Today is my last day of work before maternity leave. I am ready to go!! I got everything finished that needs to be finished and now I am killing time until 12. Or, more accurately, hoping to leave before 12.
I am really excited and nervous at the same time. I think that reaching this little milestone has made me realize just how close I really am to having Maren at home with me. The nursery is ready, except for the curtains - and my husband swears he's going to hang them tonight. I guess I am ready. (You're never really ready are you?!?)
And I have plenty to do in the next seven days to fill my time. Tomorrow, of course, is Thanksgiving and although in some ways it has been a really rough year, I can't tell you how much I really have to be thankful for!!
Then black Friday. I will definately try to post and let you all know how it went black Friday shopping with the belly. It'll either be a huge asset or a big liability, no in between I'm sure!! Plus, Kohl's opens at 4 a.m. this year!! I'm almost positive it was 5 last year. I don't think KB or K-Mart open until 6. So, we may be swinging over to Wal-Mart (which is completely dreaded!!)
Saturday, we are going to put up the Christmas tree! Hooray. I love the tree and Brynna is super-excited. I also want to get it done early so that we know what we need new this year as far as decorations go. Of course, there will have to be a baby's first Christmas ornament, but I'm not sure if we have a stocking for the baby and I'm pretty sure we don't have a stocking holder.
Sunday will be regular church and Tuesday I have a Dr.'s appointment and my pre-admission testing for the surgery. So, I guess, Monday I sleep. I just hope that's the case instead of Monday, I clean.
I'll blog from the hospital, complete with pics, I promise. Ooooh, note to self, pack the card reader!!
In the meantime, everyone have a very happy Thanksgiving!!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Help, or whatever...
Brynna is becoming obsessed with helping. It's pretty exciting. I'll admit it, I can't wait for the point where she has real chores, as in things that I don't have to worry about, because she'll do them. Let's face it, I'll do a dance of joy when she's old enough to be in charge of keeping her own room clean.
Tonight she helped me load the dishwasher and mop the kitchen floor. When she was done with that, she cleaned off the kitchen table and wanted another job. I didn't have one for her to do, so I asked her to clean the front of the dishwasher. It really didn't need it, but it was something to do.
I want to encourage her to help. I want her to want to help.
The problem is that a lot of the time, I don't want her to actually help. Tonight, she rinsed dishes in cold water. I had to re-rinse most of them when she was done and she ran about 20 minutes of water to rinse about 5 plates and a bowl. Then she mopped about a third of the floor, making it more obvious that the other two-thirds needed to be done.
Sometimes she helps me fold laundry by unfolding everything that I've already done.
Like I said, I want her to want to help and that means saying thank you, being excited when she pitches in and praising her efforts. Sometimes it's just a whole lotta work fixing everthing she's helped with, though.
Tonight she helped me load the dishwasher and mop the kitchen floor. When she was done with that, she cleaned off the kitchen table and wanted another job. I didn't have one for her to do, so I asked her to clean the front of the dishwasher. It really didn't need it, but it was something to do.
I want to encourage her to help. I want her to want to help.
The problem is that a lot of the time, I don't want her to actually help. Tonight, she rinsed dishes in cold water. I had to re-rinse most of them when she was done and she ran about 20 minutes of water to rinse about 5 plates and a bowl. Then she mopped about a third of the floor, making it more obvious that the other two-thirds needed to be done.
Sometimes she helps me fold laundry by unfolding everything that I've already done.
Like I said, I want her to want to help and that means saying thank you, being excited when she pitches in and praising her efforts. Sometimes it's just a whole lotta work fixing everthing she's helped with, though.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ear Tubes
Brynna has to have tubes put in her ears. Now, anyone who knows me knows that this is going to make me a nervous wreck until it's all over and done with. And then I'll be, "Oh, well, it's nothing to stress over." Because that's who I am.
It turns out that my little girl can't hear well. Which is weird, because she seems like she can hear well. She responds to wispers and doesn't like things loud and is always asking us to be quieter.
But anyway, this whole experience has got me thinking about all the little things that we don't know about our kids. When you really think about it, you don't know much about your kids. They could have whole struggles that you have no clue about: they could need glasses or have learning disabilities that you have no clue about. And it's not because you're not paying attention, it's just because they're...welll... they are kids.
I remember in college I had this piece for forensics about AA. (Don't ask, just wait for the relevance to reveal itself.) Anyway, one of the characters is talking about her first boyfriend. And the little boy came to the bus stop one day wearing glasses and it bothered her all day long. So finally, at the end of the day, she said "How did you know that you needed glasses??" and he said, "I didn't, but someone figured it out for me and put them on an now I can see. But I never realized that I couldn't until someone told me."
It's supposed to be inspiring, as in You can do anything as long as no one tells you that you can't. But for this main character, it's not inspiring, it's scary. Because he really couldn't see well and what if no one had noticed and he'd turned 16 and started driving or walked off a bridge or something. That's how I feel about it. It's not inspiring, it's scary. And what's scary is that I am no longer the person who needs to be told. I know my limitations and my strengths and I have really good vision, so I'll notice when it starts to go. No, I'm the person who is supposed to figure it out for someone else. I'm the one who is supposed t know that my kid can't hear well and I had no clue. It hit me like a Mac truck. I had no clue. Not an inkling.
What if she needs glasses, too. What if she is dyslexic or something. What if...
What am I not noticing? I don't feel guilty about not noticing, because really, I'm not sure that even super-mom would have. There's nothing there to indicate it. She follows complex commands, has an advanced vocabulary, has developed on or ahead of schedule, she watches tv and plays with other kids and doesn't go around shouting at people (well any more than any other 4 year old).
So I don't feel guilty or like I should have figured it out. But I do feel unsteady. Like maybe I don't know my pigeon as well as I thought I did. I guess that's a wake-up call that all parents get from time to time.
It turns out that my little girl can't hear well. Which is weird, because she seems like she can hear well. She responds to wispers and doesn't like things loud and is always asking us to be quieter.
But anyway, this whole experience has got me thinking about all the little things that we don't know about our kids. When you really think about it, you don't know much about your kids. They could have whole struggles that you have no clue about: they could need glasses or have learning disabilities that you have no clue about. And it's not because you're not paying attention, it's just because they're...welll... they are kids.
I remember in college I had this piece for forensics about AA. (Don't ask, just wait for the relevance to reveal itself.) Anyway, one of the characters is talking about her first boyfriend. And the little boy came to the bus stop one day wearing glasses and it bothered her all day long. So finally, at the end of the day, she said "How did you know that you needed glasses??" and he said, "I didn't, but someone figured it out for me and put them on an now I can see. But I never realized that I couldn't until someone told me."
It's supposed to be inspiring, as in You can do anything as long as no one tells you that you can't. But for this main character, it's not inspiring, it's scary. Because he really couldn't see well and what if no one had noticed and he'd turned 16 and started driving or walked off a bridge or something. That's how I feel about it. It's not inspiring, it's scary. And what's scary is that I am no longer the person who needs to be told. I know my limitations and my strengths and I have really good vision, so I'll notice when it starts to go. No, I'm the person who is supposed to figure it out for someone else. I'm the one who is supposed t know that my kid can't hear well and I had no clue. It hit me like a Mac truck. I had no clue. Not an inkling.
What if she needs glasses, too. What if she is dyslexic or something. What if...
What am I not noticing? I don't feel guilty about not noticing, because really, I'm not sure that even super-mom would have. There's nothing there to indicate it. She follows complex commands, has an advanced vocabulary, has developed on or ahead of schedule, she watches tv and plays with other kids and doesn't go around shouting at people (well any more than any other 4 year old).
So I don't feel guilty or like I should have figured it out. But I do feel unsteady. Like maybe I don't know my pigeon as well as I thought I did. I guess that's a wake-up call that all parents get from time to time.
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