Sleep!

Beth is FINALLY starting to get back to sleeping through the night again - last night she slept from 7:30 PM - 9:00 AM *straight*! Yea! A good thing too, I was so sleepy. Thomas woke up at 8 and came to snuggle, then went downstairs, then came back upstairs and was playing so I convinced him to go watch a movie, and dozed off again. He was happy to comply and is finishing up his Thomas the train movie right now. Hey, it was an emergency - I needed sleep!
I got to go out with friends for a couple hours last night, it was a lot of fun hanging out, and the hot fudge sundae I got was fabulous. There were 10 of us at a long table so I only got to talk to a few other people, but it was still fun - I love my mama's group, it's nice having friends close by going through the same stuff.
I'm working at getting the house organized again, I got almost all the Christmas stuff back downstairs yesterday, I think there are a couple towels out still though that I'll have to track down. I'm trying to get into routines so that I can *keep* everything nice once I get it there. So far I've got this:

1. Kids get up, so I do too.
2. Feed kids breakfast, try to remember to feed myself - lol.
3. Check email/message board/other random internet stuff.
4. Make bed and get dressed.
5. Laundry.
6. Dishes, spend a few minutes clearing off counters.

By the time I'm on #6, I usually get sidetracked and do random stuff, sometimes cleaning and sometimes not, till around 5:00. Then, I've got this:

1. Start tidying up a bunch of stuff as quickly as possible before Clay and Rob get home.
2. Help kids clean up toys.
3. More dishes, start dinner.
4. Dinner.
5. Give the kids their bath and put them to bed.
6. Get absolutely nothing constructive done the rest of the evening and play games or mess around on the computer.

It's not perfect, but it's a start!

Waking Up

Wow! I feel like I've been gone so long that I should reintroduce myself ... in more ways than one! I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner, Beth has been around for 9 1/2 months, Thomas is in preschool ...
You know how they do those little questionnaires at your 6-week appointment after your baby is born to make sure you're not going crazy? Well, that wasn't a problem ... but soon after my appointment, we moved and a million other things were going on, and I started falling apart. I should have gotten help sooner, but thought I was getting better, yadda yadda yadda. I made an appointment to see my old OB/GYN from here back in August, but couldn't get in till September, which I did. She put me on meds, they sucked and didn't work out, ugh. So, last week I went to a FP and she was terrific (in spite of my laundry list of stuff to ask about). I'm now on Celexa for post-partum depression and I feel like I'm all of a sudden waking up to the world (hence the title of the post). I've felt like the real me had been shoved out and just watching this crazy mean person run (ruin?) my life, and my family's life. It's been so frustrating, it feels like you're in this big hole and trying to climb out but someone keeps dumping more dirt on you, you can't get out, and it's heavy! When I explained that last bit to Clay, he said "Yeah, you don't have to tell me, I've had to deal with it for years, but you do explain the feeling a lot better than me!" True enough, it gives me a new perspective on how he has to wrestle his emotions and reactions ALL the time, not just for a horrible several months.
But now I really am getting better, I can tell on so many levels! I've *missed* Thomas when he's gone, he has a new sparkle that we haven't seen regularly in WAY too long, and I'm generally happier and easier to be around. Yea! Now I just have to get the house and the family back on track (not in that order!) There's lots of stuff I want to do with the house, but I've been so out of sorts that I haven't managed to get off the couch long enough to accomplish something real in ... um, let's just say a long time. I have tons of sewing and mending to catch up on, too! As far as the kids are concerned, I can play (for short periods of time, this is medicine, not a miracle!) and I'm looking forward to starting to work with Thomas in workbooks and fun activities as we settle into a manageable and balanced schedule. Beth gets to play too, but really a baby can't do much with crafts other than chewing on the pieces!
Expect to see more of me on here in the future, but I'll be spending less time on the computer overall - I have a life to get back to!

A new day

Wow, I just reread that last post and I sounded pretty depressed, didn't I? Today is much better, Thomas is in the other room watching Backyardigans while Beth takes a nap. We're visiting the pumpkin patch with preschool today, Thomas has been talking about it all week - I hope it lives up to his expectations! It's also Thomas's snack day, we're taking in some goldfish-type crackers and apple juice. I might throw in some animal crackers, too, now that I think about it - not sure there are really enough cheese crackers to satisfy the masses!
I'm just kind of having a lazy day so far, I spent yesterday afternoon cleaning off the refrigerator, tops of the cabinets, and the kitchen cart - it looks a lot better in there, but it'm making it harder to motivate myself to get more done today, it looks great already! Except for the dishes, new paperwork, laundry, the bathrooms need cleaned ... neverending!

I'm Back!

It's been a while, but I think I'm returning to the blogosphere. We just returned from a trip out to visit family in St. Louis, but have yet to get back into the swing of things. Thomas woke up and promptly threw up the entire contents of his stomach - thankfully, that consisted only of water! He wants something to eat now, but I'm putting him off for a while, then we'll see what happens. He's otherwise doing great, is now fully potty trained, and looking forward to starting school next week. He'll have preschool Monday and Wednesday afternoons, though the first day is shortened. I can't believe he's old enough to start school!
Beth got her second tooth on Saturday, August 23 - the left bottom front tooth was first, right was second. She's working on some others, not sure which exactly yet but guessing the top 2. She's a lot easier with the teething than Thomas was, but doesn't take medicine NEARLY as well, so it's sort of a toss-up. Ugh.
Clay is HOPEFULLY getting results from his blood tests today, they did a whole slew of tests last week to figure out what's going on with his stomach, etc. He's had an upset belly for weeks, the doctor wants to be pretty aggressive as far as tests to figure out what's going on with him - colonoscopy, blood tests, the scope down your esophagus, etc. Yuck!
I've got an appointment with the OB/GYN this week to talk about hormones, etc. (read: possible PPD but I'm not wanting to call it that or admit that I MIGHT have something more going on than irritability) so Mom will be down to watch the kids for my appt. and the Parent Orientation for Thomas's preschool on Thursday, plus maybe for Clay's scope(s) if we can get them scheduled conveniently.
My brother Rob is going to move in while he finds a place to live and gets school/work figured out, he withdrew from Miami and will be attending OSU but isn't sure which quarter he'll get to start classes. It will be a lot of fun having him here, but I've got to clean out the computer room so he'll have somewhere to crash! It's going to be a BUSY couple weeks here!

We won the lottery ...

... but not the good kind involving a windfall of green. We've been down with an extremely nasty virus for the past week, the only redeeming factors being 1) Clay didn't get it! 2) Thomas got it first and was over it before anyone else started feeling symptoms and 3) We live close enough that my mom was able to come down and stay the night to take care of us. I guess I'm the one that got the sickest (fever was over 104 at one point and a week later my throat is still sore) but really, nothing is more miserable than a sick baby. I called in to the pediatrician's office and they wanted to see us, so I hauled my miserable sick self, Thomas's healthy but by now bored self, and Beth's very sad and pathetical sick self to the Dr. on Thursday. He thought it might be strep (imagine how well the throat swab went over) but turns out we've just all got another really nasty virus, and he's seen it a lot in the last couple weeks. So to relieve the symptoms of sore throat he tells me I can use children's benadryl and children's mylanta, mixed together and put in her mouth. The mylanta soothes it, the benadryl numbs it - I'm thinking this is great, and we leave the peds office as they are closing for the night. We head over to Meijer to pick up the mylanta (I have benadryl at home) and some groceries we need - get the groceries, but they don't have the mylanta. Ugh. So then I drag all of us across the street to Walmart where I'm informed that I'm the fourth person in 2 days to come looking for it and no, they don't have it and they can't get it. They suggest CVS, who tells me the same thing - you're the second person today to come looking for it and we don't have it, so sorry. Apparently our Dr. is sending everyone out for this and doesn't know that they quit making it. Grr.
My throat is only a little sore still (finally!) so hopefully today I can make some headway on all the nonsense there is to do around here - I'm absurdly behind after traveling to St. Louis, going to Girls' Weekend, then immediately getting sick - that's over 2 weeks of relying on my mom's overnight (she did some laundry and dishes for us, thank goodness) and Clay's spare time (which he has precious little of, I can't be thankful enough that it was all spent taking care of the stuff I couldn't do). So, I guess this is off for laundry!

Back again!

Our stuff arrived at the house on Tuesday and we're now unpacking like mad. I've gotten Thomas's room unpacked (I made it a first priority to get him settled in) and I think the kids' bathroom is all the way unpacked - as for everywhere else, well ...
Thomas is in a Big Boy Bed and loves his "Beep-Beep" (Lightning McQueen) bedding. Though when I asked him yesterday afternoon if he liked his bed (he loved it in the morning) he said, "No, I like Daddy's bed." Too bad for him, Daddy's bed is already taken!
Here's a shout-out for my sister-in-law Jill: She's going to be running in the Nike Women's Half Marathon with Team In Training. It's a fundraising adventure for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and she'll be working her tail off to head out to San Francisco in October. It's a seriously major commitment, she can NOT back out once she's said "yes" (which she has). The way it works is they pay for her flight and room out there, but she's got to raise four times the cost. The other three parts go straight to leukemia and lymphoma research - 75 cents of every dollar, in other words. If you look at the stats on fundraising, that's not a bad percentage as is! So, to support a great effort for a great cause go to her TNT page and make a donation! You can keep tabs on how she's doing by reading her blog - send her a word of encouragement whenever you can.
Ok, off for breakfast then more unpacking the Sea of Brown!

Busy busy busy!

As if I ever talk about anything else - sorry. We're progressively getting the first floor of the house ready to show. Now just the kitchen and mud room to do, then we're ready to do the second floor! Yea! Especially since pretty much all that needs done on the second floor is the computer room.
We had playgroup earlier today, which was great as always. We didn't get there until 11:00 even though it starts at 10; we weren't even awake until 10:15. I guess I'm going to have to do a reset by waking Thomas up and just having a miserable few days, he's been stalling and staying awake until at least 10:30 the last few days - and hasn't been taking his nap either.
After playgroup we went over for lunch at Jenn and Henry's, lots of fun there too. I'm happy to learn that I'm not the only one who will go to any lengths to avoid talking on the phone. I love email, at least if I say something idiotic I can erase it before sending.
Ok, Thomas and Clay are done picking up the trains, so off to give a bath to the Master Staller.

Scrub-a-dub-dub!

An appropriate title given all the cleaning being done around here - I've done umpteen loads of laundry, dishes, etc. etc. Clay got home early today (yea!) but promptly fell asleep (boo!). I plopped Beth on him (at least he was being a useful sleeper!) and got lots of sorting clothes done. Since the Great Crawlspace Catastrophe I've been washing baby clothes and sorting, etc. I'm getting rid of a bunch of the ones we never used for Thomas because they weren't in good shape - why I didn't do so before packing them up last time . . . we'll never know. Thomas fell asleep right before Clay got home (just after 3 PM) and didn't wake up until after 6:30! It was awesome, I was able to get so much done, I even took Dandy for a jog around the block. *Pats self on back*. Clay's complaining of a headache so I bullied him into taking some meds. You see, we really need to get to the store (Thomas has been wanting more juice since we ran out 3 days ago) and given his 3 hour nap, Clay does not get an excused absence from this shopping trip. Hee-hee! We just got the inspection results from the house on Clay's email, so he's reading through that ("while my headache goes away") then we're off to see the wizard . . . oh, no, nevermind, wrong story! ;-)

Long (short) night

Meaning the part where we were awake was long, the part we were asleep was too short! Last night around 11:00 Clay went down to the crawl space to take a bunch of the random stuff we've pulled out to make it less cluttered in here. He noticed several of the totes were on their sides, and when he went to take a closer look saw that they had water in them! Apparently when the creek near our house flooded a few weeks ago (it had rained/snowed several inches within just a couple days) the crawl got water in it - whether from the sump pump failing, the place where it drains out got frozen, or what we don't know. Now here's the sucky part . . . most of the baby clothes (not in use) were down there, so got all mildewey and gross. I got cracking on the laundry right away (after doing laundry all day long!) and would spin a load then put it in the laundry sink to soak in Oxyclean while spinning the next load. There were 2 loads of darks, 2 of lights - the sink would hold 2 loads at a time. So, I spun 1 load of darks, got it started soaking, spun the other and added to the sink. Then I spun a load of whites, moved it to a laundry basket while I spun half of what was in the sink, moved it to a separate laundry basket and spun the other half of what was in the sink then put the rest of the darks in their laundry basket. Then, while I spun the last of the lights for the first time, I got the other lights started soaking, then when the second half of the lights finished spinning, added them. Started an actual wash cycle of the darks, moved them through like a regular cycle of wash to the dryer, did the other half of the darks, same deal. I started half of the lights washing and the second half left in the laundry sink, this time soaking in a solution with laundry detergent too - and got to bed around 2 AM to start feeding Beth. Ugh.
On a happier note, we got to set up an Easter egg hunt for Thomas this afternoon, and he had a total blast. I got lots of pictures, which I'll post sometime in the next week once the house is more under control (yeah, right). We also put a For Sale sign out in the front yard yesterday! Keeping our fingers crossed . . .

A Fork In The Road

Ok, so nothing really to do with my day, but I love the title. It's actually the title of a new blog my sister-in-law is writing. Check it out here. She's really got an inspirational message, and gets it out so well that she makes me want to get off my butt and stop whining about my whiny kid(s). Applicable message to a different situation and all . . . Check it out, it's SO worth the read.
I got our closet cleaned up yesterday, today I got started on the bathroom closet but only 2 shelves done thus far. I'll go spend a couple more minutes in there before bed, that way at least everything will be out of the way if one of us gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I'm figuring I'll work my way out into the main areas - not to mention that while they can use a little tidying, the living room and kitchen are already pretty much ready to go. I hope this place sells fast.
We had playgroup today, the kids had a great time with the Easter egg hunt we set up. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one to think of bubbles for egg filler, so there were a disproportionate number of bubble eggs - on the other hand, you really can't ever have too many bubbles with a 2-year-old! One of the moms had gotten some puzzles, Thomas didn't notice too much with the Easter-themed erasers, but in the long run I know what will be his favorite bit of haul. The kid is crazy about puzzles, he's got 5 or so and could quite easily spend all day working them. Good thing we have so many jigsaws packed away - as he gets older they'll be used a lot!
Ok, enough chatter, the bathroom closet beckons . . .

YEA!

Back to Ohio we go! Clay accepted the offer from Ohio State earlier today, so starting May 18 he will be working back in Columbus! Now I guess I have to get serious about decluttering and packing stuff up and house cleaning. Which is what I should be doing right now.
Now all I need is for Beth to decide to show up . . . I am SO done being pregnant.

Crazy Day

Clay left for another interview today, and I'm pretty sure the day would have been a total wash without the Superbowl. I know absolutely nothing about football (Me: "Are we rooting for the blue people or the red people?"; Everyone else: Laughs; Dave: "Uh, the blue ones, that's the Pats!") but getting to go hang out made the world an okay place to be again. Thomas woke up early today and was in a Mood (you know, one of *those*), then Clay left which didn't help either. Oh yeah, before that even, when we got up this morning Dandy had peed on the floor again . . . not a good way to start a day after yet another rotten night's sleep. Anyway, we went to church, came back home and I laid Thomas down right away, no later than 2:30 - he jabbered until 4:30 or later! I ended up waking him up at 6, I didn't want to get him up any earlier because I knew he'd be a serious mess. Thankfully Jenn had invited us over for Superbowl, or I don't know how we would have made it through the night. Even *with* the promise of going over to Henry's it took 2 screaming (I mean scary screaming, not just goofy or throwing a fit) fits out of Thomas just to get in the car. I've never heard him go like that, it was actually kind of frightening. Anyway, we managed to get over there and after about a half hour of laying on my lap Thomas cooled down enough to play. He and Henry had a blast, especially later - they were chasing each other around the kitchen/hallway/dining room. It was so funny, Henry would slow down for me to be able to tickle him as they passed by. Jenn and I played a few games of Mille Bornes while half paying attention to the game, which was great - she knows more about football than I do (btw, just heard on the radio that the Pats lost - sorry Dave!) though how much that says is not much (see note on conversation above).
Back to typing from an extended break of talking to DH . . . he just left this morning, but already wishing he was home! To give a bit of an anecdote, Thomas loves to play with Lite Brite pieces (remember those toys we all played with when we were little? Still around, in travel version here!) and has been obsessed with playing with them every morning this week. I kid you not, we were up in his room for an hour playing with them Friday morning before he would ever come down for breakfast. And he didn't get up until 10:30. Anyway, before we ever even got out the door for church (which is at noon) he had managed to get them taken away. For them to have been taken away . . . it was a rotten morning. Did I mention how extremely grateful I am that Jenn invited us to crash their Superbowl party? Ok, I know I did say it a couple times already, but I honestly don't know how we would have made it through the night.
Ok, so definitely bedtime, especially if tomorrow is in any way remotely like today.

Nesting

Ok, now I know the baby is coming soon . . . Clay has started nesting! He spent the evening moving around furniture (including a huge dresser!) getting it arranged for Beth's arrival. I don't remember this happening with Thomas, but maybe it was because I already had it all done . . .
I'm working on finishing a dress for Beth, thank you notes, dishes, and laundry - except not right now, while I'm taking a break and trying to remember a name for a thank you note I have yet to write. No luck. I was just browsing through the links on a friend's blog and found one to yet another blog - somebody I have no idea who they are, but they're apparently also due right around now. She's gone through all her nesting stuff too, and even planned out the clothes for Kid #1 to wear to visit Kid #2 in the hospital. I hate to admit it, but I hadn't even thought of that, in spite of my mom talking about how mortified she was at the condition of my brother and I when we went to visit my youngest brother - for the last 20 years. So now one other thing to add to the list of things to do - figure out Thomas' wardrobe for the length of our stay in the hospital. My rational brain says that this is a stupid thing to worry about, that it really is not difficult for any adult to figure out what to put on a 2-year-old. The mommy-and-wife part of my brain says I obviously need to worry about this because Clay goes into a bit of a panic when he has to dress Thomas and I *am* here to ask. I'm pretty sure the hospital stay will be the worst part of the whole experience - except that I wouldn't want to give birth at home (talk about a mess to clean up! Ugh, eew, and ick!) I'd have considered staying at home so as not to be trapped and be able to answer the infinite crises that erupt when I'm not available.
Time to get out the To Do list!

Day 3 and still running!

Wow, I am so impressed with me . . . how pathetic is that? Anyway, today was a LONG day . . . fun and good but REALLY LONG. Woke up starving at 5:30, got up and made a peanut butter sandwich, still couldn't sleep, got a sinus blowup with headache, took drugs, still couldn't sleep, drugs took effect, still couldn't sleep, alarm went off to get ready for Dr. visit, got up and felt like I had been run over by a truck. Still haven't slept any more all day. Went to the OB, a nice quick tummy check and out! The fastest appointment yet, aside from last night's ultrasound (15 minutes and GONE!) so I was happy. They're apparently trying to speed up the check-in process by having people seeing the doctors go to the first window, midwives and ultrasound guy to the second . . . maybe a good thought, but when you get a line at the second window and the first window lady is just busyworking, perhaps you ought to relax the "procedure" in face of reality. Not to mention that the first window lady was uber-cranky, and annoying. Sigh. Thankfully I was actually seeing a midwife so I didn't have to talk to the first window lady pretty much at all, but she was pretty rude to the woman in front of me (and the one who arrived behind me) so just her being there was getting on my nerves. Which probably says more about my nerves than the lady at the desk. Anyway, got out of there and stopped at the grocery store - while I wasn't sleeping I was craving Oreos to the point that I gave half a serious thought to putting on my coat and going to the store. I was able to control that particular urge by reminding myself that having not slept I probably wouldn't be a very safe person to be driving . . . we'll not think about that I never slept after that either and still drove to the Dr.'s office. Got home and hung out doing my crossword, etc., finally had to wake Thomas up at 10:15, Jenn and Henry were coming at 10:30 for our much-awaited trip to Joann Fabrics. Thomas was still eating when they got here, but just an oatmeal bar, so he just left it for later.
The trip to Joann's was fabulous, I got some really cute patterns and fabrics (knits! I needed knits! Walmart - the only store close to here that carries fabric - doesn't regularly carry knits!) I already cut out the fabric for one dress, hopefully I'll get the dress done tomorrow, plus a couple cute onesies from another pattern I got . . . pink cotton knit. Thomas and Henry were real troopers while we traipsed all over the store, though every time we mommies would go to separate parts of the store each of the boys would be asking "Where did Henry/Thomas go?" Jenn got some great fabric for a totally cute shirt that she's going to make for herself . . . I haven't even thought of making something for myself recently, I'm waiting for the time when I'm not pregnant and I have an actual need for more clothes to coincide. That sentence just took about 5 minutes to get grammatically correct - it's late! Anyway, then to the mall for awesome Chinese food, the lemon chicken I got was SO good that I didn't mind tasting it for heartburn over the next several hours. TMI, sorry. Stopped in a couple stores on the way out looking for a doll for Thomas (for when Beth is born - I think it might help him to have a baby to take care of while I take care of Beth) and socks from Old Navy. Alas, no luck on either. Home to try to get Thomas down for a nap at 3:30 . . . also unsuccessful. He sat up in his crib chattering away and dumping all of his stuffed animals and blankets out of bed for the next 2 hours (nearly). At least he was resting, right? Clay got home in the meantime, but had a wicked headache and has been asleep for longer than Thomas has now.
Last weekend I got a bunch of chicken on sale at the grocery store (it NEVER goes on good sale here, plus I really want to have stuff easy and ready for when Beth is here) so I spent all evening getting it all cooked, packaged, and frozen. We now have enough for 6 chicken quaesadilla meals, 1-2 of chicken squares, 3-4 of anything requiring chicken chunks (soup, chicken & broccoli toss, stir fry, etc.), plus 6 whole chicken breasts baked with different Italian herbs, with wine in the bottom of the dish . . . can be eaten whole or cut however I need for whatever I want to make. Not bad for a couple hours (dinner was in there too, more chicken squares using a couple of the chicken breasts) and like $14. All good stuff, but remember I haven't slept since 5:30 this morning . . . I am SO TIRED. Which means I should stop typing here, but it's kind of fun to have an outlet for whatever went on during the day . . . the computer can be a better audience than a sleeping husband! Good thing or bad?
Off. to. bed.

Part 2, Day 2!

Wow, 2 days in a row and I'm still on top of it! Maybe I shouldn't sound SO surprised, but considering how bad I am at keeping up with stuff like this . . .
Thomas is down for a much-needed nap, we were going to go shopping with friends today but we had enough freezing rain that the area schools all canceled, so we've rescheduled for tomorrow. Thankfully, Jenn and Henry were able to come over just to play anyway . . . the first thing Thomas said when I got him up this morning was "Is Henry downstairs?" He was pretty excited when I told him last night that we were going to the store with Henry, so it would have been a really rotten morning if they hadn't been able to play. Jenn and I had fun playing this ancient card game (well, not ancient exactly, but my mom said she and her siblings would play it when they were sick growing up!), so I might just have to get one for us. It's called Mille Bornes, and it's a lot of luck and some skill, so not as frustrating as some games that are all one or the other. I also got to show off the dresses that I've made for Beth, which I am very excited about. We're going to Joann Fabrics tomorrow, and I can't wait to get some more fabric to make some more outfits for her! It's a lot more fun sewing girls' stuff than boys' stuff, I guess because you can't tell as much that it's homemade . . . if I were to make some jeans for Thomas, you would be able to tell that they aren't from Baby Gap or whatever. Plus I get to use all the trim - ribbon and rickrack and so forth, plus the fancy stitching that would just look weird on a boy's shirt. Maybe I'll make her a little top with some of the fabric that matches the one dress I made . . . too much fun! And relaxing . . . I find that my patience is below zero at the end of this pregnancy, so doing something like sewing keeps the peace with Thomas better than my goofing off with him would.
Clay is back in town safely, in spite of a winter storm that blew in and delayed his final flight for over an hour . . . and it's only a 45-minute flight! The plane was coming from Williamsport airport and headed to Philly (where he was) - supposed to leave at 11:40ish and arrive at 12:22, he boarded the flight at 12:18. Thankfully he already had someone covering his lab until he got back, so it didn't matter so much that it was 1:30 when he called to tell me he was on the ground and in his car (lab starts at 1!) My mom is flying out to spend the week in St. Louis with her mom and sisters, and her flight is managing to leave on time from Columbus (Ohio), but the storm from Minneapolis isn't supposed to hit there until around 7 tonight, so I guess it makes sense. Really though, that means that Clay was in 2 different winter storms today . . . and we'll be seeing the one from MN again in a couple days! Traveling seems so weird when you think about the weather and all, you get out of one storm just in time and it catches up with you a couple days later. I'm a little bit nervous right now because Clay is interviewing again next Monday, so is gone Sun. - Tues. next week too, and my mom isn't getting back to OH until Monday . . . she's coming out to help with the kids so if I go into labor next weekend . . . ugh! I really don't want to face labor alone! On the other hand, Jenn said she'd come in with me if it were to happen that way, which is wonderful of her, but I would still be really upset if Clay was gone. Anyway, I need to lay down for a bit while Thomas is napping or I'll never be rested for heading to the ultrasound later this evening. Not that it should require much rest, but it always seems like I'm out of energy way before I get to the Dr.'s office. Here's hoping for some cool pictures from the ultrasound!

Let's try this again!

So, it's been over a year since I posted anything - after just 2 posts (!), but I'm going to try posting a bit every day or thereabouts for a while - just a journal of the day I guess. Apologies for the long absence, Clay (DH) got seriously ill soon after the last posting, so we were in survival mode for a couple months after, then moving/graduation/new house & job for Clay . . . C'est la vie! Anyway, I've thought about getting back on here and trying for frequent postings, but was finally inspired into actually doing it by reading one of my friend's. Her blog is terrifically funny, which is to say she's very funny, but I really enjoy reading it anyway when I think about looking it up, so maybe somebody in the family (or even out of it!) would like reading about our life.
So, quick update on life: we're in a little town in Pennsylvania where Clay has a position as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry - just a 1-year thing, so as of May we're out of here. Well, May or whenever we actually move . . . Clay's off on another interview right now. He's in Minneapolis, and we're hoping that he'll beat the winter storm out of there to be back in time for the ultrasound tomorrow. Hoping.
Continuation of update: Thomas is nearing 2 1/2 (March!) and we're working on potty training - some days are LOTS better than others. Can I just say I DO NOT like potty training? I have done SO much laundry in the last week or so since we switched to "Big Boy Underpants"! On the other hand, those plastic covers that they make are AWESOME and save so much on the mess scale that I am so happy I found ones that fit him.
Beth (Elizabeth Rose) is due Feb. 18, we'll see when she actually shows up. I'm definitely in the "nesting" phase of pregnancy . . . I moved the changing table down into our room from the closet it's been living in, have all the clothes for her washed, folded, sorted, and in their baskets on the changing table shelf, all the blankets ready (folded on the bottom shelf), bassinet out and ready, then put on a shelf in our closet till needed, the swing and car seat covers washed and then put together, also in a closet till needed, floors vacuumed, laundry finished even to the blankets on our bed, half of the living room floor steam cleaned . . . all today, except most of the washing of Beth's clothes and blankets and car seat cover were all done earlier in the week. Not to mention the regular stuff, caring for Thomas and all. And of all things, I'm deciding to start posting to my blog again tonight, after a year.
We've got a cat (Annie, regular Domestic Short Hair) and a dog (Dandy, retired racing greyhound, new addition in August '07), and a nice Cape Cod style house that's 5 minutes by stroller to an awesome park. I mean really awesome, like drawing people from about 100 miles around on a good summer's day, about 7000 people on an average nice summer weekend day. Which means hopefully we'll be able to resell well and quickly this spring.
Ok, it's nearly 1 AM here, so off to bed . . . after I vacuum the kitchen rug, and sweep and swiffer in there. Not to mention that Thomas and I are going shopping tomorrow with friends, so I should really be asleep 2 hours ago. Oh, well . . . nesting!

Victory is MINE!

Well, maybe that's not exactly the way to put it, but I still feel pretty good. I've had a rough time learning to keep the house nice and organized, have dinner on the table every night (before 9:00!) . . . especially since Thomas (son, 16 months) was born. On Sunday we invited a couple from church who just moved into town over for Wednesday dinner - count 'em, only 3 days to clean! Fortunately I've been FLYing since roughly November, so with my handy timer (a great Christmas present from DH ~ it talks to me and tells me how much time I have left, plus yells at me when I've gone over) I was able to get everything done, even with the sidetracking that is inevitable with a toddler. For those who haven't heard of FLYing, check out Flylady.net - it's an online coaching system to help you establish routines and get your life (and house) in order, FREE. I thought I had tried everything, but FLYing has made such a difference, I can't even start to do it justice.
Anyway, we had this nice young couple over for dinner - newlyweds, married since July, and have only been in the area for a week. I got the impression that this is the first time they've been invited anywhere beyond family gatherings as a couple. They're really sweet, and SO quiet. We're used to being the introverts in any gathering, so it was different being the ones to keep the conversation moving. I hope they had as good a time as we did! It was extra-nice because in over 5 years of marriage, this is the first time we've had people over where it didn't take both of us scurrying around for 2 days ahead of time to get the house moderately presentable. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to know that we made the first step in making some new friends, I was able to feed everyone, get Thomas all set and in bed, and get everything cleaned up with no more effort than it would take on any regular night. It's sort of like when you go to a really good restaurant with fabulous food, and you eat just the right amount - full, completely satisfied, but not overfull.
Okay, it's time for bed. It's been a great day, and I like having somewhere to write about it - maybe I'll even keep it up! Blessings to all!

I just might be crazy . . .

Okay, all you mommies out there know that there's never enough time in a day to get everything done. So what on earth am I doing adding something else to the "To Do" list? For the most part, I guess I want a place and reason to write - I like the idea of having something real to say, and being able to get it out there. Maybe nobody will ever read this, but at least I've said something, instead of just wishing I could. If I start this blog (which I have, obviously) I'll feel like I should put something in it (like now) and keep it up-to-date. Anyway, I'll try to keep up the posting with day-to-day stuff and random "deep" thoughts . . . I hope you enjoy!