Holy Cats!

I don't even know where to start. This past week and a half has been crazy. INSANE, I tell you. Let's see...I had my last day(s) of school with each of my classes, a pre-op appointment with my ENT in preparation for my sinus surgery (oh, joy), my Pre-K class's graduation and party (complete with bouncy house and sudden downpour), a chiropractor appointment to undo some of the damage that nine months of teacher stress does to my body, and a deep-tissue massage that bordered on torture. I also learned during the aforementioned graduation party that the largest storage space my school uses will no longer be available to us (after 56 years) because the new fire marshal had a cow when she saw how much crap we have piled in there. In a single evening, a team of a dozen or so preschool parents and I cleaned the entire classroom from top to bottom, removed everything from storage, and stashed it in my classroom. LAME. Not sure how that's going to work out. (And all of the above occurred in just three days!) Last Thursday my preschoolers (who will be returning for one more year with me this fall) had an end-of-the-year class park playdate/picnic, and then I fled the scene to rush home and pack for my trip to Idaho.

Oh yes, Idaho. What a trip! It's all kind of a blur, but I'll try to recount it. First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed flying alone. (What? No backpack full of toys/games/snacks/ bribes?) I had a window seat with an amazing view of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams (to the right) and Mt. St. Helens (barely visible to the left). My sister-in-law, Rachel, picked me up at the Boise Airport and we had dinner at Red Robin. We spent the evening catching up, checking out her sizable baby bump and all of her baby stuff. As I've mentioned before, she's been on bed rest due to preeclampsia symptoms, so we'd planned to lay pretty low during my visit. (HA!!)

Friday morning Rachel had a doctor's appointment, and everything looked about the same. Afterward, we took a little tour of beautiful Boise, then headed back to Eagle to grab some groceries. Her dear husband had finished a shift at the fire station and ran a few errands himself before catching some Z's prior to working the swing shift at a local hospital that night (and the next). I tucked Rachel in on the couch & made us some lunch. (She's reading, So That's What They're For!--a great book about breastfeeding.) After lunch I headed out to do some baby shopping! I hit Target and Babies R Us to stock up on some of the new baby essentials I knew they'd need. I also hit the local Craft Warehouse. That evening I gave Rachel her (belated) birthday gifts, and we watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe while we chowed down on pizza & bread sticks. Girl's nights rock.

On Saturday, Rachel, Jeff and I rode in their Jeep (with no top! the weather was gorgeous) to Doug's Burger Den for breakfast. I've been plagued with dental problems lately, and lost a temporary crown for the second time that week while eating my waffle. Bummer. We visited their little Saturday Market and hit Reggie's Veggies before taking a little drive and heading back home. Once again, I put Rachel "down for her nap" and headed out to shop. Oh, man. I got so lost! I spent a lot of time pulling over and whipping out my handy dandy iPhone to figure out where the heck I was, and where I was going. I did manage to find Paper Cottage, where I was happy to find the new Liberty collection by Scenic Route. I was also looking for baby announcement inspiration for Rachel, and took lots of pictures of stuff I thought she might like. That evening Jeff was on at the hospital again, so Rachel, Jeff's sister and I met up for dinner at Pollo Rey. Then we went to see Baby Mama, and man, we laughed so hard. It was way funnier than I thought it would be! After the movie, we headed to the glorious Archivers where I spent entirely too much money. (Hope Adam doesn't read this!) We took Candace home where I got to see her poor cat, Mango, in his lionesque glory. Poor kitty, but his fur gets really matted so he has to be shaved! Rach and I headed home to her place, and stayed up way too late talking. It was so good to catch up with her!

So, Sunday morning. Rachel's doctor had instructed her on Friday to go into Labor and Delivery at the hospital for a check-up since he'd be on call that day, and she couldn't do an office visit 'til Tuesday because of the holiday. We showed up at 9:00am, and within an hour they'd decided that her symptoms had worsened and it was time to induce her!!! Achk! She was admitted and I went outside to call her husband, my husband, and all immediate family members. Adam's parents were visiting another one of his sisters and her family in Helena, Montana, and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Mindy immediately jumped in the car and headed to Boise. After Rachel was settled in and Jeff had arrived at the hospital (after getting very little sleep--he'd gotten home at 4:15 that morning) I went back to their place for a bit. I was able to change my flight to Monday night (instead of Sunday) and grabbed them some stuff they needed, did some laundry, attended to the cat, etc. A couple of hours later I was back at the hospital and settled in for the duration.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--Pitocin SUCKS. It was a long labor for Rachel, and I felt so bad for her. She was so tough though, and was on Cloud 9 after she got her epidural (for a while, anyway). We hung out listening to Bob Marley and watching the fish channel, and tried to nap once the pain meds had taken effect. I eventually made a run for food, as it was clear that it was going to be a long night. She got stuck at 5cm for a very long time. Her L&D nurse was totally clueless and inexperienced, so I was thrilled when Mindy (a former L&D nurse) and my MIL arrived! Jeff, Mindy, Cheryl and I worked as a team to help Rachel through it all--she had the tell tale transition shakes, nausea/vomiting, and she was burning hot through the last hours of labor. I felt so bad for her, but she was such a trooper! We all ended up staying through the entire labor and were there for the birth of their beautiful son, Bay. He was born just after midnight (12:05 am, Monday morning) weighing 7 lbs, 7 oz, at 21 1/2" long. He is just darling, and has tons of dark hair, his mommy's eyes, and his daddy's chin. I positively wept when he was born, and feel so honored and privileged to have been a part of his birth. Just typing this makes me teary! We finally went home to their place at around 4:30 am, and I've been in a fog ever since. What an experience!

Bay's amazing Mom & Dad are doing well--tired of course, but well. Little Bay has had a rough start, and has ended up spending his first days in the NICU. I was so sad to leave for home before getting to hold him. We're keeping them all in our prayers, and are hoping he'll be able to go home with his Mama & Daddy really soon! I'll keep you posted.

I flew home Monday evening, and after lots of hugs & kisses from my little family (including Henry) we headed straight to Chipotle. I am totally addicted to that place right now! This week has flown by with a board meeting, park playdate, and yesterday this lovely mama and I wrangled five preschoolers through the Oregon Zoo! Let me tell ya, I slept for 10+ hours last night! I feel like I'm finally catching up from my crazy weekend, and am hoping I've nipped the head cold I've been threatening to come down with in the bud. Now it's time to go catch up on laundry, housework, yard work, errands, and all the things that went to seed while I was away. My summer vacation finally begins!

PS--The baby Robins fledged on Tuesday or Wednesday (May 20th or 21st). The photo on the left is the last one I took of them on the 19th. I was sad to see them go, but am happy to have our yard back again. We've got our work cut out for us--including some serious pressure washing to clean up the mess they left behind! Since I returned from my trip, I hear them and their parents in the morning in the old apple tree behind our neighbor's house. I hope they've all made it.