She has arrived!!

Dr. Ottman was right...I was not going to make it to the scheduled date. I went to her office mid-morning on Monday and she sent me to the hospital to be monitored. Matt and I decided to have her arrive that night, and Katherine Marlys Mason came into this world at 20.07 military time on 10 December, 2007. She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and is 19 inches long. I stayed in the hospital until Friday, and now the Mason family is home. Drake is not sure what to think of her, the cats just stare at her, and basically Matt and I do, too! She is a good eater and sleeper, and I could not ask for a better baby!

I will update with more later as I am sure there will be stories of plenty, but for now, I just wanted to add that she is here!

Stay tuned!

The FINAL Countdown

Less than 10 days…10 days. 10 long, wondering-if-we-can-hold-off days. The doctor does not seem to think so. Those words were NOT music to my ears yesterday. Now I am in frantic mode, writing lesson plans to cover the days until that day – just in case. There is nothing like reading my own lesson plans the next morning when I am back at work. I am also remembering things to tell Matt while I am not sleeping (though I have yet to awaken him to mention these things, thankfully).

The tree went up prior to Thanksgiving, because I was aware that we would be busy over break and having totes in the living room was not going to look so inviting. Add to that debacle that our painter had chest paints and drove himself to the hospital FROM our house one day, and you can imagine the chaos we have been living in. Fortunately, he is better, and came back to work this week after a 3 week hiatus. He had a stint put in for 99% blockage. He actually is my old science teacher and a great guy, so it was a scary situation. He does hope to finish the painting this week – just in time for the little one to come home! Other than that, the house is ready for the holidays.

Speaking of little ones, we have finally decided to give baby m, Dixie, Martha Jane, Sally Jane, little girl…a name!!! After much discussion (like 9 months worth), we have decided on Katherine Marlys Mason. Matt chose the name Marlys for her middle name, and since the “original” Marlys was such a great person, I said it would be just fine. She will go by Kate. I did not mention to Matt that by giving her a “Rogers” name that CLH is no longer an option (not that it ever really was), but I have eight years (and a repertoire of camp songs) that will convince him!

Drake was trying to pose for a Christmas picture, but really he was nervous of getting too close to the tree and having it “poke” him. His poor world is getting ready to be turned upside down! He did get a new holiday squeaky toy, so I am hoping that helps him adjust. Isn’t that what you do – buy presents for the siblings?

Speaking of Drake, we had a comedy show at our house this weekend. My bright idea was to take the two cats (15+ pounds each) and one dog (95+ pounds due to sympathy weight from my pregnancy) to the vet at the same time for their routine exam. Since I could not carry the pet taxi that would be weighted down with 31 pounds of cat, I suckered Matt into going, too. We started the fiasco before 8 a.m. I managed to shove Ezra into the carrier and went to help Matt get Abby out from under the bed. Abby was, of course, in a prime spot that neither of us could reach. Matt, using tennis balls and playing a mad game of dodgeball with Abby, was trying to make him run out. He was successful; however, I was not much help when Matt yelled from the other side of the bed, “He is out…come grab him,” as I, too, was on my hands and knees and don’t just spring up from that position. Abby was able to get under the armoire and play the same game from a new location. I finally had an ingenuous idea to get Abby to run into the bathroom where there wasn’t furniture he could hide under. As I was picking him up to take to the crate, I noticed, through the dripping sweat from my brow, that Ezra was parading around the living room. I think Drake was in cahoots with Ez and let him out of the crate, but we will never know. I put Abby in, Matt brought Ezra in, and we finally got the two of them in the crate and into the car. Almost two hours later, we returned to the house. After that, I had to take a nap.

Hang in there, folks, for the call. Hopefully I will defy the doctor’s odds and make it to the 14th, but if not, we will still be blessed with the arrival of little Kate!

less than 2 months to go...

Halloween is right around the corner and there is no way I am buying the candy early. Even if I purchased the varieties I don't like, I am sure I could talk myself into enjoying them. I will be one of the people at Wal-Mart on the 30th looking for discounted candy and hoping I have the willpower to make it through the 24-hour period before the trick-or-treaters appear at my door. Maybe I should just give out pennies and stickers. Wouldn't that excite all of the neighborhood kids (and immediately seal the deal for our child!)?

Thanksgiving comes next...another event focused on food - and all homemade! My brother from Virginia's family is coming up to celebrate with us, which will be a lot of fun! The day after (or maybe before) will be spent putting the Christmas tree and all of the holiday decorations up and out. We didn't do this last year since we had just moved in, so I am looking forward to this. I say that now, of course.

Less than 3 weeks after this time, we will be in "get her out" mode! Though the painting has yet to start at the house, we are getting projects accomplished. The tree is finally out (not an easy ordeal), the electricians have been here to change out fixtures and add new elements to our interior, and once the painting is finished (great timing for home improvements, I know), we will be ready to accept any and all guests -- and small children!

Today was the first real day of fall -- rain, windy, icky. We have had nothing short of exciting in our weather over the last week (Owensboro was even featured on CNN, NBC, and CBS because of the tornadoes that came in a pack of three last Thursday night). We are now starting to cool off and the grass is even starting to show life. Drake no longer has to play ball in a dirt field!

This coming weekend, my dad and Susan arrive for a short visit on their way down to Florida. We look forward to a fun dinner with them - and the time change that accompanies the weekend. Other than that, we don't have many plans.

A few of pictures to accompany the blog -- one of the tree that has been removed (and the screened in porch that took 3 hours to clean) and the other of the fantastic little girl hidden in my belly (and Drake, who appears in most pictures like Waldo. You can even find him on the porch in the first picture)

10 weeks to go

Fall is supposedly here though it is difficult to notice due to the 90 degree days - and 80% humidity. I have a lot of fall maternity clothing though I am still wearing the summer duds (and am NOT the same size I was when they were purchased)! We are slowly getting the house put together for the arrival of baby m, and soon we will consider names for her. Her crib is ready, which is one less thing to stress about, but now that nesting is part of my ritual, I am frantically desiring to have her diaper bag ready and everything else.

Matt left for Florida today to spend a few days of fall break with his parents. I was going until I realized that 6 hours of sitting at school isn't fun and that 12 hours in the car -- 24 total -- would probably make for divorce proceedings. We have also had a week of bad omens: a tree was being removed from our backyard and a rope broke that was holding the branch, allowing the branch to bounce off the roof, bend the gutter, and land on the porch furniture below, and the same day I took my SUV in for routine service and was told that some part of the transmission was cracked so they were going to put in a new transmission -- under warranty, of course. I picked my car up yesterday and Matt is heading south in it, so let's hope for the best. The tree service is coming back Monday to finish the job (and hopefully provide replacements for the damaged items). An ongoing ordeal that adds humor to life??

Baby m is growing quite a bit right now, which allows me to justify pedicures, naps, and milkshakes; all three making me a much nicer person! She is also highly active and enjoys the music that accompanies dance videos in class - and she especially likes to do dances!

Drake, Ezra, and Abby are hoping for cooler temperatures, too. Drake spends much of his time on the tile or wood floors while the cats snuggle on the bed. Drake is also learning that some of the new toys are not for him, a tough lesson at any age.