Thankful Thursday...and the rest of the week

Well this Thursday has been far better than last Thursday! It’s been a busy week, but I’ve tried to take some time for social stuff too. Monday I ran errands and had lunch with a friend from college. Tuesday I straightened up the house and videotaped it for homeowner’s insurance documentation.

Side Notes About this Project: Videotaping the house is something my insurance rep strongly recommended a while back that I’m just now getting around to doing. You walk through and video your home and possessions and then put the tape in a safe deposit box at the bank or at a relative’s house. It takes a while to video every room, drawer, and closet and talk about each valuable item, but it’ll be well worth it if we ever have to make a claim due to fire or theft. The rep told me not to overlook anything. Homeowner’s insurance is designed to replace every single item in your house, right down to the toothpaste in your bathroom cabinet. Other tips: Try to give an approximate date of purchase for big-ticket items if you can, videotape receipts too if you have them, and don’t forget the attic, garage, and any outdoor/patio items.

Anyway, back to the week: Tuesday night we had a baby class on nursing. I’ll spare you the details on that, but it was very educational and hopefully it’ll come in handy. Wednesday we had my 36 week doctor’s appointment and then I came home and started some serious late-spring cleaning. We had the carpets cleaned today, so I wanted everything else to be spotless from the top down. David helped me clean when he got home Wednesday night and then we moved (don’t worry; he moved anything over 15 lbs) onto the hardwoods in preparation. I did more cleaning this morning until the carpet cleaner showed up and then I tried to stay out of his way by working on organizing our home videos. Tonight we had dinner with some friends and enjoyed catching up with them. Tomorrow I’ll be getting the house back in order and re-hanging all of the curtains and bedding (I sent every piece of material in this house that couldn’t be washed to the dry cleaners. Slightly OCD, I know.)

I really thought that when I quit work in April I’d have a chance to be bored before Baby Girl arrived. It hasn’t happened so far, but I’m not giving up hope yet! So that has been my week and here, finally, is my Thankful Thursday list:


1. A good report at the doctor and an obstetrician that is wonderful. It’s always a relief to go in and hear her little heartbeat and know things are going well. And my doctor is amazing – I feel unbelievably comfortable with him and trust his years of expertise. Despite being way behind schedule after delivering two babies that morning and having a waiting room full of patients, he still spent almost 20 minutes with David and me answering our questions and explaining things in great detail. He is going out of town the third week in June, so please pray that I don’t deliver that early. We really want him there for the big event!

2. Old friends with whom you can pick up right where you left off despite how long it’s been. There is something about sitting around a table with people who know your history and remember you when you had a different last name...and hair color. The people I hung out with this week have witnessed mine and David’s dating history, shared in our wedding day, and are whole-heartedly supporting us through this pregnancy...not to mention the million other less important milestones over the years. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

3. A husband who is willing to go to a class about breastfeeding with me. I realize a lot of fathers play a much more active roll in parenting these days than they used to. I can’t imagine a lot of guys were that involved thirty years ago. I personally believe it takes a real man to step up the way he has and put aside any personal discomfort to make sure WE are as prepared as possible to raise our child together. I’m grateful my husband wants to be a part of every bit of this experience that he can be. I can’t imagine doing it without his love and support.

4. All of our possessions. As I went around and videotaped this week, I was reminded how very fortunate we are. We have so many nice things that make our lives more comfortable and fun! As one of those “old friends” once said, “We have everything we need and most of what we want!” My prayer is that should it all vanish tomorrow, we’d still realize how unbelievably rich we are to have our health, our friends and family, and each other.

5. The time to clean and work on projects. I’m so thankful that we are able to afford for me to stay home and that I even got to start that a little early. Though it’s been busy, I have really enjoyed these past few weeks off. I can’t imagine how overwhelmed I would feel if I hadn’t had a chance to get the house, financial stuff, etc. in order the way that I have. I’m not finished yet and it’s not perfect, but it’s definitely better!

And I close with the quote of the week - in the midst of my OCD pregnancy nesting, I've come up with some pretty crazy cleaning tasks. With that in mind:

Me: "We have to vacuum the mattress tonight. And no, that's not a euphemism."

David: "That's good, because I would have no idea what it meant."

:) Sweet dreams!