Mimi

Last Friday, on our way to DC to see Kara and Chris, my Dad called to say that my Mimi had passed away. She was at home, which was a big blessing. A good family friend who is like an elder in their church had come over to do the Episcopal version of the Last Rites with her, and she died in the service. This was actually the same person who did the came service with my grandfather before he died in 1986. My mom said it was a beautiful way to go. We are all having a hard time with it, because she has been the center of our family for so long. But we know she is in a better place now.

My family asked me, as the oldest grandchild, to read 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9 at the funeral. I was honored that they asked me, and I was able to make it through it okay, even though Sue was standing by for help if I started the "Ugly Cry". Then, all the grandchildren were going to bring up the elements (wine and bread) for communion, but when we got to the back, I thought we had plenty of time before we had to go, and I ran to the bathroom. But I was still in there when the time came for them to go up with the elements, so we all got a good chuckle out of that.

If you would like to read her obituary, you can do so here.

Empathy Belly

At our birthing class on Tuesday, the last thing the instructor did was make this guy put on the empathy belly, a contraption that is supposed to let you know what it feels like to be pregnant. Now, this poor sucker had to do it because they forgot to bring their pillows to class. We all laughed as she strapped a band around his chest to let him know how hard it is to breathe. Then, she put on a bladder which is supposed to make it feel like he has to always go to the bathroom. Finally, she strapped on the big belly and added about 20 more pounds of weight to it. Then, she threw some stuff on the ground and told him to pick it up. HAHA!! SO funny to watch him try to get down there. Then, she told him to tie his shoe. We got more laughs from this. For his last 'trick', she made him lie down and try to get up. I think that he (and all of the other dads watching) got an even better appreciation for us after this.

But...after class, she said if anyone wanted to try it on, just come on up. All the other dads bolted for the door. But not my hubby! I told him I wanted him to put it on really quickly just to see what it is like. He said the worst part was having the strap around your chest because you couldn't breathe. Now that is the real reason I walk so slowly these days!! Then, picking stuff up was hard too because he said your center of gravity was off. What a great hubby!!!

I did take some pictures of him in this get-up, but he made me promise not to post them. Because he was a good sport and put it on, I will honor his request and not post them. But I think he learned a lot and I really appreciated him taking a minute to find out what it is like!!

Pool-tiquette

So, I have been going to water aerobics each morning at the pool/fitness center 3 minutes from my house. Before going though, I usually walk with Jennifer, my neighbor, and Brayden (who gets a nice ride in his Jeep stroller). Because I try to walk as long as possible, I usually get there right as class starts. I'm one of the last to arrive, and just try to find a place in the pool where I can have plenty of room without hitting anyone else. Needless to say, all the other swimmers are usually there and have staked claim to the better spots in the deep end. But today, there was one good spot left, and I swam right to it.

So, what do you do when someone starts to swim into your place? This is the second day that I have had this problem. Yesterday, this woman was doing a move without keeping her feet on the bottom (like the instructor told her us) and she was coming right for me. The pool was super crowded yesterday because it was the third Wednesday of the month, the day all the swimmers go to their monthly lunch at the Olympic (so cute!). But I didn't have any where to move to get out of her way, so I was stuck! It was like playing chicken with no where to move to. Today, a lady got there after me and just plopped down about 12 inches from me (not enough far enough for me to keep from punching her during the arm portion of the workout). I know that people wouldn't do that in a normal class on dry land, and I guess they are not more aware of their body in relation to others because it is in the water. Oh well. Get over it I guess, right?

It does seem that lately, all I do it eat, sleep and exercise. By the time I get my morning workouts in, take a shower, eat lunch and watch my soap opera (while doing something productive like ironing), I can barely keep my eyes open. So I take a nap, wake up hungry, eat again, and do a few more things around the house before starting dinner. Jason told me that is my job this summer though-to eat, sleep, exercise, and grow a baby. Still, it is frustrating when there are so many things I want to get done. Whew-it is hard work growing a baby!!!!!!

Stubborn Sam

He may look more lazy than stubborn in this picture, but when it comes to getting medicine down, he can hang with the best of 'em. We have been giving Sam an antibiotic for a skin infection called a hot spot. I am sad to report that he has outwitted us in almost every attempt to try to fool him into taking his medicine. This is what we have tried so far: hiding it in a hotdog (we tried to reason with him-"Think of how many hotdogs you could have!", hiding it in a 'cookie', putting the powder only (not the capsule) inside the cookie, hiding it in peanut butter, and just plain ole shoving it down his throat. Even that is hard because he has the strongest tongue EVER and he will hold it in the back of his mouth while we try to massage it down his throat. Keep in mind all of this is done with an element of surprise. We vary the time at which we give it to him, and the method of attack. (Sometimes Jason gives it to him outside, inside, on the way to his crate at night, right after dinner, etc.) I told you he was stubborn!!!

I talked to the vet this morning, and he said to put mayonnaise on the pill to make it easier to shove down his throat. We will try that tonight, but I am kind of doubtful that it will work. His hot spot is still not completely better, so we are going to have to continue antibiotics for a few more days. But Jason and I are desperate. Please post any ideas that you have found to be successful for making dogs take medicine. We are almost to the end of our rope. It is so hard to hear him gag and watch him writhe around like we are trying to kill him by making his take this medicine. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Bye Bye little Mazda, Hello Pilot!

We finally did it! We got a new car. We found an outstanding deal on a 2006 Pilot EXL in Gastonia, NC at the McKenney-Salinas Honda dealership there. It was a great experience. They actually texted Jason with the lowest price they could offer before we even left home. That really is the "No Haggle" pricing they promote in their ads!

We stopped at Crown Honda in Greensboro before making the trip to Gastonia to see if we could get a Pilot closer to home. They had JUST gotten in a 06 Pilot EXL with navigation and a back up camera. They really liked their Pilot though, because they refused to come down any on the $3,000+ difference in price between the two. It was all the things you imagine when you think of buying a car...the high pressure sales manager, back and forth (on their part-we held firm to the price we needed them to come down to in order to make it a deal), and even the car salesman running out of the dealership waving his hands at us as we pulled out of the parking lot.

Then, there was McKenney-Salinas and our salesman, Luis. We they paged Luis, he knew we were close, so he figured it was us. He came to where we were with the Pilot, parked it outside with the AC running (BIG brownie points), got a copy of our license, and told us to bring it back when we were done with our test drive. Whoa! That was the first time any dealership let us leave WITHOUT the salesman with us. We knew what we were looking for, so it didn't take long for us to know this was a good car. We came back and started negotiating. He said that they were offering the car to us at cost, and couldn't come down on the cost. Jason had done the research and KNEW that they were selling it to us at cost or very close, and about $4500 below Kelly Blue Book Value. (My hubby was so prepared-he had Mapquest directions to all the dealerships, and Kelly Blue Book estimates on all the vehicles we were going to look at AND our Mazda. It was very cute!) I did get them to throw in the all-weather floor mats ($300 value), and we had a deal!

Then, there was the trade in of my OLD Mazda. We negotiated the price of the Pilot without even mentioning our trade (we had planned this and it went just as we had hoped). We held our breath until we found out what they would give us for the trade. (Remember, this is the car that would NOT pass inspection, the check engine light wouldn't go off, the radio didn't work, had a terrible rattle, a belt made a terrible squeeking noise, the list goes on and on. We had definitely gotten our money's worth out of this car!) We nearly jumped out of our seats when they told us what they would give us for it, and we had a deal. WHOO HOO! A new car AND we didn't have to worry about what to do with our old car!!!

We waited patiently while they detailed the Pilot, and we cleaned out my old Mazda. (Funny story-Luis told the guy in the detail department that he had a lady buying the Pilot that was about to give birth and needed to get back to Greensboro before it was too late, and we were miraculously moved to the front of the line!) It was kinda sad to be saying goodbye to the Mazda since we bought this car about two weeks after we got married. But it was a good sad feeling, not a bad sad. After about 10 minutes in the business office, we were on the road back home. From the time we got there to the time we left, it was about 2 1/2 hours. We actually spent more time driving there and back than we did buying the car!

What did I learn from all this? 1)Don't let desperate car salesmen keep your license (the guy in Greensboro gave Jason his license back but not mine and we didn't realize it until we were half way to Gastonia--but that is another story all together). I will just drive up in my new Pilot that I didn't buy from them to get it back. :) 2)Do your research before you go to the dealership. It saves time and gives you the peace of mind that you really are getting a good deal, not just what they HOPE you think is a good deal. 3)Do business with people who treat you right from the start.

BIrth and Beginnings

Well, last night we started our Birth and Beginnings class at the hospital. It will last 5 weeks. We learned a lot. They showed a video that I thought needed a little more of an intro, but hey, it is what it is, right? (Anyone who has been to this class at Forsyth knows what I am talking about!) We talked a lot about when to go to the hospital since you don't want to go to early or too late. That lead to a conversation on Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are faux contractions. Interesting that we talked about that last night, because about 2AM this morning, I sat straight up in the bed saying, "Ow, ow, ow". Guess what? It was my first Braxton-Hicks. They said the main thing to look at when telling the difference between a B-H contraction and a real one is the frequency with which they occur. Since it was just two, I feel pretty sure that is what it was. It'll be interesting to see how many of those I have!

Important Blog Announcement

As of July 15th, our blog will only be able to be viewed by people we have on our 'approved' list. We have had comments posted from folks that we do not know, so we are going 'underground'. If you would like to continue reading the blog, just email Jayne or Jason and let her know that you would like to have your name added to the approved list, and we will send you an invitation. We'll be happy to provide it!!!