Backyard Musings

I can’t wait to come on here and blog about the wonderful experience i am having as a new mother. I am blissfully happy and completely in love with my boy.

But I have a raging uterine infection. And it hurts. Really.freaking.bad.

Freaking OW.

Begged doc not to admit me, as my little man could not stay with me. Trying oral antibiotics at home. Pray for me if you do that sort of thing—–i can’t be without my boy. These pills hafta work.

Pics and adventures in parenting to return soon.

For now I must rest my aching, throbbing uterus.

This sucks ass.

Love,

rae

Of course…the little man’s been here for about a week. *grin*

Yup, I had a newborn and he kicked my ass. I’ve been in a coma since he was born. I don’t remember Maggie being this much work, but my guess is that she was. He’s a nursing machine, unlike Maggie. He nurses every hour on the hour and has a suck like a vacuum cleaner. Be careful what you wish for!!!

Kailen Samuel Lawrence was born 7/7/08 at 7:29pm. He was 19 inches long and 8lbs 6 ounces of beautiful baby boy.

My morning started with 5 failed IV’s and then an incredibly painfully placed IV after I was threatened with a central line. Then my epidural with an unsympathetic anesthesiologist that told me if I cried out he was going to stop placement of the catheter because I was being too loud. Yah. Thanks dude.

Then they started pitocin. No biggie. I was already at 5cm when they started, we figured it wouldn’t take long. Except then I was stuck at 6cm forEVER. Pit was started at about noon and at 6pm I was still at 6. My doc came and broke my water and I felt an incredible amount of pressure and pain and moaned for a while. Finally Donna decided I was in too much pain and got the nurse who announced me complete less than an hour later. Nice.

I pushed for about 20 minutes and out he came……..screaming at the top of his lungs. It was surreal. Lights out except for the spotlight on my crotch. Watching him born into that light and laid across my chest was like watching an angel enter the world. I sobbed and sobbed and drank in every glorious moment. My son was here. And he was healthy and beautiful.

He is a culmination of every dream come true. He is the gift cancer gave me—and ironically, his sign is cancer. I can’t hate my diagnosis anymore, because were it not for ovarian cancer–this beautiful miracle who has chosen me as his mother would not be here in my arms. I am head over heels in love. I feel so blessed. I wondered if I could feel like a mother to this boy who is not biologically mine. Little did I know. This boy is more mine than I could have ever dreamed. He is not genetically related to me, yet he is imprinted on every strand of DNA in my body. He is mine. He is mine. He is mine. And I am surely blessed.

I have been in a fog since I came home. I’m sorry it took so long to post. I am blissfully happy. There is no greater feeling than looking down at my nursing son and seeing him gazing back at me. He cries for me. He needs me. And I need this little man. I am a mother again. Cancer took nothing from me. I won.

Enjoy the pics!

New mommy in love

Big boy at birth

Maggie and little brother

Beautiful boy…

Another gorgeous boy…

Kailen making my dream of breastfeeding come true…

Wrapped around my finger, wrapped around my heart

Thats all I have for today.

Miracles happen. One is laying across my lap right now.

hugs and love to all,

rae

Here I sit, with a belly full of baby. Yes, my dear audience…..a child still resides inside of me.

Tomorrow will be a different story. The estimated birth weight of this little goblin is 8.5-9 lbs. Given my extensive abdominal surgeries, and the foreseen inevitability of future ones, we have to try to avoid c-section at all costs. Since we know I can birth a 6 lb baby, but we don’t know how my pelvis is going to feel about a 8 or 9 lb baby—my docs have agreed that its time to get this show on the road. It should be a quick show–I am 5cm dilated and pretty much fully effaced with a bulging bag of amniotic fluid. Doc should be able to sneeze during a pelvic check and break my water and Kailen should fall out shortly after. *grin* Great visual huh?

So for all of you who have been waiting with baited breath……….tomorrow is Mr Kailen’s day to shine. My miracle child. My little man and I will cross a finish line that we’ve (in essence) been running towards for 3 years. What an overwhelming moment that shall be. You all will get details as soon as I can manage. For those of you whose cell phone numbers I have programmed into my phone, Renee will text you with details and pics as soon as he’s born.

Now for a little catching up on the child that’s already been stealing my heart for 5 years. Maggie’s had a pretty eventful June/July so far. We had a couple of weeks of lose teeth and then losing the teeth and visits from the tooth fairy with Hannah Montana products (i used to get a quarter and a piece of sugarless gum!!)

Its funny to me, she’s losing her teeth in the order that she got them!!! Both front bottom teeth fell out in perfect order, within a week of each other. Just like they grew in!! Here’s her new grin!

And then there was the start of her first ball season. I was a softball junkie in my younger years. I lived and breathed ball in my family and I’m so excited to get Maggie into her first season of T-ball. I am more excited than she is. She will go to practice and she will play—but she would rather play catch with her mitt and dance and sing while she fields. She walks to first base after a hit. She can’t find second. She loves the attention on her and could care less about the actual game. Be still my heart. I hope she manages to find the love of the game. I think I have a dancer or cheerleader on my hands, somehow God forgot to transfer the athlete gene to her. *pout* We’ll see. Here’s a few pics from ball:

It was kids vs parents day, Donna did the honors while I took pics. The kids won!!!

Maggie and Olivia are on the same team!!! Maggie calls it her “papa’s team” because her Papa Al loves the Angels so much and has sucked Maggie into it. They got lucky and got on the Angels team!!

So moving along from ball and all its fun….Maggie also graduated from preschool!!! She is now ready for Kindergarten. The Kindergarten interview went well (loved all your comments and gasps by the way—it really wasn’t much more than Mags meeting the new principal, meeting our family, and Mags getting to show her what she was capable of! Public school is open to all–she didn’t have to meet any requirements—they just would like parents to teach kids basics before the start of school ie: colors, shapes, alphabet and tying shoes. No biggie. Nothing I didn’t have to know at Kindergarten roundup when I was 5!!!!) anyway, here is a pic of Mags post graduation with a big grin!!! Yaaaaaaaaay! Big girl school here I come!!

Maggie also had her big recital for her dance company the same weekend as graduation. It was a crazy psycho weekend that I never want to relive as a fat pregnant girl ever again. She did great at her recital (3 hours, Sat AND Sun) and her teacher said she was the most well behaved child backstage! Go Maggie!!

Hows that for a horrific blurry picture?? All my recital pics are crap. It was cute, you’ll just have to trust me.

And how bout one more pic to wrap it all up. Here’s a pic of Maggie and my belly. The ever growing massive tumor. OMG this thing is incredible to carry around. Its so hard to beleive that a little chubby cheeked sweet baby boy will be the end product.

Ready or not Kailen……….here you come!!!!

Yes, my dear audience……I am officially a whale. I’m freaking huge, I’m freaking uncomfortable, and I’m just pretty much over this pregnancy!

I had Maggie at 35.5 weeks. Today marks 35.5 weeks for Kailen. And no hope that he will come today.

I know I know. Its best to keep him inside another week or two, but I wish the hospital would quit stopping my labor everytime he tries to come out. Let the boy come if he wants to come! SERIOUSLY!!! *waaaaaaaaH*

I thought I’d do some picture catching up. I owe a lot of pictures. Its something to occupy my time right now, so what the heck. I needed to dump my card anyway to get it ready for Kailen’s arrival.

Here are baby shower pics….

And here is my infamous fall that left me with a cast and crutches! GO ME!!!

And here’s the little girl who I finally get to show FULL FRONTAL PICS on my blog! Renee’s 5 year old daughter Emily was finalizing her adoption when I fell off the curb and stole her thunder. Welcome to this crazy forever family little girl!!! We all love you so much. I’ll never forget the day I met you. You are sweet and charming and a clever little munchkin and I’m so glad its finally official. Auntie Rae can post PICS OF YOU NOW!!! YAYYYYYY!

Here’s a pic of me and my belly with my Maggie……..I know, I know. The blue totally makes me look like a whale. WAAAAAAAAAAH! (I had professional belly pics done last week that I hope come out good. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!)

Renee immediately did my belly cast the next day, as I was still cramping hard and even though they got my labor stopped after my fall (i dilated to 4cm) we thought for sure it was just hours away. HA!

Here’s one of me pretty naked. As naked as you’ll ever see me on this blog anyway! lol.

And here’s a pic of Maggie’s new obsession. HOOP DANCING. We can thank Nanay (renee) for this. Ever since Renee became obsessed with hoop dancing, Maggie has jumped on the bandwagon. Maggie attended a hoop class with her Nanay this weekend and had a blast. My kid knows how to shake her hips just a little too well. It scares me. Oh, and she insists on wearing SHORT shorts, little cotton ribbed tanks and COWBOY boots. Oh my. My little hoochie mama.

Maggie goes for her kindergarten “interview” tomorrow. We spent the day learning how to tie a shoelace, since its something she’ll be “tested” on tomorrow. She finally got the hang of it. No thanks to me. Donna taught her. I have *ZERO* patience. My little girl is going to kindergarten. HOW FREAKY!!!

Okay, I’m blogged out. I hope to God my next post is announcing the arrival of Kailen. *grin*

hugs

rae

Thats what my ticker says. About 36 days until my due date.  What a crazy rollercoaster ride this has been. I’ve only recently felt safe enough to embrace my belly and beleive that all of this is real, and that a child will soon be born. Its a surreal feeling. Sometimes I wish I’d been more trusting for the whole pregnancy, so that I could have enjoyed it more. Its sorta a catch 22. I chose to protect my heart from another failure. In turn, I missed out on a lot. But the past can not be undone–and so it won’t be.

My body is moving towards delivery. I’ve been having a lot of contractions that are more painful than the ones that got me put on bedrest. My belly has dropped, no more heartburn. I am stretched to capacity. This being pregnant business is a lot more exhausting than I remember it being with Maggie. I have had a hard time doing anything but laying around. My hands and feet are swollen, and my nights are fitful and sleepless. There is question about a slow leak in my amniotic sac.

I have multiple doc appts this week. One will determine what will happen at birth with Kailen and his kidneys. I pray that his blockage has resolved and that his kidneys are functioning normally.  I hope nothing else comes up on the ultrasound.

I had my baby shower a couple of weeks ago. It was very sweet. I haven’t uploaded pics but when I do I’ll share. Renee hosted it at my house and went ALL OUT. It was hawaiian themed, with the most perfect decorations and luau food. There were supposed to be about 60 people there but we had to change the date twice and lets just say things got a little sticky. There was a nice turnout and I felt very loved…….but I was incredibly sad about the ones who couldn’t come.  C’est la vie.

Maggie can’t wait to meet Kailen. She got really excited over the weekend when I started showing signs that it “was time” She was utterly disappointed when we were able to keep him in a bit longer.

35 weeks tomorrow. I had Maggie at 35.5 weeks. Lets see how far this little booger goes.

hugs

rae

So, doctors orders have been “modified bedrest.” I’m not exactly sure that that means…..but I have had them clarify this to mean “no pushing, pulling, lifting, jumping, jogging……and spend as much time as possible horizontal.”

And for the most part, I do abide. I spend most of my days lounging on the couch, or laying in bed watching tv. If the contractions start attacking me, I immediately retreat to the horizontal position. The docs have never said I can’t *go* anywhere, or *do* anything. But I do admit I’ve pushed the limits a couple of times lately.

Lets take, for instance, Maggie’s first performance of the year. It was held at our annual festival in our town called Lemon Days. Maggie got to dress up in her recital costume for the first time. She was thrilled!! I spent at least 2 hours doing her hair and makeup (omg, i can really DO hair and makeup!!! *GASP*) and then we drove to the festival. It was well over 100 degrees. I did nothing more than stay with Maggie until it was her turn (almost 2 hours of waiting in the heat) and then watched her performance. But I should not have been out there, in that heat, walking around. Argh. I was hopped up on terbutiline and tried to take it easy–slamming jugs of lemonade.  Thankfully the contractions were under control and I managed the day without too much drama. Maggie was stinkin adorable and so were all her little fellow dancers. Here are some pics from that day…..

In our front yard, posing…

Here she is waiting to perform, hanging out with her dancing buddies…

The rest of the dancin gang…

click on below link to see Maggie’s actual dance performance!!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v238/trufemme/?action=view¤t=608fe26e.flv

And here she is all smiles, because its finally OVER!!

So, more about my being a bedrest flunkie……

We have had tickets to a local country music festival for many months. They were very expensive.  And quite frankly, I really wanted to see the artists being featured. So, I agonized over it from the second I was put on bedrest.  Ultimately, I decided to go against my better judgement and head to Palm Springs to spend the weekend listening to my favorite country artists.  We got to see my music idol..Wynonna Judd. To add to that we saw Gretchen Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, The Eagles, Trisha Yearwood, Trace Atkins…the list could go on and on. It was amazing. It was the first time Maggie had been to a concert and she loved every second. She knew most of the songs and sang along.

Luckily, we have a handicap placard so we got to park very close. All I had to do was walk to our seats and sit. Food and drinks were brought to me. I was able to be lazy and take care of this baby inside of me. I did get some type of stomach flu and head cold all at once on the last day, so we left early and didn’t see Tim McGraw. But for the most part the contractions were under control. I can admit in hindsite it was a VERY BAD IDEA. But its over and I’m pretty much grounded for the rest of my pregnancy….so its all over and done with, stupid as it was. Here are some pics of Maggie from the festival…

The two cowgirls bonding………Mama and Maggie in their cowgirl hats, sharing a moment….

So thats what I’ve been up to lately. Had an OB appt yesterday and all is going well. I’m a bit more effaced but my dilation is pretty stable. I have been having bouts of LOW blood pressure lately, but not really sure if its indicative of anything. I see my ob every two weeks so we are really staying on top of everything.

My baby is shower is being quietly planned behind my back and I’m very excited. I can’t wait to fill my house up with friends and family and celebrate the coming of this little man. He’s so big he’s already trying to bust out of my belly, but he’s being very obedient and staying inside for a while.

My mom and dad sent me a stroller in the mail!!! I’ll post pics as soon as its built!!! My house is starting to show signs of his impending arrival. I’m getting very very excited.

Hugs to all,

rae

Well I’ve officially been on bedrest for a week. Or modified bedrest, or whatever its called when you are not supposed to lift, push, pull or bend—and you are supposed to spend most of your time horizontal. The epitomy of boredom. But neccessary, so I’ll accept my sentence.

In order to make this work, I’ve enlisted the help of a little helper. The “big sister” she likes to be called. She is now my arms, my legs…….my eyes and ears. My lifting and pushing and pulling. And she has thoroughly impressed me.

She is my bedrest savior.

My little girl has mastered the art of gathering dirty laundry, carrying it to the laundry room, pouring detergent, choosing the option of “express wash”, starting it…….then changing the load to the dryer. Then emptying the dryer and bringing me the laundry and helping to fold it. She can empty and load the dishwasher. She can make toast with butter and pour drinks. She can pick up the floors and has attempted to vacuum. She is my little hero.

Today I gave her a treat for being so patient with me and helping me so much. I’ve had to cut her down to 2 days of school since I am off work, and I know she’s been bored. So I took her to Mt Baldy, a mountain by our house. Its only about 5 mins away, we live at the base of it. I drove just a tiny bit up the mountain to a rushing stream. We parked next to the water and I sat down on a rock and watched her wade in the water and catch ladybugs. Mommy could only handle about 30 mins, but to Maggie it was the world. She was thrilled to have my attention, and thrilled to be “playing in nature.” Ahhh, the life of my poor city kid.

She loved having her feet in the icy water…..wading around and jumping rocks was just a delight to her. She squealed at dragonflies and slapped at water spiders. She giggled when a hummingbird buzzed over her head. She kept thanking me. It reminds me that these moments are so precious and are so short lived. Soon she won’t be my only. She is going to have a sibling that she has to share me with. The dynamics are going to be so different. And right now, she has me all to herself and I’m going to try to enjoy it……..even when my patience is being tried. Its hard to be her only source of entertainment…..her only friend.  But I know I need to enjoy these precious times.

When the time had come to leave, she was less than thrilled to join me and walk back to the truck. It was like pulling teeth when I made her leave the ladybug behind, and she was soaking wet and exhausted. She made me promise to bring her back for “special times” again, and I told her I would.

Having a place to escape to in southern california that isn’t littered with people and noise is a phenomenon, and I am so grateful to have Mt Baldy at my disposal. The quiet and the vastness of the valley at the base of it and the soaring views from the top are so incredibly peaceful. It makes me feel like I have a tiny peace of Kansas.  I could get in my car and escape my small town in a heartbeat back home……and it feels good to have found the same out here.

So back to bed I go, after a lovely dinner of lime jello with a can of pears dumped on top. Aren’t cravings wonderful????

hugs…..

rae

p.s. healing vibes and strength to my friend monkey and her partners…(www.theybelongtous.wordpress.com)

Its really getting harder and harder to type on this damn laptop. My belly has taken over my lap and its hard to reach across the mountain to find my keys. But I’ll suffer through just for my adoring audience. *grin*

I was hospitalized twice last week for preterm labor. 27 weeks is a bit too early for the arrival of this little boy, and hopefully we’ve gotten it all under control. I was having contractions every 8 minutes and they were being productive. I am now officially 70% effaced and 2cm dialated. *sigh* With intervention we have made the contractions non productive but they are always present. I am on p17 injections IM once a week and terbutiline orally every 4 hours around the clock.  The drugs are making me a raging bitch, and I seriously feel bad for the people around me. Terbutiline causes me to flush and shake, and it makes my heart race. I haven’t slept in 3 nites. I’m just a mess. But baby boy remains inside where he belongs.  And I am officially off work for the rest of my pregnancy. It did not sit well with me but I’m starting to understand that I just don’t have a choice. I don’t like giving up the control and walking away from work, but I guess I just have to give up on this one and take care of my son. So bedrest (or close to it) for the remainder of my pregnancy. oy.

Today my very dearest friends threw a nursery raising party for me. My storage/junk/extra room became a beautiful new nursery for my little man. It was very surreal watching the nursery empty and watching a new bedroom form. I am thoroughly humbled and beyond words at the kindness of my friends.  In a matter of a few hours, Rhonda, Jessica and Renee assembled a rocker, a crib, a bassinet, a lamp, new light plate covers, etc etc and gave me the nursery of my dreams. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have these women in my life. With Maggie, I didn’t really know anyone out here yet. Now, I count myself lucky to have the amazing friends I have. Thank you ladies. You are part of the wave that is making my dreams come true. I love you.

And now for the pictures……

Before—the storage room:

Jessica and Renee working on the rocker….

Rhonda and Renee getting the crib together…

Jess and Renee hanging the surfboard…

My amazing friends….

The finished nursery……

Maggie testing out the crib for me…

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I have learned what amazing people I have in my life. And now I’m back to bed. Not to sleep of course, but just to rest………….lol……..FUNFUN!!

hugs and love to all…….

rae

I’m home I’m home I’m home. I’ve been getting emails from online friends who were a bit concerned that I hadn’t posted yet. The truth is, I’ve just been overwhelmed thinking about this post so it was easier to just ignore it. lol.

The cruise was AWESOME! I think the pregnancy limited me a bit just because I was so exhausted for the trip, and a bit nauseated and had some food aversions…….but the cruise itself was an experience I’m likely never to forget. The atmosphere was so comfortable……so inspiring. 2 mom families, 2 dad families………straight supportive families………grandparents, brothers and sisters. I feel so honored to have experienced this with my little girl. Watching it through her eyes was amazing.

We kick started our cruise with 2 days in San Diego. It was fairly chilly considering it was San Diego. I was prepared and we packed so inappropriate. lol. Oh well. We spent some time taking Maggie to the Maritime Museum right by our hotel (we stayed in a hotel across the street from the cruise dock) and we also spent time at Balboa Park. It was good times and Maggie had a blast. Here is Mags on the pirate ship at the Maritime Museum…….

Maggie enjoyed the botanical garden at Balboa park and asked the caretaker nearly every name of every plant and sniffed things that didn’t even have a scent. She was very cute.

There were a ton of statues and art everywhere……Maggie felt the need to pose on each of course!

No trip to San Diego is complete for me without a trip to old town for an authentic Mexican meal of guacamole enchiladas on homemade tortillas. I craved them when I was pregnant with Maggie and this pregnancy was no different. Maggie struck a pose in the park in the center of old town….

The next morning we awoke to Maggie pulling the shades back on the hotel window and screaming “THERE’s OUR BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Our cruise ship had made it in that morning and was parked directly outside of out window!!! Maggie could hardly eat her breakfast looking at it. She kept asking when when when we could get on.

We got to the dock and waiting in line with all the other excited families…..it was amazing seeing all the children with gay parents. I was SO excited…..Here we go…..

And as we entered the boat……….we were greeted by Kelli ODonnell. I was starstruck, Maggie was confused…..I tried to walk away after her greeting, but the Kansas girl in me took over and I ran back and asked for a picture. She was very sweet to oblige. I was shocked at how available Kelli was for the whole cruise. It was very normal to just be standing next to her, walking down the hall with her. She was in a no way a celebrity. She was just one of us. A gay mom, with her family……enjoying the safety of the cruise. Very cool.

Shortly after boarding it was time to get ready for muster. As soon as we got our lifejackets on and went outside it started to rain and hail. It was funny watching the gay boys scramble for cover under the awnings and pushing the dyke moms and kids out. *rolls eyes*—they couldn’t get their hair mussed you know???

After muster the boat was ours. Maggie was drawn to the big chess board and of course the swimming pool. It wasn’t long til she was freezing her ass off and making new friends.

 We did the welcome party and then unpacked and I got ready for the big show. The rumor was that Rosie would be hosting the first performance on board……and I couldn’t wait. Rosie has been my hero and one of my first crushes since I was very little. I think I squealed like a child when she came on stage. 

I thought I was overwhelmed and starstruck watching her until Shoshanna Bean from the original run of Wicked on Broadway came on stage and sang my favorite Wicked songs. *DROOL* It was a fantasy nite.

THen Maggie laid down on the floor in front of our seats and told us she was going to puke. The boat was tossing and turning and Mags gets motion sickness. I’m such a great mom that after the show I dragged her ass down to the stage and made her wait in line to meet Rosie. When she turned green and looked like it was over I grabbed the stage manager and begged her to let Maggie see her before she puked. The stage manager obliged and plopped Maggie down next to her on stage. I was speechless and starstruck.  Rosie told Maggie that if she was the first to puke on the boat that she would get a special prize. Then she told me to go pump Maggie full of seasick pills. I got a pic that I will cherish forever. My seasick child with my hero……

The cruise was amazing. There were so many famous people on the boat! I was smitten!! There was Ross the Inten, ANT, Sharon Gless, Cyndi Lauper……..and just about every Broadway star for every taste. I could blog on and on about every detail but I’d lose my audience. I’m going to include pics from every port with short descriptions but I’m not going to narrate because I’ll just bore you. Suffice it to say this was an amazing experience. My daughter will never forget this trip. I am ever so grateful to Kelli and Gregg for this awesome experience. I’m so glad they dreamed up this idea and made it a reality.

 Here is Maggie holding a baby Jaguar in Cabo San Lucas!

Maggie getting braids…….

Pretty braided girl!

Braving the ocean…….it was FREEZING!!!!

Looking at the ship

Riding the tender to shore…..

Mommy at Cabo Wabo Cantina!

Cyndi Lauper in concert, night 2

Cyndi and Sharon Gless sign a PFLAG contract

Next port, Mazatlan………..Mommy and Maggie at the town square

Mama and Maggie watching pigeons

The three of us at the beach in Mazatlan

Maggie freezing on the beach!

Senor Frog’s……

And now on to Puerto Vallarta….here is Maggie with a rescued Parrot

At another park with another rescued Parrot

The big excursion……..swimming with dolphins….

Cruising the Malecon

Maggie trying not to puke on the little boat back to shore

My girl holding a baby alligator….

And now random pics from the boat………….

Hero day (That’s Gregg and Kelli)

Donna and her poker buddy….Ross the Intern

Maggie and one of my idols…….Shoshanna Bean (Elphaba from Broadway’s WICKED)

Maggie and our goth friends from The Amazing Race (on tv)

Maggie with the “Daddy Machine” from the popular play being run in San Diego (we got to see it live on the boat……what a great show for kids in our families)

Maggie’s special friend from Philly……..Marla

And to wrap it all up……here’s Maggie waiting for Mama to bring the car around at the dock to take us HOME!!!!!!!!!

And that’s the cruise! Its only taken me THREE NIGHTS of uploading to do this. I’m exhausted!! Nite nite!!!

——-Rae

Stays in Mexico……………right?

Yah right. *grin*

This will be my last post for a while. I leave later this week for an “R” Families Cruise to Mexico! Its a 7 day cruise to three ports (Puerta Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas) and it seems to me that the weather is due to be just perfect!!!

This fat and sassy prego girl is most excited about the food that is available 24 hours a day! *wink*

Just in case you were considering breaking into my house while I am gone, don’t bother. We have a house sitter.  *grin*

Well, wish me luck. The last cruise I went on (an “Olivia” cruise) was a horrifying experience  and I swore I’d never set foot on a floating hotel again! I puked for several days and the boat was crappy and the ports sucked. I’m hoping this is going to be a better experience! *wink*

So anyway…….I’ll be back soon!! Hopefully with a tan and 10 lbs heavier! *grin*

Rae