Welcome to My Web, Said the Spider to the Fly

This is my favorite room in the entire house! MY ROOM!

Well, okay, so it's Niko's. But I spend a lot of time in here, because it's bright and cheery and because Niko is squirreling away all of our silverware and hiding it around the house. A lot of it ends up here.

Of course, if I were to sleep here at night, all of the bright colors and dizzying circles would give me nightmares. Happy, whirling nightmares about "if moon were cookie" and lots of things that laugh and giggle and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So it's best to avoid that scenario.

I went to the doctor yesterday, who confirmed that because of the GD, the baby is big. How big, we won't know until next week when we do an ultrasound, but obviously plenty big. "Are you sure?" I asked him. He looked at me with all of the love and understanding and sympathy in the world. "Sweetheart," he said, "just LOOK at you!"

And...that means...what? ;)

I've been putting things away like mad in The House, and she is beautiful and clean and fabulous. The nursery is almost up, and it's just a good feeling place that feels like ours, now, not like we're staying at somebody else's place. I'm painting cute little wooden chairs that Mom gave us as a housewarming gift. They're adorable and perfectly Niko sized, and if I just work on them for 15 minutes a day (priming, painting, and then sanding, priming and painting a small wooden table) they'll eventually get done. I learned this from the Flylady, my guru. I realize how many things I put off until I can get the ENTIRE project done at one time, and really, who has that kind of time? Nobody that I know, that's for sure! But 15 minutes here and there...that I can do. And then my energy flags. And I want a bath and bonbons and bed, although that doesn't seem to happen, either. Hmmmm, I'll have to think about this.

Luke comes home every day and takes care of the yard. Which is small enough that it only takes a few minutes, but he's very proud of it, and does a great job. Then we both demand hugs from Niko, alternating who we make him run to, and Niko loves it and laughs. I think he'll like a sibling, although it will be a cruel reality for him, as well. But I'm learning that he's adaptable, and he'll be a wonderful big brother. There will always be a lot going on for Ninjack to watch, that's for sure!

Just an update

Luke and Niko made an impromptu trip tonight to go get our old baby stuff out of storage, so I'm here alone. My one and only goal is to sleep through the entire night, and not get out of bed until I'm good and ready tomorrow. Niko has been staying awake until around 3:00 am lately, and I just can't handle it. I'm not sure why...maybe he's sensing the changes in the air, but it doesn't go over well with Mommy.

He's much more used to the bus now, which is great! It's incredibly stressful to watch him break down every morning, and to manhandle his tiny body outside. I think part of it is that I take him out on the porch 20 minutes early, and we sing and clap and point out all of the cars until the bus comes. It's kind of a time for us to engage fully with one another, and he seems to enjoy it. I know that I do!

I found out that there is a woman here who is a medical expert on Williams Syndrome. I think that I'm going to drop her a line and let her know that we're in the city. I have a feeling that we could be beneficial to each other, and it would be really nice to have our foot in the door.

I don't have my educational class on the diabetes until this Thursday, and I'm feeling worse than ever. "Every day counts," my doctor tells me, but then I have to wait two weeks for an appointment. It's enough to drive me a bit bonkers, actually, and I'm afraid that I'm well on my way around the bend.

The GOOD news is that I was submitting short stories like a crazy woman last night, and I'm really happy about that! I don't expect them to be accepted, and I think that I will be able to handle the rejection. (I hope, anyway!) I am just incredibly proud of myself for even submitting! Woo hoo! So I'll bask in that for a while.

I had a grand moment this evening! I was sitting on the patio in the back, reading a book and watching Niko jump on the trampoline. I heard Luke come home and I called over my shoulder, "We're outside!" and it struck me how nice it really was. It was sunny and Niko was laughing, I was enjoying the scent of Oleander and Luke was coming home from his enjoyable job. We're in a good place right now, and things are really going well for us. This is a wonderful thing.

The Wheels On The Bus...

So Niko has started his one month of summer school, and so far it seems to be going fairly well. He rides the bus there, and screams, of course, and presses both hands against the window as he drives away, looking at me plaintively. "He's usually done by the time we turn the corner," the bus driver confided, and so I believe that everything is all right. I also talked to his teacher on the phone today, who sounds like she definitely has it all together, and that's just a relief. He's learning new things all of the time, like how to climb the ladder to the playhouse all by himself, and where all of the switches to the ceiling fans are. I don't even know that, yet! Tonight he crawled out of the bathtub by himself, as well, after draining the tub. He's really doing very well.

Luke hurt his back somehow, which is just laughable. Because I'm in pretty lousy shape, and now so is he. "Don't climb on the washer," we warn Niko. Because then we'll argue over who has to pull him off when he gets stuck. I think it's pretty funny, actually. But in a throw-your-hands-in-the-air kind of way.

I found out on Monday that I have gestational diabetes, which has thrown me for a bit of a loop. They have a class that I'm supposed to take, and tomorrow is Friday and I still can't get any information out of them. It's worrisome, is what it is, and frustrating, but it is also a relief in a way. I was feeling absolutely terrible, and it is good to know that there was a genuine reason for it, and not just whiny laziness. I hope to hear back from them very soon. Before it's too late, frankly. There's kind of...a bit of a countdown going on. ;)

The House is amazing, and we're really enjoying it! Every evening when it cools down a bit, we go outside and watch Niko play. He loves the trampoline, especially when he jumps with the big blue beach ball. And he is Tsar of the Clubhouse, spinning the steering wheel and sliding down the slide. He swings. He climbs. And today he discovered the monkey bars, so there's even more to explore. A sandbox. Grass. The neighbor's dog that he can see over the fence when he's up there. It is just a whole new world that he hasn't experienced before, and it's simply wonderful. It's really a joy to watch him out there, terrorizing his own personal little neighborhood. It makes me very happy.