Friday, October 7, 2011

Working out the details

This week has been busy with Dan's work, baby prep, and keeping the house/kid stuff running smoothly. We successfully transferred ownership of the CR-V to my in-laws, although we had to make it technically a "sale" since we were missing a piece of paperwork that still hasn't arrived. The visit is short, but we'll see them again when the baby comes.

I will be 37 weeks on Sunday, which is considered full-term. She's active and certainly trying to make enough room without much success. We are all looking forward to having her here, and I've been sorting through there details this week. I wrote up instructions for short-term caregivers who will help out until Dan's mom gets here, and I wrote an email to the boys' teachers detailing our plans and asking them to call my cell if anything is unclear. I wrote my birth plan, aka "leave me alone until I hit transition, then get the doc here now" plan, and I still need to write out instructions for my MIL so that she doesn't worry about doing something that I won't like. Honestly, nothing she'll do will be a problem, but it will help her feel at ease to know my preferences. We've known each other long enough for her to know that I'm particular about how I do things, and she wants to honor that. I've known her long enough to of course trust her, but I know she wants to try to do things my way in my house. I appreciate that! I will have to get some paper towels because not having them will probably gross her out. I'll have to label my homemade cleaning supplies so she knows what they're for, and I'm going to get some pull-ups for Mara who will certainly be regressing then since she is now.

My to-do list remains daunting. The crib still isn't put back to infant mode. The kids' rooms, the LR, the bathroom, and the kitchen still need paint. The painting is leftover stuff that we should've done after the move, but it seems more urgent now that I'm nesting! We need a bassinet, a soft carrier to wear the baby in, and a changing table. The gear will come along at some point, but it leaves me anxious not to have things settled. God provides so abundantly for our needs that I know it'll all work out in time.

The biggest struggle is that we had no idea how busy this semester would become. Dan is presenting a paper in California in November, his department is reviewing its curriculum, they're hiring someone new, he has 4 classes of nearly 100 students total, he has faculty meetings and just other random events to show up for. It's a lot. And yet he manages to be so sweet and helpful at home. He's amazing. For me to work or go to school would be nearly impossible. I'm definitely in the right place for this point in our lives.

Stub of a post I started writing days ago

"This week is off to a rough start with me being 36 weeks pregnant, rainy weather, seasonal depression making its debut right on time (Oct and Feb for about 20 years now), M having potty regression before the baby comes, and the Jedis ha
ving 2 days off school. Today is an election day, and yesterday was an in-service day. Not sure why there is no school on election day since I'm certainly not going to haul my minions out to vote in my condition.

I've been grumpy for days. I'm getting plenty of sleep, but the extra chaos combined with my hormonal agitation is making it a rough week all around. The Jedis will return to school tomorrow, and I'll be able to finish up some things on my pre-baby list."

What a difference a few days and some sunshine make! It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to a weekend with my loves.