Change Is In the Air

Today was such a beautiful, warm (hot) day. It was incredibly nice to be outdoors today, enjoying the sun, the breeze, outdoor toys, even the sound of the lawn mower. It seems the weather is finally changing and we are headed full force into spring or perhaps right into summer. I had a brief dose of what people mean when they say to me, "Oh, you have to carry that baby all through the long, hot summer." I usually smile politely and say yes but I don't really have any concept yet of what carrying a baby through the "long, hot summer" really means. I have a feeling I'll soon find out.

There are other changes coming this week, too. Thursday and Friday are my last days at work as a nurse educator at Geisinger. I've been trying to keep my mind off of it because really, I think it will be better when it's all over. It seems like so long ago that I announced my resignation and finishing up and handing off projects has been challenging. I'm not necessarily ready to leave but I am ready to start a new chapter in our lives. This past Monday my other educator friends had a going away/baby shower luncheon for me. I cannot tell you what an amazing group of nurses they are. I have learned SO much from them in the past five years. It was the toughest job I have ever had but I learned things that will enhance my life and my career for years to come.

Friday will be bittersweet for sure. I am sad to leave the job that I know and the friends that I have there. But I know that my decision is the right one for everyone involved. I also lucky to have the opportunity to continue to work at the hospital when it fits into my schedule.

So, here's to change. It's not always easy but it's always necessary.

Easter 2011

Happy Easter !

Half Way There...

This title reminds me of the Bon Jovi song. Luckily this post is not about a rock song but about the fact that I am half way through this pregnancy. (I'll wait a moment while my family does a quick cartwheel before I proceed.) Earl assures me that there will be party in the delivery room when this baby is born and this pregnancy is over. I know there are more than a few people who feel the same way.

Anyway, it's hard to believe in some ways that 20 weeks have passed already. In other ways it feels like I have already been pregnant forever! I look like I've been pregnant forever and plenty of people have confirmed that for me. But I digress.

Tomorrow we have an ultrasound scheduled where we will hopefully find out if we will be welcoming another girl or another boy into our family. I feel very differently going into this ultrasound than I did with McKenna and Cooper. I expected McKenna to be a boy. With Cooper I was secretly hoping for a girl. This time I don't have a preference one way or the other. My gut tells me that this baby is another girl. But my record does not speak well for my instincts.

This past Sunday, Earl and I ventured to Babies R Us with the goal of picking out some baby gear. I gave away most of the baby stuff I used for McKenna and Cooper. So there were a few things we wanted to purchase again. I thought it would be easy. We should know what works and what doesn't by now. What we need and what we don't. I couldn't have been more off base. We stood in the store bewildered looking like rookies. We left with a car seat and a pair of baby finger nail clippers.

Looking back on the day I think my indecisiveness comes from the fact that I want to keep things simple this time around. My experience has taught me that I didn't need half of what I thought I did with McKenna and Cooper. That's probably why I gave most of it away. But I also think that I've made things more complicated in an effort to make sure I do everything "right" this time around. I know that this will be my last experience with pregnancy and a newborn. My last chance to buy all the fun baby stuff that I want. My last time ... It's sort of makes things look different for me.

My goal is to enjoy the last half of this, my last pregnancy. That may be a bit challenging but I remind myself a lot that though this pregnancy has been a challenge - it has been nothing but a blessing from the very first day.

I pray that tomorrow brings with it the report of a healthy baby. And if we are lucky enough to find out boy or girl we will consider it a double victory. I'm not going to hold my breath as this baby has proven more than a few times that it likes surprises.

Die Hard Fan

If there has been one unfortunate result of my sickness this past winter and the rainy weather we've recently been experiencing, it is Cooper's new addiction to video games. Our Wii is something that we only bring out in the winter and promptly put away as soon as warm weather appears. Unfortunately it has been a LONG winter and we are still waiting for warm weather. At Christmas time Cooper didn't even participate in video games. He was content to sit and watch others play. And admittedly we would sometimes let him think he was playing even though one of us was controlling the characters. Since then his gaming has rapidly improved. He challenges everyone from Mimi to Uncle Shane to a game just about as soon as they walk in our door. Sometimes he even wants me to call them to come over and play.

Just yesterday while I was preparing dinner I allowed Cooper to play Super Mario Brothers. After a few minutes I could no longer hear the familiar music from the game. I peeked in the playroom to find my die hard gamer sleeping soundly, controller still in hand.

Needless to say, we are anxious for the warm weather so we can pack up the Wii and head outside. And hopefully find something a little softer to sleep with than a video game controller.

** Disclaimer - Yes, I know that as parents we can put the video games away at any time or just not allow them at all. However, we are human and sometimes need another diversion or a few minutes of down time in which the video games, much like the TV, come in handy. We are fairly sure that Cooper will not suffer any serious side effects besides improved hand eye coordination - but then again, we were raised with video games and we're still not quite normal. Time will tell.

Father Daughter Dance 2011

Three weeks ago, McKenna got off the bus waving a blue paper wildly. From my spot where I waited for her in the car, I could only guess what information the blue paper would hold.

She was barely in the car before she started telling me about the Father Daughter dance that she "hoped with all her might" that her daddy would take her to. My mind started to spin instantly. As much as I wanted to believe that Earl would share McKenna's enthusiasm I had to keep in mind that we were talking about the same guy who didn't attend the prom. I was nervous.

A few hours later, McKenna met Earl at the door with the blue paper in hand. I sat on the couch with my back to them both cringing slightly. I didn't want to force Earl into an uncomfortable situation but I didn't want to witness McKenna's disappointment either.

I was pleasantly surprised when, after McKenna finished her "pitch", Earl said, "Sure, we can go to that."

We spent the coming weeks deciding on an appropriate dress for the Hawaiian theme. On Saturday morning we went for a pedicure and left the salon with flowers on her toes to match the flowers on her shoes. I think it's important to point out that those are indeed "jelly shoes". Yes, they are back in style. And I'll admit to feeling like a little kid in Kmart buying all sorts of fun colors! There are definitely perks to having a little girl.

The dance went off without a hitch. I don't have pictures from inside the event because obviously there were no moms permitted and asking Earl to tote a camera to the dance was pushing the envelope a little too far.

The two of them had a great time. There were crafts, refreshments, raffles and dancing of course. The entire event was put on by a Relay for Life team and McKenna and Earl were happy to report that the dance helped the team raise over five thousand dollars. Money well spent all the way around.

Looking Back - Christmas 2010

You know you might have been completely out of it for the past four months once you realize that you completely skipped blogging about Christmas.

So, since spring has YET to arrive even though it's the 6th of April, I figured I would sneak in a quick Christmas recap. If it makes you nauseous to think back on this past winter, you're not alone. So, feel free to skip this post and think warm, sunny, lazy days of summer thought.

We had a really wonderful Christmas and spread our celebrations out for over a week. We spent the weekend before Christmas at my cousin Amy's house, celebrating with the Richard side of the family. The kids had a blast playing together and opening presents. Some of them were even so generous that they shared a stomach bug. Ah, the memories!

Since our Lewistown celebration was over we were slightly worried that we would be bored on Christmas Eve. However, that turned out to be far from true. We cooked dinner that day for my mom, dad and brothers and had a nice meal together. Soon after, we headed to church where we were blessed to enjoy Christmas Eve service with the Dugan family. We headed straight home afterward to put out cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer food for Rudolph and his crew.

Earl and I must have been more excited than the kids because we were up and dressed before they were Christmas morning. They were thrilled to come downstairs to see what Santa had left for them.

No Christmas morning would be complete without brunch. Soon after we opened all our presents the house was once again filled with more family. They were helpful in opening all those pesky boxes and putting things together while I cooked up the french toast and eggs.

Later that afternoon we headed to Mimi and Pappy Richard's to continue with the festivities and have our annual lobster dinner. It was delicious, as always. We all opened some more presents and then once again headed home tired and ready for bed. We had to prepare for one more round of Christmas the next day with the Landis side of the family!

After all the celebrations I was completely exhausted. Little did I know that there was one giant Christmas surprise still waiting for me that would explain why I was so tuckered out!