PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING
Nothing has changed from Wednesday until now, and yet it feels like everything has changed. I keep having to remind myself that nothing has...
The same symptoms I had on Wednesday are now magnified and making me paranoid. I feel exactly the same and yet now I am IN LABOR and getting freaked out over every twinge.
But I have kinda gotten over the freakout hump and feel better today.
Except I've lost three pounds since Wednesday.
And it starts all over again...
I am still in bed. My husband is snowed in in Afghanistan, which would be hilarious if it weren't so surreal. My mother is hobbling around on a broken foot after driving 21 hours straight in a snowstorm to get to my side.
1
Don't forget that I also set off the alarm system when I let Charlie out this morning. Boy, I'm sure a big help! ha!
Posted by: Nancy at February 08, 2010 01:44 PM (gWUle)
2
Thank goodness it's Monday? But, with Mom starting out the week with the alarm system incident, it may be a long week. Life is stranger than fiction. My husband says boredom is highly underrated. Maybe you'll have a few boring days!!
Posted by: Pamela at February 08, 2010 02:49 PM (yLosW)
3
It seems you have the makings for a great sitcom going on. Keep that sense of humor, sounds like Mom may have a good one ,too. I was hoping we would have reports of labor and delivery since we hadn't heard for several days. Keep up the good work , labor on (pun intended) and have a great delivery and happy baby.
Posted by: Ruth H at February 08, 2010 03:46 PM (YpblU)
4
Hang in there! Good luck with the new baby. I set me alarm off all the time. The company pretty much knows by now it is only me.
Posted by: juliannah at February 08, 2010 03:57 PM (UCijG)
With my first child, I had my first physical exam at 39 weeks and I was 100% effaced and 3 cm dilated. I was still going to work. I worked for the rest of that week and I finally told everyone I would work from home because it was making everyone nervous. Especially the women who had had c-sections, some of whom never made it to 3 cm. My son was born the day before his due date. My water broke at 1:30 AM and I wasn't feeling regular contractions until 2:30 AM. He was born at 5:55 AM. It was surreal, but also nice to start out labor 30% of the way there.
I hope your labor goes as fast and as safely as mine did, but only once your sweet husband is here!
Good luck.
Posted by: Christa at February 08, 2010 04:33 PM (2qSbp)
6
Sarah, how did you lose three pounds in five days?
Posted by: Amritas at February 08, 2010 06:00 PM (+nV09)
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Amritas -- I wish I knew so I could gain them back...I didn't have that many to lose at this point.
Posted by: Sarah at February 08, 2010 07:21 PM (gWUle)
8
Sarah, I am glad your mom is there w/you. I wish your husband was too. My neighbor is supposed to have her baby on Wed - We're supposed to get another 10-20 inches of snow on top of the 28+ we got over the weekend. I am not sure how she will get to the hospital, but I am hoping you are not getting the same weather. I suspect you're worrying and causing yourself stress, hence the weight loss. Enjoy the time w/your mom and I hope your husband gets home soon. Is he just home for R&R or will he be here to stay for awhile? Do you have another appt this week? Don't let them do any internal exams, you don't want them moving you along faster by poking around in there!
Posted by: Keri at February 08, 2010 09:54 PM (dtvJC)
9
Don't worry about being in labor--unless you hear high pitched crying. Then it may be time to go to the doctor.
Posted by: Chuck at February 08, 2010 11:12 PM (bMH2g)
Sarah: I'm keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers as you wait for your precious daughter and your DH to arrive! I'm so glad your mom is there with you!
{{{HUGS}}}
Posted by: Mary at February 08, 2010 11:42 PM (MZGTX)
11
Goodness gracious! I'm keeping you in my prayers.
Posted by: Val L. at February 09, 2010 07:51 AM (F4Qv7)
I slept decently and haven't left my bed today for anything other than bathroom breaks. I have intense pelvic pressure when I stand up, but at least no contractions today. And so Charlie and I lie in bed and wait...
My husband called this morning because of the casualties. He hadn't yet read my email and had no idea what was going on. He said he would try to cash in some favors and get on an even earlier flight if he could. We'll just see. Now watch, the baby won't come for another month.
I told my husband that all that matters is that he comes home to us. I said I will either welcome him home with the baby on the inside or the baby on the outside, but all that matters is that he's safe.
1
My heart goes out to the families, I'm glad you were able to talk to your dh this morning.
I will be hoping that the little one stays put! I walked around for weeks at about 3cm, so you just might be able to make it. Take it easy!
Posted by: dutchgirl at February 05, 2010 04:17 PM (Yg8bq)
2
Glad she's staying put. Keep it up, girl. Hoping husband makes it home for the birth. Thinking of you often.
Posted by: Stacy at February 05, 2010 06:13 PM (7FV6m)
3
Blessings on you all, you are right, the most important thing is getting him home, he is a daddy either way, baby in or baby out. Did they give you an estimated size for her?
Posted by: Ruth H at February 05, 2010 08:38 PM (YpblU)
4
I am sooooo glad to hear he is ok! And I am also glad glad to hear your healthy pupa is wiggling and worming and ready to welcome the world and from the sounds of it Charlie is probably just as easer to play with his baby! Hold tough girl! I bet it is seeming surreal so close to the due date!
Posted by: Darla at February 05, 2010 10:09 PM (XvIN7)
5
My heart aches for the losses and, at the same time, it swells for you. Babies are totally awesome, especially those who are as loved and cherished since before they were ever a twinkle in your eye. She's got good parents and I can't wait for her to meet you....Lots of good vibes your way.
Posted by: Susan at February 05, 2010 11:23 PM (URuXw)
6
You are doing a great job and I'm really proud of you. These big transitions are so hard to wrap your mind around, even if everyone who is supposed to be here is here, let alone when travel schedules, potential early arrivals, and the like enter the picture.
Tell little Miss C. that if Auntie Melinda hears any more crazy talk about setting her own travel itinerary that she will be receiving a very stern talking to when we meet. (That is after I hold her, smooch her, shower her with gifts and try to stick her in my purse and take her home).
Posted by: Guard Wife at February 05, 2010 11:34 PM (5hZjj)
Sarah, I hope you're able to stay off your feet and rest until the baby arrives. Also, that your mom made it to town. Thinking of you, and also of the soldiers and their families in your husband unit.
Posted by: Keri at February 06, 2010 02:24 PM (dtvJC)
9
My heart breaks for the two men in your husband's unit.
Hope you are doing well.
Posted by: Ann M. at February 08, 2010 01:33 AM (+GQ3g)
NOT EXACTLY MILHOUSE
I spoke too soon: I will probably not make it a month.
I had an appointment today with my first physical exam. The baby is head-down, ready to go, and so am I: I'm dilated and effaced like I'm already in labor the baby should arrive any day now. In fact, the NP said to be ready any day now.
Baby doesn't seem to want to wait for Daddy.
My mother is leaving tonight as fast as she can. A friend is coming to stay the night with me tonight, just in case. And I had decided that I just needed to put myself on bed-rest and try to stay calm...
And then the phone rang.
Two soldiers in my husband's company were killed.
On the one hand, that gave me remarkable perspective. My husband may not make it home in time for the baby's birth, but at least he still may make it home. This other family is not as fortunate: that soldier won't be coming home to his pregnant wife.
On the other hand, it just stressed me out even more...
Please, baby, wait two weeks. Then you can do whatever you want.
1
At 36 week I was dilated and effaced and my doctor said any day now too. At 38 weeks I was told to have my bag ready and all of the numbers by the phone. The day before her due date the contractions started and she was born 28 hours later on her due date. When she is ready she will come, and not a minute sooner!!!
Posted by: Tracey at February 04, 2010 07:31 PM (x+F0t)
Ahhh, Sarah. I went "into labor" 5 weeks early, standing in the cold waiting for a bus that never came in the dead of winter in Wisconsin. Called a cab to take me to admissions. They had me prepped and all, just knowing IT was going to happen because I was dialated and efaced! *giggles* Sent me home the next morning, told me it would be another couple of weeks. I actually went 2 1/2 weeks over my due date.
Don't folks know, that babies don't know how to use a calender or a stop-watch yet? Babies will come when they are dayum good and ready. Just the way it is.
I do hope she hangs in, though, so her daddy can be there for her and you!
Sending up my prayers and well wishes for y'all.
Posted by: jw at February 04, 2010 07:45 PM (spEu4)
5
Praying. For you. And Baby. And your Husband. And timing. And those in his Company.
Posted by: Val at February 04, 2010 07:54 PM (JPt9E)
Posted by: Lissa at February 04, 2010 09:51 PM (mgjM7)
9
Amen to Val's prayers. And for what its worth, my last baby came 5 weeks after the doc said he could come anytime, that would have been early, as it turned out he was a week overdue. My mother had left younger children at home to come stay with me and mine, pretty touchy situation. Hope you stay preggers long enough for hubby to get home. It is definitely a bittersweet day for you.
Posted by: Ruth H at February 04, 2010 10:14 PM (YpblU)
I'd tell you to keep your knees together, but if you had done that in the first place...
I hope Mr. Grok is okay, and I know how he feels--and know the empathy you have for the families of his men.
But right now, you must focus on you, and the minigrok. Keep the bun in the oven, the cat in the bag, and try not to sneeze or fart to hard. There will be a time to share with, grieve with, and heal with your army families. You are on bed rest. You can't take it upon yourself to do all those protocol/white glove nonsenses. Of course you want to be there with and for them, but nothing you can do or say will make it better--just make sure they have someone who can be there if they need them. Offer to make arrangements for them if need be, but it can't be your responsibility.
And you may want to consider a rubber bedsheet for you, and trying to stay off the furniture.
Posted by: Chuck at February 04, 2010 11:16 PM (bMH2g)
13
Prayers for all involved... bittersweet, indeed.
Nicki
Posted by: Nicki at February 04, 2010 11:50 PM (fqQct)
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I was dilating and effaced and told "any day now" on July 1. Baby Boy #1 came on July 29!! Hang in there, she may take two weeks to decide she's really ready to meet the world. My body has a tendency to slowly get ready for labor by doing a bunch of dilating and effacing before labor and delivery actually starts. So, while I started the process 2-3 weeks before my due date, both boys were born AFTER their due dates! LOL Babies have their own unique ways of doing things and they always surprise you.
Posted by: Tracy S at February 05, 2010 10:01 AM (3N/bf)
take care of yorueself and relax as much as you can. I am praying that your guy gets home safe and sound and as quickly as possible.
I will add to the stories from others. My 4th baby, I had a rescue cerclage at 31 weeks and then total bedrest. Birth was imminent and had to be stopped so I wouldn't have a preterm baby. At 36 weeks they removed the cerclage and I was told that I might go into labor within an hour. I ran around doing my thing for another 2 weeks....when they induced me.
Posted by: Sheila at February 05, 2010 02:50 PM (ju0Yo)
One more month until this bouncy baby is bouncing in my arms instead of in my belly. One more month until I am a mother, until I am responsible for someone else's life and well-being. One more month until I test out all the parenting theories I've pondered for years.
It's been nearly three years to the day that my husband and I started trying to have a baby. Three years. One might think that I would be extra-anxious for this last month to fly by. But I'm not. I think I've even managed to develop some patience over the past three years; I am trying to enjoy every horrible moment of this pregnancy because there's always the possibility that it could be my only one. As long as she's not in danger, I'm in no hurry to move faster than nature intended. No matter how uncomfortable I am.
One more month.
And, with as much certainty as one can guarantee in the Army, my husband should be home in roughly half that time.
Posted by: Amy at February 03, 2010 10:55 PM (Cy1WK)
3
You look awesome! You are going to be the best mom evah. The only piece of assvice I will spew is this: Trust your instincts. Everything else will come naturally. I have loved being a mom more than being able to breathe. I look at Olivia daily and am in awe of her. I'm losing my baby, but I've gained a little friend with whom I love spending time. I don't know if I appreciate being a mom more because I'm older or if it's because it was a freaking long road to get here and I don't ever want to take it for granted.
Sending lots of good wishes your way.............
Posted by: Susan at February 03, 2010 11:18 PM (URuXw)
4
Thank you for sharing this picture with us. I hope your husband can see it.
I can't wait to see the next picture in this series.
Posted by: Amritas at February 04, 2010 01:52 AM (TZltr)
5
What a lovely picture!
Enjoy this last month--sending many good thoughts your way.
Posted by: Lee Anne at February 04, 2010 10:56 AM (FXhFB)
1
I like how Chris Edwards didn't pull any punches with Bush: e.g,
I can't think of a single crisis that occurred on
President Bush's watch that the Bush-Rove team didn't have an
interventionist and big-spending response to.
I'm surprised that spending didn't skyrocket after 9/11 and the early years of the Afghan and Iraq Wars. The steepest climb is in 2008 - bigger than under Obama in 2009.
As for the other article, it's one thing to read about the phenomenon it deals with, but it's another to see it. Is there any country in the Muslim world where women have become freer in recent years? Here's a quick example of the opposite trend from Afghanistan:
Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance
There's more, but I'll stop there.
The article says the law contradicts the Afghan constitution .... or does it? It's a religious law "backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni" and the constitution says,
No law shall contravene the tenets and provisions of the holy religion of Islam in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Amritas at February 02, 2010 03:13 AM (TZltr)
I HEART ART
If Art Laffer thinks we're boned...well, yikes.
“In anticipation of known tax increases the economy will shift income
and output from 2011 -- the higher tax year -- into 2010 -- the lower
tax year. As a result of this income shift, 2010 will look a lot better
than it should, and 2011 will be a train wreck,” he predicts.
1
Thanks for linking to Laffer's article. I just assumed the rest of Obama's reign would be straight downhill, so I didn't expect Laffer's "false recovery." His argument would be stronger if he had pointed out previous false recoveries.
I wonder how the public would react to a federal tax holiday. Unlike bailouts, such a holiday would directly benefit ordinary people without taking money out of anyone's pockets.
Posted by: Amritas at January 31, 2010 09:19 PM (TZltr)
2
I know it's an appeal to authority, but I like to think that his argument is strong enough by virtue of his being Art freaking Laffer
Posted by: Sarah at February 01, 2010 08:47 AM (gWUle)
3
I think my kids and I will take our normal Halloween tradition of watching scary movies all month long and turn it into watching financial returns.
Much more terrifying.
Posted by: airforcewife at February 01, 2010 01:21 PM (uE3SA)
4
I keep thinking about Laffer's recommendation of a one year, nine month tax holiday. The impact that would have on the average American family is astounding. But then, what would we do with all of those IRS workers and accountants? How frustrated would people be when they had to start paying taxes again, and realized exactly how much wealth the system is stealing from them every year. Thanks for the great article!
Posted by: Val L. at February 02, 2010 12:40 PM (F4Qv7)
OABMA TELLS 9/11 HEROES TO GET BENT
Wow. So we can give Landrieu $300 million to bribe her for her vote, and we can give $50 million to relocated wild horses, and build a turtle tunnel, and give tax credits for eco-friendly golf carts...but it's apparently too much to ask for Pres Obama to fund medical care for those dealing with long-term illness caused by 9/11. Nice priorities.
I would, once again, like to reiterate. I did not vote for him, and I tried to warn people.
Sadly, people don't seem to care that he does this stuff. WTH are our priorities?!?!?
Posted by: Amber at January 30, 2010 01:50 PM (kQtM0)
3
As usual, our Obamessiah is intouch with our concerns, not yours.
Landrieu is one of us. She can spend $300 million more wisely than mere peasants, I mean, taxpayers.
We care more about animals than you. Horses and turtles, yes, Omericans other than ourselves, no.
And golf carts are our kind of vehicles. We will make you all drive them someday. If they're good enough for us (except when we visit Copenhagen), they're good enough for you. Possibly too good. You should be walking ... within the perimeters permitted by your Soviet-styleinternal passports.
9/11 is ancient history. Let us look ahead to our glorious future of peace with Greater Iran! Islam is peace!
We agree with an American soldier for once. What will be the outcome of all our efforts?
Once we made Iraq an
officially Islamic country I knew that it would become among our worst
enemies. (The same is true for Afghanistan.) I said years ago that the
end result of our efforts will be that Iraq will be a rebuilt nation
better prepared than ever to wage jihad against us.
The US loves to empower its enemies. How many Iranian nuclear physicists were trained in the US? How many Mohammad Alavis haven't been caught yet?
Despite the name he acquired from his father, an immigrant from Syria, Hammami was every bit as Alabaman as his mother, a warm, plain-spoken woman who sprinkles her conversation with blandishments like “sugar” and “darlin’.” [...]“It felt cool just to be with him,” his best friend at the time [in high school], Trey Gunter, said recently. “You knew he was going to be a leader.”
A decade later, Hammami has fulfilled that promise in the most unimaginable way. Some 8,500 miles from Alabama, on the eastern edge of Africa, he has become a key figure in one of the world’s most ruthless Islamist insurgencies. That guerrilla army, known as the Shabab, is fighting to overthrow the fragile American-backed Somali government.
Posted by: kevin at January 30, 2010 02:01 PM (ke9P1)
CHIN DOWN
I didn't watch the entire State of the Union speech last night; I only caught the last 20 minutes. But what struck me the most in the instant I turned the TV on was something Mark Steyn mentions:
One problem, as Jay pointed out, is that upturned chin. Just as a
matter of angles, it looks wrong on TV. So it would be a problem for
Hillary or McCain or Ron Paul or whoever would have won. But it's worse
for Obama because it plays into the aloof-and-arrogant
meme. I don't know why he does it. Are the prompters notched up a hole
too high? What's the deal? Why doesn't one of his supersmart advisers
get out the wrench and lower them?
He looks like a pompous ass when he speaks. That makes it hard not to hear everything he says through the pompous ass filter.
Watching him list one costly agenda item after another, I couldn’t help
feeling that we need a constitutional amendment that requires
politicians to start promises with the words “I want to take your money
and.” It might be that such a rule would constrain them, since I can’t
imagine anyone having the courage to say, “I want to take your money
and use it to pay off the college loan for that rich kid down the
block,” and “I want to take your money and use it to help your plumber
buy a new wrench.”
Posted by: Lucy at January 28, 2010 11:58 AM (YNvUz)
2
I usually disagree with kevin, but I strongly agree with Kevin Hassett!
"I want to take your money" should be pronounced with the same Transylvanian accent as "I vant to drink your blood." Forget Twilight - the government is the biggest vampire of all.
Hassett was really pulling his punches when choosing his examples: paying off college loans and buying new wrenches. I'm sure others can come up with more appalling examples of government waste.
The government is a virus for wealth and productivity. It wastes and wastes and wastes, and then it expects you to celebrate it for doing so. It doesn’t matter which party is in charge.
Posted by: Amritas at January 28, 2010 12:01 PM (+nV09)
3
I loved both links. They seriously make me fall in love with reading posts on my phone when I should be falling.
And I think you could add "his Ivy League college degree while you work full time and take one class per semester for your degree from the online college."
I read a Howard Zinn quote on Big Something (I forget) where he was listing all the forces for good and evil and how America needs to never go to war and always be on the good side. One of the either/or groups was capitalists and workers. Sure some big bad evil capitalists might have come from a house full of money, but in what world did the majority of them get to where they are without WORKing. Doesn't it make sense that they feel ownership for the things the WORKed to achieve. It is that sense that all capitalists are some kind of evil do nothing high atop the mountain spitting at and whipping and theiving from those below that irks the crap out of me. I think a work ethic is something that capitalists value. And it sure beats the pants off the gimme ethic that pervades the message given by The O.
It isn't that they want fairness and righteous equality. They want to be the ones high atop the mountain spitting and whipping and theving from their lessors.
"It's common sense." <--- SOTU quote
Posted by: wifeunit at January 28, 2010 12:52 PM (4B1kO)
BEYOND SILLY
I knew all the teleprompter jokes already and had just taken them as lighthearted ribbing, but this is getting ridiculous. A teleprompter for the elementary school? And now this...for a briefing with like 15 people? Wow. It's beyond silly now. It's frightening how this man cannot speak without TOTUS.
1
We're heard all the Obama conspiracy theories: that he's the Manchurian Candidate, a secret Muslim born in Kenya, etc., ad nauseam. They're all nonsense. Here's a new one that's more, um, plausible: Could TOTUS be from outer space? Are we being taken over by alien life forms resembling teleprompters? These creatures obviously don't have a clue about what many Americans want.
Posted by: Amritas at January 28, 2010 11:54 AM (+nV09)
1
Yes, we can ... to green, diverse companies for a good cause ("train the next generation of legal professionals" ... our kind of people, presumably specializing in sharia*). Bidding is so capitalist. The USSR didn't need bidding, and neither does the USSA. Once again, we do what the Dubya regime did, and it's OK because we have noble intentions that they lacked.
Courts are allowed to use Hanafi jurisprudence in situations where the Constitution lacks provisions.
A system of civil law is described, but no law may contradict the beliefs and provisions of Islam. It was widely reported that Sharia law is not specifically mentioned, but in fact Hanafi jurisprudence is one of the six branches of Sharia law.
[...]
There is no mention of freedom of conscience, and in fact apostasy from Islam is punishable by death (see below).
The constitution's provisions on religion drew international controversy in 2006, when Afghan citizen Abdul Rahman, a convert to Christianity, was threatened with the death penalty for apostasy. Rahman was released under international pressure on the theory that he was insane and that the case against him had "investigative gaps," and found asylum in Italy. The constitution itself was not changed in response.
Why change it? It is Islamic. Perfect.
Your tax dollars are training the next generation of sharia experts.
Posted by: kevin at January 26, 2010 01:21 PM (+nV09)
2
My favorite part is that the goal is to infect the country with lawyers. Of all things. Because everything is better with 25 million dollars worth of instruction and oversight by lawyers. He was as full of shite as the rest of them. No amount of eau de roses will ever cover it up.
Posted by: wifeunit at January 26, 2010 01:24 PM (4B1kO)
A LEGAL WALL OR A TURF WAR?
I finished reading The Looming Tower, and Dean Barnett was right: it was very good.
One thing I am curious about is the wall between the CIA and the FBI. I had always understood it to be a legal thing, that the two branches were forbidden to share intel. But this book makes it sound more like a turf war instead, that some of the more egotistical officers intentionally withheld information from each other because they didn't like the other branch's approach.
Does anyone know more about this, or have links they could point me to? In reading Ashcroft's book last year, I never got the sense that our intelligence gatherers were being petty and tribal. But this book gave that impression.
"The wall generally forbidding intelligence agents from communicating with their criminal counterparts was a suicidally excessive way to ensure that what little information intelligence agents were permitted to pass would be admissible in court. This is the product of a mindset that insists, beyond all reason and common sense, that terrorism is just a law-enforcement problem. The object of a rational counterterrorism approach is to prevent mass murder from happening in the first place, not to improve your litigating posture for the indictment you return after thousands of people have been slaughtered."
Posted by: jw at January 26, 2010 11:29 AM (spEu4)
2
Thanks, jw! I was wondering what the rationale for the wall was.
As for the CIA and FBI being "petty and tribal," those traits seem hardwired into the human species. Our team won't help your team. Our team doesn't need help for your team. But aren't both teams supposed to be part of Team America?
Posted by: Amritas at January 26, 2010 01:26 PM (+nV09)
SO MANY PICTURES
I am prone to mushiness these days, so perhaps it's not surprising that looking at photos of my husband and me from last summer before he left for Afghanistan would make me all sentimental.
He hates having his picture taken. Hates it. And yet he lets me do it constantly. He poses and fake smiles for me, and every once in a while I get a real smile or a smirk that only he can make. Those are the photos I like to look at when he's gone, to see his grimaces and laughter, the faces he makes every day. The real him.
We had so much fun in Las Vegas. When we were there, AWTM called and said she was envious...that we were still just a couple, that we could jet off to Vegas whenever we wanted. She said she and her husband took a trip shortly before SR was born, and that they still talk about it and what a great trip it was, just the two of them. And that because my husband was leaving and I was supposed to be doing IVF while he was gone, that this too was our last trip just as a couple, and to enjoy ourselves.
And I look at those photos from Vegas, and I had our baby inside me already and didn't know it. I think it's wonderful to have so many photos of us in that brief time when our baby already existed but we didn't know it yet.
I look at how happy we are in those photos and I just feel so lucky and blessed. And I know it's only going to get better.
I miss him very, very much. I can't wait to see him again.
Posted by: Lissa at January 22, 2010 09:44 PM (mgjM7)
2
I love this post! I was pregnant with Rusty when we went on our Caribbean cruise and every time I look at those pics I'm like HE WAS THERE! There is NO way you can tell, but HE WAS THERE! Someday I will enjoy telling him that he went ot all of those fun places and enjoyed that adventure with his dad and I.
I hope this next month+ goes quickly for you! I am really hoping that your hubby makes it for the birth!!! Your baby is blessed to have you guys and she is going to be sooooo loved!
Posted by: Stacy at January 23, 2010 12:43 AM (5C0TQ)
3
And post at least one picture of the two of them....I'm already misty eyed. That picture will make me cry like a baby. :-)
Posted by: Pamela at January 23, 2010 01:00 AM (GmA86)
4
You guys have ridiculous smiles in your Vegas pictures that doing nothing else but radiate LOVE. How awesome that your baby was there to share in that and the worry part of pregnancy had not existed. Even your eyes were smiling in those pictures!
Posted by: wifeunit at January 23, 2010 11:02 AM (4B1kO)
5
This post needs a "like" button (similar to FB). I recently was looking thru old pictures - my husbands college graduation week, commissioning, etc. I get so sentimental
Posted by: Keri at January 23, 2010 02:28 PM (dtvJC)
1If, as a contracted employee who signed on for the sole purpose of
making money, I did everything I was supposed to do to earn a payout of
$5 million dollars, I would expect to be paid. I assumed a level of
risk, and preformed as asked. A deal is a deal.
When is a deal not a deal? When is it acceptable to break a contract? Those who regard the AIG bonuses as the necessary outcomes of inviolable contracts may not regard other contracts as equally sacred.
And, who are these guys that crafted these unbreakable contracts? Every
CEO and board member should be thinking to themselves, "Next time I
have a contract I need made up, that's who I want on my side of the
negotiating table." Talk about rocket scientists on Wall Street!
They're not on the trading floor but in the legal department.
If history and physics tell us anything, it’s the guaranteed failure of
all things, including companies, countries, people, and entire
civilizations. (Packard? The USSR? George Burns? Rome?)
Yes, all. I'd add the USA to the list. When will it fall? Is it falling?
Posted by: amritas at January 21, 2010 06:20 PM (+nV09)
2
I don't know if all things fail. Most things fail. Things which are not properly maintained, certainly. Things which move even moreso. The Egyptian pyramids still stand.
I don't think that the US will fail simply as a function of the nature of things. It may grow or morph into something else. If we look at failure in absolute terms, where something ceases to exist, then as long as a Packard operates on a road, the company still (in a sense) exists.
The US can trace its history to the Magna Charta, and even to Hammurabi's first codified law. What nations in the future will trace their origins to us? When the combined federation of planets signs its charter, will that charter have origins in the US constitution? The United States isn't a living thing, it is an idea. Ideas are notoriously hard to kill, just ask Buddha, Christ, Abraham, Mohammed (peanut butter on him) and the Sumerians.
I doubt there is much about our country that our founders would recognize (even less that they would approve, but that goes beyond the scope of this comment.) That doesn't mean that their America doesn't exist, or that we will eventually decline and then become dispersed like the legions of Rome. It means that anything which changes can adapt, and adaptability is what makes things resilient. The founders sought only to create a *more* perfect union. Their intent was not to create *the* perfect society, nor that we should settle for the one we have, and that it was the responsibility of generations to improve that society, learning from the mistakes of their parents and grandparents.
What can the government learn from the contractual bonus debacle? That the free market works. That they cannot possibly hope to have lawyers working for the government (except the very rare few who serve for services' sake) who can compete professionally with the lawyers who earn millions writing contracts for wall street. It's roughly the same thing as a state champion high school football team playing the 6-time superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Even with the worst team they've ever fielded, the Steelers would absolutely murder the high school team. Both teams have drive and desire. Both teams know how to play the game. Both teams love the game. But only one team is populated with players drafted from the very best that the sport had to offer.
If your local congressperson (who, odds are, is a lawyer) were any good as a lawyer, they'd either be a judge or still be a lawyer. There's tons more money in private lawyerin' than there is in public politics (assuming an honest politician.)
Posted by: Chuck Z at January 21, 2010 10:18 PM (bMH2g)
WE SHARE A BODY
For all its annoyances, I have been enjoying being pregnant.
On occasion I find myself impatient, just wanting her to get here already so I can meet her. But most of the time I'm perfectly happy being right where I'm at. I like having her inside of me. I giggle when I rest the laptop on my belly and she starts kicking at it, like "Hey, it's crowded enough in here without you smooshing me!" I like feeling her wiggle and tickle and move, even when it hurts.
And yet, I have never heard a mother wistfully say that she misses having her child inside of her. It must be that much more awesome to have them on the outside, because I think I will kinda miss it.
We will never be as close as we are right now, when we share a circulatory system...
(Yep, I finally went and got maternity photos taken.)
I'm surprised you've never heard anyone say that.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE being pregnant. I have terrible pregnancies (I get so sick the entire pregnancies I have NEVER gained a single pregnancy pound, I was on bedrest for 19 weeks, etc.) and I would do it again, if another baby were in our futures.
Having them in your arms is amazing. I would choose that over being pregnant, but there are times when I miss having them inside me. It's the single most amazing thing I've ever done.
Posted by: Amber at January 21, 2010 11:05 AM (facQk)
5
I wonder what the other photos in your session look like.
I've never seen a pregnancy photo like this one before. So simple and effective. And reminiscent of iPod ads, even though you don't own one!
Posted by: Amritas at January 21, 2010 12:52 PM (+nV09)
I LOVED being pregnant both times and find myself missing it once in awhile. I enjoyed having my kids 'all to myself' tucked away inside, feeling all of the elbows, kicks and flutters. Now that mine are 14 &12, I'd like to put them back in so it will be quiet around here
Posted by: Jen in NY at January 21, 2010 03:40 PM (VpUT1)
. . . I think I've only heard mothers wish the baby was back inside, when it was to keep the baby safe and protected from all the dangers of the world . . .
Posted by: Lissa at January 21, 2010 04:55 PM (eSfKC)
8
Sarah, I've got to admit, my first pregnancy I felt a bit like I'd been invaded by a parasitic alien. Of course, I was also clueless. I'm glad for every day I got with our second little one. I'm so glad you're able to enjoy this time. *So* glad. . . .
Posted by: Lucy at January 21, 2010 08:16 PM (YNvUz)
9
I think you're right, having them on the outside sort of overshadows what pregnancy was like... but I do remember distinctly how odd it felt after my daughter was born, almost lonely!
Posted by: dutchgirl at January 21, 2010 10:24 PM (Yg8bq)
10
I missed being pregnant, and having to share the babies with the World, for 9 months, they were all MINE
Posted by: awtm at January 21, 2010 10:37 PM (MEke+)
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Beautiful picture! You look serene and happy and huge!
Posted by: Mary at January 22, 2010 12:03 AM (/hR4y)
12
Okay, you're totally that
skinny preggers chick in my labor class! I'm jealous as I stare at my big buddah tummy. Biyatch!
Kidding!!!!
Posted by: BigD78 at January 22, 2010 05:54 PM (W3XUk)
13
I miss being pregnant. I miss the "secret" that my babies and I had. Only *I* knew when they moved, kicked, hiccuped, etc. unless I chose to share with others. I miss knowing that, for 10 months, they were mine and mine alone (there's that only child attitude shining through).
I miss being pregnant. So much so that I would be willing to consider being a surrogate for someone who needed one.
Posted by: HomefrontSix at January 22, 2010 08:33 PM (2vZeF)
I do miss being pregnant sometimes, when I get irritated that I have to "share" the kiddo with somebody. When she was first born, I'd watch her move around and think how just a few days ago, I'd be the only one who knew that she'd done anything.
Posted by: Ann M. at January 22, 2010 08:41 PM (+GQ3g)
15
I am envious of what you have, with your husband, and a child on the way...
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at January 22, 2010 10:27 PM (vqKnu)
16
Great picture. It reminds me that I once worked with the daughter of a cellist who, before she was born, used to kick (audibly) the back of her mother's cello in orchestra rehearsals.
She grew up to be a cellist as well!
Posted by: Piercello at January 23, 2010 11:34 AM (ALcm4)
17
I go away for a couple days and all these good & photogenic posts pop up! This photo is great!
You will treasure these photos. I wish I had thought to do something like this where it was more artsy.
Can't wait to see all of these.
Posted by: Guard Wife at January 23, 2010 12:27 PM (5hZjj)
BUT BUSH DID IT
Raise your hand if you're sick and tired of the Democrats using the but-we-have-to-undo-eight-years-of-Bush excuse for everything... If we were playing a drinking game, we'd all be hammered.
I was too young to pay attention, but did Reagan do this? Did Reagan gripe and moan about how he had to fix everything Carter had screwed up? I mean, he campaigned right in the middle of a hostage situation, for heaven's sake. Was his excuse for everything "but Carter did it"? I don't see how Obama thinks we're buying his line that Bush doubled the deficit, so it's OK for him to quadruple it.
And, it turns out that the president received a high-level briefing
just three days before said crotch bomber attack about possible holiday
period terrorist attacks against the U.S. I suppose we could say, “Give
the guy a break. He’s only been in office a year.” Yet GWB hadn’t been
in office a year, and he was relentlessly berated for not stopping 9/11
before it happened, with critics citing the fact that he received a briefing while on vacation a month before, warning that Osama bin Laden and company were planning on hijacking a U.S. airliner.
Bush was handed a mess in the Middle East by Bill Clinton, yet he didn't go on TV constantly after 9/11 and talk about how it was all Clinton's fault. When we lost bin Laden, Bush didn't constantly remind the American public that Clinton had once had the chance to get him, so really it was all Clinton's fault.
Ugh, give it a rest already. You've been president for a year; it's your show now. Start acting like a grown-up.
Posted by: Amber at January 21, 2010 11:07 AM (facQk)
2
History began in late 2000. Bush was given a pristine blank slate and spray-painted "W" on it. The Republican red paint won't disappear until long after the reign of President Sasha Obama, fourth of the Obama Dynasty.
"Here's my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: the same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office," the president said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. "People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."
Bush is the universal motive, the motor of the world. His momentum continues to hurl Gaia toward disaster, despite Obama's heroic efforts.
Posted by: kevin at January 21, 2010 01:07 PM (+nV09)
THE SCOTT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
I happily watched the results of last night's election in Massachusetts and couldn't believe what I was seeing. It's definitely a step in the right direction, and if solid people keep running for office, we may see the pendulum swing the other way. Thank goodness.
I only wish Dean Barnett were still here to see it.
Massachusetts elected a Republican. Anything is possible. And now that Democrats have that fear and Republicans have that hope...well, I am excited to see what might happen in the fall.
Oda Mae pointed out that there's already a Hitler video. I love the Hitler meme, and this one is particularly good.
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Hey, I know, how 'bout we make yet another boss at CTU who never listens to Jack Bauer, the man who's saved the world seven times already?
Can there also be people working for CTU who are moles, or who have really sketchy backgrounds that would never pass a security clearance?
Of course. Who else would work for counterterrorism?
Oooh, and let's make more cops, government workers, and people who've never heard of Jack Bauer, the man who's saved the world seven times.
Yeah, and we can let an angry white cop beat him senseless until his nerdy Asian partner saves Bauer and helps him.
And we'll create an imaginary Islamic Republic, the leader of which is a liberal's dream: wants to give up his country's nuclear ambitions and negotiate a two-state solution. The real bad guy can be some sort of white man, preferably a corporation.
But Jack Bauer can kill a man with an ax and his friend can take a buzzsaw to a Russian's wrist.
Bingo.
And Sarah will still watch? Even though she's really freaking tired of all these unrealistic bad guys?
Um...helloooo, I said "kill a man with an ax." In the first hour.
My husband and I called the play-by-play last night as we watched before events actually happened. We were right most of the time. We don't care ... we still love it. :-D
Posted by: Heather at January 19, 2010 07:40 PM (CuSqE)
3
Too funny! We had much of the same commentary last night - but we're still watching!!
Posted by: Jen D at January 20, 2010 12:06 AM (h8XAc)
"FEEDING A CRYING HIPPIE"
Some great links at The Corner: First, the pathetic report on the shooting at Fort Hood. And then, funny quips from Cliff Clavin and Scott Brown zings Bob Kerrey.
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I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
While our troops go out to defend our country, it is incumbent upon us to make the country worth defending. --Deskmerc--
Contrary to what you've just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners, only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, WWII, and the Star Wars Trilogy. --Bart Simpson--
If you want to be a peacemaker, you've gotta learn to kick ass. --Sheriff of East Houston, Superman II--
Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind. --Jed Babbin--
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. --President John F. Kennedy--
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. --General Patton--
We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over. --Full Metal Jacket--
Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed. --Dick Cheney--
The Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. --Col Steven Arrington--
The purpose of diplomacy isn't to make us feel good about Eurocentric diplomatic skills, and having countries from the axis of chocolate tie our shoelaces together does nothing to advance our infantry. --Sir George--
I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right. --Oriol--
It's days like this when we're reminded that freedom isn't free. --Chaplain Jacob--
Bumper stickers aren't going to accomplish some of the missions this country is going to face. --David Smith--
The success of multilateralism is measured not merely by following a process, but by achieving results. --President Bush--
Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.
--John Galt--
First, go buy a six pack and swig it all down. Then, watch Ace Ventura. And after that, buy a Hard Rock Cafe shirt and come talk to me. You really need to lighten up, man.
--Sminklemeyer--
You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting --General Curtis Lemay--
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained -- we must fight! --Patrick Henry--
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. --President George W. Bush--
are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill--
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other. --General George Marshall--
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
--Buzz Aldrin--
America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.
--Dinesh D'Souza--
Recent anti-Israel protests remind us again of our era's peculiar alliance: the most violent, intolerant, militantly religious movement in modern times has the peace movement on its side. --James Lileks--
As a wise man once said: we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Unless the price is too high, the burden too great, the hardship too hard, the friend acts disproportionately, and the foe fights back. In which case, we need a timetable.
--James Lileks--
I am not willing to kill a man so that he will agree with my faith, but I am prepared to kill a man so that he cannot force my compatriots to submit to his.
--Froggy--
You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
--Varifrank--
In a perfect world, We'd live in peace and love and harmony with each oither and the world, but then, in a perfect world, Yoko would have taken the bullet.
--SarahBellum--
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. --Ronald Reagan--
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for. It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large. --E.M. Forster--
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse. --Mark Twain--
The Enlightenment was followed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which touched every European state, sparked vicious guerrilla conflicts across the Continent and killed millions. Then, things really turned ugly after the invention of soccer. --Iowahawk--
Every time I meet an Iraqi Army Soldier or Policeman that I haven't met before, I shake his hand and thank him for his service. Many times I am thanked for being here and helping his country. I always tell them that free people help each other and that those that truly value freedom help those seeking it no matter the cost. --Jack Army--
Right, left - the terms are useless nowadays anyway. There are statists, and there are individualists. There are pessimists, and optimists. There are people who look backwards and trust in the West, and those who look forward and trust in The World. Those are the continuums that seem to matter the most right now. --Lileks--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
--Winston Churchill--
A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it. --Arthur Conan Doyle--
A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself. --John Stuart Mill--
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." --Dave Grossman--
At heart I’m a cowboy; my attitude is if they’re not going to stand up and fight for what they believe in then they can go pound sand. --Bill Whittle--
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. --Alexander Tyler--
By that time a village half-wit could see what generations of professors had pretended not to notice. --Atlas Shrugged--
I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
So Bush is history, and we have a new president who promises to heal the planet, and yet the jihadists don’t seem to have got the Obama message that there are no enemies, just friends we haven’t yet held talks without preconditions with.
--Mark Steyn--
"I had started alone in this journey called life, people started
gathering up on the way, and the caravan got bigger everyday." --Urdu couplet
The book and the sword are the two things that control the world. We either gonna control them through knowledge and influence their minds, or we gonna bring the sword and take their heads off. --RZA--
It's a daily game of public Frogger, hopping frantically to avoid being crushed under the weight of your own narcissism, banality, and plain old stupidity. --Mary Katharine Ham--
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms
of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. --James Madison--
It is in the heat of emotion that good people must remember to stand on principle. --Larry Elder--
Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. --from a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt--
The world economy depends every day on some engineer, farmer, architect, radiator shop owner, truck driver or plumber getting up at 5AM, going to work, toiling hard, and producing real wealth so that an array of bureaucrats, regulators, and redistributors can manage the proper allotment of much of the natural largess produced. --VDH--
