Spring Cleaning

I’m getting to the point where I wear maternity clothes all the time. I could probably fit into my non-maternity stuff, but it’s not very flattering or comfortable. This weekend, I decided if I wasn’t going to wear non-maternity winter clothes any more this year, it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of a bunch of them. Goodwill only takes in-season clothing and by the time I want to get rid of sweaters each year they won’t accept them. Plus, sweaters are so expensive I feel like I should keep them just because I don’t want to buy new ones. But you know what? The ones I don’t like I NEVER WEAR.

I was originally just trying to get rid of enough to make room for maternity clothes in my closet, but it went so well I started opening boxes of college clothes and throwing them in the Goodwill sacks. I ended up getting rid of all of this:

Honestly, looking at this picture is kind of depressing. That’s a LOT of clothes (you’d be amazed at how much is stuffed into each of the big Kohl’s bags) and they’re all mine. Aside from two sweaters, I haven’t worn any of it in the last year. About half of it I haven’t worn - or even seen - since we moved 2 ½ years ago. WHY did I move all those clothes from our apartment?* Why have I let them take up space in our house for that long? It’s not only clothes, either - why do we live surrounded by STUFF that hardly ever gets looked at? I’m on a rampage and everything must go. I don’t know if its nesting or the spring-like weather, but I’m obsessed with getting rid of stuff. Our one “storage room” (the third bedroom on the main floor) has to be cleaned out so it can be made into Meg’s big girl room and I’m about ready to rent a dumpster and throw the entire contents of the room in there.


*I actually know why, but it still annoys me I could have gotten rid of all this stuff before moving and never even noticed. When we moved, I was almost 3 months pregnant with Meg and thought I would wear the clothes after having the baby. But even after getting back to pre-pregnancy size, the clothes just didn’t fit right anymore. You know how it is…

A charmed week

I’m starting to wonder if I’m just dreaming we came home from vacation. All of these things NEVER happen in the same week, right?

1. I haven’t worn my winter coat all week. It’s been crazy-warm (50s most days) and today we’re supposed to get to 72 degrees! In FEBRUARY!  Plus, while we were gone, it got below zero every day, so we didn't even miss any good weather.

2. Despite the fact she slept with us on the cruise, Margaret has been sleeping in her own room, in her own crib, with no problem. She’s only gotten up in the night once since we got back. (I think she missed the 80 stuffed animals she sleeps with and is happy to be reunited).

3. I have Amazon diaper coupons coming out of my ears. I bought a new $40 box of Pampers baby dry for $10 yesterday. I bet the box lasts us a month! PLUS, the purchase got me an extra month of Amazon Prime.

4. Yesterday, someone had freshly baked, still warm chocolate-chip cookies delivered to the office. Just because. She went around bringing one to everyone’s desk. When’s the last time someone brought a warm cookie to your desk?

5. Today, I arrived to find the party committee had bought Panera bagels and orange juice for everyone. I thought it was supposed to be tomorrow (my day off), but nope! It’s today!

Margaret and I have dentist appointments this afternoon and I can only assume those will go amazingly well, too. Or, at least they’ll be over with. It would sure be a bummer to go through the whole thing then wake up and realize the appointment is still ahead of me…

Either I’m going to wake up from this dream or next week I’ll have one of these days. Although, the week before we left was one of the worst ever, between snowmageddon, everyone being REALLY sick, and stressing about whether or not we’d be able to go on vacation, so maybe I’m off the hook.

Sons and daughters

I was talking to a woman today who is due to have a baby a little before me. She has a little boy and I asked if they knew what they were having this time. “It’s another little boy,” she said in such a sad tone. “I so badly wanted to buy a bunch of pink stuff this time around…” It wasn't an ‘I hate boys’ kind of tone or an ‘I don’t want this boy’ kind of thing, just a sadness she’ll probably never have a girl. She’s almost of advanced maternal age and I think they’d decided to just have two kids, so this is it. I know two boys (brothers!!) will be great and she’ll love it (she knows that, too), but I can’t imagine how disappointed I’d be if I knew I wasn't ever going to have a daughter.

The first time around, I didn't think I cared that much what gender our baby was. After all, God willing, we’d have another chance or two to have a daughter. I also wanted my husband to have the son he’d always wanted, so basically we wanted at least one girl and at least one boy, meaning it didn't matter what came first. When we found out Meg was a girl, I was honestly surprised by how relieved I was. I felt this HUGE weight come off my shoulders. I wouldn't have to spend my whole life wondering what it would have been like to have a daughter. There was no pressure on future children to be girls! (Although I’d love to give my little girl a sister.) I expected to be happy either way, but I didn't go into the appointment thinking either the pressure would be off (we have at least one girl) or would build (not a girl this time).

Obviously, for Thomas it was the other way around. He is thrilled to have a girl (as I would have been if we’d had a boy first), but the weight on HIS shoulders got heavier. What if he never had a son? What if he never got to take his little boy to a Cardinals game or coach the little league team? He could do those things with girls, too, but it wouldn't quite be the same. This time, when the ultrasound tech pointed to the screen and said “that’s a little boy part” I could practically see the weight come off HIS shoulders. I nearly cried because he was so excited. I was a teensy bit sad Meg’s closest-in-age sibling isn’t a sister (because mine is and it’s awesome), but I’m really excited to have a boy and a girl.

I can’t believe how lucky we are. Two children that are, so far, perfectly healthy? A daughter AND a son? It’s overwhelming. Although, for the record, I definitely want a third child and I personally hope it’s a girl, because I can’t imagine not having a sister. Thomas will probably want a boy, because I’m sure HE can’t imagine not having a brother. Which means we’ll be really happy either way and that’s a great thing.

This is the post I would have loved to have written as a way of announcing what gender Baby #2 is, but I just didn’t have time in the pre-vacation crunch to do any writing and I couldn’t go on vacation without announcing what the baby is. If I hadn’t put anything (which I almost didn’t, simply because I nearly forgot) I know that, if I was a reader, I’d have wondered if something terribly bad had shown up on the ultrasound. Nobody goes to the “big ultrasound” intending to find out what gender the baby is then doesn't post for a week and a half. Plus, I announced it on Twitter, so the people who follow me there would have known and nobody else would…

It's a...

BOY!

I don't really have time to say anything else, because we've been scrambling all day to pack for our trip.  We leave in the morning!  Everybody's been sick all week (as in completely incapacitated), so packing is WAY behind schedule and we're all really ready for a vacation.  I'll be back in a week!

Baby Names!

I have an insane list of requirements for baby names. So long, in fact, that almost no name actually FITS all the criteria and I end up falling in love with some name that breaks half the rules. It’s quite convenient when shooting down names Thomas likes, though. The name he’s proposing always breaks at least ONE of the criteria, so I have a “legitimate” reason to veto. Plus, he doesn’t argue, because he agrees with almost all, if not all, of the rules (and came up with several of them).

Anyway, here’s the list. As you can see, Meg’s name breaks several of the rules.

1. Can’t start with M, as our last name does. This is one of my more important rules and I spent MONTHS agonizing over M’s name. I love it and desperately wanted to use it, but didn’t know if I could deal with the double M’s. It has turned out to not be a problem at all. Doesn’t bother me. But this is now called THE UNBREAKABLE RULE as I do not want people thinking I deliberately choose M names so my children will all be little MM’s. NO WAY. It’s proving to be a problem again, because both Thomas and I like the name Matthew, but neither of us are in love with it enough to break the rule.

2. Can’t have a nickname that ends in ‘ie’ (or y). This is more of a guideline than a rule. Its more Thomas’ rule than mine, since being called Tommy makes him SO ANGRY you can’t believe it. Actually, I can, because if you call me Jessie, I swear, I’ll punch you. Strangers almost never do that, though, while they sometimes do say Tommy, which is why Thomas is more passionate about it than I am. It was his most important rule last time, but it has been waaaaay downgraded, since last time we ended up choosing Meg’s name with the intention of calling her Maggie all the time (we don’t – it didn’t stick). We felt Maggie was more ‘grown up’ than Tommy or Jessie. Do you know any adult that actually goes by Tommy or Jessie all the time? (Assuming it isn’t a GUY named Jesse, which is way different.)

For this rule, it’s also important to clarify we’re usually talking about the most common nickname a name has. As an example, someone named Matthew could be called Matty, but he’s much more likely to be called Matt, so the name passes the test.

3. Must be a short-ish name, because our last name is long-ish. Our last name is 9 letters, which isn’t terribly long, but if you pair it with a really long first name, can be too much. Again, Meg’s (real) name doesn’t pass this rule.

4. Can't have been one of the top 10 baby names in recent years.  Preferably not top 20. This is Thomas’ rule. Jessica was the number one girl’s name the year I was born and I don’t care AT ALL. At one point in elementary school there were 3 Jessica’s in my class of 80 students and it didn’t bother me. If you have to call me Jessica N all the time (Jessica M, now that I’m married), that’s fine with me.

I am ever-so-mad, because our second girl name, which we’ve had picked out since before Meg was born, is climbing the top 100 list rapidly. I want people to stop using MY baby name.

5. Must be a commonly accepted name FOR A PERSON. We are not naming our child “Seven” or “Soda,” no matter how much my husband loves George Costanza (from Seinfeld). Also out: Apple, Rain, Sunday, etc. (Although I do think Sunday is a cute name.) (And yes, I know the inspiration for Sunday Kidman-Urban’s name was an actual historical person, not the day of the week, but I still can’t do it.) (No, that doesn’t mean I think other people shouldn’t do it. It’s just not for me.) Interestingly enough, I do like names that are also cities/locations, like Brooklyn, London, Sydney, etc. (Not Paris, though.)

6. Must be very easy to pronounce. Our last name is ridiculously hard to pronounce. No one EVER gets it right and most of the time they don’t even try. Can you imagine if every time you met someone new, they struggled with your first name AND your last name?

7. Must be easy to spell and must use the most common (or at least a commonly accepted) spelling. For instance, if we were to name our child Aiden (which we’re not), we would spell it Aiden, not Ayden or Aydin or Aedin. This is partly my own preference, partly to do with our last name. Not only can people not pronounce it, they can’t spell it and I think it would stink to constantly be correcting the way both your first AND last names are spelled. We have to give the kid ONE name that’s easy to spell and pronounce.

Note: I’m not saying if we chose the name Caroline, we’d have to pick whichever is currently the more popular of Caroline or Carolyn – both are commonly accepted spellings, so either is fine. Karolinn, not so much.

8. Can’t be the name of a (uniquely named) character in a very popular TV show/movie/book. I love the name Addison. LOVE. But, not only is it trendy right now, it’s too Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice. Also out: Hermione.

And, of course, you’ve got your obvious rules: can’t rhyme with our last name, initials can’t spell something bad, no obvious playground-taunting nicknames, can’t be the name of someone Thomas or I don’t like, etc.

I’m sure there are more rules I’m forgetting right now, but that’s at least most of them. It’s a wonder we came up with two girl names and no surprise we can’t come up with even one boy name. If this baby is a boy, we’re in big trouble.

Quick Takes - what day is it, anyway?

1. I hate re-learning to use things. I pulled out my sewing machine the other day and had no idea how to use it. I then fought with the bobbin for an hour before resigning myself to hunting for the missing instruction manual. I spent half hour reading it before I could fully utilize the machine again. It’s so annoying!

2. I very much dislike it when people write letters to their kids on their blog. (Dear Baby’sName: You’re six months old today!) If you do that kind of thing, I hope your child really enjoys reading them someday. But I don’t.

3. You know what else I don’t like? Posts in bullet point format. I have nothing against writing that way, but when you format the post that way, the text won’t wrap on my phone, so it’s next to impossible to read. This is my phone’s problem, not yours, but it’s still annoying.

4. Whenever a blood drive comes around, I feel an obligation to give. From the time I was in high school, all the way through college I don’t think I missed one (they were once a year at the high school and twice a year at college). I gave the first year I worked at my office. Since then, I’ve been pregnant or breastfeeding and, I have to say, it’s been nice to be able to say I can’t do it and feel no guilt. (Okay, maybe a little guilt while breastfeeding, because I assume breastfeeding moms can give blood with no problem, but I had some supply issues and I didn’t want to mess with it.) I got a reminder for yet another blood drive this week and was excited I had a great excuse for not signing up. I have terrible veins and it always takes FOREVER to get it started. The last time they drew blood at my ob’s office, the nurse tried both arms and had to finally take the blood out of my HAND. The time before that was such an ordeal that I left with a softball–size bruise on my arm. Obviously, when blood donor people are trying to get a whole PINT of blood its worse than when my doctor needs a vial for prenatal testing. They usually poke for a while in both arms, call several nurses over to try, and sometimes even give up. I shudder just thinking about it.

5. We leave on vacation on Saturday and all three of us got sick this weekend. So sick the thought of packing and getting on an airplane seems impossible. At least we’ll hopefully be better for most of the trip. Still, I would have preferred to get this out of the way last week.

6. I almost never turn on my computer anymore. I have my email, feed reader, twitter, and facebook on my phone, so what’s the point? The only thing I can’t do is post here, which is why I rarely do anymore. It seems like too much work to turn on the computer just to write a post.

7. I wrote most of these quick takes at work last week, for posting on Friday, then couldn’t be bothered to turn on the computer and post them this weekend.  Oops.  I'm going to work on that this week. I have a bunch of post ideas and I'm going to try to write AND post them.

I wonder if this happens to other people, too.

Last Monday, my parent’s washing machine died, so mom went to Sears to buy a new one. Since then, she’s been having problem after problem with getting it delivered, including cancelled delivery orders, the first washer having to be sent back to the manufacturer due to a defect, her waiting at home for it because no one TOLD her it had to be sent back, rescheduling the delivery, etc, etc. This washing machine has caused a lot of trouble over the last week and since she was trying to start a load when she discovered the old one wouldn’t work, they’ve been running out of clean clothes.

The new one finally came today. The delivery guy installed it. It didn’t work. The guy suggested she check the fuse box just in case. The fuse was blown. In all likelihood the old washing machine was JUST FINE. The outlet it was plugged in to just wasn’t working. Instead of buying a new one and dealing with the delivery service all week, all she had to do was reset the fuse. OOPS. (The guy offered to bring the old machine back in and refund her money, but she kept the new one.)

If YOUR washer stopped working would YOU check the fuse box?? I certainly wouldn’t. I will now, though!