Eden's Telltale Ridge

So, we've decided that Eden is part Rhodesian Ridgeback. We figured that out when Chris saw her back hair standing up. Anyways, a few weeks ago, I heard growling and playfighting and I went out back to look. And there it was....Eden's ridge. So, I grabbed the camera and took some pictures. Some were of Eden. Some were of nothing. Some were of where Eden's was right before I took the picture. But here are the two pictures of Eden.


See the dark line? It was standing up more, but the calming effect on her of her Mother near by (ME!!!) made it go down some.

Raisin's New BFF

About a month ago, my parents came out to visit us. Chris and I were a little concerned because my Mom isn't really a dog person, but she did REALLY well! And my Dad immediately bonded with both dogs. But mostly Raisin. Right away, he ran out and did a full submissisve position, laying on his belly with his little tail stub wiggling away. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Whenever Rai was let out into the living room, he would immediately claim the spot next to my Dad's foot as his own. Here are some pictures of Rai, taking full advantage of my Dad's feet...

Diligent (needy) puppies

Regardless of what interesting things the puppies are doing, when someone goes through a door, it drives the dogs NUTS. Eden is the most stubborn about it, often waiting for long periods of time for that person to come back through the door. Sometimes, she'll even leave the door after a long, uneventful wait, only to come back later and give it a good "paw" (where she swipes at the door with her paw, making a loud and scary noise). These pictures are of the dogs, as they sit and wait for me to come back out of the bedroom.

It's a Girl...we think...

So, I had my first ultrasound yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a level 2 ultrasound because I had a cleft lip and palate when I was born, so the doctors wanted to check on the baby. We got to see her face and her spine and her brain and her little arms and legs were moving around like crazy! Here are some pictures of her profile. Chris and I decided that her nose is WAY cute!

Pretty Arizona...

We have plants in the front of our house that, for most of the year, are green(ish) and low. Then, in the spring, they grow these gigantic sprouties that are red and have buds on them. I think they are called red yucca's, but I could have completely made that up! Anyways, they are pretty, and the cool thing is that they appear there almost overnight. Then, they grow practically before your eyes. (Literally inches in one day!) Anyways, Chris took pictures of some of them, and of our guard turtle.


Here's the prettiest bud of all. We're glad that Chris took this picture because the next day, Raisin ate it.



Here's another pretty bud.



This is our guard turtle.



Here's guard turtle, artistic.



And a final bud.

I apologize for the twistiness of the pictures...but it's good for neck exercises.

Tax Break Pack, on the way

Well, for anyone (or maybe just that one person out there...) who reads this blog (namely, you), as you may have guessed, I am indeed pregnant. 16 weeks today. And for anyone who can help with my current dilemma, do I tell people I am 16 weeks pregnant? Or 3 to 4 months? And how do I count months? Because with weeks, I am not 16 weeks until 16 weeks have passed and technically, I am in my 17th week, right? And if that trend remains, does that mean that though I am actually in my 4th month, I am still only 3 months? But then how am I in my second trimester when the first trimester ended at 3 months? And further, does that mean that I at some point will be 10 months pregnant? Holy Cow...See my confusion? Anyways, I digress. Or progress into an area that should be off limits (the scattered corners of my swirling black hole of a mind). Back to the land of the sane.

I think it's funny to tell people that I have a non-contagious parasite. It usually takes them aback. Jin, retreat.

This movement out of my crazy brain is not working, so I am just going to keep going. For those of you who have something better to do, like clean out your refrigerator, please feel free to go now, before you, too, are sucked into a never ending abyss of fragmented thoughts, and illogical logic.

First, I was super sick for a few weeks, and then decided that God would not make me that sick just for one little baby, so I must be having twins. Well, we went to the hear the heartbeat at our last doctors appointment, and we only heard one, and I swear to God, instead of enjoying the moment of hearing those 157 beats per minute, I looked at Chris, confused, because the damned nurse wasn't even trying to look for the second heartbeat. So, eventually, I decided that Baby number 2 (fondly named Morris the Second) was probably hiding under Baby number 1 (Elvis the First). And that even though we only HEARD one heartbeat, it only means that Morris is shy.

Also, during the first trimester, I lost a whopping 4 pounds. A guy at work, who didn't know I was pregnant, just said to me the other day, that I had gained weight in the area between my neck and my butt. We figure he probably just meant my boobs, which by the way, currently need their own area codes. He also said my face was skinnier. So, I guess it evens out. I mean, who doesn't look at the skinny faced girl with the giant knockers? Anyways, so I was pretty proud of myself for still fitting in my clothes, and not gaining too much weight (which was good, since my nurse practitioner said I was only allowed to gain 15 lbs because I was already so heavy...all muscle, probably). And then it happened. I went to work in the morning and came home. I put sweatpants and a t-shirt on, which is my favorite outfit, since it is loose, thereby NOT pushing any food I eat, back out the way it came in. Well, I went to put some jeans on to go back to work to shut the drawers down and lock the doors, when something terrible happened. My jeans didn't fit. It was like my belly was the little temperature thing that is put in meats when they cook. You know, those little things that pop out when they are done? Well, that was my belly. It just popped out. I walked into the bathroom and turned sideways, and said to myself, Holy Crap, where did that come from? So, I shoved myself in my jeans (and to be fair, they had just come out of the dryer), and then went to work, practically crying because now, I had to pee, I was hungry, and I felt like a stuffed sausage. And for those of you out there going, "You just ate too much while you were at home", let me respond with, no I did NOT. And while I can no longer remember what I ate, I do remember that it wasn't a lot. So hah. Anyways, I came home in a fighting mad mood, and promptly went online and bought some clothes. (you are all thinking...good, some maternity clothes you'll fit in to.) Nope. I went to Victoria's Secret and bought some jeans. These have a lower waist, so I figure I'll just let the belly go OVER the top. Funny thing, later that night, my jeans fit just fine. I'm guessing that the baby was rebelling, and stuck his arms and legs straight out in front of him, saying, "Hey, Mom, give my some chocolate cake!"

Speaking of him, back when Chris and I lived in Hawaii, we went to Dave and Busters, and did the "morph two faces together" booth. We wanted to see what our kids would look like. And here is the winner....

We're hoping that they do an asian remake of "The Munsters" because our child will be a perfect fit for Eddie Munster. And we've already bought him the tuxedo, because what child DOESN'T wear one around?

Anyways, that's my pregnancy so far...more exciting than Chris and I. Not as exciting as the dogs.

Cuddling...

So, Raisin has turned into our cuddle/needy/always gotta be touching someone or something puppy. His favorite place to lay down is right behind your feet, wherever you are, usually with his bottom just barely touching you. He is also fond of laying on Eden...no matter how content she is. In fact, it is usually when she is at her most unintrusive that he goes over and lays on her. Then, soon, the licking and nipping begins, quickly to progress to full on biting and wrestling. Then, the peace of my home is shattered.

Here is a quick rundown of how it goes...


Notice Eden, sitting quietly in her favorite spot (against the cabinet with her head peeking out so that she can see what's going on without having to move because she's in the way). Rai, on the other had, looks harmless enough, but in actuality, has formed a plan to wiggle his way into Eden's arms/paws/short stubbers.



As you can see, he's putting his plan into action with Phase One: Pretend that I, too, am just laying down. As it happens, I am doing it nearby to Eden, even with some body to paw contact, but never fear. That is incidental, and not at all what I am going for. And again, notice Eden. At this point, she knows what is coming, and is looking at me like, "Jeez, Mom, aren't you going to make him leave me alone?"



And, Alas, the invasion has begun. Eden put her head down to just lay down quietly and rest, and Rai promptly put his head right on top of hers, as if, Oh, Eden's head is there? What a nice pillow! So nice of her to do that for me!



Eden then realizes that, hey, Raisin has a FAT HEAD attached to a heavy body, so I'm going to move mine. Then, thump, Rai has dropped down the the ground...oh, wait, no, it's not the ground. It's right into Eden's waiting paws! She's holding me, and she loves me and I, of course, did nothing to create this position. It really is just how much she cares for me.



And then, it degenerates. Notice that while this picture is not rotated correctly, you can still tell that Eden is attempting to eat Raisin's ear. So much for a peaceful time inside.