Tre's Blessing

Tre was blessed on February 13, 2011.  I know, I'm a little slow uploading.  Phil performed the blessing, and Drew, Art, Tom, Bill, and Steve were in the circle.

 Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bill

 Nanna Cheryl and Grandpa Art

 The Porter Boys

Andrew, Phil Jr, Phil III, Corban

 Ofcourse the BFF were there in full effect with there kiddos. 

Mmmm we ate lots of really good food!

We have a picture of Phil's dad and him in this same position. 

So cute!

Vegas!

Phil took me to Las Vegas for our third wedding anniversary.


We had such a great time! We stayed at the Aria Hotel at the new City Center.

It was amazing! The rooms are all high tech. The curtains, lights, everything is controlled digitally by a remote control. You can set a wake up time, and the lights, tv, drapes, music will all gradually come on. It was really nice.


The first night we went to dinner at Craftsteak. It is Tom Colicchio's steakhouse. It was awesome! We had a great corner booth and the atmosphere was so relaxing and enjoyable. I ordered the New York strip. Phil ordered Fillet Mignon and Lobster, and we got broccoli and risotto. The risotto was AMAZING!

The next day we hung by the pool for most of the morning.

It was so nice to be in the sun!


Saturday night we went to dinner at Sushi Roku and saw Beatles Love at cirque du soleil. But thanks to wonderful traffic on the strip, we were an hour late to our reservations. But our server was awesome, and was like order right now and I'll make sure you get to the show on time. So we ordered quickly and it was amazing. I wanted to order everything one more time! mmmm I've forgotten how spoiled I was in LA to have great sushi every day.

When we went to pick up our tickets for the Beatles Love, they were for the wrong time! oh no! But don't worry, they hooked us up and found two seats, so we were still able to go! It was Amazing. Phil really likes the Beatles. and I love anything with dancing. So we were both really happy!

Sunday, we went to brunch with Phil's mom to thank her for babysitting. Yes, don't think I left the baby. Phil's mom has a house in the Vegas suburbs, so I got to see Tre everyday and still get vacation time in. So Tre stayed with her, and we went over for a bit each day. It was soooo nice of her! Without her the trip wouldn't have been possible. Hopefully she got some good bonding time in with her first and only (for now) grandbaby!

What a wonderful weekend. I'm so spoiled! I love my husband. Here's to three years and going strong!

Hello World

Philip Van Porter III (aka Tre) was born on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day) at 1:37 am.  He weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz and was 19.5 inches long.  

So here's the story:

On Tuesday November 23 I went to my regularly scheduled OB appointment.  My Dr. said I would probably deliver early (I was due on December 16th), and if I hadn't gone into labor by December 9, she would strip my membranes to get things going.  I was dilated to a 1 and 85% effaced.

The weather report was predicting "the biggest blizzard in 10 years", so I spent the rest of that day running errands and getting things ready for Thanksgiving so I wouldn't have to go out in the storm.  I was having contractions as I was running errands, but just assumed they were Braxton Hicks.  The lady behind me in line at the grocery store actually asked if I was in labor and I said I didn't think so.


The next morning (Wednesday November 24th), Phil and I woke up at around 5:00 am because he had to fly to Florida for the day for work.  His work had chartered a plane to fly them to Florida, do some work for a few hours and fly back that night. My sister in law texted me and asked if we had gone to the hospital because he left so early, and I was like "no way, it's way to early for that". haha. So the storm that was threatened to be the "biggest blizzard in 10 years" ended up being not much at all, just enough snow to make an ice skating rink out of everything.  And it was REALLY cold. So I spent the day at home getting ready for thanksgiving and cleaning my house.  My mom and I were in deep cleaning mode, and were trying to get the nursery organized.  I hadn't had any contractions all day, I was actually feeling pretty good. Then at 4:30 pm, I sat down on the floor in the nursery to put some clothes in a bottom drawer when.... GUSH! and I screamed "AEH".  My mom came running and said "are you ok?" She had thought I was having a contraction.  I looked up at her from the floor and said "Did my water just break?" and she said "I don't know, did it?"  The first thought in my head was "it can't be, Phil is in Florida!!!!!"


So I stood up and went to the bathroom and "peed" for like 7 minutes straight.  Something was definitely up.  I called my Dr's office, which was closed for the holiday, and was forwarded to the Dr. on call. I told her what had happened, and she told me to go to the hospital.  At this point I was kinda panicking.  But I calmed down enough to pack a bag (with my mom's help).  Then my mom drove me to the hospital.  Along the way we kept saying, "They are just going to check me out", "I'm sure they'll just send me home".  When I got to the hospital they admitted me, and told me my water had broken.  But because of risk of infection, they didn't want to check me to see how far dilated I was.  So they sent me to the labor and delivery room.  I was very calm, and explained that I wanted to have a natural birth, but that my husband was in Florida, and I might need some help.  Things were going well, the contractions started getting stronger and closer together, so I got in the bath tub and that helped relax me.  My mom was a great trooper as my fill- in Lamaze coach. She rubbed my back, and tried to help me find my happy place.

Then things got interesting.  My mom had to leave the room for a minute, and my contractions were getting really strong.  She came back in, and I said "grab me that garbage can" and she started toward it. "FASTER!" I said, and she barely got it to me before I threw up.   So there I am naked, hanging over the side of the tub, vomiting into a garbage can. lovely visual right?  I stayed in the tub through a few more contractions, then decided to get out.  By this point I realized that things were moving really fast, and that Phil still wasn't here yet, and there was a chance he might not make it.  Bad idea, once I realized there was a chance Phil might not make it, my anxiety level shot up.  Then I started thinking, "I can't do this without Phil", which turned into "Phil is supposed to help me not think of the pain", which led to "Oh the pain, this REALLY hurts".  You get the picture, downward spiral of thoughts... which ended in "Give me drugs... NOW".  I had vomited three times, and was having REALLY strong contractions about 1 minute apart.  I knew that an epidural would slow down labor, and I was willing to do anything to buy Phil some more time to get to the hospital.  My admitting nurse had left and I was assigned a new one while I was in the tub.  So when I met my new nurse (Auri) I was a completely different person then when I had been admitted.  The first words I said to her were "Give me drugs".  She didn't know anything about me, so didn't feel comfortable in trying to talk me out of it so she called the anesthesiologist.  She was great actually, and helped me breathe through some of the worst contractions.  It took a while to get an iv, and the epidural. and I guess I was in a lot of pain.  I had kind of checked out at that point.  My mom told me later she was really scared, she had never seen me like that.  She was glad Phil missed this part of labor.  During the time when I was out of it, Phil landed, and called me and all I could get out was "Get to the Hospital"!  he was like"what?" then my mom took over talking, while I labored through some more contractions.

The anesthesiologist came in and administered the epidural, by this point I was exhausted and was mad I gave up, so I was kind of a baby.  But he gave me a great epidural.  I'll tell more about that later.  10 minutes after I got the drugs, Phil walks in!  (On his way to the hospital from the airport he got stuck behind a train.  His version of the day is quite funny too).  So by the time he arrives, I was a new person.  I was talking and laughing and everything was great.  So at this point, the nurse decided to check me (I hadn't been checked yet all day).  Oh don't worry I was dilated to a 7.5!  No wonder I was in so much pain, I was in transition!!! Had I known that, I probably could have made it through without drugs, but I thought I was probably only a 4 or so, I hadn't been there very long.  Because I was feeling good, and exhausted from earlier, the nurse told me to try and nap until I was fully dilated, she said it would probably take three more hours.  An hour later she came in to check me and I was dilated to 10!  So she called the on-call Dr. and put me into a position so that Tre could get into a little better station.  I stayed there for a bout 30 minutes, and she said I was ready to start pushing.  I pushed for about 15 minutes, maybe a total of 8 pushes, then the nurse told me to stop pushing because the baby was crowning and the Dr. wasn't there yet!  So I went into this total zen place and concentrated on not pushing.  Because my epidural was so good, I could feel my legs, and I could tell when each contraction was coming and how long it was. my contractions were moving Tre in and out of me, while I was trying my hardest not to push.  The Dr. finally arrives, and was quite shocked I was so far along.  I was so in my zen place, that I didn't even greet her.  So she walked in the door at 1:35, I pushed 2 or 3 more times, and literally 2 minutes later, at 1:37 Tre was HERE!!!!!  Phil got to catch him, and cut the umbilical cord.  We spent about an hour together as a family, and I tried to nurse, and we just cuddled and enjoyed the moment.  

Then my mom and Bill came in to see the baby, and they weighed him, and took his measurements, and we took a lot of pictures. The next three days in the hospital were a blur of no sleep, trying to get the hang of nursing, and ups and downs from adrenaline and exhaustion.  But I have the cutest little guy in the whole world to show for it!!!

Yea! Welcome to the world Tre!!!!!

Are you lookin at me?

Someday I'm gunna be big like my daddy.

Here's lookin' at you kid.

I'm home!

Do you think my crib is too big? It's not that I'm too small!

Look good no matter what

Todays wish: I wish my look could be as versatile as my husbands.

My hubby looks good no matter what he does. Beard, no beard, huge 'fro, shaved head, braids. It's amazing! It's so funny whenever he changes his look, people tell me how hot he is.  I guess they forget that I am already aware of this information. (why do you think I married him?)

I look exactly the same as I did in Jr. High. I have made a few changes along the way, but I always end up going back to the same look. Long blond hair with a blunt cut. Boring!  Maybe my cute hubby will inspire me to branch out a little.

Check out his latest re-invention.

Before

During

During

After

Baby Girl

Now now, don't everyone get all excited, she's not mine.  This weekend I went to Arizona to help my brother take care of his 7 week old baby girl.  How cute is she?

Domestic Diva that I am, I actually knitted this hat for her.  Are you proud of me?

I also gave her this hat, in case I didn't finish the one I made.

She is such a happy baby. But I'm still not sure I could handle one of my own.

The best 2010!

Todays wish: I wish for 2010 to be the best year!

The Swine flu has officially been eradicated from our house. (Every family member had it at least once, some relapsed twice).

Now, I can focus on more positive things. Here are some ideas for 2010 that I hope will come to fruition.

A new job.

A new baby?

A new home.

Less debt.

Less weight (on my body haha).

Lots of family time (with both my side and the Porters. We didn't get to see nearly enough of my husbands family in 2009).

Lots of time with friends, new and old. I love spending time with the BFF and hope to continue our traditions this year. I'm also looking forward to meeting new friends, maybe people my hubby can go snowboarding with.

I also would like to write a book. I know that ones a little out of left field, but it would be fun!

Be more positive. I am quick to worry and easy to criticize my life, I am really going to work on seeing the good and being hopeful about the future.

I'm not sure all of these will happen in 2010, but I know whatever does happen 2010 is going to be a year to remember.

No Such Thing as Swine Flu

Today's wish: I wish there was no such thing as the Swine Flu: H1N1.

Yep, I got it! Seriously? I don't leave my house... how did I get the swine flu? I teach the 7 year olds in my church, and three of them have had it. So I guess that is where it came from. It could have been from passing out candy to trick or treaters. But 5 seconds at the door doesn't seem likely. I'm sooo bummed! I've been in my house for three days doing nothing but sleeping and reading. You would think that would be nice, except for the 101 degree fever, constant blowing my nose, not being able to breathe, and cotton mouth.

My mom keeps telling me I'm going to die... Thanks a lot. My dogs don't understand why we haven't been on a walk in the beautiful weather... I'll get better right about the time it decides to snow again. My poor husband hasn't gotten dinner all week, and my house looks like a bomb exploded.

The upside, leftover Halloween candy! Although I can't really taste it, I'm still enjoying it.

So now let’s talk about the swine flu vaccine. I am one of those people that if I get the flu shot, I get sick. If I don't, I'm fine. So with all the drama about the availability of the h1n1 vaccine, I decided not to get it and leave them to the elderly and kiddies. I was sure I wouldn't get sick. hahahah oops! Oh well, let my body build up its immunities the old fashioned way.

Hopefully my next blog will be more coherent.

Vampires

Today’s Wish:  I wish Vampires really did exist.

With True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, The Vampire's assistant and more, Vampires are all the rage lately.  Not to mention its October, so Halloween fever is in the air.   With all of this attention on vampires, I have learned more about them and their lore.  And, I've got to be honest, Vampires are pretty cool. Think about it. They move lightning fast, can glamour people into doing pretty much anything, are super strong, and the modern day Vampires have even solved the whole "burned by sunlight" dilemma. My husband also is totally turned on by Vampires.  He thinks they are super hot.

Where did my Vampire fetish start? Could it have been Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire?

Possibly, but doubtful. While I love me some Brad Pitt, that movie didn't do much for me.

No, I think it was Twilight. The books... not the movie. I seriously read the entire Twilight series in a week. I even called in sick to work one day because I had to finish it. I was in love with Edward Cullen (Not Robert Pattinson, a horrible casting in my opinion. Although Taylor Lautner is super hot, can't wait for New Moon). I think I even started projecting my love of Edward Cullen onto my poor husband.

Next came True Blood. Ok so I didn't love the second season’s storyline. But the first season, how could you not love Vampires? Eric and Bill Compton made sucking blood seem somehow civilized.

Then there is the new CW series Vampire Diaries.  It is definitely a CW program (not the greatest acting in the world).  But they do a fabulous job of making you lust over the undead bad boy, and hold out hope for the undead clinging to his humanity.

Due to my recent vampire affinity, my husband and I watched "30 days of Night".  Those Vampires were, well, just plain creepy.  And they couldn't go out in the sun; they literally turned into ash in the sunlight. Not a fan of those particular Vampires.

I think I might want to be Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. I bet my husband wouldn't mind it so much either. Rhona Mitra was also pretty hot in Underworld: Rise of the Lykens. Seriously, these female Vampires are smokin, but more importantly they are fierce. Talk about female liberation!

Although I have stated many times that "I don't want to live past 60"; if I could be a Vampire, I think I could handle living throughout eternity.  But I would want to be turned sooner than later, if I'm going to be a Vampire I would like to be a hot 20 something for eternity.

Enjoy the little things

Todays wish: I wish everyone would think of the little things that make us happy, more often.

In ode to todays wish, below is a list of a few little things that make me happy. Hopefully one of these will put a smile on your face as well.

Listening to the sound of my husband breathing as he sleeps next to me.
The look on my dog's face when she returns the ball.
The feeling of sunlight on my face.
Enjoying the company of old friends,who you know love you no matter what.
Making cookies with a child, your mom or your grandmother.
Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
Dancing.
Cuddling up by a fire with a good book.
Stargazer or Day Lilies.
The smell of rain.
A night out on the town.
Thanksgiving with the Porter family.
An ice cold glass of water... mmmm.
Preparing the perfect meal.  (ok I haven't accomplished this yet, but it's fun to try.)
Ice cream.

Please feel free to post your favorite little things as well.

Crystal Ball

Todays wish is that I had a crystal ball.  This topic is very controversial. I've heard of people that don't want to know what is ahead, cause they might not like what they see. However, I want to know!  

I am in a place in my life where I have no idea what is going to come next.  As I told my girlfriends the other night, I could end up a stay at home mom raising 11 kids, or a corporate powerhouse loving my prada shoes and gucci bags as my prosterity. 

What state am I going to live in? What career am I going to have? Will I have kids, and if so how many? Will Phil and I be healthy, or have to struggle with disease? Will we be rich or scraping the bucket? Will our dreams ever become a reality?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH! Am I the only one who stays awake at night thinking about these things?

I would love to hear what poeple think about this. If any one has any suggestions on how to turn my dreams into a reality, I would love to hear them. 

Also, I would love to know how people figure out what they want to be?  People ask me all the time, "what do you want to do?"  HELLO... if I knew that, don't you think I would be doing it? Do people just fall into careers randomly? I feel like I have a lot going for me and tons of potential.  But figuring out what I'm supposed to do with that is giving me analysis paralysis. Any suggestions?  You know those tv shows where a person does a different job every episode?  I'm wish I could star in one of those, and then at the end America can vote on which one I should continue with.

Boys II Men

Phil and I went to the Utah State Fair last Friday.  I ate a deep fried candy bar (Snickers), Phil had a corn dog, and to top the night off we went to the Boys II Men concert!  By the time we got there, the concert was sold out.  But as we were standing around, a guy and his wife came up to us and gave us tickets!  7th row center! They became my new best friends.

It was awesome, we sang every word of every song. They did a section with motown classics, and sang all their hits.  I loved it!

We decided Phil should audition to be the new fourth member.  Then he can sing and I can travel around with them on tour :)

Hawaii

Todays wish: That I could live in Hawaii with all of my best friends.  Ok so it's a cop out of a wish, but I wanted to share my Hawaii pictures.  If you read my friends blogs, then you already know that most of us went to Hawaii for Sarah's wedding.  It was fabulous!

Sarah looked AMAZING, and her wedding was beautiful.  We saw sea turtles, went to the beach every day, went to Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center.  I loved every second of it!

Enjoy the pics. Yes that is a pink dog... alive.