Logistics of a New Family Member - First Revision?

Really, I should have known that as soon as I committed a plan to paper (er, the blog), changes would start coming right away.  Yesterday I put out a logistical plan for adding a new little one to the house.  No sooner than we finish dinner, Trey starts throwing wrenches into the mix.  

Trey:  So what do you think about next week converting Sean's bed?

Amy, mouth on floor:  What?

T:  What do you think about changing Sean's bed next week?

A:  You mean having Sean start sleeping in a toddler bed?

T, annoyed by my apparent ignorance of a simple question: Uh, yeah.

A:  But I thought the nursery was staying the nursery?  And that Sean was moving into Isabella's room and her furniture?

T, really annoyed that I'm not seeing the obvious:  But that's Sean's bed and it converts.

A:  What's the baby going to sleep in?  

T, really thinking I'm stupid now:  Uh, a crib.

A:  A crib from where?

T, sure I've lost all brains: We talked about using the Schneidermeyer's old crib a long time ago.  We've talked about this!

A:  But that was a long time ago, and we just decided the nursery was staying the nursery, now you're talking about Sean staying in his bed, and the baby getting a new crib, but what about the other furniture, and....

T, cutting me off before my head explodes:  Well, think about it and we'll talk more.

And then I had to leave for a MOPS meeting.  And the following thoughts occur to me as I'm driving to my friend Julie's house:

1.  Trey can't change my plan already.  I just blogged about it!

2.  Oh, wait.  That was MY plan, wasn't it?

So here's my confession.  Trey and I both decided Isabella was moving downstairs and she's getting a new bed.  We both decided that the nursery was staying the nursery.  What Trey was unaware of is that I, therefore, finished the plan in my head, because I need a plan from which to work.  I hadn't actually said to him, "OK, so here are the fine details, based on our decisions!"  

I assumed the nursery staying the nursery meant that no baby furniture was moving out.  I assumed that if no baby furniture was moving with Sean, that meant that Sean was going straight into the twin bed.  Unless he needed an emergency back up crib, which yes, we had discussed possibly using the Schneidermeyer's old crib.  He thought the crib would be for new baby, I thought the crib would be for Sean only if we needed it.  Unfortunately, us thinking things on our own doesn't actually equate to communication!

This, of course, doesn't change the fact that we need to begin construction on Isabella's new room.  But I wasn't going to harp on that last night, given that Trey didn't understand why I was so dumbfounded by such a simple question.  I want to make sure he believes I'm of sound mind and body when I jab the hot poker up his rear to get him motivated for the hard work ahead.  

So tonight, or at least this week, I'll let him in on my whole plan, and then we'll discuss the fine details.  And hopefully we'll be buying lumber sometime in the next week!

Logistics of a New Family Member

OK, I think we finally devised a plan for baby coming into our life!  It's astounding the logistics that come into play when you bring a new family member into the mix, and there are people (read: your existing children) to negotiate with.  It's like negotiating with the Teamsters.  

So here's the plan.  The other half of the basement is getting finished - so when you step out of the stairs, you will u-turn into double doors leading to unfinished storage; to your right, an open finished area opposite the already finished great room (Trey's says its for the pool table, which we don't own); the heating/cooling schtuff will be boxed in; and at the back right corner of the basement, under our bedroom, will be Isabella's new bedroom suite.  A big bedroom close to the size of ours, with it's own full bath, and complete with loft bed and new decor. In blues and browns, in stripes and polka dots, hopefully for less than a small mint, even though Isabella's spending money we don't have in her head!  

That needs to get done so that we can...move Sean into Isabella's room!  Sean will get Isabella's furniture, which we may paint, as it has a slight pinkish hue.  Maybe it will look more masculine once all the girly stuff is out!  We'll decorate in neutral boy colors - reds, blues and tans - and then we can add whatever sports accents, or whatever interest he's having at the time.  So it looks like he'll move into a twin bed with a rail, though he's still so comfy in a crib, so we may have to throw a crib in there last minute.  A crib we don't actually have.  Because it will be a transition for him, I'd like to get moving ASAP.  Anyone want to help me light that fire under my hubby's butt?  He's still obsessed with working on our deck, but I'm thinking that can wait for Spring, no?

The nursery will stay the nursery, same sage green and Classic Pooh.  Some items will move into Sean's room, but for the most part, we shouldn't have to buy too much for Baby Boy.  

This plan is, of course, subject to change, as we get into making all the transitions, and find that they don't all work as planned!  Sean doesn't get what we mean when we talk about him moving into Sissy's room, and certainly doesn't get the whole sleeping in a big-boy bed.  But the sooner it all comes together, the happier this Momma will be!  

Week 20 Ultrasound Pics

I know, I'm actually just two days shy of week 25!  I'm getting there....

We had our 20 week ultrasound a few weeks ago, as well as my 20 week appointment, but the only thing they wanted to talk about was my lack of weight gain at that point.  Luckily, those numbers are since up.   The other good news was that all the early signs of bleeding, low-lying placenta, and membranes were all gone!  No complications whatsoever!

And I mentioned to the ultrasound tech, at the beginning of the visit, that Trey's sister, Mandy, had some doubt that what we saw at week 14 telling us we were having another boy wasn't just a foot or something.  Apparently, our ultrasound tech has a sense of humor...

That's right, Auntie Mandy, I'm a boy!  It's confirmed!

This image is confusing, but think of it as if he's sitting on glass and we're looking up at his rump on the right, legs sticking out to the left, and his Manliness in between!

Just to confirm, here's a pelvis shot, with the big ol' man-goods sticking out!  That large black hole by his goods is his bladder.  Note the tech's description as "Not a foot!"

An Amazing 3D face shot, isn't he just the most gorgeous 20 week old fetus you've ever seen?

We think he looks like Sean in this shot!

Here's another 3D face shot of our guy, showing off his flexibility with his foot nearby!

A classic facial profile of our little man - handsome already!

Next post will be a week 24 update, with what will most likely be a week 25 belly shot, since I hit 25 weeks in just two days!   And FYI, I have ONE MORE ultrasound scheduled at 34 weeks!

An Old Sentiment Revisted

I know...I've been woefully absent.  This past summer has been a rough one for me, and most of you have no idea why.  It's very personal and not something I wish to share with everyone.  However, my life as I have known it has been turned upside down, and I've been reexamining every aspect of it.  Some days the only thing that gets me through is the realization that I will come out stronger on the other side.  So here I sit, middle of the night, with yet another bought of insomnia (yes, thank you Mom for passing that trait on!).  I found myself on my MySpace page, reading an old blog from last Fall.  I'd like to share it with all of you, because it's something that I needed to remember, and I hope that it speaks to you guys as well.  

While things have sucked recently, I did forget for a moment the sentiment that each day, no matter how shitty, is your day to live as best you can.  This past weekend, I met a new friend on my girls weekend who has been going through very similar life experiences this summer, and she asked me "How can you still be so happy?"  I answered "What are my choices?"  I didn't know then, but realize now, that I was reflecting a bit on this blog post I'm about to share with you.  Each day is to be cherished, and we must savor the good that we do have and be happy with what life is giving us even if it's not what we want.  

So without further ado....from Weds, October 10, 2007 - when I apparently thought I knew it all!

Life’s Too Short.....Why this is my personal motto....  Current mood:  grateful  Category: Life Life is too short for badly written books, cheap wine and boring food!     That is my motto, something I try to live by everyday.  Oh, I know, it's sweet, cheeky, and a little annoying in this very cynical world we live in.  I know what you're thinking...isn't that cute?    Well, there's a reason I've come to this point in my life, why I choose to look at each day as something to be cherished.    It started out small....it was no overnight change for me.  I was once the cynical person (OK, still can be in some ways!), with the quick one liners, and the "it's always something" attitude.  My 20s were about making money, buying things, having a great time and no worries about anything else.  I mean, I was going to live forever, right?   But the fact is, we're not going to live forever.  I mean, I had lost loved ones, but they had lived long full lives.  Old people died - my grandma, my friend's father, my great uncle.     So three years ago, 2004, three things happened in a very short time that began to change me.  Three people that were two degrees separated from me died.  They died young.   In September, the director of sales at my job lost her niece one weekend.  The driver, a guy friend, had been drinking, lost control of the car, and he walked away while Jody died.  She was 20.   In October, my sister in law's best friend from high school was on business in Wisconsin, just one month after her wedding.  She was complaining of intense headaches, and her mom encouraged her to go to the hospital.  While driving herself there, Missy suffered a stroke in her brain stem.  She died a few days later.  She was 25.   In December, my personal trainer's son was riding his bike along Hwy M in O'Fallon.  He was crossing the drive in front of Dairy Queen, and a truck turning in struck and killed him.  He was 16.    Any one of these was tragic, and I am grateful that I didn't know these people personally, or I'm not sure how I would have handled three straight loses.  But it struck me, it hit me over the head like a hammer.  Life is short.  Sometimes too short.    So did I go out and quit my job and get knocked up right away?  No, I continued to struggle in a job that became increasingly demanding of my personal time, coming home yelling at my husband because of something someone else did.  By September of '05, I was pregnant and began to realize that my job and motherhood may not be that compatible.  It's hard to raise a child when I'm in a meeting until 8pm at night.    Luckily, my employer made the decision for me, and in my 7th month of pregnancy, fired me without warning.  I can only say now that my boss later admitted that it was a mistake, but her firing me was the best thing that ever happened.    While I was able to focus on the imminent birth of my son, the feelings of worthlessness and despair were hard to overcome.  A year ago when I started joining playgroups, I always introduced myself as a former director of marketing, I wanted to make sure that people knew I was someone once.   But wasn't I someone anyway?  I've always been someone, only now I was someone's Mother as well!  The shift was gradual, I barely know when it happened, but sometime in this past year, I've embraced motherhood and embraced life!  I sit in my driveway with my son, staring at the blue sky, pointing out airplanes as they go by and marveling at how perfect my life is.   I still have to stop myself from missing the six figure income we used to enjoy.  I don't like budgeting and preplanning our purchases.  But this is my life.  And it's a damn good one.  I don't get another one, and every day is my day to live how I choose.  You know those mornings that you just want to go back to bed and start over and it's only 7:30?  Well, that's still your day to live, and while it may be tough, it's there and it's yours and it could be your last - so enjoy the crap out of it!   Do you catch yourself saying "Well, when this craziness is over, I'm going to...."?  You're going to what?  Well, I can tell you right now, you'll just be dealing with the Next thing life throws at you!  Stop waiting for things to settle down....stop waiting for this catastrophe to pass.....stop waiting for things to get better before you live the life that you want.  This is it.  Relish every word, every sip, every bite.     This post is dedicated to Jake, my sister's fiancé, an electrician apprentice who was electrocuted and burned at work just two weeks ago.  He's coming home today, recovering from skin graft surgery.  He'll be 21 next month.

Back to life, back to reality

So it's Monday a.m. after vacation, Trey's at work, the kids are still sleeping.  And it's back to life.  Vacation was awesome, how can it not be when all you do is lay around either in or next to water all day?  It was blistering hot the first half of the week, then almost cool the second half, comparatively speaking, of course!  

I haven't downloaded any photos yet, so they'll be coming over the course of a few days.  I have some video, too, including footage of Sean falling in the water, scarring him for two straight days.  There are stories to tell, memories to savor.  We laughed, we cried, I drank O'Douls and virgin margarita mix.

I can tell you now that I managed to do in one week what I could not do in five months...gain FIVE POUNDS!  (Said in the same voice as Principal Rooney, relaying to Ferris' mom about missing school Nine Times.)  Now, this morning, I'm already down 1/2 a pound, so hopefully some of that weight gain level off.  Nothing like a week of high fat, high salt, high calorie foods 24/7 to help put on the poundage.  Trey was up five pounds as well.  So they'll be a pregnancy update, too, this week, as there is no denying my pregnant belly anymore.  Which is nice and tan these days.  So stay tuned...

Live....from Camdenton, MO.....

Technically, I'm live from the McDonald's on Hwy 54 in Camdenton, MO, but who's checking?  Just a quick note to say that we're on vacation down at Lake of the Ozarks, and I have no internet connection...unless I pay McD's $2.95 to do so!  So when I'm back, I promise...

Week 20 ultrasound pics...

Week 23 Belly Pics...

Vacation photos...

And all the other photos and videos I have yet to get up.

Either way, Trey and I can't think of a better way to spend 97 degree days than chillin' on the dock next to the lake with our good friends Andy and Melissa.  Oh yeah, and all the kids, too!  

Hope you all are having a great week!  :-)