A Weekend in the Snow

So I have had this sledding weekend planned for....oh....months now.  Months and months.  LONG months.  In fact, the last few weeks, I have desperately needed this trip to the cabin. So when Friday afternoon hit, I was running for the door at work!  We were on the road by 3:00, radio blaring, snacks being passed around, and a LONG line of traffic.  99% of the drivers were clearly headed to McCall for the Winter Carnival.  Us?  To our private winter wonderland.  It was the perfect weekend. 

We saw more deer and elk on the drive up than we ever have - they were all over the place, though we only saw one actually ON the road.  So we didn't have any scares or near-misses.

Once we arrived and got everything unpacked and put away, the fun began.  We were joined by my brother and his girlfriend, our friend Nicole, and our other friends, Abby and Brandon, and their son, Daysen, who is Carter's good buddy.

 First thing Saturday morning, after a big breakfast of course, we got all bundled up and made our way out into the snow.  There were several feet of the fluffy, white stuff - and ample base for sledding!  Carter and Daysen kept themselves busy on the 4 wheeler (no, the key wasn't in it) while we inflated the tubes and got the sleds ready to go.

The guys (mostly Eric) were in charge of pulling around the boys.

 Which is actually quite easy.....until you start the climb UP.  ;)  I was more than happy to be pregnant at this point - my hardest task was carrying around my camera.

 Let me tell you, these boys were hilarious once the high speed sledding began.  Carter was screaming like a crazed banshee, and Daysen was just scared speechless!  Both claimed to be scared, but as soon as the sled stopped, the giggling began and they begged for more.  So it was a good fear that they had inside them - and definitely one that entertained the on-lookers!

 Abby and Daysen

 Nicole and Carter

 Abby and Brandon

 Eric and Carter - look at those red cheeks!  It certainly wasn't cold (as you can tell by Eric's lack of coat) - Carter just plays so hard and his poor cheeks get so rosy.  This was near the end of our day, and he had hiked up those hills countless times.  And when there wasn't a sled available, his snowsuit was slick enough that he just sat down on his butt and went down the hill just like that.  It was too funny!

 The boys continued to run wild late into the evening (his cheeks are still bright red here), and when it was time for bed, trust me, it didn't take much more than a few minutes for them to completely pass out.

All in all, it was a damn good weekend.  Of course, it went by entirely too fast - as great weekends tend to do.  I can't wait for the next trip up there!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes Part 4

This week was an extremely busy week, so the camera wasn't out a whole lot.  We had too much to do to get ready for our trip to the cabin!  However, we did manage to take some along the way and here's what we got this week:

We had a game night one night this week - Spiderman Chutes & Ladders was Carter's selection.

 And of course, the little Spiderman himself (Carter) totally kicked our butts!

 Camera wasn't brought out as much as I would have liked at the cabin - mostly because the flash was acting up and what we did manage to get was really poor quality.

 Slapping the air out of Eric's cheeks - always a crowd pleasure for the child.

 Eating breakfast with Daysen - it was snowing pretty hard this morning, but Carter didn't want to venture out with me to take snow pictures.

And that's all for this week.  Stay tuned for more!!

Pregnancy Tracker - 27 Weeks

So we are now at 27 weeks.  I feel 9 months pregnant already. Seriously - there is no room and I'm constantly feeling uncomfortable, especially sitting down.  The only time I feel great is when I'm laying in bed or on the couch.  It's pretty miserable - not to complain too much!  ;)  I got a pretty painful kick from the baby today - I'm pretty sure it was a straight shot to the spleen or something.  But hey, who needs a spleen, right?

Next week, we get to pick the surgery date.  It'll most likely be the week before my due date, so we are looking at anywhere from April 18-22.....or on the weekend before or after, I suppose.

I also thought we were down to just two names in the baby-name race, but after yesterday, we might have added a third again.  Nothing is jumping out at us yet, so we might be back to the idea of just taking the names with us to the hospital and seeing which one fits her the best.  I certainly don't have a problem doing that, but we sure are feeling the pressure from others to divulge a name!  And if we had one, I wouldn't tell.  But since we don't have one picked yet, I CAN tell you just that - there is no name picked.  :)

Here's what babycenter.com says about the baby and pregnancy at 27 weeks:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

(I put Eric behind the camera for this shot, so excuse the fuzzy quality - even on the tripod, he managed to move the camera around.)

Taking the "EASY" way out?

**DISCLAIMER**  This is an emotionally-charged blog post.  This is a post about childbirth - so if that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, please stop reading.  I share my opinions, some research, some sarcasm, and I might even drop some f*bombs.  So if any of those offend you, stop reading now.  Otherwise, I welcome and invite you to read along and share your thoughts.

So I've been hearing an (unwelcome) comment quite often lately, when asked if I plan to do a vbac (vaginal birth after a cesarean) or a repeat c-section.  My first thought when asked this question is, frankly, why is it any of your business how I give birth to my child?  And there are two people who ask me this question - one type who is just curious, and the other type who wants to debate and shove their own opinion down my throat.  Anyone who knows me know how much I thoroughly enjoy the second type of person.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good debate.  The delivery of my child, however, is not a debate I'm going to have.  It's a personal decision that in no way, shape, or form involves anyone but me, my doc, and the life inside my body. 

Nonetheless, and despite my diplomatic attempts to avoid the debate, there are those out there who insist on pressing the issue, asking what research I've done to come to the conclusion that this is the safest delivery method for my unborn child, shoving their own personal experience and research down my throat, etc. To those people, I offer a big, fat fuck you.  I know, I know - harsh?  Maybe, if they were being polite.  However, these labor and delivery nazis are in no way being polite to me.  It takes the form of a personal attack, like I am being admonished for CHOOSING a repeat c-section.  How dare I, right?

I know there are those people out there who thoroughly enjoy childbirth - no joke.  I have a close friend who found it to be the most euphoric experience in her life.  And for those people who thoroughly enjoy it?  Good for you.  I WISH it was like that for me.  And who knows, maybe I'm just not "strong" enough, but those 15 hours I spent in labor were nowhere near euphoric.  And let me just clear the air right now - I'm NOT having a repeat c-section to make this entire process easier on myself.  I'm not that selfish.  Carter was in some serious distress during those 15 hours, flat-lining countless times, due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around his chest.  The cord would literally squeeze the life out of him with every contraction I had.  After many hours of monitoring this, my doc called for an emergency c-section.  And after Carter was brought into this world, my doc shared with me the fact that my pelvic cavity was too narrow and I could not have delivered Carter vaginally no matter how hard I pushed.  It would have put him in the position to use other  tools, such as forceps or even vacuum extraction.  Gee, neither of those sound potentially harmful to a baby, do they?

A lot of people feel that doctors push repeat c-sections on mothers via scare tactics.  First of all, if I felt my doctor was using scare tactics on me, he wouldn't be my doctor anymore.  My doctor did, however, present me with concrete statistics for BOTH delivery options given my prior c-section.  And since my doc was educated at Johns Hopkins, among other places, I'm going to go ahead and put more weight on his facts and opinions versus a nosy, rude person who can't mind their own business.

So yes, I understand there are serious risks involved with a c-section, as with any surgery.  But I also recognize that there are serious risks to my attempting a vbac as well, which include rupturing my scar tissue, which can lead to bleeding in the brain.  So really, it comes down to the old risk-benefit analysis.  And that analysis, coupled with my own research and discussions with my doctor, is no one else's business.  The choice is mine.  And while I'm more than willing to discuss the safety features on my child's carseat, I'm NOT willing to discuss my reasoning behind opting for a repeat c-section.  What I do or don't do with my vag and uterus really shouldn't be open for debate.

Book Review: Echo Park

This is another book by author Michael Connelly (I just reviewed another book by him last week).  Below is a synopsis:

Bestseller Connelly's compelling 12th Harry Bosch novel (after 2005's The Closers) offers some new wrinkles on a familiar theme—the aging detective haunted by the one who got away. In Bosch's case, the elusive quarry is the man who abducted a 22-year-old equestrian, Marie Gesto, in 1993. Having returned to active duty as a member of the LAPD Open-Unsolved Unit, Bosch repeatedly pulls the file to see if he can discover something new and give some small solace to the victim's parents. When a chance police stop of a suspicious vehicle nets serial killer Raynard Waits, who's carrying body parts in his van, Bosch assesses the murderer's claim that he was responsible for killing Gesto, too. The weary and cynical detective soon suspects that Waits is trying to barter information for a reduced sentence of life imprisonment. Political motivations connected with the upcoming DA election also cloud the investigation. Smooth prose and plausible characters—even the secondary figures—elevate this several notches above the standard cop vs. serial-killer thriller.

This isn't the first Bosch novel in the series, so I pretty much started out of order.  And that's ok.  I don't think this is one (series) that necessarily needs to be read in order to make sense.  Echo Park is definitely a great crime thriller.

I did, however, notice one similarily to The Lincoln Lawyer, which I read last week - it was another book that got off to a slow start, but finished with a bang.  Once these books reach a certain point, the story seriously picks up and the books are impossible to put down.  It's just getting to that point that is the hard part!  But now that I'm getting familiar with Connelly's writing style, I feel more invested in his books.  In fact, I just started another one today.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes Part 3

Here we are - another Sunday night.  Unfortunately, the camera wasn't out a whole lot this week for two reasons - (1) I wasn't feeling well this week and (2) the batteries were almost dead and I needed to buy some more.  So the pictures that we did grab this week are limited.......my apologies.

I will provide captions for what makes sense to me, lol!  Sometimes he takes extremely random pictures (like of the carpet or the trash can), and I remove those because .... well, they just make no sense.

He took this one when we were filling his pig with the loose change from around the house.

He got this car at Christmas - from a toy store my aunt found in San Diego - it's the most awesome remote-control car!

 Apparently lunch one day was rather interesting to him!  PB&J, apple sauce and goldfish crackers.

 And we went grocery shopping the other night, and I told him to play with the camera while I unloaded the groceries.  He had a couple of me on there, but they were entirely too blurry.

 The lizard - one of his favorite stuffed animals. Though it looks like the lizard had a rough night.

 The car - again

 I managed to snap one of him with his car - the one picture I was allowed to take!

 Eric fixing a part of the coffee table.

 A snack

 He sure loves his daddy

 And he let Eric take a picture too - which would have turned out better had I put the new batteries IN the camera so the flash would work, lol! 

And that's what we have for this week.  We were super busy today, so there aren't any pictures from today.  Eric had a rare day off, so we spent some quality family time at the pool, visiting at my parents' house (to watch my Steelers WIN!!!) and then home to watch the new Shrek movie all cuddled up together on the couch.  It was a perfect day and I can't wait for next weekend when we actually get three straight days together up at the cabin in the snow!

Pregnancy Tracker - 26 weeks

Well here we are at 26 weeks.  The competition for space in my body is one that I'm quickly losing. I can tell the baby is growing because at times, I feel like my belly is quite stretched when she's in a specific position.  It's very uncomfortable.  The kicks are getting stronger.  And Carter told me last night that he can see the baby's feet through my belly button.  Ha!  What an imagination!

We have officially knocked one name off of the baby name list.  So we are down to two names.  And no, we still are not sharing.  Formal introductions will come at visiting time in the hospital.

Here's what babycenter.com says about the pregnancy at 26 weeks:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

If your lower back seems a little achy lately, you can thank both your growing uterus — which shifts your center of gravity, stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen your joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why you may feel worse at the end of the day. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, as well as bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back. A warm bath or hot compress might bring relief. (Some women, though, find cool compresses more comforting.) Try to maintain good posture during the day, avoid activities that require bending and twisting at the same time, take frequent breaks when sitting or standing, and sleep on your side with one or both knees bent with a pillow between your legs, using another pillow (or wedge) to support your abdomen.

There is also talk on babycenter.com about birthing classes and creating a birthing plan.  We aren't taking a refresher course for the birth, simply because we are opting for a c-section, and I know all there is to know about that.  I go in for my next check-up in about a week and a half, so at that point, we will pick the date and get everything officially on the calendar.

Captivated

This is a totally random post, related to nothing specific or exciting. But while I was folding mounds and mounds of laundry tonight (as you can see in the background), Carter was completely captivated by the movie he was watching. I grabbed the camera while he was holding extremely still, and snapped a couple shots of my handsome boy.

On another side note - RAIN.  It's all we seem to get lately.  I have a weekend trip to the cabin planned, which is right around the corner.  I don't need RAIN, I need SNOW!  Come on snow!  I'm thoroughly tired of the rain and this mild winter.

Book Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

By:  Michael Connelly

Book Synopsis:

Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn't recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.

Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers — they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence — it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career.

Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal — this time to save his own life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was actually out of books to read - which, to anyone who is an avid reader, causes somewhat of a panic. My father actually recommended Connelly to me.  He has a couple different main characters he writes about, and the first one I chose was attorney Mickey Haller.  I have to admit, this book started out slow. I struggled with it because it didn't really seem like it was headed anywhere.  But let me tell you - once the investigation and trial kicked into high gear, I could NOT put this book down.

And even better? It's been turned into a movie, coming out in March.  I know, I know.  Lots of books get made into movies.  However, this one stars Matthew McConaughey, Josh Lucas, and Ryan Phillippe.  Can we say HELLO!  I'm extremely excited to see this movie - and it's definitely on my calendar for March.

I picked up several other Connelly books from the library, from his other series, which I will be starting today.  Hopefully they turn out to be an excellent read as well!

Teresa & Dave {Engagement}

I did this engagement shoot a while back, and had some extended time to edit.  I will be shooting this couple's wedding later this year, so you will be seeing them again.  Unfortunately, when we did their engagement shoot, I was sick and feeling totally uninspired.  And the lack of inspiration carried over into the editing, which is a bummer.  The creative juices were just not flowing.  So I actually hopped online and got some new actions for CS5 and that made a huge difference.  Unfortunately, by that time, I only had a few pictures left to edit - so the entire session wasn't a total loss!

Anyway - at the couple's request, we met down at the river in Eagle......a spot which I'm totally burnt out using. But they really liked the shots I had from there this summer and specifically requested the location.  Regardless of my displeasure with the shoot, here are some samples: