My first week back...

Somehow, in what we thought was great timing of having a September baby, I had to go back to work at 37 weeks pregnant after having the past two months off to rest and spend time with my family.  And while being home full time with an almost two year old didn't quite count as rest, it was certainly more restful and peaceful than the past three days of professional development have been.

This week has truly been an emotional roller coaster for me.  It started with dropping off Sean at a new daycare on Monday for the first time.  I don't know who cried more, me or Sean.  Of course, I held mine in until I got in the car, but his episode could be heard my entire way out.  I proceeded to go into work to find that we were going to be sitting in the cafeteria with the entire district on metal folding chairs for the entire day.  The presenter thought that by taking away our morning and afternoon breaks, we would be happy to get an hour lunch and a dismissal at 3:30pm.  I felt like we just got robbed.

I'm sure she was just doing her job, but to a room full of teachers, it was challenging after having had the entire summer off, to immediately come back and be talked at from 8:30am-3:30pm without much time for conversation among colleagues or a pep talk to rev us up for another school year.  I mean, whatever happened to our district barbeque and kick off?  I hope that wasn't a sign for how this year will be...

Now, on Wednesday night, after three days of much of the same, I had an emotional breakdown.  I was driving to work, after dropping off Sean who proceeded to reach for me while screaming my name, and lost it.  Let's recap my reasons for crying in the car for 20 minutes to my mom before going in to work (and please bear in mind that while some of these things may seem ridiculous for me to get upset about, I'm hormonally imbalanced and cannot control how I react or feel at this point - I'd like to think this is all valid):

• I'm tired.  I get up, on average, of 2-3 times a night to pee and then can't go back to sleep for at least a half hour each time.
• My body is tired.  Sitting all day long in metal folding chairs just doesn't do it for me.
• As of this morning, despite weeks of effort, I didn't have a long-term sub arranged for me at work and with the possibility of going in to labor any day now, the pressure is on to have everything ready and situated for the school year.
• I found out yesterday that the woman they had intended on calling to see if she would sub for me hadn't been contacted by anyone in my district.  I felt like I had been given the run-around for the past three weeks by multiple people.  So, I took matters in to my own hands.
• Sean screams his head off and throws an absolute fit when I drop him off at a new daycare.  And I can't blame him.  He doesn't know the teachers, doesn't know where he is, and just spent a fantastic summer with mom and dad at his disposal 24/7.  What can I say, we're awesome people and he knows it.

My main source of stress is definitely about when baby Evan will make his arrival and the pressure I feel about that (mostly brought on by myself, but I'd like to think that many people are playing a small part in this stress as well).  As of today, he has approximately two weeks to come on his own or I go under the knife again.  As you can tell, this is not my ideal birth plan.  I've had my heart set on a VBAC since I found out I was pregnant and considering my OB office gave him an eviction date of September 12th, the pressure is definitely on for him to come naturally so that I can have the birth experience I've been wanting.  Adding no pressure at all (yeah, right), Sean was born at exactly 37 weeks.  I was 37 weeks this past Saturday.  Today, I'm 37 weeks and 4 days.  Even though in my head I knew that Evan would NOT come as soon as Sean did, I can't help but feel disappointed and even angry to some extent every day that goes by with no baby in my arms.  And yes, I'm aware that pregnancies are meant to last 40 weeks and that I have time for him to come when he's ready to come.  But, some side of me can not digest that and thinks that he should be here by now.  I think it was cruel to have my first come 3 weeks early and my second to torture me every day after that until he decides to come.  Every twinge my body makes puts me on high alert.  It's probably why I can't sleep at night.  I envision all these scenarios of when and how I'll go in to labor.  It's horrible.

Since I'm now full-term, I guess that invokes the right for everyone to have an opinion or say about my current situation.  This would include family, friends, and colleagues. This is just a taste of what has been thrown in my direction over the past week:

1. He'll come when he's ready.
2. When are you due?
3. You're still pregnant?
4. Oh, you're here today....I guess baby didn't come.
5. No baby yet?
6. Baby can come on ____________ date, but not _________ date.
7. Do you think you'll go early?
8. You want to have a VBAC?
9. He can't come this weekend, __________ is out of town.
10. Have you tried sex, walking, pineapple, evening primrose oil, dark beer, bouncing on a ball, stripping your membranes, running, driving on a bumpy road, eating a "Prego" pizza, castor oil, etc.?

After breaking down this morning and crying in my car for 20 minutes about all of the mentioned items above, I suddenly felt a weight lifted off my shoulders.  Oddly enough, two hours later I got a text from the woman I want to be my sub saying she accepted the position and will start with me next week if I'm there.  Another huge weight off my shoulders.  Then Sean's daycare called as a courtesy to tell me that after his rough drop-off he's been having a great morning and she just wanted me to know that.  We've never received a call from any daycare about something positive and it seriously warmed my heart.  And instead of sitting in the cafeteria listening to the presenter, today we relied on the amazing staff at the high school to review some important and helpful tools we can learn this year.  I appreciate the wonderful people I work with that are capable of putting together a beneficial day of professional development.  I had a great lunch out with some colleagues and was excited to come to daycare to pick Sean up and see his smiling face when I walked in the room.

And it's weird.  Given that I've solved my work dilemma and feel like I've chosen the right place for Sean (finally and hopefully!), I'm suddenly feeling less pressure about when baby Evan will arrive.  I just feel at peace with everything. I have one more day of professional development for the week, a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, and a nice long weekend to spend with my family or go into labor.  Whatever my body decides.  I mean, he'll come when he's ready, right?  ;)

37 weeks on my mind...

On the eve of being full term, I can't help but think back to where we were at when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Sean.  And it's a crazy, scary thought to think that tomorrow I will be 37 weeks and on that day during my last pregnancy, I went into labor.

I was due on October 22nd and had a scheduled c-section for Friday, October 15th since Sean had decided to assume the breech position for the last half of my pregnancy.  After realizing this was my only option, I was mentally and emotionally prepared to have a c-section.  I had been seeing a back specialist and physical therapist throughout the pregnancy since I was having some severe pain on my sciatic nerve.  When the school year started after labor day, I gave it a valiant two weeks and decided that standing on my feet all day, teaching high-school punks was more than I could handle in addition to my back pain and my broken foot (that I hadn't realized was broken yet, but was limping around on it for weeks).  With a doctor's note excusing me from work, I was on medical leave and intended to rest until Sean's c-section.

With my 27th birthday on Saturday, October 2nd, Scott and I decided to throw one last party at our house and considered it Scott's last night of "debauchery" before our lives were about to drastically change.  So, on Friday the 1st, I spent the first part of my morning cleaning the house and prepping for Saturday's festivities.  I was alarmed when I went to the bathroom around 10am to find that I had passed what looked to be my bloody show.  I ran off to the computer to Google the characteristics of what I had found on the toilet paper and was shocked to read that labor usually follows a bloody show within 48 hours.  I freaked out.  I called my mom to tell her all this and of course, she was on edge too.  My dad was traveling for work and wasn't scheduled to be home for a week.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were in Florida visiting family, and my father-in-law was supposed to leave that evening for the lake house Up North.  I couldn't believe that if labor was supposed to come that weekend, more than half of our family wouldn't be in town for it!  Not to mention that it was three weeks before my due date!  My mom said she was planning on going to Macy's for an errand and would pick up some Chicken Caesar wraps for lunch at Macy's to bring to my house.

She came by around noon and by then I had just about finished cleaning.  I desperately  needed a shower, but figured I would do that after lunch when she went back to work.  We were chatting at lunch about who was "on-call" that weekend from my doctor's practice.  I stood up to get the calendar from the doctor's office in our den and felt a huge gush.  I froze in place and my mom asked what was wrong.  I told her I thought I peed my pants.  She said she didn't think it was pee and I rushed to the bathroom to sit on the toilet while the rest of my bag of waters ruptured.  I couldn't believe it was happening!  I quickly called the OB's office and spoke to the nurse who informed me I needed to go to labor and delivery.  My mom needed to run to her office real quick to grab her work for the weekend (luckily, she only worked 5 minutes away from my house at the time).  I told her to go to her office and get what she needed and I would shower and throw my last minute items in the hospital bag.  I also figured I would take my chances to see if Scott would answer his phone.  Since he's a teacher, it's not always easy to reach him in the classroom or on his cell for that matter.  Oddly enough though, it was his prep hour and he was in the office making copies for when he'd go on "maternity leave" since I had given him the speech that at 37 weeks he should be officially prepared for things to happen at any time.  Little did we know...

I got a hold of him after calling twice and I was so excited to tell him that my water had broke and he needed to leave to meet us at the hospital.  My mom came back, drove me to labor and delivery, and I was sent to triage.  They did a quick swab to test for amniotic fluid.  It came back positive immediately.  They hooked up all the monitors, did a quick internal exam (I wasn't dilated at all), and told me that since I had just eaten lunch, they needed 6 hours before doing the c-section to let my food digest.  Also, there were no available labor and delivery rooms and since I was heading to the OR in 6 hours, they figured I wouldn't mind just hanging out in triage.  Time seemed to fly by!  With my mom and father-in-law there to take shifts keeping us entertained, I was surprised when the doctor said it was time to go.  Scott put on his scrubs, which we all thought would make a great Halloween costume, I said goodbye to my mom, and off we went.

It was very scary to be wheeled into the OR by myself.  Scott had to wait in the hall while they inserted my spinal.  My initial thoughts were that it was extremely bright, very cold, and there were a ton of people in there!  The spinal was the worst part in my opinion.  They had seen the x-rays of my back and knew how apprehensive I was going in about having a needle that close to where I had surgery on my back.  However, they failed to tell me that while they are inserting the spinal, it's normal to feel "lightning bolts" of pain down one or both legs.  When this happened, I screamed out in pain and immediately started crying.  I assumed that they had hit a nerve and done further damage to my back.  It took a while for me to calm down after that.  They had the spinal successfully put in, they tied my arms down to the "cross", Scott was able to come in to the room at that point, and I just felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest.  It was hard to breathe during the entire operation.  I could hear the doctors and nurses having a conversation about their weekend plans, but felt the pulling and tugging of what they were doing.  It wasn't painful, it just felt like a lot of pressure.  It wasn't long before they were ready to pull Sean out.  They asked if we wanted the mirror held up to see him being born and surprisingly, we both agreed.  It was a wonderful moment!  At 8:31pm, Sean Madden Ferstle was born!  Sean cried and cried and it felt like an eternity before they brought him over to us from getting him cleaned up, weighed, and assessed.  He was perfect.  6 lbs. 7 oz. 21 inches.

We went to recovery after that and after about an hour, we were moved to our Mother and Baby Care room upstairs.  Since it was getting late, my mom and father-in-law left to go their separate ways, promising to visit in the morning.  And we finally had our first few hours of alone time with Sean.  We were both exhausted and not sure what to expect that night, but felt so very blessed that we had a healthy, happy baby and that my delivery went as smooth as it could.

So, tonight, the night before I turn 37 weeks, I'm going in with no expectations of going into labor tomorrow at all.  I mean, how weird would it be to be at the same point in my pregnancy for delivering both of my sons.  But, it just makes me feel nostalgic to the exciting day and night that we met Sean.  He's changed our lives for the better and has brought such joy to my life, that I can't even imagine what having another will be like.  I'm so excited and so anxious to meet Evan.  It feels like the longest 9 months of my life.  But, I know that he will come when he's ready.  So, for now, we wait and wait knowing that this experience will be completely different, but just as special.

Dear Mr. Ice Cream Truck Man,

Is it absolutely necessary to drive by our house on a daily basis at approximately 5:30pm during our dinner hour to torture our 22 month old?  While I don't mind buying him an ice cream now and again, the mere sound of your jingles playing loudly through the stereo as your truck drives as slow as possible by our house seems to send him the message that it's ice cream time.  And when I tell him that it's dinner time soon and that we don't eat ice cream before dinner, he decides to throw a holy-tantrum that prohibits me from being able to finish cooking said dinner.

So, we scrounge quickly for $1.50 in change, run out barefoot across our driveway to chase you halfway down the street with Sean in tow, and order him an ice cream sandwich (which, you were out of today, by the way).  And the whole tantrum process starts over again when we return to our house and put the ice cream sandwich in the freezer until we're done eating dinner when he realizes he can't have it that very second.

So, thank you, for making our dinner time a real "treat" this past week and for guilting us into buying our son an ice cream bar the past two nights in a row.  May I recommend that you consider driving by at a more respectable "ice cream time" hour, such as 7pm so that we can enjoy my lovely home cooked meals in peace?

Yours,

The biggest pushover mom in history, Kelly

36 Weeks BumpWatch!

How far along? 36 weeks, 3 days!  Almost full term - although my OB told me today that I'd be fine to go at any time now.

Weight gain/loss: I actually lost 1.5 lbs. since my last appointment a week and a half ago.  I'll take it!  That gives me a total of 37 lbs. 

Feeling: Pretty good all considering.  It's getting harder to go from playing on the floor with Sean to standing or rolling over at night, but I'm feeling so much better than I did at this point with Sean.

Sleep: Some nights are good, others not so much.  I've been getting up for middle of the night bathroom breaks and Sean sometimes feels the urge to wake up in the middle of the night.  But, Scott has been a saint about letting me push off of his body to turn onto the other side.

Food cravings: Cookies.  So, we made peanut butter cookies last week and chocolate chip ones with cake mix today.  And I had a random thought pop in my head of one of those Cookies by the Crate or Cookies by Design...whatever they're called!

Movement? Movement has slowed down since Evan doesn't have much room in there.  But, it's funny because even my OB pointed out today that, luckily he's head down still, but the rest of his body is all curled up on my right side.  I don't feel any movement and haven't in a long time on my left.  I can actually feel limbs move across now and people have seen movement through my shirt, which is pretty exciting and impressive for an anterior placenta.

What I miss? I know I'm going to miss being pregnant when this is over, especially since this is most likely our last.  But, right now, I'm missing everything!  Normal clothes, sleeping on my back, a beer, being able to get Cider from Plymouth Orchards (since it's not pasteurized, but thank God they don't open for another week).

Best moment this week: We had a very relaxing fall-like weekend Up North that we spent as our last get-away as a family of three.  But, I also had a great appointment today where my blood pressure was great, lost weight, baby is head down, and the doc gave me the sheet of paper with all the instructions for knowing that you're in labor.  As I left she said, "Maybe we won't even see you next week for your appointment".  While that's wishful thinking, it really put me in a good mood. 

What I'm looking forward to: Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to going back to work next week and seeing my colleagues.  It's been an amazing summer home with Scott and Sean, but I always start getting antsy at this point to go back...

Next Appointment: Next Thursday, August 30th at 1:50pm with Dr. Garcia.  It was darn near impossible to schedule an appointment a week away with their schedule at the practice and me going back to work.  

Milestones: Baby Evan is busy packing on the pounds.  He's weighing in roughly around 6 lbs. and is almost 19 inches long.  He's busy preparing for his big debut!

And just for fun...an extra pic this week that sums up my feelings about the rest of this pregnancy...

Baking isn't just for girls!

Because Sean thoroughly enjoyed himself while we baked our first batch of homemade peanut butter cookies together on Thursday afternoon.  I made a totally random decision to throw together some cookies after Sean's nap since we were going a little stir-crazy at home and needed something fun and different to do.  You can tell from the pictures below, that considering the both of us were still in our pajamas at 3:30 in the afternoon, we were having a lazy day.  I had avoided allowing Sean help with any cooking or baking since I didn't want to clean up any more of a mess than I usually make myself.  But, I was desperate for something to keep him entertained.

Since the first ingredient is peanut butter, we started off strong since I let him lick the spoon with the remnants of peanut butter.  And then he was hooked on helping...

I let him pour in the measured amounts of ingredients.

I let him watch me use the mixer.

He had the ever-so-important job of pressing the fork marks into the balls of cookie dough.

But, the best part was watching him run from his play room to the kitchen every few minutes to see if they were done baking in the oven.  And when they were...we got to enjoy a few fresh from the oven with milk!

He did a great job!  They were delicious!  And my craving for peanut butter cookies was fulfilled! 

The summer is coming to an end...

With only 11 more days of summer vacation left, the thought of Sean going back to daycare full-time until I have the baby makes me sick to my stomach.  I mean we've spent every waking moment together since school let out in June and I've grown accustomed to the little routine we've created this summer.  Looking back I can't believe how many fun things we were able to do, new places that we checked out and played at, and "goals" we accomplished while being at home.

With all this in mind, I've decided I'm going to miss my mornings with Sean the most.  His 7:30am wake-ups have been pretty tolerable and even though Scott and I switch days for who gets up with him, I really don't mind being the one to see his cute and snuggly self in the morning first.

He'll cry out "All done" or "Mama, Daddy, Mama, Daddy" as a sign that he's ready to start the day.  Most days I'll find him sitting up in his toddler bed just waiting to see one of our faces as a sign he can get down.  Sometimes he's too anxious and is already out of bed at the gate, holding his blankey.

He runs right to Evan's room since that's where the changing table/diapers are and we do a quick diaper change while he still sucks his thumb and holds his blankey.  Then, I carry him downstairs to start the breakfast process.   He patiently, most of the time, waits for me to either toast him an "awful", microwave some "bacon", cut up a "nana", or pour a bowl of "O's".

His new thing this summer is cereal!  He loves to get a little bowl of cereal with milk and eat it himself.  While most of the milk winds up on his jammies or on the tray, it's so cute to see him attempt to do it himself. 

I love looking down at his feet sometimes because he always has them crossed while he eats.  So cute!

And finally, when he's finished with breakfast, he has a few silly moments among his exclamations of "All done!".  Suddenly the thought of playing with his cars that have been abandoned since last night is overwhelming and he can't sit in that chair another second!

So, we're off!  Usually to the living room where we play by the big windows and watch people drive down the street off to work or, more recently, watch the rain and "tunder".  On days we don't have any plans, it's definitely a jammies morning until after nap.  And so the morning continues...with cars, blocks, flashcards, playing kitchen, watching firetrucks on Youtube.com, or even an episode of "Guppies" before lunch...

I'm going to hold on to these next 11 wake-ups and try to enjoy every moment of how peaceful and special it is with just Sean and I because I know all too well once the school year starts how our mornings become chaotic and rushed.  Not to mention that we'll have a new little one demanding my time and attention...

Monday Meal Plan!

Whew!  Only two weeks left of summer vacation, so I'm feeling the pressure to test out a few more recipes that could be ones we use during the school year.  This week we are going Up North for our last time this summer and it's our last opportunity to get away for a few days before baby Evan arrives.  So, it's a short cooking week and I also have to pack in 3 freezer meals before we leave!  We snagged some fantastic vegetables at the Farmer's Market this week (thanks Jackie for sharing your farm share with us!), so I'm looking forward to a few new items.

Monday - Grilled Chicken Salads with a Garlic and Herb marinade on the chicken.  I'm thinking a nice Asiago Caesar dressing will go good with this.  We're using our fresh romaine and mixed spring lettuce from the market for this recipe.

Tuesday - Stuffed shells!  Yum!  It's been a long time since I've made these and I'm going to try this recipe to see if it's better than my existing recipe.  I'll probably make some homemade garlic toast too (sub buns sliced in half, spread butter, garlic powder, and mozzarella cheese on top, and broil until it's melted and brown).

 

Wednesday - Asian stir-fry with chicken and broccoli.  I'll serve it with brown rice.  I bought a seasoning packet from the grocery store and figure that I'll just cut up the broccoli and chicken and go with it.  

Freezer Meals:

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers (Stuffed Peppers )

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

cooking spray for sauteeing

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto (recipe follows)

flour or corn tortillas

preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)

Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Cook chicken as directed as above and cool. Place chicken in freezer bag. Prepare cilantro lime pesto as directed below. Place a 1/2 cup of pesto in a small storage bag then place inside the freezer bag with the chicken. Freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost and heat chicken. Toss chicken with defrosted pesto. If desired, heat chicken and pesto together before filling tacos.

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds

3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

1/2 cup shredded asiago (Parmesan or Romano can be substituted too)

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup chicken broth

Using a blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, asiago, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes. 

Cheddar Potato Soup (double the recipe for 2 batches)

Potatoes

2 cans cheddar cheese soup

Chicken broth

 

35 Weeks and ready to go!

I figured I'd change up the style of my bump posts for the last couple of weeks.  Yes, we all know I've gained my fair share of weight and I'm missing my alcoholic beverages.  I figured it would be way more fun to share all the progress we made in the "getting ready for baby" department and to maybe share news from doctor's appointments and when I think I'm going to pop...

Many of my posts earlier in the year were about how overwhelmed and unprepared I felt with getting ready for Evan's arrival.  I made a bunch of to-do lists and hoped that having the summer off would allow me the time and motivation to get these things done.  I have to say that while there's still more things we wanted to do around the house, with two weeks of summer vacation left, I'm really pleased with what we got done.


1.  Sean's big boy bedroom - CHECK!  We transitioned him to a toddler bed earlier this summer and with a bump in the road mid-July between him being sick and us traveling to Chicago, we're finally starting to get back in to a reasonable bedtime routine.  I bought some cute sock monkey decorations at the Art in the Park here in Plymouth, put up some Paper Lanterns, and purchased all new "big boy" furniture, including a reading chair.  Here's how they came out:

2.  Baby Evan's Room - CHECK!  We moved Sean's crib in there, re-used all his Doggy crib bedding, but bought some new decorations for the wall like the sticker quote and his name sign.  He will definitely get the shaft with the smaller of the two bedrooms, but I'm sure he won't know well enough to complain for a few years...

3.  Car seat installed - CHECK!  We also took the opportunity to thoroughly clean out my car, turn Sean's car set to forward facing (finally!), and install some nifty mirror that clips on to your sun visor so that I can see Sean without having to turn around.  Pretty exciting...

4.  Hospital bag, Sean and Bailey's bags for Nana and Papa's house - CHECK!  Obviously, some things won't be added until that day, but everything else, including snacks, are packed and ready to go!

5.  Second refrigerator/freezer - CHECK!  With a pretty decent deal from ABC Warehouse, we bought a white fridge/freezer on top combo to put in the breezeway to store all the freezer meals I've been cooking (check out my Monday Meal Plan posts the last two weeks to see what I've been cooking) and all the milk I'll be pumping.  Scott's thrilled to have a fridge to store all his beverages in for football season...

6.  Storm door in the kitchen doorway - CHECK!  This has been sitting in our garage and on our to-do list since we moved in last August!  My Dad came over last weekend and helped Scott install the door.  It only took about 3 hours, which isn't bad from what I hear!  And let me tell you - it is so nice on these cooler days we've been having this week, to get that breeze from outside while I've been cooking this much!

 7.  Carpet going upstairs - CHECK!  Considering these older wooden steps have been a safety hazard for the past year and then you add a gate at the top and bottom as obstacles, it was about time for us to get them carpeted.  Luckily, a friend from high school does carpeting, so he came and installed some awesome carpet as a runner and we were lucky enough to match it pretty closely to the carpet up at the top of the stairs.  They make less noise (a bonus with a child), are much safer, and look a heck of a lot better too!

8.  Boxing in and mulching the playstructure - CHECK!  Sort of...this is what $100 of rubber mulch will cover.  We ordered some Home Depot gift cards with our credit card points that should be here this week and then we can finish the project.  Luckily, with the rubber mulch, it claims we won't have to re-mulch for another 12 years.  We'll see about that...

9.  Sean's preparation for a big brother - CHECK!  I think he's really starting to understand the whole concept of a baby.  It could be that I expose him to random episodes of A Baby Story on TLC when we're bored at home or that he's getting old enough to understand some of it.  Either way, it's so cute when he points to my belly and says baby and insists on giving him a kiss.  He can say Evan and he even understands that Evan's room is for the baby and not for Sean.  So, here's some great moments we caught on camera of Sean excited for being a big brother:

So, with less than two weeks left to go until I'm term (not to mention that's when I had Sean so I'm being told to be ready), I just have to sterilize all the bottles and pump parts, get Sean's 2nd birthday party decorations and invitations ready, and get my classroom set up for my long-term sub.  Not too bad...

In the mean time, I'm just trying to enjoy every last minute of being a family of three.  So, today we went to the park and had a picnic dinner.  I'll leave you with this: