Hey, Life? Here's the thing...

...you're kind of in my way.

Things have been so busy lately. With tax season in full swing here and having to work Saturdays I feel like I have no time or energy for much of anything. Also, we finally got our refund money which meant taking care of a lot of things that needed to be taken care of.

Namely, we got a van! Hooray! I was kind of stuck in a "great, mom-mobile" kind of mood about it at first, but I totally love it. It's a 2007 Honda Odyssey and it's amazing. It's big and fancy and the color is called "Nimbus". Yes, I know it's not just a broom, but even still I love the Harry Potter reference.

The sacrifice for this was trading in both our cars and driving around my sisters' old Chevy Cavalier. It's pretty much a hunk of junk, but it's payment free and the insurance is cheap so I try to keep that in mind when I'm sitting in the parking lot wiggling the wheel and turning the key over and over trying to get it to start.

So, it's saving us a couple of hundred dollars a month, plus we can fit two kids in it (our Civics barely fit Punkin's car seat, I can't imagine stuffing two kids in there!) and a dog if need be, so the trade off is worth it.

I'm not for sure leaving work after baby girl gets here, but I am for sure going part time at least. That means I'll still be pumping at work which is a bummer, but at least I'll be home more. I'm hoping that at some point Austin can go full time keeping my brother for my parents, and then we'll be making enough to where I can stay at home full time. But for now, I'm satisfied with at least working less.

We've purchased the bedding, the crib and I've set up my cloth diaper registry as well. I've debated for months over whether I should move Punkin into a big boy toddler bed or if we should just get another crib. We decided just to get another crib. Punkin's crib is a 4-in-1 so it converts to a toddler bed and a full size bed, so I figured it made sense financially just to get another 4-in-1 and not have to buy a toddler bed that he'll eventually grow out of and then another bed. Plus, I really don't think he's ready for a big boy bed just yet. I don't want to introduce that change to him when so much is going to change already with a little sister.

Also, Punkin is going to be 2. TWO. Next weekend. Um, say what? Where the heck did the time go? He's suddenly reminding ME that he has to brush his teeth before bed. He's putting away his blocks without me having to even ask. He's singing songs that make no sense but they sound so sweet anyway. Sigh. I really miss when he was a little baby. But I guess I'm having another one so I can soak up these sweet toddler years while they last.

Ruling the roost while Daddy is at work.

A Very Special Birthday Girl

Some of you may remember me writing about a dear friend who was lost here. He passed a year ago, and on Saturday my family gathered with his family to celebrate the one year birthday of his beautiful baby girl.

She has been in the care of Dear Friend's parents since she left the hospital, and they have done an amazing job raising her to be a healthy, happy and spoiled (as she should be!) little girl. She's incredibly sweet and has the faintest touch of ginger to her hair that I hope she keeps! It was so comforting to be in the presence of so many people that were there for baby girl, but also for Dear Friend. I think everyone wants to be with her, not only because she's irresistible to any normal human, but because she's a link to her Daddy that some of us find ourselves craving.

It was a big party, and Punkin had so much fun digging in the sand with his cousins and the other kids. He was covered head to toe by the end of the party, and made me think we should get a sand box. But then I looked at him covered head to toe, and I thought maybe not.

I hate that something so wonderful as the day a beautiful baby was brought into the world coincides with the day Dear Friend left the world. I know it has to be hard for his family to handle so many emotions at once. I hope one day it can be looked at as something else. Maybe another year that a family has survived a tragedy, another year that they have lived for that little girl and raised her to remember her Daddy and how excited he was to be her Daddy. I hope they can wake up in another year and remember the 25 years they had with Dear Friend and what an amazing and wonderful thing that is. But I know for now the pain and hurt are still there. It's still there with all of us on some level. But I still will the day to come when everyone can move to celebrating his life, instead of mourning his death.

I started thinking about how his little girl and my Punkin are the exact same age apart that he and I were. It's us, the next generation. There's something comforting in that, knowing that a part of both of us will live on. And I hope they're friends. I hope they grow up together and love each other the way Dear Friend and I loved each other.

Time will tell, and time is certainly not something to be taken for granted.

This Happened.

See that tiny pale face boy with the red hair out in the distance? This is exactly how far away from me Punkin was when this conversation took place:

Punkin: MAMA!

Me: What?!

Punkin: I HA POO POO BUTT!

Me: omg.

Now, he's been saying "poo poo butt" for a while because this is what we call him at certain moments that I'm sure you can guess. But this was the first time he straight up was like "Hey, wipe my butt". Okay, I know it wasn't like that, but that's what it felt like.

I feel like if he can tell me he just pooped, he should be pretty darn close to telling me before, right? RIGHT?! Please tell me that's right because I would love him to be potty trained in the next year or so. I'm not pushing it and I'm not rushing because I don't want to totally turn him off to the whole idea. We bought him an Elmo potty DVD and a Sesame Street potty seat that goes on the toilet and he's mildly interested. Every once in a while he'll want to sit on the potty so I let him. It only lasts about 30 seconds and then he wants to get off and flush, and he's never actually gone in the potty, but I figure just sitting on it is a good start.

I've thought about getting him some cloth diaper trainers. They're supposed to be great because they don't soak up the moisture where they can't feel it like regular diapers, but they also don't leak every where like big boy undies would. So many changes are coming up for him!

Speaking of changes, baby girl is getting bigger and practicing her karate every day in my belly. I feel her so much lower than I ever felt Punkin. Part of the reason I had to get a c-section with him was because he hadn't dropped at all at a week past my due date and I wasn't a candidate for induction. I haven't made up my mind on if I want a VBAC or not, so maybe she'll decide for me and I'll actually go into labor this time? Who knows. All I know is, we should probably start cleaning out that spare bedroom of all of our junk before she gets here, otherwise she'll be sleeping with us and living out of boxes forever!

Punkin seems like he's changing every day as well. I swear every time I look at him he's grown some or learned a new word or is putting something hazardous in his mouth. He's starting to recognize letters, but not really. He knows each letter is called something, but he doesn't know what yet, so he pretty much calls them all A. We'll tell him what they are and he'll repeat it, so I think this is a great start toward him learning his letters. He already kind of counts to three, but only when he wants Daddy to throw him around on the couch or bed. I've been thinking maybe he would like flash cards to look through, and then I think of the mess flash cards would make and how they would all be ruined around my house anyway, so I downloaded an app instead. Ah, technology. :)

Hopefully next time I write, we'll have made progress in the baby's room!