Across the miles

The McCurdy family celebrated our first Christmas with our little man far away from each other...  bittersweet to say the least.

The one part of Christmas decorating that I have always helped my Mama with is to set up our Nativity. My Mimi gave this Willow Tree set to Barry & me last year, but we are keeping it in Georgia until we move somewhere a little closer. Brandt and I worked on the Nativity together this year. Brandt was more excited about looking at himself in the mirror than listening to my baby Jesus story.... maybe next year Brandt!

Santa came to visit a sweet little boy named Brandt for the 1st time!

I must not have been as sweet as Brandt because this was the first year in my whole life that Santa has not come to visit me!

Papa Segler & Brandt talking about harvesting pecans, probably! :)

Santa brought a very special gift from Brandt's Daddy. Barry recorded 2 Christmas stories for Brandt and Santa delivered them!

Brandt went to visit sweet cousins to see what Santa brought them too!

Poor Hillbill broke his leg & was so miserable all of Christmas. Jay was such a sweet big brother and helped him so much. What a way to spend Christmas, huh?

By the time it was time to open presents with everyone,  Brandt was ready for bedtime!

My ring in the picture above, is a special present from my Mama & Daddy. It has Brandt's (well and Barry's, & his dads, & his dad's) initials... RBM. One day... 100 years a long time from now, I hope, I will give it to Brandt's wife when they have their first baby.

We had a fabulous time celebrating Christmas with our family. We miss Barry so much, but even more so on special days like these.

Wishing yall a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the McCurdy family!

Cookie Day

Growing up, my  grandmother on my Daddy's side (Ma), had a cookie day every year before Christmas. My cousins and I would go to her house and make & decorate cookies for Santa.

I always looked forward to this special day each year. So, this year I wanted to have a Cookie Day for Brandt and some of his cousins. Barry's family came down for the evening and we hosted our very own  1st annual (hopefully) Cookie Day.

My mom had a delish sugar cookie recipe (thank you pinterest!) and she and the boys made the cookie dough...

The boys LOVED cooking!

Brandt was in charge of supervising!

They rolled out the dough and cut the cookies out with cookie cutters.

Cooking with kids is so much fun... In my next classroom, we will cook every week! But for now, Brandt and I will will make special treats together.

Blast from the Past

Barry and I are always thinking about "this time last year we were..." 

Well, this evening as I was reading one of my very best friend's blog from AK about her past Christmases with her husband, I started thinking about mine & Barry's previous Christmases together... Thanks Shan for this idea :)

.Christmas 2008.

Our 1st Christmas together was in 2008. One of our very favorite parts of college was going to our sorority/ fraternity formals. Barry's fraternity always went on a trip for winter formal at the beginning of Christmas holidays. This particular year we went to Gatlinburg, TN. 

After formal, we must have done separate things for Christmas this year because I don't have any other pictures of us together for this Christmas other than formal pictures. 

So on to Christmas 2009...

Barry moved to Alaska in October of 2009 and over Thanksgiving break, we got engaged, I accepted a teaching job in Alaska, and moved to Alaska over Christmas break. So I said my goodbyes to the south and Merry Christmases a little early and made my way to Alaska. 

 When Barry brought me to our house for the first time, he had our 1st Christmas tree all lit up and set up in the window for me. 

Shortly after I arrived in Alaska, my parents came to help move me in and set up my new classroom (and take down the horrible wall paper in the background). 

The first of many Christmases away....

And on to Christmas 2010...

Barry was in Hawaii for training up till right before Christmas. I celebrated with some of our army family for a little Christmas party. 

Barry came home from Hawaii, took a few pictures, and we headed down south to celebrate Christmas with our families.

It seemed like we went around the world during the short time we were in Georgia. We went to Albany to Panama City to Mexico to Trenton and to Dalton during this break... whew!

 It was such a special Christmas for us because we were spreading the news that we would be having a sweet little baby. 

After Christmas in Albany, we went on a cruise to Mexico to celebrate two of our best friends getting married. 

....A lot warmer than an Alaskan Christmas!

And lastly... Christmas 2011

This year we will celebrate many firsts... 

our 1st christmas 8,000 miles away from each other

Brandt's 1st Christmas

my 1st time as "Mrs. Claus"

Brandt and I are in Georgia and will spend Christmas Eve with Barry's family and Christmas Day in Albany. With some luck, we will hopefully get to see Barry on Skype on Christmas day so he can see what all Santa brought Brandt. 

This year, Christmas will be a little less cheerful for our little family... but next year... next year... it will be fabulous!

We will all be together again and celebrate Christmas in our new home in Arizona. 

Christmas 2012 will be great!

Santa obsession

Someone asked me this week if we had taken Brandt to see Santa...

Obviously this person didn't take me serious when I told her I lived in North Pole?!

3 Weeks old

2 months old

4 months old

Hello Tropicana...

So, my Papa has orange trees in his back yard. He is been growing them since I was in high school. It's a Thanksgiving tradition at his house to "harvest" the oranges while we are there visiting. It is always a highlight of the visit!

This year it was Brandt's turn to harvest the orange....

 Hello, Tropicana? You need a new model for your advertisements? ummm.. Sure!  :)

Brandt LOVED it!

five generations

For Thanksgiving, Baby B and I went to visit our family in south Georgia. We had 5 generations celebrating Thanksgiving together.

In the picture above, there's my Granny (my grandfather's mother), my Papa (mama's dad), my Mama, then me and little Brandt.

What a special blessing it was to spend time with our family. The time we were able to spend with my sweet Granny meant so much to me. I wanted to badly for her to meet baby Brandt. What a blessing for Brandt to have met his Great-Great-Grandmother...

When I showed her this picture... she said "Lordy, you sure can tell how old I am in that picture!"

Love her.

4 month baby

La la la la...

My Aunt took her two boys to Kindermusik when they were little and I've been obsessed ever since. So as soon as I made plans to travel south I researched Kindermusik dates/ times/ places in the area.

Brandt was the youngest in the class but definitely not the most quiet! He was very vocal and wanted to help the lady sing the whole time.

His favorite part of class was playing the drums. He wasn't able to hit the drum by himself, yet so I helped him. He LOVED it! I think Santa will be bring this little boy a little drum this year!

I am so excited to have this special experience with my baby. I so look forward to our next class!

You may live in Alaska...

A friend from school posted this on his facebook today and I thought it was hilarious... and so true! Thought you might enjoy reading it too!


Forget Rednecks, here are some things Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Alaskans:

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Alaska. 
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Alaska. 
If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Alaska. 
If you know several people who have hit a moose more than once, you may live in Alaska.
If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you may live in Alaska.
If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Alaska.
If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Alaska.
If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you may live in Alaska.
If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you may live in Alaska.
If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to your entire Alaskan friends & others, you definitely live in Alaska.....

Making my list & checkin' it twice

If you haven't talked to me in a while you may not know.... BUT

I'm WAY over the top excited about our little vacation to the lower 48 (hehe that's what people in Alaska call the rest of the United States.)

I haven't been outside of Alaska in ummmm.... almost a year now... i believe.

Barry and I have been use to living an hour from the Mall of Georgia, 20 minutes from the outlets, 2 hrs from Nashville, 30 to Chattanooga, 6 hours from the beach... it was great. Restaurants, shopping, concerts galore.

Fairbanks... ehh, not so much. We have Walmart, Fred's, Sam's, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and a few local places here and there.

On TV they play this REALLY mean trick on us... they advertise Dave & Busters, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Target... ALL THE TIME. Seriously, it's like someone waving your very most favorite of all time candy in front of your face and then eating right in front of you... repeatedly!

SO..... I am compiling a list of places I will go as soon as I get home.

1. Chickfila...on the radio they call it... "chick fill uh" HA! I'm not gonna lie. I will probably eat here a dozen times the first week we are there. Yes, I miss it THAT bad!

2. Zaxbys... the fries with that special seasoning on them... I'm giving a good week of unhealthy eating and then on to the "eat healthy so I don't look pregnant the rest of my life eating habits".

3. Real hibachi Japanese... we recently got a Japanese restaurant here but they give tiny portions... well probably healthy sized portions. Everyone loves to go to Japanese and get completely full and then have some left over for lunch the next day, I mean, hello, duh!

4. Mexican... WHITE CHEESE DIP.... my mouth is watering just thinking about it

5. Target... enough said

6. Every mall I can get to... even the Albany mall, which isn't that spectacular, but I want to go to it anyway. I don't even have to buy anything at these malls. I just want to SEE stuff.

7. Panama City Beach... I LOVE this place. I grew up going to the beach here. I would bet money on the this beach having THE top 5 whitest sand in the world. I have NEVERRRR not gone to the beach during the summer, uuuuntil now. Barry told me "that's because I'm spoiled" and I told him "That's the way my Daddy likes me, so ha!"

8. Any restaurant that serves "a meat and 2 or 3 vegetables". You know, like one of those little local places that is packed for lunch time and you go through the line with your tray and point to what you want.... yummmmmmm!

9. Dairy Queen-- strawberry cheesecake blizzard. Wasilla has one of these, but Wasilla is like 6 hours SOUTH of where I live. I did get to cheat on this one. When I was traveling to Anchorage I stopped here.

10. Outlets in Dawsonville... In college, Barry and I could just hop in the car and get to the outlets in 15 minutes. Oooo I miss that... Our checking account probably doesn't though. The outlets have EVERYTHING I could ask for. Baby Brandt told me that he is REALLY needing to experience a shopping trip. He's gonna be a shopper like his Daddy :)

I.CANNOT.WAIT.FOR.VACATION.

Funny thing

So late last night, Baby B was sound asleep, I was doing my usual late night thing...
facebook, pinterest, etsy, reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and Riley started going crazy barking. It wasn't his normal "I think I might see something out there" bark. It was his "there is something RIGHT there" bark.

Of course, I thought it was a person about to break into the house. I was TERRIFIED. The quote from pinterest popped into my head...

I am so the 1%.

Anyways, Riley would not stop barking so I went over to the window, slowly peeked around the curtain...

It was a HORSE!

At first, I thought I was mistaken and it was really a moose, but then I saw it's long, swooshy, black tail & living in Alaska I know moose definitely do not have long, swooshy, black tails.

Our neighbors have horses in their back yard so I am assuming this was their horse.
It was 11:30 at night and VERY dark so there was no way I was going to knock on their door. I tried calling them and of course no answer. So I did the only other thing I knew to do...
I called 911

The woman answered and said "Do you need a fire truck, ambulance, or police?" in the fastest voice I've ever heard. I explained to her that I didn't need any of those things that this wasn't REALLY an emergency but it could TURN into one if this situation didn't get handled and this animal ran into the road.

She was not as amused by the situation as I was...

She told me to call the state troopers. So I did. They said they would send someone out to help the horse....

By the sound in her voice, I doubt they sent anyone.

2 month update

There's your sign

Chances are you already know this about me, but just in case....

I am a weirdo magnet! 

If there is a weirdo some where, they will find me and they will want to tell me their whole life story. It's kinda like a wear a sign around my neck that says, "All weirdos please come here!". (I am such my mother's daughter.) It's not like I seek these people out either... Out of no where.. BAM! There they are.

Well, I was in Fred's this evening and like most outings, I was minding my own business and I made a new friend. First, he wanted to see the baby. Then, he reached for his cell phone and since this happens to me a lot I knew I was about to see some pictures. He showed me a picture of his new grandbaby and then like word vomit the story started....

He said a few cliche grandchildren quotes like, " If I knew grandkids were this fun, I would have had them first." He then went on to tell me the baby's birthday was July 13th, but he sure would have liked to find out about her before she was 1 month old and how her grandmother probably had something to do with that.

I mean seriously, who just tells people this?

I know he was just a very proud Papa but then he wanted to tell me all his " Papa tricks". Keep in mind I had a not very happy baby and was trying to get in and out with my infant tylenol. He didn't seem to mind. He told me how if I had problems with "her" not wanting to take a teething ring I should poke holes in Otter Pops and give that to "her".

First of all, Brandt was wearing a blue outfit and I had him in a blue sling. Doesn't that scream little boy?

So then, he wanted to tell me about making cupcakes in ice cream cones so it doesn't get as messy. Maybe he has been looking on Pinterest for his ideas... just saying! The next idea was to use Fruity Pebbles in Rice Krispy Treats instead of Rice Krispys, but to make sure to make 2 batches because the adults would eat them all first. AND then, he wanted to tell me how to put tube socks on Brandt's hands when he won't leave his gloves on  during the winter.

I'm pretty sure there were more, but some where around this time I was really getting ready to get my now screaming baby home. So I tried to part our ways, but not before he told me one more story.

He had to tell me about how he hadn't treated his cats to a special treat in a while, so tonight was treat night! He walked away with 7 cans of cat food stacked up.

He left me with saying, " I sure hope you don't forget any of these ideas!"

No worries sir.... no worries!

....There's your sign.

The what ifs

Fair warning: This post is about breast feeding, boobs, and nipples.

Breast feeding... not on my top 10 favorite things.

I'm not going to beat around the bush. It's horrible! I would rather birth 20 babies, non-medicated, in the back of a car than have to breast feed.

In 7 weeks, I have had 3 rounds of mastitis (so far) & a constant yeast infection on my breasts... It's been fun...

Everyone tells you...
"It's such a wonderful experience"
"I loved breast feeding"
"It's such a special bonding time with mommy and baby"

If you are someone who told me those things... then you #1 Are a crazy person and/or #2 you lied.

Now I know, "not everyone has this rough of a time" and "it's not suppose to be this bad," quotes from my lactation specialist after her 10th visit to my house. However, no one ever talks about the what ifs of breast feeding.

What if you have toe curling, shooting pains all over your body during feeding?
What if all of a sudden you wake up and you are light headed, running a fever, and have two bright, red rocks as boobs?

What if every time your baby latches on it feels like knives cutting you and then even after your baby is finished you still have that feeling?
What if you aren't able to hold your baby on your chest because it hurts too badly?
What if it hurts to sit up because you feel like your top half is going to rip off at any second?

If you have asked yourself any of these questions,  prepare yourself now! YOU may have mastitis and/or a yeast infection.


This is the story...

I was perfectly fine. I took a nap. Mimi and Mama were cooking supper. Brandt was sleeping. I woke up and BAM! I was freezing, running a fever, light headed, and ached all over. Long story short... I ended up in the emergency room. Diagnosed with mastitis, given antibiotics (antibiotic #1 augmentin) by Doctor #1 & Vicodin, and off we went.

And now you are thinking... the highly addictive, pain killer Vicodin? Oh yes! That is what this Doctor #1 gave me. It gets worse. He wrote the prescription for such a high dosage that the pharmacy did not even carry it. No worries, I didn't fill that prescription. I just stuck with good ol' Tylenol. I did fill antibiotic #1 though.

Days went by, pumping, pumping, and more pumping with barely a drop coming out. I was left with knots all over my breast, and still in a whollllle lot of pain.

I was referred to a lactation specialist by a friend. This same friend also recommended having the lactation specialist at my house the first week I was home, wish I would've listened! (TO NEW MOMS READING: DO THIS!!) The lactation specialist came out to our house and has been so wonderful to us.

Apparently, my body was trying to feed all the starving children in Africa. I had WAY lots of milk. So, because I had too much milk, I wasn't able to completely drain the milk at each feeding. This led to mastitis. The antibiotics I was given, by a doctor who obviously knew NOTHING about mastitis, gave Brandt a yeast infection in his mouth-- thrush. Oh and those antibiotics prescribed by Doctor #1 "are not the typical treatment used for mastitis" according to Doctor #2. So, Doctor #2 gave me a new prescription for  antibiotic #2, dicloxacillin .

Brandt during this time was being treated with some meds that had to be given 4 times a day 1 1/2 hours before feeding.....so easy! NOT! And you couldn't put the dropper back into the medicine bottle after being used because it could spread the infection so it had to be boiled after every feeding.

After coming home from seeing Doctor #2, the lactation specialist came for a visit. It took her about 2.5 seconds to see I have a very bad yeast infection on my "feeding areas." Funny how Doctor #2 didn't see this when I saw her just 30 minutes prior. Maybe it developed on the ride home from the doctor, buuut.... I'm thinking not.

I decided to give the new meds a few days. So I took antibiotic #2 but was still in pain & getting worse every feeding, but the mastitis symptoms were easing up and now it was mainly yeast infection symptoms. Things were going no better in the feeding my starving baby department.

I made another doctor appointment with Doctor #3. Doctor #3 gave me a prescription for antibiotic #3 for 3 days, a cream, and gentian violet for me on my breasts and Brandt for his mouth.

Now, if you have never seen this gentian violet treatment...

This was taken 4 hours after it was given to Brandt. Let's just say I was embarrassed to go in public for several days.

I know you are now thinking, how did antibiotic #3 work?

....About as well as 1 & 2.

So went back to Doctor #3. He said, "There was nothing else he could do for me." "Use formula." "Quit breast feeding." " I wouldn't be able to continue without more infection." Ha! Yeah right!

But he called in Doctor #4 for a second opinion.


After Doctor #3 left the room the conversation went something like this:
Doctor  #4: You aren't going to listen to him are you, Aubree?
Me: No way! I didn't just endure 6 weeks to not even be able to feed my child.
Doctor #4: Well, here is something that may help.

And she handed over the prescription to antibiotic #4, which was the same medicine as #3 but for 2 weeks instead of 3 days.

After 4 days of antibiotic #4, the yeast seems to be clearing up. I won't go as far to say that I'm pain free but I'm not in tears at every feeding now.

This week, I had my postpartum check up and saw Doctor #5. She noticed the mastitis was back. Today, it back and in full force.

I'm not willing to go on another antibiotic because then the yeast- thrush cycle will just start again. So, the lactation specialist gave me advice to help with the mastitis without meds.

At this point in this post I am sure you are asking yourself why would I not just stop breast feeding? I have definitely asked myself this numerous times during this whole process. I did try to stop, for one day, and that resulted in round 2 of mastitis. But more importantly I want to be able to breastfeed. I want to be one of those crazy people who remember loving to breast feed. When I don't nurse Brandt, he begs for it. He rubs his face on my chest and cries. I feel guilty giving my 7 week old food that is so processed when I can feed him something so natural. Plus it stinks and gives Brandt terrible stomach aches/ poop.

So, we will continue with this, with the help of the God-sent lactation specialist, who I think may be the solver of all problems, by my side. All I have to say is, Brandt better not grow teeth till he is 16 because once we FINALLY get this, were gonna be doing it long enough to make it worth it!

I wish I could give you the ending to this story, but the ending is not here yet. However, I'm hoping the ending will be soon and when I see a light at the end of the tunnel, or even just a glimpse.... we will celebrate and I will blog about it :)

Where were you?

September 11th, 2001 I was in 8th grade in Mrs. Stanford's english class. Coach V, another 8th grade teacher, ran into the room and announced, "the world trade center has been attacked my terrorists". At the time, I had no idea what a terrorists was or what the trade centers were or where it located. That day, we weren't allowed to watch the news at school because it was "too scary for our young eyes". Lives were being changed and experience what sacrifice meant. My completely oblivious definition of sacrifice was not spending the night with friends one weekend because I had too much homework.

September 11th, 2001, Barry was  living a "big boy" life already. He was in the Army and in the Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was in the field for a training exercise. (Or at least that is what I think he has told me before when we had this conversation, so I hope I'm not telling a fib.) Within a few weeks, he was packed up and headed out for the initial invasion into Afghanistan. He knew what sacrifice meant.

I was still a little kid still in middle school and he was doing "big boy" things.

Today, September 11th, 2011 I now understand the true meaning of sacrifice. It is what our family has experienced everyday for the past 5 months and will continue to experience for the next 12 years, along with all the other families who have a family member in the service. It is what our little boy experiences everyday when he says good morning and good night to his Daddy via skype. It is what my husband experiences each night when he goes to bed in a tent while Brandt and I are snuggled up in our safe home. It will be what we experience on Christmas morning when Brandt and I are together for our first Christmas and our Daddy is watching us on the computer. It is what our marriage experiences everyday when your love is halfway around the world.

Tonight I will go to bed and will be thanking God for the the life we live everyday because of the people who know and understand sacrifice. Thankful to be an American and thankful for our freedom.

I am now

I am now the person who's life has been changed forever.

I am now the person who cannot believe they are really a parent.

I am now the person who's whole life revolves around an 11 pound 11 ounce little boy.

I am now the person who walks around Wal-Mart just to get out of the house... oh wait... I've always been that person! 

I am now the person who stays in Barnes & Noble for an hour and half just so my baby can get a good nap.

I am now the person who avoids eye contact with people who have children with them in the grocery store, so they don't want to see "the baby" because they probably have germs. 

I am now the person who changes diapers in the backseat of my car... in the rain.

I am now the person who nurses their baby in the car, on the side of the road, even though the house is just 2 minutes away.

I am now the person who tip-toes across the kitchen so I don't wake the baby.

I am now the person who tears up looking at my baby, because I think he is the most precious child I've ever seen.

I am now the person that is thinking mean things about the telemarketer that calls during nap time.

I am now the person who loves their husband even more now that he is a daddy.

I am now the person who secretly is thinking please don't touch my baby with your probably un-washed hands. 

I am now the person who drives with one hand on the steering wheel and one in the backseat holding a pacie in a baby's mouth.

I am now the person who wipes spit up on my jeans... and goes in public in them.

I am now the person who talks on the phone about how many poopy diapers my baby has had today. 

I am now the person who leaves their buggy beside their car because I don't want to leave my baby in the car for even 2 seconds alone. 

I am now the person who cannot remember who I was before I had a child of my own. 

I am now the person who knows being a mother is what I was meant to be. 

Lessons learned

So I thought I had this fantastic idea this morning to go to the commissary first thing  so I could beat the crowd. Brandt and I had it timed perfectly for our first solo shopping trip.  Right after Brandt ate we would leave. I packed a carrier for to carry him in so I could have both hands for buggy pushing. I knew we would be in & out since we were going so early. Well little did I know all the other stay at home mom had the same fantastic idea...

#1 Lesson learned of being a stay at home mom, pick a new time to go to the commissary.

We had to wait in a very long line but luckily, my baby wasn't like the other children running around screaming....

Fly little birdie

Well our sweet baby is just over a month old now and here is a little update.

Barry and I have 1st time parents written across our foreheads. The 1st day home, I called the ER 3 times and we made a little visit. They ended up laughing at us & sent us home... imagine that!

No worries... Since then we have calmed our nerves a bit, however, anxiety meds may be in my near future (just kidding!)


Barry was able to stay with us for 2 weeks after Baby Brandt was born. It was the most fabulous 2 weeks!

My Mama and grandmother (Mimi) came to visit for 2 weeks after Barry left. I think I got more spoiled than the baby but you sure can't tell by the look on their faces!

 Then, my Daddy came for a visit. Those of you who know my Daddy & think he is crazy about me... you just wait until you see him with his grandbaby.

PS He came up with Brandt's "wrestling name"... the Alaskan Assassin. HA!

And now... I'm flying solo.  Our first outing took only 2 hours to get ready for. We have made it 4 days now and no ER visits or phone calls.

Brandt is growing like a weed. He now weighs 10 pounds 12 oz. I had to pack away the newborn clothes this week, sad day. 

Gosh, doesn't he just melt your heart.... I may not get to see my husband's face everyday or hear his voice, but I do get to see this precious face everyday and some how it makes it not quite as hard. God knew I needed this little boy in my life to make through this " year long desert vacation".

Dear Winter

Dear Winter,

I am not a fan. I feel like you are trying to sneak in on Mr. Fall. Today when I was outside, I saw geese flying south. It made me sad. Please stay away so Baby Brandt and I can enjoy some outside time. I will be away during your favorite time to visit in Alaska, so how about you hold off till I leave. Deal?

Sincerely,
Longing for an everlasting summer
Aubree

Hello World!

July 21st, 2011 at 4:47am Rylan Brandt McCurdy was born and here's his story...

It all started around 5:00 am July 20th. I had only gone to bed a few hours earlier and was now wide awake for no apparent reason other than a little stomach ache. I got a little excited thinking, " Oh my first Braxton Hicks" then quickly remembered I didn't need to be having any kind of contractions because Barry was still at least 3 days away. The day went on... I moved from the bed only to go to the bathroom room and to make an egg sandwich since I had put myself on "voluntary bed rest" to help keep the baby in till his Daddy arrived.

About 3:00 pm, the little stomach ache I had earlier was more than a little stomach ache and was hurting every 3 minutes. To ease my mind, I decided to call a sweet friend (who had a 2 week old) and we headed up to the hospital. But before getting in the car, I said "Shannon I'm not bringing my bags with me because I am coming home in just a couple hours"... famous last words. I wanted them to tell me I was not in labor and would not be having this baby today. And after a couple of hours of monitoring,  they did just that.

If you have every dealt with a military hospital, you know you have to wait ten million hours on every little thing. So we waited and waited and waited on my discharge papers in the waiting room. Now in the waiting room there were a few people...  my friend, her mom, the 2 week old baby, a 12 year old boy, and my contracting self.  That poor little fellow doesn't need health class anymore. We were discussing how hungry I was and how we were going to go to Burger King the second we got out. At this point, these "not in labor contractions" were quite intense. And then it happened.. right there in the waiting room, my water breaks!

In birthing class, when the nurse described "your water breaking" she said most people either

1. Have their water broken once they get to the hospital

2. It's like a trickle. 

Well, she forgot to say...

3. It's like Niagara Falls

I am pretty sure I would fall into the 3rd category.

Thankfully, we had had to wait for so long to get my discharge papers, otherwise this situation would have been all in Burger King.

As if your water breaking in front of  strangers (mainly that little 12 year old) isn't embarrassing enough.... Baby Brandt had already pooped so I left a trail of green nastiness all the way down the hall of labor and delivery (sorry if that was TMI... but this is a birthing story).

My first reaction... immediate devastation. Just the day before I had read "once your water breaks, you must have the baby within 24 hours." And all I could think about was Barry is 5,000 miles away and unreachable at this time. Then, pure joy that I would be meeting my baby very soon. Then, extreme hunger, remembering all that I had eaten all day was an egg sandwich, an orange, and a grapefruit. In case you didn't know... once you are admitted to Labor and Delivery, they don't let you eat anything but Jello, popsicles, and ice. Not quite the big hamburger, french fries, and chocolate milkshake I had my heart set on.

So, I was admitted to Labor and Delivery at the hospital on base and this is when my friends took over and handled everything for me.  I have THE most wonderful friends in the world here in Alaska. They took care of everything. They got my bags (that I was SO sure I would not need), took care of Riley, called everyone that we knew to try to get in touch with Barry, got in touch with my parents, sat with me at the hospital so I wouldn't be alone, and ended up being my support team during delivery.

A friend on each leg and one with the camera... we got real close.

I was finally able to get in touch with Barry and talked to him almost the entire time I was pushing. I progressed pretty quickly and before we knew it was really show time!

Brandt was born a true military brat... meeting his Daddy for the first time over the phone. Barry was able to hear the last push and Brandt's first cry over the phone. My support team sent him lots of pictures so he was able to see pictures within a few seconds of his arrival. Thank goodness for technology and tech savvy friends.

At 4:47 am on July 21st,  a healthy 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long baby boy was born.

And at 5:45pm, July 22nd, an excited new Daddy walked into the hospital room to meet his baby boy for the first time.

When my parents come to town

I need to give you a little background information/ geography lesson before you read this post.

If you are like me, and I think most Americans, you have been misled all of your life on the exact location of the great state of Alaska.  You probably have always seen the USA map  that looks very similar to the one below. Well boy do I have news for you! Alaska is really not located off the coast of Washington!

On most maps this is where Alaska is located...

And this is where Alaska REALLY is...

...All the way past Washington, past Canada, and then you will make it Alaska.

End of geography lesson.

Now for the the reasoning behind the lesson...
From to Dalton, Georgia to Fairbanks, Alaska it is approximately 4,200 miles. Seriously, No exaggeration there!

My wonderful parents have traveled those 4,200 quite a few times since we have lived here. Each time they come we always do projects around the house! Quite a long trip to come and work the whole time! For example, one trip was to paint the entire interior of the house. Another trip was move furniture into the house. Another trip was make curtains for the house. And this trip had a particularly special project-- we had to complete Baby Brandt's nursery.

Project 1
My parents brought the cradle that they used for me when I was a newborn. They also brought the bedding that they used for me. This was such a special item for me receive.  I am so excited to get to use this for Baby Brandt.

Project 2
My daddy has lots of practice hanging curtains!

Project 3
This was a high priority project. Brandt HAD to have doors on his closet. If this would have been the only project we completed the whole trip it would have been worth it!

Project 4
Last year, Barry and I planted our tomato plants here. We grew lots of tomatoes, but they were all bright green! They never turned red! So... this year were gonna try flowers!

Project 5
I have loved learning to make curtains from my mom. She has made/ helped me make all of the curtains in our house.  This is one of the two curtains she made (I supervised) this trip. This is in our downstairs half-bath.

Project 6
Decorating the sun room...

Small wedding pictures collage

 Mirror put up over down stairs changing area for Baby Brandt and Mommy to play in front of.

Project 7
Mama found these amazing, rustic letters from Hobby Lobby to make Brandt's name in the nursery. Daddy had the fabulous idea to make a template to hang up the very tedious letters.  "Brain genius" were the exact words he used to compliment his idea.  If you know my Daddy well, I'm sure you can hear him saying that and see that smirk on his face too!

Project 8
The nursery is complete!
.......the wait continues. These pictures have to have their own post!

 Last but not least.... Like I tell my 1st graders "drum roll please...."

Project Number 9
We did so many things around the house to finish up the nursery, organize, decorate, clean up, make everything perfect for our special one arriving soon, etc. But, the most important project of all was getting to spend much needed time with my parents. Being an only child, yes I may be spoiled (just ask my Daddy and he'll tell you that's the way he likes me) I am very close with my parents. I haven't seen them (minus the  daily FaceTime/ Skype calls) since February. I had such a great time getting to visit with them. I am so looking forward  to their next visit, when they will get to meet their first grandbaby.

Barry and I are so thankful for all of the help they have given us to get our first home fixed up. We couldn't have done it with out them. Thank yall!!