Wow! Second day in a row that I didn't open my computer one time until after the kids went to bed! There were about a thousand little things that needed to be done as we settle back in at home, and you all know I had to break out the steam mop. I think I was going through a slight withdrawal. Or maybe a major one. I'm not going to talk about exactly how much I missed mopping because you'd think I'm a big dork. Although you probably think that already, so...I was itching to get my hands on the mop again. It's kind of like magic.
Ava was begging to go back to church today, so we went and I never actually made it into the sermon because every five feet I stopped to catch yo with someone else. Evany was very well received, and people were really great about not touching her or getting too close. I did get one person who asked me if she was my baby because she didn't know I had been pregnant, though. That was entertaining. It was really nice to start to get back into the swing of things since I've been out of commission since Thanksgiving.
It was a little crazy, though, because between this blog and Ava's school and the fact that my best friend's husband works at the church, mostly everyone knew everything that happened with her birth and NICU stay even though I haven't really talked to anyone. When I know someone reads the blog I always kind of clam up because first, I figure they know what's happening, and second, I get kind of weird about whether I've already written what I'm about to say and how dorky that would be to say exactly the same thing they've already read. It's weird, and since I tend to over think everything, sometimes I get stuck in my own head.
One of the strangest things to get used to is the fact that a whole lot of people I know "in real life" read here, and now they know all kinds of personal stuff I wouldn't usually share when I'm chatting with someone at church or school. It's always a little crazy when someone approaches me that I don't know well to tell me they read the blog, since I feel like they have a huge head start on embarrassing knowledge about me and I know absolutely nothing about them. Luckily I've been able to kind of just not think about it and I've tried really hard to keep it from affecting what I choose to write here.
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So yesterday the kids and I trimmed our tree. I should say that Ava and Jace and I did...we waited until Seth was down for a nap and Evany hung out in the bouncy seat and we sailed through it, for the most part. Unfortunately I'm a little...particular, so admittedly, there was a lot of "Spread the ornaments out! Take a step back and look at the whole tree!" Yes, I expect my four and five year olds to be able to accurately determine the best aesthetic placement of ornaments. It's important to have high expectations so they have something to work towards, right? Or maybe I'm just a little weird. I mean, I did tell you all I was going through withdrawal from my mop.
Anyway, here's the finished product. I really like how it turned out this year. Apparently it's been christened "The Candy Cane Tree."
Now I just need to get my kids to stand still so I can get pictures of them with it. So far it's a no go. Seth likes to rip the ornaments off, and Ava and Jace like to play complicated imaginary games with them, so it's all been pretty much rearranged by now. Luckily, the bows are secured to well for anyone to remove them, so even if all the ornaments disappear, the ribbon and bows will keep it looking festive. I can handle that.
So far, the only kid I'm getting to pose nicely for pictures is this one:
She's pretty darn photogenic, if I do say so myself! She smiles so much...it blows me away that she's not even supposed to be born for 6 more weeks...I wonder if she smiled a lot when she was on the inside. I guess it's kind of a chicken/egg question. I've never seen an ultrasound of a smiling baby though...have any of you?
She's doing well, although I'm struggling to keep her temperature up. It's a good thing we live in Florida, because even down here, she is in several layers of clothes/blankets/et cetera. If we lived up North she'd probably be one of those babies you have to keep in a box by the stove to keep warm.
Apparently in my brain if you go North you also go back in time, because I'm relatively sure that no one has had to keep their baby in a box by the stove to keep them warm for quite a few years. Oh well.
I'm adjusting to the monitor...thanks for the advice on how to wear her with it! It still bugs me, because the thing I love the most about wearing a baby is that I don't have to hold/carry anything else. Although I did find a plus to the monitor today...I can fit diapers and wipes in the bag and I don't have to carry a diaper bag! Score!
Someone asked if I had a double stroller and recommended the Phil and Ted's, which cracks me up, since I owned one of the first e3's sold in the US and talked up that stroller like no one's business. I loved it. It was the best theme park stroller ever. I'm a love 'em and leave 'em stroller gal, though, and although I tried a ton (the store I did car seat education at also sold many strollers, so I know them all pretty well), when I was done using them, I always sold them to someone else. Jace was done riding when Seth was born, so I've never needed a double since Ava and Jace were little. This time around, it's different...Seth is going to need to ride for quite a while yet. Because of his CI's, I only use strollers with reversible seats or handles so that I can keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't rip them off, take them apart, and basically cost us a lot of money. I also really like being able to see him as we walk and I can do lots of therapy since he can face me...basically talk his ears off about basically everything we see and interact closely with him.
So nope, we don't have a double...my plan had been to wear Evany and let Seth use the stroller for the time being, but that didn't pan out quite right. There are not a lot of double strollers with the reversible seat option, and besides, it's not in the budget right now to buy something, so we're going to soldier through for right now, and I'm sure we'll survive somehow! One of the singles we have does have a ride on board, so eventually Seth should be able to use that.
Wow, this rambling was pretty much pointless, huh? I should really re-read all of this and make it actually understandable, but I'm not going to! I know, I know...I'm really living on the edge, right? I'm just too tired to actually do anything but hit the "Publish Post" button, so hopefully you all can make some kind of sense of this post!
Hope you've all had a great weekend!
