I'd like to say that I've been one busy person since the last I "blogged". Well, ok I'll say it...I've been one busy person. (Only my wife and mother-in-law have a say so as to the truth in this statement.) However, I do have some very interesting news for you on the baby front:
According to the esteemed Dr. Shpeelvogel we have 0 dilation. Yes, zero. Thats officially...No Progress. I'm not sure if thats a penalty in college football or not, but if it is then the doc has thrown the flag. Kent, I think that means Jr. started and ended the race in the same position. Ok enough allusion. (But, seriously, that means no baby news.) So, we continue to wait.
Because there is no baby progress, this means there is lots of dog parking, a few tail whippins laid down by Deby at the mini-golf course (She's good!), and countless talks by both Amanda and myself with Ooph on when she is coming. Amanda and I are good with just about any moment, but apparently our little one has other plans. I had heard this was the case with babies, but I didn't want to believe it until now. I figured the moment we were officially "Full Term" she would know it and head on out...nope. Now that we are at "Full Term plus One Week" we're quickly learning she has a mind of her own. Which I'm ok with for now because as she is growing up I'll be able to make those silly little statements that dads make about being so proud that their daughter is an independent and free thinking youngster. I see that mindset lasting all the way to age 12, when I'll no longer be proud of her free thinking and independent ways and ready to chain her to the wall.
All told, this post is nothing but a minor glimpse into that game we are playing everyday...the waiting game. There are all sorts of things that have been done to pass the time; I assembled our stroller, we unpacked and sorted through all her things about 50 times, arranged little dresses the size of my foot...I even gave Walker a bath in her tub just to test it out. (Ha, just kidding!!) We're just antsy and we aren't good at waiting. Its funny because we watch tv, read books, play "Deal or No Deal", blog, go dogparking, eat, work, sleep, buy new sandals, grill out, chase the mongrels around the apartment complex, and all with this funny tension in the air. Now, its not the kind of tension thats felt, say, when you have to go home and tell your mom you were sent to the principal's office. No, its the tension of knowing that everything we know about our lives, EVERYTHING, is about to change. No big deal, right?! Of course it is, and I won't even pretend to know whats coming, but I do know that we are ready to embrace all this change headed our way. Now, if we could only convince the baby of this...
Alright, I've gotta run now. I'm sorry this post wasn't quite as long as the usual and that there really isn't much to tell. I did feel though that my readers were due an update. Cross your fingers that the next post will bear a title announcing to the world that little ___ Paige is here!! Now, there is a lot of time to kill and expectant tension to slice. I think I'm gonna go arrange baby shoes or something!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dog Park
Sometimes when a woman is with child and the urge of "I feel like doing something" comes up, I have found this is not easily suppressed or satisfied. I mean you can only go to so many movies, hit so many putt-putt courses, and eat so much ice cream until you feel a change of scenery is needed. Or maybe not necessarily a change of scenery, but just a scene that is always changing and going to give you something new and unexpected every time you are there. For us, one of those places is the Myrtle Beach Dog Park. Not only is it a chance for Amanda to get out of our little apartment and into some fresh air, but also a chance for the dogs to do the same. I'm not sure what their exact words would be, but we're pretty sure they are big fans from the yelping and whines that they start eliciting when you are a half mile away. I mean, all we have to say is "Who wants to go to the dog park?", and Beamer does a backflip, Bentley immediately erupts into a fit of snarling joy, and Walker pees himself from pure excitement.
The Dog Park is a huge chunk of land located on the old Air Force Base here in MB. It is amazing...there is a beach, a forest, a pond, a grassy play area, and most importantly, at least from our dogs' perspective, there are TONS of other dogs. The city maintains this area and I have to give them credit. They do a wonderful job. It is clean, which basically means you can pretty much walk through it without getting you-know-what on your shoes. They provide all the little baggies to clean up after your pet, and once this business is taken care of, which with our dogs is usually IMMEDIATELY, the dogs are free to roam, play, swim, chase, bark, and do whatever other dog adjective comes to mind. (Well, except for mate...Bentley and Beamer are missing the necessary tools and Walker is losing his soon...and besides he's much too young!!) Bentley is a tennis ball fiend and as soon as he enters the gate his sole mission is to find any old ball he can and promptly drop it at your feet to be thrown. Beamer is our odd-ball dog and he is not always the most sociable dog. I don't mean he picks fights...he is just...well...ok, just picture Dopey from the Seven Dwarfs as a dog. He is usually content to sniff out any dog that he deems a possible threat to his beloved Amanda (which is EVERY dog), chase Bentley's ball for Bentley (he's much faster than his older brother, so he gets the ball first and then drops it for Bentley to pick up), and help Walker out with any potential bullies (which is any dog chasing Walker). If you watch Beamer closely, you sometimes will see his head actually spinning because there is so much he feels he needs to be a part of. Thats our Beamer!! And then there's Walker (you might remember him from the famed "Candle Stealer" video) who is all puppy. He loves to chase or be chased by any dog up to it. I told you he recently learned how to swim and it was here at his beloved Dog Park where he accomplished said feat. It's so much fun to see him performing his new skill. All I do is tell him to find a stick and he knows its water time.
Whether its throwing Bentley's ball, coaxing Beamer to "act like a dog", or sending Walker into the deep, the Dog Park is a wonderful place for both humans and dogs to come together and enjoy the outdoors. More often than not, we all come home worn out, but definitely looking forward to our next outing!
These pics don't even begin to do justice to all the excitement and activity one has at a Dog Park outing, but I figured I would share a few and let the dogs show off!! Enjoy:
"Restless dogs mean one thing...THE DOG PARK!!!"
"The guys patiently waiting at the 'Gates of Heaven'!!"
"Walker doing his otter impression"
"Here's your stick...Now throw it again!!"
"Bentley protecting his most beloved toy"
"Bentley cooling off in the pond after several long runs"
"Dopey!!"
"Beamer surfacing after being tossed into the pond!!"
"Bentley heads straight for the cool linoleum floor when he gets home"
"Our Work is Complete!!"
The Dog Park is a huge chunk of land located on the old Air Force Base here in MB. It is amazing...there is a beach, a forest, a pond, a grassy play area, and most importantly, at least from our dogs' perspective, there are TONS of other dogs. The city maintains this area and I have to give them credit. They do a wonderful job. It is clean, which basically means you can pretty much walk through it without getting you-know-what on your shoes. They provide all the little baggies to clean up after your pet, and once this business is taken care of, which with our dogs is usually IMMEDIATELY, the dogs are free to roam, play, swim, chase, bark, and do whatever other dog adjective comes to mind. (Well, except for mate...Bentley and Beamer are missing the necessary tools and Walker is losing his soon...and besides he's much too young!!) Bentley is a tennis ball fiend and as soon as he enters the gate his sole mission is to find any old ball he can and promptly drop it at your feet to be thrown. Beamer is our odd-ball dog and he is not always the most sociable dog. I don't mean he picks fights...he is just...well...ok, just picture Dopey from the Seven Dwarfs as a dog. He is usually content to sniff out any dog that he deems a possible threat to his beloved Amanda (which is EVERY dog), chase Bentley's ball for Bentley (he's much faster than his older brother, so he gets the ball first and then drops it for Bentley to pick up), and help Walker out with any potential bullies (which is any dog chasing Walker). If you watch Beamer closely, you sometimes will see his head actually spinning because there is so much he feels he needs to be a part of. Thats our Beamer!! And then there's Walker (you might remember him from the famed "Candle Stealer" video) who is all puppy. He loves to chase or be chased by any dog up to it. I told you he recently learned how to swim and it was here at his beloved Dog Park where he accomplished said feat. It's so much fun to see him performing his new skill. All I do is tell him to find a stick and he knows its water time.
Whether its throwing Bentley's ball, coaxing Beamer to "act like a dog", or sending Walker into the deep, the Dog Park is a wonderful place for both humans and dogs to come together and enjoy the outdoors. More often than not, we all come home worn out, but definitely looking forward to our next outing!
These pics don't even begin to do justice to all the excitement and activity one has at a Dog Park outing, but I figured I would share a few and let the dogs show off!! Enjoy:
"Restless dogs mean one thing...THE DOG PARK!!!"
"The guys patiently waiting at the 'Gates of Heaven'!!"
"Walker doing his otter impression"
"Here's your stick...Now throw it again!!"
"Bentley protecting his most beloved toy"
"Bentley cooling off in the pond after several long runs"
"Dopey!!"
"Beamer surfacing after being tossed into the pond!!"
"Bentley heads straight for the cool linoleum floor when he gets home"
"Our Work is Complete!!"
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mongrel on Tape (Part I)
Ok ok ok...you can all finally stop holding your breath because the much anticipated "Ooph-N-Us" blog finally has a new post!!
I'm very excited to share this post with you because a) I think it is hilarious and b) I think you will find it quite hilarious as well. For those of you who don't know, we have THREE dogs. As I've already told you, their official names are Bentley, Beamer, and Walker, but they have many more, as do most pets. Some of our favorites are The Nuglets, Weasel Faces, Beams, Bentles, and Big Swimmer (Walker learned to swim this past weekend...you would have thought we were cheering on a child's first step!!). Bentley and Beamer are both Boston Terriers and Amanda had them well before we tied the knot. In October of last year she decided that it was a tragedy that I had never actually had "my own dog", and surprised me with the purchase of a half pit-half beagle. Yes, you are completely justified in raising your eyebrows at that mix...we sure have. He has a pit forehead, beagle ears, pit tail, and beagle body. He also raises his front paw when he sees something interesting, in true beagle fashion. He loves to play, romp, swim(!!), and is very adept now at avoiding Amanda when he does not want to come inside or get in the car to go home from the dog park. He also suffers a little from "imissmyowner"-itis. Ok not just a little....A LOT. We have finally broken him from leaving smelly messes for us and he is allowed to stay out and about the apartment when we leave, just like his brothers can. Of course, we do now have to put things up cause he is rather curious and likes to chew.
About a week ago, Amanda and I came home and noticed that there were some peach pits from the peaches in the fruit bowl on our carpet. We found that interesting because the fruit bowl is on our kitchen table. We also noticed that the floating candles in a bowl on our coffee table were missing. There were chewed up pieces of candle all over, but no whole candle. One of us made the comment of how we wished we could set-up a camera and film them while we were gone, just to see what mischief they get themselves into. Enter Deby Hogeboom, Amanda's mother. Deby arrived in town last Thursday to stay with us through Ooph's birth. She also happened to bring her brand spankin' new laptop, so she could work while she is visiting. And what would that new fangled machine have that is relevant to our story, you may ask. That's right...none other than a built-in webcam, capable of picking up all sorts of shenanigans while we are gone. We cleverly placed another floating candle in the bowl, powered up the webcam, and the rest is video history. I now proudly give you "The Candle Stealer":
Now I know that is one of the most brilliant videos you have ever seen!! Whats even better is that I have a few more clips I will be adding soon. Just to keep you enticed and wanting more, I'll give you the video titles as a juicy morsel: "How To Steal Fish Food", "Watch, Ben, As I Almost Pull the Fish Tank Over", and "Hey Beamer Check This Out". Stay Tuned!!
I'm very excited to share this post with you because a) I think it is hilarious and b) I think you will find it quite hilarious as well. For those of you who don't know, we have THREE dogs. As I've already told you, their official names are Bentley, Beamer, and Walker, but they have many more, as do most pets. Some of our favorites are The Nuglets, Weasel Faces, Beams, Bentles, and Big Swimmer (Walker learned to swim this past weekend...you would have thought we were cheering on a child's first step!!). Bentley and Beamer are both Boston Terriers and Amanda had them well before we tied the knot. In October of last year she decided that it was a tragedy that I had never actually had "my own dog", and surprised me with the purchase of a half pit-half beagle. Yes, you are completely justified in raising your eyebrows at that mix...we sure have. He has a pit forehead, beagle ears, pit tail, and beagle body. He also raises his front paw when he sees something interesting, in true beagle fashion. He loves to play, romp, swim(!!), and is very adept now at avoiding Amanda when he does not want to come inside or get in the car to go home from the dog park. He also suffers a little from "imissmyowner"-itis. Ok not just a little....A LOT. We have finally broken him from leaving smelly messes for us and he is allowed to stay out and about the apartment when we leave, just like his brothers can. Of course, we do now have to put things up cause he is rather curious and likes to chew.
About a week ago, Amanda and I came home and noticed that there were some peach pits from the peaches in the fruit bowl on our carpet. We found that interesting because the fruit bowl is on our kitchen table. We also noticed that the floating candles in a bowl on our coffee table were missing. There were chewed up pieces of candle all over, but no whole candle. One of us made the comment of how we wished we could set-up a camera and film them while we were gone, just to see what mischief they get themselves into. Enter Deby Hogeboom, Amanda's mother. Deby arrived in town last Thursday to stay with us through Ooph's birth. She also happened to bring her brand spankin' new laptop, so she could work while she is visiting. And what would that new fangled machine have that is relevant to our story, you may ask. That's right...none other than a built-in webcam, capable of picking up all sorts of shenanigans while we are gone. We cleverly placed another floating candle in the bowl, powered up the webcam, and the rest is video history. I now proudly give you "The Candle Stealer":
Now I know that is one of the most brilliant videos you have ever seen!! Whats even better is that I have a few more clips I will be adding soon. Just to keep you enticed and wanting more, I'll give you the video titles as a juicy morsel: "How To Steal Fish Food", "Watch, Ben, As I Almost Pull the Fish Tank Over", and "Hey Beamer Check This Out". Stay Tuned!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A Day In The Life
Ok so its time...the day that I join all of you other "bloggers"; the day our little slice of life gets uploaded to the world wide web; the day where my bidness becomes your bidness. Ready?
I guess the first blog should be the all important one where the world learns all about who we are and I guess what to look forward too; so without further ado, I introduce you to us:
I am Ben and the "she", "her", and "them" of my life are my beautiful wife Amanda (aka Mally aka Mals aka Bump), our daughter who currently is still residing in the womb, and our dogs Bentley, Beamer, and Walker. Now, I'm sure all of you are sitting there thinking "Ben, why didn't you introduce us by name to the little one?" Wellllllllllll, here's the thing: SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE.....YET!!!!! She does have a middle name (Paige) and of course a last name, but there has been no definite decision yet on the child's surname. Amanda claims that she needs to see her first, so I am excited about that first moment when her name will go from question mark to _____ in one breath!
However, I am pleased to announce that our firstborn has already been assigned her first nickname: Ooph. When Amanda first learned about being pregnant and started growing, everytime she would sit down she would utter the slightest of sounds, an "ooph". As I am prone to do, I started mimicking this sound and the rest is history. So this little nickname of hers as worked great in the absence of a first name. (We also sometimes use Oophie, Oophster, and The Ooph)
I think this will do for now. I've got some good stuff stored up and heading your way, so stick around...there's LOTS to look forward too!!
I guess the first blog should be the all important one where the world learns all about who we are and I guess what to look forward too; so without further ado, I introduce you to us:
I am Ben and the "she", "her", and "them" of my life are my beautiful wife Amanda (aka Mally aka Mals aka Bump), our daughter who currently is still residing in the womb, and our dogs Bentley, Beamer, and Walker. Now, I'm sure all of you are sitting there thinking "Ben, why didn't you introduce us by name to the little one?" Wellllllllllll, here's the thing: SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE.....YET!!!!! She does have a middle name (Paige) and of course a last name, but there has been no definite decision yet on the child's surname. Amanda claims that she needs to see her first, so I am excited about that first moment when her name will go from question mark to _____ in one breath!
However, I am pleased to announce that our firstborn has already been assigned her first nickname: Ooph. When Amanda first learned about being pregnant and started growing, everytime she would sit down she would utter the slightest of sounds, an "ooph". As I am prone to do, I started mimicking this sound and the rest is history. So this little nickname of hers as worked great in the absence of a first name. (We also sometimes use Oophie, Oophster, and The Ooph)
I think this will do for now. I've got some good stuff stored up and heading your way, so stick around...there's LOTS to look forward too!!
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