Crazy Days (and daze)

It's been a while since I last posted--nearly two weeks. Things have been so crazy that I've barely had time to potty--okay, that's not true. There is nothing that is going to stop a 39 week pregnant woman from making the usual 20 trips/day to the potty. :-)

One of the reasons why I've hesitated to post is that there just have been so many things going on that I just can't nail down a post topic, so here is a bunch of completely random events/thoughts that have gone on during the past two weeks.

My 2nd Degree burn is SO much better. It's a bright pink color, but that's the normal new skin color. Now I just have to make sure to keep it covered when I go outside at the risk of "burning" it again due to sun exposure. I just have to figure out how to do that when we're moving to the beach.

We are T-minus 10 days....just a day shy of being in the single digits...before we offically become a "Table for 4". We are ready....the crib is up and "dressed", NB diapers have been purchased (boy, I forgot just how small they are), NB/0-3mo. clothes and car seat have been washed, infant carrier has been installed in the car, and carry-all tote for TWO small children has been ordered. This week I hope to pick up the baby's take-home onesie as well as Josiah's "I'm the BIG Brother" t-shirt, which I had embroidered at a local shop. This pregnancy has been, for the most part, pretty similar to what I experienced with Josiah, but there have definitely been some differences--bad headaches, more lower back pain, and just an overall sense of "being done"--I never reached that point with Josiah. As I've watched my friend, Sara, embrace being the mother of two young boys, I wonder if I'm going to be as well-equipped. I know the Lord would not have blessed me with two children if He didn't think I could handle it, but it just suddenly seems so overwhelming. How am I going to maintain my relationship with Josiah AND take on a new little one? I'm really praying that once we get settled in TX that I can concentrate on my family as opposed to: when is the baby coming?, when is family coming to visit?, how am I going to get everything packed?, what is the layout for Randy's graduation?, and how am I going to handle driving to N. VA by myself, in the truck, with two small kiddos while Randy makes his way to our new home in the rental truck? But then, my next thought is, how will Josiah handle the move to a new home, new surroundings, new weather patterns, etc.?

Mom and Dad are heading to DC this week to attend "D.O. Day on the Hill" so they're hoping that AJ makes his/her debut next Sunday so that they don't have to drive all the way back to IL and then return to VA a few days later...that's a lot of driving. My good friend, Sara, and her family are moving on the 28th and 29th to FL to begin their Residency, so the 27th is looking like the day we NEED for AJ to arrive. AND if we base it on Josiah's arrival, 3 days before his due date, the 27th would be perfect. Of course, babies come when they are darn, good and ready. :-)

We also got word this week that Randy PASSED both parts of Step 2 of the Board Exam. Yea! Congratulations, Randy, I'm very proud of you.

Randy headed to TX on Friday in search of a place for us to live. I would have loved to tag along, but the airlines would have refused me. So we sent Randy's dad down with him to be our construction inspector....to help us narrow down which homes seem to be built well for buying purposes. On Friday, Randy met with a property manager to look at a rental home....it's okay, but the kitchen is small. And BOTH of us are in agreement that we need a larger kitchen, at least one with more storage (we would LOVE a pantry and island). We also love to entertain, so an open floor plan would suit us best as well as an area large enough to facilitate a large dining room table. Okay, so I'm describing more of our dream floor plan, but really, if I'm going to pay $900/mo on rent, then I want to find something that I'm going to like....I'll sacrifice smaller bedrooms for a bit more room in the kitchen. And today, he met with a realtor to view some homes that we would consider buying. Well, at the end of the day, of the 6 homes viewed, only 2 made it out on top (but another rental property did land in our lap--brand new home, 1600 sq. ft., 3 bed/2 bath, nice open floor plan, $900/month). Now Randy and I just have to compare the advantages/disadvantages of owning vs. renting.

If you're still with me, bless you. I'll keep you posted on what we decided to do about the housing situation.

Blessings.