I am beautiful because . . .

I love learning. Even though choosing motherhood may mean that I never have an advanced degree or a professional career, I will be learning, growing, and achieving throughout my life.

Laundry

Thank goodness we have a washer/dryer unit. I don't know how I would live without one. I swear I've done at least one load of laundry a day since Baby was born. Sometimes it feels like it's all I do, but, hey, our clothes are clean and there are no quarters involved!

On Mooching

The economy stinks. I don't know how to fix it. I attempt to understand it, but that's about as far as I get. On the other hand, looking around at some of my peer, neighbors, and friends sucking as much as they can out of government programs just to have a free ride kind of drives me crazy. I don't know enough to be the judge, but isn't people taking hand outs that they don't need a reason why our government is so badly in debt and we're still not able to take care of many people who are really in need?

Sorry for the soapbox. More than harping on anyone's personal or political ethics or policies, I mostly want to say that I am so grateful to know and understand the God-given principles of provident living and self reliance. Working hard, striving to be prepared, looking at everything God blesses us with as a stewardship, giving to others, trying to do things for yourself, and accepting help when it's needed--all these things are what give me financial peace and stability. I am so grateful for that. I wish I could share this peace with the rest of the world because I am certain that if we all lived God's welfare laws we wouldn't be in such an economic mess.

Serious Perks About Baby #2

I know I’ve mentioned a lot of these before, but I’m so excited about them that I have to make another list!

1. I know what’s going on. I’ve been pregnant before. I’ve delivered a baby before. I’ve taken care of a newborn before. I’m sure there will be differences, but not being so in the dark has been totally great.

2. We have most of the baby stuff we need already. Okay, if it’s a girl we’ll need some clothes, but that’s about it. We’ve got all the gear already, so if there’s anything that I didn’t buy last time that will make the whole ordeal nicer or more convenient for me (like a wedge pregnancy pillow), it’s not a big deal because we don’t have to buy very much at all.

3. The wait really isn’t so bad. I couldn’t wait for my first baby to come (and we had waited so long already before we knew he was on the way), but it’s not like that this time. Sometimes I’m terrified of being a mother of two (am I really going to be able to handle this?), so the months of pregnancy before me really aren’t that big of a deal. I want to make the most of the time that’s left of my first boy being the baby. I want to shower him with attention while I can. I even want to take professional family pictures of just the three of us because we’ve never gotten around to it. I’m excited for the changes in our family for the future, but I want to make the most of what we have right now. So I’m savoring the wait.

4. I’m not working out of our home! Yay! And YES! I don’t have the guilt of quitting my job during a hiring freeze when another lady in my office didn’t. I don’t have to worry about whether or not I’ll like being a stay-at-home mom because I already LOVE it. I don’t have the stress and demands and stress and stress and stress of professional life. I can nap when my baby naps and sleep in when he does. I have time to cook whatever I feel like eating. I have several friends who decided to be stay-at-home while they were pregnant, even before their first baby. I would never have let myself do that, but I can see how nice it would have been. Lack of work means a lot less stress!

I Guess it's a Great Sign

Writing a C.V. takes you hours and hours and hours and hours . . .

I am Not a Scientist

Nothing close. But at least I can edit, which makes me useful to the bread-winning effort of our family. I like that.