Yay!

Minnie Driver's birth story

If we have a third ...

We're having a home birth. Welcome Home Baby.

Need a cake?

A friend from the Prior Lake Moms group makes cakes, and they are GORGEOUS!! If you need one for anything, check out her site:  Ooh La La Cakes.

you're it

If you are reading this and you have a blog - you have been tagged! It's your turn to list the 31 things...

1. Where is your cell phone? Ivy's got it
2. Where is your significant other? work--heading to the chiropractor
3. Your hair color? reddish-blonde
4. Your mother? home schooler
5. Your father? accountant
6. Your favorite thing? chocolate and coffee
7. Your dream last night? something about being the leader of two Asian gangs. We watched War the other night.
8. Your dream/goal? be a rock star
9. The room you're in? the Office
10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking and stitching
11. Your fear? heights
12. Where do you want to be in six years? in that new VW Routan
13. Where were you last night? in bed early
14. What you’re not? short
15. One of your wish list items? a crib mattress
16. Where you grew up? Virginia
17. The last thing you did? ate some honey  nut cheerios
18. What are you wearing? jeans and a sweater and woolie crocs
19. Your TV? is on. Cosby Show is on, and I'm vegging with my girl
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? Can't live without it
22. Your mood? Tired
23. Missing someone? Not really
24. Your car? Hyundai Santa Fe
25. Something you’re not wearing? coat--I'm inside, silly
26. Favorite store? Babies R Us
27. Your summer? good times
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? a little bit ago
31. Last time you cried? when a woman won $1 million on Wheel of Fortune last week

The Economic Crisis

So far, the economic crisis is only beneficial for us. I love paying 30 cents less per gallon of gas. The investments and house value will rebound, but low gas prices ... ah, what a dream!

The 'Middle Wife'

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

 I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

 She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

 'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts swaying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

 'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

 'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

 'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.' 

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

Minnesota Harvest

We went to Minnesota Harvest yesterday. It's an apple orchard with a petting zoo, corn maze, apple picking, pony rides, horse rides, a big store and bakery, and a BBQ.

It was the biggest disappointment. It looked like a ghost town. Run down, empty, dirty in the way that doesn't  scream nature, but shoddy care.

We had to find an employee who could unlock the petting zoo for us (not worth the $3 each to get in--worth $1 each--maybe).  It was just a big fenced-in area with the animals running loose. There was a sign that warning us that animals are unpredictable and we're entering at our own risk. I didn't put Ivy down at all, as the ground was covered with animal droppings.

I imagined a place with a carnival-type atmosphere. Hey, it's fall, and we love it! Let's have some fun! Instead, we drove 20 miles for a gross petting zoo and not much else.