23 July 2008

Its all a bunch of randomness!

TWO ITEMS I BOUGHT AND AM EXCITED TO HAVE


I'm extremely worried about the sleepless nights and having a colicky baby since I'm not a very pleasant person to be around when tired. My husband isn't as bad, but he falls asleep easily and is a bear to wake up, so while I know everyone will continue to tell us that things will be fine and we'll find a way to deal with it, I still want to prepare. Based on my fears and going off some recommendations from other new parents, I ordered THE miracle blanket and "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD. I figure if we happen to be one of the luckiest sets of parents and have a child who sleeps well and such from the start, then its only because I spent the money on these items to begin with, so it still wasn't a waste. Meanwhile, I'll be honest, watching the video on the miracle blanket website of them swaddling the baby is a little frightening, but I've heard so many people rave about this item that I'm willing to try it from the start. And for the DVD - I think we'll sit down and watch this in the next few weeks to try and prepare (since when pebbles is crying at 3am, I DOUBT we'll want to be watching it then!). Feel free to share any other opinions, tips, etc. that you have as well.



WHAT'S THAT, LIFE IS NORMAL AGAIN?
My husband and I spent all day Saturday cleaning the house and I also went grocery shopping Sunday morning so we could have dinner at home this week and my husband took care of the lawn. This is something we haven't done since BEFORE I found out I was pregnant. We have done cleaning here and there and made SEVERAL trips to the grocery store, but this felt like normal life again. For example, I put the chairs on the kitchen table and dining table when I clean the floors - it makes it easier. Well, I put them up to clean one day back in like April or something and they've been up there every since. Ummm yeah, obviously we don't eat at the table much (so China Sunday's are just a distant memory right now). Also, we've had a stack of books and mail on the entry table since probably the beginning of the year. Another one, we've had all our medications and vitamins sitting on our wine buffet as well - most of which neither of us have needed in months (vitamins not included). Soooo, not only did I want to get the house picked up (dishes, counters, floors, bathrooms, etc) but I also wanted to attack these other items that we have been ignoring. I have to admit, I'm embarrassed we ignored these items for as long as we did and I can't believe how much nicer / calmer / cleaner the house feels with some of this "clutter" taken care of. Next we have the grocery shopping. Previously, we'll figure out what we want and run to the store to pick up the items necessary for THAT one meal. I don't think we had a total over $30 at the grocery store yet this year. We also found that we were dining out ... A LOT. And it got BORING. I mean, we'd spend an hour trying to figure what and where we wanted to eat because we were just tired of the whole process from driving there, to eating at the same general places, to the fact that it basically took up our whole evening. After the whole cleaning frenzy, I put together a simple dinner menu for the week and made a grocery list. Add the wonderfully clean house to a stocked fridge and a manicured lawn and BAM! Life feels almost normal again. And what's even better? We're motivated to keep it up - I love having the clean floors, its great to wake up to an empty sink, the lawn looks great (of course, my husband has kept this up every week, so its not new), and we get to spend our evenings together, at home, instead of fussing over dinner. I know someone out there will tell me that we're starting the "nesting" process, but in our defense, this is something we WERE doing before but once I got pregnant and started feeling miserable, all bets were off. So maybe the "nesting" was the motivation to get it done, but the whole process isn't something new to us either. I just hope we do continue to keep this up, especially once Pebbles gets here since I have a feeling dining out will be way too much of a hassle for a while.

And, I mentioned to my husband that if we run into trouble keeping the house clean while spending time as a family, I'd like to think about getting a house keeper - even if it is just to clean the floors, toilets, tubs and other deep cleans every other week. I see no reason for us to stress out keeping the house clean INSTEAD of spending time with one another and enjoy Pebbles. I know he is against it right now, but we'll see where things lead.



I'M TURNING 3-0!
I always said I wanted to have kids before I was 30, and while Pebbles won't be here yet, I still think I'm ok. I am a little disappointed that we won't be having a big blow out in Vegas or something else equally insane, but I can say we'll just make up for it next year instead. I've decided I will be going to get a prenatal massage, a pedicure, and getting my hair cut and possibly doing some color treatment (it also helps that my best friends wedding is a week after, so I can be all primped and pretty for it). I haven't had my hair cut in a LONG time (like maybe since September?) and I've only had maybe 2-3 pedi's since then as well. AND, the only time I've ever had a profession massage was on our honeymoon. So, I figure after 30 years of becoming who I am and 7 months of growing Pebbles, I deserve a little pampering - even if it is going to make me gag at the total cost. Its a splurge!

Now, taking a step back and looking at my life, these past 30 years have been pretty good to me for the most part, so I really can't complain too much. I'm not rich, I'm not a celebrity, and my husband isn't a professional soccer player - but I really am happy with who I am, where I am, and I couldn't ask for a better husband. I mean lets take a quick look at things: I have a B.S. and M.S. in a field that directly lead to my job, which also allows me to make decent money both to enjoy now and to save for the future. I am married to an amazing man, we have two wonderful (but psycho) cats, we own a nice home on a private lake, we both drive good vehicles, we have a baby girl on the way, I get along great with my in-laws whom we don't live too far from, we are both healthy, we've taken some great vacations - I mean, the list really does go on and on! And to add to that, my husband just found out that he will be promoting in less than a month. I've moved from Michigan, to Oregon, to California, to Texas. I've been through my partying days and, while I had a blast and never ended up in jail, I'm glad to be past that point in my life (as is my husband). I get along with my family, even though we are spread across the US. When you take out some of the specifics (WHO my husband is, WHERE I live, WHAT I drive, etc), when asked in high school, this is pretty much where I wanted to be at this age. I really am proud of my accomplishments and actually, as great as it is to realize the goals I've met, I really enjoy most of the journey to get here! It was not nearly as smooth and linear as I thought it would be, but some of the bumps and bruises are the best parts. The road trip with my stepsister between California and Michigan and back, meeting my husband at a club in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, graduate school in San Diego, all the randomness in Texas with various people - I'll just end this by saying I can believe I am 30 since I have all the memories to show for it. You never get any younger, you can't turn back time, so enjoy who you are and what life hands you, because its all the little stuff that makes you and your life what it is.



POOR LUCY
I went out to my car yesterday after work and ... and ... and ... (are you getting anything here?) nothing. She wouldn't start. *pouts* Luckily, I was giving a friend a ride who helped - he called to get security's number then called them to come help out. We stood there and laughed about it since when we were both here together back in 2000, this sort of thing happened to us ALL THE TIME. So, rather than freaking out or getting upset, we just sort of rolled with it. The only thing that really sucked was the 102 degree weather. Luckily, security got there with 5-10 minutes and we were on our way within 15 minutes. (Of course, then I missed the exit to drop him off at, but so be it) I had my husband scrub the battery posts last night since the guy who jumped Lucy said it looked like they were a little corroded. She started fine 3 times last night and started this morning, although she hesitated a little - so I'm worried that when I go back to get in her, she's not going to start. Obviously we'll be going out to get a new battery for Lucy tonight, lets just hope I can GET home.



THE NEXT FEW MONTHS...
I am just over 30 weeks along and have about 10 weeks left until my due date. In the time left, I can't decide if I want it to hurry up and pass or if I want more time to prepare - it kinda depends on when you ask me. We have a lot going on over the next several weeks: doctor appointments every 2 weeks, doing our big night out to the horse races, my boss is leaving, my husband is promoting, I'm turning 30, Rangers - Yankees game, my best friend is getting married, I'm having a baby shower in Michigan, our Prepared Childbirth classes, picking out a pediatrician, finalizing childcare, discussing my return to work schedule, taking care of the insurance paperwork, finishing Pebbles' room ... and that's just the stuff I can think of right now! I know we're getting down to the home stretch and we don't really have much time to put things off, but I'm also just ready to have my daughter here to hold and snuggle - and to start getting my body back! I'm sure it is all going to be a crazy whirlwind, but day by day its slow.

And, to top it all off and show just how crazy I am, I keep worrying that we won't be able to decorate for Halloween. I think we'll be decorating in late September just so I can have the stuff out - because I have a feeling once Pebbles is here, I won't have the time or energy to do anything. Am I going to care about the decorations once Pebbles is here? Probably not, but right now I do. So shoot me. :-)

2 comments:

Cassie said...

So happy for the update! It totally sounds like you are in the right frame of mind right now as you prepare for Pebbles' arrival (LOVE the nickname, by the way!). I remember feeling the same way: needing more time to get things done, but also wanting my baby to get here already so I could cuddle him!

Unfortunately, the "miracle" blanket didn't work for us...Andrew liked being swaddled for a total of, oh, TWO WEEKS, and then he kicked and squirmed out of everything or, if he couldn't, he'd cry until his limbs were free. Hope it works better for you!

(And you will be surprised at how quickly your body will adjust to less sleep...you may not believe me now, but just trust me!)

Cassie said...

OH, and happy birthday!!!!