The Second Year

Happy Two-Year Anniversary, Miles!!
*Yesterday :)

Two years ago in Mexico.

I feel like I've been married longer - not in that bad, it's never going to end, type of way - but in the, I feel like I've known you forever type of way...

Nine years ago in college.

It's always funny, when you're getting married, to hear everyone say things like, "The first year of marriage is sooo hard," or "The first year of marriage was really fun and easy!"  As with most things in life, people tend to want to warn you, share their experiences, and project their lives on to your own.

In our first year.

People don't mention much about the second year of marriage, though.  It's the year you're left to fend for yourselves.  And, you crave it by that point.  You want to be left alone, to focus more on creating your own family, as a couple.  Miles and I did that.  We made an effort to be one another's partners and to put our needs first.  Other people might have not even noticed, or maybe they were offended, but the second year was our chance to move on from the after-wedding glow and into building upon that sweet foundation.

In our second year.

Things in our second year of marriage happened quickly...
We took a quick vacation to Mexico.
We quickly (and surprisingly) became pregnant.
We spent the quick-paced holiday season with loved ones.
We had 2012 quickly slap us in the face with health issues.
We thanked God for our family and friends' quick willingness to be there for us.
We quickly developed a relationship TWICE as strong as in our first year of marriage.

Now, we know our third  year of marriage is truly going to change us.  We will be parents very soon - a mommy and a daddy to a sweet baby girl.  It is special, and it is scary.  Our relationship will grow and change, as it does every year.  I don't know what people think, what advice people might share, or how other's third year of marriage fared.

All I do know, is that we will come out THREE times as strong.

I love you, Miles.

Go to Bed

My poor little blog has been neglected this month!  I bet you're all very curious what I did with my extra day in February, haha.  We did use it to go pick out a rocker for the nursery.  I sure am glad we ordered it that night, with the newest occurrences in our lives.  I've been put on bed rest - doctor's orders!

It is crazy to feel so out of control of my life.  People may joke that as I've come to terms with my situation because I have certainly taken to the role of delegation, but I have no other way of having any control of things happening in my household right now! 

When I found out about bed rest orders, I was not okay.  I was an anxiety-ridden mess and couldn't stop crying.  The anxiety was due to the following:

1. work
How am I logistically supposed to deal with leaving school in the middle of the day, with my desk a mess, my lesson plans incomplete, my 177 students needing me, and just trust other people to cover for me?  How am I supposed to take care of what I still need to do from home with no supplies, resources, or things I may need?

2. Miles
Call me old fashioned, but I like to be there for my husband - even if I am the pregnant one.  He's been dealing with some health-related business of his own, and being placed on bed rest totally compounded the stress of his situation, for me anyway.  I also have to watch him work hard all day and take care of me each night now.

3. control
I enjoy taking care of my own "stuff."   We are super lucky to have amazing support from our family and friends.  We already rely on them a lot in life.  I usually can manage my own household, though, so knowing I would have to let someone else help with laundry, dishes, cleaning, food, everything freaked me out, badly.  It isn't due to not feeling as though they will complete a task to my standard, it's just that I actually like doing things and being the one to have done it. 

4. preeclampsia
I have preeclampsia, which is not a very nice thing for my baby, or me, apparently.  She will most likely be joining our little family earlier than planned.  All I want is for her to make it full term - 37 weeks.

5. life
All of the sudden my chance to do this or that before baby arrives was gone.  Some of that was selfish, unimportant "should haves," such as getting to go do this or that with friends, but mainly it was that to do list.  It was getting to attend the baby showers that people lovingly planned for me.  It was the fact that I thought I had time left before I was a mother to be me or do certain things, and now that was time was gone. 

So, that's where my head was at for about the first five days of bed rest.  It was reeling with one anxiety after another.  Today, day thirteen of bed rest, I am at a much better place.  I've embraced the support and love surrounding me, and I have come to terms with the fact that I am not allowed to do anything.  I'm also feeling a ton better than I have in a really long time, physically.  It makes me realize that this is what I need, what the baby needs.  That helps me be okay with it all.  Every anxiety I've listed above is still there, but I've learned how to cope with each in its own way.  My perspective on some things has changed and my heart has melted with how much everyone is willing to do for me.

Thank you, with all of my heart, to everyone who has sent encouraging thoughts, brought amazing meals, helped me throughout the day, been there for me in any and every way.  I appreciate it so much and can't wait to be back on my feet to help you, pay you back, and be there for all of you! 

Make it Count

So, in my relationship, Miles is definitely the book smart one.  He can do math (I don’t like to be that specific), he can research and read nonfiction (I am too ADD for that), he remembers facts (do not play trivia games with him), and he is just intelligent in that manner. 

I, in comparison, have to take pride in my social skills, my adaptive nature, a love of learning, my philosophical understanding of the way of life, etc., etc. 

I think we balance one another out.  We don’t lack completely what the other has; however, we are strengthened through one another. 

That all being said, I’m sure you can understand that it still takes me by surprise sometimes, when the scale slides away, and Miles throws out some perfectly appropriate statement about life.  This is what occurred after I had rearranged our calendar in the kitchen for February (yes, on February 15^th-ish).  He goes to that extra day we have this leap year, and adds the phrase, “Make it Count!” 

Since that happened, I keep thinking, “Am I making it count?  Am I doing enough for my family, others, and myself?”  Leave it to Miles to write something so quickly and simply that has me thinking for days… 

Today I am at work.  I’m tutoring after school, and then I was thinking of this and that that needs to be knocked off the to-do list this evening. 

Is that making it count?  Is that what I should do today? 

To me, making it count could be that I just have an extra day this year to complete simple tasks.  Maybe it’s that I could spend an extra moment thinking about an issue in the world or my own life.  It could also be that I could skirt my responsibilities and go for a walk, or find that chair for the nursery, or go do something else fun.  I guess as long as it counts to me, it is okay.

Whatever it is you decide to do today, big or small, remember it’s a day you don’t always get, so -

Make it Count! 

 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today we are celebrating my mom.  I'm one of those lucky people, whose mother had really high expectations, really sweet hugs, and never gave up or in while I was growing up.  I can't thank her enough for being that type of mom to me. 

I can recognize and celebrate her today - celebrate her path of growing up.  They must have been some good years to make her into the special woman she is today. 

I love you , Mom, Happy Birthday!!

30 Weeks Bigger

I am feeling soooo pregnant lately.  I guess I am pretty pregnant (30 weeks), so that should justify and explain things.  However, it is crazy to feel so immobile, puffy, tired, and just plain big.  I made the mistake of looking at some older pictures, so now I can really see how much my face seems to have puffed, especially. 

It's no secret to those around me that I love my baby already.  I love feeling her move and hearing her heartbeat.  It's also no secret, that despite that I love her and am ecstatic that she's joining this world, I do not love being pregnant.  That's one reason I haven't shared a lot of side-view pregnancy shots.  I don't feel like myself, like it's me in the picture. 

Everyday, Miles is surprised that I am bigger.  Everyday, I am surprised that I am bigger.  That baby and I keep growing!  So, I thought I would start to share a few more pictures of this recent growth. 

I'm getting to that point where everyone asks when you're due and strangers do not hestitate to assume pregnancy.  My students love it.  I teach 8th grade students who are oh so good at calling you out about things and observing your looks.  Well, this week two embarassing pregnancy moments occurred.  One was that I caused in uproar in one of my least sympathetic classes, when I dropped a flashcard and struggled to pick it up.  Another was on a day the staff all wore our tie-dye shirts to promote a school-wide read, one of my students said, "Mrs. Schneider, it's like yours is 3D tie-dye!" 

This picture was last Saturday evening, at a wedding. 

This one was taken at work this week.



Progress

Since Craftastrophy 2012, we have made quite a bit of progress in the nursery! 

The nursery now has both painted pegboards on the wall, and the changing table/dresser is set up, too. 

It's in the plans to stain wooden knobs for the dresser, so it will look like it's an actual set with the crib.  Looking forward to that and knocking more stuff of the to do list over the next couple of months!

A Bouquet and a Boyquet for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

Miles is always so wonderful about getting me flowers for Valentine's Day.  This year was no exception; some beautiful roses beat me home today. 

I usually just cook dinner, but don't really buy a gift.  So, this year, I decided to make the male version of a bouquet, what I like to call the boyquet.  Here it is in all its glory.

Hope everyone had a sweet Valentine's Day!!