Catching Up

The longer I go without writing, the more daunting the thought of trying to catch up on all that was missed. I'll try to summarize now so that I can get back to writing in detail when the mood strikes and time permits. I say that as though time actually permits sometimes rather than being stolen from sleeping, chores, or children, but you get the idea.

December: K passed his board exam, Maya cut her first tooth, my Uncle Nelson died, I bought my season pass to Scarborough Faire, Maya started saying "uh oh," and we went to San Antonio for our 10th anniversary/New Year's celebration.

January: Maya stood unsupported, we joined a gym, I signed up with a personal trainer, K's new office opened, we moved into a nicer but smaller house near the new office, I turned 36, and poor Maya had a rotavirus.

February: We bought new appliances and furniture, K gave me diamonds for our 10th anniversary on Valentine's Day (though I completely missed it and didn't discover them until days later,) K's parents came to stay for a few weeks, Maya celebrated her first birthday, and Layth started swimming lessons again.

March: We toured the maternity ward, I accompanied Justin to a college recruitment dinner, Maya started walking.

Presently: Maya has four teeth, toddles everywhere, and is a general delight. She has started play classes at Gymboree, and loves them. Layth is nearly four, loves to test parental limits, and antagonizes his sister on a daily basis. He can be sweet when he wants to be, but he can certainly be a handful, too. He reminds me so much of Layla, especially since he's catching up to the age she was when we lost her. Justin is thinking more about college, and at the moment has his sights set on the Air Force Academy in Colorado, with the goal of a military career and a future with NASA.

I'm feeling great for the most part, though it's getting harder to bend over and tie my shoes these days. This has been a very easy pregnancy. We're about 5 weeks away from our anticipated induction date now, with no decision made about a name for the baby. There are two we like, but I'm tormented by the probability that K's parents won't like either of them. It's very easy for people to tell me that it's my decision, not theirs, but they don't face the prospect of living for 6 weeks under the same roof with them.

My grandparents have moved from Virginia to Ft Worth so that my mother can help take care of my Nana, but it's a difficult transition for everyone. My parents and grandparents are stressed, depressed, and feeling the strain on their marriages, and I'm way over here on the other side of the metroplex feeling sad for everyone with no way to help.

K's practice is doing well, but he's very busy promoting the new office and meeting local doctors. We're trying to clean up the old house in our spare time (ha!) so that we can sell it and get out from under that debt. Paying the mortgage on one house and the rent on another are really slowing down our plans to pay off credit cards.

That pretty much summarizes everything. My apologies to the anonymous reader who has been wondering where I've been. I've just had my hands full, and still do! I can't promise any regularity with updates, but hopefully it will be better than the past few months.