..."I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies !!"

Wow. This is my newest great nephew, Aiden Michael.   He was in no hurry to be born...due date was June 12th. They finally induced labor at 3 AM on Tuesday and he was finally taken by C-Section after a LOT of hours of hard labor (that could not get him down the birth canal). He was born just before midnight, came in weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz.  There was a little issue with wet lung (common with C-Section babies) and they kept giving him treatments and  suctioning him and  he just kept hanging in there like a champ.  This morning they took him off the oxygen and he and little mama are doing fine.

Here he is today.



  I went down to the hospital to be with my sister and wound up in the birthing room while my niece was still trying to push him down the canal.  Things sure have changed since I had my son in 1971... lol.   I was at her left leg and my sister at her right, as the doula tried and tried to get that baby the traditional way.  When the contractions would come, we would lift her feet and legs up and give her a strong base to push against.  Today, after 4 hours of that, I feel like I got run over by a truck. My shoulders and back hurt, my legs hurt from all that standing (not to mention the walk from the ER entrance to the OB unit, which felt like 10 miles!!).  I didn't get home til almost 2 AM and then had to get up and be at the dr at 10 AM for my final knee injection.

  I was about 3 sheets to the wind.  lol  

  Tonight I am exhausted and cannot believe that I am still awake. After the doc shot the voodoo juice into my knee joint, I got in the car and came straight back home. Generally I run errands or do a little shopping or something, since I've made the drive to the city. Not today.  No way, Jose.  

 The days I get this shot, my activities are limited. I can walk around, but can't do anything like yard work or gardening or vacuuming.  So, once I got home and had some lunch, I went out back and did a little weeding with my newly sharpened hoe. That worked like a charm in the sweet potato bed, as well as the okra and carrots. It got pretty hot today, high 80's and humid, so I was sweating like a pig in no time. I gathered one egg, topped off the girls' water bowls,  and wandered around the garden a little.  Then I came in and the air conditioning had just kicked on, so once I sat down, that was pretty much it.  lol

 I opened a jar of home canned/grown okra, tomato and onions and heated it up and had it for lunch. God I love that combination !  I puttered around on the computer, took yesterdays  laundry off the clothesline [finally]  and straightened up the bedroom a little while I unpacked the last of the stuff from the trip and put the suitcases away.   I started trying to think of what to make for supper (something meatless), and decided on Aglio y Olio  (Angel hair pasta with a garlic and olive oil  dressing, chopped fresh parsley and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.)  I went out to the garden and picked a big bowl of fresh greens of all sorts to make a salad.  We didn't eat until after 7 o'clock, because when the Irishman got home from work, he went out to pick cherries and blueberries. But when we did eat finally...O.M.G.  

  It was really good.  Here's a closer look at the pasta: 

 So simple, and so good.  One of our [many] favorites.  lol


  Okay. I guess I should get to bed. I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon regarding the retreat I'm cooking for in August. I plan to spend the morning mulching those sweet taters and maybe making a decision about whether I am gonna use the wire tomato cages this year. last year I didn't--I just staked them with bamboo poles.  It worked okay, but not as good as the cages.  BUT--when the 'maters were done for the season, it was a lot easier cleaning up and pulling the stakes than wrestling those stupid cages. Not sure what I'll do...but, I'll decide one way or another.  In the meantime, have a great solstice  everyone!! 


 Namaste.