... and it's not going so well. So I'll blog instead and maybe that will allow me to move on with my work day.
We spent the last 10 days in NY visiting family, making the BIG announcement about the baby to both sides of our family, and then spending 6 days in a gorgeous lake house in the Adirondacks with some of our best friends. This is the 4th year that we've done this "friends" vacation and it is one of my favorites. Lots of hiking and bonfires, relaxing, catching up and just being with some of my favorite people in my favorite place in the world, ADK.
We all destressed and disconnected from technology and really enjoyed the quiet of being in the mountains. And now we are all having culture shock getting back into work and technology and meetings and beeping reminders to GO GO GO.
I'm trying my best to go back into the flow of work but there is a little nagging reminder in my head that is constantly pulling my concentration away from my work... this new baby. Emily has decided we should call it Gus rather than "it" or "the baby". So Gus it is, until April at least!
My parents were excited, Jim's were as well, but the best reaction was our friends and our neighbors. Those are the people who know just how much I wanted this baby and thought that with the way life was rolling that it would never happen for us. We told our next door neighbors, who are very close friends, yesterday and the screaming that ensued was really really fun!! Emily told her friends at school yesterday and put it up on the Daily News board in her classroom so the cat is really out of the bag in our little town. A little earlier that I would have liked for so many people to know but Emily was so excited I couldn't bear to tell her she couldn't say anything. I'll be 13 weeks on Saturday so officially in the 2nd trimester. According to our OB after the ultrasound at 10 1/2 weeks and seeing the heart beat we have less than a 1% chance of miscarrying at this point so hopefully all continues well!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
We're Expecting!
I have been waiting to post this news for so long that it almost feels unbelievable to me. I wanted to wait until after our first ultrasound and to be at least at end of the 1st trimester to make sure all was good with the little one. And it appears to be so! While this blog is really more of a journal for me than anything else I was still hesitant to put anything out there before we saw a heartbeat. Which we got to see this morning along with a tiny face and two little arms and legs moving around. :)
The newest member of our family will be joining us in April, official due date is April 6th. Some days I'm excited, some days I'm terrified, most days I'm a mix of both.
The first trimester has been going well. Morning sickness that is really just low-level nausea for most of the day has been tolerable. The incredible need for sleep is still there but I can actually make it through the day at work without yawning and trying to find a covert spot to nap (empty conference room with a couch please!). I do make up for it on the weekends though with a ridiculous amount of sleep, usually 12 hours total each day. 10 hrs at night plus a nap.
We'll tell Emily sometime this week now that things are confirmed. We'll be traveling to NY for a vacation at the end of the week and swinging through our hometown on the way so the timing worked out that we'll get to tell both sets of parents in person!
And that's all I have to report for now, kind of anticlimactic but that's because I've had 6 weeks for the news to settle in. If I would have written this post the day I found out it would have been full of tears and drama as mainly I was scared out of my mind when I saw those 2 lines. "What have we done?!" I'll never sleep again I thought. And I may not. But I survived it with Emily, it's not forever. I'll make it. I just think that having been through almost 9 years of parenthood already I know exactly how hard it is and how much effort it takes to raise a child right, or what I consider to be right. I sure hope I have the stamina to do it again!
The newest member of our family will be joining us in April, official due date is April 6th. Some days I'm excited, some days I'm terrified, most days I'm a mix of both.
The first trimester has been going well. Morning sickness that is really just low-level nausea for most of the day has been tolerable. The incredible need for sleep is still there but I can actually make it through the day at work without yawning and trying to find a covert spot to nap (empty conference room with a couch please!). I do make up for it on the weekends though with a ridiculous amount of sleep, usually 12 hours total each day. 10 hrs at night plus a nap.
We'll tell Emily sometime this week now that things are confirmed. We'll be traveling to NY for a vacation at the end of the week and swinging through our hometown on the way so the timing worked out that we'll get to tell both sets of parents in person!
And that's all I have to report for now, kind of anticlimactic but that's because I've had 6 weeks for the news to settle in. If I would have written this post the day I found out it would have been full of tears and drama as mainly I was scared out of my mind when I saw those 2 lines. "What have we done?!" I'll never sleep again I thought. And I may not. But I survived it with Emily, it's not forever. I'll make it. I just think that having been through almost 9 years of parenthood already I know exactly how hard it is and how much effort it takes to raise a child right, or what I consider to be right. I sure hope I have the stamina to do it again!
Monday, August 27, 2012
First Day...
 |
| First Day of 3rd Grade |
Last Monday was Emily's first day of school as a 3rd grader. Wow. I swear she just started kindergarten yesterday. Really. And now she's bigger than most of the kids at the bus stop and even though there were a few first day butterflies, life as a 3rd grader is pretty good. She knows her school and how things work inside and out so not too much to be nervous about.
We dropped off school supplies during an open house last week so she got to pick her desk and see her classroom. This is her first year with a real desk and full-sized chair rather than a table with 3 other kids and a little kid plastic chair. Ahhh... she's growing up.
I try to make the first day of school special because so often we're running just to make the bus on time in the morning. I got up early and made home-made waffles which was a nice start to the day. Luckily Jim wasn't working so he got to walk with us to the bus stop on the first day. Emily looked adorable in a new jean skirt and cute top, but her favorite item hands-down was her new shoes. Nothing special just a pair of brown leather mary-janes with a flower on them and some cute embroidery details. But she LOVED them and they totally put a little pep in her step that morning.
3rd grade is the first grade that I really have any detailed memories of. I remember my teacher and some of the things she taught me, we learned cursive that year which I loved and multiplication. I also vividly remember the arts & crafts our teacher worked on with us and I think that's the first year I really remember being excited about that kind of thing and wanted to do them well. My teacher, Mrs. Mullin, was a friend of my mom's (my mom is also a teacher) and she lived just a few blocks from us and so I think that connection also helped cement that year in my memory. I hope the same for Miss Em!
Sending my little pumpkin good wishes for a wonderful school year. And as she says, she'll be my little pumpkin forever... as long as I don't carve her. :) Gotta love that 8 year old sense of humor.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Weather Angst
Emily is terrified of weather lately.
Be it rain, any cloud that isn't perfectly fluffy and white, or wind of any kind. The girl is just SURE that some kind of inclement weather is going to turn into a tornado and she is terrified. I'm doing my best just to be calm and reassuring without reacting too much to her drama. It usually involves tears and refusal to go wherever she was supposed to be headed for the day and the need for her blankie. At 8 years old... really? Let's hope this is a phase. Please. A neighbor whose son is a year old and had similar fears told me that in 2nd grade they do a tornado drill and show them a film that describes how to identify potential funnel clouds forming and that wind is an early warning sign of tornadoes. Apparently that scares A LOT of the kids and the timing seems right on for when this fear started. Nice, thanks school.
We've had our fair share of storms over the past few weeks so we now have her sleeping bag stashed in my closet so that if something develops in the night we can just let her sleep in our room. It's easier and everyone gets more rested than trying to convince her it's safe to sleep in her room alone. This too shall pass, right?
On the home front, things are particularly pleasant right now. Jim's job is still going very well. He has 2 more weeks of orientation/precepting and then he's completely on his own. He's been working up to a full patient load over the last few weeks and doing fine, just using his preceptor to double check a med here or there if there's a complicated dosage calculation or high risk med. But he should be good to go. He is so happy lately it's almost comical. Yesterday for example he picked up Emily from summer camp, which ended at 3, and brought home her best friend who was also there so they could play and her friend was going to stay over for dinner. They had a blast. Jim had a dance party going for the girls in the kitchen and they were hanging off of him like little monkeys. He was loving it!
Hoping the storms stay away from the weekend so we can break-in the new fire-pit Jim built last week in the backyard. Time for hot-dogs and s'mores! Happy summer weekend all.
Be it rain, any cloud that isn't perfectly fluffy and white, or wind of any kind. The girl is just SURE that some kind of inclement weather is going to turn into a tornado and she is terrified. I'm doing my best just to be calm and reassuring without reacting too much to her drama. It usually involves tears and refusal to go wherever she was supposed to be headed for the day and the need for her blankie. At 8 years old... really? Let's hope this is a phase. Please. A neighbor whose son is a year old and had similar fears told me that in 2nd grade they do a tornado drill and show them a film that describes how to identify potential funnel clouds forming and that wind is an early warning sign of tornadoes. Apparently that scares A LOT of the kids and the timing seems right on for when this fear started. Nice, thanks school.
We've had our fair share of storms over the past few weeks so we now have her sleeping bag stashed in my closet so that if something develops in the night we can just let her sleep in our room. It's easier and everyone gets more rested than trying to convince her it's safe to sleep in her room alone. This too shall pass, right?
On the home front, things are particularly pleasant right now. Jim's job is still going very well. He has 2 more weeks of orientation/precepting and then he's completely on his own. He's been working up to a full patient load over the last few weeks and doing fine, just using his preceptor to double check a med here or there if there's a complicated dosage calculation or high risk med. But he should be good to go. He is so happy lately it's almost comical. Yesterday for example he picked up Emily from summer camp, which ended at 3, and brought home her best friend who was also there so they could play and her friend was going to stay over for dinner. They had a blast. Jim had a dance party going for the girls in the kitchen and they were hanging off of him like little monkeys. He was loving it!
Hoping the storms stay away from the weekend so we can break-in the new fire-pit Jim built last week in the backyard. Time for hot-dogs and s'mores! Happy summer weekend all.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Finally time to slow down a bit.
April through the beginning of July were absolutely crazy. Every weekend I was either away or planning to be away and needing to pack/unpack/organize for the upcoming event.
This past weekend was the first real down time I've had in months and it felt amazing. Jim was working this weekend so Emily and I puttered around the house a fair bit but I felt really productive. It was ungodly hot for the past week, with highs over 100 and humidity making the head index somewhere between 110-115. Forget about going outside. Saturday after some chores around the house we spent the afternoon at the YMCA indoor pool. Best move of the weekend. No sunscreen and no crazy heat to deal with. Sunday after more chores (I think I tackled every pile of paperwork lying around the house and lots of cleaning) the heat finally broke, highs only up to 88, so we decided to brave the outdoors. We went to a local botanical garden that is just gorgeous, a nice place for me to play with the "good" camera, not just the usual point and click or my iphone camera. And there is a huge children's garden with a tree house, suspended boardwalk and water garden. We spent 4 hours just wandering around enjoying the not too scorching weather and each others company.
I feel so much more organized today back at the office, like I finally have my head screwed on straight so it's time to get back at it. Lots of deadlines are looming this week.
Small update on Jim, he's on week 6 at his new job and still absolutely loving it. It's so nice to see him come home with a smile on his face even after 13 hours on his feet at the hospital.
We made a budget for the month of July, the first one ever, honestly how crazy is that. And that too makes my mind rest, knowing that we have double the income coming in for the first time in 4 years and have planned where it all goes makes managing the finances so much less stressful. Here's to a relaxed but productive week!
This past weekend was the first real down time I've had in months and it felt amazing. Jim was working this weekend so Emily and I puttered around the house a fair bit but I felt really productive. It was ungodly hot for the past week, with highs over 100 and humidity making the head index somewhere between 110-115. Forget about going outside. Saturday after some chores around the house we spent the afternoon at the YMCA indoor pool. Best move of the weekend. No sunscreen and no crazy heat to deal with. Sunday after more chores (I think I tackled every pile of paperwork lying around the house and lots of cleaning) the heat finally broke, highs only up to 88, so we decided to brave the outdoors. We went to a local botanical garden that is just gorgeous, a nice place for me to play with the "good" camera, not just the usual point and click or my iphone camera. And there is a huge children's garden with a tree house, suspended boardwalk and water garden. We spent 4 hours just wandering around enjoying the not too scorching weather and each others company.
I feel so much more organized today back at the office, like I finally have my head screwed on straight so it's time to get back at it. Lots of deadlines are looming this week.
Small update on Jim, he's on week 6 at his new job and still absolutely loving it. It's so nice to see him come home with a smile on his face even after 13 hours on his feet at the hospital.
We made a budget for the month of July, the first one ever, honestly how crazy is that. And that too makes my mind rest, knowing that we have double the income coming in for the first time in 4 years and have planned where it all goes makes managing the finances so much less stressful. Here's to a relaxed but productive week!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Camping Trips and Orientation
So I'm on my own for 3 days… Jim and little one headed off on a Daddy & Daughter camping trip along with my brother and his daughter Ava who is also 8. I'm hoping this will become a nice tradition for the 4 of them.
We went on our usual "School's Out" cabin camping weekend with friends this past weekend at local state park. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights. Had gorgeous weather and a great time. We all rated this 3rd annual trip as our best yet. Best park, best cabin, best weather! We got home on Sunday afternoon and then did a quick assessment of what needed to be washed and repacked to send them back out for 2 more nights. It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be to have the 2 outings back to back. Everything was already out and semi-packed so it actually worked out nicely.
Now… the 4 of them are in for some rain today and tomorrow morning so we'll see how chipper they are when they return!
Jim finished up his weeklong orientation at the hospital last week, and starting Thursday he's on the SIMCU for 3 shifts a week of precepting. I think he has 9 weeks of on the floor with a preceptor (a current RN ) before they turn him loose on his own. Last week was nice as we thought about real money finally starting to roll in for the first time in 4 years, but the orientation was… well…. orientation. Tolerable, not super exciting. So on the floor precepting should be much more fun and challenging for him.
Once we make it through June we should have some downtime together.
But this coming weekend Jim is working 7am-7pm Saturday & Sunday
Next week I'm in Boston from Wednesday through Sunday for work
Then the following week I'm headed up to Cleveland on Wednesday to help with prep for my parents 50th anniversary part that weekend and won't be back until Monday evening of the following week.
All good stuff, but a busy month for sure!
We went on our usual "School's Out" cabin camping weekend with friends this past weekend at local state park. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights. Had gorgeous weather and a great time. We all rated this 3rd annual trip as our best yet. Best park, best cabin, best weather! We got home on Sunday afternoon and then did a quick assessment of what needed to be washed and repacked to send them back out for 2 more nights. It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be to have the 2 outings back to back. Everything was already out and semi-packed so it actually worked out nicely.
Now… the 4 of them are in for some rain today and tomorrow morning so we'll see how chipper they are when they return!
Jim finished up his weeklong orientation at the hospital last week, and starting Thursday he's on the SIMCU for 3 shifts a week of precepting. I think he has 9 weeks of on the floor with a preceptor (a current RN ) before they turn him loose on his own. Last week was nice as we thought about real money finally starting to roll in for the first time in 4 years, but the orientation was… well…. orientation. Tolerable, not super exciting. So on the floor precepting should be much more fun and challenging for him.
Once we make it through June we should have some downtime together.
But this coming weekend Jim is working 7am-7pm Saturday & Sunday
Next week I'm in Boston from Wednesday through Sunday for work
Then the following week I'm headed up to Cleveland on Wednesday to help with prep for my parents 50th anniversary part that weekend and won't be back until Monday evening of the following week.
All good stuff, but a busy month for sure!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Day 1
I swear I'll take a break from this monotonous kind of blogging soon, but I like getting things out of my head. It helps me focus on what I need to do now.
So today is Jim's first day of orientation. He is orientation all week, 1 day at the corporate headquarters for the hospital system, 1 day back at the college of nursing in the auditorium space, and 3 days of computer system training back at corporate. Next week he'll move into working 3 12-hr shifts on the floor per week. I am SO jealous of this schedule. But also really glad for us as a family. During his training he has no night shifts and I don't think he has to work weekends either. So that should make for a nice summer with lots of time for family outings. Everything we've been missing for the past 3 years. Trips to the zoo, park, beach, pool....
I can't wait to catch up tonight and hear how it went. Although I have a feeling this week probably won't be all that exciting... paperwork for benefits, payroll info, getting his new badge etc. Kind of like the first day of class where you get your syllabus and find your seat but don't really get into anything interesting yet.
Being a numbers nerd I have been running the numbers like crazy trying to figure out what our new budget will look like, and tackling the "to do" list of items around the house that need to be repaired, fixed, updated, etc. Emily's college fund to be reactivated and his 403B to be activated. All the things we put on hold for the last 4 years have to get back up and rolling. Oh, and don't forgot that student loan repayment starts this month. But if I have the numbers crunched right and we keep our lifestyle similar to what it is now, we should be able to pay off his student loans completely in the next 12-months, 6-months if we go nuts and do nothing else but put the extra income towards student loans. Yay for paying off debt!
So today is Jim's first day of orientation. He is orientation all week, 1 day at the corporate headquarters for the hospital system, 1 day back at the college of nursing in the auditorium space, and 3 days of computer system training back at corporate. Next week he'll move into working 3 12-hr shifts on the floor per week. I am SO jealous of this schedule. But also really glad for us as a family. During his training he has no night shifts and I don't think he has to work weekends either. So that should make for a nice summer with lots of time for family outings. Everything we've been missing for the past 3 years. Trips to the zoo, park, beach, pool....
I can't wait to catch up tonight and hear how it went. Although I have a feeling this week probably won't be all that exciting... paperwork for benefits, payroll info, getting his new badge etc. Kind of like the first day of class where you get your syllabus and find your seat but don't really get into anything interesting yet.
Being a numbers nerd I have been running the numbers like crazy trying to figure out what our new budget will look like, and tackling the "to do" list of items around the house that need to be repaired, fixed, updated, etc. Emily's college fund to be reactivated and his 403B to be activated. All the things we put on hold for the last 4 years have to get back up and rolling. Oh, and don't forgot that student loan repayment starts this month. But if I have the numbers crunched right and we keep our lifestyle similar to what it is now, we should be able to pay off his student loans completely in the next 12-months, 6-months if we go nuts and do nothing else but put the extra income towards student loans. Yay for paying off debt!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)