Thanksgiving Stuff

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is gone and over already. I am having some Sunday night after vacation before going back to work doldrums. Why do vacations always have to go so fast and work so slow?

Our holiday was nice, if different than expected. Since I am under travel restrictions from the doctor (I can't go more than 40 minutes away from the hospital) I wasn't able to go with Jeff to celebrate in Harlan. His family got together for the first time since his grandfather died a couple of years ago, so he really wanted to be with them. I really wish Evan and I had been able to join them. I am feeling a little stir crazy stuck here in the Big O all of the time, but I guess better safe than sorry. So, Evan and I went to my parent's house, where we celebrated with my Grandma Rose and all of my siblings. It was nice, but I missed Jeff.

Friday, I got up at 5:45 and was in the mad shopping rush to get the good deals by 6:15. It's always a little crazy, but you can save so much money! I got some good Santa deals, and I crossed a couple of other people off of my list. Then, Evan and my sister Sarah and I headed over to my Aunt Julie's house where my mom and all of the Daley women always gather on the day after Thanksgiving to make our annual batch of Christmas cookies. (And I am talking HUNDREDS of cookies!!) When we're finished we divide them all up, and each family has a nice stash to offer holiday guests. I love this tradition in my family-we bake, eat, gossip, and spend time just as women. Evan was a great helper this year-he decorated sugar cookies for hours! He can have the patience of a Saint when he wants too. He really enjoys baking. It is something we have done together since he was little.

Saturday my dad came over and helped to put up our outdoor Christmas lights, and I decorated the house. In the evening, Jeff's dad John came down and we went out to dinner at Applebees. It meant a lot to me that he came down to spend time with us, since I couldn't make it up on Thursday. It was really nice to see him, since I hadn't since the wedding. He is a really nice person. I lucked out with him as a father in law!! All of the Kleffmans are such nice, down to earth, good people.

Today, we decorated our Christmas tree, and Evan and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I really enjoyed it, but I think I would have been really confused with the plot if I hadn't read the book. They had to skip around so much and move so quickly that I wonder if it would make any sense at all to someone who just sees the movies, or isn't a huge Harry fan. Evan loved it. It was the only book in the series that I didn't read aloud to Evan, because there were so many "dark" parts, but I thought the movie did an excellent job in toning it down so that kids and smaller fans could watch in comfort. This afternoon, Jeff and I finally opened the box to the changing table, all ready to put it together and get some things done in the baby's room, only to find they didn't send us any of the hardware, four of the major sections of the piece, and two of the pieces were damaged. I would not reccomend any Ameriwood products to anyone.

Anyway, back to real life tomorrow. Blech! Only 3 more weeks until Christmas break though. That will be great. And, of course, only a couple of weeks after that and we get the best present ever-Charlie!!! I am an amazing 32 weeks today! I can't believe it has gone this fast.

Not the Brady Bunch

I think the honeymoon period of things is over. Is that normal to happen 4 months into things? I have really realized this week that we are not melding into a family very well. I know things are not easy the first year of marriage, and I wasn't expecting them to be, but it still makes me sad. For example, in the evenings when we are just hanging out or on the weekends when we are watching TV or something, 9 times out of 10 Evan and I will end up on one floor of the house, and Jeff will be somewhere else. I know Jeff has a big need for being alone at times, having lived by himself for a long time. I wonder though, if we live on seperate floors of the house, how do we become a unit? Today I was really sad because we had some important things happen which I will write about in a second, and Jeff didn't mention them or ask how they went. I think back to my parent's marriage growing up a lot, especially what they went through with Ben. Whenever my brother had a doctor's appointment, or my mom was going through something trying, my dad would call her from work to see how it was going and if she needed anything, or just to talk. Then they would talk about it again when he got home. They got through so many hard situations this way...my brother's multiple health problems, my anorexia and other exploits (which we don't need to mention!), and my mom's cancer. I am really starting to understand why they are such a strong couple and are still so happy 30 years later. I know they had to work hard to make it that way, and I know it wasn't always easy, but still I wonder. If Jeff and I were faced with some of those same things, could we handle it? Don't get me wrong, Jeff is trying really hard, and he helps me out a lot. I feel like we have been talking and talking and working and working to resolve some of these things. We always come back to the same issues though. I am a really big family person, and I want to have a family that spends quality time together and supports each other. Isn't that after all what a family is all about? I really feel like a lot of the time we end up being totally seperate. Can we build a family like this? I don't know. I only know we have to keep trying.

Today I had two wretched doctor's appointments. The first involved me going to the dentist. He had found a small cavity way back in June when I was first pregnant. My OB wouldn't let me get it filled until I was well into my 3rd trimester. I guess there are some bad things that can happen to the baby if a dentist accidentally gets bacteria into your blood stream early in the pregnancy. So, today when I went to get it filled it was no longer a small cavity but a HUGE cavity that involved what Dr. Franco referred to as the BIG GUN drill. When it was all over, he told me that he thought that I might need a root canal on the tooth in a couple of weeks because the cavity was so vast that pieces of my tooth were breaking off, and he had to drill very close to the nerve of the tooth. Lovely!! Then my mom and I took Evan to Children's Hospital for his blood work and x-rays. I was so proud of my little guy! He is TERRIFIED of needles, but he held so still as they were taking the blood. They collected 8 vials!!! It took awhile, but he didn't flinch or say a peep of complaint. He was so nervous before hand. Then we went to get an x-ray taken of his wrist so they could take a bone age/density test. The tech was great, and she let Evan see the developed pictures, which he really loved. I was so glad that my mom was with me for moral support, and that I didn't have to take him alone. It worked out well too with the x-ray since they wouldn't let me come back with Evan since I am pregnant. I would have hated for him to go alone. Then she took us out for lunch afterwards since Evan had done such a great job. Aren't grandmothers awesome?! Evan is lucky to have my mom as his. So, now I guess we play the waiting game to see what they find. One of the test they ran was for Fragile X syndrome, so I am off to Google it and find out more.

The Grumpies

I have an unbelievable case of the grumpies today! I started feeling out of sorts last night, when everything started to bother me-you know when stupid dumb small things happen and they seem like a huge deal even when they aren't? Today is our last day of school before Thanksgiving break, and my kids are REALLY excited-which equals so wound up they can hardly sit down in a chair without tipping over. Sometimes I wonder why God called me to be a teacher without including the patience of a Saint in the package. I have the unusual opportunity to teach at the same school my son Evan attends, and I got to watch him going bezerk at lunch today, just as crazy as all the others. Luckily his teacher is my good friend Gina and she is really understanding. I am trying to focus on the fact that I get a break from this for a few days, and I will get to recharge. Maybe now would be a good time to practice that Lamaze breathing!!!

Eventful Week...

A lot has gone on this week. My friend Jeff Luken's Mom passed away suddenly on Thursday. He lives in Connecticut, and it has been a little frustrating being far away when something goes wrong for a friend. I hope he knows how much his Omaha friends care for him, and that we are sending our love and prayers. As we head towards the holiday of Thanksgiving, it just reminded me how lucky I am to have such an awesome family, and to be so close to my parents, brothers, and sister. Life can change in an instant, and it is important to sometimes remember that.

My cousin Ryan, who was more like a brother to me growing up than a cousin, shipped out from Germany to Iraq on November 3rd. We still haven't heard from him to see how he is doing. His dad (who is a Major in the Army) tells us this is normal, and that it takes awhile to get where they're going, but it is like being on pins and needles. I have the utmost respect for Ryan's wife Ashley, who is waiting through this on her own in Germany. I pray for him everyday, and I know God is with him wherever he is.

The nursery is going to be finished up with decorating, paint, and new woodwork this week. Soon we will be able to start assembling furniture! I am so excited! It is finally starting to take shape. Jeff and I both admit that it is the nicest room in the house, and Jeff says this is why we can officially call the baby "Prince Charles". Blech. My Charlie would never do anything dumb like marrying Camilla Parker Bowles. We have the crib ordered, and it should be here in about 2 weeks. All we need now is a dresser, and we are good to go as far as furniture are concerned. (Although we still need a swing, a diaper genie, baby monitor, a car seat, etc. etc. etc.) I talked to my awesome friend Christi this morning about how much I love to just go sit and rock in the room, look at the walls, and feel close to my baby. She totally understood what I meant. I am so glad (all the time, but especially at moments like these) that she and her husband decided to stay in Nebraska. It is so nice to have someone that really understands what silly, emotional, strange things you feel as a mother. I am so lucky to know her!

Next week is going to be crazy too. We take Evan in for his testing at Children's Hospital on Wednesday, since we have the day off from school. I still haven't told Evan since I don't want him to worry ahead of time. Besides, I am doing enough worrying for the both of us!

30 Weeks...

Wow...today I am 30 weeks pregnant! It seems like just yesterday that I was taking the test and telling Jeff, and now we are almost done. It has gone so fast! I absolutely love being pregnant so I am a little sad that we are almost done, but I am so excited to meet Charlie for the first time. Jeff and I start our Birthing Classes in about a week. I think it is going to be HILARIOUS to watch Jeff at these classes. He is more than a little squeamish about blood and yuck, and sex, body parts, etc is something his family never discusses. I can't wait to see him have to sit through the movie of a birth and have to talk about all the things that will happen. Is that mean? At least I will be able to have something to distract me while I am in labor. I am totally the opposite of Jeff. When Evan was born, I asked for them to bring the placenta closer so I could see it up close and personal. I think Jeff would faint if he had to see it up close. Any guesses on when the baby will get here and how big?

I HATE LEAVES

Today I spent about two hours raking leaves. Jeff is in charge of the backyard, and I do the front since it slopes so much, and it is hard for him to keep his balance. We have a HUGE 40 year old Maple tree in the front, and I despise it with a passion. Every spring I pray that it will be hit with lightening, or be struck with a terrible tree disease. In the fall it dumps buckets of leaves on the ground, and in the spring it dumps buckets of those stupid helicopter seeds. So, we basically end up raking about twice a year. We looked into having it removed but when we discovered that would cost about $3000.00 we knew we were stuck with the wretched thing. I felt really good while I was doing it, and was so impressed with myself that I was able to say I am 7 months pregnant and I raked the yard! Then I went inside and sat down for awhile to relax. When I tried to stand up-OUCH! I feel like my hips are disconnected from the rest of my body. The sad part is that the tree isn't even finished losing all of it's leaves! I know the ground will be covered again tomorrow when I wake up.

In baby news, Charlie's room is painted, and the wallpaper came in yesterday, so we are going to put that up soon. It is SOOOO cute! It has little monkeys that are reminiscent of Curious George everywhere. I will post pictures when it is finished. Meanwhile, my dad is replacing all of the woodwork in that room with white woodwork, and the doors with six paneled white doors. It is the nicest room in the house! I have the changing table ordered, and as soon as the wallpapering and such is done, we are going to get the crib. I am feeling much better about being prepared for little Charlie to get here. At least things are moving along! My awesome friend Christi has generously offered to host a baby shower for us. I can't wait!!!