i know everyone says it this time of year, but i can't believe how fast 2011 flew by. i'm also amazed at how much life has changed in 12 months. this time last year i was baking cookies for my friends wedding, hanging out with some of my very favorite people, and just waiting for baby #2 to arrive. (for the record, the cookies were ok, the wedding was beautiful, and i credit the awesome dancing at the reception for gideon's early arrival. fun times indeed. happy anniversary bailey dawn)
fast forward 12 months and we're living on the east coast,planning gideon's first birthday, and waiting for baby #3. i can honestly say that i NEVER would have guessed that this is how life would look at the close of 2011, but i can also say that it's been a great year. a little bit of a crazy year with way too many ups and downs to list out, but a year where i've definitely seen God work and move. i've had friends and family welcome new life into this world, and i've had way too many friends and family members have to say good bye to loved ones. through it all God has been and continues to be faithful. he didn't promise us an easy road, but he promised to walk it with us.
there's a REALLY old geoff moore song that i like. well, let's be honest there's a lot of old geoff moore songs that i like, but this particular song has a line that goes like this:
"He's gone before us, through every trial we face. we have a Savior, who's lived and died in our place."
not to get all crazy deep in an otherwise sort of shallow blog, but here me out...
one of the awesome things about Christ is that He didn't just DIE for us. He LIVED life as a human. we have a God who knows what it's like to welcome a baby into the world and loose a friend to the grave. He experienced human emotion. He KNOWS what we're going through.
there are a lot of verses that tend to float through my mind these days, but Hebrews 4:15 is one of the top.
"This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. "
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
the more things change...
i realize i've been VERY bad about updating this blog. you'd think with a cross country move and meeting with the doctors at a new hospital that i'd have lots to tell everyone. you'd think that anyway. or you may think that with a cross country move and settling 2 kids into a new house that i'd be way too busy to blog. i wish i could use that excuse. truth is i just haven't had much to update people on. i should claim the busy excuse because it would make me seem less like a bad blogger, but while most of you are in AK there are a few folks here in PA that would know that i was just making up a lame excuse.
excuses aside, there are a few things i can share that may let you know where we're at as a family.
so...obviously we moved. we're all settled in Bristol, Pennsylvania which is a little town about 1/2 ish outside of Philadelphia. it's a cool old town with lots of history. well, i'm assuming it has lots of history because it's old. i've gone as far as to google books about the area, so i know there ARE books about the history of bristol but i haven't actually read any of them. but trust me, it's an old town. old towns are cool because everything is very "stately" looking. awesome brick houses and just cool buildings all around. the down side of old towns is that the roads were made when everyone rode horses. that means narrow roads with intersections that don't really line up. then there's these weird things called "jug handle turns". that's a whole different issue that i'm not going to get into right now, but for those of you who know me you'll laugh when i say that i no longer have to worry about turning left. you're pretty much NEVER allowed to turn left here. the jug handles make every turn a right turn. cool if you don't like crossing traffic. confusing if you are looking at a store on your left and trying to figure out how to actually get into the parking lot.
we have met with the new doctors a few times. (FYI- CHOP is the name of the hospital in case i use that in the future). they seem like a really good group of people to work with. there's not a ton of new information. (thus the lack of blogging) pretty much we're still just monitoring and waiting until delivery. i'm about to bust into medical talk so if you don't really care you can skip the next paragraph.
obviously baby girl's heart condition hasn't changed. she's still going to need multiple heart surgeries at some point, but the big deal regarding her immediate health is her airway. the heart condition causes her arteries to get bigger than they should be and her airway runs right between those two arteries. so if they get too big it has the potential to "pinch" her airway. there's no real way to know if her airway is compromised until after she's born and having to actually breathe on her own, so we have to just wait and see. we literally could land anywhere on the spectrum of screaming baby with great lungs to baby that gets rushed into surgery to work on her airway right after delivery. so we're hoping for a good fast NOISY delivery.
so if you're looking for specific ways to pray:
* pray for our little girl's airway- that it's not compromised and that she's good and strong at birth
* pray for the doctors and nurses- wisdom and guidance as they work on our baby girl
* pray for lily and gideon- getting a new sibling is always a big deal regardless of medical issues
* pray for garret- his commute to work just got a lot longer. pray he has good flights, and that his time at work is not too crazy.
really we're doing great. yes, it's been a big transition but God has made our path smooth. we should actually know a little more next week. (more echos/tests/ultrasounds) we might even get a better idea ab out when baby girl will make her grand entrance. she's due january 22 but if i had to guess, i'd say she'll probably show up a little before that.
excuses aside, there are a few things i can share that may let you know where we're at as a family.
so...obviously we moved. we're all settled in Bristol, Pennsylvania which is a little town about 1/2 ish outside of Philadelphia. it's a cool old town with lots of history. well, i'm assuming it has lots of history because it's old. i've gone as far as to google books about the area, so i know there ARE books about the history of bristol but i haven't actually read any of them. but trust me, it's an old town. old towns are cool because everything is very "stately" looking. awesome brick houses and just cool buildings all around. the down side of old towns is that the roads were made when everyone rode horses. that means narrow roads with intersections that don't really line up. then there's these weird things called "jug handle turns". that's a whole different issue that i'm not going to get into right now, but for those of you who know me you'll laugh when i say that i no longer have to worry about turning left. you're pretty much NEVER allowed to turn left here. the jug handles make every turn a right turn. cool if you don't like crossing traffic. confusing if you are looking at a store on your left and trying to figure out how to actually get into the parking lot.
we have met with the new doctors a few times. (FYI- CHOP is the name of the hospital in case i use that in the future). they seem like a really good group of people to work with. there's not a ton of new information. (thus the lack of blogging) pretty much we're still just monitoring and waiting until delivery. i'm about to bust into medical talk so if you don't really care you can skip the next paragraph.
obviously baby girl's heart condition hasn't changed. she's still going to need multiple heart surgeries at some point, but the big deal regarding her immediate health is her airway. the heart condition causes her arteries to get bigger than they should be and her airway runs right between those two arteries. so if they get too big it has the potential to "pinch" her airway. there's no real way to know if her airway is compromised until after she's born and having to actually breathe on her own, so we have to just wait and see. we literally could land anywhere on the spectrum of screaming baby with great lungs to baby that gets rushed into surgery to work on her airway right after delivery. so we're hoping for a good fast NOISY delivery.
so if you're looking for specific ways to pray:
* pray for our little girl's airway- that it's not compromised and that she's good and strong at birth
* pray for the doctors and nurses- wisdom and guidance as they work on our baby girl
* pray for lily and gideon- getting a new sibling is always a big deal regardless of medical issues
* pray for garret- his commute to work just got a lot longer. pray he has good flights, and that his time at work is not too crazy.
really we're doing great. yes, it's been a big transition but God has made our path smooth. we should actually know a little more next week. (more echos/tests/ultrasounds) we might even get a better idea ab out when baby girl will make her grand entrance. she's due january 22 but if i had to guess, i'd say she'll probably show up a little before that.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
the Isaiah 55:8 learning curve
so i knew i'd be learning a lot through this process. so far i've learned a lot about different heart conditions, ultrasounds, and a ton of other baby related things. i've also learned that i'm not a very consistent blogger, but the thing that's really hitting home lately is what God's been teaching me about ME.
a few weeks ago i was talking about how maybe this part of the journey is all about learning how God meets all our needs, because let me tell you- He's definitely been taking care of all those things. God meeting your needs-bring it on that's a fun lesson, but lately the lesson hasn't been as cool.
i was doing some self evaluating the other day and it turns out i'm a tiny bit of a control freak. i'm not super crazy about it, but i like to have a plan. i'm flexible, but give me a tiny bit of structure. framework. guidelines. boundaries. these are all words that i like. that's part of why we're packing up and moving to the east coast for a year. the doctors couldn't give us any solid ideas of how long we'd need to be gone, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with a time line. in person i'll say it's so we can give the kids some sort of stability, but truth is it's a lot about me. it gives me stability and an idea of how to plan for the next year.(yes, i'm the mom that uses my kids to hide my own insecurities and issues)
so, we made this nice little plan and started moving forward on it. you know that saying "we make plans, and God laughs." that's about where i am right now. i don't think he's laughing in some mean sinister way, but he's definitely giggling while he watches me learn and re-learn that there's very little that i'm actually in control of. we've moved from plan A to plan B, back to plan A, and i think at this point we may be on plan Q; but i've sort of lost track.
so, if you ask me what our plan is and i tell you something. then the next day you hear someone else talking about our plan and it sounds nothing like what i said...nobody's lying. the plan has just more than likely changed. again. and i'm ok with that.
a few weeks ago i was talking about how maybe this part of the journey is all about learning how God meets all our needs, because let me tell you- He's definitely been taking care of all those things. God meeting your needs-bring it on that's a fun lesson, but lately the lesson hasn't been as cool.
i was doing some self evaluating the other day and it turns out i'm a tiny bit of a control freak. i'm not super crazy about it, but i like to have a plan. i'm flexible, but give me a tiny bit of structure. framework. guidelines. boundaries. these are all words that i like. that's part of why we're packing up and moving to the east coast for a year. the doctors couldn't give us any solid ideas of how long we'd need to be gone, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with a time line. in person i'll say it's so we can give the kids some sort of stability, but truth is it's a lot about me. it gives me stability and an idea of how to plan for the next year.(yes, i'm the mom that uses my kids to hide my own insecurities and issues)
so, we made this nice little plan and started moving forward on it. you know that saying "we make plans, and God laughs." that's about where i am right now. i don't think he's laughing in some mean sinister way, but he's definitely giggling while he watches me learn and re-learn that there's very little that i'm actually in control of. we've moved from plan A to plan B, back to plan A, and i think at this point we may be on plan Q; but i've sort of lost track.
when i start to get a tiny bit frustrated i can hear him gently remind me of Isaiah 55:8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. declares the Lord."
then i hear a little Twila Paris in the background singing "God is in Control" (cause THAT'S how my brain works, everything has a soundtrack and sometimes it's cheese-tastic christian music from the early '90's) gradually i remember that he is, in fact, in control and i just need to submit to his authority and roll with it. He's more qualified anyway. i mean the God that created the universe and holds time in his hands, yeah, i guess He's an ok planning partner. (when i say partner i mean that He gets to make the decisions and then i pretend that i thought of it and that it's a wonderful idea.)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
update - sort of
well i want to keep you up to date on how things are progressing with our baby girl.
had a quick ultrasound the other day, mostly to check for fluid around her heart which is the first sign of heart failure. they didn't see anything so things are great there. we have another Echo next week, and they'll get a better look at all things heart related. but right now things are going as well as can be expected. the baby is moving a lot, and things are falling into place for our move. so for now we stick with the same plan as before, which is basically a lot of monitoring until we make the trek to philly.
God has been very good, and is definitely meeting every need we have. that being said, please keep praying for our family as we start this journey.
specific ways to pray for us:
had a quick ultrasound the other day, mostly to check for fluid around her heart which is the first sign of heart failure. they didn't see anything so things are great there. we have another Echo next week, and they'll get a better look at all things heart related. but right now things are going as well as can be expected. the baby is moving a lot, and things are falling into place for our move. so for now we stick with the same plan as before, which is basically a lot of monitoring until we make the trek to philly.
God has been very good, and is definitely meeting every need we have. that being said, please keep praying for our family as we start this journey.
specific ways to pray for us:
- healing for our baby girl- whether that happens in utero, or through the help of the doctors after birth. i'm not picky, i just want her healthy and strong.
- that we find housing in philly- we're working on it, but nothing is for sure yet
- that we find good renters for our anchorage house
- that we can stay focused on the fact that God was not caught off guard by this. He is in complete control, and we should rest in that knowledge.
- that we find a good church down there- have a few leads, but won't know for sure until we get there.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
reality hurts
so the other night i decided i was going to pamper myself and take a bath. a long, warm, bath- that's all i wanted. i couldn't even remember the last time i had been able to do such a thing, so i figured i was overdue. i know better than to try and do stuff like that when the kids are awake, so i waited until they were in bed and got mentally ready for a "princess moment". i'm sure that pregnancy is reason enough for a long bath, but i justified my indulgence by going over the fact that i had been really busy packing, cleaning, being a mom, and the fact that i couldn't remember the last bath i had was just WRONG. (for the record i have been showering- it's not like my life is so crazy that i've abandoned personal hygiene)
kids in bed- check
mental justification- check
alright, i'm settling in, starting ro relax and just when i get to thinking "wow, i really feel like a princess right now, instead of a tired mommy." CRASH!! the stupid thing that holds all the kids bath toys falls right on my head. it hurt. a lot. and it totally ruined my zen moment.
turns out reality can't escaped by just running a hot bath, especially if you don't use bubbles. but the only ones in the house are dora bubbles and i refuse to take a dora the explorer bath.
kids in bed- check
mental justification- check
alright, i'm settling in, starting ro relax and just when i get to thinking "wow, i really feel like a princess right now, instead of a tired mommy." CRASH!! the stupid thing that holds all the kids bath toys falls right on my head. it hurt. a lot. and it totally ruined my zen moment.
turns out reality can't escaped by just running a hot bath, especially if you don't use bubbles. but the only ones in the house are dora bubbles and i refuse to take a dora the explorer bath.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
y=mx+b
so in my former life i was a math teacher. i taught the lowest math you could take and still be in high school. i say that just so you don't think i'm some sort of savant, because trust me- i'm not. i'm related to one, but i wasn't given that gift. if you think i'm just doing the false humility thing, you can go talk to my former bosses. they will inform you that my skills are adequate, but not exceptional. (or for that matter just ask my former students)
ANYWAYS, i've actually had the chance to do a good bit of math in the past few days. it's been a few years, and i have definitely forgotten a few things. but can i just say how good it felt to be using my brain!! to actually engage part of my noggin that doesn't have anything to do with dora, wubbzy, or dr. seuss. i'm telling you friends i'm feeling pretty awesome right now. this high is all natural.
i'm thinking about making a poster that says "MATH not METH" i think it would sell. at least other geeky math nerd teachers would buy it. i think i'm missing a major marketing opportunity.
ANYWAYS, i've actually had the chance to do a good bit of math in the past few days. it's been a few years, and i have definitely forgotten a few things. but can i just say how good it felt to be using my brain!! to actually engage part of my noggin that doesn't have anything to do with dora, wubbzy, or dr. seuss. i'm telling you friends i'm feeling pretty awesome right now. this high is all natural.
i'm thinking about making a poster that says "MATH not METH" i think it would sell. at least other geeky math nerd teachers would buy it. i think i'm missing a major marketing opportunity.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
told you so
remember how i said that my delicate little lily tends to freak people out with her climbing...
when i showed up to claim her from her 2 year olds sunday school class, i saw her climbing on the outside of the little play house thing they have. this is the conversation that followed:
nice volunteer lady "when does she turn 3?"
me "not for another 8 months"
nice lady looking a bit shocked "oh. we really thought it was sooner than that."
me "yeah, we get that a lot"
God bless all the sunday school volunteers that deal with crazy kids that they're not allowed to spank.
when i showed up to claim her from her 2 year olds sunday school class, i saw her climbing on the outside of the little play house thing they have. this is the conversation that followed:
nice volunteer lady "when does she turn 3?"
me "not for another 8 months"
nice lady looking a bit shocked "oh. we really thought it was sooner than that."
me "yeah, we get that a lot"
God bless all the sunday school volunteers that deal with crazy kids that they're not allowed to spank.
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| a REALLY old picture that i offer as exhibit A |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
the afore mentioned update
so we weren't really expecting to get pregnant again so soon after gideon. but once we found out about our baby we were super stoked! trust me there was a lot of laughter- even from the doctor. 3 under 3. that was something we hadn't expected, but...we knew we wanted more kids, so bring on the craziness.
then we found out that our precious little girl had some pretty serious heart issues going on. the laughter stopped. our joy wasn't gone, just the levity that had surrounded the pregnancy. when they told us all of the statistics and explained what our baby was going to be facing, things got real serious real quick. they explained that we wouldn't be able to deliver her in alaska. we needed to be at a bigger hospital that could take care of things immediately once she was born. not gonna lie- that was a little scary.
fast forward through a few heart scans and more discussions with our doctors, and we come to find out that they have no way of knowing how long we'll need to be out of state.
our options were #1) go to seattle for an indefinite period of time, and figure out how to keep some sense of normalcy in our lives or #2) figure something else out.
we opted for #2. the more research we did on her heart condition the more we realized that the children's hospital of philadelphia (CHOP) is the top hospital for everything that we need, AND we happen to have family there. we could live in limbo going back and forth between anchorage and seattle, or we could take what little control we had, and give our family a little stability. so we prayed about it, talked it over between G and i, and talked about it with our doctors. our doctors agreed that it was a great idea, so here were are- on the verge of a temporary relocation to philly.
our plan is to rent out our anchorage house and relocate for a year. that way we have family that can take care of lily and gideon when we are at the hospital taking care of baby girl. less stress, the kids get to spend time with their cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents, and garret's family get's to see him more than just once a year.
here's the cool part- God has totally been AWESOME throughout this whole thing. from the seemingly little things, to the really big things- He's been surrounding us with folks that have given us the support we need (and are willing to watch our kids while we pack or go to doctors appointments ) and making this transition happen smoothly.
so that's where we're at as a family right now. things are changing, but we're doing alright. we have lots of reasons to be optimistic and positive, so we're going with that. we covet your prayers, both for us and for our little girl. we know it's going to be a long year (medically not because of the family) but we also know that God will continue to shower us with His grace and mercy. i wouldn't have chosen this route, but i know that He's got it all under control so i'm resting in that.
on a lighter note- this does mean that come december there will be 2 mary slaugenhoups in philly. no more differentiating by saying philly mary and alaska mary. that should be interesting.
then we found out that our precious little girl had some pretty serious heart issues going on. the laughter stopped. our joy wasn't gone, just the levity that had surrounded the pregnancy. when they told us all of the statistics and explained what our baby was going to be facing, things got real serious real quick. they explained that we wouldn't be able to deliver her in alaska. we needed to be at a bigger hospital that could take care of things immediately once she was born. not gonna lie- that was a little scary.
fast forward through a few heart scans and more discussions with our doctors, and we come to find out that they have no way of knowing how long we'll need to be out of state.
our options were #1) go to seattle for an indefinite period of time, and figure out how to keep some sense of normalcy in our lives or #2) figure something else out.
we opted for #2. the more research we did on her heart condition the more we realized that the children's hospital of philadelphia (CHOP) is the top hospital for everything that we need, AND we happen to have family there. we could live in limbo going back and forth between anchorage and seattle, or we could take what little control we had, and give our family a little stability. so we prayed about it, talked it over between G and i, and talked about it with our doctors. our doctors agreed that it was a great idea, so here were are- on the verge of a temporary relocation to philly.
our plan is to rent out our anchorage house and relocate for a year. that way we have family that can take care of lily and gideon when we are at the hospital taking care of baby girl. less stress, the kids get to spend time with their cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents, and garret's family get's to see him more than just once a year.
here's the cool part- God has totally been AWESOME throughout this whole thing. from the seemingly little things, to the really big things- He's been surrounding us with folks that have given us the support we need (and are willing to watch our kids while we pack or go to doctors appointments ) and making this transition happen smoothly.
- for example: about 12 hours after we told his family about our plan, we got a text from them telling us that they basically had our philly house all furnished.
- more than once we've gotten offers to help us out with a very specific need that we hadn't even had the chance to ask for help with yet.
- we've got friends that have been in very similar situations that are helping us prepare. (bring on the NICU stories and the pictures of pediatric heart surgery) we are going into this very prepared.
- and let's not forget to mention the obvious- most families don't get this option. we are very fortunate that garret can commute from philly just as easy as he can commute from seattle. he has a job, i don't so we're not loosing an income there, and our kids aren't in school yet so we don't have to worry about pulling them out. most families in this situation HAVE to split up. we don't. not only do we get to stay together, we get to have some time with family members that up until now we really haven't seen all that often.
so that's where we're at as a family right now. things are changing, but we're doing alright. we have lots of reasons to be optimistic and positive, so we're going with that. we covet your prayers, both for us and for our little girl. we know it's going to be a long year (medically not because of the family) but we also know that God will continue to shower us with His grace and mercy. i wouldn't have chosen this route, but i know that He's got it all under control so i'm resting in that.
on a lighter note- this does mean that come december there will be 2 mary slaugenhoups in philly. no more differentiating by saying philly mary and alaska mary. that should be interesting.
shameless plug.
a quick shout out to my PS Photography girls. they are the ones that took all the awesome pictures in the previous post. well, all of them except the ultrasound pic. their lenses are good, but not THAT good. we have to wait a little while longer before we get PS pics of baby girl. thanks rach and tracy for the great pictures.
anyone in anchorage who wants amazing pictures should check out their website. they are worth their weight in gold, and they're fun to hang out with too.
/http://www.psphotographyalaska.com/
anyone in anchorage who wants amazing pictures should check out their website. they are worth their weight in gold, and they're fun to hang out with too.
/http://www.psphotographyalaska.com/
meet the family
so as you can see from the pictures the AK Slaugs are a family of 4 right now. i was pretty much raised in alaska garret is a pennsylvania farm boy that found his way up here during his college years, and through a few twists and turns of life ended up settling here. i like to tell him it's because God knew i was here waiting for him. (feel free to either gag or hum a richard marx song now) i'm pretty sure his family likes me, but i'm not so sure they've forgiven me for making him stay so far away from home.
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| mary and garret (aka G) |
then there's lily joy. she's...well....how do i phrase this...she's ACTIVE. i mean that in a good way. she's our precious daughter who learned to walk before she was 10 months old and hasn't stopped running or climbing since. she's not hyper or ADHD she just likes to play. a lot. all the time. her favorite thing to do since before she was 1 is to climb. she's pretty good at it (usually) but it tends to freak people out.
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| lily joy (2) |
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| gideon (9 months) this is what you didn't see in the family photo. this is the newest addition to the Slaugenhoup family. this little girl has a remarkable story all her own, and it's only getting started. |
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| baby #3 (aka baby girl) |
theme issues
it's pretty obvious that at this point the whole blogging thing is exactly what i feared- just another good idea that never gets done. but i feel like the main reason i haven't been blogging isn't that i don't have things to talk about, it's that i don't know how to say them. is this a funny clever blog? is this a serious pensive reflective blog? or is this just one more place other than facebook for me to ramble on about the daily nonsense that is going on in my life? trying to find my "angle" has kept me from blogging. NO MORE I SAY! there are so many things going on in my life that deserve to be blogged about that i actually feel like i'm being lame by NOT sharing them. so theme be darned, i'm just going to start writing. my new goal is to update this at least once a week (we'll see how long that lasts). i'm ok with the fact that i'm not the most clever person around but i can't be serious all the time either, so the tone will probably change a lot- but that's pretty much how i am anyway. i'm about to blow your mind and do a whole different post, just to get up to date on what's going on. not that i think the info will blow you away- just the fact that i'm blogging twice in one day is impressive. maybe i should wait until after midnight just to make it count as a different day....things to ponder.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
a good idea?
we'll see how this goes. maybe it'll take off and i'll blog all the time, or maybe it'll be one of those things that sounded like a good idea but was really just one more thing on my to do list that never gets done.
either way, i figured that it was time to give it a try. i have friends that blog, and they seem much cooler than me. maybe blogging is the secret to coolness. maybe i'll become one of those famous bloggers that EVERYONE follows. i'll get paid to blog. people will want me to write for their magazines, and in the preface of my third book i'll make some funny comment about how it all started with my little blog. or... maybe it'll just be an easy way to keep friends and family up to date as to what's going on with the AK Slaugs. on the off chance that someone other than family happens upon this little gem, let me take a moment to explain AK Slaugs.
i am Mary Slaugenhoup, but i can't just leave it at that because there happens to be another Mary Slaugenhoup. not just some random person that happens to have the same name as me and i only know because i googled her. nope, the other Mary Slaugenhoup is my sister in law. yep, one family two Mary Slaugenhoups. you can see how this could make things a little confusing. after a few different attempts at how to distinguish who we was being talked about, the family sort of settled on Philly Mary (because she lives in Philadelphia) and AK Mary (for the strangers that only found this blog because they read the preface in my third book, i live in Alaska. not Arkansas.) i have found that some people are intimidated by my last name, so i try to shorten it for them when i can. thus AK Slaugs. ironically, my name gets spelled correctly more now than it did before i was married. Greene looks easy to spell, but that pesky little e at the end always throws people.
well there. my first official blog post is done. i feel cooler already. i'm sure that feeling will fade as i go change the diaper of my now screaming little boy. hard to feel cool when you're getting peed on.
either way, i figured that it was time to give it a try. i have friends that blog, and they seem much cooler than me. maybe blogging is the secret to coolness. maybe i'll become one of those famous bloggers that EVERYONE follows. i'll get paid to blog. people will want me to write for their magazines, and in the preface of my third book i'll make some funny comment about how it all started with my little blog. or... maybe it'll just be an easy way to keep friends and family up to date as to what's going on with the AK Slaugs. on the off chance that someone other than family happens upon this little gem, let me take a moment to explain AK Slaugs.
i am Mary Slaugenhoup, but i can't just leave it at that because there happens to be another Mary Slaugenhoup. not just some random person that happens to have the same name as me and i only know because i googled her. nope, the other Mary Slaugenhoup is my sister in law. yep, one family two Mary Slaugenhoups. you can see how this could make things a little confusing. after a few different attempts at how to distinguish who we was being talked about, the family sort of settled on Philly Mary (because she lives in Philadelphia) and AK Mary (for the strangers that only found this blog because they read the preface in my third book, i live in Alaska. not Arkansas.) i have found that some people are intimidated by my last name, so i try to shorten it for them when i can. thus AK Slaugs. ironically, my name gets spelled correctly more now than it did before i was married. Greene looks easy to spell, but that pesky little e at the end always throws people.
well there. my first official blog post is done. i feel cooler already. i'm sure that feeling will fade as i go change the diaper of my now screaming little boy. hard to feel cool when you're getting peed on.
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