The Countdown: 4

WOOHOO!! Four weeks to go and the baby is head down! This means no painful procedure for me! Except for labor of coarse. Everything else is the same.

My doctor told me two funny things that previous patients have said to her:

• One patient asked if babies were like puppies and could not open their eyes for the first few weeks after they were born!
  
• When my doctor went to measure another patient's belly, she noticed that her belly button was pretty dirty and in her words had a lot of "crusties". The patient said that she was worried that she would harm her baby if she cleaned her belly button. The patient went on to explain that she thought her belly button was attached to the baby's umbilical cord and she didn't want to do anything to disrupt that connection!

I would have such a hard time keeping a straight face! But my doctor is very sweet and in both situations she kindly explained to her patients what the reality was. Its hard to believe that some people can be so...naive, to put it nicely.

Home grown produce!

As I mentioned in our very first post, Brian and I attempted our first garden this year. And we did struggle with our little garden. Our zucchini plant produced pumkins (with the exception of one softball sized round zucchini?), our cucumbers died, and our poor tomatoes struggled. I am reminded of a poem my dad once wrote:

Poor struggling garden,
pity of the plot,
there are many things
you are not.

Of course my dad wrote this poem long before he became the master gardener that he is today. But this poem describes our first garden very well! However, I am happy to report that Brian harvested our carrots tonight and just look at these beauties!

Fresh, uncooked carrots are Brian's favorite vegetable and he was very excited that his efforts finally paid off. I should also mention that our lemon cucumbers and bell peppers did produce as well. So, our first attempt at gardening was definitely a learning experience. Hopefully next year will be a better success!

Attitude

Something to think about:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances..."
-Victor Frankl (survivor of WWII concentration camp)

We will never have control over everything that happens in our lives. There is no way of avoiding the trials that are thrown our way. The only thing we can always control is our attitude. This is something I need to work on. Children are a great example of this. Whether Ashlyn is sick, hurt, or doesn't get her way, her positive attitude always shines through. She may get angry for a moment, but it is fleeting, and she is back to happy girl that I love so much! Right now Ashlyn has a bad cold with a fever which comes and goes, but she still smiles, plays and sings. I don't know about you, but when I am sick I do not smile, play, and sing.

A Great Thing!

Quite often I find Ashlyn this way. Instead of taking the toys out of the box, she just climbs in! This is great because it means less clean up for me!

Blogoholism

Hi. My name is Jamie and I am a blogoholic. It all happened so fast. Six months ago I didn't even know what a blog was and now I am an addict. That is how blogoholism works. Once you try it, there is no turning back. In case you are wondering if you may also be suffering from blogoholism, here are some signs and symptoms:

• Your blogging has caused you to neglect other aspects of your life; the dishes in the sink, your children, paying bills, etc.
• Your late night blogging has caused sleep deprivation.
  
• You check your blog (and other blogs) multiple times a day to see if you have any new comments.
• Your excitement is like that of Christmas morning when you discover that you do have new comments.
  
• You are a blog stalker. Some may think that if they don't have their own blog, that they are not a blogoholic. This is not true.
  
• You become angry and frustrated at others when they do not update their blog frequently.

Unfortunately, there are no recommended treatments for blogoholism. The best thing to do is to just admit that you have a problem. I did it and so can you...

The Countdown: 5

Five weeks from today is my due date! I had my appointment on Tuesday and here is the update: I am dilated to a 1 plus, I am 50% effaced, and the baby is breech. I was excited to find out that I had started dilating because I have been having a lot of contractions - they have been waking me up at night. I am not so excited about the breech part. I have to go back next week and my doctor will check to see if the baby has rotated. She told me to try getting on my hands and knees and rocking my hips back and forth. I did this last night and I felt a little silly. It didn't help that Brian laughed at me! If the baby hasn't turned by next week then the doctor will have to try and turn it. I won't go into details, but this does not sound like a pleasant experience! Hopefully it will not come to that.

Favorite Fall Foods

I love fall. It is by far my favorite season. I love the holidays, the changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, and of coarse the food! MSN listed the eight most fattening foods of fall. How many are you guilty of consuming?

1. Halloween Candy. I would say that I am pretty good about limiting my intake.

2. Mashed Potatoes. Who says this is a fall food? Give me a big bowl of mashed potatoes any time of year!

3. Pumpkin Spice Latte. No problem there.

4. Apple Pie. If you have ever had my mom's apple pie, then you would know that there is no way to resist!

5. Cider. Love it, but I really don't drink it a lot.

6. Stuffing. I don't care how many calories are in it, Thanksgiving would not be complete with out this delicious side dish. I always have seconds!

7. Candy Apple. Again I love them but don't have them very often. It has probably been 5 years since I had a candy apple.

8. Turducken. Never had it. Sounds kindof strange to me.

So there you go. There is definitely a lot of yummy food to partake of in the fall, and I say indulge! For me, there is nothing better on a cold fall day than a bowl of homemade soup. Soups and stews have to be my favorite fall food of all. I guess this is good because they are generally low in fat. But my question for all of you is...

What is your favorite fall food?