So, friends, family and blog stalkers, you were right. My last blog post was not my last post…obviously. And you also convinced me to get a facebook account. If you haven’t received my friend request, well, you may not at this point. It isn’t that you aren’t important—being that we probably haven’t talked in years, or were never really friends to begin with. But, I am always open to you adding me. In fact, I learned a cool trick from my wife. You see, she is too nice to ignore those requests, instead she adds you… giving the illusion that you are suddenly BFFs, and then waits a week and deletes you from her friend list. I’m coming along in all of this social network and social media movement. As I alluded to earlier, this is my second blog post.
We’re not great at keeping up on the ol’ blog. But with fb (that’s Facebook for all you newbies to the social network scene) you can keep up with what’s going on—I’m going to make my second wall post on there soon. For those of you that really read the blog to get updates, I apologize. Here is the quick version: We got pregnant, bought a meth house, decontaminated it, remodeled it, fought Provo city and their slimy politicians, and power driven zoning boards, moved into the drug house( you can see all the before and after pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mbfenn) ; although we should probably call it something else; and now are patiently awaiting a daughter. And by patiently I mean, eating spicy food, castor oil, trampolines, long walks while high stepping… and all the other lame advice people have given to go into labor. The due date is tomorrow. Which wouldn’t have been such a long wait, except the doctor told us almost three weeks ago, “you’re about ready, that baby can come any minute.” Great, thanks doc. Since then, every cough, sneeze and fart makes me jump up, run for the diaper/ hospital bag ready to go. Maybe tomorrow.
I’ve learned a lot in the last nine months. I learned that sarcasm isn’t always funny—who knew, right? – I learned that chocolate is a food group, women are stronger than men, that my wife knows me all too well getting me to read pregnancy books by taking away the Reader’s Digest and putting the book on the back of the toilet, and that my wife is absolutely amazing. I always knew that, but pregnancy is crazy, and she has never once complained. You’ve heard about the “miracle of birth”? I am pretty sure the miracle is that anyone does this twice…
It’s also been fun to see how genuinely excited other people are for us. Thank you all so much for you kindness, presents, prayers, meals, etc. I’m thanking you in advance, because I’m about to let you know a few ground rules that no one ever says out loud… isn’t blogging awesome!
1. Whoever thinks that it is ok to touch a strangers’ baby, you’re wrong. I don’t walk around grabbing your teenagers cheeks, or tickling under their chin. I don’t get twelve inches from your grandma and rustle her hair. So why on earth would you think that’s ok to do to a strangers’ baby. Smile, wave, let us know if she’s cute, other than that stay the freak away. And for those that are not strangers, this rule applies to you too. Ask before you touch.
2. The pediatrician recommends that we don’t go to public places for 60 to 90 days. I know, you went to the movies, attended church, passed the kid around your AA meeting, and he turned out just fine… I’ll go visit him in jail. We understand that we are over doing it. This is our first. And we don’t really want your advice on when and where to take our baby. Judge us, laugh at us, we don’t really care—our kid is probably cuter than yours.
3. Apparently, despite the huge needle in the spine with intense pain killers, the whole birthing process is pretty intense. The hospital recommends limited visitors in the hospital to allow Mariah to rest, heal, and bond with new baby; in fact, with swine flu and RSV, they discourage visitors. Please keep that in mind.
4. Mariah will most likely NOT answer the door if you do not call first. I am staying home from work for a week. That’s why I work my butt off, to have a job that allows the flexibility to let me stay home for a week, or longer if I need it. We would love to see friends and family, not YOUR friends and family… if you call first, if you aren’t sick, if you don’t have anyone in your family that is sick, if you don’t bring over 20 people at a time, and if you sanitize your hands when you get here…never forgetting rule #1, and if you don’t stay long. I’m serious about the clean hands. I won’t be paranoid forever, I’m not going to walk out of sacrament meeting to rinse off the binky every time if falls on the ground. But, I know how often people use the bathroom without washing their hands. It’s disgusting.
I’m sure I’ll think of more; I just thought it would be fun to use the blog to post that, so when I snap at someone I can always say, “oh, sorry I assumed you read our blog and knew the rules.”
We love all of you, so if we forget to update you in the first few moments with our daughter, we apologize. Look at the updates on facebook and this blog!
