Happy Birthday Darrius

On this day, 11 years ago, I gave birth to a wonderful, baby boy after enduring 32 hours of excruciating labor. :-)

Isn't that how all moms start their stories about the birth of their kid(s)?

When I discovered I was pregnant, I was in shock. I wasn't ready for a baby. I worked at Gold's Gym not making good money and I still lived at home with my parents. Alfred was still living at home with his parents and he had a semi-decent job. We had just gotten engaged while on vacation in the Bahamas. We hadn't even started planning the wedding! And I hated kids. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have any of my own. So imagine my surprise when out of the blue, the rabbit decides to kick the bucket. Once the shock and disbelief wore off (it took 2 positive EPT tests for me to begin to believe it), my decision was made. I was going to have a baby. No hesitation. No doubts. I just knew. I couldn't believe how right it seemed. I had taken the pregnancy test at a friend's apartment so once it was confirmed that Yes, I was pregnant, we called Alfred and told him to come over. He wanted to know what I was doing there and I told him I was hanging out. Little did he know. About 20 nerve-wracking minutes later he finally arrives. I didn't say anything. I just handed him the stick and walked out of the room. The next words I hear are "Oh sh!t". Yeah, that pretty much summed it up for me too.

Nine months (or more) later, with half of that time spent with me doubled over and vomiting into every container in sight, I go into labor. I remember that morning clearly. It was a Tuesday morning. I woke up at 6am because I had to pee. While sitting on the toilet, I felt something more than urine go into the toilet. I look down and think, "Uh oh". It was my mucus plug. I finish up and flush the toilet and go back to bed. I wasn't having contractions and I was still tired so I figured I'd get some more rest. I knew that in a little while a little person was coming into this world and I wouldn't have uninterrupted sleep for a very long time. So I might as well get as much rest as I can. Around 9am my mom calls. She got into the habit of checking in on me daily, several times a day. I could set my watch to her phone calls. I answer the phone and she asks how I'm doing. I tell her my mucus plug has come out and my labor has started. I'm saying this in a casual voice, like I'm talking about what I'm eating for breakfast. She gets hysterical/excited and asks if I had called my doctor. I told her no. What's the point? I'm barely having contractions. She yells at me (in her mom way) and tells me I need to call my Gyno right away. I give in cause I don't want my mom to come through the phone and slap the black off of me for not doing what she told me to do. I call my gyno and get a 1pm appointment. I call my mom back and she seems to be happy with that. I then call Alfred at work. He had just gotten there. I told him to take his time. I could drive myself to the doctor. He decides to leave work and go with me. By the time I get to the doctor and he examines me, I'm still having no contractions. And I only dilated 2 centimeters. My doctor tells me to go have lunch. So we do. I'm thinking it's going to be a long day. And I was right. The entire day and night passes and nothing is going on. I'm having contractions but they're sporadic and too far apart. I finally call my gyno's office at 2am and lie about my contractions. I was getting tired and fed up and I was determined to go to the hospital. We get to the hospital and the nurse examines me. I'd only dilated 3 centimeters. Are you kidding me? The hospital was about to release me when my water broke. I was so happy because I knew they had to keep me. 14 hours later, after having every drug available given to me, a high grade fever and being stuck at 5 centimeters for God knows how long, my doctor decides I need to have a c-section. It's about time! My mom almost came to blows with my doctor because she wanted to be in the operating room with me and the doctor was telling her only one person was allowed. I guess he saw that CW meant business and allowed her into the OR. I don't know how long the operation took. I just remember hearing a baby cry and looking up and seeing the doctor holding my baby boy. My first thought was, "Damn I thought he was a girl." My second thought was, "Thank God I already had a boy name picked out." My third thought, "I can't believe I'm a mother!"

Since that day my life hasn't been the same. And I owe it all to a skinny, smiley, toothy, funny, big-headed little boy named Darrius. He is a wonderful son and I look forward to seeing him grow up to be a wonderful man. He has truly been a joy in my life and I thank God everyday for him. It is true when they say you don't know real, unconditional love until you have a child. Even when he frustrates the hell out of me, he still has a strong hold on my heart. He will always be my baby, regardless of how old he is.

Happy Birthday Mr. D! I love you so much.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parent's 37th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary! They set the standard of what a marriage should be.



I love thee, I love but thee
With a love that shall not die
Till the sun grows cold,
And the stars grow old...

Innovation at its best

Last night I was sitting on the couch, drinking a beer and getting ready to watch a new episode of True Blood on HBO. I'm in my own little world, thinking about what I'm going to wear to work Monday. Out of the blue, Alfred looks over and goes "Ewww!" I look at him and he points at my legs. Yes my legs are ewww. They are still peeling from the nasty sunburns I got during our week in St. Maarten. This is week two of the healing process and it's starting to look a little gross. I have scaly skin up the inside of my legs. It's pretty gross. So of course Alfred had to point this out to Darrius who was doing crunches on the floor. Darrius stop doing his crunches to take a look. This is how the conversation went:

Darrius: Why did you say ewww?

Alfred: Look at your momma's legs. I told you she was a snake.

Darrius: Ewww mommy! That's nasty!

Me: It's from my sunburn. It's going to peel for a while.

Darrius then decides to start picking off the skin. I let him do it because he seemed to be fascinated by it. He then stops and gets up. I have an idea, he says, and runs off. When he returns, he has the lint roller in his hand and proceeds to roll it up and down my legs, taking off the dead skin. And it actually worked!! I started laughing. I could not believe I was letting my child get dead skin off my legs with a lint roller. He seemed to be having fun doing it. Who am I to deny my child from doing something that's fun?

The nasty skin is back today. I may have him hook my legs up again with the lint roller.

Grand Opening!

Today was a BIG day for our family. After years of waiting and working and negotiating, my husband has finally realized his dream. Today was the grand opening of his restaurant Charley's Grilled Subs. It is located at the food court in Wheaton Mall. Darrius is so proud of his daddy and I am so proud of my husband. Getting the restaurant is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication but I know Alfred can do it. He's been wanting to own his own business for as long as I've known him. If today was any indication, I think Charley's is going to be very successful.

Oy!

I have been out of the training loop for 2 weeks and boy did I feel it today! I didn't think that two weeks off would set me back so far but it did. Today was my first day back on the treadmill and the first 5 minutes were torture! My chest was tight, breathing was heavy. I thought I was going to pass out. My legs and shins were fine. It was the breathing part that was giving me problems. I think the breathing issue has to do with my current addiction to 5 hour energy. I really need to stop drinking those things. I'm at the point where I drink one everyday and that can't be good for me. And I did have a sip of one before heading to the gym. I know - not smart.

My plan to get back on track is to run everyday the rest of this week. It's the only way I figure I can get my breathing back up. And I plan on not drinking any 5 hour energy drinks. I promise.

The 5 miler is a little over a month away. Right now I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm giving myself til the end of August to determine if I'm going to walk the race or run it. If I can get to a solid 4 miles then I will improvise on the last mile.

I'm staying focused on my goal. I am determined to run the entire 5 miles by September 19th.

Keeping my eye on the prize.

Back to School

Monday Darrius went back to school. His school -Franconia Elementary - officially started the new school year on August 3rd. Since we were on vacation last week, Darriu's first day was August 10th. This is Darrius' last year in elementary school. He's a 6th grader and I can hardly believe it. This is also the first year where Darrius will not be in before and after school care. He will be riding the bus to and from school. When he gets home in the afternoon, he will be home alone until I get home from work. He did great his first day. He called me when he was at the bus stop and called me once he was home. I worried all day yesterday. I know he can handle it but he's my baby. And I know that there are children out there who were latchkey kids at an earlier age than Darrius. When Alfred brought up the subject of letting D take the bus, I was hesitant. I didn't think he was mature enough. And I thought it would be safer to keep him in before and after care. But then I thought about it. I was in the 6th grade when we moved to Virginia and I became a latchkey kid. My mom didn't work when we lived in Memphis so she was at the bus stop in the morning and in the afternoon. Once we moved to VA and she had to get a job, I had to become more self-reliant. I was responsible for waking myself up, getting dressed, doing my hair and getting to school on time. I walked to school, taking a shortcut through the woods. There were a couple of times where I didn't make it to school on time but I blamed my walking partner. It was never my fault. ;-)

I guess Darrius is mature enough to handle the responsibility of getting himself to school. I did it at his age. Next week he turns 11. I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday he was just starting kindergarten. Time has flown.

D's first day at school was almost without incident until last night, when he realized he left his math book at school. Not a good way to start off your first day. I'm hoping this isn't a preview of how it's going to be all year. He is so unorganized; he has consistently left homework, books, supplies at school throughout his elementary school career. I've seen his desk at school and it's a wonder if he can find anything in that mess! His backpack is just as bad. I need to figure out a way to get this boy organized, at least by the time he enters high school!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a great year. I am praying for no parent-teacher conferences! I just want one grade without me having to go to one of those things. They are never for anything good.

I've told Darrius that I want him to not repeat any of his usual bad habits this school year. He said he'll try. I guess that's better than nothing.

Vacation Part Deux

I'm still recovering from my week in Paradise. The nasty sunburn on my shoulders is now turning into a nasty peeling, scaly mess. I look like one of those aliens from the TV show "V". But the sunburn was worth it. Here's a vacation collage that summarizes how spent our 7 glorious days of relaxation.