A bit of my Uncle Kenny...but this is it I promise

Okay, in our family Uncle Kenny or now Uncle Kennedy according to Camryn, has been the lone liberal. They guy who actually voted for Nader! That was after we all thought that Florida went to Gore..but I digress. Somewhere along the lines my mother failed (succeeded in my opinion) to create Reaganites. Amazingly it was her own doing, she wanted us to think for ourselves and ask intelligent questions. As a result at least 2 out of the 3 of us girls voted for Obama...possibly all 3 did.

Caveat: This is not intended to be a political blog where I complain about one party or the other. In fact, I will not even do that in this post which seems to be heading that way. I just wanted to let you know where I stand. So here is my issue and I hope I am not the only person in the entire United States that is appalled.

Lately I have been watching a lot of TV. I have watched most of the debates and feel somewhat up on the issues. For someone who never voted without a Bush or Clinton on the presidential ticket this is a big election. Heck, for most of my life...minus about 4 years, a Bush or Clinton has been in the White House. Leaf and I discuss what is going on and follow the news coverage pretty regularly. I watch all the channels not just the liberal or the conservative ones. Lately though I have gotten uneasy about what is being covered and said by the news casters and some candidates. There have been some lines crossed lately that are dirty and expose the underbelly of America.

We all claim (or at least in public) to be open minded, accepting, and appreciative of people unlike ourselves. Like the affects of to much alcohol...when politicians are threatened the truth comes out. Within 24 hours of telling America she was honored to be running with Barack Obama the next day Ms. Clinton was screaming "shame on you Barack Obama." Why? The polls showed she was down. Then mysteriously pictures of Obama show up on the news wire of him in traditional Muslim clothing...mmm. Whoever sent those was trying to prey on our prejudices. How many politicians travel to the middle east and wear traditional clothing. Bill Clinton wore a kippah in Israel, Madeline Albright covered herself in Saudi Arabia, and the list goes on. Did Bill become a member of the Tribe? NO. So what is going on?

I will commend Obama and McCain for showing some dignity in the last few days. Obama accepted that when Clinton said she did not know who released the pictures that she was telling the truth. Obama could have gotten dirty about it and accused Clinton's "people" of doing it. A lesson in civility Clinton should pay attention to. Clinton, of late, has resorted to accusing Obama of taking pages from "Carl Rove's playbook." Who is playing dirty here and why?

As for McCain...I detest his political beliefs but he is a pretty stand up guy. When he heard that a man introducing him was attempting to play on peoples prejudices by constantly saying Barack Hussein Obama...he apologized. For a politician, a conservative, pro-war politician this was big. The worst part is today McCain is taking hits from his fellow conservatives for apologizing...they see nothing wrong with what was said.

This incident, for me is exactly why I am so upset. For a long time, people in this country have fought for equity. Racism was supposed to be a thing of the past by now. I am just as guilty as the next guy for laughing at an off color joke or complaining about Asian drivers (if you ever drove with Alex...British should be added to the list too) but I cannot remember a time when this ugliness has been so in your face as now. Who are we as a nation if we are going to let some scumbag prey on the fact that Americans associate the name Hussein with terror? Just because Barack Obama has relatives that are Muslim does not make him a bad man....or Muslim himself. What is really being said by the scumbags who make the claims that Obama is part of a secret plan to take over America and convert us or who remind of us of his Muslim roots is that all Muslims are terrorist.

Americans are ignorant about world politics and religion. Most of the worlds Muslims are peaceful, god loving (same god as yours and mine), and well educated. There are extremist in every religion known to man. John the baptist was a pretty radical guy for his time. Martin Luther had a death wish...today most Americans look at them kindly but what did their contemporaries think? Looking back at religious history, no religion is unblemished. The Crusades decimated entire populations, the Moors too...all in the name of religion. Time causes us to forget the atrocities of our past.

So before we let our emotions be played we need to step back and look at what is being said and why. Really what we need to focus on is the economy, health care, education, and who is the best person to help us reach our goals. Obviously, we will never erase hatred and racism...it is as American as apple pie but I do not want to see a world where people are persecuted for their religion or ethnicity any longer. It has gone on to long. There is not much any of us civilized beings can do but pray that people will change, hope that it miraculously stops, and try to make sure that in our small little part of the world there is not place for all this ugliness.

Knocking on the wrong door

A few months ago I noticed this strange sensation in my intestinal area. As time has gone on I realized that is the baby kicking me in the a@#. Not the most pleasant of feelings but something that was not everyday.

Fast forward to this week. I started getting this funny feeling when I sat down. At first I tried to lay down to avoid it but there are just times when you need to sit. I decided it was time to consult Leaf...He is a trained medical professional. Finally, all the years of school are paying off for me....he has been very useful lately.

So I started out with some simple questions...like what are hemorrhoids? How do you know you have them? Stuff like that. Then I though maybe he should look to see if I have them. As soon as the words left my mouth...I changed my mind. From the look on his face we were crossing into one of those areas where no relationship should go. I quickly envisioned having to look into his most private of areas and decided...I will take some pre-emptive actions and never ask him a question like that again. What was I thinking?

So I bought those wipe things, some prunes, and realized I do not have hemorrhoids.....just fear of them. I know they will come thanks to my sister spilling the beans. At least I am now well prepared...and regular (prunes are an amazing fruit).

I am free

I saw the doctor today and she took me off bed rest. So tomorrow I have an 8 am tee time followed by my usual 2 mile walk....Just kidding. I am really of bed rest though.

Thank goodness since Leaf made me ride to work with him today and then spend the entire day in the lunch room until my appointment. He did not want me to drive. I am free to drive, clean, walk, ALL in moderation. So if I feel okay I make the call.

I did contemplate not telling Leaf because then maybe I could squeeze a few more chores out of him. Maybe a good back rub or some sympathy. So it was good while it lasted but back to normalcy.

With the exception of the "sugar" this has been a pretty uneventful deal for me. I know I complained that I wanted this over last week but for now I am happy waiting it out. I just want a healthy baby....oh and may she be as cute as my nieces.

Oh and a message to my cousins...Our last name is Sexton. NO matter what we name the baby her name can be made fun of. I will just have to teach her how to do the death stare I use on my students.

My unexpected vacation

Well I spent a Friday and Saturday in the maternity ward at UC Davis. It was a nice dry run to see how things will be in a few weekss. The nurses were great and the food was not so bad.

My trip started out as routine monitoring for about an hour to check the babies movements. While I was hooked up to the monitor someone noticed I was having contractions and that they were pretty regular. I had no clue what a contraction felt like and once they told me I was having them I realized I have been having them for a while. So there was my ticket to stay.

One draw back to be treated at a teaching hospital is that every time you see a doctor there are med students there. That means double the exams! Lots of dumb questions...and not always the best bedside manner. One guy asked me where my placenta was....I said inside of me. How the hell am I supposed to know. Instead of asking if we had any other sexual partners he blurted out "one of the causes of this can be sexually transmitted diesease, we should test you for that." Leaf and I just looked at each other and said that is not an issue. One day the kid will be a real doctor and maybe by then he will learn some bedside manners.

Once I was admitted I stablized pretty quick, the contractions stopped, and I rested. It gave me plenty of time to realize that I needed to slow down. Golfing was probably not a good idea...which I did the day before I was admitted. Now I am on bed rest for atleast the next 10 days. That would put me at 34 weeks and then I can move about a bit more. Whatever I can do to keep this kid inside me I will.

The good that came out of the hospital stay is that the baby is doind great. She is 4 lbs 9 oz. She moves a lot and is very healthy. She seems content staying put.

I will keep this updated when I can. My next appointment is Friday.

Why Peanut might be an only child

Next time someone asks if I want to donate to the Diabetes Foundation the answer is YES. God willing I will not have to prick myself anymore once the baby is born. I am also going to remember this next time Leaf says he wants more children. I have not even gone through labor and if there is any question in the future as to who gets "fixed." He is having the vasectomy!

To say I am not a fan of being pregnant at this point is an understatement. I have a special diet...which honestly is not very unlike what I was eating prepregnancy with the exception of carbs at every meal. I cannot golf very well anymore BUT I am leaving in a few minutes to try. AND I have to prick my finger every few hours. The worse part is I am horrible at it and seem to mess up the tests and have to prick myself 3 times just to get one reading. At least I do not have to give myself injections. I will spare everyone the pictures.

So next time the checker asks if I want to donate to some diabetes foundation I am doing it. Karma can't hurt.

Vegas...Again

Okay so one last wild weekend in Vegas sounded good a few months ago. The reality was it was not so wild. Originally my sisters, mom, and I planned this trip back in July as a girls weekend. At the time I did not realize I was pregnant, Dee was not moving to England, and Darlene's gallbladder had not yet decided it needed to come out.

Needless to say, my mom and I made the trip. Luckily for me my mom was sick and she has short legs so I could keep up with her. My mom enjoyed getting free things because of me and using me as an excuse. First, there was the cabbie. He was a jerk. My mom actually apologized to him because "I was grouchy." All I can say is the man is lucky my mom was in the cab. My moms next use of me came the next day.

We were playing some slots and pushed a button on the machine that locked in a bet I did not want to make. I pushed the service button and waited. I waited for about 15 minutes. I was calm, not upset, I just did not want to make the bet so I was willing to wait it out. NO ONE came. My mom walks over and finds someone to help. I explain my problem to the man...see I have to play the bet. Loose and walk away. No big deal. It turns out the casino man was looking for me but found my mom to apologize about the wait...mom jumps on this. She again claims I am grouchy because I am very pregnant. BS! I was already at another machine losing away. She ends up with two players cards and two free buffets!

Since we cannot drink or party we saw some shows. First was the Beatles Circ De Sole. It was really great. I would say they could have done more for what we paid...at least a drink or something but it was amazing. The baby was not such a big fan. At one point I thought she was going to come out of my stomach. I have not felt kicks and rolls like that before. I guess the music was loud.

The next night we fulfilled every 50 something, Harry Potter Reading, ladies dream....not Thunder Down Under, Battle of the Kings. My mom wanted to go see the midevil dinner theater show. My dad would have never gone. It was fun and I am glad we did it.

Despite my mom's cold and me being slow/diabetic we had a great time.

This sucks

Okay, now I am a little unhappy. I am ready for this all to be over at this point. I have to do ANOTHER glucose tolerance test. For those of you who do not remember that is a overnight fast then 3 hours of testing with no food.

Regardless of the test results I have to change my diet. I was fine about it all until I talked to Leaf. Then the tears flowed. So no more cookies, french fries, or anything like that. I made the switch this weekend and I do feel a lot better...

The other big thing was I realized that part of my issue was work. I am exhausted at the end of the day and the last thing I want to do it cook, exersize, or make a healthy lunch for the next day. Plus, I am having pain and what I found out are contractions. So this is my last week at work. I went back and forth over this. It is hard because I am used to pushing through things. I know what I have to do but it does not make it any better.

To top it off the guys at the proshop will not let me golf anymore. I can go to the range and if I play I have to take a partner...who am I going to get during the day?

So for the next 8 weeks or so I will be home....with my consolation prize, Singing Star. Leaf got me to stop crying when he said he would take me to Best Buy to get it. I figure that between Guitar Hero and Singing Star I should be okay.