Three month catchup

I've wanted so many times to write, but always let other things come first. The opportunity to watch some TV with the hubs, an extra long snuggle at bedtime, unfolded laundry, unmade lunches.

Anyway the kids are at grandma's for the night/half the day, and the hubs is still sleeping. So this is it. Heck I probably wouldn't even be here except my sewing area isn't usable right now.

My what a full three months. The adjustment to two children was hard. Like, really hard. Like, as hard as they all warned you about hard. And although some mom guilt still lingers about how much less time for Sophia I have now, for the most part I am adjusted. I know how much effort it will take to leave the house, run errands, get dinner made, get anything done. I don't know how the single mommas do it. Even just this week after being out of thouse 4 hours with 5 different stops with the kids by myself exhausted me both physically and mentally. More so the latter. Even though I know how much safer car seats make life, it sure would be so much easier if I lived in the day when kids just hopped in the car and the babies laid on a pillow in the back! Ha! Can you imagine? Getting those kids in and out of the car seats multiple times is like ninja tug of war.

John is progressing through school. His spring semester was rough, throwing that new baby in the mix. But by God's grace and mercy he made it through. The summer semester is going much better so far, and I can finally realistically envision his completion. Less than a year to go. We can do this! He doesn't have time for many hobbies, but he is perfecting his chef status with his smoker he got for Christmas. He enjoys smoking various meats and experimenting with different seasonings and techniques. And we enjoy the results :) He also still keeps red worms. Much to the dismay of our fly-filled garage. Ha.

Sophia is growing too fast. She has finally, FINALLY, finally become potty-trained! I should insert a dancing GIF clip here. We felt like this would never happen. But after two visits to the GI doctor where we got better instruction on using her medicine and suggestions on behaviors and routines, it's finally happened. The last hurdle was climbed when the doctor had a few "man to man" words with her and told her she was too big for diapers and needed to try the potty at least once a day, and that she was no longer going to use diapers at nap time. After a couple days of no diapers at nap, when I went to put on her bedtime one, she vehemently told me that the doctor said she was not allowed to wear diapers to bed anymore. I tried to explain that was for nap, (thinking surely she would flood the bed at night) but she persisted. So, we went with it. I double layered the mattress protectors and fitted sheet for a quick middle-of-the-night change if needed. I'm happy to say our accidents have been fairly infrequent.

And so, now that we're diaper free, and the changing pad has been sold. A new world has opened for her. She will be going to preschool this fall. Kindergarten 4 actually. I can't believe it. My baby. We toured the school yesterday. She is still uncertain, and understandably so. I'm still very mixed in my emotions. I have a good feeling that she is going to enjoy it and excel at it. But I also have a few short memories of my own of when I first started preschool, and how terrified I was of my momma leaving me in that big, strange place. My heart hurts to think she might feel that way at first. It's a half-day program with lots of potty breaks, and even snack time with milk and cookies. But it's also academically challenging. If she meets their highest goals she will be reading short sentences by school year's end.

She still adores her brother. Only occasionally does she ask me to let someone else care for him so she can have my time instead. But 99% of the time she wants him to lay next to her, wants to hold him for a little bit, wants to smell his head (all the time!), kiss him, and give him a hug. She often climbs into his crib in the morning to talk to him and coo at him and fawn over him. It's adorable and we are so fortunate. I'm excited for when he can be more physically interactive with her. But his squeals, coos, and smiles thrill us to bits for now.

That brings me to sweet Caleb. He is so cuddly. I think I had forgotten how enjoyable a baby can be. I enjoyed Sophia so much as a toddler that I'd started to think tiny babies were kind of boring. Well, he isn't to me. Don't get me wrong, those first 6-12 weeks are hard. And when they are totally non-interactive and you're desperate for sleep, things are kinda "boring". But now that he's smiling and squealing we're just falling all over ourselves at his cuteness. The other morning we were all in the bed together just enjoying "The Caleb Show" and I felt so blessed. He really cries very little. Only when he is tired or hungry. Over the last month he's started sleeping through the night, in his crib. We still use his swing for naps quite a bit. At his 4 month checkup, he was 17 pounds and 26.5 inches with an 18 inch head. He's over 85th percentile for height and weight, and his big ole head is off the charts. For any collared non-stretch pullover shirt he has to have 9-12 months to get it over his big head! His 6 month onesies are getting snug. I did not anticipate him growing so quickly, so I've had to get him larger warm-weather clothes. Thank goodness for second-hand!

We are a one dog household now. Poor sweet devoted Ernie was falling apart after Caleb's arrival. He so craves constant affection, and there just wasn't time to give him any. He was constantly escaping the yard, whining, and getting in the way in general. He went to live with a lady about an hour from us who has several acres, two other Bostons, and no kids. She has sent us a couple update photos and he seems very happy. Eby has become a little more affectionate in his absence, but still remains chill and at times even aloof. And we are totally ok with that. She also sleeps with Sophia at night. That makes everyone happy. Sophia and Eby both don't like to sleep alone, and John and I both don't like Eby in our bed :)

We are currently on Day 10 of a Whole30 program. I had lost all the pregnancy weight, and then gained 12 pounds of it back. I was looking for a way to knock out my insane sugar cravings, and lose weight. Of course setting healthier eating habits is good too :) I have to say that overall, so far, it hasn't been too bad. I plan to do a review post with recipe links once we've completed our first round.

We are going to Wyoming in August! We'll spend a week in the Mayberry-esque town my mother in law (aka Grammy) moved to almost a year ago. We'll visit Yellowstone, pet ponies, and tour her small rural critical access hospital. John hopes to get a job there when he finishes school, and I've committed to live there a year in order for him to realize his dream of living "out west" in Big Sky country. This city girl is nervous about that!

Well, I've been at this an hour and my growling tummy says I better get some healthy food in there before I make a poor choice! See ya'll next time!

Caleb's Birth Story

So I had to go back and see how long it's been, to know where to start this time. It has been 7 months. Wow. Who knows how long it will be before I crack this thing open again, but I really wanted to make sure our second child's birth was written about.

So, we found out the second was a boy, as you may have already guessed. We were really quite shocked, even though we didn't really have a preference, turns out we thought we were having another girl more than we realized.

This time around, I was induced at 39 weeks and 2 days. I've known since Sophia's birth and the complications with it, that I would not be going past due with the second. My midwife told me that in the delivery room. I was also advised to cut "white" carbs in the last trimester of this pregnancy to avoid any unnecessary weight gain. Basically, Sophia almost didn't fit, and so this time I needed to have a smaller baby. Which is tricky because subsequent babies, and boy babies, tend to be bigger. But, I managed to only gain about 5 pounds total my third trimester, so I did good. And I didn't gain an unhealthy amount overall either (23 pounds).

At 35 weeks I had a full ultrasound to check health and guesstimate weight. At that time he was running average, putting him on track to be 8.5 pounds at 40 weeks. At my second to last appointment, when we got serious about setting a plan, I was actually offered a scheduled cesarean. Apparently this is something they're required to counsel you about, because mothers who have experienced a shoulder dystocia are at higher risk for recurrence, and the only definitive way to avoid this is to avoid a vaginal birth. I declined the offer, wanting to at least give my body and baby a chance.

By 39 weeks even, I was 2cm dilated, and around 80% effaced, but still at -2 station (head was not engaged in the pelvis aka baby hadn't "dropped"). So I went in at midnight for a Cytotec induction. I was pretty familiar with this routine from Sophia's birth. When they placed me on the monitors, I was actually already having contractions, but they weren't really painful and some I couldn't even feel. I had my medication and then we proceeded to try and sleep.

At my 6am check, there was really no change. In fact the nurse thought I was more like 60% effaced. She had said this when I checked in. No big deal, these things are an estimate and vary upon the person doing the exam. I was contracting regularly, but still not particularly painfully. So, a second dose of Cytotec was placed and again, we tried to rest.

Some time around 7am John went and got breakfast and snuck me some too. My midwife came and did my 8am check. Still no real change. I was borderline that they could even give another Cytotec because I was contracting so much. I could feel them all at this point, but they were still manageable. Like a 4-5 of 10 on the pain scale. They decided to place a third dose. My midwife remarked that I have a "stubborn body".

At my 10am check, still no change. Things were starting to get concerning. We made a plan to get up, walk the halls, sit on the yoga ball, try and get his head to descend. So I did that for 2 hours. My midwife came by on her lunch hour and checked me. STILL no change. At this point we discussed options. I asked if we could try Pitocin. I was advised that that wasn't really a great option because A) I probably couldn't get an effective dose because I was already contracting so frequently and B) My cervix still wasn't ripe/favorable. That was the intention of the Cytotec. I asked about getting an epidural just to see if my body wasn't relaxed and that was hindering things. I was told again because my dilation was so minimal, and epidurals slow things down, that I would just likely stop any progress I might make. We were basically down to A) Keep going how I was and wait another possibly umpteen hours to see if  I would progress B) Go home and see if things progressed naturally and if not return later for another induction and C) A cesarean.

Because Cytotec is given every 4 hours if needed, I had until 2pm to decide. It was frustrating to be having regular contractions that were ineffective. John and I discussed it, and with a peace in my heart, we decided to proceed with the cesarean if there wasn't any progress. We had kind of "been there done that" with an extremely long, painful, exhausting induction before. We had also gone home and returned for a second induction before. Neither of those did us any good. I continued to walk, rock, sit on the ball. My contractions ramped up just a little in intensity, and in fact I started to feel them a twinge more in my back than my front, but sitting on the ball and leaning on the bed made them bearable.

So the moment of truth arrived. My midwife's attending physician came in. The felt my belly and agreed they did not think this was an overly large baby. However, I had still not really made any progress. His head was still very high. Then the doctor/surgeon gave us the big talk. He again reiterated our options, that this was not an emergency, and we could go home. Without any hard numbers he told us "We can try and deliver you vaginally and you probably will not have another shoulder dystocia. Or we can do a cesarean and you definitely will not have a shoulder dystocia and it's highly unlikely that you will have any complications. Unfortunately we have to do hundreds of cesareans to avoid one devastating shoulder dystocia." My midwife also advised me that since I am not a first time mom, my body should have responded to the medication, but it did not. I actually had a better response to it the first time around than I did the second. By now, my body should be able to more easily produce the hormones needed for delivery, but it was not.

At this point, I got a little shaky in our earlier decision. I didn't want to go home, but I didn't want a cesarean. I also didn't want to labor forever only to again have complications at delivery. Now the surgery was staring me in the face, and my providers wouldn't help to sway me with a personal opinion. The decision was solely in my hands and I would be responsible for the repercussions.

After talking with John again, and having a cry of fear about surgery and the loss of my hoped for vaginal birth, we decided for the surgery. The anesthesiologist came in and because I could only say for certain that the last time I had water and ice chips was 2pm, my surgery couldn't be done until 4pm. And I had to take an AWFUL medication called Bicitra. It's a liquid and it tastes absolutely horrible, and you can't have any chasers. Thankfully I didn't vomit right then and there.

Then my nurse began prepping me. IV fluids, antibiotics, a shave (that was a surprise to me!), a hospital gown, and sequential compression devices (leg squeezers to prevent blood clots). I was asked to get in bed for all of this, and about 3pm when they were all done, we were left alone. It was weird in comparison to all the checks I was getting before. Well, the bed was the most uncomfortable place during contractions, which were still coming very frequently. I tried to be compliant, but about 20-30 minutes in, I got back on the ball. The pain was starting to really localize to my back again, and leaning forward really helped that. My midwife came in just before the surgery, and by then I was breathing through contractions. Things were intensifying. I told her these were beginning to feel like the horrific contractions I had with Sophia.

She offered to check me one last time. Just to be sure I wasn't rapidly changing. Nope. She said his head was in "North Dakota". So off I went for my surgery.

I walked into the operating room and got up on the narrow table. I had a sweet woman for an anesthesiologist who was like a mother figure. That turned out to be such a blessing. They put in my spinal. I felt some shooting pains into my butt and down my back a few times, but it wasn't too bad. Then the numbness set in. I wasn't prepared for just how numb you are. My only experience was with my laboring epidural for Sophia. Of course for surgery they want you completely numb, and I appreciate that; it just took me by surprise. It's a very surreal experience.

Then they laid me down and things got intense. They started scrubbing my belly, putting in my foley catheter, getting me hooked up to all the monitors for anesthesia, propping me tilted just slightly to one side. There were a lot of things being done to my body at once and I had no control over any of it. I started to freak out. I started talking about how I was feeling- because talking was the only thing I really could do of my own free will. I told them I felt really weird. My midwife asked if I was nauseous? I wasn't sure. Then a minute later I was sure. They gave me meds for that. Then I felt like I couldn't breathe. My sweet anesthesiologist was stroking my forehead, and explained to me that the spinal makes my rib muscles numb, so that my brain is not aware they exist and are rising and falling as my lungs work normally. I was concerned because I even felt tingling all the way to the underside of my arms, down to my fingers. She again assured me this was normal. She told me what I knew- they were monitoring all my vital signs and they are normal.

At this point I felt so bizarre and "out of body" that I asked if they could just put me out. My midwife said "You want to be awake to see your baby." I told her I did not. I told her I thought this was supposed to be the "easy way out" to have a baby. I said a lot of things. It was quite an experience.

Then, the surgeon and John came in. I immediately grabbed his hand. I was in desperate need of some normalcy and comfort. Then the surgery got underway. John watched a little. He said he couldn't watch it all because it's different when the person they are cutting on is your wife. My midwife warned me just as they were about to deliver him that I was going to feel like she was standing on my chest and I couldn't breathe, but it would be ok. Thankfully I did NOT have that sensation.

And then- they pulled him out. Crying and flailing. The surgeon brought him around really quick. I cried a little. It was odd to hear him come out crying, because Sophia was silent due to her circumstances. I knew in my head he was born, but I was so overwhelmed with all the feelings going on from the surgery that I couldn't really focus on him too much. John went over to the warmer, re-cut his cord, took some photos, watched him get weighed and checked out, etc. My surgeon and midwife proceeded to do all the uterine checking and cleaning. I heard my midwife ask the anesthesiologist if I had Pitocin infusing. I did. They continued their work and she asked again about Pitocin and the anesthesiologist said it was running "wide open". "She's boggy" my midwife said. Being that I'm an RN and have worked in women's health, I got concerned. I just said "Jesus". My midwife heard me and said "It's ok". Then the anesthesiologist gave me an injection in my arm. I knew it was Methergine. Things were fine after that and when they were doing all the sponge/needle/instrument counts and calling out all the facts of that case they said my estimated blood loss was 600ml. That was within normal limits.

John came back and they brought the baby to see me. I kissed him but didn't feel prepared to hold him. I was still very inwardly focused. All the staff were talking about how cute he was. I was proclaiming to my midwife that no one should dare ask me about a third child. She said "But they're so cute when you have them".

John went off to the nursery with him, and the staff got me transferred back into a bed. Oh my, it feels so unsafe and like they are going to just roll you right off the table onto the floor. I knew in my head that was not the case, but it's still how it felt. They wheeled me just across the hall into recovery. I started having the post-op shakes. Oh man that was the pits. I had them for two whole hours. On top of that I was feeling super drowsy from the Duramorph spinal, plus they also gave me Benadryl IV in surgery for my second bout of nausea. The Duramorph also made me mildly itchy. But I asked them not to give me any Benadryl for that because I was already so zonked.

During some of my post-op checks the nurse had to massage out some clots. Let me tell you how fun it is to get a deep tissue abdominal massage right above a 7 inch fresh surgical incision. It is NOT. She was very empathetic about it and I knew it was necessary, and I managed to resist the urge to swat her hands away.

Things got better as time passed. The nurses brought the baby and tried to help me breastfeed him, but he was sleepy and so was I. I think I held him. That period is a little foggy for me from all the drugs.

About 6pm John went and got Sophia. Oh my it was so sweet her meeting "her baby brother". John helped her hold him and he was sleeping. She said "I thank the Lord he maked my baby to sleep". She ooohed and ahhed and fussed over him. She almost had a complete meltdown when John told her she had to leave me and Caleb at the hospital. That part was bittersweet.

So, that is my recollection of how Caleb came into this world. For the second time the birth did not go as I hoped or planned, and for the second time I brought home a healthy baby anyway. This birth thing is tough!

Caleb E. White. February 5, 2016. 4:35pm 7 pounds 14 ounces, 19.75 inches

Sophia and Caleb meet for the first time

Proudest big sister

Girls date night and a goodbye

So I have a wonderful friend Elise. We've been friends since high school. I blogged about how smart she is here.

Well, because she has that shiny new degree and funny black hat, she's moving onto bigger and better things. She's accepted a position at PRINCETON! How awesome is that?

The non-awesome part is that she be like quadruple the distance away from me. Visits will now take a flight rather than a quick car trip. She won't be a stopping point on the way to my in-laws anymore. In short, we're going to see each other a LOT less :(

My sweet hubby said I should go and see her one more time before she leaves this month. I didn't think I was going to get to see her again. But as it turns out her hubby took a last minute out of town trip and she had a concert ticket that needed using. And I needed to see her!

So I was there and back in less than 24 hours, and left Sophia at home.

We enjoyed a great night of entertainment. I was taken to dinner, a concert and dessert! Did you know they can mix liquid peanut butter into your Blizzard at Dairy Queen? Reeses+vanilla ice cream+liquid peanut butter= mmmm mmmm. And highly caloric. Use VERY sparingly!

The concert was entitled "Prism" and involved multiple FSU bands, orchestras and even the marching Chiefs! They did a lot of modern song arrangements but also some more classical symphony pieces. Of course there were some school spirit numbers in there too. They not only played from the stage but from the box seats and even lined the aisles! And after the drum lines kept playing in front of the Westscott Fountain.

Then Elise and I went home and talked until way too late for women with alarm clocks, jobs, kids and responsibilities. And it was worth it.

The whole trip was and ending. The end of Elise within easy driving distance. The end of the Tallahassee part of my life. The end of still reliving the college years. Of course I haven't lived in Tallahasse or been in college for quite some time now. But I still had that tie to it through Elise.

I was aware as we searched for campus parking, hiked up the hill from our far away parking, watched the after-party drum line, hoofed it back to our car and finally drove off campus. That will likely be the last time I visit Tallahassee and my Alma Mater. Barring winning free FSU football tickets, which our radio station does sometimes, I will likely not get off at exit 196 or 199 when traveling down I-10. It makes me melancholy.

But it makes me flat out sad to think that Elise will likely go on to have babies it will take me far too long to meet, go to concerts at Princeton I will never join her at and host may other wonderful people at her dinner table that I won't eat at.

That's the thing about getting older. Life takes you so many places, and that leaves a trail of wonderful times and wonderful people.

But don't think all hope is lost. Elise's mom still lives not too far from me (for now), so I may get to see her now and again. But we've always done best keeping up in person. And that'll be a little more difficult and a little more costly now. I guess we'll have to get better at Facetime and phone calls!

Back at it

So my first days back at work were just fine. Surprisingly, I did not cry at all. I had been praying that God would give me strength and peace, and He did. Thanks be to Him.

It did help to mentally psych myself out that I would be home by 3pm, and that it was only 2 days. I kept telling myself it would pass quickly.

The first day back, John and Sophia came to the hospital for lunch. It was nice that all my co-workers got to see her, but I honestly think it was harder for me than if she didn't come at all. It was only when lunch was wrapping up and I had to leave them that I almost lost it.

But other than that, I was busy at work. Both days I was training for a new position that I'll be covering for 6 days the last two weeks in March. So I really had to focus. But- it's also less stressful because for those two days, I was not personally solely responsible for making sure the work got done correctly.

Sophia and John also fared well. As I predicted, John didn't get too much work done, because Sophia still is not consistently taking long naps. It's hard to get anything done when she only sleeps 30-45 minutes at a time. We are working on it though, because when her naps are short like that, she is a much less contented baby when she is awake.

So, being back at work is going alright. I am sure it is easier since I know she's with her daddy and well cared for, and will be waiting for me when I get home.

For all of March and I would venture to guess most of April, I will be working 3 days a week. But, as soon as all our vacancies are filled my boss has said she'll be able to put me back down to 2 days a week. And I will be glad of that.

Twas the night before

I returned to work, and all through the house, everything seemed normal, but I felt like a louse

...because in the morning I have to get up and leave my beautiful sweet precious baby. For like, 9 hours. In a row. *Insert tears*.

I know I am fortunate, I don't even have to work full time, and my baby will be at home with her daddy.
I can't imagine ladies who have to go back to work at 6 weeks and put their tiny infants in full-time daycare.
So sad.

I really have no idea how tomorrow will go. I'm sure I'll cry.
Thankfully I'll be learning a new position, and I have to be there at 6:30am, but should be home by 3. For the next two weeks.

But then in March I go back up to 3 days a week instead of 2. Gulp.

I keep reminding myself that Sophie will be fine, it's only me who will suffer (and maybe dad!).

I hope the hours fly by instead of drag.

I am not wearing mascara to work.

Loss

Today turned out a lot different than I planned.

It was a busy day at work. But I'm in the Intensive Care Unit this week and enjoying it, so that was ok (the busy-ness).

That is, until lunch. When I saw I had a missed call from my husband.
I called to check in to find out that he sold our truck- yay!
And to find out that our dog Eby had gone missing. Boo. Big boo.
I knew I had to keep it together because there was still much to be done at work. She's gone missing a few times before. We'd always been blessed to recover her. Only John had already been looking awhile when he told me. And she doesn't have on her collar.

Ernie got out too but came back home before John even knew he was gone. Eby always puts her nose to the ground and takes off, being a member of the hound group.

The details really aren't important. What matters is that she is gone. She hasn't turned up.

We put out signs at the intersection and the entrances to the subdivisions near us. Tomorrow we plan to put out smaller signs in the neighborhoods and put slips in a lot of mailboxes. She is a sweet and friendly dog so I am hoping someone took her into their house. And I sincerely hope that someone sees a sign and calls us. The not knowing is unbearable.

We live near a big busy road. That worries me. There are probably 400-500 houses within a quarter mile of us. That worries me too. She's been gone for hours and hours. Hopefully not getting farther and farther away. That worries me too.

She was a stray when we got her. So obviously she's run off before. Not good for us.

I wonder if she never comes back, if we'll get another dog. If Ernie will be lonely. How I could learn to love another dog? How we could get such a good match again?

I've been praying a lot to be at peace. To not be angry and worried. But it's so hard. I really do love my dogs.

Please come home Eby!!!!!!!!!

 And then the day brought more loss.

I got am automated reminder call from my midwife's office for my appointment tomorrow, but it said it was with the nurse practitioner. I called to see if my midwife was out, or sick, or whatever.

She's gone.

"She's no longer with the practice". What the heck? No courtesy call or letter? They were just gonna let me show up and find out. I asked if she was still in the area or had moved to another practice "Not that we're aware of at this time. But you can come in and discuss your options with the nurse practitioner." I know my options. She is the only midwife in the practice. The nurse practitioners don't do deliveries, and the other two partners are MD's.

I have a call in to our Bradley instructor to see if she can find out anything. In the meantime I'll see the NP for tomorrow. I need my lab results. I had a list of questions for the midwife about her policy/beliefs on some things. Guess I can leave that at home.

I'd really come to adore my midwife. She's so positive and enthusiastic. I'm super disappointed.

There is another midwife in town. I'm fairly certain that's who I'll switch to if I can't find Robin at another practice somewhere in town. But this midwife is at a different practice. And all her backup physicians are male. And I'm almost 7 months pregnant. And all the trust I'd built with Robin is gone.

I was talking to the Lord about all this as I drove home from work. I know He is fully able to control all these things and I can have a happy healthy baby and an uncomplicated birth even if I only meet the "baby catcher" in the delivery room. But He also knows how I feel.

It's a good thing He can help with feelings, because a lot of mine are not in line right now.

Just being honest.

Debbie Downer signing off now.

Baby White Week 26

This week I had my glucose tolerance test. It was the one hour that you don't have to fast for, so that was nice. Unfortunately I don't get the results until my next appointment, this Thursday. I was really nervous about drinking the Glucola. I'd heard it was sickeningly sweet. However, I found it tasted a lot like Gatorade or some kind of kids' fruity drink/punch. I had the options of orange and fruit punch, and I chose the former. It was nice and cold too. No problem.

What WAS a problem was the wait at the lab. My insurance only covers two labs in our town. They're also only open 7:30-4:30 M-F. Not a convenient schedule for working folks. So on the last day I'd have off til my appointment, I drove on over. I got there at 7:50. I waited an hour to be called back. THEN- all they did was give me the drink and told me to come back in an hour. What the heck?! If all you needed to do was hand me a drink I could have used my hour of waiting to digest it. Instead I had to wait an additional hour. Not really how I wanted to spend my morning.

This week my belly has started to be a little sore. Those muscles are gettin all stretched out! I'm wondering if maybe a belly binder would be a good investment?

We also made the last big change to prepare for Sophia this week- a "new" car. John had a small pickup that only had small fold down backseats. I think I'll miss the convenience of a truck, but we are going to get a trailer to pull behind the new car. It's necessary for John's business.

So we said goodbye to the Nissan:

 And hello to "dad's" new little sportster- the Pontiac Vibe

The low profile sport tires and rims make it look a little less "family car" lol

Too bad it's a manual- I can't drive them. But John loves a "stick". The owners also put in a really nice CD/DVD/MP3 player. I've yet to figure out how to work it all!

Look mom, a back seat! It even has the "latch" system for the carseat!

With my old sunshades, it looks like a mom car from the front :)

There's actually a lot of room in it. The back seats and even the front passenger seat folds down and they all have a hard vinyl backing- so it can still be used for hauling.

The only thing we need to work on is some cosmetics. John and I think the previous owner must've had some pretty rambunctious kids. Because several little random pieces are missing- like a panel on the lower front console, a piece off the top of one seatbelt, the footrest on the driver's floorboard, etc. It's like they removed every small extra piece available! Too funny.

My wonderfully talented friend Sarah is working on the crib skirt this week. I can't wait until it's done and I can put the nursery together. Right now everything is still piled into the crib and the closet.

This week you get to see my gym clothes- and I had to take my own picture! Thank goodness for tripods and self timers!

I was told this past week I looked small for 26 weeks. After seeing this photo, I think they were mistaken! :)

Weekend Update 05-05-12 The New House!

Hi everyone!

It's been a long and very productive week in The White House. Monday the 30th we closed on our home. Thankfully the evening of the 30th my midwife called in a script for Phenergan at my request, and it worked! Thank you Jesus! No really, there is no way I would have been able to do 1/4th of the things that needed to be done this past week.

I'd like to take a moment out to personally thank the researchers, test subjects, manufacturers, marketers, prescribers and dispensers of Phenergan. For reals. Thank ya'll. I have my life back.

So of course Monday evening also meant a trip to Lowe's. One of about 6 we've made in the last week. We got paint, light fixtures, ceiling fans...the works.

Tuesday through Friday at 2am we worked almost non-stop. And that was including help from my mom and her friend Andy. Literally every inch of the house needs painting. We've gotten about 75% of it done. I certainly flexed some muscles that are not often used. They did not like it, and they let me know! But I am so happy with the results. Our house has gone from the land of off-white and almond to the land of crisp, bright white and colors.

I can see that there are literally years worth of projects ahead of us. It's very hard for me to be patient about these things. I want it all done and perfect now. But, limitations of time, money and physical endurance will keep me waiting.

So, let me get on to the real reason you are here: pictures!

Left side, my garage

Right side, John's garage. The flagpole, antiquated monstrous TV antenna and mailbox are going, eventually. I'd also like to paint the front door a color.

Back porch

Back yard, full of sand burs. Good thing they're still green. Those suckers are getting mowed tomorrow!

Foyer/entry area. The door was almond, now white. The walls are now "Sand Trap" and "Lettuce Alone" New flooring will be laid at the end of the month.

Before- from the MLS listing. Cabinets were ecru.

Before, living room. Can you say 80's!!!

After- colors are now white, Lettuce Alone and Fudge Truffle. Ceiling fans to be replaced in a few weeks. All the common areas are going to be tile. You can't tell in the photos, but the carpet is in pretty bad shape.

Living room view from dining room.

Back  porch from MLS photos. Hate the color of the carpet. It's going!

And it's now a project area. Lol. Small dining area but we found a great fitting table. This tile will also be replaced.

Got this table and chairs for $20! All I had to do was recover the seats.

Kitchen- the white patch is where we had to repair a large hole in the wall from where a stupid small tilted TV stand was bonded to the wall. Short term plans include sanding and painting the cabinets, which have a nice thick coat of shellac. What fun that will be. Long term plans include new counter tops and appliances.

Laundry room. These built in cabinets really are nice. To the left is the washer and dryer area.

Our "new to us" front loaders from Craigslist. They have a good bit of cosmetic wear and tear, but I am still thrilled to have them!

Hallway

Guest bath before. Man, it was filthy! The patches in the wall are from where towel bars, cup holders and toothbrush holders were mounted to custom wooden plaques and then mounted to the wall. Ick!

Imagine this wooden plaque behind every fixture in the bathrooms. These light fixtures are going in a couple weeks.

Nice, clean and bright

Wooden toilet seat replaced. Flooring going in a month. Light fixture in a few weeks. Long term plans- new counter top, mirror and faucet, paint cabinets.

2nd bedroom- will be the nursery. Leaving it untouched until we know the gender. Will be getting new carpet.

Our few baby things!

Master- hard to tell in photos but the walls are a light grey called "Whispering Wind". I have a wall cling quote that says "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" that I'll be putting above the bed.

View from the bathroom

View from the hall door.

View from the bed. John's chest of drawers is now in the office. He was willing to do that to keep a king size bed :)

The baths were pretty much the same. Nasty toilets and floor. He actually had custom made rugs that covered all the vinyl in the bathrooms. And they were white! (or used to be). Those things went ASAP. But the floor has a funny smell and I can't wait for it to go!

Now it's a sunny yellow! I have a white tiered ruffles shower curtain on the way! Plans for this bath are the same as the hall bath. Except some day I'd also like to move the left recessed medicine cabinet. It's placed really awkwardly. Like between the vanity and toilet. It should have been centered over the toilet for pete's sake!!!

And tonight, floor demolition began!

So we are very glad to be in our first place. I'm happy with what it is now and excited for how it will be even better someday!

Now pray for John, because the honey-do list is very long! And for future reference, if you ever want to get us anything at all, we want Lowe's gift cards! Lol

Change Number 3

Is Baby Number 1!!!!!!!

That's right, all this job changing and house hunting has been spurred on by the biggest change coming in our life! A bambino!

So sometime in November our family of 2 is going to become a family of 3!

Stay tuned for a little story on how we got here (metaphorically speaking only!) :)

Mish mash and meeting a Centinarian

So I did not do a Weekend Update this week.

Mainly, because I took no photos.

We had a yard sale. It was hot. We made decent money though and cleared out room in the garage.
I like going to yard sales, I don't like hosting them so much.

We went to our good friends the Seymore's for lunch. Lauren blogs here.
We had a really nice time. As far as I know, the poppy seed chicken Mrs. T made did not make me fail my drug test for my new job the next day. But I did make sure to tell everyone I ate it! (Nervous!)

Yet another change in our lives- we are looking at houses. The kind you buy, not rent. We've been saving up a down payment for a while now. We want to get in while the market and interest rates are in the buyer's favor still.

It's funny the design and layout choices some people make for their homes. We saw one where the dryer hookup was in the add-on utility room while the washer hookup was still in the original laundry room inside the house. Weird. And it's interesting to see what flooring and surfaces used to popular, but definitely are NOT any longer.

The price range we are looking in, anything really nice goes fast. We saw a home we wanted to make an offer on, only to learn the next day that an offer had been made the day we looked at it. Rats.

Yesterday through work I met a lady who will be 103 in 9 days. She was delightful. Except for some confusion to time, she had her wits about her still. And she looked about 75. She was cracking jokes and making me laugh. I asked her to recall her childhood. She remembered having 7 brothers and sisters and living in a home with dirt floors, but she also remembers growing up in a happy, loving family.
Her own mother lived quite a long time too. She said her secret was "she served the Lord and was lubricated with WD-40," lol. She only had one son, who is now 85. He is out camping and fishing this week. I forgot to ask how many generations are under her. I wonder if she has great great grandkids?

It was very enjoyable to meet her. I let her know she could likely be in the paper for having such a momentous age, but she did not seem to think it was any big deal.

I hope you are all having a good afternoon and are anticipating the arrival of Friday as much as I am!

The times, they are a changin'

So the first of many life changes is this:

I'm starting a new job! It's kinda bittersweet as I've gotten settled in where I am after four years.
But, we are finally able to let me work a little less.

So, I will now be working as a hospital case manager on an "as needed" (PRN) basis. For now the need is 3 days a week and one weekend a month. It will still be 8 to 5.

I'm excited for the change. I'll be gaining experience in an area that's more marketable and better understood. My current role is kind of a niche market. The only way for advancement where I currently am is to relocate to Tallahassee.

Not that I'm particularly looking to advance in the traditional way. I have so many tell me how well I could do in certain things. The only problem is, all the things mean having a career. Like a full-time one. To be honest, I just want a job that I like and that likes me. And pays well of course :)

I would instead be happier to "advance" to the role of full time domestic engineer extraordinaire. But, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

I'll start the new job mid-April. I hope I'm able to catch on to everything fast!