The Home Stretch

that title seems a bit more provocative than I originally intended...

We had an appointment with midwife Beth on Friday. I wanted her to check on the progress of this baby since my mom and Granny have been demanding cold, hard facts over ambiguous statements such as "everything is going well".

Heres the news, dear loved ones:

I am (or I was as of Friday) dilated 2cm and about 50% effaced. Dont know what that means? Thats because it doesnt mean anything! Really, she could have told me that I was 8cm dilated and that still wouldnt be any indication of how much longer we have until he shows up. She also estimated that the baby is about 7.5lbs.
SEVEN AND A HALF POUNDS?! ALREADY?! Good lord, get this kid out of me!

The other thing Beth told me is that she would like me to be "a little softer" before labor starts.

I was devastated! Ive been totally blessed to have this great pregnancy so far with zero complications and everything; blood pressure, heart rate, glucose, measurement, weight gain, etc. has been right on track - "perfect" even. So dont I feel like the big whiner when she gives me one ounce of criticism and I feel crushed!

Its almost the same feeling as when I was in fifth grade taking these standardized tests and Im scoring in the 99 percentile of every category and then I get like an 87% in mathematical comprehension. Being as good or better than 87% of your peers is nothing to blow your nose at, but when you are expecting to excel in the 99% range, its so disappointing!

I was so sad to have fallen short in the cervical softening category! I was expecting her to tell me that I was ahead of schedule, that the baby would just fall out of me when I stood up, that I would have this perfect delivery because I was testing into the 99 percentile for my age group!

In reality (a place I frequent), its no big deal, I should just walk around more and do some other things I wont go into detail about here. In fact, I could probably have the baby just fine the way things are right now. But I want to have a perfectly soft cervix to go along with my perfectly measuring uterus and my perfect blood pressure!

Sadly, babies and baby making isnt like a standardized test. There is no standard. People just have babies and they have them in their own way. In the end, just getting the baby out should be accomplishment enough without the pressure of competition.

And all this esoteric mind jarble just because mom and Granny had to have that stupid measurement that doesnt mean anything!

Reflections on being German

Yesterday I watched Die Trapp Familie in Amerika with Granny and her German friend Marianne. The movie (although completely in German and lacking subtitles) was lovely, however, the real treat was the discourse that followed the show.

We got to talking about heimat, a word that both Granny and Marianne quickly pointed out had no direct English translation but could be described as "the home of your heart".

...Now, which direction do I want to take this article? Should this be an article discussing the intrinsic beauty and elusive character of foreign language? Or should I go on to talk about how heimat relates to my life, especially my life on the brink?

Lets start with the family since this is, after all, the baby blog.

Granny told us yesterday about how her grandfather used to talk about Germany. She said that when he spoke of Germany it was "as if Germany were the most beautiful place on earth. That there was nowhere else in the world like it and there never would be." I felt proud hearing that. It feels good to know that I come from somewhere.

Instantly, I was struck by how similar that sounds to Mr A describing Hawaii. When Mr A tells me that Hawaii is his home, he is telling me that Hawaii is his heimat. I think my husband feels displaced. He knows that his body and his family belong there, he wants to live and die there. His very sense of self is connected to that land. I imagine its miserable being away from the home of your heart. I dont think I ever fully understood what he was saying about Hawaii until I heard Granny yesterday talking about my great-great grandfather and his rueful passion for Germany.


And on to a more theoretical discussion of language...

Granny and I both believe that this is the best part of foreign language, the poetic beauty of words that never quite translate. Because a language is a package. It comes with the history and the culture of the people who speak it. Its specifically adapted to their lives, their needs.

Granny posed the questions today "how could you encompass everything that heimat means?" You can describe it, but you can not possibly give a full explanation of that word, its concept, the feelings associated with it, all in one English word.

There are lots of words like that. Just take the word for foreigner and say it in Thai (faraang), Japanese (gaijin) and Hawaiian (haole). Unique concepts, associated with totally different feelings, but for some reason they are all technically translated back to the rather benign English word "foreigner". The point is, if we never study the language, if we never speak with people who speak the language and we just tog through an English-Whatever Dictionary, we lose so much of what these words really mean to the people who use them.

I truly cant even imagine what is printed next to heimat in the English-German Dictionary. But I know what it means to me, in my lexicon and in my life. I guess in that sense, if we can get to the heart of these words, if we can hold onto these concepts rather than worry about English equivalents, then we are not only learning how to describe things as someone else would, we are expanding our own understanding of our language, our culture, and our selves.

Full Term Baby

Its official. We have made it to 37 weeks and will now be having a full term baby no matter what. Yay!

Mr A took me out to celebrate last night, since yesterday was the actual day of full termness. We ate shabu-shabu (my to-die-for favorite that I have eaten only one other time since returning from Japan) and then got ice cream (coconut mango rice ice cream- HELLO DELICIOUS!). Im still full. Being the superstar husband that he is, Mr A showered me with compliments all night long about how great Ive done with this pregnancy and how awesome this whole experience has been, etc. Fantastic!

Speaking of Japan, we played hime-sama with Ava yesterday and I just wanted you to appreciate what a terrible job I did tying this obi! Could we call this the hanabi knot since it looks like it just exploded all over this poor child? Truly being Mr As daughter, we got her in the kimono, she pranced around and took a couple pics, then picked up the escrima stick, looked her dad straight in the eye, and said in a low challenging voice "common, lets fight!" It was Mortal Combat right there in my living room!

On the physical front, I walked on the treadmill yesterday for about an hour and a half, although I dont think I walked quite 2 miles - I was going really slowly. The strange part was that afterwards and for the rest of the night I felt as if I had been horseback riding for 6 hours straight! It wasnt exactly a "I pulled my groin muscle" feeling, but more like riding horse or bicycle when you arent used to it type feeling. I dont know what "lightening" or "dropping" is supposed to feel like but Im going to assume that is it.

Pregorexia

I have been meaning to blog about this for awhile. I was so angry, pissed off about it like three months ago and I never got around to writing anything down. So now here we are a few months later and I almost dont care anymore. But for the sake of being provocative I will try to muster up some of those long lost feelings...

I was reading People magazine (the journal of modern American consumerism) and I came across this blurb about Tori Spelling being pregnant with her second kid complete with pictures of her lounging poolside in a bikini, ethereally holding her belly and gazing into space like she was hopped up on morphine. In this article she talks about how wonderful being pregnant is (and I agree with that so no hard feelings there) but then she goes off about how with her first kid she gained *gasp* 30ish pounds but now this time she got her shit together, shes only gained 25 lbs and it all went to her "big beautiful belly" (or something equally asinine).

God I could have just screamed! Im not stupid enough to buy into the things they are selling me in People - but some women are. I am the peoples pregnancy champion! I should fight for those who dont yet understand that they should fight for themselves. GAINING ALL YOUR PREGNANCY WEIGHT IN YOUR BELLY IS BIOLOGICALLY IMPOSSIBLE! Tori Spelling, whether she meant to be or not, is a damned liar! We all saw the pictures of her first pregnancy! Weve seen the ones from this one! She gained weight from her eyeballs to her ankles!

And, frankly, theres nothing wrong with that, if thats how her body is going to do it. I guess thats why the article got me so steamed. We have pregnant women running around now who are scared of "doing it wrong" because Tori Spelling, who has the luxury of being able to have any questionable evidence airbrushed, is telling us that the impossible is, in fact, possible.

When did we as a culture become so fascinated with negotiating other peoples method of bearing children? Its not even the pregnancy or the reverence for life or the empowerment of birth that we are so desperate to consume. If those were the issues at stake here I would be excited to be writing this. We as a culture are fascinated with picking women apart. judging their choices, counting down their days to weight loss and approving (begrudgingly) of only the most outlandishly perfect deliveries.

So now that its vogue to hold "the media" responsible for all of our societal problems - where does that leave a woman who just wants to have a "normal" pregnancy? Does she do what feels right for her? Does she carefully calculate her every move, trying to gain those 25 lbs in her belly and anything that strays to her upper arms must be chalked up to her own pathetic lack of self control? Should she go the other way, tossing her hands in the air saying "fuck it" and just do whatever her heart desires?

I pitch my tent in Camp Everything In Moderation.

Subsequently, I park my RV in Camp Eff You Tori Spelling.

Diaper Wipe Recipe

I mixed it all up and put it in a spray bottle. I also hear that you can just soak a roll of paper towels in this solution - put Im wary of doing that before the child is actually here (can these "go bad"?)

1C water
1Tbs Shaklee Baby Shampoo
1/2Tbs Sweet Almond Oil
2 drops Tea Tree Oil

Feel the soothing relief!

Bonus:

Heres a muesli recipe that I mixed up today. This is amazingly filling for a early morning breakfast. Its from a raw cookbook but I like it best because its faster than cooking oatmeal.

4C rolled oats
1C raisins
1/2C chopped nuts (I used almonds and walnuts)
1/4C sunflower seeds
1/4C raw cane sugar

Put it all together in a can or whatever and MIX! I like it with frozen blueberries and milk but its equally good with just milk. I would recommend letting it sit on the table while you shower or something just to soften the oats up a little bit.

I also finally, after a week of being put on the to-do list, finished the crib bumper! Picture coming soon!

Sitzing around the House

A "Sitz Bath", I have discovered, is a contraption that you put into your toilet seat and it kind of lets just your bum sit in this little pool of water. Is that right? (see, I dont even know and here I am blogging about it!)


Did I write about making tea the other week? Well, the other week I was making some tea as a gift for Mr As coworker. Ive never really gotten into herbs before, but I like tea and figured I might as well give it a shot. We have this amazing herb store down the road from us (right next to Trader Joes on 39th, all you PDXers) and they have this Wall-O-Herbs that is literally a huge wall with jars of bulk herbs. Any herb you can imagine, its there. So, because herbs are so darn convenient to obtain, I have taken a shining to making herby things.


Back to Sitzing. I was reading online about herbal sitz bath products and how they can help you feel better after the baby tears all your junk up (eloquent, as always). You basically make a tea out of it and then you can put it into your little Sitz Bath thing, put it in a bucket and sit in it, put it in your bath tub, or put it in your peri-bottle (nonbabymakers: this is a little squeeze bottle you use in lieu of TP after birthing since dry paper is hard and scratchy). Apparently the herbs soothe and assist with a speedy recovery. Sounds good to me!


If you buy sitz bath herbs online its usually around $8 for a 4oz jar. Lame! The hip preggo boutiques around Portland are worse. So how exciting is it for me to have access to the Wall-O-Herbs?! Sure, you can order herbs online in bulk, but I dont find that nearly as exciting and I would think that without any herbal experience, it would seem overwhelming and almost risky.



I went out today and got myself some ingredients based on this recipe I found online last night. I set about putting it all together and there was so much I had to use this old salsa container to store the rest! So for about $15 I have a whole crapload of bath herbs and Im ready to heal!

For those who are curious but dont want to follow the link, this is what I put in there:
rosemary, sea salt, uva ursi, chickweed, marshmallow root, plantain, calendula (marigolds), chamomile, lavender, and yarrow.

Next up, homemade disposable diaper wipes!

Frozen Dinners

Anyone know any to-die-for OR easy enough to make recipes that can be frozen (and would be willing to give me comprehensive instructions on how to freeze said dish without ruining it)?
Any good links to helpful websites on this topic?

Long Night

This is not what I thought I would look like in the ninth month of pregnancy. I dont know if I thought I would be smaller or bigger or just different shaped or what. But I dont feel or look the way I expected to. I can still see my feet (no mismatched shoes for me, thankyouverymuch) although they do tend to swell at night.

But I know that my body is different. Yesterday at the gym I was walking on the treadmill, as that is pretty much all Ive been able to do for the past month or so. Before I used to go between the treadmill and the elliptical, going at a pace I would consider "brisk". Last week I was walking at a pace of 3.0, the week before that it was 3.5. Yesterday I was togging along at 2.5 and if I went above that pace for more than a minute I started contracting to the point where I had to just stop entirely! I didnt even finish both episodes of Bringing Home Baby!
Then I went to yoga class at 530. Thus far, Ive prided myself on being able to keep up with the rest of the class with only minimal modifications for my expanding midsection. Yesterday I couldnt hold even the simplest downward dog for more than 30 seconds! Yikes!

And the worst part is that I think I OVEREXERTED myself! Walking and breathing was just too much for me apparently! Last night when I went to bed I was so uncomfortable. I was hot and then I was cold and I was up and then I was down. The baby was rolling, kicking, moving and I could not find a position where this didnt feel like torture. Then I started contracting in a very uncomfortable way and it was accompanied by small but noticeable pains in the lowest regions of babyland.

Obviously the baby is further down in my pelvis so I didnt find this to be too shocking. The shock came from the fact that such a small amount of activity could have put so much strain on my body.

I watched the season premier of The Biggest Loser last night and I must say that I have a new reverence for how difficult that must be for some of those folks. Even if your mind says you can do it, sometimes your body is just like "no thank you!"

Now the real fun begins...

We just finished our 36 week appointment. Very cool. Three of my four midwives came and we all had apples and water and chatted forever. Wendy, the midwife that delivered babies in Vanuatu and is pretty much the reason we went with this practice, brought over her four month old daughter and she was SO CUTE! Curly little mohawk!

The baby update is that everything is awesome. Normal blood pressure, normal measurement, normal heart rate, etc. Hes in ROC or ROA or whatever the position is called thats good. Hes head down and low in my pelvis, which is kind of a wacky feeling - theres something there that wasnt there before! The midwives told me that all my contractions are a good sign that my body is getting ready for expelling this little creature.

Ive been having a feeling like he is going to come early. Not premature early, just earlier than expected. My mom and grandma both delivered their kids earlier than their EDD (estimated date of delivery) so maybe thats where Im getting it from. I really hope that he can hold on until October because Im fairly set on October as being the month of the baby coming. Im "prepared" for a September baby, Ive got all the diapers carseats and stuff ready to go, but Im expecting an October baby.

Well, next Tuesday I will be 37 weeks, which is considered full-term. So after that its just a matter of waiting for him to decide hes coming out.

In other news, I got a 6 pack of large tagless cotton bikini underoos from Costco and I CANT BELIEVE IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO DO THAT! Its awesome and I should have bought a pack about 5 months ago before I streched out all my favorite undergarments. And when I either destroy or grow out of them (hopefully shrink out of them) then I can just toss them in the garbage because they were only 10 bucks. So smart. Why didnt I do this sooner?


As an afterthought:
One would think that October would be the 8th month of the year, huh? I think July (Julius) and August (Augutus) messed that up but I cant remember exactly how that story goes. Anyone know why that is?

Weird Science

This entire pregnancy has taken on the characteristics of a high school science fair project. I have a desired outcome: an "easier" delivery. Now I have all these hypothesis about how to achieve said goal. I have no idea what, if any of these things, will work. And, sadly, because I have no way of setting up a control, if anything does work I have no way of proving what it was. So now that I think about it the whole thing is very elementary and the results wont be all that scientific. Needless to say, I wont be published for any of this "research".

Heres my "experiments"

• Ive been drinking 2-3 large cups of red raspberry leaf tea, occasionally mixed with equal amount of partridge berry, everyday for the last two or three months. According to my sources (the book Labor Pain by Nicky Wesson) the Cherokee Indians drank partridge berry tea to hasten labor and ease delivery. The raspberry leaf is a fairly well-known woman friendly herb. It tones the uterus and is said to make labor easier. WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT!
• I have made a tincture of skullcap and blue cohosh which I will use during labor because its an antispasmodic and helps to calm the nerves. It also is said to make people drowsy and taste like ass. Risky business.
• Hot compresses made of water mixed with drops of clary sage oil placed over the pubic bone are said to be helpful for pain relief. I have the oil, a crock pot and some rags all ready to go. I was also thinking with this one that I would get some base oil (like grape seed or sweet almond) and make a clary sage massage oil to use during labor. Your skin can absorb it right into your blood stream so perhaps a massage oil would be more effective than a compress. Clary sage oil is a sedative that is particular for labor but you cant use it during pregnancy - interesting.
• Water. Good ole water. I was thinking about laboring in a tub depending on if I could find one that is comfortable enough and able to keep it at a temperature that I find appealing (Im picky about water temp). I heard showers are good too but something about being IN water sounds better to me.
• On that note, Ive been considering taking a water aerobics class now that Im getting pregnant enough that walking and working out has lost its appeal. I was sitting at a football game last night and my feet just blew up because the weight of my uterus is no longer letting blood flow to my legs. I would bet that floating in water would not only feel like instantly relief, but would also promote better circulation. Besides, several people (both friends and strangers) have told me or related stories that implied water aerobics helped with having an easier delivery.
• Ive been taking a yoga class once a week to practice breathing and relaxing and stretching and such. I feel like Im going to be a noisy laborer. Not necessarily a panicked "oh my god Im going to die" kind of noisy, but that since Im an expressive person my labor would be...well...expressive. Hopefully my dedication to staying physically active will pay off when it comes time to squeeze this boy out!
• Im almost embarrassed to admit this one, I have tried talking to the baby and coming to some sort of agreement with him. I try to visualize labor and delivery and I either directly or indirectly ask the baby to not hurt me too much, get stuck, be huge or anything like that. It almost sounds too wacky for words but its been offering me a surprising amount of comfort and hope. I guess my thought are that if I spend the next few weeks dreading labor and being totally focused on what a nightmare its going to be, it probably will end up feeling that way irregardless.
• I read a book by Grantly Dick-Read that was my grandmothers (read: its an antique) and even though the language is practically archaic I thought it was one of the more helpful books I have read. He doesnt necessarily suggest brokering a deal with your fetus, but he does point out that the more you are freaked out about labor the harder its going to end up being.
• I dont know how much a persons diet affects their labor and delivery but I would imagine there is a correlation there somewhere. I have been what I would consider "OK" about eating well throughout this whole process. Now that we are in the stages of preparing for the main event Ive been trying to take more B-complex, calcium, and protein. But especially Ive been bulking up on iron and omega fatty acids.

The things I havent done are things like taking a birth class, learning any kind of specific breathing exercises ("hee hee hee hoooo" type stuff), practicing mediation/relaxation techniques, or rehearsing pain relieving positions. For some reason these are all things that I think I will either figure out instinctively or my midwife can just show me in the moment.

Again, I have no idea if any of this stuff will work and even if it does work I will have no way of letting you know what worked and what didnt. This is how Im preparing for labor and delivery. This is my wacky science experiment!

Shower Me With Babies!

Yay Baby BBQ!!!

Saturday was such a wonderful surprise!

Maybe its because I live away from my family. Or maybe its because I went to school out of state so all my friends are scattered throughout the country. Or maybe its because I never bothered to really try and make friends in Portland. Whatever it is, I was sort of dreading the baby shower issue. Its not that I really really want to play shower games and dote over all things baby. Its just that knowing I should be having one and knowing I probably wouldnt be having one unless I threw it for myself (lame!) was making me feel rather unpopular.

Somewhere along the line Mr A picked up on the vibes and organized a surprise shower/baby BBQ for this past Saturday! Now, my husband is not what I would consider a skilled social event organizer, so it was really awesome that he went so far out of his box for me! It was indescribable how great I felt. But Ill try to highlight some of the things that meant the most.

Granny, Me, and Mom

(I wish this picture were closer up on our faces so you could appreciate how freakishly we look alike)

1) Both his family and my family (some of them) were gathered in the same backyard. The last time this happened was at our wedding rehearsal dinner and I thought it was simply tops. Theres something about everyone being together that I just adore. I love having both our families in the same area, talking, getting to know each other and just hanging out. Maybe its because I love my family so darn much. As a bonus, I really super like all my in-laws, too. So bringing both together and watching them interact and enjoy each other is really special for me. I wish I didnt have to get married or have a baby to bring the two families into the same place for dinner (because eventually Im going to run out of major life events!) but for now Ill take what I can get!

2) If the whole party had been just family that would have been more than enough for me. But it wasnt! I had friends who drove from all over the place just to be there for the afternoon. That was so cool because its a long drive and I know they didnt come for the sole purpose of playing "who can suck the water out of the bottle the fastest"! I guess I consider myself the kind of person who would drive several hours for an event if it were someone I considered very close to me, so the gesture didnt go unappreciated.

3) Everyone contributed something to the party. People helped out with games and food and chairs or whatever. The BBQ was a real collaboration and thats the kind of shindig that I like the best!

Stephanie & I (she drove from Seattle & picked out my outfit - thanx lady!)

Im still smiling about it! It was exactly what I wanted out of a "baby shower" and I'm glad that everyone (especially everyone in the family) got to catch up with Mr A & I before the baby is born. I love these kinds of events! I hope someone else has a baby soon so I can go to someone else's shower and relive this moment vicariously!

Thanks again!

The Business of Being Born

Last night I watched the documentary The Business of Being Born - produced by Ricki Lake. Very interesting stuff.

Its basically a pro-midwife/homebirth film that addresses some questions about hospital births and the history of women giving birth. Mr A and I watched it together and it was so weird because I was watching these women give birth, all kinds of births, and I was like "oh my god, Im going to be doing that in a month!" Its so crazy to think that will be me, not only someday, but someday soon.

There were a couple parts that I found more thought provoking than others. One being a lady who mentioned that most people will put more time and effort picking out a stereo or a new car than they will picking out how they want to deliver their children. Another doctor made a very (what I would consider to be) controversial statement about how if women dont deliver naturally and vaginally then they dont release certain chemicals and hormones in their brains that make them love and protect their young. He said monkeys who are given C-sectioins are basically uninterested in taking care of their offspring afterwards. Hmm... Then the film concludes with the flimmaker, who was preggo during the making of the documentary, having an emergency C-section after planning a homebirth. Hmm hmm...

Im really glad I saw this movie. It got me all jazzed about giving birth. I think that even if you arent at all considering a midwife/ waterbirth/ granola kind of birth this is a good movie to watch just because it talks about some issues that maybe you hadnt thought of before. It would also help people who may have had a disappointing birth experience realize that its not necessarily their fault. It presents a lot of different options for how to give birth, since most people I talk to seem to think that theres only one or two ways to go.

But the very best part of the movie was when a lady gave birth and the baby came out along with some fluid or whatever and Mr A basically leaped off the couch, shreaking in fright and hid his face in a stack of pillows! I was like "dude, you need to suck it up or you arent going to be much help!"

Then I had a dream last night where I was in the park with my baby and I was "peeing" him in the flower bed (holding him over the flowers so he would pee there). And he was going a ton and I was all proud of him and excited about not having to change a diaper. Then this group of preschool kids walked by and one goes "eww, thats gross". I whipped my head around and shot him a look and snapped "You know whats gross? Shitting in your pants!" Then Mr As phone rang and I woke up.

And, for your viewing pleasure, heres a hoodie I made with Mr As old shirt and some leftover fleece. I didnt use a pattern so the neck hole and/or the hood might be too small. But Mr A was over the moon about it, so you should be too.

5am on a Friday

Before I start this story I would just like everyone to know that Mr A and I are moving. We are selling our house and this was the plan even before last night. So no worries on that. Now, on with the chaos.

5am this morning I woke out of a dead sleep to "BOOM!....BOOM!...BOOM!"

Our neighbor to the side has a crazy son we call Pupule who used to sniff paint and is now a vagrant who collects garbage around the neighborhood and, on occasion, will bring it back to Dave's house. Although he used to live in their shed, they have since cleaned out the entire yard, Pupule included, and he doesnt come around much. They also have a large dumpster that sits on the sidewalk (excellent for us because we only have our garbage collected once a month).

I heard this noise and thought that Pupule was slamming the lid down on the dumpster. Then I thought, no, someone was trying to blow up the dumpster because that was much too loud to be the lid. Mr A woke up and I asked groggily, "what was that?" He waved his hand at me "shot gun".

He crawls over the bed and peeks out the window and I hear someone yelling. Mr A crawls back over to me and whispers that there is a K-9 unit with full gear on standing in our yard yelling "Stop Police!" and that he saw a car leaving the intersection followed by a police vehicle. We have no clue what is going on.

Eventually Mr A tells me that he prefers me to be on the floor because there is a police convoy parked outside our house and God only knows why its there. I get on the floor with my blanket and pillow and we lay there for awhile all Boyz N Tha Hood style.

As we lay there Im wondering where our neighbor Dave is. Hes always awake and outside at night. I grew up with a dad who stayed awake at night and I feel safe that way, which is why I like living next to Dave so much. So in this pandemonium I cant help but wonder where Dave is and if something is wrong with him.

I also noted how unusual it was that no dogs were barking. We have at least 3 or 4 "barkers" in our area, our dog Hapa included. Hapa wasnt barking, which is unlike him because he will bark at a mother with a stroller walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk. Heres a stranger in our yard yelling at someone and Hapa isnt even whimpering. Weird.

Then (about 20 min later) we hear four or five more shots. Smaller shots. Mr A dials 911 and puts his phone on speaker and Im like "ahh! turn the volume down!" I dont know exactly what Im worried about. Maybe someone running into our house taking us hostage or stray bullets or whatever. Mr A tells the 911 guy what he heard and we come to find out that "the police are in the area conducting a search warrant" so what we are hearing is probably flash grenades or something of the like.

Now this is all making sense. The house directly behind us has long been known to be the bad apple of our block. In fact, if it werent for that house we would live in what I would consider to be one of the better pockets in Lents Neighborhood. This house behind us is just methed out scum dump. As other meth houses have fallen in the last few years, Mr A and I have always wondered when they were going to do something about these people behind us. Well, theres your answer.

About 20 minutes after our 911 call I hear the hose being turned on. Mr A goes outside and tells me that he talked with 3 cops who were washing their boots off with our hose and he could also see people with flashlights in the house behind us. They didnt give him any information but did let us know that they broke one of our plastic lawn chairs accidently. They gave us a number to call if we wanted it replaced (it doesnt matter, chair was old anyway).

Needless to say, my poor husband didnt get a wink of sleep after that. The back window of our house is 20 yards max from the back of this house so everything thats been going on sounds like its happening inside our back room!

In the daylight, when we got up to go to work this morning, Mr A and I sort of inspected around the property. Hapa was going crazy sniffing everything in sight! So many interesting smells and people and dogs had been there since the night before! There were still some cops roaming around the front yard of the house behind us. I took this picture from my back porch and you can see where the windows and doors were all shot out and busted open.

Im glad the police finally did something about that house and I understand the element of surprise makes 5am a good time to do such a thing. But, holy shit, that was crazy!

Oh and this morning when we went out to investigate, Mr A found this lovely parting gift left on our bench in the backyard.

Labor Day Weekend

Although the holiday of labor is fun because I work in a field where we actually get Labor Day off, I have to admit that going back to work yesterday was painful at the very least. I stop working on the 12th and now that its September, the 12th can not come fast enough! Thats how it goes with me and my actual notice. Once I know Im not going to be working there past X-date, I just totally check out. The two week thing is a formality.

So Labor Day weekend Mr A and I went up to Seattle to spend some time with my family and attend my high school friend Carrie's wedding. Beautiful!!! Tres beau!!! It was out on this gorgeous ranch north of Seattle and she looked so fresh and precious and she carried sunflowers and everything! (her dress is from Tokyo which really ups the cuteness factor) If you had asked me in high school what I would have imagined her wedding being like - this was it. Same goes for the guy she married. Hes such a good match for her and I like them both individually as much as I like them together as a couple. It sounds so trite but I swear its true!

The whole thing was very laid back and Mr A & I had a blast. There was even hula hooping...

CONGRATS ALL DAY LONG CARRIE & JAN!!!

In baby news: I discovered last night that washing my legs in the shower is now extraordinarily difficult. When the weather forces me to stop wearing flip flops everyday we are going to have some problems!