A Full Moon....

Well tonight is a full moon and I am hoping little Parker is getting ready to see everyone. I guess he'll be ready when he wants. It's getting tougher and tougher for me to sleep and move around. I've had quite a few contractions over the past few days, however they are not consistent. My next doctors appointment is Monday, so hope to hear some good news. It's amazing how an extra 30 pounds can effect my mobility. Parker has been very active (kicking) throughout the pregnancy. He is starting to slow down a bit as he is growing more and more and less room to move....Whahoo...good for me. Maybe the full moon will be on my side and I hope its not just Madison mooning me. Otherwise it will be 24 days to go and counting.

Frostbite 2010

This past weekend I flew to Detroit to join some friends in the 2010 Frostbite golf outing. I arrived Friday night and went to a friends house where he was having a kickoff party. The next morning we woke up at 7:00am to pack and drive north to Harrison Michigan for the golf event. Harrison has a winter celebration during the weekend which includes ice fishing, chili contests, a parade, kids activities, auctions and of course, winter golf. There were 5 of us driving from Detroit for the 2 1/2 hour ride north.

When we got to Harrison we ate at a local diner, met up with some other people who were part of our larger group, checked into our hotel and got dressed for a day on the ice. I was shocked to find how nice the weather was in relation to KC. It was in the mid 30's but plenty of sun. I only wore a hooded sweatshirt and my ball cap. I had gloves, but never used them. Most around us were in light jackets. It was perfect day. The hotel was on the lake so we were able to walk across it to the register for the tournament. It was about a 1/2 mile walk. For the tourney, we were able to bring one club and with our registration, we got a numbered tennis ball to use for the day. I was #60. I know we had a # 98 in our group, so there were at least 100 people on the ice that day. At 1:00 the golf tourney started.

The lake had about 14 inches of ice and another 6-8 inches of snow on top of it. What the event organizers did was take a small plow, create anywheres from 20-50 yard fairways by moving the top layer of snow and then created a circled "green" doing the same thing. The hole was actually cut about 8 inches into the ice so the ball would stay out of the water, but still have a place to drop. The whole was about 6 inches in diameter as well. Doesn't sound like much, but fairways were only about 2-3 feet wide and hitting a tennis ball on ice adds to the complexity and makes this more challenging than one would think. Snow tracks, snow chucks and ice that is not smooth gave us a lot to talk ...and brag about. My team of 3 ended up tied for first out of our larger group. We shot a 4 under for the day. I had a lot of fun and made 2 great shots. The first was the 2 shot on a par 4. I was in the snow, popped the ball into the air and it hit a snow pack, bounced off and went into the hole. On the last whole, I had a 20 yard put that stopped with a small portion of the ball hanging over the edge of the cup.

After the game we got a rid on a snow vehicle back to our hotel. (btw.. there were people driving cars on the ice. It's amazing how solid 14 inches of ice can be..) Everyone was hungry so we grilled burgers and hot dogs before we changed to go to the bars that night. We ended up playing a lot of pool while watching the Olympics and bragging about the days events. About 1:30 in the morning we left the bar to go eat some breakfast. A diner was on the way to the hotel, so along our mile walk back we stopped and had a bite to eat. Diner food is always great.

The next morning I woke at 7am, got ready and we hit the road by 8. The group drove me back to Detroit so I could catch my noon flight. It was a quick weekend, but I'm ready for next year already. I've enclosed some pictures of the day, including a shot of the lake from our hotel. I also enclosed a picture of the plane wing once I landed in KC. I wasn't sure I would make it back with the storm we were having in KC, but we landed. By the time we got to the gate, the wing was covered in snow.

Big News...Big Girl cup

We received a note from Madison's teacher that mentioned, "tried an open-faced cup with Madison today at lunch and it was very successful!" "She spilled very little, so we will go ahead and transition her from the sippy while here at school!" Please enjoy the photos.

Happy Valetine's Day!

On Friday, Madison made Valentine cookies at school. She's already a better baker and cook than I am.....

Madison'sh love of books..

Five silly monkey's is a hit.

She likes the Bert and Ernie football book as well....She loves that is squeaks and Sonic thinks it's his toy...

Sonic update

Well it's day three on the new medication and I'm happy to say Sonic is a new dog. He acts and seems five years young, wonder if the meds work for me! =) For $60 a month we plan to have a happy and healthy Sonic.

Nebraska bean bag chair, books, and Wonder Pets....priceless

Sonic

This month, Sonic turns 13 and he is starting to slow down a bit. Darin and I have noticed over the past few months he has been different. However, on Friday we had more of a surprise than expected. Darin let Sonic outside to go to the restroom, when he came back in the house, he just "fell" on the ground- very limp and started coughing, almost like he had a "hair ball." It took him a few seconds to catch his breath then he was okay. We noticed he has been breathing harder. I called our mobile vet who was on vacation. However, he referred us to another vet or emergency care. Darin and I thought we'd wait to see our vet (since he knows Sonic's history). But if his condition worsened we would go to the ER vet. On Sunday, he had another episode, similar to Friday, so on Monday I called the vet who set up an appointment with us for this evening. When I arrived home from work tonight, I let Sonic outside to go to the restroom. Once completed, he immediately collapsed- fully limp, was not breathing, eyes rolled back and had a white tongue. I picked him up, blew air on him and cuddled/shook him until he came to. The vet arrived five minutes later, thank goodness. Based on the symptoms, the vet thought Sonic was anemic. The vet performed some blood work, listened to Sonic's breathing and had Sonic run around in the yard. The blood work came back normal. Sonic's heart murmur was at the same level it has been for three years. So, the vet gave us some medication to help strengthen Sonic's heart. We are to use it for three days, if he is doing better, great. If not, the next stage is to see a Cardiologist. We hope Sonic is okay and I pray this medication works for him.

Parker's Room

Darin worked very hard this week to put the finishing touches on Parker's room. I believe he might be nesting a bit. Enjoy the pictures.

3D Sonogram pictures of PBR

On Saturday, Darin and I enjoyed seeing Parker via a 3D sonogram. The sonogram revealed lots of hair, chubby cheeks, and a cute little nose.