Happy 13th Birthday Kyle

As of 2:54am this morning I am officially the proud Mother of a teenager! I'm not sure if Kyle feels any older but it sure does makes me!

To catch you up to speed from the last post (if you are keeping track).....if you remember, my water broke around 11:30pm on July 25, 1996. However, my little bundle of joy decided he would take his time and come on his terms.....which ment...I'm not coming out, your gonna have to come in and get me!

So at 2:54am on July 27, 1996 that's exactly what the dr's did.....IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!! I was beginning to think I needed to go ahead and fill out a change of address form with the post office cause this was taken forever....well not really....but for those of you who are counting it was almost 28 hours.....yep, 28 hours from the time my water broke to my c-section! I think I need another award for that :O)

Now you guys know why I only have one child. Even though they say the second comes in half the time that would only take me down to 14 hours and I'm not dumb enough to test that theory out.

After the long labor and c-section I had spiked a fever. I was not doing well and neither was Kyle. When they took him out he was not crying at all. I heard the Dr say, "call pediatric respiratory STAT!". They wrapped him in a blanket and put him in an incubator. Wheeled him up by my head and I heard the nurse say, "Say Hi to momma" and then they wisked him out the door. He spent the first few days of his life in the NICU on a ventilator with tons of tubes all around him.

His birth was not an easy one and both our stays in the hospital reached 8 days. We could not wait to be free and head home.

These first 13 years have not been easy but he has truely been a blessing to us. He has taught me more than I have taught him. Isn't it funny? When you have a child you think you will be the one leading them through life and teaching them new things but I believe it is the opposite. Kyle has taught me how to give until I feel like I can't give any more....but then you do. Love until my heart hurts, laugh until I cry, see the good side in everything and believe without seeing.

He is a special child, my child. My only child. And when he is a grown man with children of his own he will still be my baby boy. And no matter where his life may take him my heart will go with him.

So Happy 13th Birthday Christian Kyle Owens!!!!! Our lives are complete because of you!

Due Date-Part 3

So how was the vacation to the little island out in the middle of no where????

If you are new to my blog see post on Due Date & Due Date-update....other wise you may be lost reading this post.

For those of you who have been following me since my due date on
July 15th......isn't it fun waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.......well your just gonna have to wait some more.

Look, don't be mad at me. I wasn't the hold up! Trust me!

I was all ready bags packed, grandparents all ready and waiting and SO tired of the hubs following me around with a brown army towel to sit on (just in case my water decided to break on our new furniture!) Yes, it was not a pretty picture!!! I gained 70 lbs while pregnant. The thought off it gives me the willies!!! And along with the 70 lbs came the feet swelling to point of explosion and hauling around a baby complete with 4 gallons of amniotic fluid...that's right 4 GALLONS!!!!! I was a walking Big Gulp from the 7-11! About half way through the pregnancy I was diagnosed with Polyhydramniosis (not sure about the spelling Mom, she types medical transcription so she will let me know if I got it right) Anyway, it just means you have excessive amounts of amniotic fluid....YAH THINK! I'm pretty sure I hold the world record with my 4 gallons!!! I should really have gotten an award or something.

So enough about all my bodily fluid and back to the task at hand....well actually a little to the South :O)

I was so tired of waiting. I was almost to point of thinking he was never coming out!
I had to go in the Dr. every 2 days past my due date to be measured and have Kyle monitored to see if he was under any stress. I just think they wanted to see how much longer I could go with out exploding! But each time I was sent back home with no talk of enducing my labor...COME ON ALREADY PEOPLE!

So after the last Dr. appt, on July 25, 1996 I return home with my family thinking it would be another boring night with my new best friend "the brown towel". I enjoyed a wonder meal of homemade tacos and even a strawberry daquiri...don't judge me...I deserved it! Anyway, we all called it a night around 11 and went to sleep.

It was around 11:30 when I awoke to a loud "POP". No one believs me and Dr's say your water breaking doesn't make a noise. But I think those Dr's who I'm sure are all males and have never been pregnant much less with 4 gallons of amniotic fluid!

Well, let me tell you that theory has been shot all to pieces....cause mine did! It sounded just like a water balloon busted...wait.... did I just call myself a water balloon?!?

So, at that point, I grap my handy dandy brown towel, which I have been laying on thanks to my hubs....and cram it between my legs! I turn to Chris and tell him my water just broke. And replys with, "get a towel" and rolls back over!!!!

You must be kidding me! Those words did not just come out of Mr. Brown Towel Toten maniac's mouth!!!! So I get up and hoble all 212 lbs of me to the bathroom while trying to hold the brown towel between my legs...if I would have a video of this I would be $10,000 richer!

Once I reach the bathroom I drop the brown towel and the flood gates open! The amnionic fluid falls to the floor so hard and fast it is splashing back up on my legs. To give you a visual, it was just like someone had taken a gallon of milk and poured out on the floor.

We all rallied together to clean up the mess, got my bags, loaded in my parents new Lexus complete with leather seats(thank God the had leather)....and a new brown towel to sit on.

During the 20 minute drive to the hospital we all talked about how Kyle's birthday would be July 26th since it was almost midnight on the 25th.......boy where we wrong!
And now looking back on it I am sure at this point that God does have a since of humor....he could have just sent me an angel that said "hang on little lady, there will be no baby born unto you on July 26th!"...hey it could have happened, it did to Mary....right?!?

So we were off to the hospital. The first thing the ask is if my membranes have ruptured. I tell them "yes" but they still want to do some type of little tissue paper test to see. When the nurse comes back in with the "positive test" and tells us "yes" my membranes have ruptured.......YA THINK! I could have just filled the Grand Canyon and 2 olympic size swimming pools!!!!!!

The go ahead and get me admited and hooked up to all the bells and whistles and we all settle in for what we hope will be a quick delivery....I mean it can't take much longer with my water all ready broke right?!? WRONG!!!!!!!

Stay tuned for more............

Old Friends

This picture is of myself with two old friends...well not too old since we are only 21....tehe :O)

We met back in middle school and remained close all the way through high school.......well mostly Heather and I since Jennifer played hooky 4 days a week!!!! We still wonder who her Mom paid off for her to graduate. :O)

We all got together for a "Girls Night" went I was home in Kentucky. We had a great time and really enjoyed catching up on "Old Times" and recent gossip.

The times I shared with these two ladies were some of the best! We got into trouble alot (blamed that all on Jennifer)but we sure made alot of memories!!!

Thanks for all the wonderful laughes, goodtimes and memories you girls have given me.....I love you both dearly!

Due Date~ Update

....so how's that book coming....hehe....I told you that you had plenty of time :O)

It's been 1 week since my due date...and well, were still waiting....{{clock ticking}}.....still waiting......

Maybe it won't be too much longer?????

My Bubba is home!!!!

Yippee skippy...can you see me do my happy dance?!? {{shake, shake}}

He did have an "awesome" time but was super duper tired. He is still at home as I type catching up on his ZZZZZZZZZ's.

They had a live band called Living Water. And they really spend alot of time with the kids and even gave some of them a few guitar lessons.

As much as I missed him I know it was a wonderful experience with all his frinds and the Lord!

Now I have to tell you about the phone call I received from him on Friday night...well, actually it was sometime in the wee hours of Saturday morning but I really couldn't see the clock that well thru all the sleep in my eyes....but the first teary words he said when I said hello was...."momma...I'm saved".

At that moment my heart melted and I wanted to be with him. But he assured me he was fine and that a counselor was with him. They had devotions, bible studies and chapel everyday but it was during the final concert night that God spoke to him and he went forward to the alter to make his commitment to the Lord.

Now how does a Mom go back to sleep after a call like that?!?

God is GREAT!

~Cravings~

Ice Cream...oh how I love thee....let me count the ways......in a cone , in a cup, in a dish, in a glass, in a spoon straight from the carton, off the floor......just kidding on that last one. Well maybe not, I would have to weigh my options. If it was the last scoop in the carton and I had mopped the floor in the past week then yep, probably so!!!!

I thought I would do a post on one of my cravings since I am keeping with the "due Date" theme....and boy was ice cream at the top of my list.....spicy food was running a close race for 2nd place!

For those of you who know me, you can agree ot my all time love and dear passion for this wonderful desert!!!! However, I am not a name brand junkie when it comes right down to it. It doesn't have to be Bryers, or Edies or even Ben & Jerry's as long as it's cold and frozen with no hunks and bumps in it...that just slows me down and gets in my way!!!! Just plain chocolate, vanilla or maybe some fudge ripple.

But I must confess that I have some form of ice cream EVERY night! If you don't believe me you are more than welcome to asks the "hubs" he will tell ya! The bad thing is that I have passed this trait(fettish) of mine along to my son....he is my ice cream eating partner in crime :O)

Seriously, how many people can say they wrecked their beautiful sports car while on the way to the store for none other than ......you guessed it....ICE CREAM! That would be me! My senior year in high school I was have one of my ice cream craving fits so I left a friends house and scooted of to the nearest Kroger. An dof course the wreck happened on the way back from the store....and DANG IT...my ice cream got all melty while waiting on the cops...so my passanger side door was all busted up and I had melted ice cream....I was not happy!

So there you have it, my oh so wonderful love for the frosty frozen treat!

Due Date

Yes, my due date has offically come and gone. It was yesterday July 15th...just not in 2009 but 1996. I bet some of you are thinking to yourself right now "what! I didn't know she was pregnant"...well, you can now stop holding your breath and release it before you pass out because I'm not..NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!! NOT EVER AGAIN!!!!! But 13 years ago...I was, and yesterday was my due date.

Not a year has gone by since Kyle's birth that on July 15th I don't think...."today was my due date"....am I the only one that does that....maybe?!? Oh, well.

So, I thought since Kyle is getting ready to cross over into his "teen" years this would be a perfect time to take you through my due date, labor and delivery on the exact days they happened.

......so, get comfy, grab and good book, your labtop, take a vacation to some island far away...no kidding, even though yesterday was my due date you have plenty of time before he comes...this is gonna take a while!

Awesome Camp

Well, Kyle made it to camp safely. He left Monday morning at 9:45 and we finally heard from him last night about 11pm.....what's up with that???? I was beginning to think that maybe he was not going to call us all week long(my heart would have been broken and he would have been SO grounded when he got home!)

It was a short conversation that went something like this....

"Hey Momma"

"Hey Bubba, are you having a good time?"

"yep"

"Are you doing okay"

"yep, I'm fine"

"What have you been doing?"

"Hey Mom, they have a live band. this place is awesome!"

"who's cellphone are you using?"

"Will's"

"oh, have you been eating good?"

"yes, mama, the food is awesome"

"HEY WILL! YOUR MOM'S CALLING ON THE OTHER LINE! Well, Mom I gotta go."

"okay Bubba, I love you, have a good time"

"I will, this place is awesome...love you"

So, that's how it went....I may be way off on this but I think camp must be pretty AWESOME!

Give Away!!!

One of my favorite blogs I follow is Life, New England Style @ www.lifenestyle.blogspot.com.

She is having an awesome give away for L.L. Bean.

So drop on buy her blog to registar to win......

Feared by many....Loved by few

Most normal people would think your first "major purchase" as newly weds would be a house or a car or even perhaps a washer & dryer...well Chris and I are much to different for that. Our first "major purchase" as newly weds came in eth shape of a little furry ball with a dark eyes and a not so wanging tail. Yep that's right, it was a puppy!

We bought her just 4 months after we were married from a pet store in the Augusta, GA mall. I remember carrying her out of the mall in my arms just like I remember carrying Kyle out of the hospital as a new born....she was in a since, of first child.

She was a Blue Chow Chow and for those of you who have a Chow or know anything about them will agree when I tell you the following things. You have to be a special person to love and raise Chow's. Their breed has more of a cat personality (ya know, I can live with ya or without ya kinda mentality). Well, that was our Daquiri. She always did things her way. When SHE wanted to do them and not a second before. Chris and her had several Alpha Male battles :O) She never played with toys. Her theory was "you threw it, you go get it". She wasn't prissy at all but very stead fast and strong willed and everything was her way. She would never give up anything without a fight.

She was also very pertective of the 3 of us!!! The first time my parents came to visit us in Georgia my mom woke up before everyone else and decided she would get up and make coffee....Daquiri on the other hand did not agree to this plan. She had slept in front of our guest room door all night and when Mom opened the door she just layed there and growled.....so Mom just shut the door and waited.

Then when Kyle was just an infant we had a yard sale. I had Kyle in his walker playing under the carport during the yard sale. Well, there was a man at the yard sale who had walked over and WAS going to speak to Kyle...but Daquiri was not too keen on how close the gentleman was getting to Kyle and took matters in to hear own paws and bit the man on his heel....YIKES!

She was always on guard, especially when Chris was not around. She was always my peace of mind when Chris worked nights. And I can honestly say I slept very sound knowing she was out there on patrol.

About 3 years ago her hearing began to get worse and eventually was lost all together. Being deaf made things even harder for Daquiri and harder on us to comunicate with her. But she was a fighter. Each time someone left the house you always had to go around and make sure were Daquiri was before you backed out of the garage. Well the one time I was in a hurry and didn't look for her....guess where she was???? That's right...under my tire!!! It was the most horrible noise I have ever heard and it broke my heart! Chris rushed her to the vet and she had to have surgery to repair her broken leg....her ego would have to heal over time.

I guess I could go one forever with stories about Daquiri but that would not bring her back. Daquiri gave up her long fight and left us on Friday night for "Doggie Heaven"....after 14 years our first "major purchase" was gone. It broke our hearts to see her go but we were all there with her to say goodbye. Daquiri was not liked by many because of her moody ways and bad attitude....but she was loved so much by the three of us!

P.U.S.H

Pray Until Something Happens

These four small, but oh so strong words were written on a small piece of paper and handed to my son by his bus driver on his last day of school as he got of the bus for home....(and some people think public schools are bad?!?)

So I felt the need to use this as my post today. I have several friends and family members who are going through some very hard and difficult times right now so I thought this would be fitting.

Remember the Lord will never leave you or forsake you.

Just remember to PUSH!

How will I cope?

So I need some help......Kyle leaves for church camp on Monday morning and I am wondering what in the Sam Hill(who ever he is) I am going to do without my one and only son around for a whole week!?!......besides the obvious thing of MY HOUSE WILL STAY CLEAN.....Hooray!

But on a more serious note....really what am I gonna do? He has been away from before so that's not really my main concern. I know he won't get homesick. I just wonder how many camp kids are gonna pass out from his rank breath if their is no one there to make sure he brushes his teeth....or even worse...if the B/O kicks in from lack of body contact with soap...oh Lordy, my head is spinning and swooning just thinking about it!!!!! Don't get me wrong I carried this child for 9 months(wait it was longer than that, I went 2 weeks past my due date)and I love him with all my heart but he really has the attention span of a gnat. So I know with all the fun and action going on around him he will be off in "Kyle Land" and more than likely will have to be reminded to breath!

They are also not allowed to take any cell phones to camp. So I will have to rely on him to call me each night(and for the tooth brush issue that will be way too late!)

So if any of you Mom's out there in Blogland have any brillant ideas on how you helped your child when they went away to their first camp please let me know....my only hope at this point is that he will meet a cute girl and that will give him enough cumption to take some pride in his appearance and at least make sure his clothes match!

That's more than likely a long shot but hey....a Mom can dream ...can't she?!?

Vacation pictures

Here are a few pictures we took over July 4th weekend while my BFF Heather was visiting. We always have a great time when she is in....go lay out by the pool, go to the beach and go out on the boat.....ahhhhhh fun in the sun!!!!!

Wrong Hole

....yep, that's the name of our boat! The great part is that is can double as a fishing term since my husband always seems to fish the "wrong hole" and doesn't catch anything and for the putting the gas in the "wrong hole" on the boat.

It is most fitting....don't ya think?????

What's in a name?

Speaking as a parent, when you first find out you are pregnant you begin the long task of picking out a name for your baby. You know, throwing names out to see how thay roll off the tongue and how they sound with the middle and last name....ever parent does it...right?

Well, the same is true for my husband and his baby(a.k.a his boat baby)We have had our boat for about 3 years and have been tossing out names since he first pulled her in the driveway. Since he din't want to name her after me :O(

Anyway, he wanted to think off something clever and funny that fit him and his personality. We bought the boat for the family but for those of you that don't know my husband...HE LOVES TO FISH...not that he is good at it...but he loves it! So he thought up the following names....Spot Remover, Croaker Choker, One More Cast, Bite My Worm, and 10-42(off duty) which I really like since he is in law enforcement. But none of those really struck his fancy so to speak.

Well, we pull out on Saturday morning with the boat to head out for a fun day on the water to tube, float around and watch the fireworks...sounds like fun...right? But first we have to stop and fill up the boat with gas. My friend Heather, myself and my son wait in the truck while Chris goes to fill up the tank on the boat. After a few minutes Heather notices Chris wiping his hands on a towel and that there is gas all on the ground. So naturally we just thought he got the tank too full and it over flowed...NOT THE CASE! When Chris gets back in the truck he starts laughing and then fills us in on why this is all so funny. Instead of putting the gas nossil in the gas hole he put in fishing rod holder!!!! Yep, thats right folks my angler of a husband filled the hull of our boat full of gas!!!!! We all start laughing so hard...what else can we do? This man has been fishing since he was old enough to stand up and hold a rod and can't remember where the gas goes...honestly! So we enoyed a nice day on the boat sky high from gas fumes and not to mention depressed and how much money we had wasted in gas!

So, now back to the whole name bit. We have finally decided on the perfect name for the boat. How many of you can guess?????

I will give you a hint...it can double as a name for fishing or the "gas incident"

And Heather you can't guess since you were there to witness the entire mess and already now the answer :O)

Uh.....has any body seen my desk????

seriously people......I was sure it was here when I left for vacation last week! I have been here at work for 2 hours and I just found my keyboard!!!! And at this point I am not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

It is so hard getting back into the swing of things after being an vacation for so long. My trip to Kentucky was great. And Kyle and I really enjoyed seeing all my family. Except I'm not sure why I am calling it a vacation since I really don't think we stopped at all to rest and relax.

I got to see a ton of old friends from school and enjoy a night out with the girls...what fun..hehehehe! I will have to post some pictures later for you guys to see.

Well, I better get back to work for now cause todat is the only day I am working this week then it back for another mini-vaca to celebrate July 4th with my BFF Heather on the boat....ahhhhhhh....bring on the sun and the fireworks!