Monday, August 24, 2009

Taking Inventory

Awhile back I promised yet again I would be posting at least three times a week and here I am on the 24th writing for the first time since the 10th. What can I say? With a three year-old running rampant and a wife going through the motions of pregnancy I've had my hands full. Everyday that passes Fred stuns us all with what comes pouring out of his mouth at any given moment. Last week after I heard through the grapevine that he may have gotten into some trouble at the Hill during nap time, my request for the truth was first met with "No I was not in trouble". It wasn't until I promised to not punish him in exchange for the truth that I was told "Well okay maybe I got in trouble a little bit....but it's okay." Sure now it's okay you're getting away scott-free I said to myself.

Lucy accidentally decided to take up gymnastics recently and an attempt at the splits sent us running to the ER. We can talk about it now, but 8hrs sitting watching those around us suffer from drug addiction, spousal abuse, attempted suicide, and self inflicted gunshots wounds to the face left us with a definite since that our momentary fears aside; life was no where near as bad as it seemed to be at times.

Socks has had kittens again and it appears that I may have to do something I swore would never happen....spend money on an outdoor animal. Although the thought of donating our hard earned cash to something that could just as easily disappear the next day has always seemed logical, I'm not really ravishing the idea of feeding 3 others because I was too busy being a cheap skate.

We've taken inventory of what we have left from Baby#1 and it looks like this next time around all we will need is a new stroller/car seat (which we bought this past week at Dittos), a bouncy seat (also bought this past week at Dittos), a playpen, and a crib. Lucy is spending all her days puking and all her nights catching up on the work she missed because of it. We have decide on first names and now are debating middle names. No hints though for now all you will get from us is Baby #2.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Letting It All Sink In

Lucy is right at 2 months pregnant and even though we've known for several weeks, it's all still sinking in. People who know me know I don't get excited by much. In fact I fell asleep in the waiting room just moments before Fred was born. Three years later and there I was last week a sleep mere seconds before the first ultrasound.

I've been thinking a lot about this past year lately and how things will be different as we get closer to the March due date. Remembering Fred and I hitting golf balls into hurricane force winds last September while vacationing in Orange Beach, Al. Thinking about that 2-hour canoe trip I took last month up Shoals Creek. I'd never even been in a canoe and there I was all by myself in the middle of nowhere. If anything had gone wrong I'd have literally been up a creek without a paddle. Lucy and I driving around town with the windows down after Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist. Each memory fills me with a calm that I keep coming back to when work seems to be more than I can handle.

When I think of my unborn child I get this same sense of calm. Like I've arrived at the right place at the right time. Like God has lined things up just so and blessed me with the insight to understand the miracle that is swirling around me. Maybe that's why I'm not writing as much lately...I'm too busy making sure I don't miss a moment.

There's a John Mayer song that goes:

I'm writing you to
catch you up on places I've been
You held this letter
probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it
didn't have a camera by my side this time
hopping I would see the world with both my eyes
maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way with words


That's exactly what life is like for me right now. The words just aren't there to explain how amazed I am that I get to wake up every morning to my life.



Monday, August 03, 2009

A Room With A Coo

It's only been a few weeks since we found out our second child was on it's way and things are being discussed that to the casual observer might seem insignificant. To the soon to be parents of two though what may seem trivial to some are matters of National consequence to others.

We live in a modest 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, that while not a mansion fits us fine. I've always thought that one of the most interesting things about a home is that the more rooms you have, the more you feel the need to pile them high with things you don't need. For example before Lucy moved her office in there, our front room was a beautiful living room with couches, a love seat, and a complete entertainment center....that nobody went into because the big screen is in the backroom along with the computer, another more comfortable couch, and the fridge is closer.

Before Fred we had a Guest Bedroom, a Master Bedroom, and additional bedroom that Lucy was/is using as a walk-in closet. In came Fred out went the Guest Bedroom. You can understand why this really wasn't that big of a change (unless you were a guest and got sent to the Ho-Tel Mo-Tel Hol-i-day Inn)in terms of the way the house was being used. Now while the announcement of Baby#2 isn't really the shock to the system that brought on mass fits of panic as did the first trip into the Parenthood, this visit easily makes up in storage issues what it lacks in first time jitters.

The best example of this decorating dilemma involves the litter box which is currently being kept in the...you guessed it....future room of Baby#2 (which I like saying better than calling it an IT). There's no room in the kitchen, Lucy uses the front room for clients and has people in an out all day (doing Real Estate stuff you perv!), the bedrooms are out of the question as nobody wants to go to sleep smelling that (clean or not), the 1/2 bath is more 1/2 than bath....this leaves the den or the Full Bath. Like the bedroom the den is no place for what that cat leaves behind (scooping only buys you a few moments cause he likes to hold it all day and hide around the corner waiting for it to be fresh again) and Lucy says no to the Full Bath. Which leaves....you're guess is as good as mine. I'm thinking about taking it up with the United Nations.