The Gutierrez Gang

1. Had an exterminator come over to give an estimate on our house.  Of course none of the ants or black widow spiders came out to play while he was there.

2. Tended to a very black and blue finger that Nathaniel shut in the sliding glass door.  Let me just clarify that it was his own finger.  Looks pretty bad, and I think it feels worse.  The consensus is that he won’t have that finger nail for long.

3.  Said good-bye to Aaron who was staying with us for a few days.  He’s now with a college friend who lives a few miles away.   Our time with him felt too short.  But we did pick up some good vocabulary like, “Nube,” and “Goat.”  Those are mostly used when describing someone who is acting, “nubish.”

4. Took a nap in the one spot in the living room that  receives a direct blast of AC

5. Woke up and ate a whole chocolate bar….and a half of another one.

6. Finished reading my book that is due back to the library today.  It was a cute chick-lit large print beach read appropriately titled, Bedrest. Like all good chick-lit, it ended happily and well and all the problems in this girl’s world were perfectly solved.   And I ate up every word of it.

7. Laundry.

8. Went to another church’s VBS, which was more of a family one where they serve the whole family dinner, then the kids do their thing and the adults listen to stories.  It was fun.  I think we may have been the only new people there.  And Eddy, well, the report from her teacher was that “she did okay.”  I guess “okay” is better than, “please don’t bring her back here again.”

9. Bought an infant car seat.  So far we’ve had at least one person walk by our car and ask if the baby is here yet.  Well, two if you count Eddy.  It’s not even buckled in yet, it’s just sitting in there waiting for us to do something about it.   It does make this whole thing seem more real.

10. Realized as I went to bed that we did have a busy day, even though it didn’t feel like it, and even though I was dead tired, I couldn’t fall asleep.  So I laid in bed reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting until I got to the part about Labor and Delivery at which point I closed the book and dreamed sweet dreams.  I’m going for a more “less is more” approach to this whole delivery thing.  As in, the less I know about it, the more I will not freak out about it when the time comes.  Okay, just kidding, sort of.

Well, I realized I haven’t posted any kind of update in a while about our little life here.  Last week I was taken off of bed rest and put on “light activity.”  It was a nice upgrade.  Actually, I was a little sad to let go of the bed rest situation.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, it made me crazy, but there was something nice to waking up and saying to myself, “hmm, what do I have to do today?, oh yeah, nothing!”  But I hated watching Nathaniel have to juggle so much, and I hated not being able to help or keep up with the house.  I was able to get a few little craft projects done, and watch t.v., and catch up on our netflix movies, and, I wish I could say that I read, but I actually didn’t, as embarrassing as that is.  But, I’m trying to make up for that now.

On the Friday of my bed rest week (brw), we had to say good-bye to N and B.  We both really felt awful that they couldn’t stay.  I mean, things were challenging with them, but they were really good kids, and all they needed was stability, which we were just not able to provide them with during this time.  My doctor had pretty much instructed me to make my life as stress-free as possible, and this was certainly one big area in our life that caused stress.  Plus, their case seemed to be dragging out even more, which meant that they were not going home any time soon like we had initially been told.  I just hated that we had made a commitment that we could not keep in caring for them, and honestly, it is still hard to think about them with out feeling extremely guilty.  Because it all happened so fast, we don’t even know where they ended up or what kind of family they are living with now.  One of the saddest things about this whole story is that when we told them that they were going to move, N perked up and said, “Oh! We get to meet new friends and have new toys!?”  Initially it seemed like a healthy reaction, and it was nice that he wasn’t a crying or hurt or upset child, but for a 6 year old to be so used to transition and change that he is excited about it shows that he has come from a very sad history of that sort of thing.  B was sort of emotion-less and both were mostly concerned that we had packed all of their toys and clothes.  We still pray for them and their little hearts that they will be shown God’s love, and one day be able to recognize it in their own lives, and that they are safe right now.  But as hard as it was, we knew it was the best decision for our family, my health, and the baby’s.  Sometimes it is hard to know when to stop putting yourself last, and when to start putting yourself (and children) first.  I think that is one of the hardest things to balance when in any kind of ministry, be it big or small.

That Sunday, although I was still on bed rest, I went to my baby shower that my good friends and church ladies hosted.  It was so lovely, and I felt very spoiled.  They knew I couldn’t get up and jump around, so I sat in a comfy little glider and had my feet up.  And now, I really really want a glider.  Man are they nice!  Anyways, everyone was so generous and sweet and our little boy is set to come into this world and have diapers and clothes to wear, and blankets to cuddle in, and toys to play with, and shampoo to be cleaned, and lots of other things.  One of the women organized a scrapbook where each guest was to bring in a page with a “mommy wish” of sweet things for me to remember and prayers for our little boy.  I think one of the sweetest things that was said was that this particular woman recognized that I’d already been a mom for a while, and I have had to deal with the most challenging part of being a mom – letting your kids go.  Although I don’t feel like I have any experience with babies, it was reassuring to know that we have already experienced some of the hardest parts of parenting, for instance, not having our own time, being responsible for another, and realizing that these kids are not our own, that they belong to someone else.  Of course in our case it has always been other human women, but for our son, it will be the realization that he is God’s.

Tuesday, my friend who hosted the baby shower, came over to help me unload my gifts and re-sterilize the nursery.  I had this daunting feeling that on Wed. when I went in for my next appointment, I was going to be sent to the hospital where I would have to stay put until the baby came, and then have to bring the baby home to a space that was very un-ready for him, and in the middle of my deepest exhaustion have to deal with that too.  I know, crazy irrational thoughts, but that was what I was preparing myself for.  So my friend was very helpful and the nursery is officially clean and ready.

After my friend left, my aunt came over to watch Eddy so Nathaniel and I could go on a real date.  We figured that the safest place for me to go was a movie theater, since I would just sit down anyways.  We hadn’t seen a real movie in a while, and “Away We Go” was a fun choice, a really cute movie, although I do recommend it with a lot of caution.  Its one of those kinds….

And then, Wednesday, I was released from my bed rest and was happy to go about my business.  The doctor said I could do light activity, as in a leisurely trip to the store, but no cooking or cleaning.  Nathaniel said that was the worst possible instruction I could receive: no cooking or cleaning, but I could go shopping!  But, really, I did keep up with light housework, and I did do some cooking, or, I mean, microwaving.  Seriously, our meals have become critical.  Today I bought one of those pasta meals from Target.  It came in a box kit kind of thing.  No joke, it was one of the grossest things we’ve ever eaten.  But, we fed our family for $3, so I remembered that every time I took a bite and swallowed it fast.  I was looking forward to it too, so it was sort of sad.  Anyways, that wasn’t one of the things I expected to go away when I was pregnant: all motivation to feed our family.  It may be a long 6 more weeks.  If I were kitchen savvy enough, I’d make a cook book called, ” Because preggers have to eat too.”  It would be really simple “suggestions,” i.e. “recipes’ for pregnant women, okay, no, for their husbands, to be able to put a decent, but simple meal together.  Maybe I’ll work on that after the baby comes.

So, that was my bed rest week in a nut shell.  As you can tell by the post, it was rather blah, but it went by quickly, and last week went by even faster.  The weeks are hurling by, which means we could have a baby much much sooner than we realize – 6 weeks is not long, especially when I think back to what we were doing 6 weeks ago!  That seems like it was just last week.   Before we know it, we’ll be surrounded by diapers and blankets and burp cloths, and cut little smiles.  Or, so that’s what my imagination tells me.  And we’re just gonna leave it like that for now.

Well, we are pretty much ready for Baby G to make his great debut.  The only thing is, he’s not ready, so until then, we’ll just pet his soft blankets and play with his little toys.  Here’s a peek at his new digs.  Facebook is a lot easier to load pictures on, so I am providing a public link for the album.  Hopefully you all can view it, even if you don’t have a facebook account.  So, to see the pictures, click here.