Well, the A/C is now working. Although the saga may be over, it wasn't without a mysterious ending... Three days ago, the guy came over again, and said that both the transformer and the motor were broken, and that they'd have to be fixed. Ok, fine. Did he do it? No. (He didn't have one in his truck.) Thus, he shut off the power to the unit (along with both bathrooms, the hallway, and part of the bedroom where the alarm clock is plugged in...) and took the old broken parts out. He then came back the next day and apparently replaced the parts. That's all great, but then he didn't turn the power back on and thus obviously never tested his new parts...

Thus, we assumed that he wasn't done yet, and so we didn't turn the breaker back on, fearing that we might blow something up or whatever. So, when today came and went without the guy showing up or calling, Misti decided to just throw the breaker back on and at least get the bathroom power back on. Low and behold, the A/C turned on! To sum up, the whole experience was completely ridiculous, and while we are glad that it's finally fixed, both the management company and the A/C repair company handled this situation completely unprofessionally. Apartment living at it's best!

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Despite a second straight day of high winds, fire officials remained confident Sunday that they could contain a 14,500-acre forest fire by the end of the week. The West's largest wildfire of the season, burning west of Reno, was 60 percent contained with full containment expected by Saturday. The fire has cost nearly $10 million to fight since erupting June 17 near Truckee, Calif. Winds gusted to 55 mph Sunday but didn't push flames toward about 500 suburban Reno homes, as had been feared. The blaze, known as the Martis Fire, did most of its damage the first day, consuming 12,000 acres, destroying three structures, and closing Interstate 80 and a major rail line. The fire's cause remains under investigation.

Our air conditioning has been non-functional for the past 3 days. O.K., question: How many air conditioning repairmen does it take to fix a broken air conditioner? Answer: all or none, it doesn't matter... We've had three different guys come by so far, and it still doesn't work. One of them actually said that it was because we didn't have it turned down low enough, that we were supposed to keep it set at 68*F. (Dork! Like I'm going to pay that power bill, and like the baby wants it that cold!)

Anyway, the next guy says it's because it is turned down too low: that we should keep it at 74*F. Umm, hello, everyone already knows that you can set it at whatever you want, goofballs! We usually keep it around 78*F or so when we're home so it doesn't get too cold, and so the power bill isn't so bad. When we leave, we set it around 85*F, so it's not too incredibly hot when we come back. I have it on good authority that this is the way you're supposed to do it. So, anyway, that guy changes the filter, and that's it. Still not working.

It's the fan. Obviously. It's making "cooling" noises, but not blowing anything out. The fan was making strange squeeky noises the day before it went out, but will they listen? No. Will they ever figure it out? Who knows. Stay tuned, as yet another "qualified professional" repairman will be paying us a visit...

I added the DotComments feature and a permanent link feature to each entry today, so you can now leave your opinions, comments, and questions on our site, too! The link feature is useful if you wish to link to a certain entry. Please let me know if you have questions.

We took Beckysaurus (one of her nicknames) in last night for her two-week PKU test. She didn't like that very much. (That's where a small amount of blood is taken from the infant's heel to be tested for phenylketonuria and hypothyroidism.) She was sad...   =(

Well, we took Becky to the pediatrician yesterday, and she now weighs 7 lbs., 1 oz., and is 20½" tall. What a chub! =)

Hi!

Photos are up!   Click here.

It is amazing to me just how much babies sleep their first little while in life. I am very glad because it gives me the opportunity to get some rest too, but it just amazes me. They grow so much while they sleep! Baby Becky changes each day it seems. She is getting little chubby cheeks and filling out a bit. Hopefully she will be able to wear her 0-3 month clothes soon!! We are still putting her in preemie clothes because those are the only things that fit her - but soon enough, I'm sure she will be wearing her 0-3s.

Today Baby Becky is one week old and the most beautiful little girl in the whole world!! Happy one week birthday to her! =)

While Richard is running our daughter around the house like a bumblebee, I am going to try and finish blogging about the whole birth experience here. Richard said he would fill in any places that I miss because, at times, I fell asleep in between contractions because I was so exhausted.

Just at the time I was ready to push, the nurse asked if I wanted an epidural because I was having a lot of back pain. I didn't think I was dilated all the way so I decided maybe to try it. But as it turned out, they checked and I was fully dilated so they couldn't give me any more pain medication and I had to start pushing. I was very excited to be that close, but I also had no idea that it would take me a little over two hours of pushing before she would be here. So, I started pushing and each contraction got harder and more painful. My back hurt a lot through the whole process too and I didn't know why. I did find out later, though, that it was because baby Becky was face up trying to come out instead of face down like babies are supposed to be. So, my bones and hers were kind of clashing. She did finally come, though. The doctor was afraid he would have to go in and use a vacuum to help get the baby out as I was getting very exhausted! But she must have heard the doctor say that because she came out just a couple pushes later.

We went through two shifts of doctors that night and had three different nurses. The first doctor we had wasn't sure I was going to be able to have this baby naturally, because of my hip bones being crooked and such. But he didn't tell me that until it was time to start pushing. At that point he expressed to me his concern but said that a lot of times when they have concerns like that that Mother Nature has a way of coming through. So, he told me that I would do just fine and to start pushing.

When baby Becky was born, she did have a pretty good sized bruise on her head because of my hips being the way they are, but it is almost gone now. She has a very cute little round head and very chubby cheeks.

I must say, going through labor is one of the most incredible experiences anyone can go through. No two people ever have the same birth experience and no one ever expects anything to go wrong or that the baby is backward or upside down or anything. Once you get to it, though, everything just falls into place and you go with the flow. Then, in the end, you have the most wonderful, amazing little person in your arms and all the pain and exhaustion seems to go away and you just want to look at the baby and hold her. And she is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life. She's just this tiny little person! And you just love her! I will say, though, that I am glad the labor part is over. It is very hard - but also very worth it! I'm just glad baby Becky is here now!

Oh, and let me tell you what she looks like - I've already said she is very beautiful, but I'll see if I can describe her a little better than that. She, as Richard said, was 6 lbs., 14 oz. and 19 inches long. She was born with very soft light brown hair and the cutest little nose in the whole world!! We do not know her eye color yet but will keep you posted on that one. Right now her eyes are bluish gray just like most newborn baby eyes are. She has a very healthy pink complexion and chubby little cheeks. She has all ten fingers and toes and likes to sleep with her hands up by her face like her daddy does. She also has the cutest little tiny ears and chin and likes to make all kinds of funny faces and cute little noises! She is a real sweetheart!!

-- stay tuned for pictures... --

Well, the news you've all been waiting for. . . Baby Becky is here!! Rebecca Ann Barnet was born on Monday, June 4th, 2001 at 8:17 a.m. after 10 hours of labor. It started to get really serious Sunday afternoon, as Misti was having regular contractions that didn't go away when she walked (like they had previously done). We took 2 walks around Mira Loma Park (approx. 2.5 miles total) to help with the contractions and to help the dilation progress. Last Thursday Misti was dilated 2 cm, but when we went into the hospital on Sunday night (about 10:30 p.m.), she was up to 6 cm (out of 10). Between when we got there Sunday night to when Becky was born Monday morning, we went through 3 different nurses and two different doctors. The doctor that delivered her was Dr. Klaich, who is an associate of Dr. Pollock, our regular OB/GYN doctor (who was out of town on Monday).

I have to say that I'm really impressed and proud of Misti because she did the whole thing without an epidural. She went into the pregnancy knowing the plusses and minuses of epidurals, and she decided early on that she didn't want one. When we got to the hospital, they asked if she wanted one, and she said no, even though the contractions were getting pretty painful. All she received was some general painkillers (Nubain and something else) through an I.V., but even they didn't really help much more than to make her sleepy in between contractions. The contractions kept coming closer and closer together and getting stronger with each one...

Just when she was ready to give up and call the whole thing off, however, they checked her and said that she was fully dilated and it was time to push!

-- stay tuned for more... --

Yesterday was a fun day. (No, no baby yet...) Misti, Myself, Bonnie, and Darlene all went to a CSA-sponsored BBQ at the Boys and Girls Club, but they had already run out of food by the time we got there, but we did manage to grab a couple of free tee-shirts and some ice cream. However, we were still hungry, so we ended up going to BJ's Barbeque in Sparks for some barbequed ribs, chicken, and smoked turkey. It was pretty good. They have the best fries there, and the lemonade is fresh squeezed.

Afterward, we all visited with Alice, Aleen, Bill, Marcie, Sarah, Maite, Nerea, Brett, Rachel, Maricella, Miguel at the Nord's home. All the kids, myself included (!), played tag, piggy-back parades, and ball outside in the hot sun, stopping only every so often for water breaks. It was fun! The grown-ups visited inside for a while, where it was clearly cooler as long as you weren't fresh from running around outside a moment before.

After that, we went over to Gene and Ronda's, and my mom got to see little Haley for the first time, as well as Tommy, Spencer, Moriah, and Jesse. Little Haley is so little and wobbley, she's just so cute! We then dropped my family off back at home, and Mist and I went for a short walk and grabbed a movie at Reno Video. Then we came back home and watched "28 Days", starring Sandra Bullock. It wasn't the best Bullock film out there, but it was amusing. We then tried to get some sleep, but Misti's contractions were making it a little hard to do so. Stay tuned...

I could not sleep in this morning, so I thought I'd get up and blog. It is a completely beautiful day outside today. It looks to be a very nice weekend. - Last night, Richard and I took a walk around Virginia Lake and looked at all the ducks that were swimming. The sun was setting and there was a nice breeze. It was very beautiful! I sure do enjoy walks!

Well, the baby is definitely getting closer to coming and I think she's as anxious as we are. She moves all over the place like she's just had enough, it's too cramped in there for her, and she's going to come out. It is very cute. I will certainly miss her little kicks and movements. But soon, we will be able to see her and hold her and that will be more wonderful than anything!

Well, we went into the hospital last night with a false alarm. We had thought that Misti's water had broken, but according to the hospital, it was intact. We did, however, learn that her uterus is 50% effaced. She started having some semi-regular minor contractions upon arrival, so they kept us for a couple of hours to monitor things, but ended up sending us home. Stay tuned...   =)