Our house is starting to come together and I am seeing an end in sight! My cousins came over last night to work on our basement which means we are about a week away from having our drywall complete. Once that happens, my mom has offered to paint for us. Thursday we will go to look at, and hopefully pick out flooring, and then this weekend will be spent debating paint colors. We will also pick up the paint for the nursery since my mom has also volunteered her services for that. It seems everything else that needs to be completed in the house is waiting for the basement to be finished. I have cleaned out our dresser which will be moved to our spare/computer room, but we have chairs in its place that need to be moved downstairs. We have a lot of cleaning to do in the nursery, but until the dogs move downstairs there is no point in starting that job. We have furniture waiting to be put together in our downstairs bedroom, but again it is for the nursery and until it is cleaned and painted, it must wait downstairs. We have our fireplace room full of boxes that I am organizing and labeling for under our 3rd floor, but until the sanding is done, they will not be put away. Luckily, an end is in sight and slowly I will be able to put our house back together.
I have been cleaning and organizing a lot lately, but am starting to get really tired again. I was successful in cleaning the linen closet this weekend, and started on the 3rd floor storage. I should be able to finish this weekend coming up, although it promises to be a busy one with both our friend Kevin’s birthday and my dad’s.
Saturday was an exciting day as we picked up our brand new van! Now I know vans aren’t that exciting for some, but honestly this vehicle is sweet. I was set on getting an SUV while Joel wanted me to at least look at a van. He explain the practicality, and of course the price difference. I was still set on an SUV but decided to humor him and at least look at one. After seeing the only domestic van they still make, I was sold. We got a 2010 Grand Caravan SXT. The SXT model was the only one we looked at because of its adjustable pedals. For anyone who is short you will appreciate this feature. Since getting pregnant, I could see the steering column in my little car and my growing belly getting closer and closer together. We knew the car would likely last until I was 7 months pregnant and likely not much longer. When I drove Joel’s Jeep 2.5 weeks ago, I could barely get in so I knew that vehicle would no longer be an option. The van we picked up is perfect for us! It has very simple “sto-n-go” seats for both the rear and middle row (although the rear ones are considerably easier than the middle to “sto”), the side windows roll down, all doors except for the front 2 are automatic from both inside the vehicle and on the remote keyless entry, it comes with built in “uconnect” which is a hands free phone, remote start, touch screen radio controls, back up camera and a rear DVD player. For someone who was set on an SUV, I am really impressed with this vehicle and think it will be perfect when the new addition arrives. Now to put my car up for sale….
After picking up our new wheels, we headed out to Steiner for a visit with Chris and Sarah. While Sarah prepared a yummy supper for us, I sat with their son Ryan. Ryan was born last March (actually Sarah was due around the same time I am). Joel and I were both really impressed with Ryan; he never cried and spent most of the night flirting with me. Even while we ate, he sat quietly on the floor playing with a Fisher Price toy. He had huge smiles every time I would look at him, wave, or talk to him. I would tell him that his friend (or maybe girlfriend) was in my belly and he would giggle away. He sat on my lap and was fascinated by my necklace, but never made a fuss. It made me really look forward to this time next year and made me reconsider any worry I had about travelling with a little one.
I bombarded Sarah with a lot of questions, not about my pregnancy, but more about labour, what to expect when we bring the baby home and certain baby products. Sarah had lots of great advice which I really appreciated. I find women often have advice for me, but being able to ask the questions I want answers to was really helpful. There are many lists, checklist, advice articles, blogs, newsletters, etc. that I have read, but being able to actually discuss it was much more helpful.
Sunday Joel spent recovering, (he may have had a few too many bevies with Chris) and besides the little cleaning I did, I relaxed too. My parents stopped in for a quick visit to see the van and drop off a couple of items they picked up while in the states.
They have hired a woman to take over my maternity leave and I will start training her in the new year once per week. Although I will still be contracted for our monthly newsletter and website updates, she will perform all of the regular day to day duties. She seemed very organized, and I think will fit in well here.
Joel and I have started to talk about our plan for me returning to work. Luckily I do have flexibility within my position and Shannon offered open hours for my return. This means if we decide I could come back part time (financially), MTEC will accommodate that for me. Or if I need later/earlier hours to be able to pick up/drop off at daycare, they will work with that too. I am very lucky to have these options, and returning to work will be hard enough so it is nice to have the support. I have a home daycare I am hoping will have space for us, but we will also start looking and adding our names to waiting lists just in case.
We have picked out names (sorry they are a secret for now) for both a girl and a boy, and have a few back up names in case the peanut doesn’t match the selection. We borrowed a book from Chris and Sarah because we were finding the internet sites slightly overwhelming. There were hundreds of names listed for every letter of the alphabet. Joel’s attention span is short, so the internet would hold his interest for the first 50 “A” names, and then he would start puttering in the kitchen, or find something else to do. He definitely had an opinion about the names, but since most of the sites included every culture, tradition, and variation of that name, it got to be a daunting task. We would scroll names, and for every 100 we saw, 1 would be worth considering. This book was smaller, and included information like chances of mispronunciation, misspelling, popularity, alternate spellings, nicknames, etc.
I do have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon where we will receive my triple screen results. I had called about 1.5 weeks ago to confirm everything was negative, but it will be nice to hear what the doctor has to say. I should also be getting my referral to an OB-GYN. I am 24 weeks pregnant (based on my original due date which I prefer). I have really noticed my growth this past week (seriously I think I doubled in size) and there is no mistaking my pregnant belly. I will have Joel take a picture so I can post it later this week to show you. I am still feeling a lot of movement in the early mornings, but by early afternoon peanut seems to relax. By mid afternoon peanut is right back at reminding me (s)he is there. Joel and I often feel movement in the evenings while lying down watching TV, but by 8pm most of that has stopped for the night.
My mother in law’s prediction ~ girl March 11 7lb 7oz. and for those who do not read the comments, Jobina's prediction ~ girl March 13 7lb 5oz.
I love hearing what everyone thinks, so keep the guessing coming. For now, that is all… Enjoy ~
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