Big News

Lily is going to have a baby sister! We got some beautiful 4-D shots of little girl's face, so we'll scan and post them soon! She is a mover and a shaker, just like her big sister was in utero. As the ultrasound tech said: "Never a dull moment with this one!"

All of this is making me so reminiscent of being pregnant with Lily. I brought a blue shirt and a pink shirt with me to my ultrasound so that when I came back to work at the VA I could show my co-workers what we were having. So fun. Then once I got bigger we would all watch Lily's gymnastics after I ate lunch. When I told my OB that I never had to worry about counting Lily's kicks because she always went crazy after I ate, she said, "She's a Wisconsin girl. She likes her food." Katie, you know what I'm talking about when I say that that comment was super funny coming from our usually deadpan doctor.

Another funny memory of the VA and being pregnant with Lily that I thought of today was the day Lily really wanted some popcorn. You have to understand that the VA food was TERRIBLE. The one good non-packaged food item was the popcorn stand that had freshly popped popcorn that you could season as you wished. Um, I kind of want some right now. So my co-worker Sandy was taking everyone's popcorn orders one day, and at first I said I wanted some, then I thought, "No, I shouldn't." Just as I told her I changed my mind, Lily pummeled me and I said, "WAIT! Lily wants popcorn!"

Anyway, obviously we are thrilled to be having another little girl. We showed Lily the ultrasound pictures and after she alternately said, "Awww"and "Woof" to them, she gave one picture some kisses. I'm not sure if she'll think her new sister is as fun as her canine big brother at first, but I sure am excited to see them together.

Love, love, love to you all!

It's finally happening

So the other morning I woke up and discovered this bruise on my eyelid.

It wasn't there before I went to sleep.

I have no recollection of hitting my eye in the middle of the night.

I did, however, have crazy dreams about plaque on my tooth that I couldn't get off, no matter how hard I brushed. This was followed by dreams of aliens impersonating my husband.

It's finally happening, I'm losing my mind.

This is what our living room looks like right now. If the UPS man sees me bra-less and in my pajamas one more time, I really just might die of embarrassment. Just don't come to my house before 11 am and expect me to be dressed, ok?

It's finally happening, we're about to open our practice.

Today I had a small meltdown. I was busy with Tim at the practice all day today, getting trained on our new patient software and doing various tasks. I was tired out and went to get Lily from Wendy, who so kindly watched her all day today. Then we had to head to the store because we were going over to our friends' for dinner.

Did I mention it is butt cold here? No really. These are Wisconsin temps. I was told we wouldn't have to experience being this cold again.

I was lied to.

Back to the store, where the shopping cart is so butt cold that Lily will not deign to sit her little booty in it, and I can't blame her, because it is seriously freezing. But I'm in a rush and I only have to get three things! That's it! How bad can it be? So I push the cart and hoist the little 20-something-pounder on my hip (which is basically disappearing), and take a moment to seriously reconsider the sheer physical logic of having two children so close together. I stop this train of thought as soon as possible. I am tired. Lily is whining. She is heavy. Finally we get our items. After getting her back in the car, I vow that she is staying in the car until we get to our friends' house so that I don't have to get her out and then in again.

I get home. Tim is supposed to be home ready to leave. He is not home yet. I am slightly annoyed. I decide I will run inside, let the dog out, feed dog, then put dog in the car, and by then Tim should be home.

I had put Dirk in our upstairs loft, closed all the doors to the rooms, and put up the baby gate to keep him upstairs so he doesn't swipe food off of our counters or freeze to death in his crate in the garage. See how nice I am to him?

I go up the stairs. The baby gate is up. All the doors are closed. There is no dog. I call the dog.

There is no dog.

I call Tim. Where-is-the-dog-and-why-aren't-you-home? He doesn't know where the dog is and is working with the security system guy.

I go around house, calling dog. All of the house doors are locked. There is no mass destruction or sign of a break-in or -out.

Where the blankety-blank is my blankety-blank dog??

I start getting a little hysterical. I remember Lily is still in the car. Of course by now she is crying. I take her out of the car and get her some milk. I go upstairs and start opening doors. Door number 1, 2, 3: No dog. Door number 4: Stupid dog who somehow got himself in room, had the door close on him, and has since been attempting to make his escape by digging through the carpet.

I am relieved.

I am pissed.

I am now having a meltdown. I call Tim. "Please come home now" and hang up. He comes home and is disappointed to see that dog is alive, well, and happy to see him. He was hoping that said meltdown resulted from dog dying in a tragic yet unpreventable way.

We go to our friends' house and the dog licks their 6 month old baby obsessively in the face and nearly steps on her several times and they just laugh, because they are really good friends.

It's finally happening.

Hopefully I (and Dirk) will make it!

Let me do it at my own pace!

So the title is from those Mad TV sketches about Stuart, the gigantic man-child character who would run around doing various things in a ridiculous diaper. Is anyone feeling me on those? Because there's nothing worse than trying to describe a funny sketch that no one else has seen. Kind of like the time I was trying to do an impression of the Columbian mom on Modern Family and someone said, "Love the Italian accent!" Which shows you how accurate my Columbian accent is.

Ahem. Moving on to The Point. And the point is that all moms seem to have different life pace preferences. Some moms are Go, Go, Go. They like to have their days planned to the hilt and are constantly on the move. They can't linger, because there is always something after the current activity, and this is how they like it. Then some moms are on the other end of the spectrum. Maybe they prefer to be at home most of the day, where they can keep the pace slower. There aren't many things and activities that they are interested in getting to, because they prefer to do things on their own timetables.

I have decided that I am a 1 Activity A Day kind of mom. I can't maintain the constant activity level of the Go, Go, Go moms. I envy their efficiency, though. And staying at home all day, every day isn't for me either, although there are plenty of days where I do that, and am always amazed at how busy I can be without leaving my house. But 1 Activity A Day is a good balance for me.

Example of a nice day for me: Lily wakes up at 7:30 (oh bless that child and her excellent sleep habits), we eat Reyna's yogurt pancakes (it is kind of time-consuming to make from-scratch pancakes almost daily, but I have not been able to get enough of these while pregnant), mom gets a shower, we head out to the park with the dog. Lily plays on the swings and playset, mom throws the ball for the dog, THE DOG ACTUALLY LISTENS TO MOM, we go home. We eat leftovers for lunch, which only require microwaving. We read some books, and Lily goes down for her nap, and doesn't poo after I've put her down (I don't understand how such a small child can poo 3-4 times daily - this baffles me, well, daily), thus requiring me to change her, then put her back in her crib, then listen to her scream for 5 minutes about how mad she is until she goes to sleep. So to clarify: that doesn't happen. Then mom cleans up kitchen, does some household stuff, perhaps has nice uninterrupted reading time for 30 minutes, and Lily wakes up. We play a little, read some more books, then Lily amuses herself with acceptable activities (not acceptable: putting her feet in dog's water bowl), mom makes dinner. Dad comes home, we eat dinner, mom does bath, dad does bedtime, and then we have blissful adult time.

Doesn't that sound great? That is such an ideal day for me, and that ideal has recently been interrupted by taking appointments for the dental office and doing other tasks that I can to help Tim out. Even though I am much more worn out these days from juggling getting insurance information while Lily is crying on the floor saying, "Milk! Milk!" all while I really have to pee, the busier pace has made me appreciate what a charmed life I live. It has made me so grateful that I get to stay at home full time. And I say that with no judgment at all towards working moms. I just have been all the more appreciative that Lily and I can have our slower pace right now. There's no work for me to go to, or school for her, and if she's pointing at her "guk" (book) and wanting me to read to her, what do I have to do that's better than reading to her? Clean the kitchen? Heck no. So we just get to read, and cuddle, and crack each other up.

Not too far from now our little homeostasis is going to be thrown into upheaval by a new little person, just like Lily turned our world upside down with her arrival. We'll adjust and be fine, but I know things will be different, so I'm appreciating this time I have with just Lily, when for most of the day, we are each other's whole world, and we like that just fine.

She Walks!

Well, last weekend Lily decided to give in and follow the crowd. We have a walker now. I love it. Everyone said I wouldn't love it, but I love it. You'll understand why when I explain how much fun it was to take Lily along with me to my OB appointments and give a urine sample while trying to keep her from crawling on the gross bathroom floor. So fun!

Good thing she is really, and I mean really, cute

Today as we were just about to leave the house, Lily tipped Dirk's water bowl over, spilling water everywhere and soaking herself. I was trying to get her out of the mess so that I could clean up, so I kept sticking her over by her toys. Every time she would start crying and come crawling back towards the water. Finally I stuck her on the couch with a book, hoping this would keep her out of the way for a minute. I glanced over and saw that she was sitting there quietly. "Oh good", I thought. Then I looked again and realized she had found the cable remote and was getting into menus I had never seen before.

Then I took her by the shoulders and said, "Who sent you?? WHO SENT YOU?"

Ok the last part was a lie.

I think all moms have days where it feels like you are never going to get out of the house. I'm sure you all have stories that could easily blow this one out of the water. Do share.

What Not to Do

Here is something I highly recommend you avoid:

Barfing on a plane.

I've done it twice now, so I'm kind of a veteran. It's hard to say which time was worse. The time I threw up all over the floor of the plane, because an old man cut in front of me in line to the bathroom and I couldn't find a bag, OR

the time I threw up while sitting between two strange men, with Lily on my lap, while pregnant, into a bag, while Lily laughed and hit the bag, getting barf all over my shirt.

It's a toss up. No pun intended.

Christmas

This Christmas was our first that we were able to stay home and have family come to us. My mom, Ralph, Emma, and Ralphie came from Northern California to celebrate.

Then Ralph's luggage got lost.

Then we all got the stomach flu.

Other than that it was a great visit!

Lily got spoiled rotten with the constant attention she got from her aunt and uncle. They played with her, read to her, and were so sweet with her. It reminded me of how much fun I had playing with them when they were her age.

My mom and Ralph got their Lily fix as well, and this little girl was rocked to sleep by at least one grandparent every night. They even got up with her in the middle of the night. I got mutinous looks and comments the one time I finally put my foot down as Lily was fussing before going to sleep, even though I promised that she had cried and been just fine in the past.

Lily has been bored with me ever since everybody left, so hopefully they can visit again soon!