…it’s been a while. Things have been busy around here. And I’m just tired. So there.
First, I’ll let you know that I have uploaded some new stuff. New stuff in Mallory – 2 Years Old. And an album for Johnathan’s Garage Project. He put down an epoxy floor, painted the cement blocks black and installed an edging called “cove base”. It really looks good…for a garage. But it’s definite proof that Johnathan cares a heck of a lot more about the garage than I do. And he’s not done.
There is also a Trip to the Vineyard album with pictures of when we went to a local vineyard. All of our neighbors were going last year, but we just never got around to it. Leigh called me in April wanting to know if we were interested in going. It only took us until June to finally get there. It was wonderful, and we plan to do it again as often as possible (when the weather cools off). They have live entertainment. There are a lot of picnic tables, but we chose to lay out blankets and have a picnic. You can do a tasting tour or just relax. Oddly enough, it’s really family-oriented. Kids running around everywhere. Brady and Mallory wore themselves out.
Now, for some updates. Kylie and I made a trip to her college orientation. It was nice for her to get to see a lot of other freshmen, meet some people and stay in the dorm that she will actually live in. We were there for two days. The first day was just a lot of “hey, here’s a lot of information about the school.” She is very pumped about the outdoor “adventures”. There is a whole program where they offer whitewater rafting trips, scuba diving certification, sky diving, etc. It will be hard for her to balance that with school work. The second day was all about registration. She found the whole process to be frustrating. They didn’t have her latest ACT score, so she couldn’t get the math class she wanted. (That’s something that she’s still trying to get straightened out.) When we met for lunch, she was complaining that they wouldn’t just lay it out and tell her what classes to take. I said, “That’s part of growing up. They give you options and you make the decisions.” She asked if I could go with her to register. I said, “No. It’s part of growing up. You have to figure this out.” Honestly, we had already been told that we couldn’t help. But she needed to deal with that. It was so interesting to see the tug of war. She’s so ready to be on her own, but so not ready to be independent. She is in Rhode Island right now. Michael’s dad lives there (beach house…nice, huh?) so four of them drove up there. It just hit me today that, in total, we only have about 4 weeks left with her before she goes off to college. When she comes back from RI, she’ll be here for 3 weeks before going to a week long church camp. Then, she’s only here for one week before moving into the dorm (provided she can get the math thing worked out…long story). It’s just going so fast. And I’m full of so many conflicting emotions about it. It’s really hard to know how I feel.
Sometimes I guess it’s good that I don’t blog like I did with Mallory. If so, I would have had people in a panic about 3 weeks ago. I had some stomach issues for about 4 days. I was starting to feel better, but I noticed I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. They aren’t uncommon and weren’t bothering me (I had been having them for a few days), but I thought I was having too many so I called my doctor. They sent me home to put my feet up and drink lots of fluids. They suspected mild dehydration. And they were right. But the panicking thought of potential bed rest just stressed me out and started the stomach issues again so I was sick for another 3 or 4 days. Johnathan was wonderful. Since my doctor told me to rest, keep my feet up as much as possible over the weekend and drink lots of water, my wonderful husband did everything that weekend. It was really hard on me. I can relax but not while others around me are busy…especially when they are busy doing MY job. I behaved myself as much as possible on my husband-enforced bed rest. I’m doing much better now. Still having the Braxton Hicks but not nearly like I was. I went to the doctor last week. She checked to make sure that my cervix was fine, verifying that the contractions are non-productive. I can tell a difference if I don’t drink enough so I stay conscious of that. I’m watching the ankles and trying to take it easy (hard to do with a 2-year-old). Everything else checked out fine…oh, and the heart rate was 130. :)
I’m having some major conflicting feelings. I have always wanted 2 children. No more. No less. But now I have come to this point. What if this is another girl? Will we try for a boy? Don’t get me wrong. I would be thrilled with another girl. But it would also be nice to have a boy. So if this one is a boy, we’re done, right? But if it’s a girl, we’ll talk about it, right? I saw myself in the mirror last night…my growing belly stretching my t-shirt really tight…and all I could think was how sad I was that this may be my last pregnancy.
Last weekend, Johnathan and I took facilitator training for the marrriage class we took back in the fall. Now, we are certifiable…I mean, certified. It was all day Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 until 7:00. Mallory went to stay at Mimi’s. We figured it would be a good test to see if she was ready for trips without us. We were close enough that we could go if there was a meltdown. Well, she did absolutely fine. She even talked to us on the phone. I thought that might upset her, but nope. “Hi, mommy…I yu you…nigh nigh….bye bye, mommy.” And that was that. Did I get my feelings hurt? Nah. Besides, the reception we got when we finally saw her on Sunday would have overcome that. She was so excited she actually squealed. And if she was any bigger, she would have knocked me over when she tackled me.
I’ll leave you with this adorable story. A couple of weeks ago, Johnathan was out working in the yard while I was making dinner. Mallory was in the kitchen with her stick horse. The horse bumped me with his nose. The next thing I heard was, “No bite…time out.” I finished what I was doing and walked into the dining room (where we usually do time out). The horse was in a chair in the corner, and the beach ball was in another chair. Mallory “the mom” said, “Time out, guys”, turned her back on them, walked off and crossed her arms. Just like mommy.