mmm - smelly goodness

That's right all - I am selling Body Shop Products! I absolutely love the company's mission, and that they do not test on animals (something I've always been passionate about.) Being an at home consultant also means that I get to offer items at a reduced price, and also show and sell products before they are even on store shelves! I'll keep you in the loop when I can offer special deals and prices. And if you want to have a fun foot spa night, or a facial night, or even just a wine night with some catalogs...(mmm wine) let me know!

our favorite place on earth.

Neskowin. We love this place. We are so happy that Tucker will get a chance to experience this place as I did as a child. We trekked down at night while he was sleeping and had no problems. He was an angel the entire time, and loved putting his toes in the sand! My mother informed me that my first trip to the beach was at 5 weeks old - this seems to be the theme in the family. It was a bittersweet trip for me in the sense that I feel close to my grandfather here, I really wish that he could meet Tucker. I lost him when I was still relatively young and really hope that Tucker has a chance to spend time with his grandparents as much as possible. I came down to Neskowin every summer with my grandparents and those are times that I remember with such fondness. There is something special about this place. We love taking people down with us, let us know if you'd like to tag along. You will not be disappointed.

So here we are....

I am totally going to be one of those crazy parents that has tons of photos and annoys everyone with pictures of their child. What can I say, we're pretty proud. And we kind of love this little guy.

so that's why they call it 'labor'

Our original due date was June 14th but the little bean inside me had different plans. My blood pressure was pretty high towards the end of pregnancy so they decided to induce as opposed to risking pre-eclampsia. I was induced with Cervadil (sp?) June 20th and kept overnight at the hospital for monitoring. That was a strange experience for someone who has never stayed in a hospital! I was in love with all my nurses and doctors, my room had an amazing view of Port Townsend and a HUGE tub. They let me go Saturday morning as I wasn't really progressing too much, it's always better to go through the process at home. My intentions were to stay at home as long as possible and to have a natural childbirth. Well as soon as my contractions were very painful that all changed. Rex's parents Roger and Franny were here visiting and they got to listen to me moaning in my room...finally we went to the hospital for the second time and the wonderful nurse sent me home after letting me take a bath in the giant tub. We went to my doctor on Monday to find out if I was progressing AT ALL - and I had only just begun to dilate. Mind you I have been having intense contractions since Saturday - not such good news. Once she heard what discomfort I was in she checked me right in to the hospital to labor through it. I continued with the extremely intense contractions that were increasing in strength and frequency until Tuesday afternoon when I was fully dilated and my water broke. My family was in the waiting room throughout all of this, including my in-laws and my Uncle Rob, my parents, my sister, and my grandmother. I think at one point Franny, my mom and my g-mom set up chairs outside my room to listen to me yelling. Oh and the word of choice was MotherFucker. What a lady! I was finally allowed to push and I could just tell something wasn't right. After 2 hours of pushing I looked my doctor in the eye and said 'something is wrong' I think she saw my fear and concern so we moved forward with the Cesarean. Thank god for Epidural and Morphine.

Tucker John Riffle was brought into this world at 5:23 p.m. weighing in at 8 pounds 7 ounces and 21 inches long. He had a 'true knot' in his cord that kept him from descending into proper position for birth. Had I continued to push - he could have been a very sick baby. Thank god for instinct, my husband, my family, my doctors, and the nurses. This was such an incredible experience for me despite all the drama associated with it. This taught me that despite all the intentions and planning, mother nature is going to do things as she sees fit. I love the end result with all my heart.

Sushi and Madden '08

I am one of the few people (i think) who loved being pregnant. Rex and I found out we were having a little one the night we took his brother Randy to sushi for his birthday 10/07. We had been trying for several months and had just reached the point that it would happen when it was supposed to. We stopped at Safeway after Sushi Zen and picked up the 2 pack of first response (by this time i should have been a shareholder in the company) and went home so the boys could play Madden '08. Not following directions as usual (mainly because I'm extremely impatient) I decided to pee on the stick and lo and behold - I had 2 lines. I was dumbfounded. I walked out to the living room with a look on my face holding the stick and Randy says "you're pregnant, aren't you?" Rex didn't believe it until I took 2 more and went to the doctor. Sheesh - what a skeptic.

Wedded Bliss

The best day of my life was September 16th, 2006. I had waited for so long to find the perfect man - and right before I had resigned to a spinster lifestyle and a couple of cats, along came Rex. It just so happened that he rented an apartment from my best friend (she was the assistant manager of the property) because she was cute. Before his move in date we did some shift-aroos with the property and I was the assistant manager when he came to move in. I knew we had a connection from the get-go when he smiled. Have you seen his choppers??? He also maintained such great eye contact - it was almost unnerving, and I am not easily unnerved (?) Oh and he stared at my chest too - real classy. So I have my best friend Sarah to thank for being cute so my future husband rented an apartment. Our courtship story is long - please ask and I will share as many details as you can handle. For now - here's some photos.

Clunker

I decided to start a blog as my life has had so many changes and I just need to get it all down. Please bear with me as I get used to this new format - I will be a bit clunky to start.