The LOST series finale

I have spent the last six years of my life obsessing over this show. I spent hours pausing the scenes with the smoke monster so I could get a glimpse of the images inside. I analyzed every episode. All in all, I spent waaaay too much time on this tv show.

So last night was it. The episode where all of our questions would be answered. I'm so glad that today I'm no longer wondering how the island heals people; why the smoke monster flashed images in front of people; why Walt suddenly grew up; and, what the light is in the middle of the island. Oh wait...

From the moment that Jack opened his father's coffin until the show whooshed back to the island I felt like I was watching the scene from Titanic when Rose went down the the underwater wreckage after her death. While it was awesome to see most of the characters again, I was hoping for something more from the writers. After all bloggers have been speculating since season 1 that all of the characters either had died or would die. The ending just wasn't surprising enough for LOST.

Things that I liked about the episode:
~ Hurley became the new Jacob. He is the perfect guy for that job!
~ Jack's death scene. I loved how he came full circle and returned to exactly where he started.

Things that I did not like (aside from the Titanic-type ending):
~ Death scene of the smoke monster. He has been the most fearsome creature on the island since the very first episode. He deserved a more dramatic death than being shot in the back by Kate.
~ Sayid and Shannon. WTF? For the last six years we've been told about Sayid's soulmate Nadia and he chooses to spend eternity with the girl that he loved for a few weeks?
~ Where is everyone else? Walt, Michael, Mr. Echo, Miles, etc.?

LOST will still go down in history as my all-time favorite tv show and I would probably criticize any ending that they threw at me. However, I think that all of the high expectations that have been created over the last six years made room for a somewhat disappointing ending.

Diego cupcakes

Last night I crashed at 8:30pm and my awesome hubby was kind enough to bake the cupcakes for Gabriel's class.

Tonight I had the job of decorating them. First I mixed some cocoa powder with some store-bought buttercream icing and iced the cupcakes. I know, I cheated on the icing, but two and three year old kids don't care.

Then I made Diego's hairpiece using a coloring page as my stencil. I placed the page under some wax paper and drizzled chocolate in the shape of Diego's hair. I used a toothpick to help fill in the spaces.

Next came Diego's face. For the eyes I used mini-marshmallows. I cut the top and bottom off of the marshmallow and then cut the remaining piece in half. This gave the eyes an almond shape. I used some of the chocolate for the center of his eyes, his eyebrows and his nose. The mouth was made using store-bought red writing icing.

Ta-Da!!! Diego cupcakes! :)

New car seat for baby and new room for Gabriel

Last night we picked up a new car seat for the baby. Gabriel and Cadence both used the same infant car seat, but it has since expired (yes, car seats have an expiration date). I researched several online and was really impressed with the Graco Snugride 32. Most infant carriers allow you to keep baby in it until baby weights 22lbs. This seat will allow baby to continue using it in until he/she weighs 32lbs and is 32 inches long. To give you an idea, Gabriel is 32.5lbs right now (although he is much taller than 32 inches).

After we picked up the car seat, I gave the kids a bath and read them a book while Chris hung the curtains in Gabriel's room. We have been going non-stop since Saturday and this was the first chance that we had to put them up. Apart from the ceiling fan, which Chris plans to install this weekend, the room is done.


I think I'm more excited about the mural than Gabriel is. :)



He looks so tiny in his big boy bed!



We re-finished an old dresser that belonged to Chris's parents

Uncle Sam is not my favorite Uncle

I got a notice last night that, due to an error on my 2008 federal tax return, I still owe Uncle Sam over $500.00. Ugh. The error was there, trust me I checked, but it still stinks. Oh well, at least it isn't like I'm pregnant and need to buy a car seat, changing table, bottles and other random baby supplies... oh wait.

The Business of Being Born

Chris and I watched "The Business of Being Born" last night. It was a very enlightening and depiction of what giving birth has become in the United States. Basically, women are told that they cannot handle the pain of childbirth and most believe it. They are pumped full of drugs and the release of these drugs keep the natural release of hormones from happening and can damage the initial mother-baby bonding.

I know that in my first two deliveries (both fully medicated) I remember feeling like I was "sick." I was in the hospital, hooked to tons of beeping machines and being pumped full of God-knows-what... but I wasn't sick. I was doing the very thing that God created me to do. With Gabriel, they pumped me full of so much stuff that I spent the last thirty minutes or so of my labor throwing up. If you think labor isn't fun, trust me, throwing up during labor makes it much less enjoyable.

I switched doctors this time because I knew someone that used my new doctor for a natural birth. The same doctor allowed another friend to "catch" her own baby. That's kinda neat.

I'm spending the next seven months learning everything I can. We are going to sign up for Bradley Method classes and I've already purchased the book. The movie last night was a good start too. We probably watched five or six un-medicated births (all at home). It's really not as bad to watch as we are led to believe.

We are still planning on delivering at the hospital with a doctor. Although this morning I did check to see if my insurance covered mid-wives. They do, but the closest one that they cover is in Charleston. We are going to have a doula present and we plan on staying at home for as long as possible before driving to the hospital. It is only about 10 minutes away, so we should be able to stay home for a while.

Gabriel's Escape

The kids' daycare has a huge play yard. The play yard is separated by chain-link fence into areas for each age group of children. This way, the after school kids and the toddlers are not in the same area. Cadence plays with the after school kids in the afternoon and Gabriel stays with his two year old class. Or at least he is supposed to stay with his two year old class. Lately they have found him with his sister and the after school kids. Two out of the first three times the gate between the area was closed so they had no idea how he was getting over there. Then someone snapped this photo as evidence of Gabriel's method of escape.

Week 7 - Third Ultrasound

We had our third ultrasound yesterday and were able to see our little "pistachio" and hear his/her heartbeat. Everything looks perfectly healthy and normal. After the experience that we've gone through with the other two ultrasounds and the hCG level testing, I don't think I like the idea of doing that sort of testing early in pregnancy. It seems to cause more worry than good.

Everything is on track and we do not need to go back to the doctor until May 5th. By that point, I will be 12 weeks preggers and the doctor should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat using a doppler on my tummy.

Now that we've seen the baby and heard the heartbeat it is definitely feeling more real. I am looking forward to finishing Gabriel's "big boy" room and preparing the house for baby number three.... THREE!!! That still scares me if I think about it long enough. Now Chris and I will be out-numbered by the dogs AND the kids!