10 Things I've Done You Probably Haven't

I found this on Sandra Dodd's blog, who found it here, who found it here.

1. I (and Patrick, and our friends Gary and Becky) paid a very elderly Mexican gentleman $2 each to row us across the Rio Grande River into Santa Elena, Mexico, on January 1, 1999. We visited a craft store that was in a family's laundry room and ate lunch at a restaurant located on a woman's screened in front porch. It was the best meal I've ever had.

2. I carried my twins to 38 weeks and 3 days gestation, and they were only born that day because we had scheduled a c-section. Never had a contraction. Ava was 7lbs 6oz, and Genevieve was 6lbs 5oz. The OB said they had the two biggest placentas he'd ever seen. The week before they were born, my belly skin was stretched so tight that my stretch marks were starting to bleed. *eeeeewwww*

3. I attempted to give birth to Liam at home, but we eventually transferred to the hospital for pain relief. I was fully dilated when we got there, but he wasn't born until 3 hours later. I got my VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)! He was 9lbs 1oz at birth, and we went home 24 hours later.

4. I worked at a summer camp for 2 months the summer I turned 17. I lived in a treehouse with no air conditioning, slept in a hammock most nights, walked everywhere, and had the time of my life. It's the happiest time I ever had, pre-husband and kids.

5. I was with my dad when he died. He had pancreatic cancer, and died at home. There were probably a dozen people in the room when he took his last breath, and my mom, sister, and I were right next to him. I consider it one of the most profound moments in my life. He was there when I was born, and I was there when he died. It's as it should be.

6. My baby broke my nose. When Ava was about 18 months old, I was holding her and she threw her head back, right into my face. I heard my nose crack *OUCH* It makes a truly awful crunching sound.

7. I have two mortgages, as of today!!!! We're hoping this house sells quick, although we're prepared for the long haul. We filed bankruptcy 4.5 years ago (Patrick's business failed, and other stuff) and today we have two mortgages. What are the finance people thinking?

8. I didn't like my husband very much when we got married (I'm pretty confident in saying that the feeling was mutual.) We'd been together for 4.5 years at that point, and all had been great until about 6 months before our wedding. We very nearly divorced when we'd been married only 4 months, but we came to our senses and worked out our problems, and life's been pretty sweet ever since. 7 years and 3 kids later, and it's all a distant memory.

9. I climbed to the top of the pyramid (El Castillo) at Chichen Itza, in the Mexican state of Yucatan. I had to scoot back down on my rear end, and I could barely walk the next day!

10. I've watched every episode of SpongeBob Squarepants with my daughters.