Sweet Pea

How can it be that Paige is already 3 1/2 weeks old? I already want to scream for time to stop and let me enjoy these moments a little longer. She is such a sweet, sweet baby. A few observations from her 3 1/2 fast weeks. She is an active and strong little girl. She likes to be where the action is. She is a great sleeper. She makes many of the same strange, goat-like noises that Natalie made. She can go from content to extremely pissed in no time! Not a big fan of diaper changes. She likes to ride in the car. She like to be held and loved on. She is making sweet baby noises. She is much more awake and alert than I remember Natalie being. She is a love!!

Remind me that I said all of these lovely things around 6 tonight when I am trying to get dinner on the table, eat, pay attention to Natalie, clean-up, give Natalie a bath and give her the bedtime routine that she is used to all while Paige acts like a 3 1/2 week old needing lots of love and attention herself. Not my favorite time of day!! Thank goodness Kim will be here on Tuesday to help again. I really don't like the evening shifts!

Sisters

So, let's mark yesterday as Natalie and Paige's first sister interaction. It went something like this...Natalie heard Paige make a fun, happy-baby noise for the first time. She thought it was so funny that her sister made this sound. It made her laugh. Paige heard Natalie laugh and made another cute baby noise. Very sweet! Then Natalie wanted to lay on the floor and be near Paige. Seeing them look at each other and almost interact was amazing. It warmed my heart!!

Poster-Mom for Breastfeeding

This is the title that Paige's doctor gave me today at her two week check-up. Little did he know or maybe he did, that he gave me one of the best compliments.

He was amazed that she weighs 8lbs and 8oz already and that it all came from me. You see, breastfed babies are only supposed to be back to birth weight by two weeks. For Paige that would be 7lbs 6oz. We are overachievers! He said to me, you must be feeding her all the time!! Nope, just every three hours and sometimes she will go longer. He was even more amazed. I told him that I did the same thing with my first child. My conclusion....I make buttermilk!!

Baby smells

A&D ointment
Hand sanitizer
Milk breath
Dreft
I love them all...

Heels

The only Heels I am excited about today....

World's Best Dad, Priorities

So, in light of last nights game, I probably shouldn't post this but I am going to...

The night of the Sweet Sixteen, last Friday night, Kim, Paige and I were chillin' in the hospital, watching Paige's first UNC game when a nurse came in...

Nurse: There is a discharge class at 8:30 that we like for everyone to go to.
Me: (After calculating in my head that it would only be half-time of the game) Do I HAVE to go?
Nurse: We encourage everyone to go but you don't have to.
Me: OK.

Enter another nurse....

Nurse: Are you going to class?
Me: Do I have to? (Feeling a little slack but really wanting to see the game....)
Nurse: No, but we encourage you to go.

Nurse leaves, I look at Kim. What are we going to do?

By this time it is about 8:15 and Paige is wanting to nurse, great, I don't have to go, I have to nurse the baby. But my sweet, pleasing husband attended the class by himself!

My punishment, none of the second-half of the game was shown on CBS up here.

First day "alone"

So, this was my first morning at home with the girls by myself and it went really well, thankfully. Natalie has taken to this new child in her life so well. I am so thankful and amazed. She loves Paige, you can tell. But she is also very willing to give her the space that she needs. She wants to be near her and help out but is still very content to do her own thing. I am wondering when reality will set in for her and she will be ready to send Paige back.

Paige is a really great baby. Personally, I haven't met a baby that isn't great but even by sleeping/needy standards she is great! I feel bad because I am sure that she has spent more time in a bouncy seat/cradle in her first week of life than Natalie spent in the first month of hers but she seems to be handling it all well.

The drama of the morning was that while I was nursing Paige, Natalie took a head-dive off the chair onto the hardwood floors. She landed right on the top of her head, ouch!! Lots of screaming!! Great, my first day by myself and already a child has a concussion. Way to go! If I am being complete honest, I was laughing inside, just a little. Here we go...

She's Here!!!

Paige Elizabeth arrived yesterday (3/26) at 4:11pm. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz. and measured 20 inches in length.

Mom, Dad, baby, and big sister are all doing great. We can't wait for everyone to get to meet her.

My mom's encouraging comment of the day

Yesterday

Me: I have only gained about 17 pounds with this pregnancy so far.
Mom: That's not very much...
Me: I know, but I was overweight when I got pregnant.
Mom: How much did you weigh?
Me: 141 pounds.
Mom: 141 pounds! That's what I weighed when I had you!
Me: Thanks, mom!

Today

Me: I was reading today that if Natalie and the baby are both crying I should take care of Natalie first because she will know what is going on and the baby won't remember.
Mom: I remember one time when I was in the grocery store and you all 3 started screaming. It was a nightmare.
Me: Nice!

Stay tuned...I am sure there is more encouragement to come!

If I want rest...

I gotta let go.

This was the lesson that I learned yesterday. I slept really bad the night before, I was exhausted before the day even started. I had breakfast with mom, dad, and Natalie and started thinking about plans for the day. Mom and Dad wanted to go into the city and look around, of course, they were willing to take Natalie with them. I kept thinking, sure, I will go. I want to be hospitable. I want to spend time with mom and dad. But, honestly, walking around Washington did not sound like fun to me.

What was the root of me wanting to go with them, my pride. I wanted to be there to be sure that Natalie behaved and that they made her behave. So that if she was good, I looked good and that if she was bad, I would be there to correct her. I wanted to be there to be sure that she was safe. Because, I am the only one who can keep her safe. I wanted to be the great daughter, capable of getting everything done to prepare for the baby, hanging out with them, all the while "resting".

In the shower I had a breakdown. Who am I kidding? What I needed was rest and the way that I was going to get that rest was to let go. My mom and dad are more than capable of caring for Natalie. They already raised 3 kids!! If she wasn't well behaved, well then, they could deal with it and we could work on it. If she had an accident in her panties, then they could clean it up!

It felt good to see them drive away. They had a great time. I got some stuff done and did, indeed, rest!

I hope that I will remember this lesson. Something tells me that I might need to hear it again. I have dreams of Natalie spending lots of time with her grandparents when we move back to NC but for that to happen, I can't be controlling her.

I am sure that she will live if she gets juice with her Happy Meal instead of milk.

I love this time of year!

College basketball on all day long, it is great!

Natalie keeps saying, "Are the Tarheels playing now?"

Davidson nearly messed my bracket up royally today. Perhaps I picked the wrong Cinderella.

-----------------------------------------------

My mom and dad get into town tomorrow. Praise God!! I am ready to be spoiled! Kim has the day off too so it should be a great day.

Because my blood pressure is not behaving, if I have not had a baby by Wednesday the plan is to be induced. I have mixed emotions about being induced. I am totally ready to have the baby and not excited about possibly having to wait two more weeks to meet her. On the other hand, it would be nice to go into labor on my own without a ton of intervention, just to know what that is like. Knowing the induction plan does make life a little easier. Mom and dad will be here to take care of Natalie. Hopefully I can have everything together. Kim will be off of work. Kim's mom and dad are coming up. There are advantages. So, at the most 5 more days until I have two kids. I am trying not to let that freak me out. A bit late for that now.

It's been so long...

I have been a blogging slacker for a while now. Where do I begin?

I didn't blog about the beautiful baby shower that my friend Sarah had for me, slack!

I didn't blog about the great weekend that Natalie and I spent with Lindsay and Daisy, slack!!

I didn't blog about the Heels winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles, slack!!!

So, today I am deciding to stop feeling guilty and to move forward.

38 weeks pregnant and waiting. I am trying to be patient but not doing a very good job. I am ready to meet this baby and hold her. I feel great, too good in fact. Every night when we go to bed I say to Kim, "wouldn't it be great if my water broke right now!" I know the chances of that happening are small but a girl can dream. Kim is anxious for me to go into labor so that he can get out of part of the bad rotation that he is on now. Really, we just want to have our baby here and know that she is ok. I can't wait! Bring on the pain!! I will get the drugs!

It looks like I, too, might experience what I am going to call the "T-6 Curse", living away from your spouse. It will not be to the extent that my dear roomies had to endure. Our townhouse had an offer put on it which would have us out on May 7th. We are not supposed to leave this area until June 23rd. The best two options right now are for us to find a furnished place to move into for about 6 weeks or for me to go live with my mom and dad and Kim to stay here. Kim is hopeful that we will find a place here. I have my doubts!! I just don't think we will find a place but we will see. We are looking and trying to get prepared. I am so ready to be in our house in NC and have a "normal" life for a little while, whatever that means.

What else, I don't know...I do need to post some pictures, another front I am feeling overwhelmed on.

I told myself that I wasn't going to watch AI this year, but I am. What can I say? I have to find something to watch while waiting for SYTYCD and it will not be Dancing with the Stars.

OK, that's enough.

Couch Potato

Yesterday at the doctor....

Doctor: So, I am not telling you that you are on bedrest, but you do need to be the official couch potato.
Me: OK.

Inside my head I was laughing at the man. Would you mind passing that information along to my 3-year-old and my husband's work. While you are at it, if you could tell the laundry to wash itself and the meals to cook themselves and the junk to go back where it belongs, that would be great!

Joyful Weekend

Well, it all started on Friday when we found out that our townhouse will not be foreclosed on on March 14th. We received a yucky letter last Tuesday stating that our landlord had been unable to pay the mortgage (even though we have been paying rent) and that the house would be foreclosed on. We were, umm, shocked. We had NO idea. We talked to our landlord, got the scoop from her, and started doing some planning. Our landlord talked with her bank on Friday and they worked something out so that we should be good through March. We are taking it one week at a time, trying not to panic, trying to be prepared, etc. But the good news is that we should be able to bring our new baby home to this house (rather than a friend's basement or an "Extended Stay America").

Saturday, yummy breakfast at Chik-Fil-A with my hubby and daughter. Kim did not have a single weekend off in February so to have him around was great! We spent to day together as a family doing a whole lot of "nesting" and catching up. Kim and Natalie had a great time together. The pitiful part was the way Natalie kept saying, Daddy, don't go to work! She just thought at any moment that he would be leaving. Pitiful!

Sunday, great time at church and a lazy afternoon. What could be better? Just having Kim around was such a blessing!!

Of course, lots of people came by to look at the house but I have a new level of patience with that now. It was a lot easier to keep the house clean and get out the door on a moments notice with Kim around.

It was the most relaxing weekend that I have had in a long time!! I was so thankful for it!!

Tanzania

I just a really fun update from my dear, dear friend from college, Jen. Jen is an amazing person!! She is loving, compassionate, wise, fun, I could go on...We were the best of friends in college. We lived in the same dorm for two years, lead a small group together, were discipled together. We saw each other through broken hearts, random kisses and choosing husbands. She is one of those friends.

After college we headed down different paths. I got married, took a job as a nurse and settled down in Winston. She headed to NYC to persue medical school. She married her high school sweetheart. Their relationship has had some interesting twists of living and working in different places. While I felt like I was living a very generic life hers was so exciting!!

That trend continues. I am having my second child and heading back to Winston. I am mostly a stay-at-home mom. Very typical life! This is what she is up to....still living in NYC in a fellowship for infectious disease. She has an amazing heart to work with the poor, espcially the HIV population. Her husband is living in California (he has his PhD and is a professor at Fuller). Last summer, for vacation they went backpacking in South America. They have both done extensive work overseas. To top it off, they are spending 6 months together next fall in Tanzania!!! I don't even know where Tanzania is!!

Despite these many differences and the distance she is still one of my dearest friends. I would love to spend hours with her over coffee. Chat, chat, chat, make a groovy song mix (we have made a couple on TAPE, we need to get with the times and put it on the iPOD) and chat some more. I admire her so much! I am so proud of her!!

I was getting ready for church this morning, feeling rather large. I looked at Kim and said, "I definitely have a basketball now." He replied with, "A beachball!" Nice, nice. I gave him the bird.

Let's Go Racin'

I have a confession to make....I like NASCAR. It started out innocently. My brothers really got into it about five or so years ago and I would try to pay attention to it, see who won, so that I could have something to chat with them about. Well, I got more and more interested. Last year several friends and I had a fantasy NASCAR league and that sealed the deal. It's official. I like NASCAR.

The good news is when my mom asked me who my favorite driver was I couldn't answer the question so I guess I am not too far gone. My mom, dad and brothers went to the Daytona 500 yesterday and I was so jealous. Mom called and told me about some NASCAR onesies that she saw, I put the smack-down on that too.

I do still have some issues with the "sport", like isn't there a better use of our natural resources, exhaust fumes, etc. But, it is entertaining and still something that my brothers and I can bond over. John likes Jimmie. Dave likes Dale, Jr. (I find it strange that they both picked drivers that they sort-of look like....)

I feel better. I do need a driver...

Oh, and, way to go Deacs. Something else I never thought that I would say. Ratface looked pissed!! I love it!!

Voting

Today was Virginia's primary. Natalie and I headed to the polls. There is something very emotional, for me, about voting with her with me. This is the second time that I have done it and have been moved to tears both times. I can't really explain it. I don't know if it is the thought for voting for the future of our country or the thought of how lucky we are to live where we do but it gets to me.

While I was voting she asked me, "Mommie, can I vote too?" Sure sweetie in about 15 years (that is frightening). Actually I said, "Someday sweetie. Voting is a priviledge of being an adult."

I was disturbed by the small number of people who were there taking part in this priviledge. I can get on my high horse pretty quickly about this, so I won't. The only thing I will say is that I don't get people who don't go vote....

On a lighter note, as we were leaving there was a car running and you could see the exhaust coming from the tailpipe (it was very cold and rainy). Natalie said to me, "Mommie, is that car going potty?"

Oh, if you notice a lot of glaring spelling errors it is because I can't get the spell check to work and I am a terrible speller, sorry,

Ranting

This is getting really old, really fast.

When we moved up here we did not buy a house. We are renting. The housing market in this area was way too crazy for us to think about getting into. This remains to be a decision that we are glad that we made. I am so glad that we are not trying to sell a house right now.

Having said that, our landlord is trying to sell our house. She broke the news to us with about 24 hours notice in October. Because the housing market here is suffering there have not been a ton of showings but enough for it to be really getting on my nerves!!

The thing that bugs me the most is that agents will call and say, "I am in the neighborhood, can I come see the house?"

Me: When?
Them: In 10 minutes!

Are you freakin' kidding me?!? Often my response is, my child is taking a nap. I cannot leave but if you must come by you can.

This, of course, is better than what happened last weekend when the agent and her clients just showed up with no notice at all!! Thankfully Kim was home and told them that they would need to come back at a later time.

None of this makes sense to me, I guess I am just used to the way it worked for us when we bought/sold our home in NC. We made appointments to see houses. We talked with our realtor before we went out looking and she made appointments for us, hours, sometimes days in advance. It is not like this house just went on the market, it has been on for months!!

The up-side, it has made me be better about keeping the house clean.

I am ready for this to be over!! I want to be done and be living in my house that is waiting for me. Although, if someone does but this place then we have a whole other set of problems. Where the heck would we live for the rest of our time here??

What community means...

to a 3 year-old.

Natalie and I went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight. Of course the question came, "When I am done can I play on the park (the indoor germ infested park)?"

Me: You can try if you want to but I cannot help you climb up. My belly is getting too big. (Gross-motor skills have never been her strong point and she struggles getting herself up to the top).
Her: OK, I can do it
Me: If you get up to the top, you have to come down by yourself. Mommie cannot climb up to get you (I have done this on more than one occasion)
Her: OK, I can do it
Me: You have to be brave and come down all by yourself.
Her: I will find a friend who can help me!!

Sure enough, she did. She found a sweet little girl to help get her up to the top, who helped her when she got scared, and made sure she made it down the slide.

I love that my girl trusted that there would be "a friend" there to help her.

(I am also really thankful because me climbing in that thing would not have been pretty!!!)