The Morrisons

Pay For What You Get

This has been a tremendous week - capped off by the arrival of our new daughter Audra Claire. She arrived after a few speed bumps at 8:50pm on Thursday, November 2nd. This 8 lb 13 oz, 20 1/2 inch long beauty has got to be the most amazing girl I've ever met, aside from her mother - who was a champion every step of the way.

We went to St. Elizabeth's a lot earlier than we had planned. We were scheduled for induction Thursday night but there were signs that Lex's water broke mid-afternoon Wednesday. After consulting with our doula (Marsha Dvorak), she advised calling our midwife's office which ultimately led to our departure for the hospital. We packed the mini-van with the bags that had been diligently waiting for two weeks and headed out.

Once at the hospital, Lex was tested, and subsequently confirmed, for amniotic fluid. We were there for the night. By 1am, Lex was waking up to contractions but able to sleep between them. By 3am, she wasn't sleeping at all. We finally saw Joanne Bronson (our midwife) at 7:30am. She determined that the bags of waters did not completely rupture and was causing Lex's labor to creep along at a very slow pace. Since we were already scheduled for induction, she ruptured the waters at 8am, and the journey really began.

Marsha began working her magic - making us walk laps of the hospital, play cards as Lex bounced on a birthing ball and change positions frequently. Contractions quickly became more frequent and intense and her dilation quickly progressed.  Come noon, this came to a crashing halt as baby became lodged on Lex's pubic bone creating a massive amount of pain that increased with each contraction. After almost an hour of non-productive pain and discomfort, our midwife gave Lex two alternatives - continue down this path for one more hour then have a C-section or get an epidural and relax and hope that her body becomes more productive. We chose the latter with fantastic results.

At 2pm, the epidural was administered and brought her almost instant relief - which is very rare with such anesthetics. She was relaxed enough that she was able to sleep comfortably for 3 hours while pitocin allowed her body to progress to complete dilation (with a little help from our fabulous nurse Bryana) by 6pm. By 6:25 the pushing began. As she slowly gained some feeling in her lower body the pushes became more productive.

However, baby once again became lodged on the pubic bone. After another 30 minutes of unproductive pushing, we were given the option of vacuum extraction or a C-section. As we had already committed over 24 hours to this birth, we weren't about to allow this roadblock to stand in our way. Our midwife (who, herself had been up for 36 hours at this point) returned after calling the MD with the ultimatum: "The doctor will be here in 25 minutes. If you want a chance at avoiding a C-section you have to move this baby and prove you can push it out of there." This was all the threat that Lex needed and began pushing harder than ever.

By the time the doctor arrived at 8:25, Lex had moved the baby somewhat. The doctor was not optimistic at our chances of avoiding a C-section and shared that with us. He agreed to allow us to try the vacuum extractor three times. If at that time the baby wasn't out he was ordering a C-section. At this point, he changed and the nursery crew prepared the room for the baby's arrival. The first contraction after applying the vacuum extractor got the head out. Another push got the shoulders and the rest of our baby quickly followed. Lex shouted to ask what the baby was. It took several seconds before it registered that the baby was out and I had no idea what it was. A quick look down from my station holding her left leg showed it was a healthy baby girl. A complete surprise as we were guessing that it was a boy and, as Mimi would say, "the Morrison men only have boys"...and had for five generations prior to me.

It was 8:50pm and we had a brand new daughter.

Head on the Door

The big news in this part (and most everywhere else) of late is Warren Buffett's gift of $37 billion to the Gates Foundation. I think the coolest part of it is the story behind the story. FORTUNE just printed a conversation with him about his rationale for the gift (both in quantity and to where it goes). It just goes to show that there are some truly amazing people out there that are still humble and sensible.

It makes me think about Tom Osborne and his TeamMates organization. Had Tom truly had the sensibility and humility he claims to have he would have thrown his support behind an already existing organization with proven results and the infrastructure to support his objectives. He could have supported Big Brothers/Big Sisters and made his effort go that much further. Instead, he creates a new organization (with his profile portrait as part of the logo) and promotes the heck out of it and steers thousands of dollars and volunteer hours away from an existing organization's efforts - all while never releasing any data as to how effective his organization has been. He has essentially crippled an existing, effective organization while promoting one's own hubris.

Glad that character like that never made it to the governor's office.

Big Dwarf Rodeo

Just wrapped up a crazy series of days and I'm hoping that some serious work can begin to be done now. My fraternity chapter is working to reestablish itself at UNL and there has been a lot of groundwork getting that in place. We have an student organization started and even recruited two fantastic gentleman that we hope will be able to serve as the seed to this new endeavor. This past weekend we had an alumni golf outing at Fontenelle Hills - one of my favorite executive courses. It winds through the hills and valleys of Bellevue right along the Missouri River and Fontenelle Forest - saw several turkeys and deer during the round.

Had a couple of friends back in town which made for late nights. After picking Mike up at the Lincoln airport (and finding out that somehow United lost his golf clubs on a non-stop flight) we went to enjoy wings at The Watering Hole. Went to bed way to late and got up way too early to make it to the meeting and golf Saturday morning. Played a really good round considering it was only my second all summer. Met Lex at the Bueschers for a deck party which soon became a house party when the rain rolled in. Again, got home late to our house guests already asleep.

Woke up at 5:00am to take Mike to the airport. Got home and slept a little longer and was surprised to see a package tube laying next to me where my wife usually is. It turns out that it was my Fathers Day present - a signed aerial shot of the first Cardinals game in the new Busch Stadium. Now it just needs to be framed and placed in a place of prominence.

Had a wonderful Fathers Day dinner at my parents' house. The Scotts came along and we generally had a good time. Unfortunately, as we were leaving, my grandmother had a very strange spell and we ended up having to call the ambulance to take her to the hospital. At about 12:30am we got the news that signs were negative for stroke and she even got the go ahead to go home after finishing her IV of fluids. Hopefully the doctor appointment tomorrow goes well.

Last night was the third Jazz in June which featured Rick Trolsen - a trombone player from New Orleans. He and his band were not only insanely talented musicians but some of the nicest people you would ever meet. After an incredible show they joined us at Brewsky's for a while and we enjoyed the company and stories while sharing a few well-earned beers on the patio. Only one more to go and we all get our Tuesday nights back.

3 is a magic number

Recently found out that our friends Shea and Maya who live in Chicago are expecting their first child. Given a number of issues, this is truly a joyful event and wish them all the best. Their little person should be arriving in November...just a little after us. This brings to '3' the number of the Man Weekend crew that will become first-time fathers, all within just a few weeks of one another. Let the development race begin...who will walk first? Who will talk first? I'm sure we'll be certain that everyone is well-aware of each and every little feat.

Along the lines of feats, we had our first (and perhaps only) ultrasound just last week.  The picture you see is the cute little parasite currently residing within Lex's abdomen. The current debate rages over whether or not the child is flipping us off. I'm bittersweet if it proves true. On the one hand, its good to see an independent, rebellious personality already work. On the other hand, I was hoping to avoid that independent, rebellious personality for at least 10-12 years.

Information Please

So, I guess we can't just drop a bombshell like that out on the world and not offer more details to our faithful readers (all 3 of them...)

First, a rundown of answers to common questions:

• Baby is due on Halloween
• We aren't going to find out what it is until "the big day"
• We are seeing a midwife.
• No, that does not mean we are having the baby at home.

The midwife thing is totally new to me. With my mom working as a high-risk Labor & Delivery RN for longer than I've been around I always equated midwifery to voodoo or shamanism. Now, being neck-deep in it, I'm a huge fan. It treats childbirth as something that is totally normal and natural rather than a medical condition which must be "cured." We've already seen her, in our 4 appointments, more than most moms-to-be see there doctor during the entire pregnancy. As well, she will be there the whole time that we are at the hospital to help in any way necessary. If all goes well, we'll never have to see a doctor. If all goes not-so-well then she is in a practice with 4 OBs that can offer more specialized care.

Lex has been awesome throughout the whole process to date. She hasn't been sick at all and really only has a couple of real "symptoms" (one of which is being ready for bed by 9pm) which seem to be subsiding. One frustrating thing for her right now is that she, at 16 weeks, is in pregnancy limbo. Her old clothes don't fit all that well but maternity clothes are way too big. Though she is a huge fan of the expandable panel in maternity pants. I'm sure some similar garment should be devised for men during Thanksgiving, 25-cent taco/wing nights, and first weekend of March Madness. Sexy, no. Functional, darn tootin'.

This means that we are going to be sticking around Lincoln for another year. That also means that we move into "Plan B" which entails me getting a job...so if anyone out there knows of anyone hiring marketing researchers/analysts, teachers or needs some work done for them...let me know.

Its the end of the world as we know it...

We're pregnant.

What price slothiness?

So a few tangential forces have been at play lately that finally came to a culminating point today...

First, a friend of a friend (let's call him Shane) took part in the recent Link Urban Adventure Race here in Lincoln just a couple of weeks ago. Lex went off to see this race start with Kristin (the aforementioned friend of Shane) and grabbed me to cheer his team on as they had a checkpoint near our house. It is there that I talked to Shane for the first time (kind of) and they were soon off to complete the rest of the course (total of about 50 miles biking and 10 running among other tasks). What started as a 15 minute distraction ended up being an all-day event. We next caught up with them at Pioneers Park for the next major checkpoint and had a chance to gab for a brief moment, then at the finish. Well, now it seems in Shane's talks with Kristin and Lex that he wants to grab me for upcoming races (don't forget, we really haven't even "met" yet). Nevertheless, it is an activity that looks exciting but to be any good I figured that I should get my running legs back from my Ultimate Frisbee days.

Second, the last time I rode my bike I ended up with a flat that I haven't fixed yet.

So, not having run further than perhaps 5 blocks in-a-row in the last 3 years (amazing what a bike can do for you) I ended up running back from campus today. I went from nothing to 5K at the flip of a switch (all the while wearing a 15 pound backpack). My time was 22:52.33 (considerably under my goal to avoid embarrassment of 30:00). Not bad...perhaps this adventure race thing can pan out afterall...

Who says life stops at 30...?

Explain it to me

So its Spring time in Lincoln, Nebraska. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the...yeah, NOT. In the past 36 hours we have received over 14 inches of snow. We are expected to get another 2 inches today. Needless to say the birds are NOT chirping, the flowers are NOT blooming but instead schools and businesses are closed, the roof is creaking under the weight of a foot of snow and the peaceful, quiet landscape is punctuated with snowdrifts four feet high and the constant din of snowblowers off in the distance. Those lumps you see in the picture are our bushes. The two largest lumps are bushes that usually stand about six feet tall. Under the weight of the snow they are currently about four feet tall. I hope they survive.

Being the super efficient person that I am, I was waiting for the snow to dissipate before digging us out. That plan lasted until about 5:30pm when Lex came home from work and couldn't plow through the snow in the driveway with her little Honda Civic. She became high-centered and called me (on her cell phone, from the driveway, only 5 feet from the garage, mind you) to come dig her out. Being the devoted dork that I am, I complied while she sat in the car and waited.

Later, after finishing the digging of driveway and sidewalks and in driving snow, we were watching Good Eats as Alton Brown makes pizza. Needless to say, after that show our meager leftovers just weren't going to cut it. I got myself bundled back up and ventured out in the driving snow (we'd only gotten about 12 inches at this point) to walk to Leon's for pizza makings. The end result was fantastic but I question my sanity at this point.

Woke up this morning to unbury the van and dig us out again (third time in 36 hours) so that Lex could get to work. UNL is closed until 1pm after being closed yesterday. I was planning on riding my bike into campus today but Lex would have none of it. Now I'm stuck with the van and having to drop it off to her when I go to campus. Hopefully tomorrow...

We got the band back together!

My friend Duke just got married. The actual wedding took place in Costa Rica during the first week in February. Editors Note: During the first week in February, I was in a different wedding in a much colder location (see below). Afterward, he had two receptions: one in Denver for her family and their local friends; one in Omaha for Duke's family and all of us. Needless to say, whenever the five of us get together it is going to be a good time. We're really good at entertaining ourselves.

Friday was the first chance I had to meet Sandi, Duke's wife. They were driving through Lincoln on their way to Omaha. Duke called saying that they were going to get a sandwich and wondered if I could meet them. Without exchanging more details than that, we met a few minutes later at M&N Sandwich Shop at the corner of 27th & Randolph. It was the second time I'd been there that day but had to meet the new "Mrs." She is fantastic and a real trooper. Few people would walk into M&N and still feel comfortable eating the food. She handled it with great enthusiasm.

Friday night, we all got together at Old Chicago in downtown Omaha and inevitably ended up at the boats. Despite our best efforts the two cars that went there couldn't find each other, our car simply bellied up to the cafe and had breakfast at 2:00am. I was defeated by the largest chicken-fried steak I'd ever seen.

Saturday was a remarkable day. Lex and I had lunch with my brother and his wife in belated celebration of Lex's birthday. Afterward, we lounged about until the reception that night. The reception marked the first time that all of our parents were together in the same room since junior high school (ironically enough, at that age we probably did all we could to NOT hang out with our parents). We attempted a similar reunion for Lex and my wedding to no avail. It was fun to see everyone at the same time and to catch up with people we don't see often enough. We were able to capture the moment for posterity in the picture above. All in all, a pretty sexy bunch...

Jesus is Magic

Went and saw the recent Sarah Silverman movie last week at The Ross and it was everything I could have hoped for...and perhaps a little more. Shot in 2004, it mostly features a filmed stand-up routine interspersed with skits and songs. Bob Odenkirk does a fantastic job as Sarah's manager. Granted, this movie is not for the faint of heart or sensitive of spirit. She makes Trey Parker and Matt Stone look like amateurs. No one gets off...Jews, gentiles, whites, blacks, asians, homosexuals. If you are a fan of "I can't believe she went there" humor this is your movie. Some highlights are in the comments so as to not spoil it for those that hope to see the movie in the near future.