Here we are, in Iowa

What a wild couple of week's I've had !  "Cleaned out" the house, put stuff in storage, loaded the truck, drove to Iowa, unloaded the truck (I brought too much "stuff" and not enough furniture).  Still unpacking boxes by the way...

Wednesday we went for Anna's checkup...and the doctor stripped her membranes...which jumpstarted something...to make a long story short, after 30 hours of labor, she was still at 5 cm...and there was cervical swelling, so she was loosing ground...her cervix was actually closing up again...then a uterine infection set in....so bless her heart...she still ended up with a c-section.

However, Jazmine is here!  She was 8 #'s 6 oz's of dark hair and bright redness. At 20.5 inches long she was pleasantly plump, and more than just rosy pink...she was downright red...and still is, but not quite as bright.  The c-section revealed the cord was around her ankle, and instead of being head first, she was more like shoulder first...she wouldn't have survived had this happened not-so-awfully-long-ago....Thank the Gods we're not Pioneers!

We stayed in the hospital from Thursday evening (c-section was at about 6:30 pm) until Sunday afternoon.  Nursing isn't going as well as might have been hoped for, but it's coming along.  A lactation consultant is supposed to come visit Anna at home this afternoon, which is why I snuck out this morning to come up to The Skillet and write for a bit. 

I'm trying to give Anna and Boots a passive agressive lesson in parenting.  Anna did pretty well yesterday (Monday) at sleeping when the baby sleeps, which is so important at this time....but for the last couple of nights Boots stays up late late playing video games while Jaz sleeps in livingroom....then when Jaz is up in the early morning hours, he's too wiped out to deal....well...that has to change...I can't get up in the early morning hours to help, if I've been up since 8:00 the morning before and done dishes, laundry, and all the household chores all day...on top of cooking, and waiting on Anna.   Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bitch-fest....it's merely acknowledging and accepting that I am not 25 anymore....I can't do what I did then....and Gigi needs to find a job !

I was thinking about how things were when Anna was born early this morning...I had no substantial help really.  My oldest sister stayed for 3 or 4 days...thank goodness...when we first got home from the hospital, but she needed to return home to her own family....so soon enough I was alone.  In fact...there wasn't anyone to stay with me that first night out of the hospital.  I remember some of my friends being very concerned I would be home alone with a 3 day old infant, but it didn' really upset me....I felt like I was taking to mothering like a duck to water. 

Looking back...I was just clueless...and ignorance is bliss right?  I did it all alone.  Anna's father had abandoned me when I was pregnant, my parents, who were in their 70's didn't deal with my singleness very well, and couldn't really help even if they had wanted to.  My middle sister had two teenagers at home, and a philandering husband...she helped as much as she could...but honestly...it was just me an Anna.  I see all the help Anna has now and am thankful she doesn't have to do it alone, but on the other hand, she can't really appreciate how much help she's getting, since she's never done it alone.

So....I'm trying to keep my involvment with some boundaries.  Boots dropped the class he is in now, so he doens't have to be in class...so they are both free to stay home 24/7....welcome to parenthood kids!

So since he's there much more than we originally anticipated I am going to move up my plans about finding a job.  Originally I thought I would just chill this week and stay with Anna while Boots was in class...instead I got up about 8:00 (didn't get to bed until about 1:00) and made a dozen much overdue phone calls and did some online applications. 

After that I retired to The Skillet.  This could easily become my favorite place in Mt. Vernon.  They have an awsome skillet breakfast...two eggs overeasy, bacon, toast and fruit cup, free wifi and if I sit in the back I have a clear view out the back window onto their little deck AND TODAY IT'S SUNSHINE????....and I can look towards the front and observe the other patron.  I do love to people watch!

Most mornings it's the Ladies who Breakfast groups.  The snippets of conversation I catch would indicate that most of these are church groups, which leads me to believe people in this area might be highly involved in their church lives.  Then there are the groups of older ladies...in early retirement, or perhaps empty nesters.  I'm learning about the local culture watching these women. 

Most of the conversations revolve around things much like any other group of women anywhere in the world might discuss.  Who is ill, who fell and hurt her shoulder, who is redecorating, who is buying a new car....whose kids are a pain in the ass.  The fashions are varied, but still have the same thread...functionally stylish.  Nice jeans, neat tops, with most having on at least two layers, even here in mid-May.  Every single woman in the place at this exact moment has on eye glasses!  They range from non-discript wire frame on a 50-ish tubby woman, to uber chic black rectangular frames with a fluer-de-lis on a stunning white haired woman who most certainly must be 80ish.  There is no hair longer than chin length, with a majority being short short but styled.  (OK..two college students with ponytails just walked in, but that doesn't count)

At home I am used to being of around the same size as most of the women in my community.  Do women get bigger the further south we go?  I am consistently the biggest woman in any room, everywhere we go here...and by at least 75 pounds!  Again I'm talking about local residents, around my age.  When we talk about the college students no rules apply, many of them at in the 250+ catagory.

I am preparing to make some changes .... some of them will be mandatory....for there is no fast food in this city, except Hardee's....which isn't much of a temptation for me.  I've been existing on a drive-thru only diet for the last couple of years....can't do that anymore....however...I'm not so sure my home cooking is any better...in fact...it's not that healthy at all !!!

I'm not really writing this for anyone to read, so it's not actually entertaining, nor is it composed or organized...I just really was feeling the need to get out of the house and sit and write...steam of consciousness style...and now....I'm done!