Endless Trenches

Dave rented a trencher rather then pay Comcast thousands of dollars to dig a long trench from the road to our house. Since he had it on hand that weekend, he dug a trench from the house to the barn to install new electric lines for the barn. Our barn's electric configuration was so poorly designed, every time it rained, the barnshorted out and blew fuses.

While digging that trench, he severed an electric line to the utility pole so he dug another trench from the barn trench to the utility pole. I went out and bought him the electric cable he needed and that Sunday (this was the last Sunday before the baby was born) we worked in the dark, refilling the trench with dirt. Then comcast showed up Saturday and said we needed yet ANOTHER trench from the utility pole to the house (the one we'd JUST filled in!) so Dave dug it up, laid conduit and we now sit waiting for Comcast to come back and FINALLY hook up our house to the internets!

Here's Dan and Dave working the trencher:


Our 2 month saga with Comcast will (supposedly) come to an end tomorrow when they show up, lay the cable in our newly unearthed trench and hook it up inside. I am not holding my breath though.

Dave works his butt off but has a really cute baby to unwind with:


Moose is not taking the new baby news so well. He's not interested in me or the baby, save for a few licks to the face. He's only known me as a pregnant lady so I wonder if he is unsure what happened to me now that I don't have a giant belly. He's not bothered by crying but he chooses to just stay the heck out of the way. On our very first day home I plopped down in the glider and he laid under me, unsure of what to make of our long absence and this new smelly thing we brought home with us.

the longest 2 days of my life were worth every second

Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment at 11am and as I sat in the waiting room, I felt my very first painful contraction. I told the doctor how I'd felt the baby moving around less and of course that bought me a one way ticket to a room where a machine was hooked up to my belly to monitor things. The contractions were causing the baby's heart rate to drop so I was told it was time to get the baby out.

I was given a drug at 3pm that would start moving things along and boy did it! I was walking around with tolerable contractions by midnight. At 3am, they stopped those drugs and started me on pitocin, the famous wonder drug that supposedly throws you into full blown labor. Well - it does.

From 3am-7:30am I endured the worst pain of my life in 30 second increments. I broke down at 7am and asked for an epidural. From 7:30am until 9pm, I made some progress in labor but I stalled out at 7cm. I also developed a fever of 102. At 9pm the doctor said if I developed another fever, they couldn't risk my health and I'd have to get a C section right away. As luck would have it, I got another fever at about 10pm and I knew what was coming next.

At 10:30, I was wheeled into a bright room with lots of masked people racing around and by 11:07 pm, with Dave by my side in a sterile outfit, I heard two things:

1. baby cries
2. Dave saying "It's a boy"

I may look calm in this photo that Dave took of me as we both sat waiting for me to be cut open, but I think this might be the most terrified I've ever been in my life. I'm a good actor I guess.



Right after I was sewn up and little Clark was handed to us, the doctor took our camera and shot our first family photo.



Our little man earns the last photo on the blog today, simply by being so darn cute.

A Giant Hole, Bathroom, Canoe and a Blow to the Head

When we had the bush hog guy come mow down half our property, I heard him yell "There's a hole over here big enough for a body!" Not sure why that's where his mind went but once I saw the hole I realized he was right. It's the size of a grave. So Dan brought over some dirt from his garden that he needed to get rid of and he and Dave tossed it in the hole. He had an entire truck bed full of dirt, and it still didn't come close to filling it up.



Dave filled in cracks in our chimney (I think he just likes climbing around on the roof). Our next project is to hire someone to sweep the inside of it so we can use it this winter.


Our contractors dug out the old fence post at our entrance for us and Dave attempted to break up the cement in order to get it down to a manageable size so he can haul it away. Unfortunately, a large piece flew up and cracked him in the head, requiring 3 stitches. Here's the way the post has been left since that day:


He poured a ton of concrete and set the new post and put up new fence with the help of his dad. The fence now holds back Mooses. Or is it Moosii? Whatever, we only have one so it's a moot point.



The entrance to our property is now totally cleared of weeds and brush, thanks to Dave and his trusty chainsaw. I helped him load up the trailer several times, until I got tired and walked back to the house to sleep. Doesn't take much to wear me out these days.



The tree on the right hand side of that photo above is pretty much dead, though it still has leaves, so go figure. Someone clearly tried to cut it down at one point and quit. Check it out:


We took a canoe trip own the White River this weekend using Dave's grandfather's old canoe. We first had to buy a roof rack for my car:


One thing that makes me laugh about the canoe is the water skiing girl decal on the front of the canoe. Water skiing. On a canoe. What the heck? I still love the decal though.


The river was very low because we've had very little rain. Dave had to get out and push us over a rock a few times. But all in all it was a nice ride. We saw lots of cranes and a couple deer families. Photos from our trip:



Just watching him lift the canoe all by himself makes my back hurt. But he swore it's not that heavy. I did help carry it down to the river and I can tell you it's HEAVY!


Lastly, our master bathroom is finally totally done! To remind you, here is BEFORE:





And now...some "in progress" photos



And now AFTER





Ending on a Moose note, here's just a nice distinguished photo of our handsome boy. He's gained some weight lately so he's now on a diet again (fatty). He and I had a "moment" today after he got a thorn in his paw and I had to wrestle our 90 pound dog to the ground to get it out.

The ticking sound is getting louder

As of today, I'm 12 days away from my due date. I find myself savoring every single day I have left. Dave is frantically working on projects that he knows he'll have less time for very very soon. The addition steadily going up - more on that next week.

We went for a 2 mile hike along the White River on Sunday. The tress are just starting to turn. Moose enjoyed the walk but was happier to run.



Dave let him go in the river a bit but we didn't think he'd try to lay down and roll in it. Nothing like the smell of wet dog.



This picture still startles me. You think I'd be used to how giant my belly is by now but the side view is still surprising.



It rained recently so the river actually has water in it again! We plan to canoe down it as soon as the roof canoe rack comes in this week. (and yes I asked my doctor, I'm allowed!!) Though I'm a little nervous to take my camera with in case it falls in - at the same time I have a hard time leaving it behind.

My cousins came to visit with their little ones this weekend. Dave got a nice taste of how much work babies are. I'm sure it helped that I kept forcing him to hold the littlest one (who spit up on his leg - haha).



My mom and sister also visited this week. My mom sewed a little seat cushion for the little kid rocking chair we have while my sister tested out Moose's pillowness.