We Three Kings

(In case you are wondering, the title is a quote from the movie "Shag")

We’re still here. We’ve been busy trying to figure out how to balance being parents with the rest of life’s demands.
I love being a wife and a mom. I still can’t figure out how to get everything together though. I’m constantly late. (Ok, I’ve been late my whole life… I’m now even later.) I find myself wearing outfits that I probably wouldn’t have worn before. I’m not talking about “mom jeans.” I’ve just become a little less picky in my wardrobe and have been forced to just put on anything clean that fits. And my concept of matching has become a little broader. It’s a little freeing. I feel more artsy… or so I keep telling myself.
The other morning was really cold so I had to pull out my scarf and gloves. Well, I actually could only find one glove. And I was running late so I ended up just wearing the one glove… on my left hand… just like MJ… and it was cream… which is kind of similar to white… just like MJ. See, I am more artsy!

Trip is growing so fast! I can’t believe he’s already 5 months old! He got his first tooth last week and has started eating some solid food. He’s tried cereal and squash so far. He doesn’t seem too crazy about either one. I can’t say that I blame him.
He is a very happy baby and he loves to laugh and squeal. He does have a little bit of a temper when he gets hungry or tired. He seems to be pretty smart too. He’s already said, “Oahu” and “blue.” Ok, maybe it just sounded like he said those words. :) We’ll wait a little bit before we contact Mensa.

I’ll post some pictures of him sometime soon. We think he’s really cute.

I posted earlier about getting "down-sized" at work 4 weeks before my due date. In my meeting with the HR director, she stated that I could take time off if I needed to if I had an interview or something. I laughed at her comment as I looked down at my rather large belly and replied, "I can't really go to an interview like this."
I actually did go to an interview like that... I was 38+ weeks pregnant when I went in to interview for an intake therapist position at a mental health agency. My friend had referred me for the job and her supervisor was actually interested in me. I first met with the HR coordinator and I felt like there was a huge elephant in the room (ME!) as we talked about the job but didn't talk about the fact that I could actually go into labor during the interview. I met next with the supervisor and she commented that she was really wanting to get the "right" person in the job instead of being in a rush to fill the position. This actually gave me hope.
I waited for what seemed like forever and finally got a call with a job offer the day before Trip was born. It was such a relief to be able to focus on our new baby without having to worry about a job search. God's timing seemed perfect with this!
I received a call a few days later from my old supervisor telling me that one of the other therapists quit and that they would love to have me come back. I was torn! I had already accepted the other job! My supervisor was really upset that the therapist did not give her any indication that she was looking for another job. She said that, if she had known, she would've had them wait to lay me off. The whole ugly situation could've been avoided! It seems that the timing could not have been any worse.
I'm not really sure why it happened the way that it did. I ended up turning down my old job. I just felt like I needed to honor my commitment with the new place... especially since they were willing to wait for me during my maternity leave.
I start my new job in 3 weeks. I don't really know what God is up to... or even if I made the right decision. I am very thankful that He has provided for us but I am nervous about starting a new job with a new baby. Lots of transition! I think in the long run, the new job will be less stressful as I most likely won't get cussed out or threatened on a daily basis like I did in my old job.
That's gotta be worth something, right?

June 29th, Trip's official due date, came and went without event so my doctor scheduled an induction for early in the morning on 7/5. On the night of the 6/30, I got sick and chalked it it to eating too much at dinner with Will's folks. The next morning I woke up at 3:30am sick again and was having contractions 5 minutes apart (some were 2-3 min apart.) Will had to be at work at 4:00am and in all of the frenzy I somehow failed to communicate to him that I was having contractions. My doctor had told me earlier to go to the hospital when I had contractions 5 minutes apart for 2 hours straight. After the first hour of very steady contractions I called Will at work and asked him to come home.

We got checked in and went to the triage room where they checked me and found that I was only dilated 3 cm. I begged the nurse to not send me home and she said that they would keep me for a little bit to monitor me and may go ahead and induce me since I was past my due date. The contractions were so strong that I was ready for some pain relief.

Ever feel like the smallest thing can just put you over the edge? I'm there right now. With trying to finish up everything at work, looking for another job, (thinking about) getting ready for the baby, and trying to muster up some energy to clean my house, I feel like I cannot handle one more thing.
Last night I came home from work late around 7:00ish and Will was trying to take a nap (He had to be at work yesterday at 4:00am!) I decided to be a good wife and took the dogs outside so the house would be quiet. When I walked outside, my front yard looked like downtown Mobile after a Mardi Gras parade. There was trash and paper everywhere. I stood baffled for a few seconds and then looked to the little lab sitting to the left of me.... AMELIA!!!! Apparently we had received some type of package and on one of her earlier ventures outside she decided to take care of it for us. I looked around the yard again and noticed that all of the paper wasn't actually paper... it was baby bibs and onsies... covered in mud. Ralph Lauren onsies to be exact.
As I was about to collapse into tears a neighbor approached for a neighborly chat. I held myself together and began gathering the sad, little muddy clothes from all over the yard. The neighbor offered his empathy and support but refused to adopt Amelia. After a few minutes of searching, I finally found the card in the grass. The package was from my sweet brother and sister-in-law. It made me want to cry even more. I held it together though and finished my conversation with my very chatty neighbor.
When I went inside, I threw out all of my productive plans for the evening and decided to eat chicken nachos and ice cream with strawberries and watch the Bachelorette.
(I ended not being able to sleep and was stressing out over all that I didn't get done so I got up about 11:30pm and cleaned for about an hour.)