I’m sitting here in the quiet, eagerly awaiting the return
of Dave and the kids from New Brunswick.
I’m certain I have a few more hours, but can’t wait to see them! We all traveled to Fredericton together the
end of July for our annual Family Visit.
I don’t want to say the trip was a disaster, because it certainly wasn’t.
I have a few very fond memories and I
hope I look happy in all the stunning landscape pics I hope to post tomorrow. But we all got very sick a few days into our
trip, and it me a long took a long time to recuperate. While I would have liked to do more game
playing, socializing and special things.... I mostly laid low and tried my best
to act pleasantly while giving myself inner pep talks. “Chrissy....don’t cry.... don’t throw up....
don’t go to bed it’s only 10 am.... try to smile....make some conversation...” The combination of stomach flu, sore ribs
following, heat and third trimester nausea was a bit much for me amidst all the
traveling and events. I think Dave and
the kids had a pretty good time, and it was nice to catch up with family. I hope it will be in the budget to go back next
summer for a “redo” of sorts.
Prior to our trip, Dave told me for my 30th
birthday he wanted to give me a week to myself.
So, he had planned to send me home after our usual 2 week stay, and then
stay an extra 5 days with the kids at his parents. I was very happy to agree to such a wonderful
gift, and I was happy everyone was healthy by the time I took off on Monday
morning. I was so proud of Dave, as the
night before I left, he was researching all free and fun things for kids in
Fredericton and put together a weekly plan to go here there and everywhere
keeping them entertained and out of the house.
I had a (both quick and long) car ride home with Katie and
Dan who were travelling back after a week out East, and couldn’t wait to fall
into a hot bath and bed when we arrived Monday around supper. However, the house was a bit gross smelling
and so I decided to do some “dog laundry” before passing out. It was at this moment, our old and faithful washing machine decided to die and the seal
went on the bottom creating a flood in the basement and one panicked pregnant lady. Thank the Good Lord for faithful friends who
ran over with their wet vac and rescued me after I attempted to soak up the
water with 20 towels and move the machine and ...it was just too much! After getting all that sorted out a few hours
later, I went to toss something in the garbage only to discover compost left
under the kitchen sink and a host of maggots and fruit flies galore. I spent some time ridding myself of that
mess, and then just decided to wash the floors and dust while I was at it. So, I spent the next several hours cleaning
and crying. Happy stay-cation to me!
I’d just finished reading a natural labor book the day
before ( why I want to do this naturally again, is sort of beyond me) but it
talked a lot about how common it is for pregnant women to feel like crying for no apparent reason in
the last few weeks or months leading to delivery. And how important and good it is to LET IT
OUT and go with it, instead of repressing it all. So, I tried to heed said advice as I am
naturally a holder-inner, and spent MOST of the next day crying on and off as
well, and then felt a whole lot better!
So, what have I been doing with my 5 days of freedom you may
ask? Well, I really have done more
sitting and sleeping and reading and listening to music than I have done in 5
years. But, I would go craaaazy doing
that all day. So, I have done productive
things I enjoy like: catching up on baby books, made a pile of freezer meals, organized
the kids toys, researched washing machines, put together a fall daycare
schedule, chores lists for the kids, and caught up with several girl
friends. It’s amazing how much you can
actually TALK with just a few kids around instead of 5 or 6!
I have also had a lot of uninterrupted thinking time to review the year and
anticipate the year ahead. I consider my
year starting in September and ending in August because of Dave’s work... and
that’s just always the way I have done it.
Anyways... I have come to the conclusion that year 29 was challenging
and long in several ways. Adjusting to
the daycare venture was a HUGE life adjustment.
Homeschooling Jesse was rewarding
but took adjusting to as well. A
miserable Pregnancy was the primary culprit in most of my distaste for the year,
a long winter didn’t help, and then a spring and summer taken over by the job
of moving and adjusting to a new house was also pretty major. I am thankful for friends and family who
helped in both big and small ways through this year, but I am ready to LEAVE
IT, and jump into 30.
I am looking forward to a lot of things this year. Baby
Four is definitely at the top of the list.
I can’t wait to MEET THIS LITTLE ONE!!!!
I know I have to birth the child, and then heal, and deal with less
sleep. But I will take all of that over
the grey dulling of my inner core that seems to hit hard when I am pregnant. My biggest issue is not all the discomfort from
carrying the babe, or the extra stretch marks or veins, or the barf and back
pain and fatigue. These things certainly
all contribute, but mostly, I feel like my husband and kids get robbed of a good
mom and wife for the year. I really do
feel like a 50% version of myself for 9 months. Every time I have delivered my babies, I feel
like a new person just a few days after.
It’s like a fog has been lifted and my spirit has been lightened, and I
always say to myself, “This is what I’m like!”
I’m really excited to find out
the gender of this little one as well. I
think it will make the laboring process a bit more motivating with that
suspense at the end. The baby is due October 2, and I feel like
September will be a challenge to handle all the business while being so big and
uncomfortable, but once he or she is here, I hope it will be much easier and
enjoyable.
Another excitement is that I am looking forward to Jesse and
Janna’s homeschooling curriculum. Jesse
starts in with Math and Handwriting and Science experiments this year on top of
his core requirements, and I am pumped to tackle this with him. Janna will also get a 30 minute school time
with me later in the day that will involve reading some great literature with a
short discussion after, introduction to letter sounds and formation, and a fun
activity each day. I just told her over
vacation that she would be starting homeschool with mommy and she was SO PROUD
telling everyone, but especially telling Jesse.
I am looking forward to a less strenuous daycare
schedule. I just have 2 part time boys
this year who I really enjoy. I am only
working M/W/F’s starting in September and I find it pretty enjoyable that way
with a down day in between.
I am looking forward to Dave going back to work and
terrified at the same time. My work load
is about to triple- for real- and I’m mostly nervous about how to handle it with
this big belly making many things difficult. It’s
been super to have him around for the summer, but he’s a great teacher and
worker and I know he feels his calling in the classroom not with a bunch of
toddlers day in and out. We are going
to try and arrange for an EVERY WEEK date night this year, and I am really excited
about this. We tried for every other Friday
last year, but it was hard to find babysitting OR feel like doing anything at
the end of the work week. WE are aiming
for a mid week Wednesday date night together, and this should be SUPER if we
can make it happen every week. If anyone
out there wants to offer free services once a month on Wednesday nights, we are
open- okay? The kids would be in bed. We
can pay you with popcorn and cable?
With all these exciting things in the horizon, I do get the
odd panic attack. A newborn baby, 4
other kids, homeschooling , a husband to
love, friends to invest in, a BIG house
to clean now, groceries to buy, snacks- meals- snacks- meals,
diapers-poop-diapers-poop. But, I am
mostly thankful that I am able to stay home with my kids at this age and stage
even though it may be crazy. It’s so
important to me. I am super thankful
for Dave who is an absolute super star dad and supportive husband, too. It makes this crazy journey doable and
wonderful.
Well, that rant put in another hour of my day. I hope I can stay awake for the arrival of
the masses. Who knows WHEN I will blog
next. On Wednesday we all start ”back to
work,” and I have a bunch of full time
kids the weeks leading up to school, so it could get wild.
Thanks for reading. I’m out!
