i miss my dad

i just do.

its not a matter of if, but when

this little phrase has kept me up all night. Somewhere, someone told us something unpleasant about birth or pregnancy or labor or breastfeeding or something. I remember my eyes getting big and looking at Joe and saying HOW DID WE NOT KNOW THIS... And now I can't recall what it is. Unfortunately, I can't stop thinking about it either... I'm off to conduct what I'm sure will turn out to be fruitless, yet horrible internet searches.

sibling class valedictorian

ok. So there was no 'official' valedictorian, but we could totally tell that if there were to be one, it would be Nora. She LOVED sibling class at the hospital. I wish I could take her every week. She called the nurse her 'teacher' and went right up to her to say hello and later, to thank her. They learned about little babies, talked a bit about their babies, toured the labor and delivery floor, and then had a short movie and a snack. I was surprised at all the questions Nora could answer about her baby. Gender, name, even that she will sleep by her mama. We've never discussed it and nothing has been set up yet. A good reminder that they are always paying attention.

A couple of snapshots:

Nora dancing at TGIF restaurant

Nora all ready for western night at a church dinner

making life easier

with very little effort is my kind of thing. Knowing that baby Birdy will be here soon, I've taken a renewed interest in streamlining things in our lives. I checked "The Clutter Diet" by Lorie Marrero out of the library and read about half of it. It's full of great ideas, but I was close to being overwhelmed which would most definitely NOT result in my taking the advice offered. I will check it out another time when I'm ready to tackle more. Here's what I took from this reading and actually implemented painlessly:

• Get a Motivation Partner. The person can be via email or phone (not recommended in person as it can turn into a time suck). You both present what you intend to accomplish in a week and then check in with each other on a given day and time. So... I didn't really implement this one. Y. has been very busy and I intend for her to be my partner... for real. I'm gonna do it.
• Rather than deleting each email I receive because I've ordered from a company or signed up in the past for a newsletter, I've spent the past two weeks actually "unsubscribing" from each of them. The reduction in trash emails is tremendous.
• These three sites remove you from credit offers, magazine offers, and catalogs: www.dmachoice.org , www.CatalogChoice.org , www.optoutprescreen.com . As much as I look forward to going through the daily mail, the amount of waste (paper, resources, and time) is alarming. I can't wait to see the effect this has on our mail. DMA Choice even contacts the catalog companies directly on your behalf. All of this is FREE.
• Finally, I also updated our information for the state and federal do not call registries. Federal: www.donotcall.gov and State: ww.callcompliance.com/regulations/statelist.html

Even the items on here that don't really drain THAT much time, DO drain energy. Their very existence means that I must do one thing more -- even if it's hit the delete button. I'm also hoping that the lack of marketing results in a lack of spending. It seems logical that if I'm not hearing about these great 'deals' I won't be purchasing as much. Freeing up brain space AND money -- do you guys have any tricks I can add to my arsenal?

m&m's wedding

was beautiful and wonderful and everything a wedding should be. Everyone was so calm and having such a great time all day --- even when we had to start all over with our hair after the salon made us look horrid. I had some sciatica issues standing up there, but other than that, I did well. Every guest seemed so truly happy for the couple -- every detail fell into place -- I could go on and on. It was just a wonderful start to their new wonderful life together. Couple of photos (the photographer [who I couldn't recommend more]: http://www.angeleyesphotography.com/)

a new low

i just suggested a movie to my beautiful little girl who wanted to go play outside. Between the swelling, sciatica, and braxton hicks, I can barely stand much less play. Poor Nora. Luckily, she's happily cuddled up with me watching The Little Einsteins Huge Adventure...

As long as we're sitting here, I'll share some funny things she's said lately:


The phone rang one morning and as I went to pick it up, she held up her hand and said, "I'm not here." I don't know where she even got this from because we screen our calls and are known for not picking up (as opposed to being creative about whether or not we are home.)


Sitting in her carseat the other night, she said, "I texting peoples." Us: "Oh yeah? Who are you texting?" Nora: "BOYS!" Poor Joe. I blame Nisey.


She saw a short bus and said that THAT was the bus she wanted to ride. As many of you know, we've had a complete regression for potty training... So I said, "Oh! Buses are for BIG kids know how to use the potty." She said, "Mom, I know how to use potty, I just not do it. Okay?"

We were asking her the sounds that different things make and asked her what Daddy says. She said, "Waa waaa waaaa. I wanna be the Mommy!" When I asked her what I always say, she said, "how much you love grandpa."

In the car this morning, Nora told me that she doesn't like clowns and wants them taken out of the circus. I couldn't agree more. I'm not a fan of the circus so I'm blaming television for her knowledge of them. However, I take complete credit for her absolute genius evaluation of those damn spooky clowns.

The other night we took a bath together and she was putting bubbles in my hair and on my belly. As you may know, Nora has had no interest in this baby process. That she was paying any attention to the belly was a gigantic step. I told her how the baby loved it and said oh, if you put your hand on my belly you can feel her moving because she likes it so much! She stopped what she was doing and said, "you give me YOUR hand!" So I did and she proceeded to put it on her belly and the exaggeratedly moved her belly around and said, "SEE? I'm growing a big sister!"

We're doing the sibling tour this weekend at the hospital. Hopefully, it will be exciting to her...

Or not.

falling in love again

last night, i fell in love with birdy. It's not like I haven't loved her from the moment I knew of her, but this was a more concrete and specific kind of thing. I talked to her on my three hour ride and laughed and just felt so much gratitude and love for her. Specifically HER. Not the idea of a baby, but this little Birdy.

miscellany.

i'm so far behind here and keep hoping that i'll write something. Something eloquent and laconic and thorough. Alas, none of that is coming to me and the list of things I wish I had recorded keeps growing. So, in no particular order, here is my catch-up post:

We had our final Level II Ultrasound of Birdy last Monday. We couldn't see her face (because cooperation is overrated. And so predictable.) but everything else was good. They told us that she was 5 lbs, 2 oz which would put her in the 90th percentile (YES. The percentile business starts in the womb! :P) On Friday, I had my OB appt and they triple checked my measurements because I measured so large. The doctor said that she's looking forward to seeing who I'm growing so large and then when I expressed how much pain I'm in (back, varicosities, all of my bidness hurts), she laughed and said, "OH! We don't expect you to go all the way to your due date of 10/23! If we get you to 09/24, everything else is gravy." She confirmed that I should just do what I can and lie down as much as I can. All of this has made me feel so much better. I've felt like such a wimp lately. A lazy wimp at that.

Nisey is rocking and rolling. She goes to bed on time without being told too much about it, gets up on her own each morning and catches her bus. Nora and Nisey have a great time together every day -- I already dread the day she goes back home. Her grades (with the exception of science) are outstanding. We had her IEP meeting a couple of weeks ago -- it was exciting because it allows her to have quizzes and tests read to her. We've noticed with homework that if she reads the directions and then does the work, it tends to be all wrong... But if we read it to her, it's all correct. I will have to look further into how to help her gain skills in this area, but for now its an explanation for great homework and horrible tests (in science, especially). Socially, she is doing fine, as well. She eats lunch with some juniors (ooo la la) and seems to make friends everywhere... We also had Parents Night for here where we got to walk her schedule and meet each of her teachers. It was a strange experience because I felt like we should be too young to be there (given that we have a three year old and one on the way)... we laughed when we figured out that we fit right in and would just be the old folks at our own kids' parents' night. Each of the teachers was so complimentary about Nisey's positive attitude and sunny disposition. It was wonderful to hear.

Nora's third birthday was wonderful, as well. Wonderful. It's the first time that she's been aware of her special day and we all just soaked in the joy. She woke up to balloons and presents and all of us excitedly singing to her. Each gift was greeted with an amazed, "Oh, WOW!" She just loved each bit of it. We then headed out to Birdy's ultrasound appointment, did a little errand running, and then had lunch with friends. When we came home, we frosted and decorated the cake Nora baked the night before and we all cuddled up to watch a movie. That night she requested that we cook dinner outside, so we did just that. I'm not doing it justice, but it was a perfect day. We are so blessed and honored to share our lives with our wonderful little girl.

We have all of the clothing we kept from Nora out in order to sort through it for Birdy. The amount we kept is kind of amazing given that we were quite certain that Nora would be an only child. ;) I cannot comprehend that Nora was ever so small -- especially when looking at the preemie clothing that we had to roll up to put on her. God has been so good to us. I'd give an awful lot to hold that baby Nora once more... I remember how even at 4 lbs 13 oz, she'd make sure we held her JUST so - EVERY time. We used to call her little Noriega because she was such a dictator... Anyhow, I digress. I need to pull out, wash and organize the clothes we need now for Bird and then organize the rest so that we can easily access it as she grows. This is making me do NOTHING because we're still not done with everything upstairs. Nisey is in the office/guestroom, most of my office stuff is shoved around the playroom, and Nisey's room is chock full of everything from the playroom AND the guestroom. It's all just too much and I don't know where to go with it. Joe thinks he'll be done painting in the playroom by the end of this week and then we can start to move everything and everyone into their proper rooms. Let's hope this unfreezes my brain. Regardless (or irregardless and Joe likes to make me crazy with) of the rooms situation, I need to get things ready for Birdy because I can see the panic my lack of preparedness strikes into the heart of her father...

say a little prayer, part two

two more daily prayers from our sermon series...

"Lord, Surround me with your truth today and every day, so that I may know what you determine is right and have the will to do what is right today."

"Lord, Reconstruct my thinking today. Renew my mind so that you can rebuild my character by your truth."

Me? I'm sticking with the 'I can see what's coming today and think You should handle it."