Happy Birthday Ryan

Ryan is getting older...he is 28 today. Ha! That's how old I was when I met him. He, of course, was just a pup back then. I take much pride in that. I thought for sure I was going to have to marry a guy who was half bald and aging. Lucky for me...Ryan got the raw end of the deal. Today was fun. This morning we took Badger swimming. Then, we went to town to buy him 2 new tires. (That was his bday and Christmas gift from his parent....Thanks Mom and Dad!!!) But, he couldn't get them cause they had to be ordered. So, we then we went to lunch for his bday. Afterwards I went w/Shelby to do a few errands...and then we met him at home. (sorry for some reason my computer won't let me make new paragraphs)....anyhow...We then washed our paint horse, Twister (AKA Bean) cause he was a mud pile. I also worked Romeo. I even got on him today. We just sat there, but he did nothing. He is so ready for the next step...forward movement w/someone on his back. So, we're going to do that sometime this week. Ryan wants to snub him up to Badger and do it that way. No matter what...I doubt he'll do anything exciting...which is great! This Saturday is the big day...My first run of the season and it can't get here quick enough. We are so ready. A friend of mine got the Rosenberg arena on Wednesday so we're going to go there and work on the barrels. They changed the direction you enter the arena and I haven't run in that way yet. So, that is perfect since the 1st barrel race is there. Since we've been swimming Badger he seems to be getting much stronger and is getting pretty griddy around the barrels. Look out all you Novice horses...we've got plans to win that Novice saddle...and maybe more!!! :) We learn at church to claim what God wants for you...I'm claiming this saddle and a great barrel season right now! This blog is my witness come December! I claimed it early!

Christmas pics

I've added new pictures of Shelby and Christmas Pics under "Texas"....enjoy...

Also, here's a fun video of Rossy and Donna dancing on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas

It was another joyous Christmas for the Boudrie's in Texas. We went to our friend's house on Christmas Eve as we do each year. We had a wonderful meal and did our traditional White Elephant Exchange. That is always a lot of fun. This year Ryan got a dremmel (sp?) and I got a really cool stanley tool box on wheels as well as some gifts inside. I think the tool box will work great to hold all my horse equipment such as bell boots, split boots, and headstalls. :)

After we opened gifts we jammed to some music. A couple of relatives of the Kettler's pulled out their guitars and played some good 'ol country music. The good stuff...George Jones, George Strait, Johnny Cash...It was a lot of fun. Shelby got tired so we left there to take her home. She went to sleep around 9 pm and slept til 4 AM. We fed her and she slept til 7:30. That was great for us. She is usually up at 6 AM.

Christmas morning we opened up all of our wonderful gifts from our families and hung out at the house til around 1 PM. We then loaded up the horses and went back to the Kettler's to enjoy a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixings. After my belly settled down I went out and rode Badger and Mito. Badger did awesome on the barrels and is getting better and better each day. I can't wait to make that first run of the year on Jan. 3. I didn't get to work Mito like I wanted cause we had forgotten Shelby's pacifier and after several hours she had had enough. So, we packed up and went back home. The rest of the day we just hung out and let Shelby catch some ZZZZZzzzzsss....I decided to have coffee later in the evening. Big mistake cause it is now 3:05 AM and I can't sleep. Shelby woke me up around 1:30. So I went in and put her pacifier back in her mouth. She went right back to sleep and I have been up since. Too much on my mind to sleep.

So, I got up and paid bills, checked my facebook and now I'm on this thing.

I have plenty of fun pictures and videos I will add soon. I need DSL to do it so if I get an opportunity to get to a place w/wireless I'll add them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 2009 is going to be a great year for us!

Santa Claus

We got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday in Boling. What excitement. Our town of probably 1,000 all came out for the 'big' parade and to get their picture taken with Santa. We skipped the parade, but just had to meet Santa. The cool part is I got a polaroid picture of her with Santa. I think it's cool because that's how they did it when I was a kid and now they are doing away with polaroid cameras. So, this might be her only picture with a polaroid. What a classic!

We also had a good time with our friend's on Friday. I have to admit, after two evenings w/o Shelby I was missing her a lot! I was glad when the party started to fizzle out and left around 8:30 PM. I was also exhausted from a long day at work and sleepless nights with Shelby. She's getting so much better, but working full time and taking care of Shelby is a lot of work and makes me VERY tired. Ryan, of course, does his share it's just that babies are very demanding. Who would've thought??!! :)

Today was awesome too. Shelby was right on schedule with her naps so inbetween I went out and rode horses while she slept. Ryan stayed inside with her. I worked Mito and he did great. He's starting to learn how to stop straight, turn into the fence and lope off while I'm on him. Now, we still have some work to do, but I am pleased with our progress. The weather has been nasty so I've just beeing working horses at home. It's not nice enough weather to haul somewhere and take Shelby. She and Ryan don't like the cold. :) I also exercised Badger and ponied Romeo today. I'm so excited to start riding Romeo. He did awesome today when I ponied him. He went all the different speeds I asked of him. Sounds simple, but some horses get a little stupid and want to do their own thing. Once the weather is nice enough for Shelby to go outside I'll saddle him up and either Ryan or I will climb on him. I hope it's me, but Ryan may not let me so we'll see. :) I was trying to hold of until we had his teeth done, but I'm running out of patience so I may just leave the halter on him and make the leadline reins. We have a halter from Clinton Anderson so it has some pressure points on it which I think will work well with riding him in the round pen. I guess we'll see, huh?

Christmas is very near and we are all excited. Tomorrow we go to Rossy's house to do a white elephant gift exchange and eat dinner. That is always a lot of fun! Then Christmas Day Ryan, Shelby and me will open our gifts and enjoy the day doing who knows what. The weather is supposed to be nice, so maybe we'll get her outside.

Shelby is doing great. She is growing everyday and we are all figuring each other out which makes it so much easier!

Finally, Shelby has found her thumb...and sometimes her fingers or whole fist. How cute??!!

Lost Keys

We are taking Shelby to see Mrs. And Mr. Santa Claus tomorrow. I’m excited about that. I was trying to find a santa clause close to home. I got lucky….we are having a parade in our town (Boling) and they will be at the fire station after the parade. So, yea!! If we couldn’t find anything my friend said her dad, our pastor, would dress up if we asked him. So, I told ryan that b4 I knew about the thing in boling…so after he found out about both he said he’d rather do it w/pastor cause we know him and the santa is a stranger….arg…he is sooooooooooooooooo protective. Anyhow…too bad…she can sit on santa’s lap. I’m not going to ask pastor to dress up when there is already one in town.

Last night was fun. I had a party with some friends that I had worked with at my first job in FBISD 10 yrs ago. There are about 10 of us that get together every Christmas at a friend’s house. It is so much fun. Well, I was getting my things together to take in her house and I decided last minute not to take my purse. So, I threw it in the back seat, locked the door to my truck and went inside. It wasn't until 2 ½ hrs later that I realized I didn’t have my keys when I was trying to leave. That’s when it dawned on me that I had put my keys in my purse which was now locked in my truck. Man that sucked! I thought I was going to have to pay $60 to have someone come out and unlock it. I would also have to wait over an hour for them to get there. I knew Ryan was not going to be happy with me since it was already after 7 pm and Shelby was up and cranky. Luckily one of the ladies, Laurie, offered me to take one of her vehicles home and I could pick my truck up the next day and drop her car off. She happens to live next door to the friend’s house we were at AND they live in the neighborhood I work in. So, I took her car home. I walked in the door to hear Shelby screaming, the vacuum sweeper running and Ryan completely stressed out. Poor Ryan and Shelby. He was on his last resort so I guess I got home just in time. I took her and he went outside to gather his frazzled self and probably drink a few beers. She settled down and I had us both sleeping (Shelby and me) on our bed by 8:30. That’s where we slept until I woke up at 10:30 and put her in her own bed. She slept til 3:30 AM.

Tonight I am having my friend’s watch her so I can go to a White Elephant party with some friends from my department and another technology department. It should be a lot of fun.

Christmas is Near

I thought I should let you know that I will not be sending out Christmas Cards this year. With everything going on I decided that was the one thing I could skip this year. :) I'm sure you understand.

The weather has been cold and yucky here. It's weird weather too. One day it is 36, cold, dark, and dreary (much like Michigan) and the next it is sunny and in the 60s or 70s. Then, a couple of days later it dips down again. There is even talk about some snow next week. That would be cool.

This week or weekend I hope to get pics of Santa and Shelby. I am trying to find a Santa in our area. My friend, Mel, is helping me as well. So I hope to have a pic to share with you soon.

I hope to get my gifts out today in the mail to MI andNM. Hopefully they will get there b4 Christmas.

Tomorrow I have a party at my friend's house. There are a few of us who get together. It's always so much fun. I won't be able to stay and do the Christmas Lights Tour, but it will be fun to see everyone for a little bit. Then, Friday is another Christmas Party with some friends at work. We're going to Sam's Boat. We're going to do a white elephant exchange. THat's been a joke with us all week. Some of them have sent pics of good/bad gifts...hahaha...it's been entertaining. So, now I have the pressure of making sure I bring a 'good' gift.

I'm looking forward to that too. I already have the babysitter lined up. I decided I was going to go and if Ryan wants to join me or do something else then he can do that and have a break from Shelby. He doesn't like going to new places or hanging out with new people. So, sometimes I have to drag him but once he gets there i usually have to drag him out. Ha!

Feet

I thought this was a cute pic of Shelby's foot verses mine. :)

It's supposed to be cold again. It was so nice yesterday and now another cold front.

One more week of school and then two more weeks off. I'm looking forward to it.

I made cookies this weekend. Man those Sour Cream cookies are so good. Probably not a good thing to make but it's Christmas so why not?

I have to get my Christmas packages in the mail this week. I can't believe Christmas is next week. Where does the time go?

Click on Shelby's link to see more pics of her.

Pretty Moon

I noticed how pretty the moon was this morning when getting ready to leave for work. Thought I'd share.

This is looking out to our backyard from our house.

Snow Day in Texas

Yesterday was exciting for us southerners. It snowed! North Houston got a lot more snow than us, but it was still fun to see the small snow flakes falling down. We went from tshirt weather on Tuesday to snow on Wednesday. Crazy weather! I took a brief video of the snow while driving home last night. You can't see it that well, but it is there.

This morning I took a picture of a lady's car because it had snow on the back of it still.

Cold Weather & Young Horses don't mix :)

UPDATE,....Here is a pic of what Michigan looks like this morning...I guess my cold weather isn't so bad after all...

The weather has changed drastically since yesterday. It's about 30 degrees colder today than it was yesterday. Brrr....and it's raining...yuck...there's even talk about snow....but unlikely

Yesterday I picked up Shelby and rushed home. Ryan had two horses saddled for me. I passed Shelby on to him and then went and changed. I only had about 30 min before it was dark so I had to hurry. I got on Badger and loped him around for about 15 min. He just needs exercise to get the extra weight off at this time. The cool thing is while I was riding him you could see the big, dark clouds rolling in and then came the northern wind. It amazes me everytime a blue northeren blows in. It's something you have to experience to believe. One minute you are in a tshirt and you are fine. Five minutes later the northern blows in, the temperature drops drastically and the wind picks up. It's amazing. Yesterday was super cool cause the clouds were so big and dark and they rolled in. So, as I exercised Badger I watched it blow in.

I then had to work Mito. He's still very green so I was a bit concerned about his behavior. That cold weather can make them frisky and the young horses can get broncy. Anyhow, I warmed him up in the round pen and then got on him just to work on his turns on his back end at a walk. Then the rain started to sprinkle...cold weather, rain, and young horses do not mix. I knew that could end up bad so I got off before I wanted to. I can't afford me to get hurt at this time.

So, today I get dreary, rainy weather...at least I have cell group for church tonight. I hope it will be nicer tomorrow so I can ride again. My goal is to ride on Tuesday and Thursdays during the week. We REALLY need to sell Mito and so I REALLY need to stay on him and get him going. I hope to sell him by spring as a patterend barrel horse. We've got to down size. This economy doesn't look good so we need to set up ourselves so we can ride through the wave.

I have added new pics from MI. Here's one of Skylar's deer...congrats Skylar.

Shots for Shelby

Yesterday Shelby was 2 months old and she had to get shots. I believe both Ryan and I were equally worried and nervous. She did cry, but she was very tough and only cried for a few minutes. Her poor little feelings were so hurt. It about tore us both up. We survived and she did well the rest of the evening.

First Competitive Run

Well, my run did not go as well as I would've liked, but we made it through. I have to admit both of us were really nervous about making our first run. I had to stay off Badger until right before I ran because I was so nervous. When we ran into the arena we were doing well, but then he got stiff necked and didn't really listen to me until the third barrel and I rode like a fat girl...hahaha...I lost so much muscle from not riding. I'm hoping to get a few more competitve runs in before January 3rd, the opening season for GCBRA.

The good news is we still placed and made a little money. Although it is bad, here's our run. Oh, BTW - sorry about the crying in the background. That's my little Shelby screaming "Run Mommy, Run!" :)

Fun Day

Today I went to our friend/neighbor's house to work Badger on the barrels. I wasn't sure how we would do going fast and wanted to be sure before we went to the barrel race tomorrow. He did AWESOME...so I'm super pumped about going tomorrow and nervous too! Badger is so much snappier. If I can keep him off the barrels we'll do awesome. He is just so quick around the barrels and sucks them up so tight we have to time things right or we might hit it coming out of it. But, I know we'll do great tomorrow. Besides...it's reallyjust a practice run. My quest for my goal to win the novice saddle doesn't begin until the new GCBRA season January 3. :) This is just to give me an idea of where we stand with the other competition. After today I feel great.

Ryan and I went to dinner last night and then went and visited with Erin for a little while before picking Shelby up. Boy did I miss her and of course she was sound asleep by the time we picked her up. Karen's girls wore her out I guess. Here's a picture of Alana with Shelby. Aren't they cute?

5 Years Today

Ryan and I were married 5 years ago today in Las Vegas. What wonderful memories! I know we didn't do the traditional church and all that stuff, but I still think of our wedding day as one of the best in my life, if not the best! Here's to those who didn't believe in us NA NA BOO BOO...hahahaha...

And for those of you who did...thank you! We love you for it!

Tonight we are going to go out to eat and have a date without Shelby. Thanks to Karen for being so kind to watch her.

I am looking forward to eating with Ryan and having a conversation without Shelby interrupting, but I am sad to have less time with her. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday! :)

I also may go to a barrel race on Sunday. We'll see how the weekend goes. :)

Fun Video

Here's a cute video of Shelby taken earlier this week. :)

Ryan or Shelby

I have been sifting through my 1700 emails and I found the email from Nancy with Ryan's pics. No doubt about it, Shelby is his! I have more pics of him under Shelby's link...but this one reminds me the most of Shelby.

Ryan

Shelby

Shelly just sent me pics of her boys I've added them to "michigan"

Last Day

Today is my last day of maternity leave. Where did the time go? Taking care of Shelby and getting well again sure sucked it all up. That is ok. I am sad to go back, but yet looking forward to getting back into the network again. I plan to spend most of tomorrow looking through all my emails with the hopes that I will be able to delete most of them.

Today I have enjoyed working Mito in the round pen and getting on him for the first time in like a year. He is so green but he will learn quickly. Hopefully I'll be able to get him patterned on the barrels and poles and sell him in the spring. I also rode Badger and ponied Romeo. Romeo had some issues with ponying him. He wanted to sit back. Well, today he did great! He even ponied at a trot and he did exactly what I wanted. So, I was super excited!

I also had the pleasure of doing some cleaning...oh joy...I sure wish I had a maid.

Well, gotta keep it short. Ryan is on his way home and so I need to get my hair done and shower done before my little girl gets home.

The Good Life

Today was a good day. I always enjoy church. It seems to get me through when times are tough. It also just gets me through the week. I struggle with juggling so many different hats. That's why it is always good to get 'filled up' on Sunday to remind me to not sweat the small stuff. It's always a great reminder that God does provide for everything. I get stressed about bills and the issues we're having with the rent house and then I sit back and think about how the money always appears. Yes, maybe in 'my' plans I wanted to put the money away for a nest egg or for a trip to MI and I get frustrated when we have to invest it into other areas such as the rent house, medical bills, etc. Then, I hear sermons like today and I have to remember that it is not what I want. It is what God wants...and really we should be happy that we have the extra money so we don't have to go further in debt like so many others. We have a wonderful home, we are 'blessed' with a rent home, (I say it that way because I would LOVE to sell it but that is not what we are supposed to do I guess), we are blessed to have food on our table and wonderful friends and family that are there for us. We are also blessed with our beautiful Shelby. So, when you count your blessings life is not so bad.

This week, on Wednesday, I go back to work. It's bitter sweet. I love my job, but I dread being away from Shelby for so many hours out of the day. I would love to work part time. That would be the perfect mix for me. Ryan is so blessed to be able to spend the mornings with her. They are going to bond and she is going to want him over me. That bums me out. I have to admit I enjoy knowing she find comfort in me. I guess that is a "Mom thing."

I have also felt very blessed to be able to ride again. It is so liberating. I cannot wait to make my first real run in January. I went to a friend's house on Saturday and had so much fun working Badger on the barrel pattern. I thought for sure I was going to have to work out some kinks, especially on the first barrel. But, Badger proved to me otherwise. We just have to get each other into shape again and the barrel pattern will come so easily. He's even snappier than what he was a year ago and he hasn't seen a barrel pattern since summer. I can't wait to run him again! I can't wait to win for us to win the novice saddle next year!

I truly believe he has 'it' and I can't wait to ride him this year. I have, as you know, started taking him swimming too. I seen the list of horses that go to this facility and they are all top notched, 1D and pro horses. That really proved to me what an edge the swimming can give me. So, my hopes is to start winning some money so I can continue to take him swimming and hopefully move him up to two days a week. I really think that will give me the edge to get into that class of runners and I CAN'T WAIT!

Black Friday

I always look forward to the HUGE savings they have on Black Friday. Ryan and I had plans to go once we fed Shelby at 5 AM....which is when she always gets up. Go figure, she decides to sleep in til 6:40 am and I was too lazy to get my butt out of bed to go until then. I almost didn't go, but remembered I had to buy some clothes for work and wanted to take advantage of the savings.

So, it's always the same...Every year I look forward to going until the morning of and I have to get my butt out of bed on my day off at 5 am. Then, I suck it up and get up and go shopping and then come home all excited about all the great deals. :)

Ryan decided to stay home with Shelby since he had over eaten the day before and still wasn't feeling that great. It actually worked out really well cause that allowed me to buzz in and out of the stores very quickly without dealing with a husband and child in tow.

My favorite item is my new crock pot. Yes, I said crock pot...I know, I know...when did I get so domesticated???!!! Well, when they don't have great deals on tack supplies you gotta go with what you can get. :) Anyhow, JC Penney's had them on sale last week for $37 and I almost bought one. It's the fancy kind with the exact temperature and not just high, medium or low. I decided to wait and I'm glad I did because I was able to pick it up for $28. It was regularly priced at $79. I also got Ryan and me (for our anniversary) a tool set. It includes a skill saw, stud finder (not that I need it since I already found my stud...hehehe), light and a drill (all are cordless). It was regularly $159 and I got it for $59. Those were my big deals of the day. I also got some good deals on clothes too, so overall a great day.

We are getting the new heater put in at the rent house today. It was not fixable so we had to put in a new one. That was $2K we didn't plan to have to pay for this year so that kinda sucks. I told Ryan I found a good side to having to have it replaced...it's tax deductable. When you have your own business any type of tax deduction is a blessing. So we are trying to be optomistic about that. We are also having to replace our roof on our current home due to Hurricane Ike. That's another $1200 deductible. So, the cash is flowing in the Boudrie household...just not the right direction. haha...Again, trying to be positive...at least we are getting a new roof for a fraction of the cost.

Oh, I also realized I may have not given an explanation of Ryan's toe. He was shoeing a horse a week or so ago when the horse snatched it's leg from Ryan and then stomped it down on Ryan's foot...shoe and all...so that is why his toe is so gross. What a year for Ryan and injuries.

Well, I guess I should go and take advantage of Shelby being sleepy. I got home at 10 am, fed her and put her to sleep. She slept til 1 pm. I changed her, fed her and she fell asleep on me again. Yes! So, I'm buzzing around the house trying to get things cleaned up. The best part is I even got a nap in today. Yea! Sleep Shelby, Sleep!

Back in the Saddle

I got to ride! YES! I got to ride Badger on Sunday. It was awesome! I didn't do a whole lot cause I didn't want to wear myself out and ruin it for the rest of the week but I got to ride. My body has taken a long time to heal and I still have some issues, but apparently a lot of women have this problem after having babies so I guess it just comes with the territory...oh joy...

I have also been working my colt, Romeo. I'm absolutely in love with him. I have begun working him in the round pen again. It's been months since he's seen a saddle and he didn't care when we saddled him up. I hope to get his teeth done soon so we can start getting on him in the round pen. I so badly want to be the one that rides him first but I'm not sure if that is a wise decision so we'll see.

Here are some pics...

Ryan's toe...GROSS

Shelby Smiling....TOO CUTE

I have also added some new pics of her to her link.

Here's a cute video of her waking up from her nap. Too cute!

Also Ryan got a new puppy. Her name is Rena. She is a 12 week old border collie/mix puppy. Ryan is so excited! See more pics of her under Texas.

Good Nights Sleep??

This is my 2nd time attempting to write this. The first time I lost my wireless connection and I wrote it directly on the internet instead of in word first. Bummer…

I believe we might have a pattern with Shelby. I’m very excited about this. On Tuesday she fell asleep around 8:30 pm and didn’t wake up til 3 am. I even woke up at 1:30 because I had so much sleep. I managed to go back to sleep though til Shelby woke up at 3 AM…Then last night she went to sleep around 9 pm and didn’t wake up again til 2:30. She ate and fell right back asleep til 5 am. Yes! Usually by then she is up and doesn’t want to lay in her bed. This time I fed her and put her back in bed and she slept til 8 am again. I’m hoping this is a new pattern. J

I also got a couple of videos I am going to share with you. One is the cute sound she makes when she starts getting hungry. She sounds kinda like a pig. Hahaha…the other is of her kicking but I got lucky and got a small smile. She is starting to make noises intentionally and smiling intentionally. She hasn’t gotten in mastered yet, but she is coming along with it. It’s so cute! Enjoy!





Today she went to daycare for a few hours. I’m up here at the laundry mat again washing our king size down filled comforter. It is supposed to get cold tonight so I wanted to get it washed since I had success with the queen sized one the other day. The internet is very low so I may have to run by my church to upload the videos. We’ll see. Anyhow, I wanted her (and me) used to her going to day care before she had to go all the time. I think it will be good for her to adjust to all the chaos of life. She is pretty sheltered with no family around. I have been taking her to church and Wednesday night cell group, but it is still pretty calm. Daddy has a REALLY hard time dealing with the chaos of other kids around his daughter. He is so protective.

Then, at 3 today we are going to take Badger to go swimming. I am trying to get him back in shape for January and so I am treating myself to him going swimming once a week for a couple of months. I also plan to work Mito and Romeo in the round pen. I worked all three of them yesterday. They did great, but it wore me out so I might have to slow down a pace and only work two horses in the round pen. I need to take care of myself now so I can start riding next week. I CAN’T WAIT….you’ll be hearing that a lot from me until I get to ride. Then you will get to hear about how I can’t wait to make that first run.

New Discovery

I decided to wash one of my down filled comforters. I did this at home using tennis balls. I figured it was worth a shot since I paid less for it than what the dry cleaners was going to charge me to clean it. I had heard if you use tennis balls they bounce around and get the feathers right.

Anyhow, as I was saying, I did this first at home. Washing it went great, it was the drying that didn't go so well. The comforter is too big to dry completely even after several dryings (yes, i know it's not a word). So, now it stinks. My last ditch effort is to sit at the laundry mat and re-wash it and re-dry it in there bigger dryers. I thought I would drop it off, go to my church and use their wireless while I waited. Before I left I thought what the heck, let's see if they have wireless here....sure enough they do. Who would've thought that the laundry mat in little Needville, TX would have wireless??? So, now I can just sit here and be super efficient. I can write on my blog, check my email, check my facebook, and do my laundry and have peace and quiet from the daughter and husband. :) You wives know what I'm talking about. :)

So, my hope is I'll wash it again and hope the smell comes out...which it should and then I'll dry it in the big dryer with hopes the feathers will separate and dry properly. If this works I get to make another trip back here another time to wash our down filled comforter. If not, I may have to go shopping on black Friday in hopes to pick one up for cheap. hahaha...

As for other happenings, Ryan got his toe smashed yesterday by a horse...literally smashed. He was shoeing a horse and the horse jumped somehow and slammed his hoof, shoe and all, onto Ryan's foot. He couldn't get into the doctors office yesterday so he went this morning. Xrays showed the tip of his big toe is shattered. The doc said the bone will dissolve and he will live. That is good since we don't have very much life insurance on him....of course i say that with humor...so quit gasping. :) He will lose his big toe nail and it's pretty ugly right now. He also can't work cause it hurts too bad. Hopefully he'll be able to work tomorrow. I learned and prayed on Sunday that I need to not worry....Let go and Let God...so I'm letting go and letting God take care of us. It's not like he ever let us down. :)

I'm getting VERY anxious to start riding again. I hope to start riding maybe the end of next week. I feel pretty good this week but I want to be sure my body is ready before I get started. It will more than likely be just walking at first, but that's better than nothing. I can't wait!!!!

I have added some more pictures of Shelby so those of you want to can see how big she is getting. Enjoy! Just click on her link.

Weekend Details

This weekend was fun. Friday I went to happy hour with some friends/co-workers. It was a lot of fun and GREAT to see everyone! I also met some new people that work for my district. It was nice meeting them. In my job you might know people through work but you may have never met them in person. It's nice to put a face with a name.

Saturday we spent most of the day at the rent house. Ryan is trying to fix the heater. He didn't have any luck fixing it, but he thinks he knows what's wrong with it now. He's now waiting on a friend to meet him over there to fix it. I spent the day traveling between the rent house and church. Shelby was great. She slept the whole day. We had a wedding at 2 pm at the church. That was nice. Friends of ours, Cassie and Dimitri, got married. It was a nice wedding. They then did a simple reception afterwards in the church. It is so nice to have the facilities to do that at our church!

Dimitri's parents were late getting to the wedding so it got started late. That was fine cause we all had fun taking pictures and adding them to our facebook. I have added a picture of us here so you could see them as well. It was taking with my friend's phone so the the quality isn't the greatest, but it is still a great pic.

Sunday is a lazy day for all of us. We went to church and then we've been hanging out at home. Ryan is waiting for his friend to call so they can fix the heater on the rent house but Shelby and I will probably just hang out here.

Shelby Update

Shelby's doctor visit went well yesterday. She has gained some weight and now weighs 9 lbs 6 oz. She is 21 1/2 inches long and is doing very well. We really liked her new peditrician. She was much friendlier and more attentive to Shelby. So, we are excited about that. We go back Dec. 8th. It will be her two month check up so that means shots. :( I dread that!

Tomorrow I plan to go to happy hour with some friends I work with in Sugar Land. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house and the break from Shelby will be nice too. It will give me some time to refresh myself!

The weather is cloudy, but at least it's not raining. Ryan was able to work a little today and I think he is working tomorrow too, so that is good.

That's about it for now...

Doctor Appointments

Nothing too exciting has been going on here the last few days. I had a dr. appt. on Monday. Doc says I'm doing fine, but still healing and I still have stitches. He hopes for me to be good to go in another couple of weeks.

Julie and Nicole came to visit for the night Monday. That was a nice visit. We didn't do a whole lot. We went up to Richmond to Kohl's on Monday afternoon. I took Shelby thinking she would sleep the whole time. That's what I get for thinking. She threw a complete fit at Kohl's, so that was fun. I was even trying to find her some long sleeve shirts. Needless to say we didn't get anything. Nicole and Julie found some good deals though. We went to a couple of other stores too and she was a little better. I had to hold her a lot, but at least she wasn't screaming.

Shelby did really well yesterday. She took some good naps during the day which is not like her. Then, last night she woke up like normal and we changed her and fed her. Then put her in bed after she fell asleep. We crawl back in bed only to stay awake because of the REALLY loud thunder and lightening. Luckily it didn't wake her up, but it kept me up for a while. So it shortened my already sleepless nights.

On Tuesday we all just hung out because it was too wet to do anything (it had rained all day Monday). Then we went to lunch in Wharton and went to the western store. I found some jeans for cheap so I was excited about that. I'm still about 2 inches away from fitting into my old jeans and I am not sure if I'll lose it. I believe my hips have spread so instead of fighting it and being depressed I decided to just buy new jeans. :) I figure if I do get back into my old jeans I'll least have some 'fat' jeans to wear that are comfortable.

Today we take her to her 4 week dr. appointment. We are trying a new doctor. I had to wait way too long for the other doctor and we heard this one takes more time with you and doesn't make you wait as long. I don't mind waiting for 10-15 min. but after that I get annoyed. If I were that late I would lose my time and probably have to pay my co-pay. Anyhow, that's just one of my pet peeves. So, hopefully this doctor will work out for us.

Weekend Happenings

Friday, November 7, 2008

The last two days have been extremely crazy. Yesterday evening Shelby was REALLY colicky and cried for hours. Ryan and I were about to go crazy when he finally got her settled down. We gave her some gas relief medicine but she would spit it up because she was so upset. I mean she SCREAMED. We have never heard her scream like that. Poor baby. Anyhow, Ryan laid her on one of our pillows so her body was propped up but her belly didn’t have any pressure on it and he got her to sleep that way. She slept that way til about 1:30 AM when she woke up so we could change her and feed her and then she went back to sleep again. She slept on that pillow between the two of us until the morning. We survived…it was touch and go, but we survived…together. We woke up the next morning looking and feeling like…well…H-E-double hockey sticks….All I can say is THANK GOD FOR COFEEE….and I mean that. How did the people ‘back in the day’ make it through nights like last night without gas relief medicines for the baby and coffee for Mommy and Daddy?

In perfect timing, my friend and neighbor, Karen, offered to watch Shelby for a few hours today (I’m writing this Friday evening) to give me some time alone. With that in mind, I set up an appointment to get my haircut. So, I took Shelby to Karen’s around 11 AM so I could come back and get some cleaning done. Then at 12:30 I went to get my haircut by a new hairstylist. I LOVE my new haircut. She did a fabulous job. By the time I got my haircut it was time to go get Shelby and bring her back home. Karen said she was awake the whole time she was with her from 11-3 pm. When I showed up she was starting to fall asleep. Long story, short, it is 8 PM and she is still sleeping. She woke up for about 15 min. around 5 pm so I could change her diaper and feed her an ounce. She then fell asleep before she finished her other ounce and has been laying in the play pen bassinet since then. We keep going in there to check on her cause it is so unlike her to sleep this long. We plan to wake her up shortly cause she needs to get up for a while so she will sleep good tonight.

On a side note, Ryan’s mom, Nancy, is going on her big elk hunt this weekend. She has gone the last 2 years and hasn’t had any luck. We hope she finds herself a big, healthy elk. I’m sure it’s very exciting to go elk hunting. Ryan said the sound of the elk bugling is very sobering and very loud! I am not a hunter, but I would love to experience the excitement a hunter experiences with the wildlife, especially something as large as the elk. However, I would not want to be out in the cold northern New Mexico snowy morning. Anyhow, I hope to report her exciting tale of her elk hunt. Hopefully it ends with her killing one.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I am having two friends from work coming to visit me. I’m looking forward to seeing them and I am sure they are looking forward to holding Shelby. They wanted to come see me at the hospital, but I was not up to seeing anyone at that time.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

My friends from work, Cathy and Ruth, came out to visit. It was a very nice visit! They even brought me Sandy McGee’s…yummy…it is a local restaurant in Richmond that has great sandwiches and broccoli soup. They are a little pricey, but they have great food. They also brought Shelby the cutest little outfits. Ruth bought Shelby pajama’s that say Mommy’s Little Joy and they are a Christmas theme. She also bought her the cutest little boots. I’ll have to take a picture cause they are too cute and too hard to describe. Cathy bought Shelby the cutest outfit too. She also bought her cute little new born shoes and a headband as well as sunglasses….I put pics of both items under Shelby’s pics so you can see them. I can’t wait to put the shoes, boots, headband and sunglasses on Shelby and take pictures. Hehehhe…she’ll be my little Barbie doll. Ha! I also put pictures of Shelby from this past week.

I just tried to lay down for a nap because Shelby is resting but I’m not able to take a nap so I thought I’d finish this journal and get the pictures on the lap top so when I go to church tomorrow I can easily upload it all. I might be coming down with something because my throat is sore. So, I’m trying to drink lots of liquids and keep the zicam in my nose. That stuff works so well. I’m sure the lack of sleep is not helping. I only drank a cup of coffee today so I can get the caffeine out of my system. I’m very sensitive to caffeine and I would like to keep it that way. That way the energy is there when I need it.

Ryan went hunting at a friend’s house. Hopefully he won’t be gone too long. He has to work cows tomorrow with the Kalkami’s so he’ll be gone all day tomorrow as well. So, Shelby and I will go to church and then hang out here tomorrow afternoon unless I think of something else to do. Maybe I’ll go visit a friend.

Well, that’s about it for now. Julie comes Monday morning with Nicole and I have a dr. appointment that morning as well. She can fly in on the Dow plane if she flies stand by. They plan to get here Monday morning and then leave Tuesday around 3 PM. She…actually…we…are so lucky to be able to use that Dow plane. I sure wish my family or I could use it. Wouldn’t that be great? I could fly into MI for a few days and then fly back home whenever I wanted. Anyhow, it will be great to see Nicole and Julie. I haven’t seen Julie since last November when she flew down to visit me and come to our house warming party. I haven’t seen Nicole in over 2 years other than in pictures.

Oh, I almost forgot…the video is of Shelby playing on her rainforest. J Erin and David Gorka gave this to us and she just loves it! Her attention span is very short, but when she’s in there she has a lot of fun. The other video is of Shelby pushing herself up while laying on Daddy. She does this a lot and I thought we’d show off how strong she is already. J Both videos were taken on November 2, 2008. Enjoy! She is a month old today!

Did You Vote?

My big event for today was leaving my daughter with my husband for an hour so I could go vote and visit with my friend for an hour. It felt good to vote. I was Stacie Boudrie for that whole hour...and I made a difference. Oh, but I didn't get an "I vote" sticker....that sucks! Oh well...I guess that is part of being in a small town. The good news is I spent 8 minutes voting and the rest visiting with Melanie. Thank God for good friends!

Today (other than voting) has been a pretty bad one. It started at 1 AM when I fed Shelby and then she decided to stay awake all night. Around 3 AM I loaded her up in the truck and took her for a drive into Needville and back. I didn't hear her and was excited at the thought she was sleeping. I was debating what to do with her...leave her in her car seat or put her in her bed...when I pulled the blanket off of the car seat to see two little blue eyes looking at me as if to say "That was fun, now what are we going to do?" I think I finally crawled into bed around 4 am....Ryan got up with her when she woke up a couple of hours later. I was done and had nothing else to give. I got up around 9...I think...time seems to just slip by you when you are taking care of an infant.

Ryan had a dentist appt so he left around 10 am...only to find out he has 4 cavities. Great, I have three that need to be refilled with that clear stuff they use now. Dentist said it will help delay me having a root canal. So, tell me, why do I work so hard to take care of my teeth??? Anyhow...there's about $600 worth of dental work between the two of us.

Then, Ryan calls the renters to figure out why they haven't paid us yet only to find out that they flaked on us and have basically moved out of our rent house with no warning. We had a purchase agreement and rental agreement with them. Don't you love how losers can just walk away from a financial agreement and there is nothing we, the honest and hard working people, can do? And we wonder why the housing market is so screwed up. Needless to say I'm pretty hot under the skin with that situation. These people came to our house and hung out with us. They wanted to be our friends...and when things get tough they just walk away...I have a few choice words for them but what good is it. So, we are off trying to find renters again. God willing we'll find them quickly or else we are screwed when it comes time to pay taxes in December.

Needless to say, to our loving family members, Christmas is going to be slim pickings from us. Sorry...

On a more positive note...we did open up a savings account for Shelby. We had gifts of money from friends and family and I thought it was best to put it into the bank to help jump start Shelby's college fund. :) I plan to get enough money to wrap it up into savings bonds or CDs...I need to see which yields the most money. JoLynn shared with me the new type of savings bonds and so we'll have to see what they have to offer down here. Thanks, JoLynn, for that information.

Well it's off to do something else.... I seriously feel like I'm part of that movie "Groundhog day"....hahahaha....get up, feed baby, rock baby to sleep, lay baby down for nap or play with her, clean up mess in living room, wash bottles, make more bottles, you get the idea....

Galveston and Halloween

Dad, Charlene and I took a drive down to Galveston to see what Hurricane Ike had done to that area. If your remember, that was one of the areas the eye of Ike hit leaving it pretty badly damaged. I took a lot of pictures and have added them to my Ike link. When you look at them some of the pictures look like pictures of houses with little damage. You have to look at the whole pictures. A lot of them have the sand on the side of the road that was washed up from the ocean or debris that had been tossed around. The piles of debris were at one time houses or other structures. You will also see pictures of boats on the side of the highway or road. These were tossed from the water and pushed with now where they still remain. The rebuilding has begun, but it appears to be slow. I’m assuming a lot of the owners are waiting on insurance or may not have the right type of insurance to cover their losses.

It was amazing seeing the piles of sand that was once roads and grass yards. The sand was piled high enough in some areas where you can’t even see where a structure once lied because the poles that once held the house was covered by so much sand. It was so weird driving down there and seeing the destruction. And this is after 6 weeks of recovery. I can’t imagine what it looked like a few days after Ike hit us.

We got back from Galveston and changed Shelby into her Halloween outfit and then headed off to our church for Halloween. It was a lot chillier than we expected, but it was still fun. We ate candy and passed Shelby around to all the ladies who couldn’t wait to hold her. We then went home and crashed after our long, busy day.

Saturday, Charlene and Dad headed out early to go back to San Antonio to catch their flight back to MI. I had a party with my friends at 2 pm so Shelby and I did that yesterday while Ryan hung out with a friend of his. It was so good to see my friends and to share Shelby with them. My friend Kaylene gave me a bunch of clothes and toys her kids weren’t using anymore. Shelby is still too young for them but I’m sure the time will fly and she’ll be playing with the toys before we know it. Rachel also brought Shelby a gift. She got her a cute cowgirl sleeper and some cowgirl bibs. Thanks to my wonderful friends! I can’t believe how generous people are when babies are involved. I have been blown away by everyone’s generosity.

Today is Sunday and it’s time for me to go so I can get Shelby and me ready to go to church. We haven’t been since September and I’m really looking forward to going. I will also be able to upload pics we took over the weekend. I’ll have new pictures in the Ike link as well as the MI link. Dad, Charlene and Charlene’s kids went up to the UP in MI back in July. The pics are so pretty I had to share. Isn’t MI beautiful…too bad it is so cold and so far from TX!

Thursday's Happenings

Dad and Charlene are coming back for a couple of more days. They had a bad experience in San Antonio the other night. They were attacked by two young guys in S.A. I thought Charlene was kidding when she told me. They are both ok, but were very shaken up by the experience. I would consider SA a safe town and was shocked when they told me. Fortunately, a WONDERFUL taxi driver stopped and helped them. He also called 911. They were able to identify one of the guys, but they never saw the other one so they couldn't positively identify him. It was a scary ordeal so they decided to come back here for a couple of days and spend it with us rather than stay in SA til Saturday. So, they rented another car and will arrive here in a few hours and leave early Saturday.

We are going to go to Galveston tomorrow to see what it looks like after Hurricane Ike hit on Sept. 12th. I'm curious to see the damage as well as the reconstruction that has begun. I also would like to support Galveston to help get it back on its feet.

Then, Friday night we are going to go to our church for a Halloween party for the community. It should be fun. We may also go to some friend's houses to celebrate Shelby's first Halloween. :)

Saturday I'm going to my friend's house to hang out and show off Shelby. I also hope to get back to church this Sunday. I haven't been since Sept. and I REALLY miss going. I was going to go last week but Shelby woke up really stuffy so I decided to stay home.

Shelby is sleeping and I'm tired so I'm going to attempt to take a nap while she naps. I'll add new pics next week of Galveston and I'm sure I'll have new pics of Shelby too. Surprise, surprise! :)

Long Day

Today started last night around 12:33 when Shelby was fussy for Ryan. He had taken the early shift so I could go to bed around 9:30 pm because I had to be up and out the door by 6:40 to make my 7:30 doctor appointment for Shelby. Unfortunately Shelby had other plans. I took over thinking she would be sleeping by 1 AM ish and I would still get me a good nights sleep. Of course, children are like animals and they all have minds of their own. So, needless to say, it was a long night. She fussed and fidgeted for 2 hours. Then, around 2:30 AM I put her in her bouncy seat and turned the vibrator on. She continued to fuss but I believe she fell asleep around 3:00. I fell asleep on the couch waiting for her to be sound asleep. Around 3:30 I tried to take her to her room only for her to wake up and look at me. It is as if she was saying..."Oh no Momma, your job is to hold me all night long." So, we got another bottle, changed her diaper and around 4:30 she fell asleep and I was able to put her in her crib. That gave me a full hours sleep...actually 1 1/2 hours cause I was so tired I slept til 6 AM. Ryan helped me pack things up and sent me off with a mug of coffee....

The doctor's visit was fine, but it annoys me that it took me 1 and 15 min. to spend 5 min. with the doctor and get a prescription cream to help her with a rash type thing on her neck. Doc gave me a fancy name for it...I just asked for something to take it away. :) Anyhow, I hate waiting more than 15 min. for any doctor. I pay a lot of money for our insurance and I also pay a lot of money in co pays...to me it's a service and I deserve to be treated with respect. If I were to keep the doctor waiting he would move on...so I plan to do the same.

I was supposed to call the pediatrician we had in the hospital today but today got away from me and I never got to it. I have a list of 'to dos' and the only one I accomplished was calling a potential babysitter to set up a time to meet with her next week. So much for the "To Do' list. We'll try again tomorrow...

I did get a nap in for about an hour. Ryan had to go back into town to put some shoes on a horse and I am pretty sure Shelby sensed that cause as soon as he left she woke up. Go figure...lucky for me she was only up an hour and wasn't too fussy. She stays up way too long and then gets too tired to sleep. So, we're working on that...

Oh, we also took Romeo (formerly known as Bobalou) to get worked on. He's one tough dude cause the lady that worked on him said he was out in his back end. She worked on him for over an hour. She also taught me some stretches I need to do with him to help keep him in line. She recommend staying off of him for a month. So much for Ryan breaking him this month. That is ok though, he's a nice horse and will be worth the wait. She said we can start round pen work on him the end of next week. I hope to be well enough to start working horses in the round pen at that point. He also needs to get his teeth floated and probably needs his wolf teeth pulled as well. She uses a guy out of Oklahoma and so that's probably who we'll use. The problem is he only comes down once every 6 weeks or so. The good news is he is coming sometime next week...the bad news is we just dropped $95 having him worked on and to get his teeth taken care of will be another $100+. Horses are like kids, they are always needing something and it's very seldom something that is free. :)

Well, off to check my other Internet sites to see what's going on in everyone else's world.

Baby Stuff

I decided to take the trip up to our church so I could use their DSL to upload all these fun pictures of Shelby as well as some pictures from the fair. I thought y’all would enjoy the pictures of Shelby. She has grown so much in just these 2 ½ weeks. Crazy how fast they grow isn’t it?

I have also gotten some pictures from Dad and thought I’d add those as well. I have added another link to put pictures of Michigan events. I love the fall colors and miss seeing them. October was always my favorite month in MI cause of the color changes and the cooler weather. Hard to believe I used to think the 70/80 degree summers in MI were hot. LOL It’s all relevant isn’t it?

Not too much is going on here. We got the cold front last night. The winds are stronger and the weather is cooler. It’s wonderful. I actually got to put Shelby in something other than a onesie. She gets so hot and she gets really mad when she gets hot.
She is getting stronger each day. She is now holding her head up by herself for longer periods of times and her hands are always in the way during feeding time. If only I could come up with a way to put milk in her hands. LOL She would love that. She doesn’t like to nap, so evenings can be challenging for us since she is usually over tired by that time. Luckily we pulled out the bouncy seat JoLynn gave us and she loves that. So, she takes naps in there as well as in her crib. That all depends on her mood. Oh how she has us wrapped around her fingers. I tried to let her cry it out in her crib yesterday afternoon but after about 10 min and tears in her eyes I couldn’t take it anymore. If I could just tell explain to her then I would feel better but since she doesn’t understand it sure makes it difficult.

I just made plans to meet with some of my friends this Saturday so they can all meet Shelby. I’m looking forward to that. I believe it might be the big event of the week for me. Hahaha…Oh, well I take that back…Friday (Halloween) my church is having their Halloween party for the surrounding neighborhood. We plan to take her to that. That should be fun. I got her a cute little Halloween outfit. It isn’t a costume, but with her being so small it doesn’t make much sense. The good news is Mommy and Daddy get to eat the candy this year. Hahahaha…..

Well, that’s it for me. Enjoy the new pictures I have added to the Texas link and Shelby’s link. I have also added the “Michigan” link.

Finally, I have decided to add a funny video of Shelby. I couldn’t resist cause her facial expressions were priceless. Let’s just say she is ‘relieving herself.’ J Sorry for the shaky video but I was laughing so hard I couldn’t help it.

A Great Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday...yes, I'm 21 again. :) LOL...actually I would never want to go back in time. I loved my 20s and those of you who know me know I made the best of them. But, it is good to be where I am with Ryan and Shelby and everything we've accomplished together. :)

Anyhow, it was a great day! Charlene and Dad were down so we had fun hanging out with them. I had a doctor appointment and a dentist appointment so they took me to that. Then, we went to Sam's club to get more formula and then back to Rosenberg to eat my birthday meal. We ate at La Casona, my favorite mexican restaurant down here. I even got a strawberry margarita. Man did I miss those while I was pregnant. It was wonderful! Then we all went back home and hung out for a couple of hours before Dad and Charlene headed off to San Antonio.

Charlene also made me a German Chocolate cake from scratch...frosting and everything. So, we enjoyed that yesterday afternoon as well. It's been many, many, many years since someone made me a birthday cake other than myself. It was a wonderful and thoughtful gift.

After they left we had to go to a friend's house so Ryan could trim his horses' feet. Since Shelby has been so crabby at night I thought it'd be a good idea for us to tag along incase I needed some extra assistance. Overall she was very good. We even went in and visited with Thomas and his wife, Francis, for a little while.

We got home a little bit later and Shelby was great all night. What a blessing!

She did wake up around 7 am with a stuffy nose. I believe I've been taking her to too many places so I am going to try and keep her a little more seculed to be sure she doesn't get sick. I gave her a little children's Tylenol to help her with her nose. That seemed to help because so far today she has been an angel. I gave her a bath and put some fresh clothes on her and she hung out for a while. Right now she's hanging out with Daddy watching a movie while I get caught up on all of this stuff. I say caught up as if it's a chore. It is my 'me' time and I enjoy doing it.

We have nothing planned for today other than to recoop from all the visitors and just have us time. In other words...be lazy and hang out.

Reality

The reality of life right now is I am still recovering. I thought for sure I would be healed up and feeling good by now. It is frustrating to still be so limited and tied to this house because of my own issues. Shelby, she's a trooper, she'll go anywhere. She's anxiously awaiting the time we can go outside and work horses. She's anxiously awaiting her Momma to feel better...and so is her Momma. My heart aches to go out and work with the horses even if it is just round pen work. I go out and feed with Ryan and dream about being able to work them again. I miss that so much.

Oh darn, short blog...Shelby is waking up...anyhow...pray for my recovery or sanity...I think they go hand and hand. :)

Facebook & the Blog

Here I am getting some down time from Shelby as she takes a nap and I find how much I enjoy reading my facebook and reading my friend's blogs. With Ryan and me living so far from everyone it takes me to a place where I don't feel so distant. I love that about technology. Since I've started my Blog and created my facebook account I have found so many of my old friends as well as my current friends...well...actually they have found me. I have also seen several of my friends create their own blog. What a great way to stay in touch in such a busy world. It's also my little 'oasis' as I enter into this very busy world called "Mom."

I can log on to my computer and go back in time for just a little while. I can just be Stacie Boudrie...the barrel racer on hiatus....the technology integrator...or the friend...It's nice. Then, I get my little fix and anxiously wait for Shelby to wake up so I can look into her pretty little blue eyes and tell her how much I love her. Isn't life great? It's true, you can get your cake and eat it too. It's all in how you live your life. You can live it with regrets or in depression or you can thank God each day that he has blessed you with your life and blessed you with people who love you and think of how lucky you are each day.

Thanks to all my friends who keep up with their facebooks and blogs. I enjoy reading them all. Thanks to all those who read mine and challenge me to journal my life each and everyday.

It's all out there for you to read...the good, the bad, the ugly...nah...just the good! Life is good...don't ever forget that!

Cool October

I love October in Texas. The weather is just perfect. The nights are cool and the days are not scorching hot. It’s wonderful! The only thing to make it even better is to feel well enough to go outside and enjoy it. I’m still recovering and so I have to make myself lay around more than my brain wants to. The good news is I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to my year off and being able to get back to riding. It will still be a good 4-5 more weeks, but that is nothing compared to 10 months. We all usually go outside at least once a day to get outside. It is great. Shelby and I enjoy going out to the barn to see the horses. Nancy has been feeding the horses a lot or I haven’t felt up for the walk to the barn so I haven’t been out there much. But, come this week I plan to go out with Ryan at least once a day.

We are going to start taking Badger swimming starting the beginning of November to help get the weight off of him and get him in shape so all I’ll have to do is work him on the barrel pattern and hopefully be competitive again come January.

Dick and Nancy left on Saturday to go back to New Mexico. We had a nice visit with them and we are now adjusting to not having Nancy around as an extra pair of hands. Shelby decided to test us and our ability to be parents by fussing from 2:30 til about 6 am off and on. Ryan originally got up with her but she wouldn’t quit fussing so I took her for a while. Around 4 am I laid her on my chest and patted her back. That went on til 6 am. Then she rested for an hour and let me take a cat nap before she woke up again at 7 am. She continued to fuss but not near as bad. Thank God for the over the counter medicine that helps with gas. I believe that was our savior.

She is doing great today and is now sleeping in her crib. She didn’t like it and would only take cat naps in it so we have been having her sleep in her car seat at night and during the day it kinda switches around from the swing to the crip to our arms depending on what’s going on at that time. Well, this is the good thing about having so much time to think while your baby fusses at night. I came up with the idea to make a cocoon in her crib with a fuzzy blanket and then lie her in the middle of it all. She likes that cozy feeling so it has worked so far today and we are on nap two. We’ll see how tonight goes. I’m determined to get her on a schedule as well as get her in her own room.

We took some pictures of her with us and her with her Grandparents. I’ve added them to her link. Enjoy.

Ryan just got a call from our friends inviting us over so it looks like we will be off again once Shelby wakes up. Sounds like fun….

Boudrie's Hang Out

The last two days have been pretty busy for us. We are still working on getting Shelby on a schedule that involves having her day and nights in the right order. We’ve had great success with that. She has been sleeping through the night except to be fed around 1 am and 5 am. We are so lucky!

Yesterday Ryan’s Dad, Dick, flew into town to spend a couple of days with us. So, Grandma and Grandpa baby sat while I ran into one of my schools to get some stuff I had accidentally left behind, including my checkbook. I had been looking for it for a while so I was relieved to find it. Then, I went to Sam’s to get formula and a couple of essentials. Finally, I went to the administration building to add Shelby to our insurance. With just that I was done! I guess I’m not as healthy as I had hoped. I had to come home and lay down. My plan was just to relax. Before I knew it I had taken an hour nap. Later that evening we went out to eat to Dick and Nancy’s favorite restaurant in Wharton County. It’s a seafood place. I get the usual….a cheeseburger which is surprising good since it comes from a seafood restaurant. I REALLY wish I liked seafood. I just don’t. 

Today Dick is fixing our toilet and dishwasher. Poor Dick…he flies in and we have a lists. Hopefully they are quick fixes. We just had the dishwasher put in and the water is backing up into the bottom of the dishwasher so it gets real stink and it leaks. Dick said it was installed properly, so that is good since we paid to have it installed the Monday before Shelby was born. It is so nice to have a dishwasher…it will be even better when the drain gets set up correctly. The toilet is just a valve problem. We haven’t had the time to fix it and so we’ve been turing the water off to the toilet each time. I won’t miss having to do that!

I’m doing much better. I’m still healing, but most of my body feels pretty good. I’m blessed as I am quickly getting back into my old body. I have been wearing my ‘fat’ jeans as I call them and I’m pretty excited about that. It feels good to wear normal clothes again. The maternity shirts were fine, but I hated the pants. They made my belly itch. I need to pull out all my normal clothes and put them back in my closet. This should be interesting since Ryan and I now share a closet. I used to use the closet in Shelby’s room. I’m not sure how that will work…ha…

Tonight we plan to go to the Needville Harvest fest for a little while. They are having a BBQ cook off and so it will be good eatins. Ryan and I always go there and it’s a lot of fun. I am sure I won’t be able to stay too long and I’ll probably just hang out in our friend’s BBQ area. That way I can sit and if friends want to see Shelby they can come visit us. They have been anxiously waiting to meet her. I was so sick in the hospital I asked them not to come and I’m just now starting to feel up to guests.

Nancy and Dick go back home tomorrow. The extra help will be missed, but I know they are both anxious to go home for a while because they both have been gone a lot with caring for us and for Dick’s dad. Then, Dad and Charlene come on Tuesday. They’ll stay for a few days and then they are going to go to San Antonio to stay in a time share for the week.

I will take some pics this weekend of Shelby and will plan to upload them the next couple of days.

A Great Night!

Someone had requested me to put my email address. You can reach me at stacieboudrie@yahoo.com. I do return messages from there as well. Just be patient as Shelby sucks up a lot of my time and we have dial up. Yes, I know I have said that a lot. Can you tell I'm frustrated and annoyed by dial up??? hahaha....

We made it through the night. Yesterday we worked hard to keep Shelby awake for at least an hour at a time throughout the day in hopes she’d get on a better schedule. It was a success! Yes! I also thought about how she was so good in the truck going to and from the doctor appointments. So, I put her in her car seat and rocked her til she went to sleep. Then, Shelby and I went to bed with her in her car seat right next to our bed. She slept for two hours. Yes! So we got up and I fed her again. We fell asleep with her on my chest. Oops…that’s what happens when you just want to ‘rest your eyes’…haha…so then I put her back in her car seats with hopes of going back to my bed. But, but this time it had been a couple of hours and so when I tried to lay down she fussed and so I got up and fed her. To make it easier I decided to put her in her car seat and sleep on the couch. The rest of the night we slept in the living room so I would know for sure she was going to sleep. Funny how a couch I hated even laying on a week ago was a great sleeping place for me this week. She slept from 4 – 7 AM. That was awesome! It was wonderful just getting several hours of sleep. I had to cover the car seat up so the cats would not get in there. Sady, our female cat, can’t help herself. She is always trying to check on Shelby.

Speaking of our cats, they have both surprised me! You would think when I’m up in the middle of the night with a crying baby they would go and hide to get away from the noise. Especially these two since that is what they do if we get strangers in the house…well strangers to them. Anyhow, both the cats are by my side no matter what room I’m in with Shelby. They are glued to us. They even sleep in Shelby’s room during the day if I don’t have the door closed. Animals never cease to amaze me.

Anyhow, I was so excited that I got several hours of sleep. I was hurting REALLY bad yesterday after she was up so long all night long. I’m not a night person and the long late hours were kicking my butt. So, now that I’ve gotten 4 or 5 hours of sleep I feel GREAT….I’m ready to tackle another day with my little girl. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7days already. I’m so glad to be on this side of this adventure. I think about last week and what I went through the next few days that followed and can’t help but think about the woman who did this over and over again. I’m so glad to make last week a memory.

Update and new pics

I have added pics to her link on the right.

Hello everyone! I have been getting your emails and postings from facebook. I’m so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family members.

I am doing MUCH better. I went to the doc just to be checked and make sure I was heading in the right direction. Doc says that it will take 2 weeks to build up my blood so he gave me some iron pills with folic acid in them. Hopefully that will help. I also was told my flu like symptoms were probably a product of a breast feeding issue that I believe is resolved. He also checked on the hemotoma I had and said it is doing well and was glad to tell me he wouldn’t have to do anything more for that. Time would make it better. Yes! It was a good check up.

After the doctors appointment Nancy and I went into Sugar Land to return the video monitor we had gotten. Man, you pay over $200 for something and it breaks. Very frustrating! Anyhow, they replaced it and the new one is up and running. When did something like a baby monitor become such a hot commodity in the Boudrie household? Ha….It sure is nice though….It gives me so much freedom when she is sleeping. I can go up to 600 ft from her room and I can see her cute little face whenever I want. So, if I see her moving around I don’t have to wonder if she is waking up. I just open the monitor and there she is!

I talked with Dad and he is so excited to come down next week to meet his granddaughter. Grandpa Boudrie is anxious to meet her too. He is flying in on Thursday to see her. He’s had a rough few weeks and months. His dad has had cancer for a while and was put in on hospice a week or two ago. So he’s had to fly back and forth to Sun City (close to Phoenix), AZ to help take care of him. He passed away last week shortly after Dick had visited him. I’m so thankful that Dick got to see him and spend some time with him before he passed away. When my Mom was sick 6 yrs ago I flew home for the last three weeks of her life. It was the best choice I ever made. That time was so special to me and I cherish it. It is NEVER easy to lose a loved one no matter how young or old you or they are.

That’s about it for us.

Shelby Has Arrived!

I tried to add pics but it won't cooperate. I'll try again later.

I know I said I would write sooner, but the hopsital did not have wireless internet while I was there....go figure. :(

Shelby was born on October 8, 2008 at 6:16 PM. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long and she had a 14 cm diameter 'noggin' as Ryan would say. She is a big girl.

Delivery was pretty tough and afterwards was tougher. We went in Oct. 7th at 8 pm to get ready for our big day. That morning the doc came in to check me and ok'd me being induced. All went well. I tried to hold off on any drugs until I could have the eperideral but the labor got intense and so I had them give me some pain medication through an IV then around 3 1/2 cm I was given the epederial. Dr. Greenwhich (Sp?) did an AWESOME job. I barely felt him do the epideral and he was very quick. He even checked in on me to make sure all went well afterwards.

We started hard labor around 4:30. It was touch and go for a while. I would heard Doc trying to decide what to do with me cause Shelby was being stubborn. Without getting into details he had to use foreceps and I had to use a lot determination. She finally arrived at 6:16.

That night proved to me that labor was easy. I had lost a lot of blood and continued to lose a lot of blood as well as have EXTREMELY hard contractions as my uterus did its thing. I was in so much pain and the nurses had only brought me Motrin. That didn't even tough the pain. They finally, after Ryan got after them, brought me some demerol around 9:30 and again at 10:30. Finally, relief....We left Shelby in the nursery that night so we could recover. There was no way I could take care of her in any way. If I remember correctly the nurses tried to get me up to go to the restroom Wednesday night and I would sit up and begin to pass out. It took most of the next day for me to sit up but still couldn't even come close to standing.

On Thursday the doc came and checked me. I had a hematoma he was concerned about and so I couldn't eat or drink anything incase he needed to put me under to take it out. He came back a couple of hours later and luckily it hadn't changed sizes and he was comfortable with me not doing the procedure. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. I was also able to eat. It was now Thursday at noon. So, I ate as much as I could but kept my meals simple and high in fiber. I also began drinking lots of liquids with the hopes of being able to get enough strength to stand that night. By Thursday evening I was able to stand on my own with little help and I didn't feel dizzy as long as I didn't stand too long.

Friday morning we had another set back after they removed the catheter and so I was afraid I was going to have to stay another night. I was so done with the hospital it was really hard to think of staying another night. Thankfully, I am stubborn and I was determined to recoop enough to go home and they released Shelby and me around 2:30 pm.

Thank you to everyone who has been calling and leaving messages. It has been a tough ordeal and I tend to pull inward when I face tough times. Thanks for your patience, prayers and well wishes. Shelby and I are doing great. I have a lot of healing to do, but God made me tough so I know each day means I'll be feeling better and better. Shelby, of course, is PERFECT. What a blessing it is to be a mom. Rossy's mom was right when she said "being a Mom is the hardest job you will every love." That is so true. Last night proved it when Shelby was up every 20 min - 1 hr until 4 AM. That was tough! The good news is she let out a big burb around 4 AM and then she and I slept on the chair til 6 AM. Then, we went to bed and slept til 8:30. I fed her, changed her and back to bed we went. We slept til 10:30...it was wonderful.

Ryan is doing well. He went through a lot taking care of 'his girls' and was thankful to be in his own home and bed last night. He has been so supportive. More than I could've ever asked for! We are so lucky to have him in our lives.

Nancy has also been a HUGE help. She took care of all of our 4 legged children while we were gone and held down the fort. She also came up to the hospital to help Ryan out since I was tied to the bed....

I guess that is everything in a nutshell. I will log on and give updates as time permits. Be patient...Shelby demands a lot our time. :)

God Bless!

Shelby is On Her Way

We went to the doctor yesterday for our weekly checkup. The doc has decided to go ahead and induce me. So, we'll be going into the hospital tonight to start the process. Our plan is for me to be dilated 2-3 centimeters by Wednesday morning and have her sometime Wednesday.

I am officially on maternity leave and won't be checking my work emails, so please email me on my yahoo email address but be patient as I probably won't be checking it too often at first.

I have wireless internet at the hospital so I plan to take plenty of pics and upload, so stay tuned. We are super excited (and a tad nervous) about the arrival of Shelby. We have everything ready to go and can't wait to meet her.

We went this past weekend to buy some of the the last few items. Thanks to everyone who gave us gift cards. They helped pay for our play pen/bassinet combo as well as our stroller/car seat combo.

Nancy and Dick (Ryan's parents) have also helped us out with the stroller and a video monitor. The video monitor is too cool. It's basically a web cam and you can take the wireless monitor anywhere up to 600 feet from the camera. That sure will come in handy when it's just Ryan and me and we need to go out to the barn or just get outside while Shelby is sleeping.

Until Next Time...

No Baby Yet

IKE PICS - I just found these Ike Pictures that were taken all over the city of Houston and surrounding towns. There are some really cool pics so I thought I'd share with you. Go to http://www.click2houston.com/index.html and then scroll down a little bit to "Slideshows" and you'll see the links there.

I thought I'd send an update to let y'all know there is no baby yet. :) She is thinking about it but that is it. She definately has her daddy's laid back attitude. Ha! I think that is a good thing. We'll know a lot more on Monday after my doctor's appointment.

Nancy got sick this week. Poor thing...she got an upper respiratory infection and has been feeling pretty crappy. She went to the doc the other day and he gave her some prescription meds. She said she is feeling better as of yesterday. She is still doing too much...still wanting to help. I think she is a bit stir crazy too. With Ryan and me working she is stuck at our house by herself a lot. She is not used to that and said it has really challenged her patience.

We went to the fair last night to watch the PRCA slack. Ryan had to help with the bulls in the back. That was fun. I got to watch a lot of barrel racers and got to see a few of my favorites. Kelly Kaminski ran last night on her sorrel horse. I hadn't seen them run since last winter after she first bought the horse. THey have come a long way and are heading in the right direction. I sure hope to see her running at the top of the ranks in 2009.

The ground was terrible for those horses. It was hard and got real deep around the barrels. God Bless a rodeo barrel horse. Not every horse can run at that speed and be that atheltic on such crappy ground.

We will go to the rodeo again tonight and tomorrow night. They are both PRCA rodeos and we'll see the cream of the crop this weekend. I love it! I hope to also see Jackie Dube and Brittany Pozzi-Pharr run this weekend. They are both within 2 hrs of this rodeo so I'm sure they will be there. I read their blogs as well as Kelly's throughout the year. Maybe someday I'll be doing this...I don't care as long as I get to run barrels. I used to dream of competing at that level and maybe someday I will.

Oh, I almost forgot, PRCA rodeos have a speciality act at some point during the show. This year they brought in to (I'm guessing) professionals who ride dirt bikes. I plan to take some video a/o pics this weekend to share the amazing stunts they can do. It's pretty cool. They even had the cowboys gasping as they did their flips and turns in the air. I thought of Shelly's kids when I saw them doing all those crazy stunts!

That's it for now...stay tuned for baby and rodeo reports. :)

Shelby Update & Blaze

I went to the doctor yesterday and nothing new is going on. He is going to have me go back on Monday and see where we are at with everything. She'll come next week sometime on her own or with some help. Doc did say I was dialated a 1, but barely. So, back to work I go.


I was at work yesterday teaching a class when I looked down and discovered I had "cankles"....but I can't complain since I'm in my last week of pregnancy. I know some woman suffer with that for months. I also learned that the only way to bring the swelling down is to lie on your left side. If you are sitting and prop your feet up it will do no good cause you are cutting off the circulation.

On a side note...I got an email from Jillian, the girl who bought Blaze from us last spring. She said he's doing great and she loves him. How could you not...he's such a lover boy and pleaser. I'm so happy to hear they are doing so well!!! I can't wait to see them 'down the road' next year as we get back into barrel racing. I asked her to send a video of him when she gets one so I can see his progress. It feels good to know that I made the right decision. He is in a WONDERFUL home and she rides him a lot which is what he needs. I miss his personality and him in general, but I am so happy for him. Jillian took this pic of Blaze last night. You gotta love digital cameras and the instant feedback they give us. :)

I also forgot I have a video of Ryan and his team "All State Roofing" competing in the Business Man's Roping. They didn't place, but good friend's of ours did.... Dustin, Cody and Janice Vyoral. Their team is "State Farm Insurance." Janice owns a State Farm agency. They got 2nd place and one buckles. :)

Ft. Bend Fair and Baby Shower

These last few weeks have been very busy. Thursday night Shelby dropped so now I can breath again! Yes! It sure does feel good...can't wait to have my entire body and energy level back! Anyhow, because she dropped Nancy decided to change her ticket and come early. She flew in on Saturday morning.

Friday night Ryan was in the open rodeo for team roping. No luck there. His header missed on the first steer and he missed for his header on the 2nd steer. It was still fun being out with all of our friends. The fair is like a big reunion...everyone you know but don't see very often is there. I love it! It's my favorite time of the year.

Nancy decided to fly in early since Shelby had dropped. So, Saturday after we picked Nancy up from the airport we went to Olive Garden (Yummy...I had been craving that for a while!)...we went home for a while then went back up to the rodeo for the 2nd night. Ryan didn't compete...we just hung out with friends and watched the rodeo. I had all intentions of watching Johnny Lee in concert but by 10:30 I was ready to go home or should I say Shelby was ready to go home!?! Since Nancy was too Ryan had to go home! HA!
This pic was taken Friday night at the fair. Ryan and I don't always get cleaned up so I thought I better take advantage of my clean shaving, good lookin' husband! :)

Sunday was our 'make up' day for our personal baby shower. It was a lot of fun and we had about 20 people come out for the big event. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful 'family' down here in Texas. The biggest surprise was when my 5 hosts (Donna, Erin, Glenda, Pam, and Rossy) bought us a rocking chair! Yes, a wood rocking chair! It is awesome! I had been wanting one but haven't taken the time to buy one. I guess there was a reason I procrastinated!

Here is a pic of me sitting in the rocker.


Last night was the ranch rode. Ryan was on a team of 4 men. There are 4 events and all the teams try to get a fast, qualifying time. The first event was cutting...they had about 10 cattle and as one man walks over the white line they call a number. They then have to get the steer with that number on his back plus the additional 2 numbers (ex: 4,5,6) out of that area and across the white line. They got DQ'd cause the wrong cattle went over. The 2nd event they had to rope a steer and pull the rope over a yoke then tie the steers head to the yoke (which is like a Y shaped tree stump) and then pull the heading rope off of the steer. The 3rd event 2 men have to head and heel the steer and stretch the steer out so he's lying on his side on the ground with his head and heels roped. Then, a third man has to put in X on the steer. The 4th event I missed cause it was late and I went to sleep in the horse trailer. So, I can't remember what they did for that. Overall, they got a time on 3 out of 4 events. Not bad! Ryan had so much fun too. He loved it...so maybe he'll start doing that more often. Ranch Rodeo events are very popular with the ranch cowboys because it's what most of them do everyday or, like Ryan, do it whenever they get an opportunity to work cattle.

Like rodeo events, each event originated from when cowboys had to do this for a living and they made a sport out of it. It's a lot of fun to watch too. I may upload some videos for you to watch, but that depends on how much time I get in the near future. Ha! My days are numbered!

Finally, I have my doctors appointment today. Probably my last one. If Shelby doesn't come this week I'll be induced next week. So, we're almost there. She is giving me all the signs she's getting ready so I'm anxious to see what doc says today. :)

I am in the process of adding pictures of my last two showers as well as this weekends events. It may take me most of the day, so be patient and enjoy. I'll add the shower pics to Shelby's link and I'll add the fair pics to "Texas"...enjoy!


Stacie