Heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeee'ssssss Mackenzie!

Just minutes after she was born. That's the wonderful, multi-lingual nurse.

Meeting her big brother for the first time.

Finally home, after he first sponge bath.

All dressed up!

I came up with a thought today. Why not celebrate my children's birthdays with a celebratory blog post? Since its Mackenzie's birthday the day I thought of it (today, May 18th) she gets to be the lucky first one, even though she is the second born. So, happy 12th birthday Mackenzie Lynn!
I figured a good place to start is the beginning, so to the beginning we go.
Picture it, Clarksville, TN, 1998......
Mike and I were discussing adding to our family. Joey was almost 2, it seemed like a good time. So, that summer I went off the pill. Now, when you first go off the pill it is suggested still being careful for at least 3 months before really trying to get pregnant. That was the intention, BUT....well things happen and by August I was pregnant. I know some people wait a couple of months before announcing it to the world, but we have never been that way. It was way too good to keep secret for long.
I never really suffered from morning sickness with any of my pregnancies. I would get some gnarly headaches, and had certain food aversions (I still have a hard time eating chicken), but no real nausea. Everything went pretty textbook. About my 5th month I had my first ultrasound. We decided to find out the sex. We didn't with Joey, but now we're "old pros" and the need for surprise was gone for us. Mackenzie wanted to be sure that we could be as sure as possible that a girl was on the way and positioned herself just so for the tech. So sweet of her! It also made it easy on mom because I'd been required to drink 2 liters of water just before my appointment, and like a good girl I had. Only problem, they were running late and I had to sit there in the waiting room holding my already squished bladder for an extra 15 minutes. That was worse than the birth!
Not long after that, in February we were shipped off to Bonn, Germany. We were going to the U.S. embassy that was in the process of shutting down and moving to Berlin. We were an hour and a half from the nearest military installation, so I was prepared to have my daughter in Germany. But I prayed like crazy that I could at least find an English speaking doctor!
My prayers were answered, I actually found an American OB/GYN with a German practice. She was pretty full, but took me on because of my special circumstance (I'm American, already 6 months along, and speak NO German). Dr. Harder-Faigle was awesome! I received two further ultrasounds, and had a fairly easy pregnancy. My only complaints were the occasional gnarly headaches, leg cramps that kept me up at night, and no Taco Bell (my craving of choice). I was able to substitute Taco Bell with European chocolate though, so not a bad trade off really.
In Germany things are a little different. Usually, you chose a doctor/midwife, and then choose a hospital where that doctor/midwife has privileges. Assuming of course they take your insurance. In Germany, being military meant we had "private" insurance (not government provided), being in a remote location meant we could choose whoever we wanted without need for insurance approval. In other words, the red carpet was rolled out. I chose to deliver at Johanniter Krakenhaus. It was the closest to home. Private practice doctors generally do not have hospital privileges, so I would not get to have my doctor there, but she did assure me that it was an excellent hospital.
So my due date came and went and my doctor sent me to the hospital for a non stress test to check that the baby was still ok in the cooker. They gave me meds to start a few contractions, and monitored the baby's heart beat. Everything was good. They then gave me the choice, go ahead and continue with enducing, or go home and wait for nature to take its course. Well, Mackenzie was a little too fond of my ribs, so I chose NOW! They suggested I go home for a couple hours, eat, walk around and see if the medicine they already gave me would start things in motion on their own. We snuck past the neighbors that were watching Joey and did just that. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
When we arrived back at the hospital, they checked me in, got me changed and put me in a labor bed. It was about 8pm when I really started feeling the contractions. About an hour later, they convinced me to get an epidural. Around midnight, the nurse made Mike go across the hall and lay down a little. I wasn't thrilled with that, but since the epidural I was ok, so I decided to get some sleep myself. Around 1am, I woke up with some rather startling pain. I'd had a continuous epidural with Joey, so I really had no idea what "time to push" pains felt like. I sat up and realized I was alone in the room. I didn't want to shout, so I just started saying something like, "Um, hello, it hurts, um, someone might want to check me out." The nurse finally heard me, checked me, then got the doctor. By this time I didn't mind yelling and screaming. I'm not ashamed, child birth hurts darn it!
I was on my third shift of nurses. Every one spoke English, except the one that helped deliver me. Spanish, French, Dutch, German, but not English. Curse me for not taking more French! But, through sign language, and the fact that everything was going smoothly got us all through it. Mackenzie made her debut screaming not long after. And I might add, that she didn't really stop for 5 months!
She weighed in at about 8 1/2 pounds and about 19 inches. All the measurements were metric, so I didn't memorize them, and only have an approximate conversion. But, she was great, 10 fingers, 10 toes, good color and healthy lungs. We named her Mackenzie Lynn (which really confused the Germans).
By German standards I should have stayed in the hospital 5 days. After 2, I was so stir crazy I begged them to let me go. They thought I was crazy, but they discharged us and home we went. I might add that while Mackenzie does have a German birth certificate, she does not have dual citizenship, it takes a little more that being born there to be German. But, she does have a Consular Report of Birth. How many people can say that?

Rants that won't fit on Facebook

So, I've had some thoughts lately that I tried to post as status updates on Facebook. Somewhere between my iPhone and Facebook, they got lost. Bummer! But these were important rants to me, so after much (a few seconds) of deliberation, I decided to dust off the old blog, get it all out of my system, and post a link on Facebook. Take that status stealing entity in the sky!

Ok, first. This makes me angry:

Let's be clear on this: OBAMA did NOT kill Bin Laden. An American soldier, who Obama just a few weeks ago was debating on whether or not to PAY, did. Obama just happened to be the one in office when our soldiers finally found OBL and took him out. This is NOT an Obama victory, but an AMERICAN victory!!

This is one of those, repost if you agree status's going around on Facebook. Before I start, let me state that I claim no political party. I make no public statements for or against any politician. The following is NOT a political statement, just my own thoughts on being logical. So here goes...
1. Obama is not taking credit for the take down of Bin Laden. At least not that I've heard. Other people (the media) may be giving him the credit, but that does not mean he's taking it. If you assume he is just because you don't like him, that's what I call ignorance.
2.Obama never debated over whether or not to pay our troops. Yes the government shutdown may have DELAYED their pay, but if that were the case, they still would have received any back pay owed.
3.Obama is not the SOLE person responsible for the possibility of the government shutdown. It was MANY people on both sides of the aisle in Congress that were responsible. Obama didn't sign off on the budget because of cuts that were being proposed to evil things such as Planned Parenthood. Ok, so they perform abortions. It isn't illegal so now we must punish the evil organization that provides free and/or low cost health screenings for women? I have used Planned Parenthood for that very reason, and for that I am very glad they exist. I'm also glad that Obama stood his ground on those things he felt strongly on. Whether I agree with those things or not, I admire a person who takes a stand when necessary. So if you dislike Obama because he's a democrat, take a good hard look at the republicans that held up the budget before you point the finger at ONE man. If you don't like him because he's black, wake up and smell the decade.
4.This is where my logical argument comes into place. It makes no sense for you to declare that ONE man shouldn't be taking credit for a collective effort and then try to blame the same ONE man for yet another COLLECTIVE effort.
I'm sorry if I offend any of my friends, that is not my intention, but this kind of thing really gets my goat up. All of this is like people who blamed Bush for 9/11. Just please stop to think before you post.

Now, why I never repost those fun messages we all get about everything under the sun, that 98% won't repost. I'm one of the 98%. Here is why:
1.My religious beliefs are my own. I am always comfortable discussing my beliefs with anyone, but I shy away from unsolicited discussion. I'm not afraid, I'm not embarrassed, I just like living my beliefs in my own way. Its very personal.
2.I vigorously support our military. I was an Army wife for 13 years, so I know 1st hand what are soldiers go through. But, to be cliche, I gave at the office. I like to make my appreciation and gratitude known personally to those I know and meet who serve. Again, its very personal.
3.I know several people battling cancer, and a few who have lost the battle, but I don't see how me reposting something on Facebook is going to make the struggle of cancer anymore well known. We all know it sucks, we all know more needs to be done, so quit reposting and do it is my humble opinion. (Unless of course you are yourself battling cancer, then you've already done your work)
4.My family knows how I feel about them, and fathers, daughters, sons, grandparents, 2nd cousins weeks seem a little silly to me. Especially since it seems that there are about 3 weeks a year each.
5.I work with people with special needs. And actually, acceptance isn't as big, as just wanting to live their like with the same rights as everyone else has. But those people that will actually see the reposts and repost the message aren't the ones that need to hear it. And those that need to hear it, most likely aren't going to no matter what. That's what prejudice is all about.
6.I really really really hate anything that has political undertones. I get enough of that from the media. Facebook is for fun.
And to sum it all up, I guess I just like to be original and post my own ideas.

Again, sorry if I offend. These are my feelings and beliefs and I never under any circumstances expect anyone to believe and feel as I do. But sometimes, I just feel the need to explain myself.