I'm just too clean

Over the last couple months I've had this slight irritation on two of my fingers. It'll itch at times, comes and goes but nothing serious. Since we'll be moving soon, I figured I'd check it out just in case.

After a few minutes of examining my hand the doctor tells me I have hand Eczema, a common eruption of the skin on the underside of the hands caused by excessive immersion in water and/or cleansers that irritate the skin. Turns out that all the anti-bacterial soap at home and the anti-bacterial lotions at work (every bathroom has one to help stop the spread of illnesses) are actually irritating my skin. I must have had a small crack or break in my skin that set off the irritation and each time it almost heals, it comes back. All this time I thought I was doing the right thing.

I may just stop bathing to be safe.

Late Spring/Early Fall Tasks

On Saturday and Sunday, Darin's parents came down to visit and help us move things in the house, clean out the garage and complete some outside work in order to prepare for our move to Dubai. Unfortunately, I was no help what so ever, so my title and task was Supervisor (a.k.a sit down and drink water).
Darin's parents brought their enclosed trailer- although Darin was teasing me that it was a stock trailer and that we needed to clean it prior to using it. On Saturday morning, items were loaded into the trailer and donated to the Disabled American Vets (DAV). Afterwords, Darin and his dad headed to pick-up some mulch for the front and back yard. The guys had to make two trips, so his mom and I decided to ride along for the second trip. Little did I know this place was just off I-35 (in Kansas) and quite scenic, rough and bumpy. However, as much as Darin tried this "off- road" adventure did not impact or expedite the labor process- DARN. We're still hanging in there and any tips you have would be GREATLY appreciated!
Then on Sunday, the morning was spent cleaning and organizing the garage. Darin was so excited to see and use the third stall garage again that he thought it was time to purchase another vehicle- he laughed as said, "Just kidding, " thank goodness. We really appreciated all of the help, hard work and effort from Darin's parents and we were grateful the weather was in the 80's.

The Men's 4X100 Freestyle Relay

Normally I am a very casual Olympic fan. I'll watch some of the more competitive events, especially those with somebody from the USA in medal contention, but if I walk away from the TV or get distracted, it's not a big deal. Fortunately for Jen and I we had no such distraction last night. We were able to witness one of the greatest races in any sport. Not only did I find myself watching the race but I was yelling at the TV and jumped out of my seat when Lezak touched the wall and beat the French swimmer Bernard, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. I don't think anybody watching thought the US had a chance when Benard took off on the 4th leg of the relay ahead of Lezak. Bernard wasn't somebody you caught in the 100 freestyle. The unexpected was quite the thrill.

If you missed the race, below is the link to NBC and the relay. It is all anyone is talking about at work.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0811_hd_swb_hl_l0194

Shower for Madison

Darin's co-workers and friends at Cerner hosted a baby shower for Madison- Baby Rezac today. We enjoyed chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, beverages and great company. We received so many wonderful gifts. We are really getting prepared for Madison's arrival. However, there are a few gifts that I need to keep away from Darin (Pink Husker Blanket and the Exersaucer). I am sure Madison will share, but I think Darin needs to learn how to share. We received some great advice and enjoyed a great afternoon of celebration. I've included a few photos from the shower, enjoy!

First day of fall practice

Yesterday was the first day of fall football practice. Usually at this time you'll hear people comment about who is looking impressive or who is disappointing. I always think these early practices are more about shaking off the rust as they are indicators of the future. Until they get into live scrimmages, we have no idea who can step up and make the plays in a game like situation. Drills provide a lot of information, but it is not a direct correlation to success on the field.

With all that said, I think there are some interesting trends learned from the spring to fall camp:
* Coach Cottons' son is really a work horse. Not sure how much he'll play, but I'd expect his work ethic and drive gets him some minutes as a true freshman.
* Nebraska is very deep at RB. (I know, water is wet...) Not only are they talented runners, but the top 4 can catch the ball. Nebraska fans should see some big production out of these guys, especially with the questions around play-makers at WR.
* Cody Glenn will make some mistakes, but he'll also make some big plays. I look for him to end up being the top play-maker of the LB's.
* I'm still worried about Nebraska's safeties handle the spread. I know some people think the secondary is going to be very good. I hope they're right. The big12 is now a spread conference. Very few teams really run at you. You have to have fast guys who can play in space and limit the yards after a catch.
* The team seems to have a new bounce to their step. I never buy into the "we are working harder than ever" articles or quotes. But I think they have gone from being broken and maybe even wanting out of Lincoln to enjoying football again. I think this is more than just a show. We'll find out for sure when they face their first real test. Will they fold like they did last year or fight through it? I think they have their character back. Bo did it in 2003 so I assume he can do it again.

I think we'll all learn more about the huskers in the upcoming weeks. While the non-conference schedule maybe easier than last year, I think the huskers have a tougher conference slate. I just want Nebraska to beat Missouri. Is that too much to ask?

Below is a link to a video from the Lincoln Journal Star. If you haven't seen the new indoor practice field, there are some good shots of it. Otherwise, you just get to see some drills.

http://media.journalstar.com/videos/?mid=M489797d941a79

60 Minutes on Dubai

Below is a link to the 60 minutes broadcast on Dubai. There is both a written summary and the video of the broadcast. The broadcast was centered around Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and his vision for Dubai. I think it was fairly honest for what they tried to cover. Just another perspective on where we are going to live.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/60minutes/main3361753.shtml

Ohhhh Baby...False Alarm

Well, on Wednesday around 8:30am and while at work, I started to feel more and more contractions. I started to time them and I had about 7 or 8 per hour and they were lasting about 20- 30 seconds. Well from our Birthing Classes, I learned the term 511. Which meant five or more contractions lasting about a minute each for an hour. As I monitored them during the next hour and I got up to walk around to alleviate the contraction they seemed to get worse, so I called my doctor. My doctor wanted to see me right away and then said he'd determine the next steps- meaning admitting me to the hospital. I called Darin and told him that I did not know anything yet, but would keep him posted. However, I did not call him until I was almost at the doctors office, I figured he'd drive so quickly that he would beat me there. Once I saw the doctor (within about 10 minutes) he said we're going to admit you and place a fetal monitor on you to measure the contractions and monitor Madison's activity. They planned to monitor me for 1-2 hours and depending on how things went, would send me home or keep monitoring me. Well during the admissions process they asked a plethora of questions- again thank goodness for the Birthing Classes as Darin and I had already discussed the options. Well the nurse asked about my choice for pain relief and if an epidural was OK. I said we need two, one for me and one for Darin.... It was about 11:30 am and I was getting hungry, however since I had so many contractions they told me I could only be on liquids. I thought back to Darin's hospital experience about a month ago and all I could think about was chicken broth and jello..yep! Darin arrived just a few minutes later with his sack of food from Sonic (great timing) as he said I brought you something to eat! Too late, I told him I was on liquids. He mentioned that the chicken broth at the hospital was better than the beef broth. My tray arrived a few minutes later and yes it was beef broth....After the first two hours they check to see if I dilated, I had just a little bit, so they decided to keep me another 2-3 hours. Well during that time it was much the same and I dilated just a little bit more, but not enough to stay. The doctor decided that I could be discharged. However, he mentioned that since I have the quantity and timing of contractions I need to see and feel if they get more intense. He mentioned so intense that I cannot walk or talk. We'll this was Darin's opportunity to ask what he could do to assist with the intensity as he thought it would be "great" if I couldn't talk for just a little while or more. So we're still not sure if it was early or false labor, but now we're starting to know what to expect. Well sort of......

Baby Classes.. and Baby Classes

Last week we finished our Birthing classes. For us first timers it is quite an eye opening experience. But we learned that the movies have it all wrong and a plan really doesn’t work. We also practiced breathing and relaxing. I kept falling asleep. I guess it worked. We also learned we’re not ready. Jen had her bag packed, but we didn’t include bottles, pacifiers, diapers or our camera. We also forgot to pack additional clothes for myself. The poor girl is going to have to be flexible.

The facilities tour really helped as well. You can take a virtual tour at Liberty Hospital. Click on the Virtual tour link under the Our Facilities section. I’ve never stayed in a hospital that had rooms like this. In fact, my stay was in a different tower and not near as nice. But then again, I wasn’t having a kid.

Tonight we’ll be taking Childcare basics. The description of the class goes as follows: Baby Care Basics prepares you for survival of the first 1-2 weeks at home with your new baby. This class provides you with some basic parenting skills, including: bathing, diapering, dressing, comforting, feeding and safety issues for the newborn. Due to the large amount of content and information provided there is no hands on, but teaching methods include dvd, powerpoint, displays and demonstrations. This class is offered once a month and is recommended as a companion class with Prepared Childbirth and Childbirth Express as well as those experienced parents who just want a refresher or learn about changes since their last baby was born.
I guess curling up in the fetal position and crying won’t be one of the options so I’m going to need to pay attention.

Football 202

I really enjoyed my day at Football 202. There were about 130 people attending the event. Most of the day was spent in the film room which fit this size perfectly. From 7:30-8:30 was check-in. We got a name tag, advanced copy of the media guide and the schedule for the day.

Jeff Jamrog talked for the first 45 minutes. He discussed the athletic department budget, the scheduling of non conference opponents, and the daily schedules of the coaches during the season.

Next up was James Dobson. James Dobson is Nebraska’s strength coach. He talked about half hour on the workouts the players did and how they changed throughout the year. He also talked about the message he sends potential recruits and knows if they’re cut out for husker football or not. I really liked his change of philosophy to more burst rather than just strength.

Trev Alberts talked about an hour on his experiences as a Husker and afterwards. Best part of his speech was the story about the 94 Orange Bowl (93 season). I guess the Orange bowl gave the players jock straps. On the Nebraska ones, they read 1994 Orange Bowl, Neb vs. FSU. He asked all the guys to hold up their jocks and look at them. Then he held up an FSU jock strap one of the trainers was able to obtain. It read 1993 National Champs. Nothing else was needed to be said.

Bo Pelini finished the morning talking for about an hour about his background and coaching philosophy. Then we had lunch. I met Diane Mendenhall, Asst. Athletic Director of Development, as well during this time. She’s been great to work with and it was nice to see her again. After lunch we took a tour of the facilities including the locker room, indoor facility, weight room, and the press area of the west stadium skyboxes. I hung out with Tom Shatel during this tour. We’ve both been on it before and gravitated to the back of the group talking about the coaching changes, expectations for the year and some old Big 8 football. It was fun listening to his old stories. After the tour we listened to Eric Crouch talk about his time as a husker and his new business selling playground equipment.

Next came the best part of the day, the X’s and O’s. The Offensive coaches broke down a play and showed the different assignment based on the defense the opponent was showing. Watson really explained all the variation they can show without being complicated to the player. We then picked a position, and went with the position coaches and they broke down the play for that position. I was with coach Gilmore and the WR’s. He did a good job explaining the WR assignments and how the WR’s look at each play as a triangle. We then went back to the main film room. Coach Watson took us through some more plays and why they design them a certain way. After Watson finished, Bo Pelini showed the different defensive terminology and schemes. He showed various defenses with the x and o type drawings and then showed the same stuff using game film.

Then the group did the tunnel walk as they played a video on the big screen in Memorial Stadium. We met up with 4 players, Marlon Lucky, Niles Paul, Barry Turner, and Cody Glenn. When we went back inside, they answered some of our questions. Day ended with a social hour and t-shirts. I ended up with an XXL. Maybe they were trying to tell me something… I also ask Bo Pelini when Football 303was going to start. He just laughed.

It was a nice day overall. If I could have changed one thing it would have been more time with the film and the X’s and O’s. I really learned a bunch and found the strategy of the game to be much more interesting. It should shed new light on why players are doing certain things during the game.

Tom Shatel did a great job recapping the day in his Sunday article. I tried not to duplicate too much…
Tom's Article (click here)

oh.. and Go Big Red!

Finishing touches on Madison's Room

Darin and I have been busy finishing Madison's room. Many of you have asked about our theme. The theme, idea, decorations and color were all Darin's creation. He did a wonderful job, we'd like to share some pictures with you.