Last Week - Taking Care of Business

Since this is the last week until we have a newborn that takes up all of our time, we've been trying to get some items done while we can. On Monday morning, Elaine and I took Calleigh to JCPenney to get her two year old pictures taken. Let me tell you, I had very low expectations for this endeavor seeing as it's virtually impossible to get her to ever pose for a picture or smile on demand. My expectations were greatly exceeded I'm happy to say. The photographer obviously had done it a few times and knew just what to do. She had a feather duster that she would use to tickle me and it would make Calleigh smile and laugh every time! Not only that, but Calleigh actually followed all of the directions. When the photographer had her cross her ankles and put her hands just so in her lap, she would do exactly that and keep them that way. Elaine and I kept looking at each other in amazement! The result ended up being too many pictures to choose from as it turns out. I think I blogged about this last year when we went to Walmart for her one year pictures but I'll say it again. How is it in this day and age of technology that they don't have some other system for purchasing pictures? To get the best deal, I had to pick out the pictures I wanted right then and there. So here you are with like 20 poses, all the sizes, and then different collages, etc of pictures and you're supposed to pick what you want while your two year old is running all over the place. Ahhhh! Now, if you decide that you want to purchase something else (at a much higher price, mind you) later on, they'll send you an email with a link to all of the pictures but the email won't arrive for 7 - 10 days after the picture taking session. Huh? How long does it take to upload the pictures and send an email? And, of course, you can't actually pick up your pictures that you bought on the spot until 10 days later...so we're looking at May 21. However, despite all that, I'm happy with the way things went. The JCPenney experience was much better than Sears (Christmas 2007) and Walmart.

Tuesday morning Calleigh and I took Dewey and Marlee to the vet for their yearly checkup and shots. I used it as an opportunity to try and make Calleigh more comfortable with the whole "going to the doctor" thing. She saw them get their heart checked with the stethoscope, their ears looked at with the little instrument, etc. They even got shots and I told Calleigh to notice how brave they were. I have to say that I love their vet. His name is Dr. McAbee and he is by far, the nicest doctor I've ever been to whether animal or human. Right off the bat, he started talking to Calleigh who was roaming around the room (I had her in her stroller but she said she wanted to get out and "behave." I couldn't resist once she said that!). He took his light instrument that he uses for the ears, turned off the lights in the room, and spent quite a long time letting Calleigh chase the image that it made all over the wall. He did it again at the end too. He always takes plenty of time to talk to you about anything and everything - - just the kind of doctor you want for yourself but so often, your own seems like he's in too big a hurry or too distracted to really care about you. Anyway, the dogs were in good health despite all the new "old age" spots and bumps they've gotten. They do need their teeth "professionally" cleaned but at $266 a pop, I'm not sure when that's going to happen especially considering that this visit left us $347 poorer. Yikes! I did buy some dog food and heart worm tablets but still...That's quite a chunk of change. Thank goodness it's only once a year.

This morning we met Kristine and Jonathan at Monkey Joe's for a little playtime. This time I took a picture of the slide that she went down last time that scared me a little bit. She started to go up the steps this time but I quickly put a stop to that. We didn't stay too long because I needed to get back to meet Elaine who watched Calleigh while Duncan and I did a tour of the Baby Place over at Winter Park Hospital. Sadly, I'm disappointed with the set up over there. I had Calleigh at the Orlando hospital but for a myriad of reasons, decided to switch to Winter Park this time. One being that my doctor from last time was no longer there. I had chosen another set of doctors who practiced in Orlando for the second pregnancy but lost my desire to go there after their nonchalance with the miscarriage. So I decided to try Winter Park this time for something different - - and the hospital is closer and frankly, the OB area is nicer. As it turns out, I think I would have preferred to stay in Orlando and just gone with some other doctor. We found out that they do not have windows in the OR room where they'll be doing the c-section. So that means that nobody except for Duncan (who is allowed in the room) will be able to watch. With Calleigh, my mother and Elaine were able to watch from a window. Very disappointing. In addition, they don't let anyone except for the father in the recovery room after the surgery but they recommend that the father go with the baby to the nursery while tests are being run. This means that after going through major surgery and this huge event, that I will be left with nobody in the recovery room with me. I don't get it. The nurse, in fact, said that they are strict about this rule. These two things, which are totally different from last time, put a real damper on things for me but what are you going to do at this point? On the plus side, at least the rooms are much nicer and roomier than what we had in Orlando with wood floors, flat screen TVs, fridges, etc. We also get complimentary massages and I quote "Relaxing, social Afternoon Teas complete with English teas, juices and scones." So I'm going to focus on the positive. Of course, the reality of it is that I'm going there to have a baby and that's the important part.

In other news, I was wondering among Camille, my friend Lauren (due 5/19), and me which of us would have our baby first. That mystery has been put to rest. Lauren had her baby girl, Juliann, on Tuesday morning. So congrats to her. I hope to be able to go see them this weekend. We all have been hoping that Camille would be having Camden by now but no such luck.

We had a little incident yesterday. Baby Molly (given to Calleigh by Aunt Shirley about two weeks) has met an untimely death. Calleigh was sitting on the tile next to the front door and the next thing I know, I hear a wail. I look over and there is Molly lying on the floor with a shattered arm and leg. I knew Molly's arms and legs were made out of some kind of hard special plastic but I didn't really realize it was that delicate. Apparently it was. Sadly, she was in too many pieces for me to try and glue her back together so we unfortunately had no choice but to put her in the trash (there were sharp wires sticking out from where her arm and leg were so it wasn't a safe option to just keep her despite the handicap). Calleigh was understandably upset by the whole event but I comforted her and told her she could get other baby dolls. About ten minutes later, I see her walk over to the trash can, lift up the lid, and say very softly as she peers in at Molly, "Sorry Molly" and then she closes the lid. It was too cute despite the sad circumstances.

So we have five full days left before we become a family of four. I still feel pretty good although I think my fingers have finally gotten just a little bigger. I had to take my wedding ring off because it got tight. Falling asleep has become such a big challenge. Not because I'm uncomfortable (although there is some of that) but because I can't get my brain to stop thinking about anything and everything. The same thing happens when I wake up during the night to use the bathroom (which is more than once). So it leaves me with not getting that great of sleep at night. Perhaps this is nature's way of preparing you for the interrupted nights you will have once you have a newborn.

In closing, and on a very serious note, I have found out that my Uncle Clarence (my dad's sister Shirley's husband) appears to have suffered a stroke this evening. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he is in very serious condition. Please keep him in your prayers. He is a really good man and Calleigh even mentions him on an almost daily basis despite only seeing him occasionally.