Our New Normal

Getting used to being a family of four has been an interesting challenge. I didn't really think it would be a big deal, but adding a new member has been rewarding and trying at the same time. Obviously we absolutely adore the new baby and are so grateful and blessed to have her, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, so don't take it as complaining. All I'm saying is the adjustment has been a bit more difficult than I imagined it to be. The great news is, it hasn't lasted very long, and things have settled down to what we now know as "normal" around here. It's a good thing too because Brian had to go back to work last Friday! It's hard to believe six weeks has gone by already!

In just a few short weeks, she's gone from this:

To this:

Crazy how much they change in such a short amount of time!! Now that B is back to work, we've been working on establishing a schedule and routine around here. I didn't realize how much time flies between feedings with an infant and keeping a toddler busy! Oh and did I mention we tackled the task of potty training A a couple of weeks ago?! I must say it was a surprising success! She had two accidents the first day and that's it! She's been asking to go to school for some time now and the only thing we were waiting for was her to be potty trained. Guess it's now time to seriously start looking at preschools for her. Talk about growing up too fast! Geez. I'll try to blog more now that things have started to be "normal" again but I can't promise anything! I might be too busy with these two adorable kiddos to be bothered by the computer. :)

I'm Sad

Today I subbed and left A with Bri all day.

It made me really sad.

Apparently she didn't really seem to mind.

I don't know what I'll do when I have to go back to work full time. Maybe we can find a way for me to stay home...even if it's just part time.

At least I know they had a fun day! 

No, he didn't take her in public with her hair like that!

Off to bed to get ready for another day subbing tomorrow too. I'll bring tissues with me this time!

Slow Progress

Most of the time I am a patient person. When it comes to projects around my house, that's a totally different story. I'm not quite sure why the change occurs but it really isn't pretty. I have this list, you see, of things that "need" to be done and things I "want" done. Yes they are the same list because of course everything I want is also necessary! Yes, I'm being sarcastic. We've been in our house a little over 2 years and according to my personal timeline we should have WAY more finished around here. Did you miss the first part about me being impatient?? Now let's not take into account that 1. we're not made of money, 2. I was pregnant for a good portion of the time here and now have a 10 month old to run around after, 3. I currently don't have a job which means our budget is tight, or 4. the things I "need" done might be slightly unrealistic.

 (I love the board and batten in here)

Here's where it gets tricky. Some of the projects on this list are small things that I could accomplish on my own (when A is napping or when B is home and can watch her). Others though definitely need to be completed by both of us (know any good free babysitters?). Knowing this, most days I am totally not motivated to complete these smaller projects because all I can think about are the bigger ones that I would rather be doing instead. Totally backwards right?! So instead of taking care of the small things in order to start crossing things off and making progress in the house, I continue to add new projects every time I come across something that I think "hey we could totally do that!" I think I might need some help.

(sure, we can totally do this to our stairs, right?!)

So now that A's party is rapidly approaching, I feel this self-imposed pressure to get the house "ready" before we have people over. I think I might need some help. Mental help that is, unless you want to physically help as well. I'll take it. I'm not too proud. As long as you can handle me telling you what to do ;)

If I'm absent from the bloggy blog for a while now you know why. I am frantically trying to cross things off my list in hopes that it will be ready by July 30th. Unless of course I get distracted by a certain someone...

I'll keep you posted!

Just The Girls

So B had to go back to work today (insert sad face and slightly panicked voice).

She's not happy either that daddy had to go to work...

I was definitely NOT ready to be "by myself" with baby girl but I had no choice. Not that B has so much more parenting experience or that he knows so much more about babies. It's just having someone else there, someone to help change the diapers or watch her so I can take a nap or to offer moral support when I think I'm failing as a parent. Just having a partner in all of this makes it feel less scary, makes it more manageable. Hats off to all those single parents out there-I don't know how you do it!

Anyway, enough drama I suppose. For our first day "alone" baby girl and I decided not to stay in and watch TV or work on her nursery or even rest. Nope, we decided to spend the day with my good friend Mandy and baby Jack (born just 8 hours ahead of Anayah...at the same hospital...with the same doctor!). Not only were we going out of the house on our own, we were going to run a few errands (Babies R Us and Target). Umm, hello, you wouldn't even take the baby into the store because she was "too new" so you made Bri wait in the car with her. About halfway through getting ready, I stopped and reassessed the situation. Can I handle this? We're going out in public...by ourselves...at three weeks old. Am I crazy?! I felt a little better knowing I was going with a friend who was in the exact same situation. Hey if she can do it, so can I. Right?!

A pretty dress for her day out...

I finished packing up the bag, got her in the car, and set off. We actually made it through the day pretty smoothly and took a much needed nap as soon as we got home. Several things I learned today:

• My daughter does NOT like to be strapped into her car seat. She goes in it fine and will sit in it nicely, but if those straps are tightened, we better be moving...or else.
• I need a mirror on the headrest so I can see her while driving in order to alleviate any panic attacks that arise when I can't hear her breathing. (The ONE time I wish she were crying...at least I can hear her!)
• Find out if a store has a "family restroom" or nursing room before leaving the store that DOES have it. 
• If you leave the blanket off the carrier or slightly open, people WILL comment. Good thing they were all positive ones, eh?
• Eating a sandwich with mustard while walking around the store will result in dripping on the car seat and cause you to wonder if your child had an explosive poop...you will breathe a sigh of relief when you realize it was just your clumsy self. 
• Putting the car seat into the stroller as opposed to the shopping cart results in you buying WAY less! 

What she usually looks like once you strap her in...

Visitors

Whoo whoo company came over! Erika came to visit today to entertain me keep me company since I'm still on "limited activity." Can you tell I'm just a teensy bit excited to have human interaction? Being cooped up in the house all day is BO.ring. The highlight of my week is going to the hospital to get monitored because it means that I can see real, live, people and have face-to-face conversations...even if it is about random things like amniotic fluid and what the nurse ate for lunch. Whatever, bring it on! Anyway, I'm excited that I had a visitor...thanks E for spending time with me!

And here's the order that I finally finished! Thanks Sarah for being so patient with me!!

Hopefully I can finish baby girl's curtains this week as well...

Prayer Request

So for those who know me really well, you will know that I am not one to be forthcoming when it comes to my feelings. I'm one of "those people" who pretty much just internalizes everything and thinks I can handle it all. I don't really think the blog is the place to let it all out, but I do want to let you all know that we are going through some sensitive issues right now that could use your prayers. I haven't been in the mood to do any projects around the house which is good since the Dr. just put me on a "limited activity" order. Baby girl is ok for now but he wants me to lay low and he is monitoring us closely. It's hard to feel so helpless, knowing there is nothing I can do at this moment but wait and trust that God is in control and He is watching over her. Keep us in your prayers if you can. I'll keep you updated on our progress.

 (from her ultrasound on Friday)

Week 31: Getting Closer

It was nice to be slightly unplugged for a bit. For those who didn't notice my absence, whatever, you're not loyal followers anyway! Hahaha, just kidding. For those who are reading this, thanks for sticking around to see if I'd come back!

In other news, we're at 31 weeks which means we are in the single digit countdown (in weeks)...only 9 more to go! It's crazy that the further along I get, the faster time seems to go by. Well, for now at least. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune when it's the middle of the hottest day of summer and I'm even bigger than I am now. Until then, though, time is just flying as we try to get everything together for her big arrival. Here's a quick update on the pregnancy at 31 weeks:

- my weight gain is about 7lbs.
- at her 3D ultrasound baby girl weighed in at 2lbs 11oz which was just about average
- still no pregnancy cravings :)
- miss sleeping on my stomach, still not used to the whole side sleeping thing
- feel her movements more distinctly, but they don't hurt yet
- anxious about her arrival, feeling a bit overwhelmed and underprepared
- still haven't decided on a name...

That's pretty much it for now. Still working on her room and hopefully it will be ready for its reveal soon!

A Little Story

The last few days have been emotionally draining for me. It started Sunday while at B's baseball game. I usually feel baby girl right around the same time everyday. She's usually predictable and somewhat active. Well by Sunday afternoon I hadn't felt her move, which was weird. So I did all the things they say to do: drank something cold or sweet, laid on my side, walked for 5 minutes then laid on my side, did cartwheels and drank a liter of coke (just kidding!) then laid on my side, etc... Still nothing. Well by this point it's Sunday evening and I'm starting to get cranky. I can tell because I'm being short with B and getting emotional over some random tv show. Anyway, we had dinner then I (yup, you guessed it) laid on my side. I thought I might have felt some movement in there but by this point I'm so paranoid that I'm second guessing everything. Well we head to bed and pray over her like we do every night and I felt a little better. Well, I tossed and turned all night because I couldn't sleep...

The next morning I get up and head to work, still don't feel her, so I call my dr. He tells me to come in for an ultrasound so we can check things out. At this point I'm past paranoid, I'm so emotional I can't sit at my desk without crying. Geez, get a grip lady. I pull myself together and head for the hospital where they proceed to make me repeat four. different. times. who I am, whether or not I have any paperwork, and why I am there. So not efficient. What if something is horribly wrong with my baby and you're wasting my time asking me inane questions?!?! No, I didn't yell that, but believe me, I really wanted to. After all that, I'm asked to wait in the waiting room. As I sit and anticipate all kinds of non-helpful scenarios, who decides to make herself known? Of course. Baby girl starts kicking as I sit there trying not to cry. Ultrasound tech chooses that moment to call my name and sees me holding back tears. Man, they probably thought they had a basket case on their hands! I go through with the ultrasound because hey, I'm already there, and hey, I wanna make sure her heart is beating normally and there's nothing else to be worried about.

As soon as I hear her heartbeat I start crying all over again. (I probably scared the ultrasound dude forever) Her heartbeat is normal and she's fine. Whew! Relief. I start to relax and enjoy seeing her squirm around during the rest of the ultrasound. She's a character, that one. I felt kinda silly afterward, but hey, I'd rather be safe than sorry. So, you ask, Why was she so lazy calm? Who knows?! But I gave her a talking to and told her she needed to let me know at least once a day that she's ok in there. I think she understood me because she has been kicking non-stop all day today. Thanks, baby girl. I'm glad you're having fun in there! 

And because a blog post is not a blog post without a picture, here's a pic of B giving his girl a kiss:

Welcome to parenthood, right? I'm sure it's just the beginning...

Hey Neighbor

*Disclaimer: I thought I had posted this yesterday, but apparently I clicked on the save button not the publish button...my bad. ANYWAY, for my dear friend who thinks I'm slacking on my blogging (dude, I missed two days, hardly a crisis!) this is for you :)

Yesterday my old college friend and roommate was in town and came over with her two daughters. It was really good to see her and catch up and just hang out. Made me realize that I don't have very many good friends where we now live, and that's kind of sad. I miss being able to just call someone and say hey let's go to lunch or wanna come over and watch a movie? I do have a couple of friends close by that I can do that with but sometimes I feel like they get tired of seeing us all the time! :) I wish we were close to our neighbors or had family close by. It's one of the things I wish I could change. Perhaps I can convince my parents to move closer- ha, fat chance!

Anyway, since I don't have any neighbors or friends to bug, I'll spend time with my sewing machine. It has been feeling a little neglected because I've been spending so much time on projects and the new tools. Don't worry, buddy, I haven't abandoned you. Here's something I'm working on for one rambunctious little boy! Hope he likes it!

I'll show you the finished product tomorrow.