Thursday, March 28, 2013

Not Our Best Day


Monday started off a little rough. I'd just come off a busy weekend with Encores and Liam had been at Mimi and Boppy's all weekend. He always needs a day or so to "readjust" to "real" life after being anywhere with family. Mama doesn't quite keep up the level of fun everyone else does! And it was snowing six inches...at the end of March. 

To add to all that, Liam fell in his Sunday school class Sunday morning and had been complaining about his left wrist hurting. He wasn't putting any pressure on it and it seemed to get worse as the day went on. I called the doctor and we went in for an x-ray late in the afternoon. After waiting and being shuffled around, we got our x-ray. Liam was a champ the whole time, especially when he had to sit on another nurse's lap for the x-ray because I couldn't go in the x-ray room. Pregnancy and x-rays don't mix apparently. The initial reading of the x-ray didn't show a fracture, but the doctor still wanted him to wear a little splint on his wrist. He was pretty excited about that and didn't seem to mind the splint. 

By the time we were done it was after 6:00, I was starving and did not want to go home and deal with raw chicken. Rob was with us by now so we stopped at home, picked up an Applebees gift card we had from Christmas and went out to a rare weeknight dinner. 

After we ate and all felt better we got in the car and realized Bow Wow was missing. If you know anything about Liam you know how much he adores his Bow Wow. Bow Wow is one of those little blankies with a dog head on it. One way he goes to sleep is by rubbing Bow Wow's tags between his fingers. I usually never let Bow Wow leave the house because of the chance for him to go missing, but I thought with the x-ray it might be a comfort to him. We knew he'd had it when we left the doctor's office, but where it went after that we still don't know. We stopped in at the doctor's office, called Applebees and almost drove back across town to check the parking lot in the dark. 

I was dreading bedtime, but we talked about it with Liam and I told him that I'd already ordered a new Bow Wow online that would come in the mail in a few days. {Parents, let this be a lesson to you. If your child has a special lovie like this, do not wait another day. Order an extra, or two, today and be prepared!} He also got to sleep with extra stuffed animals including papa's old teddy and that made him happier. Bedtime went a lot better than expected. At the end of the day I think I was more sad about losing Bow Wow. I told Rob I've read too many stories of stuffed animals that are alive and miss their owners. I kept thinking about Bow Wow being all alone in a cold, wet parking lot missing Liam. Clearly not the case, but still it was a little sad! 

We are still waiting for the new Bow Wow to come, but the splint came off today and he's using his wrist normally again. I think it was probably just a minor sprain, but I'll chalk it up to our first childhood injury. 

And, maybe more importantly we survived the Monday and learned some lessons along the way. Like buy back up lovies or don't let them leave the house in the first place! 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Encores

The past few weeks of my life were in many ways consumed with this little {ok, big!} kids' consignment sale. This is the fifth sale our church has done as a fundraiser for our moms' group, BloomingMoms. I've been on the planning committee for every sale and every sale I always think I'm crazy for doing it again, but every sale I still love it. It is a lot of work and there are always hiccups along the way, but we still have fun pulling it off. 

This turned out to be our biggest sale ever with over 9,000 items, 70-some consignors and over 600 shoppers over Friday and Saturday. As you can imagine, all those people have LOTS of stuff to sell. However, it never ceases to amaze us how much goes out the door with the shoppers. Our consignment works out that each seller prices and tags their own stuff, but then keeps 70 percent of the amount that sells. We keep 30 percent to fill out the budget for our moms's group. This sale allows us to offer free brunch, free childcare and free crafts and speakers at our twice monthly BloomingMoms meetings. It's a great deal all around because we do all the setup, advertising and tear down and all our consignors do is bring us their stuff. 

My favorite parts of the sale are getting to work with some dear friends, using some of my skills in organizing and event planning and then of course shopping for great deals for Liam. I actually found almost everything on my list this year, including a decent Ergo carrier for $30 for the new baby. I was pretty excited about that since they usually retail over $100 new. I was a little bummed that we don't know the sex of this new baby because the clothes are adorable, but I did buy one little pair of overalls and two hats for the new baby. All purchases were based on my hunch that we're having a boy and not twins like Liam is predicting...! 

To give you a scope of the sale, I took a few pictures. 

Large items -- strollers, furniture, riding toys, etc. 

The main floor area. Tables of toys, blankets, room decor, feeding, books, accessories, etc., etc. 

Anyone need some toys? Most of this was gone by the end of the day on Saturday. 

Girl clothing racks. We take sizes from newborn through juniors. 

Boys racks. 

I'm still slowly recovering from the weekend. It's taken me a little while to bounce back from this sale because it's hours on my feet. I had lots of people telling me to take care of myself because of the baby and I really tried. Thankfully, Liam went to the Bedinghaus' for Thursday through Saturday and that was a HUGE blessing. Just knowing he was well cared for and that I could come home and take naps on my breaks was wonderful. Rob got the short end of the stick, mostly summed up in my meal plan for the week which read, "Encores - Rob alone." Poor guy. I think he lived like a bachelor most of the time and ate at least one meal at Taco Bell. 

We went to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon to pick up Liam and celebrate a milestone birthday for Lori (I won't give away her secret!). It was a quick trip since we decided to come back late Saturday night and avoid the predicted snow storm Sunday morning. It made for a very late night Saturday, but it was worth it to wake up in our own beds on Sunday, be at our church for Palm Sunday and get to take long naps on Sunday afternoon. And watch IU barely win against Temple....

Now, it's back to "real" life. Real life meaning things like Liam spraining his wrist and losing Bow Wow...but that's for another post! 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

It's Baby Time Again!



I've been carrying a little secret around inside of me for about 12 weeks now, so I figured it was time to share here. Many people know about this little secret, but we are so happy we want everyone to know! I wanted to come up with some cute way for Liam to tell you all, but lets be real, that just isn't happening. I've waited long enough. The big brother book photo will have to do for this time around. 

As those of you who read our blog know, we've been trying to have another baby since about when Liam turned one. You also know about our miscarriage last May and the subsequent ups and downs of each month that followed. There were some dark days in there. But, in God's mercy and kindness to us, He has seen fit to open my womb again and bless us with this child. Of course we are delighted and I praise God everyday for the gift this child has already been to our family. He or she has been such a great reminder that each day we have with our children is a gift, no matter if it's two weeks in utero or 60 years on earth together. 

To share some more about the past 12 weeks I thought it might be fun to do some old-fashioned Q&A. Just pretend that you and I are drinking tea and talking together. (Only I hope I would be a lot less self-focused!) 

When did you find out about this baby? 
We found out January 16. I had been tracking my cycles using the method from Taking Charge of Your Fertility for awhile and could tell this cycle was different. It was actually normal! I knew the morning I took my test that I was pregnant, even though the line was very faint. 

When are you due?
I haven't been to the doctor yet because we're still working out our insurance, but according to my calculations, I'll be due around September 25th. It's interesting that I will be pregnant almost exactly the same time frame as I was with Liam which is really nice for things like maternity clothes. 

How have you felt emotionally about this baby? 
The first weeks were hard and I was fearful about going through another miscarriage. I had to read a lot of scripture about fear and try to pray throughout the day to ask God to help me not be fearful and trust Him. I took each day as it came and was grateful for small signs like nausea. I kept saying if my head was in a toilet I would still be thankful! And that's true. Thankfully, that hasn't actually happened! 

How have you felt physically? 
I feel almost exactly as I did with Liam, which I am encouraged by. I am hungry, hungry, hungry all the time, but food itself doesn't sound good to eat. I feel sick when I don't eat though so I have to keep eating. I want salty, salty and crunchy food. Also french fries. Which I am resisting because I do not want to gain 60 pounds, but oh man, that craving is intense. I also strangely cannot make salad. Something about the act of making a salad just makes me want to throw up. I could eat it if someone else makes it, but I can't do it myself. I told my mom that and she said the exact same thing happened with her when she was pregnant with one of us. Very strange! Overall, there have been some rough days, especially with trying to take care of Liam and get some rest in the daytime, but I am not as sick as many of my friends so I'm very thankful for that. 

Are you going to find out the sex of this baby?
Yes! If he or she cooperates when the time comes. We didn't find out with Liam and I am so glad we didn't. That was the best (even though I knew he was a boy!) This time around I think we want to do things a little differently, plus it will help us do some planning of space in our home, etc. I am convinced this baby is another boy and I think it would be very kind of God to give us a friend for Liam. If I am completely honest, I'm also really scared about raising a girl, so I do wish for a boy. But, all that being what it is, it is something completely out of my control and I am thankful for that. God knows best what our family needs and he will be kind to give us that child. 

What about names?
We already have names picked out (it wasn't hard!) and I think we will share the name if/when we know the sex. Again, just doing something totally different than Liam. 

What does Liam think of the baby? 
He is so funny. If you ask him if he wants a baby brother or a baby sister he says, "I want a baby brother and a baby sister!" Then he shouts out, "Twins!" I am very hopeful that he doesn't have the gift of prophecy. Eek! As a little girl I always wanted to have twins. Now that I'm a mom with a toddler I see that as almost an impossible undertaking. I don't know if he really understands what is going on, but we talk about the baby a lot and how helpful he is going to be as an big brother. He is very excited to introduce the baby to all his cars and trucks and Thomas trains. 

I am so excited to share this wonderful news with all of you. I know you will support us, pray for us and encourage us through these months and through whatever happens down the road. God is so faithful to answer prayers and bring us through trials that seem never ending. I am thankful for the fruit that came from our time of trying and trying and waiting. Is there anything sweeter than waiting patiently on the Lord and seeing him answer prayers? I don't think so. 

Thanks for sharing in our joy!