Secrets...and the time I won a Chipotle burrito

My last post was in May, which means that I have let almost the whole summer go by without an update.  You may think this is negligence on my part, but this time you’d be wrong.  In fact, I’ve been keeping secrets from you.  But we’ll get to that.  First an update on how successful I’ve been with the goals (what I will do with my 8 hours of “free” time now that I’ve reduced my work hours from 40 to 32 a week) that I set for myself last time I posted.  Here’s my progress report:

More Quality time with Sammy – Yes.  We’ve been working on which animals make what sounds.  Sammy is very good at this.  And there have been more walks and more trips to the park since I started working less.  We also took a little mini vacation up to my brother's cabin in Mercer, WI together this summer.  Unfortunately, Hansen couldn't come with us and we missed him a lot, but we still managed to have a good time.  Success!

At a park...playing in the sand.

At another park!

Driving up to Mercer.

Baby's 1st ATV ride!

Baby's first waterfall visit!

More park!

Playing with water at the park!

Make dinner every night – Moderate success.  Hansen hasn’t had to do much…except for a couple of times that we grilled.  I don’t mess with the grill.  I also rely heavily on leftovers.  And a few nights we had frozen pizza.  But aside from that, I’ve been doing much better than I had been since Sammy was born…and even before that, to be honest.

Pay bills on time - Check. 

Keep house clean – Haha…well…I’m trying.  I do clean the kitchen a lot.  There have a been a few times in the last few weeks that the house has looked really great.  Hansen and I even worked together one recent weekend to clean up our basement and get rid of a lot of junk!  So that’s something, at least. 

A time the house looked pretty good.

Another time the house looked good!

Part of the reason I have trouble with this particular goal.

Exercise and lose 20 pounds – I’ve taken some walks, but most of them are very slow.  I’m not sure they can be considered “exercise.”  Losing 20 pounds?  Ha!  But I haven’t gained anything!

Tend the garden – Our garden is just sad this year.  I’ve made some efforts.  Weeded it a few times.  Picked ripe produce.  But it’s just not producing like it has for us in the past.  We suspect that the low amount of sunlight that we had in July might have something to do with that.  And possibly the fact that we didn’t fertilize this past Spring?  Our tomato plants just look terrible…despite my efforts.  Oh well…I did try.

Fold Laundry – Ha.  Nope. And most recently, I actually left a clean load of laundry, unfolded, in a basket on the basement floor in front of the dryer.  Haven’t even brought it upstairs yet.  I might actually be getting worse.  Fail.

Step back from "the edge" – Another fail.  I may have even stepped off the edge. And here’s why…

I’m pregnant again!  That was the secret I’ve been keeping from you.  Although, I’m bad at secrets (at least, I’m bad at keeping my own), so some of you already knew this.  But I knew I couldn’t blog until I was ready to make a big announcement, because it seems that everything that is currently going on in my life is in some way related to this news.

It is joyous news, I know.  And we were very happy when we found out, albeit not entirely mentally prepared for it. But we’re adjusting to the idea and trying to prepare ourselves for another huge (and wonderful) life change.

I found out on Father’s Day.  I actually thought something was up several weeks before that, but had taken two pregnancy tests that had both come back negative before I got the positive result on June 21^st.  Since we weren’t specifically trying to get pregnant again, I wasn’t sure how Hansen would take the news, so I decided not to tell him right away.  I mean, he knew it was a possibility, as I’d told him about my suspicions...and he knew about the previous tests I had taken.  He wouldn’t have been blindsided by the news, but since it was Father’s Day, I didn’t want to wake him up with news that could potentially add stress to his already very busy and full life.  I figured I’d wait until after “his day,” or at least until the end of it.  However, when he noticed that I was drinking lemonade instead of having a beer (as I have been known to do on occasion) at our family Father’s Day celebration at my parents’ house, he asked me flat out if I’d taken the test that I’d recently purchased.  So, of course, I didn’t lie to him…and the secret was out.  We told my folks and siblings, too, because hey…why not!?  And after my first doctor appointment in July, it was confirmed that I am due around February 25^th, 2016!

This news has also prompted us to start thinking about our living situation.  We have a nice little house.  It really is great.  If we were going to be a 3 person/1 dog family forever, I don’t think I’d have any problem staying there.  We’ve loved it.  But…we’re growing now.  With only 2 bedrooms, all the toys laying around (that won’t be getting packed up any time soon), and all the kid’s clothing that we’ve accumulated (but are unwilling to discard yet, since we knew we’d eventually want to try for more kids), we’re starting to feel a little like the walls are closing in around us.  So, a few weeks ago we called a realtor about putting our house on the market.  After a quick look around our place, he gave us a small list of projects that he thinks we should do before listing the house…just to give us the best chance of getting the most we can for our home.  We’re currently in the process of checking things off that list.  It’s slow going, though, as neither of us have any time to dedicate to those projects during the week.  And weekends can be hard too, as they’re the only time we have to pursue any kind of social life, spend time with extended family, grocery shop, and do regular cleaning and home/yard maintenance.

So, we’re feeling a little overwhelmed these days.  We have a lot on our minds…even beyond the new baby and trying to sell our house/buy a bigger place.  I won’t go into it all here.  We’d appreciate your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and for a smooth process of selling/buying a home.  I, of course, would LOVE to sell, buy, and move in to a new place before I am hugely pregnant…or at the very latest…before I give birth.  But we’ll see what God has in store for us. 

Oh…and because science is amazing, we already know that we’re having another boy!  We just found out.  My doctor’s office received the results of a blood test that checks for chromosomal abnormalities yesterday afternoon.  When the lab examines the baby’s DNA, they are able to identify whether or not a Y chromosome is present.  Isn’t it crazy that they can find the baby’s DNA in my own blood?  Pretty awesome, if you ask me.  Anyway, after assuring me that all looked normal, the doctor’s office gave me the results in a sealed envelope yesterday afternoon, and Hansen and I sat down to open it when he got home from work yesterday evening.  We made a little wager regarding the baby’s gender before we opened it…loser buys the winner a Chipotle burrito.  My official prediction was boy.  And I was right!  Mmm mmm mmm!  Being right never tasted so good!

Sammy will be a wonderful big brother.  We keep trying to explain to him that there will be a new baby coming soon, but he doesn’t seem to have any idea what we’re talking about yet.  Oh well, he’ll learn soon enough.  Maybe I’ll start working with him on what sound a baby makes!  Or…maybe not.  I think I can wait until the baby actually arrives to hear that again.  Lord knows I’ll hear it often enough then!  Hopefully the boys will get along splendidly and always enjoy each other’s friendship and company.  That’s what brothers do, right? 

No idea what is coming!