Christmas #2

We decided to have our first Christmas on Christmas Eve. This was a tradition that I had growing up with my immediate family. I worked hard the night before to clean the house, make waffle batter, and get ready for the fun ahead. I did a last minute shopping trip that week to purchase new jammies for us all. We each had blue jammies this year and we got to wear them the night before. Owen's jammies did only last a little while, as he almost always spews his breakfast all over them. "Old Faithful" is my new nickname for him--he can shoot almost 3 feet out... poor guy... Anyway, we had fun opening gifts, and then onto breakfast. Chris made the bacon, I juiced oranges and carrots, and made some yummy blueberry waffles. We enjoyed hot cocoa and each other's company. It seemed like forever since we had been home as a family. Chris ended up taking a class on 2 of his days off so it seems like he hadn't been home in a week. We were so tired but so happy to be together us 3.

Christmas #1

I am going to be a bit behind, and playing catch up here, but I wanted to get a start on our holiday bloggin! Our first shindig was on the 20th at the Aubins home.
MMM! German food: pork roast, saurkrout (?Spelling!!), potato, strawberry, apple verenics, mmmm!! It was so good to get together and enjoy each others company. We enjoyed seeing some old, old home movies of when my dad was a baby! Crazy! They were even in color. Ok, sorry Dad...
Oh just start by cooking the verenics in a CUBE of butter! WOW! Did you take your lipitor today?
Cousin Michael was sooooo excited to meet Owen. We are still taking a lot of precautions with Owen, but Owen had to snuggle with Cousin.
Thank you Nancy for Owen's hat! He wore it proudly! It was such a nice day! I proposed we do it again in the summer!! Thank you for spoiling Owen so much. He is so lucky for such a great family!

Also along with Xmas gifts, Owen decided to give us a lesson in Teething 101! His first tooth has emerged on the bottom! He really only had one horrible, no good, very bad day...Other than that he is back to himself!! His weight is up in the high 13's! Wahoo! Cardiology appointment 1/3, so we will see what is in store...I'm preparing for more wait and see! That is his style! Love and Christmas wishes to you all!

A quick update

Ok it's been a while! Here are some new pics!
The Bakers came up on a blustery day, we just missed the hailstorm on our walk!
Owen pulled his tube out while I was pushing him in the stroller. He ended up eating well for 1 feed without it, until I could get home and replace it with the head holding help from my mom. THANKS mom! Made for some good pics, though!
The tractor and Chris turned the garden wayyy under!!
Mama B loving on Owen!
Annual girls birthday/holiday lunch at Sequoia. MMM.

Just bragging now

Owen was getting changed (which he likes!) and started sucking both thumbs simultaneously. It was too adorable at the ferociousness he was going at it- I yelled to Chris- "Camera on the table, STAT!" and he delivered. Too funny. As most parents know the first time kids do something-yes anything- it is cause for photos, announcements, bragging, and other overreactions at the adorable smile, move, rollover, mess, or noise!
One of my absolute favorite days with Owen. We went to Lotus on a day that seemed to be beautiful. We walked outside, all ready to go, and there were some dreary clouds..The morning had been sunny and warmish... I went back in, grabbed my windbreaker and we went anyway. Running halfway around the track it did start to rain. This was also when Owen snuggled into his fleece and fell asleep. I put on that jacket and kept on it. Owen was dry and warm, so I enjoyed a wonderful run. The drips let up and the fog moved over the hillside. The park was almost all ours. I gathered some leaves and when he woke he loved looking at them. These photos are probably some of my all time favorite!
Curious little guy.

Friends and Family

Owen and I had a speech therapy appointment and got to see Tish and her son Christian. Tish and I worked together at Cafe Bernardo's and have been buds since. That was in 2001, wow how time passes. I remember when Christian was born, visiting them in the hospital, doesn't seem like that long ago. Now she is expecting #3 in February.
Went on an outing to High Hand Nursery in Loomis to celebrate Wynter's 30th birthday!! Couldn't resist the outing, admittedly it was quite a stretch...Driving to Loomis, in the rain, by myself, to a restaurant (which is technically off limits due to germies). But I really felt that the benefit outweighed the risks. It is really good for him to get out on little excursions here and there and interact with other people on a semi-regular basis. Owen was amazing, and slept on the way there, and the way home. I have a flashlight to safely glance back at him when it is dark, because those mirrors don't help if it's dark outside! It was a beautiful night in the nursery, with lights in trees, lanterns hanging, and fire pits. The food was pretty good, and the company was better. Happy Happy birthday Wynt, I hope you had a great one!
Iselin and I met up for a walk on the trail in Folsom. This is one of my favorite things to do when Owen and I are just hanging out at home. We will go for walks/jogs around our house. But getting out and going somewhere else is great. It is getting out, but also not hanging out somewhere where people are coughing or threatening us with their bugs. Can you tell we are a little careful about Owen's exposure? It was a beautiful day, and the boys enjoyed the walk also.
Best bud Evan and Erika and Jeremy hanging out. Erika and I grew our boys together, ha! We would swim together towards the end of our pregnancies.
So blessed to have wonderful family and friends. How many times can I say it? It never wears out for me!

Thanksmas- a new tradition

Aunt Jac and Uncle Colin (when he gets married in, ha!) came over for the first annual thanksmas dinner. We chose a surf and turf theme, had good drinks, games, and of course cuddle time with O.
Yes his bib says "being good is boring" and I think he is the geekiest adorable thing ever in this picture! Aunt Jac gave him this ornate piece of headgear. Look forward to many years of Thanksmas ahead.

Christmas Tree

This is the final product! We supported the Rescue fire station and picked out a beauty. Owen was asleep in the car so we shopped fast! We also did this outing after grocery shopping...Not a lot of room in the truck bed after that. Chris and I had our usual laughs that happen when we are lifting heavy items together. Someone always pushes too fast, someone is always walking backwards, it is always goofy to coordinate!Owen enjoys the lights, and eats in front of the tree daily.
Why is it always so messy?
Why is it always hard to get a straight edge? This photo is documenting Chris cutting off the end with a chain saw, yes the trunk is outside the house, but it was loud and messy! Owen and I did not help in this endeavor. The final product kept falling over, at least 3 times. So Chris has it secured by string and screws. This is nothing new to me, as I grew up with 20+ft tall trees that always had to be secured to the staircase/bannisters with string for safety. It is so funny to hear the words out of Chris's mouth, this year much more positive than the last during this process! Is there a laser pointer cutting edge thing to ensure a straight edge...Even with a straight edge they lean sometimes..

Heart Info/Owen's plan (nothing is ever set in stone with him, though!)

I got this from the Down's heart group, I hope this isn't causing any copyright issues...

I just cut and pasted it. again, the down's heart group website is the source.

Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt (Owen had this on 8/13)

This procedure was developed in the 1940's and is a palliative (temporary) treatment used to improve the blood flow to the lungs in conditions such as Pulmonary Atresia, severe Pulmonary Stenosis, Tricuspid Atresia, and severe Fallot's Tetralogy, until such time as the defect can be repaired.

This is usually a closed heart procedure which is carried out through an incision through the ribcage on the right or left of the child's back. The shunt (a small tube of synthetic material) is attached to one of the sections of the blood vessel to the arm and to the pulmonary artery making a direct connection between the aorta and the lungs (mimicking the ductus arteriosus). This allows more blood to flow to the lungs and improves the oxygen saturation levels (SAT's) relieving severe blueness (cyanosis) that the child may be experiencing. ***Owen's incision was sternal****

A shunt is used for a limited period, usually up to six months, until the child outgrows it and a further shunt is necessary or a full repair is done. The child will need to take an anticoagulant such as aspirin to prevent clots blocking the shunt. ***Owen takes a quarter of a baby aspirin daily, kinda cute if you gotta take it***

Glenn Procedure (Feb/March)

This is another palliative (temporary) treatment used to improve the flow of blood to the lungs in complex conditions where only one ventricle is working properly and not enough blood is getting to the lungs.

It is an open heart procedure usually using the heart lung bypass machine and involves connecting the superior vena cava (which returns unoxygenated blood from the head and upper body to the lungs) to the right pulmonary artery thus taking the blood straight to the lungs for oxygenation without going through the heart. This increases the blood flow to the lungs and decreases the work of the heart. It will not work where there is pulmonary hypertension as the blood has to flow without the force of the heart pumping.

It is sometimes referred to as the Modified or Bi-Directional Glenn Shunt as the procedure performed now is a modified form of the original operation and it now supplies blood to both lungs, hence bi-directional.

The Glenn is usually one in a series of operations, done after the removal of a BT Shunt, or pulmonary artery banding, for example. ***Owen was on the bypass machine for 29minutes with his first surgery.***

The Fontan Procedure (2013-15)

This type of surgery is used for children with complex congenital heart disease where the child cannot have surgery that gives them two pumping chambers and it usually undertaken at two to three years of age. It is designed to direct the blood coming back from the body directly to the lungs, without it being pumped there by the heart. Many patients will previously have had a bidirectional Glenn shunt.

The Fontan is an open heart procedure during which the unoxygenated blood returning from the lower part of the body is diverted directly to the pulmonary (lung) artery without passing through the right ventricle. This may be achieved in several different ways all of which connect the inferior vena cava directly to the lung artery, allowing the de-oxygenated blood flow to the lungs while the ventricle pumps the oxygenated blood to the body. The procedure relies on blood flowing to the lungs without the benefit of a pump so it is not suitable for patients with pulmonary hypertension (high lung artery pressure).

Ok this was a minor miracle that I was able to complete these blog postings with Owens supervision. He is now pinching my elbow with some crazy baby man strength so it is time for us to go play!!!

A Plan?

Okay I am typing with a post-feed baby who is still in the vomit zone (versus the vomit free zone, namely 30 minutes after the end of a feed). He is allowing me to type with both hands at this current moment, so we will see how long that lasts! Type faster, type faster!

Cardiology appointment on 12/2... Sats in the low 80's, weight up to 12# 13 ounces, echo/EKG looking okee dokee... Chris can explain everything so much better, but here is the plan?

1. Lasix only twice daily for a bit! Yay! No adult pees in the middle of the day!

2. Follow in a few weeks as well as January to check sats.

3. Cardiac cath

4. Fix anomalous veins as able

5. Glenn Procedure.

3-5 Will occur in Feb/March depending on how Dec/Jan sats and check ups go...You know, this kid is a wait and see type of dude!!

I will post a little about Glenn procedure as able!

Guess what? I have 2 mommas for feeding therapy and friendship! Their little boys have issues feeding and other chronic problems (which is not good) but soo amazing that we are connected! (which is good!)

One of them being a momma from Ron's house ( have I blogged this!??) and the other one is Paxton's momma, who also has Ebstein's. Remember previous blogs about him?? Testing your comprehension now, ha!!

So, Still enjoying every last second at home and yes dreading going back...Admittedly will be harder than the first time, none of us knew any different. Now we have routines, bonds, smiles, and Owen doesn't sleep for 90% of the day!!

Wow he is just enthralled staring at the screen..I will try to look up glenn procedure and then post something about that if my techie (lack of techie) skills allow!

Power out...

As you know, there have been a series of cold winter storms blowing through here. Last winter we lost power 4 times, and used the generator each time to keep the fridge going, and cook a little. The generator also can fuel our propane fireplace. I woke up the other morning (on a calm, cold, and sunnier day) to a cold house. I turned the heat up, put Owen in his chair, and sat down to pump. My pump didn't come on...and I realized it was quiet.... no heat on in the house...Yes, the power went out... I called PG and E and reported it, guess it had been out for an hour. Our house was down to 65 degrees... Stalled a little, wrapped O in a warm blankie, and then woke Chris up to set up the generator. He needed a little help so I went out for 2 seconds to the garage, and when I came back in, Owen had pulled his tube out.. and part of his cheek...he was bleeding a bit. It was the same tube he had had in since Halloween, so it actually was due for a switch. So once the fireplace was on, Chris and I decided to replace it. His poor cheek has been soo irritated from the glue and the patch, you know how sensitive babies skin is. We wanted to give him a break but his meds were due so we replaced the tube on the other side.Jamie and her sister Nicola stopped by on their way to Apple Hill. They brought friends for Blue, Lucca and Bunk to play.
A no tube-pic! Too bad they are all with one red cheek..It is his trademark! He is rolling over now, from his stomach to his back. It is pretty neat to see him moving around better! Look at that little smirk!

Very belated THANK YOU!!!

I have been wanting to blog this forever but just haven't gotten my act together. When we were in the hospital, a group from Chris's work wanted to do a race in Owen's honor and named their team team Owen Britton!! We were just getting settled when they did the walk/run in September, but hopefully next year we can all join in!! A special thanks to Roy and Julie who organized the team, and the team members listed on the website: Roy, Julie, Deborah, Cathy, Linda, Coleen, Susan, Stacey, Barbara, and James. Together $710 has been raised for the American Heart Association in Owen's name!! If you don't know what to get someone for Christmas, this is a great idea. Thank you so much!

Thankful!

This year Wynt hosted a gathering. Chris was working but Owen and I ventured out. Owen (and I!!) had been having a rough week or two..not much sleeping going on, and Owen decided that he didn't want to breastfeed or take a bottle very well or consistently... This poses a challenge every feed, for prep: prep breastmilk in bottle,prep fortified stuff for tube, weigh Owen, attempt breastfeeding, if he doesn't want any, wait or try bottle. Then hook him up to his pump, then pump myself...and without sleep or regular walks outside (due to cold/rain) I wasn't doing well myself!

But it always gets better!! WE have soooo much to be thankful for in our lives...Most importantly: good insurance and good medicine! These two things enable us to be home with Owen, growing him here, and loving him no matter what the challenges are. We are so blessed with our little boy, and we wouldn't have him any other way!! Here O is with Aunt Wynter.
With Papa Schlitz.
Elise, Lily, and Ava playing on someone's Iphone.
The ADORABLE place settings that Wynt and the girls made! We took Uncle Chris's home and plan to use them every year for decorations.
Yummy turkey and spread! Although it was ironically a harder day for Owen and I, the exhaustion is improved when family is around, after a few nights of a few more hours of sleep, and when he flashes that little smirk my way!

Thankful for all of our support that revolves around baby O. We are sooo blessed!!

Warning: nudity!

Hi all, if you know us or have followed the blog closely you would know that bathtimes have historically not been enjoyable for Owen. He has near passed out twice back in the sponge bath days. Thankfully those are OVER! He projectile vomited 3 times all over me and him tonight. Thank goodness for soap and water (although I admit I never feel clean for very long...) He sat in his little bumbo chair and watched me shower, and then I bathed him in the sink. He enjoyed it as you can see.The little man is likely at 12 pounds. Our morning weigh in did not occur this am, but he was very close yesterday. He got another vaccine on tuesday at his 4mo appt, and he hasn't been sleeping well since. His Pediatrician said he looks very good, of course just small for his age, about 5th%tile! His poor sleeping could just be coincidence...Guess we were spoiled with him being such a good sleeper because man I feel like I am losing it without sleep. I try to sleep when the baby sleeps but he is a cat napper and then we feed him thru the night so I am listening for gagging/the pump. Geez I am thankful I am not working this week. I can't add 2+2 or even finish sentences correctly. Chris slept out on the couch last night for some "quality" sleep, since he does have to function in the world and does need to add 2+2 correctly.

Not much new here, procrastinating mopping the kitchen floor right now when really all I want to do is sleep. Owen's next feed is going to start in a bit so hard to go to sleep, wake up, go back, etc, you get it... Never had a problem going back to sleep, but it has been hard with that mother's ear listening for O.

Tomorrow I am hosting the mom and babies group here. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

Just thought I would blog but should get to mopping our beautiful '77 linoleum.

One woman band (when chris is at work:)

Just have to laugh at myself-I felt like a music artist today-bouncing Owen in his chair with my foot, whilst breastpumping, whilst on hold, also whilst on the net?! Brings a whole new level to multi-tasking that I am sure most parents can understand. Im holding him right now if there r any typos! Today started like what seemed like groundhog day with O gagging and vomiting...BUT he has had an awesome day breastfeeding! 5-5-7-7-6-3minutes!! (that's prior to each feed!) wahhoooo! Also he has figured out how to pop his paci back into his mouth. K maybe it's not that smooth but its pretty cute. the other news on him is that we have to re-tape his face daily! He also pulled his tube out a few inches today but i caught him in the act and pushed it back in. ok must go back to play my crazy song!!!

Family Beach Pics

The last day at the beach was actually the best weather. So we had to make it down there to get some pics. O went with me the day before in the sprinkles but it was just so beautiful the last day.Of course O threw up all over his cute overall outfit so he was forced to wear random items of clothing. He must take after me!

Want to go back now!

Bodega Bay 2010

Well we made it! We voted for a later date for our annual family trip to Bodega this year, anticipating some hardships with Owen. We did it! Unfortunately Uncle Brian and Austin couldn't make it as Austin had a cold, but we appreciated Austie keeping his germs away from O. This was our favorite and nicest house that we stayed in. The views were so great that you felt like you were on the beach while indoors.Grammy and Owen having some cuddly time.
We ventured out to the beach in the rain. Owen was more prepared than all of us with his cute windbreaker!
Another trek to the beach with the womens.
Elise was looking thru the telescope and stating "I'm on a mission." (yes it is the wrong end!) Her shirt said Glamour Kitty and she enjoyed acting like a kitten the whole weekend.
Relaxing on the couch. Julian was quite the babysitter.
We enjoyed lots of good food, exercise, movies, games, laughs, and stories. The time went by fast. It was so nice to let go a little of our routine and just be a little! I didn't write down any of Owen's feeds, or calculate anything, which felt really nice. We tried one week of bottle feeding pre-ng feed (vs breastfeeding) and his weight is the same. Guess we will go back to hit or miss breastfeeding. It is fine with me, I just wish something would be hit instead of miss:(

Otherwise he is just the happiest little guy. He is sleeping so well and we have adjusted his diuretic so that he wakes up (from his pee:( ) around 2. That way I get a few hours before he wakes. He also has weaned himself off of 2 night feeds, so we are increasing the volume thru the day to make up for that. Can't say it bothers me tho!!

Have connected with another mom from Ron's house. Her baby is having similar feeding issues, which is unfortunate. She is such a good support person for me though and I am so glad to have her in my world!

Go Giants!

Chris was very very excited to watch the world series final game with Owen. Papa rich supplied Owen's onesie way before we knew the Giants would make it to the series!

Halloween

Quick posting (as usual!) while Owen is getting his feed and asleep!

We had a great Halloween. It was such a beautiful day outside and Owen was soo happy even though I dressed him up multiple times... We did what we had hoped to..Make caramel corn and take lots of pictures. Somewhere in between, Owen pulled out his ng tube! At least it wasn't me this time!! Jac and I were in the kitchen making caramel corn, O was in his swing, and I look over and see his new move of him grabbing his paci. But I looked over and there was no patch on his cheek! I made a leaping bound over the bench that was in the way (only way to keep Blue out of the kitchen..ARG!), and pushed HOLD on the feeding pump, STOP on the swing, and tried to PUSH the tube back in. After one push and lots of resistance, I realized all but an inch was in his nose... He was over halfway thru with his feed so we let his tummy settle and actually got to play with him with his tube out!

It was so much fun to not have to be careful with him. I mean- I think you can know what I mean. I am careful with him anyway but he has always had tubes of some sort coming out of him so it was sooo much fun to nuzzle both cheeks!!
One of his favorite spots is on his fur (Thanks Jay!) on his changing table with his snuggle blanket (thanks Shannon!).
Our little sweet pea!
Pre-tube removal. The adults enjoyed white wine with a tootsie pop in it (yum! the sweetness around the pop leaches out into the wine). I called it a tootsie-tini! Jac showed me some of her pics from her recent Haiti trip, and we enjoyed caramel corn...
Can you believe a dietitian would give her 3 month old this much candy??? Some parents...

So Jac helped hold Owen's head steady and the first try of re-inserting the tube I thought went well. Until I noticed it was all coiled in his mouth!! The second try we got it in the right spot! Chris texted me that "we will make a nurse out of you yet!" I have thought about it for sure, and if everyone in the world wasn't going back to school right now I may consider it someday again.

Our meeting with the Lactation consultant went pretty well. Of course Owen was exhausted and didn't breastfeed or take a bottle for her...It was a major trip to get him in the car, feeding, and driving down to Arden. The alarm on the pump was going off for 20 minutes even 2 seconds but it isn't so easy to pull over on the side of 50-or safe. We came up with a plan to trial bottle feeding of my milk because our overall feeding goal is to get the tube OUT! This way we can measure more accurately how he is eating.

The first bottle Owen took 110mls (almost 4 ounces!!) We were astonished- he had never taken this much by mouth! I was hoping and praying that the Moose was back! But, Owen is consistent with his inconsistencies and the subsequent bottles he took 75mls, 30mls, 10mls, none, none, 30mls, 35mls, none.... I am calling the consultant back to see what her ideas are...I know many parents trial multiple nipples but we used the same one that he did so well on and he just didn't want it. So now feeding is taking upwards of 1.5hours because if he is rejecting the bottle I wait 15minutes and then try again...then wait another and try again... Then feed him via tube whatever he doesn't take... The plan is to try this for a week but man, I need a dose of patience if this is the way it's going to be....

Anyway, house update- deer ate my chard despite Chris's attempts to keep them out.. :( The garlic is coming up so have to figure out how to keep them out of that...

Pat the rooster is picking on 2 of our hens so we need to find other homes for them or have someone come out and take care of them....Not what we want to do but Pat is beating them up:(

Blue is in love with Owen and is protective in a very sweet way.

Chris is working his usual scheg and trying to schedule some Dad away time. I think he is going to the movies next week to see scary movies that I would never want to see!!

I'm doing the usual-exercising, sewing in my spare time, ha! and the household chores that you all know and love. I'm extending the clothesline time due to the warmer weather the last few days!

FYI Baby Paxton is home now and it appears that his surgery was a complete success. Although we hope Owen's ebsteins is never as serious as Paxton's, it is good to know that the cone procedure is an effective way to re-construct the tricuspid valve.

Happy November, extra hour of sleep this weekend, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURT!!

Fun day for Momma

I couldn't get these pics in the right order, and for lack of time I am keeping them this way!In the evening I went to my momma's group halloween party. This was an elaborate get together with cocktails, mocktails, halloween history, a raffle, good eats, and even a craft! I should have taken a picture of the invite, but it was on burned paper, bound with sticks like a scroll, sealed with red wax and a skull! It was awesome and I am stoked to be a part of this group! Thank you Joanne for all of your hard work!
Stefanie and I sporting our Halloween/Fall headband craft.
Janet and Owen. Owen kept falling asleep on her--he must have known her history with her triplets.

Well yesterday was a big and very fun day for me! Sheila, Karen, Linda and Janet (Some of the RD's from Mercy) came over to meet Owen and see me! They brought homemade lunch fare- Bobby Flay potato salad, asian lettuce wraps, Dilly bread, and ginger cake. It was so great to see them-it had been since June!! Owen greeted the ladies with a projectile vomit- soiling his overalls. Oh well, that's what laundry is for! We walked down to the ruins of the garden, gathered eggs, and even took Blue with us. It was nice to have so many extra hands to do what I normally do by myself! It was a perfect blustery fall day but the rain stopped for our garden expedition. Jamie also came over with her baby Bunk (dog), soo good to see you too Jame! Miss you much lady! Thank you all so much for coming over--and the food---dilly bread is GONE! I ate it through the night while pumping... 500 extra calories a day for breastfeeding, right?!

Halloween plans--make carmel corn, go for a walk, and dress Owen up in multiple costumes. Of course take many many pictures! Chris is working so that he can have next weekend off and I am having Jac over. Plan to carve pumpkins tomorrow with Chris.

Owen is up to 11# 7 ounces today! Yay! He had a few days where he just was staying the same so we changed it up a bit and he's gaining well. Only appointment for next week is with a lactation consultant. I'm trying to figure out what is best for little man- should we change over to bottles and see if that is easier for him? Who knows, I sometimes wish he could talk to tell us what he wants! We will see if they have more tips for us, it will be our first trip to Sacramento alone...

Last few Harvests

Well I made one of the last few harvests yesterday. Good thing I did because it frosted last night and when O and I went down to collect eggs the zucchini plants and basil had froze!I even made a plea on facebook to have someone, anyone come pick Romas and take them the heck away. No takers, so I made another 6 jars of tomato sauce. When Tracy was here the other day she gave me the idea of clipping some of our cornstalks for decoration--that was the only thing that they were good for.

Here is our total harvest breakdown (still counting eggs, and zucchinis...there are so many flowers still I am hopeful if it doesn't keep freezing we may get a few more babies!)

I used tally marks if some of the numbers are silly!

Heads of Lettuce- 40

Cilantro bunches- 6

Fingerling, Blue, and russet potatoes- 40# total

Kale bunches- 45

Peas- 75pods

Turnips- 7

Plums- 25

Cherries- 4 cups

Tomatillos-95

Zucchini-130

Basil- 60 bunches

Green beans- 4#

Beets-8

Roma tomatoes- 695 (ohmigosh!)

Leeks-5

Lemon cucumbers- 25

Soybeans- 1#

Peaches- 1#

Fennel- 2

Eggs- 124 eggs to date

Total garden investment (besides time, ha!)

Chickens- 10$

Feed-60$ (so far)

Feeders/waterer- 30$

Drip system- 100$

Seeds and Potatoes- 40$

TOTAL- 200$

(does not include energy or water costs for greenhouse/drip)

We did only notice a small increase in each bill, under 5$

Also, if you count the cost savings of driving to the store, that is priceless if you have been to our home you know it takes a bit to get to the store!

On one of my "night's off" I went to the gym and then to Raley's where we usually purchase produce. I obtained many prices of our foods. Adding up all of those prices for the quantities that we produced the grand total came to around 700$. This included organic eggs @ 3.99/dozen which we used to purchase. So, after expenses, our garden essentially saved us 500$ from April-October.

I was in a CSA (community supported agriculture) at Mercy and received a veggie/fruit box for 40$ every 2 weeks. This was a great service and I felt that I got quality organic produce for 80$/month. It is also comparable to growing your own (80$/month for 7 months= 560$).

BUT we weren't necessarily doing this to save $. This large garden was something that Chris and I spent our time together working on, learning on, reading many books, watering, weeding, hoeing, planting, loving, and harvesting together, mostly during my pregnancy. It was something that we didn't know that we both had a passion for, that we discovered together. Crazy after 11 years we didn't know something that we had in common deep down- the love for the earth, creating life and nourishing it with love! Oh, I guess I crossed over to Owen talk:) It all goes together.

-Chels

Owen loves his hands, Mommy, and Daddy

Owen and I were playing around with the camera on the computer. He loves getting kisses and smiles sooo big it melts my heart! He got the RSV antibody booster yesterday which he will get once a month through the winter/spring. His weight check today was 11# 4 ounces. He is hanging between the 5-10th%tile despite all of our interventions. That is just the way it is! He is soo happy and loves to do errands with mom. He eats his hands at any opportunity available, loves to go on bumpy country road stroller rides, and has attempted rolling over without success so far! He even slept for a stretch of 6 hours the other night! I was awake waiting for him to wake up...Something is silly there:)

We are loving having a baby! It is probably the biggest adjustment of our lives so far (and probably ever!) but it is the best thing ever!

-Chelsea