life at the daily grind

So we really are in the home stretch now. Tuesday will mark week 34 of 40 weeks of pregnancy. Last night I thought to myself that there are only 6 weeks left...unless this little boy decides to come early like I did, in which case that leaves our little family only 3-4 weeks before his arrival! The whole time it has seemed so very surreal. It seems like not that long ago that I was still taking pregnancy tests at week 5 just to see those + signs again. I remember feeling those first little kicks around week 17 and feeling blown away that there really is a little human moving around inside me. 20 weeks along and we had our anatomy scan and seeing him move and feeling it at the same time was almost overwhelming. And then they told us what we had been waiting for, we were having a boy. When we got in the car to go home that day I asked my hubby how he felt about the appointment. And for one of the first times I think it started to feel real for him. Upon hearing that he would be hav

This past week I turned 25 years old, and little baby boy turned 25 weeks gestationally. For the most part I can no longer hide the little bump that's constantly growing, and I am growing to accept and to enjoy that fact. I spent my day off yesterday watching videos on YouTube about hypnobirthing, and a million TEDtalks on pregnancy, and childbirth, and everything relating. I finished my day by watching (and then re watching with my husband) The Business of Being Born which was absolutely fascinating. I seriously could not get enough. I was hungry for all the information that I could cram into my my brain. Hearing stories from mothers, midwives, husbands, and doctors, I felt like I gained insight into something that the media portrays as scary and super chaotic. I felt strengthened in the desires and excitement that I already felt about labor and delivery. We are 15 weeks out from our due date, every day inching closer. I start to think about all the things we need to do to

Another month has passed and I don't know for the life of me where it went. But I am pleased to find that we have landed in October. October means fall, and fall is my favorite. The weather continues to be hot, humid, and beachy, so our trip to Connecticut was quite welcome.  The day before the long trip north started, we made little trip of our own up to the OB's office for my monthly check up. This was a long awaited appointment. I'd say probably the point in every pregnancy that all eager mamas and papas look forward to the most(apart from the actual birth, of course.) The infamous 20 week ultrasound.  We got to see our little one. My, oh my, how the little bean had grown from the first moments we saw him wiggling around at 8wks. Everything looked perfect. The heartbeat was strong, the measurements were adding up perfectly according to our due date, annnndddd we learned the best bit of information. We are having a son. Both of us teared up just a little as we p

About 5 months ago I posted about wants Vs. needs, regarding having a job opportunity fall right into my lap and simply being scared to take it. Hard to believe how fast those months have gone by. Now I find myself 5 months into the job and loving it. Never have I worked for such genuine and caring individuals in my life. You know you enjoy your workplace and the people you are with when you are willing and happy to come in early or stay late or even take on an extra day or two that you usually have off. Likewise the weather is much different in affecting the salon down here than at home in New England. We have gone through our first burst of "Tropical Storms" (depression 9 that was named Hurricane Hermine) gave us a Saturday off, as well as a gloomy, almost-fall-like setting.  I close my eyes and listen to the screeches and twills of the gulls and pipers, cormorants and random pelicans, all patrolling the neighborhood after last nights rainfall. I feel the soft

So I have some good news, I seem to have found a job. Yes, a job, an actual job, where I leave my house and interact with people while holding sharp objects. I'm excited, I really am. But... Yes, there's a "But", there's a big part of me that doesn't want it. The reason is one that seems to be an unusual one for women my age. I want to be a mom. I've always assumed that someday I'd settle down and do the whole raising a family thing, in that way that I think most everybody does. A couple years ago I was a little surprised to find that when I had a bad day at work (you know, the kind that leaves you miserable,  feeling like you want to cry, and wondering why you even bother) I would come home and usually wind up in my mom's room, snuggled up with her and letting the tears come when they needed. And I would wish that that was my job. To be the one doing the comforting and the loving on. To have the arms whose comforting hold is sought out on

Our lovely little penelope isn't quite as little as when she arrived in our home 4 weeks ago. At 13 weeks she clocks in at about 15 pounds and about 14" tall. She's a bundle of crazy joy and I swear she gets bigger every day. Currently her ears are huge and legs go on for days. A little awkward looking, honestly, but G and I are very excited to see how much more she grows and changes in the coming months. No longer do I get to return to sleep once my husband leaves for work in the dark hours of the early morning. Once he's up, puppy's up. And once puppy's up, I'm up.  As our family prepared for a blizzard back in New England, we battened down the hatches expecting gale force winds and buckets of rain. The storm washed ashore many pretty treasures for us to find as we combed the beaches. My personal favorite, was a beautiful conch shell, flawless and unbroken, the size of my face. Pasta and homemade vodka meat sauce And stormy weather calls f

Here we are again. Another new year. Between now and my last post my husband and I have been busy bees getting our house cleaned and ready for Christmas time and both of our families visiting. You may think that it wouldn't be that difficult to keep your house clean when there is no furniture to let things pile up on, but we found quite the opposite to be true. No furniture means nowhere to actually put any belongs(such as the boxes on boxes of clothes we had). Eventually everything was contained enough that when our family, arrived baring gifts of couches and chairs and tables found on good ol' Craig's list, we were good to go! We were so ready to finally have our house filled with cushioned things to rest our weary bones, and maybe those of the friends we are making, but we didn't anticipate something else that would unexpectedly be filling our home and hearts as well as drawing in our new friends. December 21st.  Our families pack a huge penske truck with