them the liberty of more happiness by giving them a great salary without having to work.

Next we should give everyone the right to life by making death illegal.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Healthcare

I'm not going to debate for or against the healthcare bill going into vote on Sunday but I did want to spew some thoughts on the politics surrounding it. I've heard more than one politician or pundit mention that while we hate the idea of it now things will change once its been passed.

You know where else I've heard that, from a parent, when I was about 10. My idea of the elected representative was a person vote and employed by me to represent me in a full time capacity allowing him or her to more educated in the processes of bill creation and general legislation.

They were never intended to become the voice they think we should have if "we knew better" or if we were just more educated. The current House has become arrogant and lost its public servant attitude and adopted a public parent attitude. It is not there place, nor there right to pass things the general public doesn't want under the pretense that we are just to ignorant to want whats best for us.

Frustration is rising, people don't like being told what to do in this condescending way. Right now the general public is being forced to accept a bill they do not want and feel that they are losing their representation in the House.

What is the job of a rep. in a democratic society? To vote for what the people want or what you think the people should want?

Things are getting silly, and this attitude is a much bigger problem than the actual bill.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

40 weeks is an important day in a baby's life. It means that he will be born, or at least that he is scheduled to be born and Annie and I are looking for ways to force mother nature to comply, some sort of mother nature choke hold. Sadly, we have found no way to force this nor anything to black mail mother nature with...she is a shrewd one. Although I think we may be getting close with something having to do with global warming.

Regardless, 40 weeks is important. Second to this is 37 weeks. 37 weeks means the baby is full term and can be born at anytime after that. Well, I am pleased to announce that our baby is 36 weeks today! Those who are mathematically inclined will note that 36 is not 37 nor 40 but it is only 1 week away from 37 and thus only 3 more weeks from that time before he is 40 weeks. We celebrate this because we are in the Kansas of pregnancy. By that I mean nothing is happening. Fun California is behind us and exciting Florida or New York is in front of us but right now we are stuck over Kansas. You know what happens in Kansas? I'll tell you what happens. Annie is getting more uncomfortable the baby still seems far away yet we have prepared everything with nothing left to do but wait and wait and wait. That's Kansas.

So with this in mind we took the opportunity to throw our baby a 36 week party to get excited about something.



We made some cake, threw some confetti and gave it all to the baby. Everyone had fun except Annie.

Monday, March 8, 2010

98-100

No, this blog entry contains little to no information about crafts or cute unborn children. Although, it seems like I literally, and I mean literally in the figurative sense that is so popular these days with people, cannot take a step without someone other than us having a newborn child. I know I will look back on this time before the baby and wish I would have enjoyed it more but I haven't become too anxious.

This post is about a passion of mine, which I realize causes about 98-100% to suddenly lose interest in what I'm writing but that's about 100% more people than are usually listening to me.

I was coming home from home teaching a few nights ago and found myself parked at home but unable to leave the car. At first I thought I was having some sort of physical malfunction or at very least a strong paranormal activity but then realized it was the draw of the music coming through my speakers that I could not leave.

The Bruce Springsteen that many of you know is a man best associated with Born in the U.S.A. Working man songs laced in poppy rock. This is perfectly accurate, for about two of his albums. As I sat listening to a song off of his first album I knew that I had been caught with his scratchy siren song and it did not bid me to stay seated in the car, rather it left me no choice but to finish the song or suffer the wrath of the rock god. "Lost in the Flood" is a song that might take many by surprise knowing its origin. It is a song that does not asked to be liked it reaches into your guts and rips respect from you.

Below is a recording of the last 2/3 of the song. I clipped the beginning hoping that if any one here does decided to give it a listen they will move straight to the meat of it. Its often hard to listen to 5 minutes of an artist you don't know very well playing a song you don't know.

Here it is. And it is SA-weet. I guarantee you will like it.*
If you really want to rock skip it to 1:05
* guarantee is not actauly guaranteed.