Next time....

Next time we head up to Soda Springs, we'll have little Monday in tow! Tim and I went up to Soda Springs this past weekend to close down for the winter. Time lines have been accelerated this year with Hap, the caretaker, coping with unknown spots in his lungs, and the fact that the river may head underground in some locations as it is so dry.

We headed up on Friday night at about 5. It took us 1 hour to cross the San Mateo bridge (2 0f 3 lanes were closed) but then we flew from there. We got up there about 9:30 and played cards until Tim could shed the road and be ready for bed. We had quite an active evening as Tim awoke to 3 different deer heading up the trail by our bed -- what can I say, my sheepdog is a light sleeper when his protective mode is in play.

On Saturday, we potted around the house, closed out Pito & Melissa's room and did some work in the kitchen. With some direction from Nick, Tim cleared a 3 foot perimeter around the house with a weed eater which took him the better part of an hour. We took a lunch time nap and rested a bit again before dinner. Not too stressful of a day.

For dinner, we had everyone in camp over for leftovers. It was only Hap, Maria, and Nick, but we had a wonderful evening. I thawed pork tenderloin from the freezer, made a green salad, some corn OFF-the cob (only 4 ears for 5 people) and a quinoa salad with random fridge leftovers. Maria brought over a gazpacho and we (everyone but me) put a dent into the 3 cases of wine we had up there!

Nick, who we learned was called "Tidbit" in college for all his story telling, was true to his nickname and told stories into the night. Tim, true to his form, kept us laughing.

On Sunday we got up in a flourish. Anxious not to cook anything more (no more dishes to clean) we ate sausages off the grill for breakfast and frantically tried to close out of our room before Hap came by at 9:30 to help. Once he arrived, I lost Tim to doing manly things like putting up shutters, and had the rest of folding laundry, zipping up plastic bags (my fingers are beaten up today) and getting us out of the fridge and the kitchen. As I wrapped up that, we then started moving all the furniture into the main house and put up the remainder of the shutters. The men then took down the shade structure, and the house was put to bed. We left hap to deal with the rest of the water & the propane, but there wasn't much we could do to help. We took some quiet (weepy) time at the waterfall to say goodbye for the year before we headed down the hill to an Ikeda's tasty burger and shake.

All in all, it was a great weekend with family and friends (and a little work) ... and I guess I'll just have to wait another 9 months to do it again.

Speaking of 9 months...

Why does it always feel like I am waiting for something?!?!? Monday in 6 months, Soda in 9! Crikey!! But if you think about it, the conversion of the two will be fabulous! I am working on trying to figure out how much time out of the office I get for Maternity Leave. It is a herky-jerky sort of thing as you are combining various types of leaves in a daisy-chain. I don't have clarity at this point, but it looks like I will have all of June, and potentially all of July with job protection. That said, we could have some wonderful Reeth family-time up in the mountains next year, and that is certainly worth the wait!

As for this week, we have a standard Dr. appt on Wednesday morning. I think this is just to check in on me, hear Monday's heart, test for proteins and stress etc. I am not (YAY!!) too worried about this one, with all of the great news from last week.... but we'll certainly keep the blog up to date with anything we hear.

First time EVER!

Ok, for the first time EVER, Lina and I are going to post this message together!!! Hang onto your hats...Lina is (at this very moment) unaware that she will be participating. We're laying in bed, I with my nose to the computer screen, Lina with her nose to the pages of Time and Chance, a book she nabbed from our last trip to Soda Springs. I asked if it was recommended from Melissa - Lina says "No, think its Dad's, but he doesn't remember buying it." We've been laying here for about 30mins now, mostly sharing in the great news of the day. Monday is as healthy as one could hope for! We're two truly happy people and we're enjoying this moment together - swapping, "I adore yous" and "Kiss my faces". Lina was telling me about her email correspondence with Bebbie - Lina asked if Bebbie had seen the ultrasound of Monday...Bebbie replied in her quick-witted humorous way; (here is where I ask Lina to remind me what Bebbie said)"Why yes I did but I can't tell who she looks like." For the record, she/he has Lina's 5 head and my non-existent backside.

Sorry Pito, Lina just told me you tried to comment on the blog but couldn't without a gmail account. Guess you (and everyone else) will have to get one now ;)

Lina is winding down now. She has a big day of training tomorrow so its best if I let her be...with her eye's at half mass its time to shut down.

The gift of gab

So I haven't really posted since the weekend, but I have been so exhausted, I've hardly been able to get through the work day. Ughs.

This weekend was incredibly special to me. It was wonderful to be around so many Moms (Debbie, Jeannie, and Beth) and be out in the open about Monday. I was able to ask the new moms such important questions as "when did you tell work?", "when do I need to start thinking about child care?" and other mundane things that started keeping me awake at 2:00 in the morning.

I actually started to get over a little fear of the infant that I had while hanging out with Brennan, the 4 month old. He was incredibly well behaved and I even got to feed him and hold him. He didn't have a total melt down in my arms which I read as a good thing.

Melissa, my sister in law, has also been incredibly generous with information and advice that I seem to be seeking. It is great to have such a strong group of smart, working, savvy, and fabulous women to help me along the way.

Good news!

We just got (90 seconds ago -- just long enough for me to tell Tim and then to Open the blog) the results back from the first round of the Downs blood test.

To recap:

• Based on my age, we were at 1 in 600
• Based on the NT measurement, we were at 1 in 2,600
• Based on the results of the blood work today, we are now at 1 in 10,000

We still have 1 more bit of blood work to go (on 9/26) before we complete the screening, but indications are good, and we are having a very happy morning right now. Go Monday, go!! Keep on being healthy!!!

13 Week Update from Baby Center

How your baby's growing: Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed, and your odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.

Monday's First Portrait

Look what Lina and I made!!!!

If you look closely, it looks as though Monday is saluting - look close and you can see 5 little finger tips.

Labor Day Weekend

"Labor Day" - A fitting name given all the baby talk that occurred this weekend. Lina, Monday and I spent the Labor Day weekend in Soda Springs with family and friends. In short...it was great!

Beth, David and little 4mo. old Brennan came in Friday evening and stayed thru Monday mid-morning. It was good to have Brennan there as sort of a test bed for mothering...Lina coddled, fed, burped and while not directly sitting on the receiving end, witnessed much upchucking of curdled milk. *blehk*. "They" say its not nearly as disgusting when its your child...let's hope "They" are correct.

Kevin, Jeannie, Cody and Kylie all showed up for Saturday and most of Sunday. We had fun getting advice from Kevin and Jeannie, hearing their point of view on the first few years and witnessing their never ending patience with their kids. We are so impressed with how Kevin and Jeannie work with their kids. By my measure, the kids are always behaving...a few melt downs when tired, but all in all perfect little people.

The Grand Reeths showed up Sunday morning and stayed through until Monday afternoon. This time there was far less water in the meadow and more time to decompress and take in the beauty of Soda Springs. They walked around camp and met a few of the extended family. Patsy and Mom exchanged phone numbers as they are almost neighbors. Patsy is so warm its no surprise that she has reached out and welcomed my parents so completely. Its appreciated by all.

The weekend was full of fantastic food, conversation and activity. Pa'__(Reeth)__ gets the award for most emotional moment when he read an excerpt from "How to Win Friends and Influence People"...it was a sweet and tender moment. I blame my tears on a big heart and three glasses of wine, Lina blames hers on mine and Beth and David likely think we're all weird. It seems my father can't come to Soda Springs without getting water gushing some how or another.