Girls R Us

I just went through ALL of the girls' clothes. I could set up my own store there are so many. This newest edition is not going to need a stitch of clothing. Between Abigail being born in the Spring and Autumn born in the Fall, we've got every season covered in every stage. And honestly, all of the clothes are in stellar condition. I have to say having girls makes it easy on the hand-me downs. Rarely have I had to throw out an outfit at the end of the season because it got stained or torn up. I don't think Abigail has ever stained anything (she came this dainty, I just got lucky) and Autumn has only ruined a few outfits at daycare (ravioli to 2 year olds without a bib? Not a bright idea).

Admittedly, I am nesting quite early. For starters, the girls' bunk beds will be arriving this weekend and we'll begin the transition to sharing a room. Secondly, I have a bit of a break before summer session starts. I will roughly be doing 36 hours of clinical time, plus 7 hours of class time, plus study time, plus family time. That doesn't leave a lot of time for nesting this summer. The next opportunity I have is the beginning of August when I'll be 37 weeks. If you know me at all, you know that I would be a stress monkey knowing I had that hanging over my head all summer. That's a little too last minute for me. While I have traditionally delivered late, and I'm hoping this time is no exception, things don't always work out the way we'd hoped.

So, this time next week I will have all the big girls' room and the nursery all set up, leaving me time to relax and enjoy the girls whenever I can this summer.

IT"S A.........

GIRL !!!

We had a lovely day yesterday. I spent the morning destroying a cake. It was quite embarassing. I love to decorate cakes, but with a broken A/C (temps 85), the icing kept melting and I was making a HUGE mess. I had pink icing between the layers, but when the top cake cracked in the lava-like icing glow, I ditched the top layer. That left me with a pink top layer which was suppose to be hidden. Then I needed a gender neutral color and tried to make orange out of my pink; hoping to avoid a peachy girly look. This is what happens when I don't get to drink a beer while decorating my cakes (a tradition of mine I look forward to getting back into this Fall).

But our friends and family arrived to learn of the exciting news. Everyone was a good sport about the broken A/C. Stories were shared, hugs were given, the kids played so quietly, and the baby was in a delightful mood. The big sisters were showered with dresses and Abigail got a jump on her birthday gifts.

To make the announcement, the plan was to have the girls pull out two little outfits we bought the new baby (after all, the girl is going to get a lot of hand-me downs and needs something to call her own). Autumn was being grumpy. Note to self: next time you include toddlers in the big reveal, make sure they want to play the game. Of course, like have a moody flower-girl in your wedding, it adds a little charm to the event. (FYI: The pink outfit says "Little Lady", which is my nickname for my girls).

I was also charmed and amused that my friends brought a gift for a boy or a girl! Those ladies are prepared. We did coo over the boy gifts that were not-to-be, just because it's the thought that counts and little boy outfits with squirrels on them are cute. Here is a pic of the princesses new wardrobe.


I have also finished up classes for the semester. Just have to do one last presentation on Thursday, but I've already completed it. I will take this break to reorganize baby girl clothes, spend some time taking a trip down memory lane, read a book, and maybe get the girls set up with bunk beds. I also get to go on a field trip with Abigail's kindergarten class to the Shenandoah mountains. The girls will also get a sleepover at Gramma and Grandpa's house so that Brian and I can celebrate my birthday. Never thought I would consider sleeping-in a birthday present, but it means a lot now.

Now, if that A/C guy would just swing on by to cool off this house.

Very, Very Exciting News

To be announced tomorrow.

The ultrasound on Wednesday went perfectly...perfect 3 vessel cord, perfect heart, perfect brain, perfect bloodflow, perfect kidneys, perfectly cooperated.... The tech even mentioned how easy the baby made her job; let's just hope the baby is equally cooperative when it makes its arrival.

The girls were with us to watch. Despite prepping the girls with YouTube videos of what to expect, Autumn was still pretty nervous. She curled up in daddy's lap and we watched some BabyTV. The tech started at the top with a cross-section of the skull. Abigail's reactions "what a cute head!". She is my daughter.

We will be announcing the gender to the family tomorrow and will share the news with the masses tomorrow evening. We are very excited and can not wait to meet the newest Murph. No doubt, our lives will be very different come September.

Almost 23 weeks. Just 17 to go. (and less than 100 days of school, in case anyone else is as excited about that as I am!)

A Moment's Pause

A very good friend of mine went into pre-term labor this weekend. Having spent many hours, critically analyizing the NICU, I am confident she and her baby will get excellent care. Now we all just have to hope for the best.

Granted, I see premature births everyday, but it is easier to dissociate from it when they aren't people you know. It was like miscarriage...I rarely thought about it with my first two pregnancies, but I was plagued by the thought this time around. Somehow knowing so many women who had recently had the experience made it seem more real. Totally illogical, as I know their miscarriages did not change my odds one bit. And my odds with a third pregancy were no different than with my first two. But some how, it felt like it could be more real. I am not going to stress over premature labor, but it does make me reflect on the possibility. This kid just needs to hang out until July 31st (37 weeks), so that I can get my degree complete. The other two always accomodated Brian's print deadline, so maybe this one can accomodate me.

Now I'm off to cook up meals and plan a goodie basket for the overwhelmed family. It's not much, but the rest is out of my hands.

The Big Ultrasound

I'm getting very excited. The ultrasound is less than two days away. We will be torturing everyone and making them wait until Saturday to do the big reveal. I can not wait for all four of us to see the newest member of the family, with it's alien-like appearance, on the ultrasound screen. A little heart beat, hands and feets wiggling, and at the end of the day hopes for a healthy baby.

In the meantime, I am very busy planning and organizing. Just found some bunk beds at a great price on Craigslist (haven't heard back from the seller, but it is a great find), organizing Abigail's Star Wars themed birthday party, and we're all set for our little BBQ on Saturday. Finding out the gender will put me in serious nesting mood. I can go through all the baby boxes and know if I need to keep-and-clean it or sale it. This is just what the planner in me has been craving.

Now that the semester is wrapping up, I'm already prepping for the marathon that will be summer session. Hopefully this will just be more time consuming than actual papers and projects. But I am ready to get it started so that I can finish it.

When I look into the future, the details are pretty vague. Right now I know I will be working as a NICU nurse. Soon I will know if I have a house full of girls or if I will have a little boy outlier. A little more definition. I will almost be able to see the whole future if we're all lucky and Brian finds a job. That will answer if we get the luxury of him working from home again (ideal) or if he will be in an office M-F (no complaints, we'll just be thankful to have a paycheck) and will the baby be a sleeper (not betting on it, given our track record).

In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy the moment and appreciate all the stuff that we do have.

Intentions Only Get You So Far

Well, I had every intention of updating more frequently, but I can see that isn't going to happen. I am pulling myself out of the school trenches and hope to see daylight sometime late Wednesday night. There will still be two assignments left, but nothing quite so weighty. Clinical time has been completed for the semester which was hugely time consuming (in a good way, dont' get me wrong).

When I do have breaks, I like to spend them with the girls and Brian, no offense internets. I have been busy planning our little Baby Reveal party and visiting family over Easter weekend (it all ironically fell on Easter weekend because I do not find Easter to be a holiday that necessitates with a visit with all the family members or worthy of numerous planned events). I've also been doing some research on Star Wars themed birthday parties, since Abigail is just smitten with the movies and is declaring this the year of the Star Wars party. It's quite a different way of thinking, given the girly girliness that has consumed my life the last 6 years.

The baby is kicking up a storm, but Brian still can't feel it. I refuse to let anyone else even try until Brian declares he can feel a kick. That is a first that I feel should be reserved for the papa. I have also recently been getting grumpy over all of the volunteered opinions thrown at me and extra gushiness. I know everyone means well, but I am not a gushy person. The more excited you become, the less excited I become. Makes no sense, I know. Blame hormones or life stress, but it is what it is. I also find well-intentioned often means the other person does for you what they would like done for them in a similar situation without taking the time to ask me what I need or want. If you ask, you might find we want the same thing, but you just might find my needs are completely different.

Well, that certainly is a sour note to end on. If it helps, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am taking time to enjoy the happy moments in my life (of which there are many) amongst the chaos, and if nothing else, I am now able to enjoy a delicious slice of cake without any undesirable consequences. Sweet sugar, here I come.

Brian's Dream Come True

Abigail just totally made Brian's day. My sister gave Brian an old Empire Strikes Back book with a 7" record. A fun trip down memory lane peaked Abigail's interest. She even said she would consider a Star Wars themed birthday this year if she likes the movie. She and Brian will have a father-daughter movie date this week. Too cute.

And this is why having girls is awesome. There is nothing that you can do with a little boy that you can't also do with a little girl. On the contrary, people would probably look at me funny if I dressed a boy up in a pink tutu with pink sparkle lip gloss.

Sweet Story

Abigail had a book swap at school. She took in ten books that she didn't want anymore and got to trade them in for other books that her peers didn't want anymore. She made some great picks that were, by far, much more interesting books than the books we donated. We have now have a small collection of Clifford, Toy Story, Pinkalicious, Hello Kitty, and How to Draw books. But the very best part of all is when Abigail said, "I picked this one out for Autumn because I thought she would like it." How generous to give up a book for yourself to get something for you little sister (and no one even asked her to do it). I wish I could take the credit, but she was just born a sweet and thoughtful child. I'm so proud of her (gush, gush).