Very pregnant thoughts from a very post-pregnant mom

I'll go ahead and admit I had a good amount of apprehension about having a daughter. We had Jett - our sweet, fun, lovable, easy-baby, handsome little son - and that's all we knew! Fortunately, God has given us little humans two (of many) things: 20-week sonograms to reveal the sex, and another 20 weeks to get used to the answer.

When Caroline was born, I couldn't imagine a different outcome ... nor did I want to; the one we had was - is - perfect.

I see television shows, posters, ads, books, magazine articles, etc, etc, with moms and daughters featured... B.C. (Before Caroline) I thought, "good for them, I have Jett!" But now, A.D. (Anno Daughter), I think, "I'm in the club!!!" and that makes my heart happy. Very happy.

And then I get to watch Jay with Caroline. There is a change in his whole demeanor the moment he takes her in his arms, and a different inflection in his voice when he talks to and about her. And THAT makes me smile.

And THEN there's Jett, who is all about kissing the little sister. I don't know if he'd be the same way with a little brother but, as it IS a sister, it's all the more endearing. Part of that picture is the fact that the first person Jett truly addressed, by name (and label), was Caroline. When he sees her or something associated to her (such as a sock, a blanket, carseat, bottle, etc) he points and says, "Yahwahyahwah ... SISsee". Always the two. Always cute. :)

********************************************************************************

I suppose there are multiple points to a blog - in today's case it's to share some "emotional" updates, and also to share more general updates. Here's the latter:

Many have asked, "SOOOoooooo, how's it being the mother of two????" I replied to someone the other day without actually thinking with, "it's fun!". I had to take that back immediately, else suffer the guilt of a big fat exaggeration on my conscience. I concluded with, "Um, challenging and rewarding."

The facts of the matter are: 1) Caroline eats, sleeps, poops, and cries. Not much going on in the reasoning and conversations departments. 2) Jett is nearing two years of age. Not much going on in the reasoning and conversations departments there either.

So what that boils down to is lots of formula-mixing, spit-up clean-up (Caroline has "happy spitter" reflux, so it's a constant battle), poop-wiping, meal-fixing, toy-pick-up, eye-poke-blocking, tantrum-squelching, and finger-pointing-plus-grunt- deciphering. Yes, a veritable cornucopia of "Fun". On Friday I was suffering from a serious case of Adultless Conversation Psychosis, which resulted in no less than five phonecalls to Jay, hard at work AT work, before noon -- no, stop, make that before 10:30am -- to impart meaningless pieces of information. He probably even felt stupider by the fifth call, as if I had sacrificed some of his brain cells for the sake of a two-way conversation. No, stop, make that a one-way with acknowledging grunt responses. At least I got a "hello" and "goodbye".

But don't let me fool you, for long. The challenges are indeed met with rewards, such as big-brother-kisses, laughter, obedience, and true childlike wonder and curiosity on the face of my toddler. These things are just some of the few ambrosias of motherhood.

Another one is Afternoon Naps. For everyone.

********************************************************************************

I do love being a mother and am thankful to have two healthy, beautiful children. I am thankful to have a husband who loves me and our children, and works hard to provide for all. And I love that Jay's provision permits me to refrain from a "day job" - because I hated working. Loved my bosses, loved the work, hated having to show up by a certain time every day. What about breakfast?, you ask? Well, yes, the kids DO require proper nourishment and clean diapers by a certain time every morning ... but I don't have to THINK very hard doing those things, now do I? Nor do I have to personally be showered, dressed, and driving in traffic ... or leave the house, for that matter.

And there are two more things that I love: 1) I love sleeping for six or more hours at time, regardless of what time I go to bed; 2) I love fitting into my "thin" clothes...

These last two luxuries are currently "unavailable" to me. Just the other day I was thinking how much I admire-hate women who ACTUALLY look like they never even resembled something pregnant. Some of you have been kind (blind, but kind) with post-pregnancy-flattery. To you I say, "What you don't see won't hurt you." Poor Jay, he doesn't have it so good. Come to think of it, therein lies the beauty and brilliance - all rolled into one - of separate walk-in closets. Crisis averted.

While we're on that subject, another couple of advantages of separate walk-in closets are:
1. Ladies, you can put off telling your husband how you went out and bought some new clothes without discussing it first - just hide it amongst your existing clothes and, WAHLAH!, Instant-"Oh, that old thing?". Jay, if you're reading, I'm just being hypothetical.
2. The funky smell that emits from hidden and long-forgotten gym socks won't permeate those hidden-but-new duds of yours. Again, hypothetical, of course. If you who are reading happen to be not-yet-married or newly-married, your turn will come. Respectably, you can think you will or try to put the kibosh on this eventuality .... but don't get your hopes up. Think positive and just be glad your man's a man. And get your own closet.

********************************************************************************

So, concluding thoughts?

...Use hyphens and dot-dots wherever possible - they make for great phrasing and streams-of-thought. Strait from the mouth of the Master of Paper-Writing-Evasion. If you've graduated high school and have finished any required college courses that necessitate the use of correct grammer and punctuation, you're home free to write however you want. You betcha.

...Love thy friends and in-laws. They might just babysit for you. And they'll fib to your face and tell you how flabuless you look.

...Don't forget the closet. Or at least some good air freshener.

The End.

Summer Update-08

So I've reduced myself to a biannual bloggership ... thanks for your continued interest! :) Do you ever wonder why some things get procrastinated to the bitter end? And usually they're important things - for instance, in our case, they are "good news" things!

As you can see on the very subtle photo, above, of Jett - we're expecting another baby! ...in two months! And it's a girl! Yes, we are all excited (Jett is, too, he just doesn't know it yet) - Precious Perfect is expected to arrive September 26th. I am not-so-secretly hoping, however, that she'll come early like Jett did - I hope that's not too much to ask!? We'll announce her name after she arrives (she may be six months old by then) - some things must remain a mystery! :) She'll be taking over the nursery, as Jett gets to move downstairs to his big-boy room. And just to alleviate any concerns that I'm getting all soft on you, the nursery is staying the way it is ... pale turquoise-painted walls, and lots of bold colors. The little pink you'll see on or near her will be in her rosy little cheeks :)

Life around here has had nary a dull moment. Jett only takes one nap a day now, and so is constantly on-the-go. I am usually able to sneak a nap myself in the middle of his playtime ... he just ignores me and works on his daily mess-making - it's hard work! Jay had a very busy, travel-filled spring season at work. Then, he had ankle surgery in early June, leaving him at my mercy! Mmmwaaaahaha! We survived our month at home together and he's back at work, happily (for both of us). Jett and I DID love having so much time with him, though - great family bonding time before the little sister comes and stirs it all up! We continue to do little things here and there in the endless pursuit of a "finished" home ... draperies (to replace the assorted $2 sheets pinned over the windows), repainting walls & new furniture (Jett's big-boy room), rearranging this, garage-selling that ... it goes on. But that works for me - I love my "projects"!

Jett is very talkative (just doesn't say any real words) and VERY communicative. He understands about 99% of what we say to him (as is evidenced in his subsequent actions/reactions). It is such a joy to communicate with your young child and know that he/she "gets" it. Really, it is just another testament to the miracle of human development - God has designed us so incredibly!

Just about two months ago, Jett discovered balls ... his first was a basketball at Jay's parents' house (Bebe and Papa). He kinda swatted at it for a little while, rolling it and picking it up ... it was no time before he was smitten. Ever since then, it's balls, balls, balls - any shape, any size. He doesn't SAY the word "ball", but the love is clear. (Haven't we all said, "actions speak louder than words"???). He likes to throw them, too. Of course, the throwing is by no means limited to balls ... pens, paper, telephones, measuring tapes, puzzle pieces, magnets, remote controls ... anything he could deem as "toy", however briefly, it's flying across the room. Usually the trajectory is in a strait line from his highest reach to about three or four feet in front of him on the floor, ending in a "thud". Nothing has been broken yet, knock on wood. Although ... I'VE broken one or two items by stepping on them - things that shouldn't have been on the floor.

That's about it for now. You can view "recent" pics on our photo web site - the link is in the upper right-hand corner of this page (under "Pictures, pictures, pictures!")

We hope you are all doing well in your respective neck of the woods!