The move-in date that wasn't

(The pictures below have nothing to do with this post, but I had to put them in)

We're moving...have I mentioned that yet? Only problem is...we don't know when. Talking to Brett today made me realize why I've been so stressed out. We're waiting on a very important part of our house to get fixed (I'll give you a hint...we seem to have to deal with this part of our house a lot). Well, we don't have a completion date (or a start date for that matter). I'm a planner. I like to know when things are going to happen. I've already dealt with an unpredictable baby, I just don't have it in me to deal with an unpredictable house too.

Luckily, Brett is super understanding of my complete stressed-out-ness. Yay for me!

As of today the semester is officially over. Of course Brett has a gig tomorrow so he's not "on break" just yet. See, I'm not even freaking out about it because I knew..May 21st=graduation + May 22nd= Gig = Brett not officially on break until May 23rd! Give me a date and I can handle it. I may have to repeat to myself over and over again "Do not have a meltdown, do not have a meltdown", but I'll make it if I have a date. I have even at times told Brett, "I'm going to have a meltdown. I will wait until your recital (semester, trip, etc) is over, but I *will* have a meltdown." He appreciates the warning, and I'm pretty sure all psychiatrists would agree that this is a *very* healthy thing to do (right?)

So here I sit. My current house is a mess...my new house is a mess...I'm a mess. To quote a famous bear, "Oh bother."

Open Eyes

Veronica loves to tell me what Felicity is doing, "Mine baby cry mommy", "Mine baby bed, mommy", and my favorite one, "Mine baby open eyes, moooom."

Ducky Outfit

This is the day we brought Felicity home. She's in the ducky outfit that I bought for her as her "take home" outfit, not knowing if she was a boy or girl of course. When I came home from the hospital, without my baby, I found that outfit at the top of my bag. I spread it out on my pillow and cried myself to sleep on it, all the time wondering if I was going to bring my baby home in it or bury her in it. As of today, she's too big for her ducky outfit! What a sweet, sweet feeling to know that my baby is growing and living and breathing (albeit with a stuffy nose since her siblings shared their cold with her). Praise be to God for this girl!

T is for...

Ticks! We have had some major tick issues already this year. Not at our "in town" house, but the new-to-us "country house". Doesn't that sound swanky? Don't fear, we are not independently wealthy. Professors are not making a great living...just barely enough to live actually, but that's for another post. This one is about ticks, unfortunately.

They are everywhere. In general if you stay out of the tall grass you can avoid the little blood sucking creeps. Sorry, does that sound mean? This year they are in the short grass, the tall grass, the rocks, the trees, the weeds, everywhere. They are dangling out their nasty little sticky legs ready to be swept away by any unsuspecting victim. The baby's spit-up rag has fallen, the mom, the two-year-old, the 7-year-old. Tickies, tickies, everywhere.

This brings up a couple of issues. The first being the fact that my girls love romping around in cute little skirts and dresses in the summer. We are not one of those "dresses only" homeschooling families, but the ladies in our family do prefer dresses and skirts. These do not mix well with tickies. I can just imagine my girls coming in from playing down by the creek (we have a creek...how cool is that?) crawling with ticks. The simple solution would be of course not to wear a skirt down to the creek...easy enough I guess. But, replace the entire wardrobe of these sweet girls? That doesn't sound practical. Have them put on "outdoor" clothes for going outdoors? Well, ya might as well replace their wardrobe since we are outdoors all summer long. Insist on light-colored skirts so the ticks are easily visible? Maybe. Insist on frequent tick checks? Definitely. Buy several guineas to eat all of our ticks? Considering it.

The second issue is simply the "ew" factor. I hate ticks. There, I said it. I hate them!

On a side note. Felicity smiles all the time now. Pictures you say? Not yet. That requires her to smile when she's either not in my arms or when there's another adult around to capture the shot. Neither of which is really an option.

Also, Felicity seems to have the cold that has been making it around our house. I'm trying not to overreact about it. She wasn't a preemie so we thankfully do not really have to worry about her immune system. She has proven to us that she's tough so I guess we'll just ride it out.

Kids are currently doing school...er... playing outside in our tick-free yard, but I suspect they will come in soon to eat which means I should have some food to offer them.

Special Day

Last Sunday our dear sweet Emma-girl received her First Holy Communion. Her godfather and his family came up for the great event. We love them! It was wonderful. It was such a special weekend for her and for all who witnessed it. Fr.Andy made the day so memorable for all of us.

It was also Mother's Day on that day and I rejoiced in loving and not missing. Just a wonderful day all around.

Leggo My Ergo

I have a sling because I think it's a requirement to be a part of La Leche League.

I have two because once you buy one you have to have another.

I have a Babyhawk carrier because I couldn't figure out how to use the sling for "back carrying".

I have a Moby Wrap because I think you have to have one in order to "graduate" from the NICU.

I now have an ErgoBaby. I love my Ergo. I've wanted one for years because they've had amazing reviews and you can never find one used (a good sign that the original owners are happy with them). A dear friend of ours uses her Ergo for big and little ones and loves it. I don't know what took me so long. I finally feel like a productive member of society again.

Over the "blahs"

Felicity has now officially been home longer than she was in the hospital. I'm afraid to say that it took way too long and too many meltdowns to get into a good "routine" and feel like I'm not failing at everything I try to do. I finally feel like I can get something done these days without my head being in a complete fog. Wow, hormones and stress...not a good combination.

Brett has a week left of classes and then finals and then he's free for the summer! Yippeee! Okay, who am I kidding? This summer is jam-packed with renovation projects and visitors (and if you're one of those visitors you just might be lucky enough to get in on a renovation project).

The "other" house is shaping up nicely and as soon as we have a new septic system we can move in. I drove up yesterday and it looked like a scene from "Extreme Home Makeover". Too bad ABC isn't footing the bill.

I received a phone call yesterday from the nurse manager at the NICU wondering if I would be willing to go around with the Foundation and tell our sweet baby's story. They are trying to raise funds for a new NICU. This is a project I will gladly support and do whatever I can to help succeed.

Off to the grocery store (yes, with all the kids 'cause that's just how it goes around here) to get ready for the big weekend! Oh, more about that in another post. Hopefully with pictures.

Transitions are messy

And this one is no different. Embracing the mess instead of letting it swallow me whole would be a good idea. Unfortunately, I'm not so good at that. Anyone who knew me growing up would be surprised by that. I lived in "mess"....I thrived in "mess"..."mess" was my middle name! I don't like to wish my life away. If anything, I should know how precious every second is. However, I'm finding myself holding my breath, refusing to let go, until this icky transition time is over. I'm pretty confident that I could find any number of letters diagnosing my problem, but in the end I just need to let go. I'm not in charge (don't tell my kids)...I'm not in control (ha, you can say that again)...I'm not crazy (just felt like I needed a third and thought that "saying" it out loud would convince someone).

In other news: There are no recent pictures of our sweet baby girl because she has a horrible case of baby acne and all the pics that I've taken are so pathetic looking. Of course she's still beautiful and perfect, but it looks so painful.