Sunday Night Stress

I get to say "I told ya so!". The Sunday night stress has rolled in and it's intense. The great thing is that the house is done! YAY!!! However, the garage is not. Bad weather is headed our way tonight and may limit our opportunity to shuttle all of our garage stuff to the storage unit. Carey is very overwhelmed with that little problem. That and the limited amount of time that he will have during this rotation. The realtor came today and we signed all of the necessary paperwork. The house is now on the market and the realtor tour will begin Tuesday. TUESDAY??? Wow! Not much time with bad weather to clean out an entire garage! That's quite a burden for Carey along with starting a demanding surgery rotation. Wish us luck!

Today was a first of many to come. This morning AGW came screaming from her bedroom through the living room and into our bedroom. She ended up on my side of the bed crying and screaming to be held. She was sick today and for the first time was able to get out of bed and run to Mommy and Daddy all by herself. It was a pleasant surprise to wake up to!

We are 17 days away from Match Day. In just a little over 2 weeks our lives will be changed forever. That's a tough realization for this highly emotional prego person! We are getting so anxious and nervous. I just can't believe it's so close!

1st Dr. visit

We had our first doctor's appointment today to confirm our pregnancy. Luckily, not much happened other than that. Uneventful dr. visits are the best kind! Baby Watson is still too little to hear the heartbeat, although I insisted they atleast try!

AGW is enjoying her new big girl bed and the freedom to roam. She is such a nightowl like her daddy! We hear her digging through her closet 2 hours after we put her to bed! I've decided that as long as she can get herself back into her bed, she can play until she is tired. I check on her at the end of the night and find her closet door wide open and a sprawled-out wildchild at the wrong end of the bed. In bed with her are all of her goodies: dirty clothes, clean clothes and their hangers, a diaper for her baby, 2-3 babies and bottles, several books, and whatever else she needs from her toy box. Each night I attempt to take all of her goodies off of the bed without waking her. I love it. She makes me laugh.

If she wakes up before me in the morning, I usually find her lovingly taking care of her babies again. All of this independant playtime in her room has made her so much more content to play by herself. It seems to set the tone for the rest of the day.

Carey finished up his Family Medicine Rotation and I am anticipating the typical Sunday night stress. Sunday nights are not good for him. The stress of the upcoming week settles in and the carefree weekend slips away. I feel useless and hate that I can't make it better. Usually it spreads to me and I find something to stress about along with him. This Sunday could have melt-down potential. The realtor is coming that afternoon to tell us all of the things we still need to do, plus Carey will start his surger rotation Monday. He's been away from this kind of pressure since October, so it may be a tough adjustment. I am welcoming the idea of some structure and routine back into our lives. We'll need the structure to get through all of the fun chaos that we have coming up! Only 19 days til Match Day!!!!! OH, I also have an appointment the day before the Match so we'll get to actually HEAR this sweet baby's heartbeat!

It's final!

Rank list is final. It's done, over, gone. As of 8:00 p.m. we were locked into our desision. Now we sit and wait. Though I'm not exactly sure why. It's all computerized. Somewhere out there in the excess of data is our fate. But we have to wait 23 more days to find it! So cruel. Oh well, we need the time to get the house ready. As I sit cozily in my comfy bed typing, Carey is slaving away on the cold tile in the laundry room. Poor guy. He has a deadline of Sunday night. Monday begins his Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) rotation. If it's anything like last year, he will be useless at home until March 26th. He has to be at the hospital super early (sometimes he was there by 5 a.m. sometimes he got to sleep in until 6!) and since he is actually interested in this rotation, he will be studying at night again to keep up. He has been on his Family Medicine roation which was great. It was more like 8:45 to 3 or 4 p.m., lunch at home, and no weekends. We've been spoiled, especially AGW. She is very used to Daddy being at home with her most of the time and will struggle next week. This will be a tiny glimps into the next 9 years of our lives. My job is to do my very best to comphensate for her Daddy being gone so much. I have lots to learn in that area!

Big Girl Bed

This is progress!!!


The new Big Girl Bed!


Last nap in the crib :(


AGW's room. We'll be so, so, so sad to leave it!







This morning AGW woke up and played and talked in her crib. I usually let her carry on until she starts to fuss, then I go get her. She started to fuss then it quickly turned into a a fearful scream. I rushed in to find her hanging upside-down outside of her crib! She had placed her hands outside of the crib on the bars and was pulling her self down when her feet flew up over her head! She couldn't get back into the crib but could let go either! Luckily, she held on tight and I was able to grab her. I was in a panic the rest of the day! Now she knew she could get out, she would just have to find a different way to land! She has always loved to climb and I knew this wouldn't deter her. I like to make things complicated so in December I moved her big girl bed into her bedroom. In January I moved it into the office for staging purposes (remember, we will be selling our house soon!) So Carey was less than thrilled when I informed him at lunch that we would be moving it back into her room and taking the crib down. What else could I do? I wouldn't even leave the kitchen during her nap in fear that she would fall on her head climbing again. I knew I would never be able to sleep, I would lay awake listening for any movement from her. I guess this transition was more for my peace of mind than anything. I think it may be easier for her to go through it now, then to wait and change her room and bed with the move. One step at a time, right?

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's a busy, busy, time for the Watson clan! We continue to push forward with our remodeling projects and packing. Last week we finally gave up and made several trips to the storage unit so that we could actually walk through our garage. This week it looks like the weather will keep us indoors so we'll finish up painting, tiling, and staging. Hopefully the realtor will come early next week and get this place on the market!

I think that Carey had a change of heart about posting his rank list. We have too many connections with people at all of our interview places so he is not willing discuss anything that may jeopardize anyone's decision. I don't blame him. It's a political game and all is fair. However, I can mention our top places in RANDOM order just to give everyone an idea: Temple, Tx; Pittsburgh, PA; Cincinnati, Oh; Birmingham, Al; Houston, Tx. I am so anxious about Match Day that I almost don't know what to do with myself. Some of you may know that patience isn't a strength of mine. The next 24 days will be filled with so much anticipation that I could drive Carey to drinking. 24 days. I can do this.

AGW has been very busy lately too. She loves to help and clean. You can imagine that she is a big help with all of these projects! Her favorite things to do are boss us around and steal a brush of any kind (paint brush, hair brush, toilet brush) and scrub the walls. Have you ever known a kid to do that? Of course, I let her. It makes her feel like she is involved in the projects and keeps her very busy. Other than that, we are still fighting the terrible two's. So far I'm surviving and she's winning.

On to Baby Watson #2. I'm eating meat again. Carey says that means it's a boy. I actually asked to go to Chicken Express today and that pretty much convinced him. I hate Chicken Express. I haven't eaten this much meat in years (literally). Last week I lived on all things dipped in mustard. I dipped egg rolls, pizza, and my favorite, grape tomatoes. At least tomatoes are healthy. We are about 7 weeks now, so it's still very early. Initially I hoped to get into the "safe zone" before making the big announcement, but I just couldn't wait any longer! I found out extremely early (less than 2 weeks prego) so I've held it in for about a month. Not bad for a girl with little patience.

This time around has been very different than with AGW. I never, not once, had morning sickness with her. She saved all of her issues for the end of pregnancy (she was breech and refused to turn back around when they did the external rotation leading to a c-section). This baby has started out with intense headaches, lots of nausea, and extreme fatigue. Maybe that means it's a boy. Carey would like a boy. I would too except we already have all of the girl stuff. A girl would be easiest. So... it's probably a boy! :) We'll be happy either way!

Surprise!

Baby Watson #2 is expected in 229 days! Or about 32 weeks! Or about 329,117 minutes! That's around October 7, 2010 for all of you who can't add! :)

Enjoying a beautiful day, Finally!

While Carey worked, AGW and I spent the day learning about heros and feeding the ducks!













AGW felt like such a big girl because she could carry her own happy meal!



Enjoying a warm-weather walk!



A Valentine's Date


To each his own...

So worth it!

AGW enjoyed her 1st Valentine's Party today! Patty did a great job making sure that everyone brought cards for each other and surprised the parents with a hand-made V-day card!! I LOVE it! It made all of the little v-day cards for her friends so worth it! It is our first card from AGW, I'll cherish it always :)

She shared her cards with Daddy and looked at all of the fun pictures from her friends. She wouldn't even consider sharing her new foam heart stickers though. They ate dinner with her and took a bath with her!







I had a blast with my little helper tonight. Dinner was great and we really didn't make too much of a mess! She loves being a big girl! ;)

No Ma'am!!

AGW updates

Here's what you should know about AGW: She absolutely adores Eba (Emma), our little black dog. Everything that comes out of her mouth is Eba this and Eba that. She blames things on Eba, gets mad at Eba, chases Eba with her baby stroller, and could care less about saying hi to Mom or Dad in the morning until after she waves hello to Eba. AGW is not handling cold weather very well. Actually, she doesn't care a thing about it being cold, she just hates being inside. She runs to the door yelling "un dere?" and won't listen to my excuses for staying in. There have been several days that I've bundled her up and pulled her wagon up and down the block in this near freezing weather. I'm going to have to toughen up before we move north. I guess I'm the one not handling cold weather very well.

For the longest time, AGW could only shake her head "no". Even if she meant yes, you couldn't get the appropriate head nod to go along with the answer. In the last few days she discovered "uh huh" and a whole new version of the head nod. It's more like a total body nod. Her nod is more like several bows, jumping up and down, and head-banging all in one. It's a total body "uh huh!" Maybe one day she'll grasp that motor development skill, but for now, I love the total body enthusiasm!

I do believe we are entering the terrible twos. I do not believe I'm handling them appropriately.What do you do? She repeatedly defies me and I can see in her face that she is pushing me and feels no guilt, but then again, does she actually understand the situation? Who knows. I'm reading the books and studying the quackery. All I can do now is pray. Maybe the terrible twos aren't about the toddler at all. Maybe they are  another hands-on teaching method of God. Curriculum: unconditional love, patience, and how to not take it out on your spouse, dog, ect. Thank God there is a break before the teenage years, right? Right???

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'm a first time Mom. It's brought to my attention that "I ain't seen nothin yet" and "you just wait til she's a teenager" on a regular basis. So I'm learning everyday. Lots about AGW and lots about myself. Tonight I gained a new perspective on Valentine's Day. I only needed 12 Valentine's cards for AGW's party tomorrow. As I was finishing up the last few it occured to me that she's only one. She will never know that her daddy picked out the cards because he knew she would love them (puppy dogs and kitty cats, of course!) and she'll never know that I took the time to tear off an accompanying sticker and tuck it into the slots of each little card. These are the little things that we do out of love for our children. It made me appreciate the millions of  little things that all of my parents did that I will never know of. Including hand write hundreds of thank you's, birthday invitations, and Valentine's cards. If my heart-felt appreciation isn't enough to make all of those little things worth it, knowing that "I ain't seen nothin yet" will surely bring a smile to your faces this Valentine's Day!

'

No news is good news

It's been an uneventful week so far. I believe that Carey will personally announce his rank order list on the blog this week, so stay tuned! Until then, enjoy our little Sunshine!
Too cute not to show off!

It's been so cold lately that the only place we can go to stretch our legs is the mall. AGW LOVES the fountain. She could stand there all day!

Remodeling and Lounging

As far as I know, we all survived this Warrior Weekend. I didn't do a dang thing, but the boys worked til they could hardly move. The tile looks great though.

Most of the weekend I didn't feel so great, but finally about 8:00 tonight I got the ich to contribute. My job is to paint the doors and trim. If I do a good job, Carey may trust me to paint the baseboards. I've been know to get distracted and make a mess :) We are suppose to have a realtor come do a market analysis for us in a little over a week. As long as I feel good, I'm going to bust it to get as much painting done as possible this week. That means AGW will be going to Patty's to play a few days! AGW does a lot of this at Patty's:

Being around her friends is great, she just has to learn not to sass Patty!

The weather is still pretty yucky around here so this is what we did today while Daddy worked:

Last week we made her 1st V-day cards! She was more interested in tasting the glitter and glue. Hopefully I'll get them in the mail on time!

Don't let my laziness fool you, Carey gets in more than his fair share too!

Very quickly, here is the new nursery theme: Vintage Rock-N-Roll! As most of you know, I love all things vintage and hate all things Babies-R-Us. AGW has an awesome and very unique nursery, so I had to carry on the tradition! Vintage albums will be wall art

Except we are doing a version that includes but is not limited to: Willie, Cash, Haggard, Jennings, Ray Price, the Stones, Elvis, Beatles, Janis Joplin, Dylan, Aerosmith, Hendrix, ect. I'm having family members track down a copy of their favorite record from their youth to hang on the wall. I'm also asking them to hide a note to the baby inside. 

I thought this was awesome and can't wait to add one to the nursery:

 

On the hunt for discarded instruments!

I'm so excited to start planning this fun room! Any suggestions are welcomed!

Tornados

There must have been at least 5 tornados. 5 because there are that many rooms in this house in complete chaos. Usually I would be the one pulling my hair out, but I must have just given up. It's Carey who is grunting and groaning (possibly cursing) the mess. I get to blame horomones and coming off meds for the disaster. Carey is blaming stress and hormones too. He does seem to experience some of my ups and down so I guess I'll accept it. Either way we are fed up. Luckily Carey's dad is coming to help tile and paint tomorrow. AGW is spending the weekend with one set of grandparents so we won't have that cute little distraction either. I hope we get this mess over and done with. I'm praying for no more tornados.

This week flew by. Besides a messy house, I have nothing to show for it. Monday and Tuesday AGW went to Patty's where she was put in the corner and "spatted on the leg" more often than not. How any 18 month old knows to talk back is beyond me, but she does it. I'm ashamed to admit that she gets away with it most of the time at home, but Patty can't afford to have 1 kiddo talk back. Each time Patty gave AGW a command, AGW would look her in the eyes  and say "No! NO Ma'am!". She spent  a lot of time in the corner the 1st day.  Tuesday was slightly better. I decided that I have to be more consistant and firm with her at home AND she's going back out to Patty's more often. She needs to be with kids and away from her momma. Wednesday we babysat our little 6 month old cousin. AGW got mad at her because she didn't fold her hands when we prayed for lunch. I tried explaining, but she wouldn't have it. Thursday AGW told me "Dadda at wor." No "K". She's starting to string words together and I think it's facinating. Little statements just pop up out of no where! Today was a fun day. We went to the mall. AGW rode the escalator for the first time without being held and felt like such a big girl! Walking through the mall I could see how proud of herself she was. She realized that she was walking through the mall like everyone else, not being pushed in a stroller like a baby. It was adorable to see her follow her own reflection in the store windows and take in all of the people. Her face was priceless, she was so proud of her independance. I on the other hand, have mixed emotions...

I worked on the nursery this week. Carey and I decided on a theme and I'm busy planning. I'll have to post pictures next week, I ran out of steam tonight!

The way to my heart is through an old piece of furniture!

Today I had to do my walking duty at KK's CraftMall. Normally I don't look forward to it, but I knew that today would be different. Afterall, I have spent hours each night for the last week looking at real estate and collecting decorating inspiration for each room. So of course, KK's would only add to my inspiration! I realized this weekend that many northern houses have basements. BIG basements! That's a whole lot of room to make a mess, ride tricycles, play catch, hula-hoop, paint, use chalk, and so much more fun stuff! Then I started searching for basement playrooms and lost control! I'll post my pictures and you'll see what I mean. It's all so exciting!

We are furiously working on the house. Our goal is to have it on the market by the end of the month. We've moved on to floor and hopefully it will go fairl quickly. I'll have updates on that this weekend. In the mean time, AGW is going back to the babysitter's (Nana) for a few days. It's been pretty rough on her. It made me realize that I'm doing her an injustice by not creating more social interactions for her. Plus, she needs some independance. It looks like she'll be going back to Nana's a few days a week until we move.

Oh! The best part of my day was a little picture on my phone:

Is that not beautiful? And guess what? It's mine!!! Well, Aisley's but it's all the same for now. This is by far the most exciting piece of furniture ever given to me! I am infatuated with it and can't wait to see it in AGW's new bedroom! I have to thank Terra and Brent a thousand times and it still won't be enough! They rescued this sweet little piece just for us and I am beyond thrilled!!!!

So, this first basement is awesome. I don't know that it's for us, but it helped open my mind to lots of fun possibilities!

In case you can't tell, that is a 2-story playhouse for the kiddos! Equiped with a full-size slide, rock climbing tree, and ceiling monkey bars! Plus, all of the dress-up stuff and bins full of toys!

Now this I can see adding to our basement. Great way to get in some physical activity when we're stuck inside!

This is inside the playhouse: kitchen and table for tea parties!

Second story is for lounging and reading. You can take the stairs back down or the slide!

The next inspiration rooms had one or more ideas that I loved for the playroom. I really hope we get one!

I guess I forgot to mention that I'm also hoping there is room for my craft area! We'll see...