The Business of being born

January 2010, (I don't have a recent prego pic :)

Let me first begin with recording my experience with Micah's birth. Micah was due on January 15, 2008. My pregnancy with him was wonderful. The hardest part was my last Trimester when I became SO INCREDIBLY ITCHY ALL OVER! Other than that everything was great. I was 2 days over due and like any full term mother, I was feeling very ready to have my baby.

I worked up until the day I had Micah. I made it into work bright and early (6:00 am). After a few hours I was just ready to go home, so I did. I went home and slept for hours, woke up showered and took a good look at my apartment. I decided it wasn't clean enough so I made my way in and out of each room cleaning every last inch of my apartment. I remember feeling contractions while I was scrubbing the bath tub. The contractions continues through the evening but I hadn't started timing them yet. I made dinner and then let Ryan clean up. After we ate I started timing my contractions. They were about 2-4 minutes apart, I tried to lay down and rest to make sure it wasn't just false labor. After a couple hours of rest and contractions staying at about 2 minutes apart we wen to Mt Timpanogos Hospital. When we arrived a nurse had me change my clothes and checked to see how far I was dilated. I was only a one and a wiggle! The nurse reassured me that she would watch me for an hour and if I didn't make any progress, I would be sent home for the night and then most likely have a baby in the morning. After we had only been there about 15 minutes the same nurse came in and asked me all kinds of questions, and then the next thing I know she is sticking an ivy in my arm and having me turn to my side. A few minutes later she tells me that the babies heart rate is going down with every contraction (that is normal) but is not bouncing back to a safe range. She said I will be staying in the hospital and she checked me in. A second nurse came in and gave Ryan some clothes to change into.

The next series of events happened so fast that the excitement I felt to have a baby tuned to fear. The Nurse that I had been helping me from the moment I arrived, came in and announced that my Dr. was on his way and wanted me prepped for a c-section. I was then told that the there wouldn't be any time for me to have an epidural for the surgery so I would be put to sleep completely. On top of that I was told that Ryan would have to stay behind and I was wheeled away to the operating room. I don't even think I got to give Ryan a hug or a kiss before I was rushed away. While in the O.R. I was laid half naked onto a surgery table, received a catheter (can I say ouch!), and had a mask placed over my face. The nurse told me she would make sure that my chest was covered so that I felt more comfortable, what a foolish thing to say, I was way beyond comfortable! Then the Anesthesiologist came over, pinched my throat and I was out. The next hing I know I was being waken up by a nurse. She told me that my baby was taken to the NICU and I would get to see him soon.

I was taken to a hospital room where my family was waiting for me. It was good to have them there but Ryan was missing along with mine and his Dad. I was told that they were in the NICU with Micah giving him a blessing. I asked again when I would get to see my baby and I was reassured that it would be soon. Ryan finally came in and showed me a picture of Micah. Yes the first time I got to see Micah was a photo! I thought I would feel something special but I felt nothing when I looked at the picture. I wanted to meet him, yet I still didn't have the feelings for my baby that I had heard other moms talk about. I was then taken to a more permanent room and told to get some rest. I was getting so upset, I still hadn't seen my baby, my family had gone home, and I was still delirious from the drugs. It was the next morning, 11 hours after I had had him that I finally go to go see Micah. It was three days later that I got to hold him, 4 days later that I got to nurse him, and 17 days later that we got to bring him home. For those of you who don't know, Micah was in the NICU because he inhaled meconium and his lungs were partially collapsed.

Since having Micah have have been determined that my next baby was going to be a vaginal birth. The only thing I knew for sure that I needed to do, was to find a provider who would allow me to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). The next step I took was getting my body baby ready. I got into the best shape I have ever been in in my life. I have managed to stay very physically active through out this pregnancy, which I feel has been and will continue to be very beneficial to me on so many levels. I was feeling as though I had covered all the bases, but as the babies due date is coming up and after all the research I have been doing, I started feeling there were a few more measures that needed to be taken. I felt that in order to have the birth that I want, not only a VBAC but also a natural birth, I needed to find a new provider. I made the last minute decision to switch to a nurse midwife. I kind of think it also has to do with my impulsive pregnant brain. For now I am very happy with my decision, but we'll see if I feel the same way after my first appointment with my midwife tomorrow. I have also borrowed a few things from my friend Camy to help me with Hypno birthing (not as crazy as it sounds, I promise). I am feeling much more in control of things which makes me very Happy! And did I mention that this pregnancy has bee wonderful too? I absolutely love being pregnant!

To what do I owe the credit of my new impulsive behavior?
- Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin (I highly recommend this)
- The Business of Being Born, Documentary ( I highly recommend this too!)
- Various articles
- Very supportive and experienced friends and family :)

Back to Washington, D.C.!

Washington, D.C. April 2007

The decision is made, and we will be off to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. We are very excited to be able to go back to D.C., but I have to say I am very nervous to go with two little ones. I think the hardest part will be to move away from our family and friends. So the rest of this post might seem to be all over the place, but it makes sense to me. :)

Ryan has a compilation of different songs he collected from different Elders when he served his Mission; he served in Washington D.C. (North mission I believe). Music is such a big part of Ryan's life and so I am not at all surprised that he has this compilation. One of the songs on this CD Ryan and his freind wrote, It's called Back to the Mountains. They wrote it as they we're coming to the end of their service missions and about to return home. For Ryan, home was Utah.

It seems we have been preparing to go to law school forever. Now everything is coming together and we are actually going to move our family across the country and pursue this next phase in our lives. The reason I mention the song above is because I think it is so ironic that Since Ryan has been home from his mission he keeps being pulled back to Washington. First for his Internship with the Washington Seminar and now for Law School at George Washington University. It seems Washington, D.C. is not finished with Ryan yet (you know like in LOST).

Micah's favorite things

Surprise, I haven't been very good at posting my favorite things. Well I decided that since I haven't written much about Micah recently, and because he is one of my favorite people in the whole world, I would post about his favorite things at 26 months. There are so many it's hard to decide where to begin.


Favorite Toys:
Trucks
Cars
Trains
Curious George monkey (his name is Monkey)
Basketball hoop
Blocks

Favorite Books:
Go Dog Go by, P.D. Eastman
Cars at Play by, Rick Walton and Ann Walton
Me too by, Mercer Mayer (Micah also LOVES all of the critter books we own)

Favorite Movies:
Cars
Bolt
Toy Story
Your baby can read

Favorite things to say:
"(Mommy, Daddy, etc.)... come on!"
"What are you doing...(Monkey, Daddy, etc.)"
"That Kind"
"That way"
"That one"

Favorite games:
Connect four
Bouncing on my knee while I sing him the Humpty Dumpty song we learned at the library.
Building tall towers and tunnels for his train.
Running around in circles. This literal, he loves to go around in circles screaming "go around again."
Hiding games

Favorite Chores: (yes Micah has favorite chores)
Dishes
Laundry

Favorite places to go:
Grandma and Grandpa's house (Ryan's parents)
Nana and Papa's house (my parents)
Nursery
Library
Living Planet Aquarium

Favorite things to eat:
broccoli
asparagus
all fruit
cookies
brownies
chicken nuggets
french fries

Misc Favorite thing:
I just got into using essential oils by doTerra (I am selling them too if your interested), and they have a great blend called On Guard. I have been rubbing a drop on each one of Micah's little feet every night before he goes to bed. He LOVES when I do this for him. If he sees my box of oils within grasp and unattended he is all over them. He also enjoys when I pull them out just so he can smell them.

Still waiting

We haven't heard from any other schools so far, but I do have an update. Ryan recieved a confirmation from University of Washington (Seattle. Washington), that they have received his application. I didn't add University of Washington to the first list because Ryan and I thought that because one of his letters of recomendation was sent after the application deadline, his application wouldn't be considered complete. Therefore, we thought he wouldn't be considered at all. Thankfully all of his hard work was not in vain, and they are currently reviewing his application.

Another update. Today Ryan and I went to an admitted students reception for George Washington University. The reception was held at the Grand America, it was really nice. The staff and Alumni did a great job of selling the college. Of course if we do leave Utah for school, GW would be my first pick. The reception was really great for Ryan, he was able to address his concerns and get some solid answers. I got to speak to spouses, after today I am starting to feel more excited for this big step in our lives.

Where are we going?

"Where are we going?" This is the big question on our mind. Ryan has been working very hard the last couple years to prep himself to get into law school. He did a LSAT prep course, took the LSAT, filled out applications for 10 schools, wrote a re-wrote many essays, and dropped a lot of cash-money for the applications. We did get a few fee waivers at a law school college fair, which helped a lot. Now that Ryan has done everything he can do, we are left with anticipation as we wait for responses.

Results so far 3 down 7 to go:

University of Illinois- Waiting List
George Washington University, DC.- Accepted
University of Utah- Accepted
Brigham Young University
University of Colorado
Boston College- Not Accepted
Notre Dame, Indiana
Emery University, Georgia- Waiting List
Duke, North Carolina
William and Mary, Virginia- Waiting List
University of Washington, Washington (new)-

Micah turns 2!

Wow Happy Birthday to my little man! Micah turned 2 last month and we had so much fun celebrating with him. We had a small party with mine and Ryan's immediate family. We had a yummy homemade pizza dinner and did the traditional party things, open present and eat cake of course. After all the practice he got at Christmas time, Micah knew just what to do with his gifts. He was so delighted to see a pile of presents just for him. He got a lot of great things from his aunts, uncles, parents and of course grandparents. The hard part about presents at this age is after unwrapping one gift, kids (or at least Micah) want to open the package and play with the toy inside right then. It took a while to get through all his gifts :). Ryan and I pulled our gift to Micah out last, it was a good thing too, because he loved it and was completely consumed with it (the story bellow explains the gift). We got him a Basketball hoop.


After presents and a lot of coaxing Micah, we moved onto the cake. I made a Curious George cake for Micah, he loved it. After we sang to him he blew out his candles and grabbed his little monkey off the cake. When he was finished with his monkey he tried putting it back on the cake and smashed one side of it, whoops.


The days following Micah's B-day we're hard. He kept getting frustrated with his new toys because he was still trying to understand how they all work. His tricycle was upsetting him because he couldn't reach the petals, he still can;t but is happy to let us push him around on it. His train was a little hard to assemble, thankfully he is able to put it together now. And last of all, he had a major melt down every time he missed a shot when he played basketball. Now he just says "missed" in an upbeat voice and tries again, so cute :).

Over Christmas we were spending time with our friends Elliot and Kristin at Elliot's sister's house. They had a Basketball hoop and Micah played with it our whole visit. After that night I spent a lot of time searching out Basketball hoops. There are plenty out there in the world but we don't have the cash money that the world wants. So of course I was vigilant and kept checking on KSL Classified adds. I found a lot of people asking near retail price for toddler hoops that they have had for years (I don't get that). Eventually I found a great hoop with balls included for only $12! I called immediately and picked it up the next day.

Snickers Cookies one of my new favorite things

Last week we had our Down-N-Out diner dinner, which went very well by the way. One of my friends provided Rollo cookies and Snickers cookies. Everyone that was serving wanted to snatch one of those tempting suckers all through the night. We had men coming back asking for one more, which of course we gave into them. We even had guys just come back to compliment the cookie chef and ask her for her recipe. After all the hype, I knew this was a cookie recipe I needed to get my hands on. Micah and I made the cookies the very next day. They only lasted a few short hours, we gobbled those babies up so fast that I was left wanting more. I think I'll have to wait for a special occasion though. I don't want to know haw many calories I consumed last weekend. Have I enticed you? Well here is the yummy recipe I got from my friend Angie. Enjoy!

Snickers Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
48 mini snickers (or cut fun size in half)

Beat butter, sugars and peanut butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Wrap dough around snickers and form into a ball. Dip top side of cookie in sugar. Put on cookie sheet, sugar side up. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle on cookies when cool.


Another one of my new favorite things is having a little helper. Micah is always pitching in to help me do whatever it is I am working on, from dishes to scooping wheat out of our 5 gallon tub to a more accessible bowl. Last week was no exception. As I was forming my pretty little cookies and dipping the tops into sugar, Micah had his spoon and was throwing dough down all over the cookie sheet. As I went to dip another one of my cookies in the sugar I noticed that my sugar cup had gone missing. I quickly found the cup on the floor and an extra 3- tablespoons of sugar in my dough. I don't mean to point fingers, but I think it was Micah. Oh well a little extra sugar never hurt anyone, right?

Catching up on Christmas

We had a fantastic time celebrating Christmas all through December (2009).
To keep things short and simple, here is a summary of what happened.
- Forgotten Carols w/ Taylor's
- Light's at Temple Square w/ Pappas'
- Down-N-Out Diner Blanket Drive
- Down-N-Out Diner Holiday dinner
- Christmas party with Utah Business Magazine at Carver's
- Church Christmas party with a yummy caramel apple salad
- Shopping
- FM 100 holiday concert series
- Christmas party with the Pappas clan
- Christmas Party with the Taylor clan
- Watched Frosty the Snow Man and Elf a million times with Micah
- Watched other Holiday Favorites with my man Ryan
- Lots and Lots of Baking
- Christmas Eve brunch with some of my best friends in the whole world
- Christmas Eve games with Ryan's fam
- Christmas eve dinner with the Pappas' (An amazing El Salvadorian style turkey dinner).
- Christmas morning at home with my little family (Loved it!)
- Splitting the rest of Christmas day with between our families
- Awesome New Years eve game night
- And Much much more.
- And of course trying to teach Micah all month long that Christmas is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Maybe he'll understand this concept better next Christmas.

This year was so fun because Micah was old enough to understand what was going on. He loved receiving every single gift that was given to him. The best reaction Micah had was to a Blanket that he got from my cousins Julie and Karen. He wrapped himself up in the blanket and ran wild. Word's really cannot explain how much joy he got out of his blanket, it was the cutest thing ever. And it made me feel so happy that Julie and Karen were able to sense his appreciation for the gift too.

To make things a little more festive in my apartment I made a fireplace to hang our stockings on. I also thought it would be fun to get a classic family photo with our fireplace. Although the picture is far from classic, we had a lot of fun with our fireplace.


Merry Christmas over a month later!

It's raining men!

The results are in (and have been for a couple of weeks now, sorry).


We are so excited to have another little boy on the way. In all honesty we really did not care about what we were having, we are just so excited to see our little family grow. With that said, I have to share a funny little story. After I got home from my ultrasound I gave my parents a call to tell them the good news, keep in mind that this was two different phone calls. I called with the usual greeting "Hi, how are you.... Well I just got back from my ultrasound, can you guess what we're having?"

Dad Response: "I think it's a boy." "Yep" I replied enthusiastically (or so I thought). "Oh, it's okay Lindsay."

Mom Response: "Um, a girl." "No, it's a boy" I said happily (I thought). "Oh, It's okay Lindsay."

I just thought it was so funny that both my parents felt as though they needed to comfort me. I am so excited to have my little guy on the way, I can't wait to see him, and smell him, and hold him and nurse him and... oh the list could go on and on. I just wish we knew what to name him. Any more suggestions out there?

Flash Back Friday

I have been wanting to post more but I feel very behind. While I try to organize my thoughts and decide where to begin, I thought I'd give myself a small and easy push. That is why I decided it would be fun to do a "flash back Friday" post as well as "my favorite things" post, we'll see how this goes.

Remember this little gem? I have come to know this piece of furniture as the clown couch. Though it may seem as if nothing else in the world could compliment this piece I am happy to inform you that there was an identical love seat that sat next to this couch. You may be wondering how did we ever end up with this eye sore? let the story begin.


It was October 2005 and I was at a bridal shower with my friends, meanwhile my husband-to-be was out furniture shopping. I gave Ryan a call after my Bridal shower to say hi, he asked me to come by our soon to be apartment because he had a surprise. When I entered the apartment I had no words, this couch knocked the wind out of me! This is probably the reason we kept the couch for the first couple years of our marriage. The couch itself was in really great condition and very comfortable, that was one plus side. Eventually I couldn't handle the colors and patterns any longer, so I started making plans to reupholster the beast. Luckily I didn't have to take on the job because we received a great set of hand-me-down couches from my in-laws.