Entries from April 2009 ↓

My friend, Jared, bought a duplex in northeast Minneapolis about a year and a half ago. Soon after he moved in and got some renters for the upstairs unit, my friend, Kristi, moved in with him.

Yesterday morning, Jared & Kristi’s renters moved out. Later in the day I got a tour of the cute upstairs 2-bedroom apartment. (I even got a peek into the totally heebie-jeebie-fied attic.) The bedrooms are huge, as is the kitchen. There are lots of little odd nooks and crannies for storage (or hiding) (or popping out and scaring visitors). The living room area was also a good size and has two large windows—the sun was setting while I toured and the light in the room was fantastic. The bathroom is a little odd, but I can work with it. We discussed the dirty details over beer and wings at Buffalo Wild Wings in Columbia Heights (how much for monthly rent, how much for security deposit, etc.). It all sounded like a good plan to me!

The only issue with me moving there is timing. I would need to find a new renter to take over my current lease (in Uptown Minneapolis) at the beginning of July.* (It’s a really cute studio apartment, do you want to come look?) That’s a month earlier than my lease ends. (I have a super, easy-going landlord if you want to fill out an application for his consideration.) Jared and Kristi wouldn’t be able to afford waiting for a new tenant until August 1st, and I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford two rents in July. (Off-street parking is only $15 extra, and all utilities except tv/phone/internet are paid.) In a day or so my landlord will send me an application for people who are interested in the apartment, and I will take photos to post an ad on Craigslist. (The Urban Bean and a Metro Transit bus stop are just across the street.) I’m getting a head start by putting a little notice out here, as well as updating friends and family about my plans. (Comment—and be sure to leave your email address—if you’d like to see the apartment when I start showing.)

* I just spoke with Kristi and she asked about moving even earlier—beginning of June? Is that pushing my luck? It’s something to consider…

I’m very excited about all of this! I think it’ll be a good change.

Last night I brought the fixin’s for the Pioneer Woman’s favorite burger ever over to Karyn and Bryan’s house. It was a little bit of work, but Bryan was a good helper!

My verdict? Delicious, but I might just be craving grilling season in Minnesota. I didn’t follow the Pioneer’s Woman’s measurements exactly, I had never caramelized onions before, and I used Smoked Tabasco instead of regular so I’m not sure the burger had the spicy kick it was supposed to have. Also, we made four ½ pound patties instead of two 1 pound patties—they were still huge!

Next time: more/better onions and more blue cheese! And more spice, too!

Cute cute cute!

Cute cute cute cute cute cute! (Click the photo to view more.)

Karyn called me at 7:30 p.m. last night to let me know that she thought she was having contractions. She was going to take it easy and had an assignment to report to her midwife (via phone) an hour later. At 8:07 p.m., she sent a text message stating that she was going to the hospital.

I arrived at the hospital around 9:30 p.m.—after all the scary excitement. Karyn’s contractions became really intense and painful really fast, so she and Bryan rushed to the hospital. The baby’s heart rate had dropped really quickly without cause. The women in my family are high-risk for needing Cesarean sections, and Karyn was no different.

I spent the night in the room with Karyn and Bryan, nurses coming in every half hour or so to check in. Progress was slow, but everything was looking okay. The midwife prescribed pitocine, but very slowly. Around 4 a.m. (I think), another scare with baby who was not reacting very well to the pitocine. The nurse stopped that and added an amnioinfusion to help cushion the baby and relieve some of its stress. That ran for about two hours until the midwife began pitocine again. This time baby was much more receptive to it!

There was still a bit of talk about performing a Cesarean, but the nurses and midwife seemed confident in the amnioinfusion and pitocine. Contractions were sporadic and did become more intense for Karyn, but both she and the baby managed just fine. Dilation was slow, but the extra time allowed Karyn and Bryan to rest up as best as they could.

Things started to look up around 1:00 p.m. and the nurse prepped Karyn’s room for natural delivery—Karyn was dilated 6cm. Karyn’s final check-in was around 4:00 p.m. and her midwife confirmed that she was dilated the full 10cm—time to start pushing!

Karyn took many breaks between pushing at first, but everything seemed to be going well. Baby wasn’t coming too fast or disagreeing with the pressure. Bryan was a rock and helped Karyn with counting and breathing when the midwife and nurses were busy prepping the room.

At 5:32 p.m., my first niece, Hannora Nicole Crouse*, was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She weighed 7lbs 0oz. She had a full head of dark hair and was good at crying! I took many photos of Bryan and Karyn with their beautiful little girl, but they’re all on Karyn’s camera at the hospital. I’m hoping to return tomorrow to snap a couple more photos that I can share right away, but the photos on Karyn’s camera are worth the wait, too.

I’m so proud and so happy for my sister and brother-in-law. They were happy and comfortable when I left the hospital to let them rest, and I’m sure they are head-over-heels excited about the addition to their family! I can’t wait to spend more time with them.

* Hannora was my maternal great-great-grandmother’s name.

Last night I joined Pants, Jess, and Crystal at Bertine’s condo for a night of baking. Together we made no bake cookies (so super simple and so super yummy), s’mores cookie bars (totally freakin’ delicious), spritz cookies, caramels, and three good pixel cookies (but they were a few of the best pixel cookies ever, of course).