CONNIE
(Link to news article about using laughing gas during labor rather than traditional epidurals.)
Shelli and I were just having a HILARIOUS conversation wherein she was saying that she would give almost ANYTHING to be present right when Shauna's labor was getting intense....She was referring back to an evening a few years back when Shauna had called me while I was in Oregon tending Shelli's girls, to express her absolute OUTRAGE (in her uncensored and HILARIOUS manner)regarding the unfortunate date she had just been on. And can I just say: it was CHOICE. I mean beyond anything...... I was SO ecstatic that Shelli just happened to get home while Shauna was still on a roll, and therefore able to participate in that laughter-to-the-point-of-pain experience with me. We have laughed about it soooo many times over the years!! So when she realized that her little sis would one day soon be in LABOR, she gleefully went on and on about how she could not possibly bear to miss THAT.
So when I saw this little twist, I thought immediately of what this could bring to the party.
:)
Let's all just imagine that for a minute.
Now we won't even need the laughing gas, will we? :)
Love you all so so so so so much,
Mom
SHAUNA
Okay. That's not exactly what happened that night but yes, I sometimes to tell very uncensored stories JUST TO MAKE YOU GUYS LAUGH. :) I don't think I've ever made Mom and Shelli laugh harder in my life which is one of my favorite things to do, (You're a fantastic audience, Shell and Mom hahaha)
The best part is I married the PERFECT guy for me and honestly, we'll probably be laughing hysterically without the happy gas. A few "YOU DID THIS TO ME"'s might come out but with the happy gas, the possibilities are ENDLESS! ;)
So far so good with the pregnancy though! No real sickness or anything. Just some cramps now and then. I have a doctor's appointment in a few weeks and hopefully all will be well! We're just praying for a strong, healthy baby!
Love you all!
BRYCE
Just a thought: if we gave Shauna laughing gas during labor/delivery, filmed it, and put it on YouTube... imagine the ad revenue from all those views. Shauna and Mike would never have to work a day in their lives.
It's almost a shame that Shauna won't have any more crazy dating or roommate stories that she can deliver uncensored. I'll miss those. Oh man, but once the kid gets here and starts asserting itself? That should be worth the wait.
(Speaking of assertive children: Ginny's shoulder is fine. The orthopedist said she just has fluid in her joints, so we don't even have to keep her arm in the sling anymore; it'll work itself out over time. Thanks everyone for your prayers!)
MIKE
Hmm...yes. With that thought I'm pretty sure I'm willing to exploit my wife and new baby.
SHAUNA
I already told Shelli to film me and I'll make sure to slip in Ellen's name or something so we can make money ;) I'll take one for the team despite my husband's willingness to exploit me and our baby. haha
I know....my days as the family entertainer of the family were choice for all due to the crazy things that happened to be almost weekly (occasionally daily) but I for one am pleased with this new chapter :)
Mike's already said we're going to have monster children so I'm sure there will be more stories to come.....yikes. :)
Hooray for Ginny being okay!! :) Poor little girl! Hope everything works itself out quickly!!
BRYCE
Rather than exploitation, I prefer to think of it as giving them a chance to spend more time with you in the long run... by sacrificing a little (all?) dignity in the short run. :)
SHAUNA
Hahaha!! Nice :) I accept.
CONNIE
First of all, when you say "the kid" it makes my grandmotherly hackles rise up in protest. You KNOW my feelings about referring to one of our precious little ones as "the kid"...Kids/ plural is just fine, but for some reason I always inwardly (ok, outwardly as well) revolt. Kid is a baby goat....and the closest thing I can bear to that is a lamb. And we all know how I feel about that. :) :)
So now that I have that off my chest. :)
Maybe we should let Haley be our first happy-gasser (oh dear....you know what I mean) to sort of blaze the trail, since she is all experienced in this delightful business. What about it, Haley girl? :) You game? I insist on a video recording, btw. (Just of the laughing end, of course.....)
Also--I knew I wasn't telling the story as accurately as it could be, but I left it open for Shauna's rebuttal/explanation because it just seemed kind of hard to explain. So....it was really REALLY a lot funnier than her just having a bad date. :) Shauna's story to tell. :) And mine. And Shelli's. :) And I wonder if we can ever possibly capture that moment in the retelling. Oh, what a choice little interaction that was. :) :)
So, yes, a laboring Shauna--at least in the early stages--could be quite entertaining.............
And then it might get just plain dangerous. :) :) :)
My goodness. I LOVE MY FAMILY SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are all wonderful --and don't you forget it!!!!
Love you all, my darling lambs!! ;)
BRYCE
I reserve the right to use "the kid" affectionately. If I intend to malign a young miscreant, I can do better than "the kid." :)
HALEY
Haha. I'd love to be the guinea pig, but unfortunately there probably wouldn't be much to laugh about. Me and laughing gas aren't pretty. I just sob and weep hysterically apparently, which would probably still be hilarious and I'm all for the not remembering it afterward, but may be a little difficult for the doctors. =) So I might be out for that experiment. Sorry Shauna, it's all you! =)
SHAUNA
Hmmm....I'll talk to Mike about this but this could be veryy entertaining....and I'm not gonna lie, I'm slightly tempted. haha :)
BRYCE
I know I sort of started this ball rolling, but... it's all fun and games until your body starts attacking you with contractions. I wouldn't plan on it being a merry time; it's much more "Martin and Willie Handcart Company" than "Youth Trek."
Afterward can be funny as all get-out, though. Haley and I have all sorts of stories from our hospital stay that I'm not sure I'm allowed to share but that still make us laugh regularly.
KEVIN
I think you should do it, Shauny! (Make sure beforehand that the hospital actually uses laughing gas on the floor, though.) So, you can start off all loopy with the laughing gas and then you can ask for Phenergan, which basically gets you drunk. Just imagine the possibilities…
p.s. Can we all agree not to refer to the unborn child as a kid, and instead refer to him/her as ‘the little frigger?’ I just think that would simplify everything.
p.p.s. Loved the analogy, Bryce. J
BRYCE
"The little frigger" it is!
Hm... Kev has me conflicted. I know pregnancy is terrible, but he makes the drugs sound so fun...
Yeah, no. Still do not want. Thanks again, Dad, for the Y chromosome.
TORREY
You’re welcome Bryce. : ) But I’m beyond grateful for the X’s in the family.
That having been said, and because Mom’s not here in my office to stop me from typing this, pregnancy and childbirth are possibly the top two items on the list of why it’s good to be a guy. The list is REALLY long, but bathroom availability . . . or the lack of need thereof . . . are pretty strong contenders for the Top 10 or at least Top 20.
Ok, ok. I’m pretty sure there’s an equally long list of why it’s good to be a female. Each list is from the point of view of the respective gender, which works out really well. Everybody focus on your own list and we’ll be just fine. : )
xoxoxoxo
Dad . . . about as PC as I can get right there. Not saying much, right?
CONNIE
Ok, Bryce, you can AFFECTIONATELY say 'the kid'....but only because I know you really would be affectionate....and the little tiny fact that I can't stop you even if I were so inclined. :) Martin and Willie handcart......oh Bryce......you KILLED me on that one!!! And I just kept laughing as I read each one....
Haley---that sounds like a party waiting to happen!! WOOHOOO! :) Maybe just a litttttttle laughing gas....? :) :) :) And definitely story time from previous births! ;)
Hey Kev, you little frigger! :) How bout you bring some Phenenenenemmljfakdfafhadfj for all of us at the next family reunion.
Now THAT would be something. Illegal. Against the WOW.... Betta not. :) But you did kind of make it sound fun. And I've even had a baby...or two....
Oh man, you are all so stinkin' funny....... :)
Glad our little Gins is going to be okay without any further medical paraphenelia (I give up on how to spell that) on her poor little self. I can only imagine how put out she was with that sling!!
Yay Eldon is home with his girls!!!
:)
SHELLI
Ha! I love checking email after a few days' break and finding a conversation like this one.
I don't care what they name this baby, because after trying to find a fun nickname along the lines of mulatto I gave up and decided to just call the baby Twist. But it's okay because the child will be large enough to beat me up for it in no time.
Also, I can't think of very many reasons it's better to be a girl. I don't know if I've told everyone this story, but last year Chiara was watching the deacons pass the Sacrament and she told me, "When I'm big I'm going to pass the Sacrament."
"Well," I whispered. "Only boys pass the Sacrament because remember? Heavenly Father gave the Priesthood to boys for their special job. Girls have different special jobs."
"Oh, like laundry?" she replied.
"I'll tell you all about it later, my girl."
We had to have some serious discussions about it .... After I got my list finalized.
laundry
cooking
washing dishes
cleaning bathrooms
potty training
vacuuming
washing floors
packing lunches (not yours, just other people's)
ironing (not your stuff, just your husband's stuff)
grocery shopping
cleaning up after children -- spills, accidents, tantrum casualties, injuries, etc.
periods
being pregnant
labor and delivery
nursing
Ooops, wait, that was part of my pro Y chromosome list. Where is my pro-X list? Where did I put that teeny, tiny little list? :)
All joking aside, Chiara and I had a really lovely conversation about the privilege of being mommies and how nothing in the world is more important than Heavenly Father's children. Sometimes I look at my to-do list in the morning and it makes me a teensy bit homicidal, but I'd still never trade getting to be the nurturer of children or the maker of our home for anything. Not even a Y chromosome. We all just take care of children, right? Can't do our list without yours.
I'm excited for you, Shauny! Please call me on your bad days so I can laugh at you. :) Mike, your opportunities for capitalization are going to go up exponentially from this moment. You could have your own show. Or at least a video blog.
P.S. Also, I'm going to try not to covet your children's coloring if they do have more olive skin like Mike. I can't make any promises, but I'll try. :)
BRYCE
All joking aside, I have been wondering lately why there seems to be such an imbalance between the sexes in this life. The way one of the new temple videos portrays Eve, though, has started to help understand. In the video, it's clear that Eve thought she was putting her eternal salvation at stake when she ate the fruit so she could have children. She is overwhelmingly thrilled/relieved when Heavenly Father says there will be a Savior provided, and when I saw that, I realized for the first time how frightened, vulnerable, and powerless she must have felt because she didn't know about Jesus beforehand (I know, probably should have realized that a long time ago...). As for Adam, I sort of get the sense that he was too afraid to take the risk until Eve tipped his hand. For me (and maybe this is oversharing, but whate'er), I think I need Haley the same way a lot of the time. I need her to be frazzled and exhausted and stretched thin by her responsibilities (nearly all of which are related to women's baby-growing-and-thus-more-vulnerable body) so that whatever is holding me back (fear, pride, selfishness, etc.) is washed away by my love and concern for her. At times like that, Haley makes me feel, like Moses, that "man is nothing," or that at least that this man is nothing. On the other hand, and I hope I'm not putting words in Haley's mouth here, I get the sense that when I help her (often by utilizing my physical advantages from not having a baby-growing body), it can help her feel valued and important and worthwhile in a way that few other experiences can. To put it differently, our relationship humbles me and exalts her, which I hope we do in a good balance so we both end up just right (at which point we would also be equally yoked and bearing an equal burden). As I've been writing this, I've realized that this interplay of the sexes' strengths and weaknesses is probably one of the ways in which "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." Put differently, the sexes are to some extent unequally burdened by nature, but it is our responsibility and privilege to work out how to balance that with our eternal companion. And of course, to the extent the burdens are mere social constructs (i.e., "Make me a sandwich, woman!") instead of related to natural biological differences, there's really no excuse for perpetuating them. I'm guilty of at least some of the latter inequities, and can certainly stand to improve in the burden-sharing department, as well, so I'm sort of feeling sheepish about gloating over my Y chromosome.
Whoa, sorry about that. I should have put up a "Warning: Pontification Ahead" sign.
Getting back to the proper tone for a family email chain, are we seriously allowed to make mulatto*/twist jokes? Because I will call that baby Twister until I die... or at least until it's no longer safe. Like Shell said, the joke will eventually be on me when Twister towers over me, its beautiful olive skin showing off its incredible musculature (even though it'll only be what, 10 years old when it grows taller than me?), and makes me take all the jokes back. But in the meantime, Twister jokes! :)
* Also, does everyone know about the original mulatto joke/near-death-experience-between me and Shell? If not, that's a story that needs telling.
SHAUNA
Hahahaha!!! You guys are all out of control! I will leave that up to Mike. And yes our children will apparently beat everyone up. Mike tells his brothers that all the time. Haha If we have boys, its going to get crazy.... :)
BRYCE
Unlike some other dads I could mention, I bet Mike is man enough to father sons.
And rather than assuming they're going to be violent, let's just say they'll... hold their own. Command respect. Something along those lines.
TORREY
I have to admit I winced a bit on the word choice. Luckily I’ve heard Mike joke about “playing up the 25%” so hopefully no offense is taken when none is intended. However . . . . . .
I can picture Shauna and Mike’s kids running on the beach in nothing but their swimsuits, while all their Lowder cousins keep checking in with Mom to apply sunscreen. Or rather, while their cousins are harangued by their parents to come and get more sunscreen, against the child’s will. And of course because they have some Lowder genes, there will be some ignoring of parents and burning of skin, . . . and pain . . . and crying.
Note to self: Gotsta’ make that appointment with the dermatologist ASAP.
xoxoxoxo
BRYCE
I like to think Mike is shaking his head and chuckling to himself, "Silly white people. First they refrigerate their tortillas and now they're using 'mulatto' as if it applies to any race other than black people."
(But yeah, even then, I admit I typed the word with trepidation. If my firm weren't based in SC, I might worry that some kind of internet filter would flag it.)
SHAUNA
Oh the tortilla thing....gosh that made me laugh!! :) he likes his quarter Mexican for sure and even claims to have stolen Ben's quarter so he's 5/4 of a person (how he described to me once why he's so big). Man I hope our kids get his skin! They'll be super ticked if they get my glow in the dark/reflective skin. Haha.
I just remembered a story that Rita told us the other day. There was a guy bearing his testimony in their ward with the last name of Hale(s?) and that's a family name on Rita's side and she said to the younger boys "we could be related to him" or something like that and Nathan (13) just looks at her and says "but he's white...." Haha we laughed so hard about that! My goodness I love my in laws!! :) no wonder you all love me so much! Younger siblings are awesome ;)
BRYCE
Haha, younger siblings ARE awesome, even if they sometimes require training. ("Siblings don't tell on siblings!") :
SHAUNA
"That happened one time!"
CONNIE
And now you've got 2 of your dreams coming true: younger siblings and actual skin pigment for your children!! SWEET! :)
SHELLI
If I could scramble Eldon's and my genes and throw in some extras, one of them would be some serious black pigment. Oh, and black people vocal chords. I say mulatto with smiling reverence. Mike's 1/4 latin blood is a major perk, if you ask me.
"I said bestest looking wig. It was a compliment!"
