Hello, 2014!

Oh yeah, I have a blog, ha ha!  Thanks must go to my dear friend Ralph for reminding me that not everyone is on Facebook and that some of my distant friends (and family) may rely on this for updates about our lives!  So, here goes.  We quietly welcomed in the new year this year, not that past years were very elaborate or exciting! We let the kids stay up to watch the New York Ball drop and then at our midnight we watched the fireworks display all over the Space Needle. Hands down, the Space Needle show wins, at least as far as watching it on TV goes!

The first time we set foot in Washington was mid-February last year so it's almost been one year.  We'll have been officially living here for one year on March 29th.  Since my last update, we drove to Arizona and back, and I flew with Zach to Kentucky.  Both trips had their trials, but were well worth it to see family and friends!

Autumn in Washington was beautiful.  There are enough deciduous trees here in the "lowlands" that we get to see the colors change still.  I heard it was a drier Fall season than the area has seen in awhile, and that worries me sometimes.  We need the rain here, to keep our ecology healthy.  Climate Change 101?

Speaking of Autumn, Evey started first grade this year at Lake Wilderness Elementary School.  She is doing very well, her reading skills have improved vastly since the start of the year.  They are learning about Australia this semester which should be fun!  Grandma has been to both Australia and New Zealand ... maybe one day I will go, too.

Our next big trip will happen in April when we all fly back to Illinois for two weeks for my brother and Melinda's wedding!  It will be great to see everyone living there and lots of family coming in from all over the country.  I'm sure it will also be a bit chaotic, wanting to spend time with so many different people over a relatively short period.

Ahh, dear Illinois ... of course nature decides to dump two and a half feet of wonderful snow the winter after I leave!  I am jealous of all that beautiful white fluffy stuff they got.  However, I am not jealous of the brutal cold that tagged along with it.  It has been in the low 40s here most of winter.  We did get a wee bit of snow a couple times.  The Friday before winter break we got "enough" snow that schools closed down!  Here are a couple images.  Granted the folks around here aren't used to a lot of snow, this still makes me giggle.

Another state comparison ... when there's no snow in Illinois in the winter, the land tends to be fairly drab and brown.  Here, it's still incredibly green.  Also, I can safely say I have seen more fog in the last few months than I have ever seen in my whole life!  I've been obsessed with exploring since we moved ... both on foot and vehicular.  Here are some recent hiking adventures we've gone on.

On one vehicular exploration trip I took the kids out near the northwestern edge of the Mt. Rainier National Park.  We didn't make it to the Park, but that didn't matter anyway because this entrance is closed during the winter.  I turned around when the wind and rain combined with the mountainous road began to make me feel uneasy.  My tire chains have not yet arrived so there's only so far up I can go in altitude.  Before reaching that point though, we had crossed a scarily narrow bridge over a deep chasm!  Good times!

Here's a parting image of Mt. Rainier from another hike we went on, in relation to our house and the mountain.  Maybe I'm weird, but I like to see stuff like this!

Where have I been?

Many years ago when I lived in Arizona we'd visit a restaurant called Luke's on occasion. Chicago-themed, the place is resplendent with decor of the city, especially sports themed paraphernalia. On the tables under glass are actual photographs and postcards and I always found myself drawn to one in particular. The image below isn't it, but you get the idea. Brrr. In the sweltering heat of a summer day, gazing at this photo was a breath of cool, fresh air.

It has been a year and a half since my last post. Why am I bothering to write? Where would I start? So much has happened since my last entry! The biggest change would have to be our cross country move from the suburbs of Chicago to the state of Washington, about an hour southeast of Seattle. We have lived here for five and a half months and now as life's more mundane aspects plop themselves down on our daily lives with increasing frequency I have felt a growing urge to not let go of how this beautiful new state has so captured my heart. My mom and I still frequently joke with each other about how it feels like we're on vacation except for the fact that we have to go to work during the week! So, I've returned to my blog. Yes, I post a lot, including pictures, of our new life on Facebook, but it's not always enough. I can't fully express my thoughts in such short blurbs. In my soul, I am a writer. I have been since before I could write words (as a small child I drew picture stories).

So, what the heck is going on with this all-over-the-place blog post? Well, I started with how seeing a photograph of Chicago made me feel back when I lived in Arizona because now that I am in Washington no photograph could ever make me miss that area. That does not, however, diminish in any regard how much I do miss my friends and family still there. If my brother had invented teleportation like he was supposed to (according to my world) then life would be so, so grand, ha ha! For as much as I adore my new state I still have a travel bug and the whole world fascinates me. I would never in a million years move back to Arizona, but next week we are taking a road trip there and I am excited! In October I'm heading to my beloved south central Kentucky, home of Mammoth Cave.

Let me tell you what the Pacific Northwest, in my limited experience, is not. It is not gloomy. The people are not cold nor unfriendly. I know it's supposed to rain a lot during the fall and winter and I'm perfectly content with that. If it didn't rain like it does, the land wouldn't be as lush and green as it is. The trees here are enormous and tower far above any in any other place I've been. I've flown back to Illinois twice for work now and I've been struck both times by how short the trees seem! But best of all ... the mountains. I LIVE near mountains now! Ever since visiting family in Colorado for spring break each year starting when I was ten I've want to live in or near mountains.

That is Mt. Rainier in all her awesome glory. I took this photo from the Mt. Rainier National Park a couple months ago, which is only about one and a half hours away from our house. The quote in the photo sums up life in Washington fairly well, "Grey is the price of neighboring with eagles, of knowing a mountain's vast presence, seen or unseen." ~ Denise Levertov. Thus far we've had a very dry spring and summer, experiencing a plethora of cloudless blue sky days with today being no exception. I grew up in northern Illinois where the sky can be slate gray for months on end during the winter. And I lived in Arizona for four years where the constant blue skies began to feel like living in a giant fishbowl. I'm not afraid of the rain that western Washington is known for. The cloudy, rainy days we have had were beautiful in their own right, with the clouds texturing the sky in several shades of gray.

We have so much more to explore around here, I can't hardly wait! But there's also no rush I have to remind myself. I'm not on vacation. This is my home!

Christmas is nigh

Wow, it's been awhile again!! Christmas is looming! We've yet to get any significant snowfall. :( And I'm a terrible blogger ... probably because I'm on Facebook so much. That and taking care of two kids, working full time, and volunteering with my favorite organization, the CRF. Alas, volunteering does not mean caving. But hopefully this spring I'll get in a trip or two! What it does mean is that over the summer I accepted the role of editor for our newsletter! When I was asked they didn't know of my passion for writing, reading, and proper grammar. I'm far from an expert, but I was thrilled at the opportunity to help in that way. I'm also still the Personnel Officer for the Eastern Operations. So, busy busy!

The kids - that doesn't sound so strange anymore - are doing well. There's so much I could say, but my bed is calling to me. Evey is now 5 years old! And little Zach is 5 months. Evey is a good, if not a bit over-enthusiastic, big sister. Breastfeeding is going very well - even though I have to pump 3x a day when I'm working which can be a bit stressful, especially during this time of year (this is the busiest time for payroll professionals). I believe the key for our success is that when we are together, he still feeds on demand. The Pediatrician "advised" we could introduce cereal to him at 3 months old! Huh?? We're waiting until 6 months, like we did with Evey. I know some kids start between 4-6 months, but I prefer to wait. He's growing just fine! He weighed 15 lbs 1 oz at his 5 month appointment. On that note, I will bid you all adieu before my rambling gets any longer! :)

Zach's Birth Story!

SPEAKING of surprises! Our little guy surprised us by coming over 3 weeks early!! He was born June 29th at 10:53AM when I was just 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We named him Zachary Louis Lexander. Here is his birth story that I wrote while still in the hospital ...

Where to begin my little early surprise?? You came into the world at just 36 weeks and 5 days! And there had been absolutely no inkling that would happen. I went to bed the evening of June 28th, just like any other evening. I woke up out of a dream involving a waterpark at 1:15AM and headed to the bathroom as always. I felt like I’d wet myself just a little already and was a bit disturbed by that. I was wet enough that I had to change my underwear. I wondered if it could be my water breaking, but figured that was crazy, being so early and that only 10% of waters break on their own. So I went back to bed. I lay there for awhile, and had what I now think was a contraction, but at the time I thought it was just nerves, from not knowing for certain what was going on with my body. At about 1:45AM I got up again and went to the bathroom. This time I turned on the light to see what color was going into the toilet. It was slightly pinkish. Uh oh! I woke up Daddy, then called the doctor. She said to head into the hospital where they could check to see if it was my water that had broken. Both Daddy and I were in denial – you were too early! So, Daddy went back to bed and Grandma drove me. Part of me figured we’d be back home in a few hours.

Too much talking along the way caused us to miss the turn so we had to loop back around to the hospital. Only we got caught by a freight train that had stopped across the intersection only a block from the hospital – how frustrating! But even more frustrating for the people in the car ahead of us. The woman was out of their car, pacing back and forth in obvious agony. She was also in labor. I knew there was a way to backtrack and get to the hospital avoiding the train tracks so I got out and went over to her. She was in tears and asked that I talk to her husband. He was already on the phone with the hospital, but I assured him that yes, there was a way around. Us along with at least one other car turned around and headed to the hospital a different way.

After testing the fluid I was leaking and confirming it was my water, I was moved from triage to an L&D room. They also had checked me and I was 3 cm and 60% effaced! So much more advanced that I got with Evey pre-epidural! We decided to let Daddy continue sleeping (it was probably about 3:30AM or so by then) because he was going to wake up at 5:30AM anyway. I put off getting the epidural for awhile, and ended up getting it around 7:15AM. Daddy came in shortly thereafter. This time my mom got to be in the room and help support me during the epidural. With Evey, they had made Daddy leave the room!

A funny thing - Daddy said that when he woke up he could’ve sworn I’d come home and said it was a false alarm. And so he was briefly confused when I wasn’t there!

The epidural worked long enough for me to give some resolution to my open items at work (Daddy brought my laptop) … how amusing that I’d just assured my clients I was going to be around for awhile still! What else would I have thought? Evey had been just 3 days shy of her due date! Shortly after cleaning up my cases and emails, the epidural seemed to stop working as well as it had. The anesthesiologist gave me more medicine twice and it still didn’t fully work. We think it was because of the pitocin they gave me to make sure I had you within a certain amount of time to avoid infection because my water had already broken. It made my contractions much harder, and come faster. I went from 4 cm to 10 cm dilated in about an hour!! And boy, that last hour WAS painful! I got nauseated at one point as well, but thank goodness never threw up.

On the bright side, I pushed you out in just 4-5 contractions, about 10 minutes! And this time I watched with a mirror, which was so cool. And I think it helped, too, to see what progress I was making. I pushed so hard though that I broke blood vessels all along the sides of my face … it looks like someone beat me up! And even more cool was when your head was almost out, they told me to not push and we just watched and you slowly glided out! Wow! And no episiotomy was needed this time! I tore just slightly they said and required only one suture. You didn’t cry right away, but did make little noises. They checked out your breathing because you were early, and everything was good! You were born at 10:53AM, 6 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long! For so many weeks I’d wondered how our birth story would play out. It still astonishes me that it’s happened! You’re here!

One little tidbit I just remembered – so many women came in when we did that they had to call their scheduled inductions to tell them not to come! A lady just brought me June 29th’s newspaper to save for you and said that 16 babies were born here yesterday!

I’m a little sad that my pregnancy is over. I liked being pregnant and was trying to enjoy every moment of it because this should be my last time. It makes me wistful still when I think about how you were just in there yesterday, wiggling around! But it makes me happy when I remember you’re not gone, you’re here in my arms now! I was also looking forward to being off work until mid-October, not the end of September! It’s still the 12 weeks of course, but somehow doesn’t feel as long. I am getting used to the new reality of it though. Some good sleep last night helped I think.

As I finish this little write-up, you are turning 24 hours old my little buddy!! I love you!

35 1/2 Weeks! Surprise Ultrasound

This evening marked my last bi-weekly appt and my first weekly one. They did the group b strep test and then because I'm measuring small (33 weeks) they gave me the non-stress test. That went pretty well. Baby had to be prodded a bit to wake him up. He's usually more active earlier in the day.

It's interesting that they decided to delve further into my measurements this time because at each appt I've been small. Maybe they hoped it'd catch up. Anyway, I'm not terribly worried because I have a long torso, which I think gives the baby more room.

After the non-stress test the doctor did a quick ultrasound to make sure there's enough fluid around him. At first she couldn't find enough, then she found a couple nice size pockets. She also asked me if we knew the baby's gender ... I said we thought it's a boy. She showed me the monitor which confirmed it 100%, ha ha. So, now the plan is to get a full ultrasound within the week just to make sure he's measuring appropriately. Funny since how accurate can that really be when they are often 2+ lbs off in their estimations? I won't argue though because it means getting to see our little guy again. :)

34 Weeks!

Today I am 34 weeks along! I'm hoping to make it until my due date ... selfishly because the last Harry Potter movie comes out the week before and the next George R R Martin novel right around that time. It would be nice to have it along to read while in the hospital ... assuming labor takes awhile! I have one more doctor's appointment in two weeks, then my appointments become weekly, whoopie! I like going ... because we get to hear the heartbeat and they measure my belly. I'll not mention getting weighed though ... I have a lot of work cut out for me! Eveything is going well still - I have low blood pressure and no swelling. Oh, and the gestational diabetes I'd been afraid of in my last post - not a concern, I passed the test! Here's to hoping our little guy isn't 10 lbs!

He does wiggle around quite a bit ... mostly during the day at work. Could that be a good sign for his sleep schedule? Of course, he might be active at night, too, but it's not kept me from sleeping! Sometimes it feels like there couldn't possibly be any room left in there for him to grow, but we have 6 weeks left!

28 Weeks Pregnant!

It's been approximately 4 months since my last post! Told ya'll things would be sporadic. Well, it's safe now to disclose my current "condition" via blog because everyone should already know we're pregnant with child #2. I am due July 22nd and it's most likely a boy! Things are going well so far. Last weekend I had my gestational diabetes test and we're still awaiting the results. My mom had diabetes with my brother and he was also nearly 10 lbs so I am hoping to NOT follow in her footsteps! Here's a picture of my belly at 25 weeks. I took it to compare it with my belly when I was pregnant with Evey.


Evey is doing well - she knows she's going to be a big sister, but I don't think she truly knows what that means yet! One day she told me that because we got to name her, she gets to name the baby. Ha ha ... um, no! We have a few name ideas floating around, but there's one I really like ... we still have a few months to decide though!

Everyone take care for now - and I will try to post again sooner. If I wait another 4 months the baby will have already arrived!