Time

This was my belly exactly a year ago.  On 12/30/2010 I was on the phone with the dr and we were scheduling a c-section for the next morning.  I won't go into all the details but Mr. Easton was fine but just a little too big for me to deliver naturally.

This is big sister Cara holding her little brother for the first time.  She's been such a good big sister and Easton loves her. 

Look at those little feet!  Easton was born at 9:39 am on December 31st, 2010.  He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces.  When he was born he had blisters on both of his hands from him sucking on them.  He was a hungry boy!

After a few days in the hospital we were finally able to bring him home.  Due to some complications I had to go back and be re-admitted and stayed another week.  Luckily I was able to get back home and take care of my new son and family.  This last year has been wonderful and busy! I can't believe my little guy is growing up so soon.  Tomorrow he will be one and he will always be my baby

$Tire Talk$

This is a flat tire.  Flat tire = not good.  Since we live out in the country I travel on about 5 miles of dirt/rock road.  I've had about 6 of these in the last 4 months which has resulted in 3 new tires.  Luckily this one was able to be patched.

There must be a special kind of physics involved when you live out in the country.  My last vehicle was a Honda Accord.  I never had a flat tire on that car.  I had a couple nails which led to some low tires but never a flat.  I also drove faster than I should have in that car on these roads.  Now I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  It must have something to do with the weight of the vehicle.  It doesn't matter how fast or slow I drive I still get flats.  It also doesn't help that one of the county guys likes to grate the road all of the time and it makes all of the big flint rock come up.  I've had to control my need to give him the universal sign for "hello" when I drive past him.

At least I work at a car dealership and I have a tire warranty.  The tire warranty covers any repairs and/or new tires if needed.  Sweet!  I just wish they would carry my type of tire in stock all of the time instead of taking a day to get one. 

Furry and Feathered Friends

Today I'm going to talk animals.  We don't just have the normal, boring deer.  We have armadillos, raccoons, possums, skunks,bobcats and the occassional woodchuck.  I know, I know.  How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?  Well, I haven't been able to ask him yet but I sure have a lot of wood for him to practice on. 

My favorite though is the coyote.  I find them so mysterious and beautiful.  I love listening to them and I always wonder that their calls mean.  We have a lot of them out here and sometimes when they start howling it sounds like they are all around from every direction.  I've seen quite a few of them and I just want to pet them. 

Of course we have domestic animals.  We have 2 dogs named Chisum and Katie.  Chisum is a labrador and Katie is a puggle (pug/beagle mix.)  Chisum is a great dog besides the occassional nap on the couch.  Katie thinks she rules the house.  I have never seen so much personality in a dog.  We did have some cats but they can't seem to last out here. 

We also have barn owls along with several other types of birds.  I love the look of the barn owl but it did take some time to realize what kind they were.  They would sit outside our bedroom window at night and "screech."  It's an eerie screech that makes you not want to go outside.  But it's annoying enough at night when you're trying to sleep that you want to throw something at them.  By the way, it's illegal to shoot an owl. 

If I happen to see any other animals like an el chupacabra or a wild dingo I'll be sure to let you know!

The Little Rock House...in Rock

We moved out here almost 2 years ago and life has never been the same.  I lived out in the country when I was little and loved it but got used to the city life after the age of 10 when my parents built a house in town.  I never thought I would live in the middle of no where again.  But, I do and I love it. 

I have discovered a few things about living out in the country and about myself.  I have found out that you have to have gloves, and a lot of them.  Not just for cold weather but for things you would never imagine.  I have gloves for yard work, gloves for moving frozen things around in our many freezers, gloves for construction work and gloves for dead animals.  Yes, dead animals.  We used to have a dog that would find any dead animal within a 2 mile radius and bring it home to chew on in the middle of the yard.  We would take it from him and hide it only for him to find it again.  Ew. 

I have also found out that I am a closet pyro.  I love burning trash.  I know it's not great for the environment but neither is a landfill.  I love spraying lighter fluid over the trash in the barrels, striking the match and hearing the "whoosh" when you throw it in.  I love spraying more lighter fluid over a flame that is already hot and consuming the trash and watching the flames rise up.  Sometimes the smell of certain things burning is not the best smell in the world but you get over it.  There's also that sense of accomplishment after the trash is burned and the trash cans are empty.  I know, I'm sick.

These are just a few things about my new country life.  There are way more so keep checking in!