Less than 160 days!!

I can almost...
 
-SMELL the salty air
-TASTE the good food
-FEEL the tears rolling down my cheeks
-SEE the Disney character's come to life
-HEAR the waves crashing against the side of the ship

I have a feeling I won't want to get off the ship. 

Two rainbows and a baby

It's been a couple of years since I've seen an actual rainbow. Sunday we had some fierce thunderstorms, at one point we even had some pea sized hail. Around 8:45pm, I noticed there was an orange/pink tint shining in through the blinds, so I stepped outside and saw this gorgeous double rainbow behind our house. The photo's don't even do it justice, it was the brightest rainbow I've ever seen. Truly amazing.

Tinker Bell & Flower met Hayden for the first time this weekend. They were interested at first, but then quickly found better things to do since he wasn't making any noises.

All I could think about during their "snooping session" was the scene from Lady & The Tramp where the two siamese cats are getting into every thing.

Monday's Top 10: Favorite Smells

In making up this list, I can’t help but think of childhood friend and fellow blogger, Emily Parker. She was born without the sense of smell. I can name a bunch of things she would NEVER want to smell, but I can also understand how frustrating it must be. I wish there were something that could reverse that, but consider it a “special power” ha ha ha.

Be thankful you can’t smell trash, dead rodents, farts, car exhaust, certain chemicals and BODY ODOR…oh the list goes on. So forgive me Emily for listing my favorite scents, hopefully it doesn’t make you angry!!

10. Yearbook or newly printed magazine.

This is really strange, I know. I can’t really explain what draws me to them. I guess it’s the smell of new ink and paper?!?

9. Fresh tomato.

I’ve only recently (within the last 4yrs) started liking tomatoes. I don’t know what really ever turned me off about them, but now I enjoy them. Especially a fresh homegrown tomato, sliced and accented with salt and pepper, ok and maybe some ranch.

8. Pizza.

Ole’ reliable, pizza baking is bliss. I’m not even a huge pizza fan, but the smell of one is enough to make me want just 1 slice. There have been a few times where I prefer to pick it up myself –vs.- having it delivered to the house just so I can smell the store!

7. Radiance by Britney Spears.

I know, call me crazy…why would I ever endorse a product that this crazy pop star had a hand in creating?! Bottom line is that it smells good. It’s fresh and clean and not overwhelming.

6. Style by Ralph Lauren.

At work, we used to get our daily deposits picked up by the bank. For a while, we had the sweetest lady come in who wore this perfume. I always thought it was so refreshing when she would walk in and this “professional” aroma filled the front of our office. Eventually I asked her what it was and I picked it up at Belk for myself a week or two later.

5. Bread.

I’m a bread-aholic. Whether plain toast, garlic toast, cheese, fresh bread baking, ALL OF THEM….yum yum yum.

4. Mambo by Liz Claiborne.

Another men’s cologne. This will stand second place to the other cologne of Hardy’s that I loved (see #1 on this countdown). I could hug him all day…in fact, sometimes I think I made sure to give him an extra long hug in the mornings so I could smell it on my shirt at times…. boy am I weird or what?!?

3. Olive Garden.

No particular dish, just the restaurant in general is fabulous to me. Italian is one of my favorite types of food to eat and I’ve never been disappointed with Olive Garden.

2. Roast.

My mom’s roast has always smelled delectable. Even if you’re not hungry, your mouth will water when the scent of the juicy beef hits your nostrils. When it’s accompanied with mashed potato’s, corn and a good roll….ahhh

1. Nautica Latitude/Longitude.

This was Hardy’s cologne when we first met. He wore it for a few years after until it was discontinued. I remember any time my mom and I were in a department store, I always had to stop and spray that cologne on a card so I could smell it until the smell disappeared. I even got Hardy to spray some of my stuffed animals whenever he visited our house. Oh I miss it! The neat thing is that you can purchase it on Ebay, but it’s ridiculously expensive.

1985

These are some interesting events/facts from my birth year.....

1985

-Ronald Regan began his 2nd term of presidency

-FDA approves blood test for AIDS

-Wrestlemania debuts at Madison Square Garden

-Singapore Zoo puts five lionesses on birth control after the lion population rises from 2 to 16

-South Africa ends its ban on interracial marriages

-Coco Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke

-Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge killing approx 10,000

-41 tornado's hit in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, killing 76

-Discovery Channel is launched in the U.S.

-Back to the Future opens in the U.S. and becomes the highest grossing movie of the year

-The serial killer Night Stalker (aka Richard Ramirez) is captured

-An 8.1 earthquake hits Mexico City killing approx 10,000

-Windows 1.0 is released

 

-The Tommy Hilfiger brand is established

-Tetris is released

-4,830,979,000 people in the world



So over it...

On the verge of a break-up
 
My head and I have been arguing a lot this week, A LOT, a lot.  I'm going on day 3 of a mean migraine that pretends to go away, but only comes back worse than before.  I've been suffering from migraine's for about 5 years now.  I didn't notice them until after I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed in December 2005.  I used to think it was just my head stressing from having had my jaw held open for a long period of time.  In 2008 my doctor at the time sent me for an MRI of my head to see if I had sinus issues, I never heard anything back from her so I assumed it came back clean.  The migraine's, however, have only gotten worse. 
 
I was prescribed Maxalt in 2009 to take once I noticed a migraine was coming, it worked pretty well.  In 2010 I was switched to Sumatriptan (the generic Imitrex) and it works like a charm.  Usually within 20-30 minutes after taking the pill, the migraine tapers off.  Unfortunately, I have learned that it's possible to have a re-occurring migraine within 24hrs after using the medication.  What's scariest about all of this is that I only get 9 pills per prescription and I've filled it nearly every month for 1 year. Basic math tells me this is 108 migraine's in a 12mo time span....is this even normal?
 
Although I have had them for this long, it doesn't make having them any easier.  I thought I got in tune with myself and discovered I was having them the week before, during or after my period, but that's not always true.  Every 3-6mos though I will get one that's really painful and nothing I do seems to ease it, this week would be one of those highly irritating ones.

So what is a migraine?
 
The word migraine basically means "half-skull".  It's a very painful condition causing moderate to severe headaches and occasionally nausea.  It's three times more common in women than men (how convenient).  A typical migraine is unilateral, meaning one side of the head, pulsating and can last anywhere from 4-72hrs.  They can cause light and sound sensitivity.  There are a million ways a migraine can be triggered, but it's hard for certain to diagnose unless they follow a specific pattern.  The most common theory is that there's a disorder of the serotonergic control system (serotonin).
 
I've found, the more pressure I apply to the side of my head (9x's out of 10 for me it's the right side) it helps to ease the pain.  I try to lay down or prop my head on my arm on my right side so I'm applying pressure to it.  This is only temporary of course.

Dear Blogger (A modern day Dear Abby)

A friend of mine has started her own advice blog: A Third Party's Two Cents. The blog was created to post Q's/A's that are submitted to her for advice via email. Some of you may already know, most advice columns these days aren't free (because they're in publications) or it takes a long time to get a response, if you even get one. A blog is a FREE and EASY way to keep up with all of the questions/answers that are submitted. It is suggested that you use alternate names to protect your privacy. If you wish not to have your story shared online, please state that in your initial email.

Comments will be allowed, but only after her approval, that way you don't get a ridiculous amount of rude people having their say so on your personal life. This is a great way to share your story anonymously and there's a chance you aren't the only one thinking about certain issues so this is a great way to help other people too.

If you or anyone you know has ever written to (or wanted to write) a "Dear Abby column", here's your chance. Any subject matter is accepted!

email submissions to : dearblogger1@gmail.com
web address: anothersadvice.blogspot.com

PLEASE PASS THE WORD!!!

First week of life

Let me first say, that with a steady hand....I am surprised at how well the iPhone takes picture's, all of the photo's on this post were taken with my phone.

Hayden finally got to come home Saturday morning.  He had been staying in the NICU all week for a number of reasons; problems sucking/swallowing/breathing during feedings, a mild case of jaundice and just for the simple fact he was 5 weeks early.  He beat the odds though and was good enough to come home this weekend.  I rode to the hospital with Heath & Chelsea so they would have help if need be. 

We hung around for a couple of hours for the nurse to do the full discharge, give them tips on feeding and adding a multi-vitamin to his diet.

His last feeding at the hospital

They basically let them have every thing that was in his NICU pod too, all the diapers, vasoline, wipes, bottles...the list goes on.  I was amazed.

Ready to go!

I drove the little family home (back to Heath's moms house) so they could get settled in. 

They're keeping him on a feeding schedule like the hospital had, every 3hrs.  He seems to be eating more now and in a shorter period of time.  Chelsea is still trying to integrate breastfeeding when she can.

Daddy & Son

Sleeping in my arms

Hayden with his Aunt Halie

With his Great Aunt Mandi

He loves to make the "O" face :)

Sleepy sleepy sleepy

He sleeps like a champ which the nurses said he would do. Technically he should still be in the womb for the next 4 weeks.  So far he seems to be a happy baby who only gets fussy during feeding time and when his diaper needs changing, but isn't that every baby?

WILW

Let's begin....

I'm LOVIN' that I became a Great Aunt on Monday morning to an adorable little boy.  Once again, Congrats Heath & Chelsea!!

I'm LOVIN' that even though I have unintentionally neglected my tomato plant, it's still TRYING to grow, I think I need to pick off what's started and let it put some new ones out.

I'm LOVIN' that my cousin, Brenna, is getting to spend the summer in South Korea with her friend and her family.  She is an excellent writer and I think you should all check out her blog SoKo Travels as she spends the next couple of months abroad!!

I'm a GREAT Aunt!!

Hayden Alexander Payne's Birth Story:

As you may have read in previous posts, Hardy's nephew Heath recently got married in May. He and his wife Chelsea were expecting a baby boy this July. They spent the night with us Saturday evening, playing Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and watched some episodes of True Blood Season 2. On Sunday, they left our house around 12:45pm. Afterward, I hopped in the shower and was planning to take a nap since I had a rough night with little sleep.

I must have been laying down for 30mins or so when I got a call from Chelsea, then Heath's mom and Chelsea again. Finally on the third phone call I made myself get up and answer. Chelsea said she thought her water had broke. I asked her to hold tight and I would be over there in a few minutes. We picked them up and headed for Northside Hospital.

She was admitted into the hospital at 3:30. At 4pm, the mid-wife came in and checked to see if in fact her water had broken and it had! She was already dilated 4cm, so they hooked her up to an IV with some fluids and pitocin and the wait began.

Chelsea thought she was lucky in the beginning because even though the monitor was showing some pretty decent contractions, she said she couldn't feel a thing.

(The lowest line is her contractions, they were about 2mins apart here)

At 7pm the mid-wife came back in to check her again, by this time she was 6cm, she also noticed "the sack" hadn't completely broken and that was probably why Chelsea wasn't feeling the contractions as bad. She went ahead and ruptured what was left - it sounded like the Buford Dam erupted (this is exactly what the midwife described it as and quite honestly...she was right!). I would like to say the mid-wife was so informative, kind hearted and supportive. Chelsea really couldn't have asked for a better team. After her water was officially broken, you know...all the way - the contractions really started to show their ugly face. We left the room to give Chelsea some space and time to rest then asked the nurse to prescribe her some pain medicine.

When we returned, which only seemed like 30mins, but by the look on Chelsea's face it was an eternity.  In tears from the progression of the contractions and the fact the pain medicine had obviously worn off, it was time for epidural.  At approx 10pm, they administered epidural, checked her one last time, she was now at 7/8cm and told her to rest. We waited and waited and waited. At 11:55pm the nurse came in and decided to hook up a scalp heart monitor to the baby since the belly monitor wasn't picking up his heart rate as loudly as they wanted it too and so they could keep a better eye on things.

At 12:50am the mid-wife came in, checked her one last time and said "She's complete, oh we need to get the team in here now, his head is right here at the end."  To say we were all shocked was an understatement.  She was just admitted at 4pm and here it is 1am and she's ready?!?

As they set up the room for delivery, they went ahead and had two members of the NICU come in ready to check him out after birth. Hayden was 35 weeks and 3 days which is just at the borderline for automatic NICU admission. This was only the second time in my life, being in the delivery room, the first was with my little brother Trevor and I didn't watch every single thing.

It was quite an experience....it's amazing to see what the body can do during pregnancy, let alone the actual birth. I was happy to have been able to share such a special moment with the two of them. Chelsea did amazing.  Within 20mins and about 10 good pushes, Hayden made his debut at 1:33am 6/13/11!!! 10 fingers, 10 toes and a very healthy 6.7lbs, 19.5" long.

They cleaned him up, handed him to Mom & Dad and then took him off to NICU for further observation.

As of today he's improving, but still has some breathing problems.  Mom and Dad are doing well and are scheduled to come home on Wednesday (let's cross our fingers that Hayden will join them).

Happy Birthday Hayden Alexander Payne

&

Congratulations Heath & Chelsea

I LOVE YOU!!!

Check out his long feet!!

This year has been bittersweet, I've been present for someone leaving this world and someone coming into this world. Makes you REALLY appreciate life