The End is Near (of hunting season, that is)

Woohoo! It's the last weekend of hunting season. While that means I'm all alone presently, it also means that I get the next seven months of weekends with my husband, for the most part (until that danged-oh football season starts again).

So, this weekend, in a nice surprise, my mother-in-law called up and wanted to know if the two of us girls wanted company for the weekend while the menfolk were out doing men things.

Since I had to work at Sylvan this morning, I gratefully took her up on her offer, so she drove in the rain last night and stayed with Elsie this morning until I came home from work and a meeting afterward. We went out to Mama G's for lunch, and then to the library for a play date with some other moms. We had a good time.

In the early afternoon, mom-in-law left to go back to Mobile, and we were on our own again. Eli texted me from the tree stand and said he would be back after dinner back at the hunting camp. So, we're expecting him back late tonight. Maybe he'll check the mail on his way in? Haha.

Elsie's in bed, so I'm going to watch a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie and cry intermittently for no real reason. And after the commercials, I may cry at the movie, too.

Cheers!

Encouraged

Thank you, everyone, for your kinds words of encouragement! I'm particularly encouraged by those of you whose children are closer than 24 months who have experienced this feeling of "Oh my gosh. What am I doing?" and are still alive to tell about it. Haha. What a relief. :)

My, oh my. How did we keep this secret so long? I don't think it's really been that long in the overall scheme of things, but I'll just tell you that among our church family there were three miscarriages in a short span of time, and when we found out we were pregnant, those hurts still felt fresh. I felt very strongly about putting some time and distance between these occurrences so that our friends could mourn and heal and it wouldn't feel like we were putting salt into their wounds. (And I hope that's okay.) Also, and you probably didn't know this unless you're related to me, but my cousin was pregnant and was due soon, and I just didn't want to steal any thunder. So I waited until after her bundle came into the world to finally share. (Welcome Baby Girl H!)

To further expound on the subject, we go back for our ultrasound mid-February, but just so you know ahead of time, we are not planning to find out the sex of this baby. The only reason we found out with Elsie was so that Eli could have peace of mind (i.e. so I could live with him for the last 5 months), but I wasn't fully convinced until I met her anyhow. The only exception to this is if we go and find out that--surprise--it's twins. But since that's highly unlikely (no double symptoms--though I guess two times zero is zero...so maybe--and no history that we know of), we're just going to say that we're not finding out. Misty, did B&M have any idea??? I had a dream early on that I had twins and that they were long and skinny like Barbie dolls. Anyway...

I tried to catch up with my principal this week to let him know I'll be out the first of the school year, but he's not an easy guy to catch near the end of the week. I'll have to try again this next week.

So, again, thanks for the encouragement. We really are excited, even though we are also overwhelmed. And I still can't believe this is happening. :)

Cheers.

A New Book for Elsie

Elsie got a new book from our insurance company:



I love Little Critter, so I thought about just posting it here and leaving it be, but I figured there would be a furor, so I'm going to address it promptly.

Remember back when I was talking about Elsie having a growth spurt and my milk supply dropping for an unknown reason? Well...turns out progesterone does that. In English, that means I'm pregnant. Again. :)

I couldn't decide if I wanted this announcement to come across positively or negatively, because I have feelings from both camps (I'm just being honest here), but I think I'm going to stick to positive. And, just to head off any ill-mannered "jokes", yes, we DO know what causes it.

You might want to know when the next Baby Beaver is due to make an appearance, and the best answer I can give you is this: August, maybe? Won't really know until the ultrasound. As far as the symptoms of pregnancy, I have none at this point (go ahead and hate me) save for an irrational inability to swallow my tiny thyroid pill--when did that thing become a horse pill!?!--and a little bit of heartburn to ensure that Baby #2 has lots of hair. Rest assured, I have a jar of pickles in my fridge just for this symptom (thanks JT).

My mantra since we found out almost two months ago has been I can't believe we're doing this again. Not in a bad way, just in a way of...disbelief. And with no symptoms, it has been really hard to wrap my head around this. We went to the doctor today, and he said that I'm probably somewhere around 10-12 weeks (based on LMP I would be at 12 tomorrow, but I know that's not exactly right). And they got out the doppler and we got to hear the heartbeat. So, yeah. I'm not just imagining this (which is what I had started to convince myself by ignoring my expanding waist line).

Our families have known since Christmas, and this past week has been the starting of disclosure to select church friends and to coworkers who ask the wrong questions. CV to me, when I'm not eating the tacos for lunch for the first time this year: Are you sure you're not pregnant? Me: You shouldn't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to. CV: WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?

[Edited 1/23 to remove this section because I really am a nice person. Just so the comments make sense, know that someone (an adult) asked me before I was pregnant, "Mrs. Beaver, are you pregnant or just a little bit fat?" Haha.]

We're overwhelmed and excited and still trying to figure out what it will mean to have two children so close--15 months...ish. Pray for us, please!

Cheers!

What could have happened...

Saturday Eli went hunting, so Elsie and I went to the library and met some other babies. I'm sure their mothers had names, but I didn't remember them. So, now I don't feel too annoyed about being "Elsie's mom". Afterwards, we went to G's to watch her clean out the office. It was quality girl time, spiced up by a Happy Meal and some rum cake. Yum. Oh, yeah, and G let Elsie slobber on a watch. The baby was happy.

Sunday, church. We made it on time, for the second week in a row--should be some kind of record for the Beavers since Elsie arrived. Another baby in the nursery spilled his OJ on Elsie, and of course I didn't have a spare set of clothes, so she just had to do with a new bib. She didn't mind, and low key mom that I am, neither did I. In all truth, she slept in the outfit last night and spent the day in it today. I don't think we've had her in the same outfit for 36 hours, ever. But it was fleece and fuzzy, and, well, dry. So, whatever. It was a holiday and we didn't leave the house.

Eli wanted to go hunting today, but I was thankful for his willingness to stay home with Elsie this morning while I went to the doctor to get my thyroid checked. It is almost standard to make an appointment and wait for a while, usually getting to see the doctor at least an hour after your appointment time. I took a book to read (Pendragon #10, Soldiers of Halla), and was thinking the whole time what a different visit it would have been if Elsie had been with me.

She wouldn't have sat still in the lobby. When I went back to get my vitals, where would I have put her while I stood on the scale--not on the dirty floor? Would they let me hold her and then subract 19-ish pounds from the total? I think not. And she would have been reaching for the thermometer and wanting to play with the cords to the blood pressure cuff. Oh, what an experience it would have been for her, curious little girl! And this doesn't even include the nightmare of what would have happened in the lab while they tried to draw my blood. She would have wanted to play with the ball I was supposed to squeeze, or reach for the needle or something disastrous and potentially painful for the woman being stuck--me!

So, Eli, darling, I thank you for keeping Elsie while I went to the doctor. You are a good baby daddy and I LOVE YOU!

Back to work tomorrow. Cheers!

Special Recipe?

Surprise! Elsie slept through the night last night without any warning. Of course, since she's been waking up every 3-4 hours for the last 8 weeks or so, I am the one who has been sleep trained to wake up at those intervals. And it completely freaked me out last night that she went from 7pm to 4am without even a peep. I finally got up at 3 to make sure she was breathing (she was).

So, then my mind was reeling? What was the special recipe?

1. Was it the bath before bedtime?
2. Was it the lavender soap?
3. Was it the lavender lotion?
4. Was it the change in tempterature outside? (not as cold last night)
5. Was it the fact that the TV was not on at all yesterday, so no nightmares?

I have no idea.

On another note, tomorrow it will have been a week since Elsie started crawling. Last night she accomplished yet another baby step (no pun intended). Before, she could go from a sit to all fours but couldn't transition back to sitting. Last night we were playing on the floor and she got up on all fours, moved a little across the bedroom, and then scooched back into a sit. I tell you, it's going to start snowballing!

Three day weekend ahead! Playdate at the library with the breastfeeding moms tomorrow! Woohoo!

Cheers!

High Tea

I'm about to start a tirade, but I really need to tone it down.

I'm excited about our Ladies' Tea at Church and NO ONE IS GOING TO BRING ME DOWN!!!!

To complain about something like this being "formal" and "antiquated" is to be completely closed-minded. Why are we not doing a pot-luck? Well...because you didn't suggest it. Plus, it's not dinner or lunch or breakfast. Tea is perfect for in between. Perfect for the year 1820, you say?

You don't have to come.

In fact, I believe my exact word were:

It's aimed at people who are open-minded and receptive to new experiences, people who can find pleasure in fellowship, no matter the setting. If that's not you, no problem. Again, you don't have to come. But, I personally would like for you to be there. :)

See? Edgy, but honest.

I love you, but I'm going to tell it like it is. Sometimes you drive me crazy. And I hope you come to tea.

Cheers.

We have forward motion!

She finally has it figured out. For the past month or so, Elsie has been up on all fours, rocking back and forth, scooching backwards on the floor, rolling sideways, pivoting on her stomach to turn. In the last couple of days she has been rocking back and forth and taking one big lunge forward to reach what she wants. Today, the knees started moving and we had bonafide forward crawling.

I remember after she rolled over for the first time, it took about a week for her to go from tentative roller to, "I've been doing this all my life." By next weekend, we may have a speed demon on our hands.

Eli kept saying that she was going to walk before she crawled, but I knew that was a far-fetched statement.

Here we go.

Cheers.

8 Months

How awesome that Elsie turned 8 months old on the very nigth that Alabama won its 13th National Championship!

I waited until after the game to post so that I could say that. :)

I took her to the hospital for play group last week and weighed her--she was 18 lbs. 8 oz! She's wearing 12 month clothing. She starting to try to pull up. She likes being in a standing position more than a sitting position. She likes to "walk" around holding on to your hands. She's giving kisses in our little game and sometimes even vocalizes the mmmm-wha. She talks to her baby doll in motherly tones. She's got the "Hiiiiiii" sound down. No other consonants are making their way out of her mouth, though.

I'm falling asleep. It's past my bedtime, so we'll chat later.

Roll Tide!

Cheers!

The Grind

So, it's Monday. It's time to get up and get ready for work. But instead of doing that, I'm still in bed, where I picked up my laptop off the floor, writing about how hard it is to get out of bed this morning. So hard, in fact, that I'm still here.

I don't want to go!

In a small reprieve, there will not be students at school today. Unfortunately, I do have to look somewhat professional. I haven't done laundry in days, so we'll see how that works out.

Elsie is back with J today, for the push to May with only Spring Break and a couple of random 1-day holidays off. Today is also the day I let J start feeding Elsie solid food. Spent yesterday coming up with a menu, then went to the store last night to stock up for the month. As much as I would love to have time to make pureed baby food from scratch, it just isn't going to happen this go round. Oh, well.

Okay. Really time to get up and out of the bed. Ugh. Did I mention that I don't want to go? It's cold outside. My lips are chapped. My black coat is covered with white cat fur. Thanks, Timmy. :(

Cheers?

Y2K +10

A new year. A new decade.

I don't do resolutions, exactly, but I do write down my hopes for the year. So, here goes:

In this year, 2010, I want to:

1. Spend more deliberate time with Eli. (We will have been married 7 years this year, and been together for almost 10!)

2. Spend more deliberate time with Elsie--and take more pictures. (She's already growing so quickly! She's going to be a little girl before I know it!)

3. Spend less time doing nothing on the computer. (I am pretty much down to minimal FB use, so that's a start.)

4. Spend less. Save more. Stick to the budget. (And there IS a budget now! Woohoo!)

5. Tone my arms, legs, posterior. Basically, get some exercise? (I know that my body will never be the same. I know.)

6. Clean up and clean out. Get rid of stuff that I don't need/haven't used/etc. (Starting with my totebag collection!)

7. Read more. Of anything (within reason and taste).

Okay. I think that sums it up for now. Here's to a happy, healthy new year for your family!

Cheers!