This is the Month

Life really passes too quickly.  Work has been so busy these last two months.  This is my first year to work on the Student Data side of things at GPISD.  October begins my 9th year at the district and I must say this last year has been the best!  I have had the chance to work with some really great people.  After accepting this position they hired a lady named Faye Lynn Biggs who happened to be from Weatherford.  I was told to learn everything I could from her and I really tried to.  She is a wealth of information and knows this stuff, I'd say, better than the back of her hand.  Other than knowing her job, she is just a great person that you enjoy being around.

Faye Lynn went in for surgery at the end of September and by the end of October she'd be diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.  She had to retire mid October.

October/November is a busy time for our department.  State submission of Student Data is due at this time and without Faye Lynn's expertise, we had to figure some things out on our own!  Luckily I did learn a lot from her which made things much easier than I'm sure they would have been otherwise.  Needless to say though, things at work were super busy!  In addition, my other co-worker, who is also sharp as a tack when it comes to all rules and guidelines, was hospitalized with pneumonia!  So here we were down two people and each day is questionable at best for me!

I wouldn't say this pregnancy has been hard, but at this point, I'm feeling some pressure.  Walking -- sometimes not so easy.  Laying down is about out of the question.  My new bed has become the recliner.  I had been falling asleep there when Kaitlyn wakes up at night since she's still not the best sleeper, but now it's a matter of comfort that it has became where I did all my sleeping.

One appointment this month the Dr. said I was dilating and then the next she said I was fine.  When I was pregnant with Kaitlyn, I remember the 9th month I was freaking out because I nervous about when my water would break or where I'd be or if today was going to be the day.  With this pregnancy, I didn't think I had to worry about those things since I had a scheduled c-section.  But when the Dr. said I was dilating and that if my water should break, just come on in and we'd have a baby..that panic returned! Would today be the day!?!  Would I have an embarrassing situation at work or at the grocery store where my water breaks and what's that like anyway!?  Bruce and I had a plan for what we'd do with Kaitlyn for the c-section but hadn't really come up with much if something else should happen.

Thursday, November 11th, I had come to a stopping place at work and cleaned up my desk area and filed away papers.  Lucky for me because as Bruce and I went to bed that night I felt something funny and about an hour later I knew my water had broken.  As I just mentioned, we really didn't have a plan so at 11:30 I was calling my friend Crystal who'd been my friend since kindergarten.  I'm not sure it really registered with her husband who answered the phone in a sleepy voice asking me what's up but Crystal made it to the house in record time.  By 1:54 am November 12th, my precious, all-the-while, unexpected but not unplanned little Macy Grace was born 7lbs, 5oz and 20 inches long with a full head of hair.  Unfortunately Dr. Gardner was not on call that night, but the other doctors in her office were already there and had just done a c-section so my wait was not that long.  I was glad because like with Kaitlyn, my contractions were every minute on the minute.  They gave me Demerol with Kaitlyn but with Macy I just had to wait for my spinal on the operating table.

Look at how simliar Macy looks compared to Kaitlyn.  These pictures were all taken when the girls were 7 days old.  The left is Macy and the right is Kaitlyn.

Oh October

Down to the last trimester!  I am getting to the anxious stage. We had decided that we'd wait to get a crib and such since she'd probably be sleeping in a bassinet for a while, in our room for good while anyway.  Kaitlyn slept in the bassinet until she was six months.  However, as the due date draws near, I am realizing that I may not have time to put together a crib with a toddler and a new born.   So we've broken down and gotten a new crib.  Our cousin Amanda gave us her son's crib mattress so that saves us!   I've also decided that I'll try redoing a dresser that I would have otherwise just thrown out.

I got this far and the next coat of paint I put on, it all bubbled up and blistered.  So disappointing.  Now I'll have to find a sander and start over.

I have learned some new vocabulary.  It's good to know there are terms to describe having babies this close together.   We'd been doing interviews at work and this one Hispanic lady we were interviewing said "Oh! You're having 'mexican twins!"  Another lady I work with said the same thing.  She has 4 kids and her oldest two, who are not twins, both graduated high school this year.  Another term I heard was "baby bunching."  Juggling two under the age of two would be the official definition of this new vocabulary.  I have read where the ideal spacing between siblings is 2 1/2 to three years however, it's becoming more and more common to have them closer together so that your kids share the same milestones, toys, and can be closer throughout their lives. The older one will not remember a time without the younger.   People keep telling me, 'Oh! my kids are X amount of months apart and they are best friends!"  I'm praying that's true!  I can't tell you my anxiety about how this will change Kaitlyn and how I'm praying everyone I have talked to is correct.

Bruce and Taylor are still doing volleyball. Bruce has a pretty good group of girls who keep getting better at volleyball.  The YMCA had arranged for the girls to have a tournament at TCU.  They were all excited to be playing there.  TCU really has a nice sports complex.  After the girls' game, they had been invited to attend a TCU volleyball game.

After the game, one of Taylor's teammates and friends came to stay the night.  Sunday morning we decided it was so nice out side we'd load up and head to the Zoo.  We figured Kaitlyn would really like seeing the animals and it might be a while before we'd have an opportunity to go again.

I'm not sure being this pregnant was a good idea.  I don't think I could take another step with my poor swollen feet once we got back to the car.  Guess it's not much different than going to Schlitterbahn when I was 9 months pregnant with Kaitlyn though.

Courtney invited us out to Palo Pinto for the fall festival and trick or treating.  I love the small town atmosphere.  I sure miss it.  The little k-6 school put on a nice fall festival with a lot of raffles (where Bruce won a bird feeder) and games to play along with a bounce house Kaitlyn LOVED!  Melissa and Bruce took her in there and she didn't want to leave.  I got to see some friends I hadn't seen in a while too.  After the festival, Courtney's brother and sister-in-law had a hay ride ready for us to go all around Palo Pinto trick or treating.  What fun!  Kaitlyn loved her little Kitty Cat costume too.  She is SO cute running around with that little pink tail wagging behind her.  She liked helping us hand out candy at home too.  We had our "witch's pot" filled with candy and we sat out in the front yard passing out candy to quiet a few trick or treaters this year.  The neighbors across the street sat outside and passed out candy too.

 

Oh! And we all agreed on a name finally.  Macy Grace.