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I had to at least drop by to change the age on my profile, since I had a birthday yesterday.

And here's how that went:  During breakfast, my 2-year-old said, "Mama, you have a little quack."  Me: "A crack?  Where?"  "Right there - by your eye."  The kid straight up pointed out a crow's foot.  For the first time ever.  On my birthday.  Thanks, kid.  You're lucky you're cute.

Other than that, it was quite nice.  My sweetie gave me a lovely gift in the morning, then we all went out for pizza that night.  Dessert was banana pecan praline gelato, which sounds good, but is oh so much better than good.

And now, I have an hour and a half to get about three hours of stuff done. So, Bye!

Saturday at Stage Left Cafe

Hi, guys!  There are a couple of non-Facebookers who occasionally stop by (I hope they still do) who might want to see this.  This is an open mic semi-near us, and I was signed up for 8 pm hoping for less light outside so I'd be an image rather than a silhouette, but they were running early and I went on at 7:30. Also, I made it especially for some friends in Vermont (which is why the opening slate has a mountain scene and cryptic inside-jokey graphic).  My intro explains it a little more.

Beware:  Randy Jackson would say, "It started out pitchy, Dawg." But, it gets better.  I was preoccupied trying to sing with an Irish accent without sounding magically delicious.  Not sure what key I thought I was in at first.

Enjoy!

Christmas at our House

Hi, there.  The following video probably only works for grandparents who just can't get enough Jackson.  I'm not sure the rest of you will want to sit through all 8 minutes of video.

But there's a pretty funny fart at 4:10.  You should at least fast forward and see that.

Fall Family Fun

It's been quite a while since I posted, but it has come to my attention that the Georgia grandparents aren't really digging Facebook anymore.  Since it's selfish to hog the Jackson pictures, here are a few from a recent trip to a local pumpkin farm/ petting zoo.

Mama's little threat to society. <3

It is my lot in life to be surrounded by handsome men.

Having lots of fun in the pretend fire truck

See what I mean?

Mama wanted to take a picture.  Jackson wanted to have a fit.  Mama decided to lie down in the grass and have a fit, too. It just got giggly after that.

Me and Mr. Frowny Face waiting for the Great Pumpkin

We saw LOTS of animals that day, but they were kind of hard to photograph given the conditions.  The giraffe was very photogenic, though.

Hanging with the reindeer

Jackson's not a fan of being able to see through something that's holding him up.

See what I mean?

It's so hard to choose just one

Ooh, look at that one over there!

We have a winner.

Busted

Umm, hi. Well, yeah, I guess I have been avoiding you. I know, I know - I totally didn't need to do that! It's just that, well, I made such a big deal out of pursuing the 30 Day Shred, and I only made it about 18 days. Then I was kind of embarrassed. But, honestly, it was just making me too tired. You know how moderate workouts actually *generate* energy and make you feel better? Well, really really hard butt-kicking workouts DO NOT. I think it's a fantastic workout, and it does what it's supposed to do. It gets you stronger and leaner really quickly. But, it came down to continuing the workout or being awake to talk to my husband at night. I chose time with my sweetie.

OK - that was four months ago. On to cute things Jackson has done recently:

Last weekend I was upstairs and the boys were downstairs. Jackson heard me drop my blow dryer. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "Uh-OH! Mama!" then dropped his toy car and ran for the stairs. Bryan followed him and took down the baby gate so he could come upstairs and check on me. Couldn't you just eat him up?

On the other side of the bipolar experience of parenting, he's cutting his molars. Which apparently hurt WAY worse than those cute little front teeth. Plus, he's a toddler and being in pain without the verbal skills to express it leads to frustration tantrums. So, it's been loud here from time to time.

On a super serious and sad note, we lost our dear doggy earlier this week. Her name was Tuttle, and she was 11 years old, and had been with us for nine. We were in no way prepared for it, because she'd recently been to the vet and had her annual physical and the bloodwork came back very healthy for a dog of her age. Three weeks later when her leg wasn't healing (what prompted the first vet visit) AND she slowly stopped eating, AND eventually wouldn't move more than absolutely necessary, we took her back to the vet. The x-ray showed small tumors covering her lungs. We were advised that nothing could be done, and after watching her suffer through another day it seemed selfish to let her deteriorate further just because we wanted more time with her.

Since I don't like to end posts on such a serious note, here's something extremely hilarious.

Shred Days 14-16: Halfway There!

Warning: this post will likely get a little goopy, so if you're not in the mood for sweet sentiments, keep it moving.

If it weren't for Bryan, I would have gone two days straight without working out. I know that doesn't sound like the end of the world, but staying on track with this is very important to me and losing momentum feels dangerous.

Day 14 went okay (Level 2 is still waaay hard) but the next day I just couldn't find the motivation. There was no injury or scheduling problem. It was, as my Mom would have put it, "a case of the Sorries." A BIG case. My inner brat took over, and I got tired of having something else to do everyday.

Yesterday was Day 16, and it was dangerously close to becoming my first second day skip. I have a friend in the hospital who wasn't doing well (he's improved some since then) and when bad things happen, I often give in to the Sorries. While I was walking around rationalizing a second consecutive off-day, Bryan said, "You're my hero." Well, what are you going to do after that? So, I laced up my shoes and got to it.

The boys came downstairs in the middle of my workout, and Bryan made a pretty convincing show of admiring my muscles. That was very sweet and helped me remember why I'm doing this. Then, Jackson did some clapping and stretched out across my body during crunches and "helped" me keep my abs tight. That was just funny and distracting, and also helped a lot. When I was done, Bryan did the workout so I had someone to be tired with.

I want to sincerely thank my boys for their support, in this, and everything else I do. You guys rock!

Shred Days 12 & 13: All's Well that Ends Well

Jackson, who's in a mimicking stage, did a perfect recreation of what I looked like telling Bryan about my recent weigh-in:

All this work just to lose a half pound!

I was devastated last night after seeing the scale, even knowing that heavy muscle is better than lighter fat. I only weighed because I was feeling so confident that I'd lost a few pounds. But I did the workout anyway.

Things all turned around though this morning when I did three things I haven't done in almost two years:

1. wore a pair of pre-pregnancy sized pants,

2. tucked my top into those pants, and

3. used the pre-pregnancy notch in my belt.

In light of those three details, who cares about that silly scale! I'm wearing clothes I couldn't wear before I started this, so there must be substantial muscle skewing the numbers.

I'm not weighing again until April 20th, when my 30 days of Shredding are complete. Hopefully by then I'll be so hot I won't care what number the scale throws at me. Since Bryan's already Shredded today, I've got some catching up to do.

So, I'll leave you with wishes for a happy and blessed Easter. We're having a great one here, just look at how smiley we are:

Shred Days 9,10 & 11

Day nine went fine - hey, that rhymed.

Unfortunately, Day 10 didn't happen. It was a crazy grocery shopping/ furniture shopping/ Jackson teething day that just didn't leave much room for the workout. So, you know what I did? I was totally kind to myself and didn't beat myself up about it! I just decided I'd done my best and that was that.

Yesterday was Day 11, and I did Level 2. To be honest I did 2/3 of Level 2, since that's when Jackson woke up screaming with his painful little teeth. He even had a tiny bit of a fever, but he's doing fine.

Level 2 is CRAZY. I did feel that Level 1 prepared me for it, to some extent. There's no way I could have started at Level 2. The moves themselves aren't at all complicated, they're just very full-body and high-impact. They seem a little military to me - nothing "dancy" about it, just packing a lot of intensity into 20 minutes. As yesterday proved, I need to get a good calorie burn as quickly as possible before the baby wakes up.

Hopefully today I'll get the whole Level 2 workout in, or at least all I can physically manage. While it's more challenging, it's really good to have new moves. Less boredom and more results are good things! I just have to stay motivated to do the work. Feel free to help me out with that if you want to, umm, you know, comment or anything.

It's finally Spring here! Check out one of my daffodil beds:

I'm so excited about my flowers. They are such a blessing after the long, icy winter. If the people who planted them were here, I'd hug them.

You didn't think I'd forgotten the Jackson photo, did you?

30 Day Shred - Day 8

"What a weird name for a blog," you say? It has to do with my affinity for weird band names- check out my first post (circa January 2007) to find out how MRF came to be.

Day 8 on the Shred went well. I'm surprised that I'm still not great at it yet. There are a couple of points during the cardio where I still have to take short breaks, and the first strength segment is a friggin bear. I have added in heavier weights in some places. (If you've done the workout, I'm still using three pounders for the anterior raises and don't expect that to change. Oy.)

Thumbs up for doing it at night instead of the morning. It is hectic to fit in (since Bryan and I are alternating workout and munchkin duty) but it is great to have more daytime energy.

I have developed a pet peeve about Jillian's motivational style. When she says, "don't even think about quitting on me now!" I always think, "Umm, I wasn't, but now that you MENTION IT..." I'm fairly susceptible to suggestion, see. If I see a hot cup of coffee on TV, suddenly I crave one. So here I am, minding my own business doing my little workout, then she starts describing exhaustion and knotted up muscles and I don't feel so well anymore. I plan to mute her today and crank the music to drown out my grunts and groans.

Let's see if I can find you a Jackson picture...

Look, Mommy! Daddy's home!

30-Day Shred - Days 6 & 7

After Day Five's equipment failure, I substituted Bryan's ankle weights for my poor little dead handweights on Day Six.They were too big to wear on my wrists, so I tried holding them. Yikes. I wasted no time getting to Sports Authority to get these:

MUCH better.

Hallelujah, I'm not sore anymore! I'm starting to rethink my timing, though. Working out during Jackson's morning nap leaves me pretty shot the rest of the day. The one time I Shredded in the evening, I found it harder to get motivated, but I felt much much better during the day. Having a night's sleep between Shredding and daily activities REALLY helps. Especially when this is your daily activity:

I still haven't weighed in several days. I'm a little chicken, because I gain muscle fairly easily. That's a great ability - and I hope it continues for a few more years - but it's always played with my head when I'm trying to get in shape. I get so wrapped up in wanting that little number on the scale to go down. So, I'll give it a few more days.

Lately I find myself focused on the impending "Day 11." My original intention was to do each of the three levels for 10 days. If I do that, Thursday is the day to begin Level 2. I'm more than a little afraid to switch levels, but it's probably the best way to get continued results. It also might help keep the experience fresh.

Thanks again for the encouragement! Keep it coming! Some of you have expressed interest in doing this workout, so here's a great tip: If your cable or satellite service comes with an "On Demand" feature, you might have Fit TV. Fit TV has Level 1 available for FREE. Believe me, Level 1 isn't for wimps, and it will give you a chance to try it out before whipping out the old credit card!

30 Day Shred - Day 5

Day 5 went well, except for a minor equipment failure.

It happened shortly after the first 6-minute circuit. The entire human part of our family was in the basement (the two furbabies were upstairs). Bryan stepped outside to make a phone call while little Jackson supervised from his warm spot inside the sliding door. I finished the first strength segment with a roar, and Bryan peeked in to make sure everything was okay. Here's what he witnessed after I dropped the handweights:

So, THAT's what's inside my handweights.

I didn't even notice all the little ball bearings on the floor since I was on to the next segment. Jillian has a strict "no rest" policy if you want results from a 20-minute workout. Alas, the weights had served valiantly for 15 years, so it was their time. Perhaps it was also a divine message for me to put on my big girl panties and use something heavier than three-pounders.

*Hee hee.* I briefly considered telling you it happened mid-bicep curl when I hulked out and snapped it with my bare hand. RAHH! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

One major change today was much less soreness. I also learned that I have much more energy in the morning. Since the radiator repair man was here during Jackson's morning nap, I worked out in the late afternoon and had to push harder to get through the evening blahs.

By the way, my sweet husband is Shredding as well for moral support. What a stud! I'd also like to thank everyone who has commented here on this project. You have no idea how uplifting your kind words have been. Extra special thanks to my sweet sweet stepmom, Dorothy, over at Counting My Blessings for sending your posse my way. Girl power!

I haven't weighed in a couple of days, but my jeans are getting loose. Which is FREAKING FANTASTIC.

Of course, here's your baby photo of the day. We call this hairstyle the curlyhawk:

If that's not worth some baby weight, I don't know what is!!

30 Day Shred - Day 4

So, you know Jillian Michaels, the scary trainer lady on The Biggest Loser? Well, I'm doing this
in an effort to lose some leftover baby weight, and tone up the muscles that surely must still be under there somewhere.

My Aunt: What's a 30-Day Shred? I think I need it.

Me: It's just a workout, Aunt Pat, but it's beating me like it caught me stealing.

It's an intense twenty-minute workout to get maximum results by combining cardio, strength and ab workouts. The term "Shred" refers to the desired physical result of the workout...as in getting shredded/ripped/cut. Right now it feels more like getting shredded in the taco lettuce sense of the word.

I'm usually content with slow and steady progress. However, my precious baby boy is almost 14-months old, and that approach has left me antsy. Also, the twenty-minute duration should allow me to change clothes, workout, shower and dress during Jackson's morning nap.I'm documenting my journey here because I'm in desperate need of support and accountability. (How very "Julie and Julia" of me, I know.)

I realize a "before" picture of my squishy, white, childbirth-ravaged body would make this more interesting for you. Frankly, I don't have the guts to TAKE one of those photos, much less offer it up for you, Internet. But, since I owe you something in exchange for your supportive comments (hint hint) here's an adorable picture of my baby:

Sure, most folks chronicle these things from Day 1, to capture all the cock-eyed optimism with which they approached their challenge. Trust me, y'all didn't miss anything. Prior to this, I was just doing 30 minutes of Wii Fit every other day. I knew this was gonna hurt like hell. Quick recap:

Day 1 - Holy Crap.

Day 2 - My self hurts.

Day 3 - Still sore and very tired.

I haven't done today's workout, so you're all caught up. This morning I was pleasantly surprised to find myself less sore, and my endurance has improved a LOT in such a short time. So, let's do this thing!

Picture Post

Non-Facebookers - this one's for you! These photos were taken in July, when Jackson was 6 months old.

The pictures were taken on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and we just happened upon this bench dedicated by a family with the last name Jackson.

Three smiles

One smile and two smooches

Me and my handsome little guy

This is Jackson's expression almost every single moment when Bryan's home. I can't even describe how excited he always is to see his Daddy. I love seeing my two boys together!

Superman!

Supercutie!

You're Lucky I'm in a Transitional Phase

Since I've been away from MRF for so long, here's a little update. Bryan got a job in the Chicago area in August and he and Tuttle (the dog) have been commuting back and forth every weekend to a one-bedroom apartment. Jackson, Ren (the cat) and I have been trying to sell the house - had a buyer - lost the buyer - and, now, looking for another buyer.

Just when I think Jackson is as cute as he can get, he gets a little cuter. I'll post some pictures to prove it sometime next week. As it sometimes happens in transition, the camera's in a different city than the baby. He's 8 1/2 months old, and is crawling (crookedly, but very effectively) and has started pulling himself up to a standing position. I think he's going to walk before he gets his first tooth. Have mercy on us all!

I was super nice and honest and told my employers as soon as I knew I'd be moving. They demanded 3 weeks notice, I gave them 3 weeks notice, and they canned me after one week. Thanks, guys.

SO, I'm tying up some loose ends here and the whole family's headed up north Sunday to be together, at least for a while. We're working on making arrangements to get a house. Lease to own would be a dream come true... it would give us time to sell ours and the chance to have Jackson's first Christmas in a house. Wish us luck!

Blogging Again

Whatup, everybody? My old coworkers told me I need to blog again (now that I'm jobless) so they can keep up with me and the little dude. Since I always blog more when I'm unemployed, it seemed a completely natural idea. So, we'll start with a round of stream of consciousness randomness. You know, for old times' sake.

I'm annoyed by hearing the names of radio stations or local sports teams in songs on the radio. It makes me cringe. Were artists running out of ways to sell out? Because this is crazy. Changing your poetry? Yeesh.


The first time I heard this "regionalization" was in the Terri Clark song, "I Wanna Do it All." The lyric was "visit Paris in the Fall, watch the [Lakers/Colts/Cubs/Packers] play ball." That was cheesy, but fairly harmless. It seems the new trend is to work local radio stations' call letters into your song. THAT just kind of gives me the willies.

Just thought I'd share.

Happy Belated St. Pats

I couldn't let all you non-Facebookers miss out on this:

Jackson's Birth Story

Eventually, I may be able to post something outside the smoochable baby arena. Since that won't happen soon, here's a classic "Mommy-blog" post and tell you how Jackson came to join us in the outside world.

Sunday, 1/25, 3 a.m. - I had a contraction that woke me up.

Sunday, 1/25, 3:10 a.m. - I had another contraction that woke me up.

Sunday, 1/25, 3:20 a.m. - You get the picture.

At this point, Bryan and I were pretty excited. I'd only had contractions once or twice per day, so it seemed like we would be heading to the hospital soon.

HOWEVER, I continued to have contractions at about 10 minutes apart all day Sunday. Then all night Sunday. And all day Monday, and all night Monday. Mmmm-hmmm. This means I slept in 10-minute bursts for two days. Let's just say I began this Mommying thing a little behind the eight ball, sleep-wise.

Tuesday, 1/27, 8:00 a.m. - Bryan and I arrived at my last scheduled O.B. appointment with bags packed. Dr. Trainor's voice was like music when she said, "Go to the hospital - you're going to have this baby today." If I'd felt less like death, I would have kissed her. On the mouth.

Tuesday, 1/27, 9:00 a.m. - We checked into the hospital. Right away I began to execute my 1-step birth plan (1. Ask for epidural ASAP.) The people who administer these are called CRNAs - which stands for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I called her the NNw/NN, or the "Nice Nurse with the Nice Needle." She came in and set up to give me blessed relief.

Nice Nurse w/Nice Needle - "You're back is really tight."

Me - "That's what my chiropractor says."

Nice Nurse Nw/Nice Needle - "What?! You go to a chiropractor? I have to warn you - you may have so much scar tissue we won't be able to do this. How often do you see him?"

Me - "On the same schedule as my O.B. appointments. So this month, I've been seeing her once a week."

Mean Nw/NN - "That's terrible! No one should EVER go to a chiropractor that often. This may not even work."

Me - "Mmmkay. Well, as I SAID, I went on the same schedule as my O.B. appointments, so for seven months, it was only once a month. Only this month has it been weekly."

MNw/NN - "Oh."

At this point we were getting a good deal of attitude from Mean Nurse w/Nice Needle. Then, the epidural wasn't taking effect on the left 1/3 of my body. Which was A PROBLEM. MNw/NN kept insisting we look at it as 2/3 effective. It became a bigger problem when another nurse inserted the catheter and I REALLY felt it. The other nurse noticed that I was still feeling every contraction. (Umm, yeah. I heard them coming around the corner like they were wearing tap shoes.) After lots of back and forth, they placed the epidural again. This time, I finally wasn't feeling the contractions and felt better than I had in a month.

Since I never dilated past 5 centimeters the doctor decided to do a c-section.

Gradually, Mean Nw/NN turned back into Nice Nw/NN. She said cheerfully, "I'm glad we repositioned the needle. It can be really tricky cutting through those hot spots." Silly nurse. She was under the impression that I was going to allow someone to cut on a part of my body that still had feeling. I had almost kicked the catheter lady in the teeth - this wouldn't be a good idea on either side of the scalpel.

So, they cranked up the epidural and rolled me into the operating room. They gave Bryan a giant pair of napkin footy pajamas and let him join us a few minutes later. Surgery went well - the drape kept me from seeing anything gruesome, and before you know it...

Tuesday, 1/27 6:28 p.m. - I heard the most beautiful cry. A few minutes later, I was handed the most beautiful baby.

THE END. AND THE BEGINNING.

Picture Post!

Here are a few more Jackson pictures to get you caught up... His grandma is quite handy with a camera:

Some snuggling in the hospital

what a profile

Daddy straps him into the carseat

All ready to head home

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille.

Eventually I'll take some newer ones and post them, when I find the time. Right now, this cute little bundle has morphed into his evil alter-ego "Sir Fussypants," so I must go for now...

Little Dude

Boy, I'm slacking on this post writing thing!

For anyone I've failed to update, Jackson was born on Tuesday, January 27. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. He was 8 lbs., 3 oz. and did indeed have to be delivered by c-section. He was one month old yesterday, and boy is he a cutie. Please prepare yourself for cuteness overload - here he is at 3 days old:

My mother made this blanket for a neighbor's baby 25 years ago;

she kindly saved it and gave it to us for Jackson when I was home at Thanksgiving.

For anyone I've neglected to update, please forgive me. I've been almost 24-7 occupied with being this huggable little guy's Mommy. If you're still checking my blog, thank you!! I'll post more pictures soon - pinky swear.

Happy Inauguration Day

You know, I thought I'd write so faithfully throughout my pregnancy, but I didn't do that at all! So, here are some general baby updates:

1. Several ultrasounds have confirmed that our little one's a boy
2. His name will be Jackson Pepper (my maiden name) Ramsey
3. We'll call him Jackson - but, since it's the midwest, I'm sure he'll be called Jack a lot
4. He's due 1/31
5. We've been advised not to let it wait that long... we're scheduled to induce on 1/30 if nothing exciting happens before then
6. He may be a big one! They estimated him at 6 lbs. last month, and he could be 8 or 9 lbs. if he stays in until induction day
7. We'll try for a vaginal delivery, but a C-section may be necessary
8. I've secretly wished Jackson would decide to appear on Inauguration Day, so he could tell everyone he was born the day President Barack Obama took office
9. He's probably *not* going to be born today, since I'm only about 1.5 cm dilated
10. Doubtless when he is born, our son will enter a blessedly new and different time than any of us adults have ever seen.

This day means a great deal to many people, and I certainly don't have any unique words to add. But, I don't think I could feel much better about bringing a new person into this country. A new president doesn't magically solve all our problems, but I've never felt more proud to be an American or more hopeful about our future as a Democracy.

It's also convenient that I can still blame pregnancy for my emotions. I'm powerless over what will likely be an undignified display during the inaugural address - it's just a natural physiological reaction: when hope fills hearts to overflowing, sometimes it leaks from the eyes. God bless America.