Moving on... Maybe?

Baby Dalia is here! And our whole little world knows it...

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep up with blogging on this site for a while. My parents have asked me to start a blog so they can keep up with Dalia since they live so far away (here's hoping they finally gussy up the means to move closer!) In the meantime, here's the blog I made -- just for Dalia's far away grandparents.. but if you're so interested, you can keep up too! 

http://growingdalia.blogspot.com/

 

The Best is Yet to Come

So many wonderful things happened in 2012 that I'm sad to say goodbye.

Of course, I did not know how wonderful it would be. The year started with me knowing that I would have to leave the Apple for a good long while, and that depressed me big time. But, like a fierce and independent woman, I threw on a pair of stilettos and got myself a great job in the Bean. I made the most of the cards I was dealt.

I won the whole darn game.

Bebe consumed most of the year (and my belly) this year. By far she was the game changer. Now that we're only days away from her arrival, and the start of the new year, I can't help but think that as good as God has been to us this year, surely the best is yet to come.

As I make my annual 100 resolutions for the new year, I can't help but think about what I've learned this year:

• Nothing, NOTHING in life is just handed to you. So quit complaining and pitying yourself and fight for what you want or change the situation you no longer want to be in. Even if it's hard. 
• No does not mean No. Every no is a future yes.
• Everything EVERYTHING happens for a reason. The good, and the not so good. Just because that reason isn't revealed to us right away, doesn't mean there isn't one. 
• Actions always speak louder than words, and most times spell clear writings on the wall. 
• My least favorite word is "busy." Because that concept doesn't exist. And the fact that I can say that with three jobs and a baby on the way means it's true. Busy is bull and a word worth eliminating as much as the people in your life who use it.  
• Just because you're married doesn't give you the license to drop the ball. Marriage spoiler alert: the bar is set higher for a spouse than for a date. Putting the marriage first is not easy and chances are you're not good at it. Like many things in life, it's a WORK in progress.
• I'm emotional. I'm sentimental. I like surprises when I don't have to hint at them. And I like the yucky love stuff. This year I was certainly short-changed. (Besides crying my eyes out at the gender reveal ultrasound).

2013 will certainly bring on big changes -- some obvious, but many that will seem unexpected.

Let's do this!

Nesting Mode is On!

It's been a while since I've peeked in to update you. 

We've had an amazing month of friends and family -- a wonderful baby shower (where it finally hit me that we're having a bebe!!!!!!), and so many wedding and baby announcements. Superman learned to swaddle and change a diaper in our birthing class, and my whole world changed in a way I can't quite explain.  

I secured a new writing contract which has pulled me in a new and exciting direction. I won another journalism award and immediately thought of how important it is for bebe to know that as a little lady she can do whatever she puts her mind to. She can have a career and raise a family and be happy -- after she learns to crawl and walk, that is. It won't be easy. It may require sacrificing date nights for three months, especially since a forgetful husband may not take initiative to pick up the slack of decisive planning and execution. But she can be a woman who's got her own "thang" and can manage to pick herself up from her bootstraps when things aren't quite perfect. She can be the opposite of dependent.   

Every day last month, I couldn't help but think of how the day would be different once bebe is around. Our house is not clean enough. Our nursery still looks like an office no matter how hard we've tried to revamp (mainly because our furniture hasn't arrived). We're working over-over-time to be able to afford those diapers. More than once, we've (seriously) discussed private school and college options for bebe. Mind you, she's still breathing amniotic fluid.  

In short: 

We're in nesting mode. Big time. 

I have never before experienced this feeling of "I can't wait" and "I can wait" at the same time. For instance -- I can wait for labor pains. I can't wait for bebe.

Once the rest of our furniture arrives -- which has been promised to us in a few weeks -- I think we'll be good and ready.

As for the labor part. Well, I've got to buck up (maybe on meds). A girl can't be pregnito forever. (Thank goodness!)

Back to Normal

After a month of living in sunny 80 degree weather, Superman was greeted back home with a snowstorm.

He ignored all signs of a Nor'easter and took a hose to his precious lawn. Only to have it freeze over.

He shoveled and salted the whole driveway.

He took one look in the refrigerator and pitched and restocked.

He took one trip to the bathroom and grabbed the cleaning brush.

He changed the flat tire and installed a new battery so the car would start.

Then he mentioned that in his phone favorites, I've moved up the list to number one on his "most called." Even surpassed the military and the Blue. This won't last for long since we'll actually see each other, which is just fine by me.

I say, everything is the way it should be again!

Structure

A slew of new endeavors in my life has forced me to realize (and act on) the fact that I need to structure my time. I'm juggling four jobs and two new big Big BIG projects and I've been learning the hard way that doing everything all at once isn't going to work. I need to carve out time and devote that time to one thing and nothing else.

I'm glad that bebe is still in the pouch while we're learning this lesson. Right now, she's quiet and goes wherever I go. But in a few months, that won't be the case. That's why I've got to hunker down and create some structure.

Every parenting book talks about the importance of structure for a baby. The more a baby knows what to expect and when to expect it, the less fussy baby will be, and the easier our lives will become.

Let me tell you -- if it wasn't for bebe, I would brush off the idea of structure and just focus on trying to keep all the balls in the air at once, even if it kills me.

I think having bebe in our life has really taught us the importance of creating structure, respecting time, and sometimes saying 'no.' That's saying A LOT for the Super couple who does everything, all the time, every day, no matter what.

Today, I was scheduled to work 16 hours. Normally I don't quantify the hours spent working, or really talk about what I do "negatively", because I love every minute of it. But forget the part about working. Here's the bigger picture. Those 16 hours comes after working 6 days straight, oftentimes on up to 6 different projects.

• The only sun I see is from an office window. Don't ask me about my vitamin D levels. 

• Superman decided to have the landscaper put a new lawn in. All I see is a new green whoosh as I'm either leaving or coming home. Now he's having heart palpitations because our untended-to lawn is dying. 

(Superman has clearly violated soldier handbook rule #4897345789 - "Do NOT start a big project that you cannot complete prior to leaving your spouse for a long time, expecting her to clean up after your mistake... the woman has a life ya know. And it doesn't revolve around going down YOUR to-do list during every phone conversation. Show your household commander-in-chief some respect. Ya Rookie.")

• I live on peanut butter and cream cheese and cereal. The most extensive cooking I've done has been turning the knob on the oven and sticking some leftovers in there. Don't ask about that one time I left the knob turned even though there wasn't any food in the oven. Don't ask for how long it was left turned on. 

• Don't even ask me how many days in a row I've worn the same pair of socks. Don't ask me where all of Superman's socks have gone even though he hasn't been home for a month. 

Today, for the first time, I said 'no' to the scheduled 16 hours. I don't feel as guilty as I thought I would.

So thank you bebe! Thank you for coming into existence so we can learn to structure and simplify!  You may just turn me into a over employed, vitamin D enriched, full meal cooking, laundry doing superwoman who does it all in its structured and scheduled time. Let's hope. Or this is going to be a long 18 years.

Deployments & Giving Birth

While I didn't know it then, I know now that nothing has better prepared me to give birth than going through a deployment.

Why's that? Well, nothing I explain can say it better than this post over at Household 6 Diva. So enjoy reading her insights!

Wearing my heart on my Pinterest board

It's not so difficult nowadays to know what's on someone's mind. All you have to do is check out what they've been pinning lately on Pinterest.

Although Superman defines Pinterest as a whole bunch of random STUFF that threw up on a website, I tell him that only multitasking overthinking women like me know that there's a method to the madness.

A few months ago, all I could pin about was home renovation ideas. Now that we've OFFICIALLY entered our nesting phase (more on that another time), it's all Bebe. 

I don't consider myself crafty, or a DIY expert. I've done a little, but nothing to brag (or blog) about. Besides, that's what Superman is here for. I point. He does. Sometimes he lets me hold a tool or two. But not the scary ones. 

Still, Pinterest stirs my imagination of all the fun things to do with Superman... even someday with Bebe... even some amazing party ideas for the future pregnitos in my life...

Admit it, ladies. You too wear your hearts on your Pinterest boards.