Back at it.

So, I've been going crazy for about a month or so.  We moved at the beginning of last month and it was a whirlwind.  Things just never seemed to fall into place after we moved.  It's just been a mess and I didn't fall back in to my schedule for a while and Joey had a vacation which threw things off more and then I took on way too many things for Easter and I got sick on top of all that.  My goodness, it's been insane.
I've finally been feeling better that past day or so and I'm determined to get back to things.  I've been really lazy (and lucky) up until now, baby food has been on sale or clearance every time I went to the store and haven't made much until now.  But I just can't be lazy anymore, baby food won't be on sale forever but it did help me stock up on baby food jars and the like so making my own is a touch easier now.
This morning I made three types of baby food for my little one.  Today made roasted grapes, roasted grapes with peaches, and apples with peas and spinach.  And it's so much easier now that Norah's bigger because I don't have to strain everything after it's pureed. On my cooking list for the day (after the baby food of course) is some ham (in the crock pot now) some lentils for baby, and homemade English muffins for my hubby.
I have some pictures of our new apartment and all the things that I've been making:

living room curtains

office curtains that coordinate with the living room

that painting that I've been working on for the kitchen for what seems like forever

On to my next thing on my schedule for the day, my meal planning:
Monday: Crock Pot 'baked' Ham with Spinach salad
Tuesday: baked fish Tacos
Wednesday: whole wheat Spaghetti & meatballs (baby food version too)
Thursday: Spinach and Ham Quiche (using Monday's leftovers)
Friday: Veggie Ravioli Florentine (spinach bechamel sauce)
Saturday: Nothing planned, it's my Grandfather's Memorial service and I may bring something but I'm not planning on doing any cooking that day.
Sunday: Mac and cheese and tuna salad or egg salad

Well, that's it for me today.  Here are some pics from Easter:

Been Busy

Hey Folks,

Long time no blog,I know I'm a slacker.  Our move date got moved up on us and I'm just now starting to recover after moving and then curtain projects for the new apartment and the like.  Then sickness in the house and now it's Easter.  I just don't feel like I'm catching up so here's a link to the hubby's new blog so you all can catch up on the Palm Tree Quartet.

It's Monday again

It happens every week yet it's refreshing every single time.  A new week has so many possibilities.
Our baby girl is on the verge of crawling and she's so determined.  I'm so proud of her.  She's managed to propel herself forward a couple of times but mostly she spins around and scoots backwards.  She's also pushed herself up to sitting a few times but she can't coordinate her arms to push herself all the way vertical yet.  She gets so frustrated when she gets stuck somewhere and she makes the cutest little roaring sound.  She sounds like a little tiger cub.  I love it.
Joey's getting more independent.  She's started lying about almost anything it seems.  Danny and I have been trying to teach her what it means to tell the truth and why it's so important.  We have our ups and downs with it.  Sometimes it gets really difficult but she's such a sweet girl.  She was sick the other day and for her bedtime prayers she prayed that none of her friends at school get sick.  And even though Danny and I have been teaching her about God and the Bible, it amazes me how much she gets it.  Faith like a child is really so clear when you see it in actuality everyday.  I struggle with trusting in God but she has no doubts.
Joey, Norah and I have been having regular family dance parties in the living room lately.  It's super fun.  Joey's bopping all over and Norah sings along (sings ahhhhhhh ahh ahh) and sometimes Joey lets me dance with her but mostly she tells me that she needs to do her own moves but then I dance with Norah and she just giggles through it all.  I love my girls.

Here's my meal plan of dinners for the week:
Monday: Barbequed ribs & green beans
Tuesday: Mac & Cheese w/ vegetable soup
Wednesday: Crock pot baked beans w/ biscuits & coleslaw
Thursday: Curry Chicken w/ stir-fry veg & rice
Friday: Chickpeas & Couscous w/dried cranberries & herb goat cheese
Saturday: Our 5th Anniversary & Date Night
Sunday: Breakfast for dinner (Eggs & Cinnamon Rolls)

I'll also be making egg salad today for lunches throughout the week and Veggie sticks for quick snacks.  Norah's been blazing through her baby food and she's tried just about all the basic food that I use on a regular basis and once I'm done clearing all the foods I can, I'll be making my own baby food from our regular meals with a simple baby food grinder.  I've already been making my own with some of the meals that have no questionable ingredients.  I've got a few more food to get through: broccoli, tomatoes, beef, pork, and dairy.  She no longer breaks out when I have processed dairy (cheese, yogurt, etc.) but when I have straight milk, it still seems to bother her little tummy.  :-( So, I'm still on soy milk for now but I'm going to see how she does with some baby yogurt herself this week.  If that goes well, I'll be making my own whole milk yogurt in large batches again.
Well, I'm off...Today is Norah's 6 month well visit and I'm excited to see how much she's grown.  And I need to talk to the doctor about sleep training possibilities.  She's still so petite that I just want to make sure there's no medical reason for her to be up every three hours all night long.  This momma needs some sleep

Life on a New Schedule

Our little world got shaken last week and it's upset my whole schedule.  Danny lost his job.  His boss let him go with no reason and seemingly no cause.  It happens, and we've basically come to the conclusion that anyone who could do that isn't someone that Danny should be working for anyhow.  We know that God has a plan for it all and we're praying about it to figure out what's on the horizon.
But as for my schedule, I've made up a new one since Danny's made some suggestions that I thought needed addressing and I've noticed that some stuff is just not fitting where I had it. I've moved some stuff around and added items here and there.  Weekly Checklist: this is my publicly accessible google.doc of the updated checklist that I made if anyone else is looking to set up something similar.
I'm still allowing myself some flexibility to see what needs tweeking, but I realized the other day why I've never needed a schedule like this before.  I've been the primary earner in our household for the majority of our marriage and Danny's been the stay-at-home parent since Joey was born.  My efforts had been focused one working and now that Danny's been working again, I've only had a few months to switch gears, oh yeah and I had a baby during that time too.  And on top of that, I am still working part-time.  Yeah, it's been pretty much a whole year of transition for us, and it seems we have a few more hoops coming up.  We're still planning on moving to the larger apartment one floor below us.  I've already started purging in preparation.  The nice thing is that since we are only moving downstairs, the process of moving will be so much simpler.  No trucks needed and not even really many boxes.  Clothes can be carried straight from our closets on their hangers and be hung straight up down a flight of stairs, drawers can be carried down without being unloaded. The biggest hassle with probably be the books and knick knacks that will need to be boxed and the curtains and shelves.  And our Landlord wants us down there ASAP so as soon as the current tenant is out, we'll be on our way.  I'm pretty stoked about it.  We'll be losing some closet space (hence the purging) but gaining so much square footage, it's totally worth it.  Well, I'm off to go do stuff.  Tootles.

Week 2 of Life on a schedule

 So, I'm back with an adjusted schedule this week.  I'm trying to think ahead and plan accordingly.  I think I'm doing o.k. at it but I've got some serious adjusting to do. 
I created schedules for myself in college just to get everything done but doing it for a household of four is so much more intense.  I don't know what I was thinking to try and do all that I have to do off the cuff.  No wonder I was constantly stressed out and never getting anything done. Below is my meal plan for the week and I've got blogging planned into my schedule so that I have something to keep me accountable. 
To throw another log on the fire, Danny and I are moving at the end of the month.  We're moving a whole one floor down in our building.  The apartment below has an additional 50-70 sq feet of living space as well as a back porch, clothesline and a front porch that Danny has claimed as his man cave. 
 

Monday 2.6
b: cereal & bananas
l: Italian sandwich
(Pick up Joey from school)
s: strawberries
d: tuna pasta salad

Tuesday 2.7
b: eggs & cinnamon rolls
l: mac& cheese with peas
s: oranges
d: chicken stir-fry & rice

Wednesday 2.8
b: oatmeal & blueberries
l: soup
s: crackers
d: coconut curry shrimp & rice

Thursday 2.9
b: yogurt & toast
l: nutella sandwich & celery sticks
s: apples
d: Sheppard’s pie

Friday 2.10 (rent)
b: cereal & raisins
l: leftovers
s: carrot sticks
d: church valentine’s dinner (side dish)

Saturday 2.11
b: pancakes
l: nuggets & sweet potato fries
s: oranges
d: barbeque chicken & baked beans

Sunday 2.12
b: oatmeal & mango
l: pb&j with apples
s: carrot sticks
d: ravioli with green beans

 And in other news, I finally got around to making my own dishwasher detergent yesterday.  AMAZING STUFF.  So cool.  Glad to have done it.  Way cheaper than buying it and so easy to make and I think my dishes are genuinely cleaner than with the store bought stuff. Yay for DIY!

Fun, fun, and more fun

So much going on here as we prep for Danny starting his new job. 
I made yet another attempt to take the written test for my driver's license.  I am SUPER frustrated.  I went in, they said I had everything but apparently, they can't give me a driver's license or an ID in my married name until I change my name with Social Security.  Social Security won't give me a new social security card with my married name with out a photo ID.  The woman at the DMV was totally understanding of my frustration and gave me a form from them to help the process but I've lost faith in all bureaucracy.  It just makes me want to spit or curse or something just not nice. 
In other news, I finally broke down and made myself a weekly household cleaning/chore schedule.  I've been putting it off for so long in hopes that I'd find a rhythm myself, but for 5 years now that's failed and I've lived in a only occasionally clean home because of it.  So, on to plan B. 
I had such a good day today.  Norah seems to finally be moving her feeding schedules further apart sometimes though not a night.  I really wish that would change, but she's up every 3 hours all night long, like clock work.  Ahh, to have a night of uninterrupted sleep.  I miss it, but Norah's just such a sweety.  She's so snugly and giggly right now.  I just love hanging out with her.  I could honestly go days doing nothing but making faces at her and playing with her.  I miss those days with Joey too. 
Oh well, I'm off, I need to go finish the dishes and get a shower.  Good Night internet world. 

Stuff and things

So many things have been going on lately.  Joey has had two bouts of some little bug.  She woke up on Sunday at 5am threw up twice then she was fine all of Monday and Tuesday and then today she woke up at 5.30am threw up twice and has been fine since.  I don't know what it is but I hope it's over with. 
Yesterday, I attempted to take the written test to get my driver's license once again.  I went in to the Hamden DMV at 9am thinking I had everything I needed but somehow two important documents weren't there so we rushed home I found said documents and rushed back only for them to send me away again.  Apparently my birth certificate was unacceptable.  The woman told me that it was a little faded in the center and quote, "might not scan."  She wasn't even willing to try. (This is where I screamed at her a little, but only in my mind.)  She assured me that other than that, I had all the papers that I needed and gave me a card that will allow me to skip the line when I got back.  That's on our agenda for tomorrow.  Especially with Danny's new full time job that he starts on Monday.  I need to be driving A.S.A.P. 
So, I had to go to the Bristol, CT city hall to purchase a new one.  I had just called my mom on Monday trying to find a time for us to come up anyway. 
This is where my day got good.  Danny and I decided that we just had to make some headway on this, we've been to the DMV 5 times in the past 3 month trying to get my written exam over with.  So, I called my folks to see if they'd be up for hanging out and we hopped on the highway.  I was in and out of the Bristol City Hall in 15 minutes with no hassle.  YAY for small town city halls!!  I stopped by my old school where my mom works and got to show off the kiddos to my 4th grade teacher. (Love her!) Picked up my sister from school. And while my mom worked, Joey and her got to play all afternoon. Joey was so happy! I love to be able to make that happen, and sometimes it just touches me extra. 
When my mom got home from work, she watched the kids and Danny and I got to go visit my grandmother in the nursing home.  She's going through a battle with a Melanoma in her mouth and just finished up chemotherapy and is heading into her Radiation treatment soon.  It was good to see her.  I haven't been able to see her since before she was diagnosed.  Every time I've been up to visit one or both of the kids was either just getting over something or had a cold.  I've felt so bad about not visiting but it's just not a risk you take with a chemo patient.  She's doing so great though.  She's such a trooper!  It's her second battle with cancer and she just has such a great attitude.  It's amazing what a little faith can do. I'm so glad that I was finally able to visit. 
And today I've been up since 5am with Joey.  I hope she'll be fine again tomorrow and Friday.  She was so upset that I had to call her school and tell them that she couldn't attend today.  Even though I explained to her how it works that she can't go to school when she's sick or she could get the other kids sick, she was still crying for me not to call her teachers.  I think the poor girl thought she could go in later if she was feeling better.  I'm really glad she loves school so much.  I waffled so much between whether home school or pre-school was the right choice and I'm delighted by how well the program she's in suits her.  She really is a Montessori girl. 

Home again, Home Again

Jiggity Jig Jig

Baby Norah and I are home again and doing well.  She had her one week well visit today and all is well.  I actually got out of the house today, just for the appointment but hey it's something.  It's Joey's 3rd birthday today.  We had a little family celebration for her yesterday and we gave her the guitar that we got for her and she was so excited.  She's all psyched to learn to play.  She knew what it was before the paper was even off the plain brown bow it was in.  It was really cute to watch.  Her little face lit up so big.  More to come when I'm able to add  pics of the little one and whatnot. 

Book worming it

So, I've been reading like mad lately.  I've been burning through the Anne of Green Gable Series.  I'm in love with it and have been since I was a girl.  I wish that Joey had the attention span for reading it with me.  :-(  She kinda lost interest in the Little House Series once the story grew too old for her.  Ahh well, How much should I really expect from a nearly 3 year old anyhow.  We made it through 4 of them before she lost interest and that's quite a lot, and of course, I went on and finished reading the rest of them on my own just to satisfy my own need to finish things that I start.  I am loving that I can get most public domain books for free on my Kindle!  Almost all my books are books that I've been reading lately, I've gotten for free.  There are so many wonderful books to chose from.  And Danny's been making regular trips to the library with Joey and she's been loving having new stories in the house and she memorizes them so quickly.  I'm really in awe of that little one. 
I also think that I've narrowed down my specialty that I'm going to focus on for my Etsy.com page.  I know I've been meaning to do it forever but I just haven't been able to figure out how to do it affordably.  The cost per picture per month with all the inventory that I have was just too much to fathom when my profit margin was so low to begin with.  But in my search for diaper bags with this pregnancy, I found that I could make a completely machine washable diaper bag that I would actually be proud to carry for 1/3 to 1/2 of what I could purchase one for.  The only one that Danny and I could agree upon that I found available retail was $80 (yeah, totally out of the question).  So, I made one out a some fabric that I'd been dying to use but hadn't found just the right thing for yet.  It only cost me $20 for the materials and I can throw it in the washing machine AND the dryer.  I have not found a diaper bag yet that boasts that and looks any kind of decent.  So, now I think I've finally found my niche!  Woo Hoo!  Plus the cost difference between what I can make them for and what I can sell them for might actually mean that I can afford to market them properly.  I am so excited to get cracking on them.  I've got some fabric ideas working already and I do so love having ideas to mull over and perfect. 
Now to just finish organizing the house so that my ideas can become reality.  We really are close to being done.  We've gotten our bedroom nearly in order and ready for the bassinet.  We've gotten the girl's bedroom closet cleared out of most unnecessary stuff and we've been making regular trips to Savers to donate things that we'll not be keeping.  We're down to just needing to go through books of ours and sorting toys (which has been started but seems to get undone every so often).  I've even conceded to throwing away all my DVD cases.  We'll be organizing them in binders and separating out the kids movies once we get some more binders. 
We've gotten all or Joey's clothes in plastic drawers so that she can choose her own outfits in the mornings and she can get herself mostly dressed.  She still needs a little monitoring to make sure that she doesn't just wear the same ballet tutu every day with last night's shirt and galoshes.  But she's loving being able to do more on her own.  And it's super helpful for laundry's sake because she can put her clothes away by herself too.  I love that part.  I just hand her a stack of shirts and tell her to put them in the appropriate drawer and they almost always wind up in the right place. 
Well, I'm off to Michael's today for a new sketchbook.  I am in such a need to one and here's hoping I find a coupon file folder that I can use as well.  I need to be more organized but I'm getting better at the couponing.  I was only able to save about $50 this past month with deals and coupons and card savings and all but that's $50 off an already minimized budget and I think I can do better next month.  And the fact that I chose to make and reuse things that I can, saves me quite a bit to begin with and then on top of it I buy in bulk where I can.  But I still think that I can do better. 

Productive weekend

I must say being without advanced technology at home has been rather refreshing.  We're getting so much done.  We've gone through every box in the house.  We've cleared out so much crap.  We found lost loved items.  We even found an old Raggedy Andy doll that used to belong to Danny's dad, that Joey has quickly fallen in love with and calls Andy Dandy. 
I organized all of our old baby clothes from when Joey was a wee one.  Now I just have to go through the new hand-me-downs that I've been too overwhelmed to get to yet.  I'm super pumped.  I found three nursing bras amongst all the baby clothes along with two pairs of maternity jeans and two pairs of maternity Capri's and one pair of maternity shorts and three of my favorite tops from the last go round.  Oh man, what a score!!  I was so stoked!! I think I actually squealed. 
I got all of Joey's clothes organized in drawers at her height and she's very excited about being able to get herself dressed.  She still needs a bit of help making sure shirts are on the right way front and that shoes are on the right feet but she's getting pretty good at it.  Now if only I could get her to focus on learning what all the letters in the alphabet song look like.  She seems totally content on just knowing the letters and never learning to recognize them.  A little frustrating but we have time still. 
Got to visit with my family on Father's Day and it was a blast.  Joey and my sister Maggie spent 3 straight hours playing with the hose, two buckets and two dish soap bottles.  They only took one short break for brownies and that was it.  They had such a blast and it was awesome fun to watch.  I was really glad that I had that SPF 60 for her though.  She is just so fair skinned and never seems to pick up any color.  Not even a freckle. 
I've got an ultrasound next week.  It seems our little Norah has decided that she has to be different from her sister.  She was breech at our last appointment (and in our last ultrasound) and the OBGYN wants to double check on her position as we get closer.  Fun Stuff.  At least we were already planning on a repeat c-section.  So it doesn't change our plans much.  It just really helps ease our minds more than anything that our sense that this was the path that we were supposed to take.  And that those urgings that Danny and I felt from God way back at the beginning of this pregnancy were accurate.  Yay God! 
Oh well, I'm off.  The hubs will be picking me up from work soon and off we'll go. 

Sunday Reflections

So, I'm enjoying some last few minutes of quiet before Sunday morning really begins.  Next week is Mother's Day and I'm almost in shock to think that next year, I'll have two little girls to celebrate with.  It makes my heart smile.  Joey is just getting so big and I almost can't believe that my pregnancy is winding down again.  And soon our bustling little household of three will be a household of four.  We still don't know how we're going to make all the schedules work, but somehow, it will.  God will provide, that I'm sure of.
The weather's getting warmer and it's so fun to be outside.  I love spring.  The only thing that would make spring better for me would be if I had a yard to plant in.  I was talking to my grandmother the other day, and I was telling her how I ache to garden and plant things.  She said simply, 'we come from farmers, it's in your blood.'  How true that is!  She grew up on a farm, my mom grew up on a farm, I spent my summers growing up on a farm.  There's nothing like it in the world.  No city can compare to it.  No matter where I go, it's with me.  My heart longs to farm, to have my life ebb and flow with the seasons.  I can't escape it, and I can barely contain it.  I feel most myself and most connected to God when I'm doing something with my hands or when I'm out in nature.  It's my home.
It makes me yearn more for our move to Colorado.  I've been peeking at places out there only sporadically since we postponed the move, but it makes me excited to know that since cost of living is so much lower out there and since the lifestyle out there lends itself more to self-sufficiency, I might actually be able to have a yard, or at least a little piece of land to dig in and grow things.  We are just floundering here sometimes.
There is so much pressure in New-England to perform, perform, perform! And with the job market being so flooded, and work being so hard to find (and neither of us having found any in quite some time), it'll be really nice for the change of pace.  Not to mention the change in cost of things.  Generally, the cost of living out in CO is 60% of what it is here.  Such a big cut for us since we're living in a constant state of deficit.
For those of you not up to date on our finances: We have 0 money.  We're living off of Social Security Supplemental Income, Unemployment benefits, my part-time wages, food stamps, coupons and anything we can save after books from Danny's Pell Grant from school.  It's not much and it doesn't sustain us.  We haven't paid our utilities in over a year and we just keep praying that the lights stay on, but we have no means to pay them.  It's all we can do to keep the rent paid and food on the table and diapers of Joey's tush (though hopefully not much longer on that last one).  Now, our SSI got pulled, though I'm hoping that's just a technicality due to our bank changing names.  One of us needs to find work or some means of support SOON.  But God hasn't shown us where that will be coming from yet.  We keep looking but we're not finding.
Any prayers you'd be willing to throw up for us would be greatly appreciated.  We sure could use the extra intercession.  Danny's finishing up finals this month and he's trying to figure out if God even means for him to go back to school in the fall or if he needs to work (should he be able to find any).  It's a rough road we're on.  There's a light not only at the end of it but not too far off by the way of Colorado, but the mean time however is totally unclear to us.
Well, I should go wake up the family and get us moving and ready for church.  I'm excited for what God has in store for us.  I just wish that I could see it a little better.

Happy Easter

Today was nearly the perfect Easter.  I got to have a bit of a mellow wake up followed by some quick breakfast while getting ready for church which Danny and I both got to enjoy and not 'have to' do stuff for.  Joey woke up and got to open her Easter basket.  She was very excited about that pink crown in there.  

We got to enjoy worship & most of the service with Joey with only one serious meltdown.  Woo Hoo!!  We had a lovely Easter Potluck luncheon with our wonderful church family.  The kids had a fun little Easter Egg hunt and the Sun came out for it just in time.  

We got to enjoy some nice warm sunshine (for me) and now it's raining and soon to be storming (for Danny).  Joey woke up happy from her nap.  Danny brought home dinner so I didn't have to cook, which was super awesome since I'm having a little trouble breathing with the high humidity and high pollen count today.  Now, Danny and Joey are listening to their 'crunchy grooves' and dancing.
What a lovely day it was!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if my folks could have come down.  GOD IS GOOD!

Early Mornings

Looks like I'll be having some caffeine in a few hours to stay awake at church.  Ugh.  This little one has decided to wake me up nearly every night this week around 3 or 4 in the morning.  I hope this isn't a pattern that continues after he or she is born.  I may have to relearn to caffeinate regularly if that is the case.  It is a nice quiet time though.  The birdies are chirping outside just a bit and the only sound from inside is the click-ity-clack of the keys as I type.
In two days we find out if we're having a girl or a boy, should the baby prove cooperative.  I find myself wondering if this little one will be a thumb sucker in-uetero like his/her big sister.  Every ultra-sound picture we have of Joey, her thumb is in her mouth.  Ahh, good times!
I spent a good 5 hours putting together Joey's big girl bed yesterday and Joey loves the thing. That makes me so happy.  She helped my organize her things underneath the low loft after her nap.  It's such a nice little nook for her.  She can't quite climb up or down the ladder yet but that's OK since, she won't try without me there to watch/help her.  It just makes nap time that much easier, she has to either lay there and sleep or not sleep but she can't just wander out on her own.
Now, I just have to get her new dresser (my old dresser) organized with all her things and re-adjust the height of the crib for new baby and we'll be ready to set up for this little one.  I just keep having to remind myself to take things one step at a time.
There's just so much to do.  I also, have to keep reminding myself to let Danny handle the planning.  I keep trying to plan and do all the stuff and it's just too much.  I'm such a control freak.  Danny's here trying to plan and help take stuff off my plate and I keep cutting him off at the pass.  I need to learn to let go a little bit.  I can allow myself to handle the doing of stuff and let him handle the planning.  He's a better idea person anyway.  I'm better at the getting a plan moving.  I know this, logically, in my head but I can't seem to get the thoughts through to my actions.  How do I get that part to work?

Figuring things out

So as Danny and I were heading down to the Norwalk Children's Museum today (pics to come soon), I kept seeing all the lovely houses down in that area and I made me long to be studying architecture again.  I seem to keep coming back to it.  It's the only thing that maintains my interest long enough for me to think that it would be a viable career option.  But I still hit the snag of not wanting to work in someone else's firm drawing their designs for 40 years.  But I had the thought today, I could teach it.  I could go back to school, finish my degree and go for my Master's and then teach it in college.
I know that I don't have the patience to teach oodles of little kids, and I can't stand high school kids, I couldn't even stand high school kids when I was in high school.  But I do enjoy breaking things down into manageable chunks.  I think I may have finally figured out what to do with myself.  Now, to just figure out how to make it all happen in Colorado, with two kids, after a cross country move.  We shall see.  But I am more hopeful than I've been in a while about the whole subject.

Can't sleep

It's 5am and I can't sleep.  The cat woke me up by getting stuck behind the TV.  Now I'm up.  It feels too weird to go back to sleep.  The apartment is so quiet and Joey's not here.   Ugh. I'm sleepy and sappy and I want my little girl's good morning kisses in a few hours and she won't be here.  So, now, not only am I up at 5 am but I'm up at 5 am and crying because I miss my little girl.  I'm going to see her tomorrow and I know rationally that it's not that far off but I can't stop crying.  I'm such a sappy lady today.  Grr, hormones: Just let me go back to sleep and stop crying, Please.

The Big News...

This Palm Trio is soon to be a Quartet.  Danny and I just found out that we're expecting baby number two probably sometime in August.  I know family, one more August baby.  For those of you who don't know...nearly everyone in our family has an August birthday.  My father and grandfather, my sister and mother-in-law, my daughter and now, our newest little is due in August and our newest niece or nephew is due in August as well.  That's a lot of August babies.
I have my doctor's appointment to confirm this little's estimated arrival time tomorrow afternoon.  It's rather fortuitous that I already had a yearly appointment set up just when I'm due to hit 8 weeks.  Joey and Danny want a little girl but I want to have a little boy with curly brown hair like his Daddy.  I'm looking forward to being pregnant again.  I really enjoyed myself last time, until the last month or so.  But this pregnancy is already shaping up to be very different than my first.
More to come later as we get more news and what-not.  But that's all for now.