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I think we all go through a little slump before our vacations, right? We have those moments where we think...yup. Going to Disney. Real life is kicking my butt. Disney will be good, but man, is real life kicking my butt.
Here's the thing. No matter how much we may want to talk about all the wonderful trip planning...or lack thereof LOL...that I'm doing right now, the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes, real life gets in the way of that happy place.
For the past week I've been battling a nasty cold/sinus thing. I don't even know what to call it, it's not a full blown sinus infection, but it's not pretty. It started on Tuesday, and since we were short staffed, I worked through it all week. I would have loved to call out, especially on Thursday. In the beginning I was terribly congested, nose constantly running, and now that has lessened, but I'm still get these sinus headaches. They're real doozies, let me tell you. I can take solace in the fact that last night I slept better than most nights, and I'm fairly certain that after I write this, I'm going to try to go back to bed for a bit. I haven't been sleeping well, and in the morning I've been waking up so stuffed up with soooo much pressure, it just hurts.
Have you ever tried sinus rinses? Piper does them twice daily, and it makes a huge difference. Even if you only do them while you have this sinus stuff going on, I bet it would help, and it's totally safe for the bambino! Just make sure you either boil the water first, or use bottled water. When you're done, make sure you clean the tip of the bottle or neti pot really well.
I don't mean to whine. I'm really not a cranky sick person. What I am is a cranky sick pregnant person. That makes a difference. I know that I'm nearing the end of the first trimester, and for the most part, the nausea is gone. Being sick has triggered some of it to come back, and so I've been working on that, and a general lack of appetite. I just want to get to the point in the pregnancy, I'm praying to get to the point in the pregnancy where I'm not waking up 5-6 times a night to go to the bathroom. I don't function well on interrupted sleep.
Being pregnant is enough to make any woman cranky, and that's without adding being sick to the equation! Just keep telling yourself "this too will pass".. on the bathroom thing..just wait a couple months and you'll be getting up in the middle of the night to pee..LOL. I hated that!
Yes, you can all laugh at me now, I'm fully aware of what having a newborn is like. We won't get into al that, because there's no reason to conjecture about what the little bean is like until the little bean actually gets here. I may be a worrier, but even that is too much to worry over for me.
The upside...as I can always find one...is that I'd much rather be sick now than in Disney, and so I'm hoping that I can kick this before we leave. I've got some time, so hopefully with as much rest as I can get, and eating right, and taking my vitamins, I'll be able to knock this sinus junk out of my system.
Rest is kind of hard because there's so many things that I want to do. I know that I have roughly six months before this kiddo is born, but I have this desire to do, do, do, get things ready, clean things out, get everything squared away so that by the time we're in the middle of the summer and I'm big and don't feel like doing anything, I don't have to.
We've been looking at homes. And condos. And bigger two bedroom apartments. And all this looking has really taught me that for now, I like where we live. I am really all about finances. Which is so funny, because I never used to be quite so controlled. I've always been a good saver. And I've always been aware of my money, but nothing will make you more aware of your money than a tight budget and children.
There's a bigger two bedroom apartment in our complex, it's actually a town home. It's beautiful. It's two levels, with two flights of stairs, and it has a huge two car garage with additional storage space. But, it's only got about 300 sq. feet more of liveable space compared to what we have now. Not even taking the garage into consideration, that's not terribly a lot. It would make our bedrooms about three feet longer. Now, I know, space is space. But here's the kicker. These townhomes come with a price. And that price is $355 more per month in rent.
Think about that. I know it's nice to have a townhome, I know it's nice to have some more room, but there are kickers to this whole scenario. Right now we have double closets in our master. If we moved, we'd lose that and have one walk-in. I know we'd make it work but I shudder to think of sharing a closet with my DH. You're only gaining three feet on the bedrooms. Is an extra six feet worth of space worth $355 more a month? Sure, you're getting a garage, and a ton of storage, which would be a huge bonus. (We currently have a storage unit included in our rent, since we do not have a garage with our unit.) And the living room is a bit bigger, and the dining a bit bigger. But I'm at a point in my life where I really want to streamline. I want to get rid of the things that we don't use and just have the things that we do. I know that I have a whole other person coming into this mix, and I may feel differently after the baby is born, but for right now, if you think about it this way, do you know what I could do with that extra $355 a month?
I mean, if we're willing to even consider that, then, to my mind, doesn't it make more sense to take a little out of savings and invest in some nice things for this place? There are so many ways that we could streamline this apartment, and I wouldn't mind spending a little money to do that.
Yesterday I got a great deal on a tall bookcase for our living room. We're a one level apartment on the second floor, so we have a niche above the stairs that tends to become DS' toy central. It gets cluttered and messy, and I can't stand it. Now that he's older, I thought, instead of a toybox, etc, we could put his board games, puzzles, flat type toys on a bookcase, and because of the size of this, I'm going to be able to fit some of my things, like scrapbooks, on top where the kiddos can't reach. Eventually, we can put baby toys on the lowest shelf.
We also have a coffee table in our living room that I would love to get rid of. I'd love to get one of those fabric storage benches, and I've found a couple on Walmart.com that I'm really keen on. This would be another great way to hide toys (DVDS, etc) and have additional seating. I know it would look just beautiful in front of our bay window.
Right now we also have one of those monstrosities of an entertainment unit. I really can't stand it, but we don't "need" a new TV, so I've hesitated to upgrade. I know flat screens are really reasonable right now, and if we took that beast out, and put our DVDs/CDs in the storage bench, well, there you go. More room, less mess.
I've already cleaned out our bedroom, but it will need to be reconfigured so we can fit the bassinett / crib in it. My next project is my son's room. I'm going to get rid of what I fondly call the "crap catchers." You know those storage units for kids with the bins? I swear, there are so many little toys in there that he doesn't even play with it makes me want to scream!
Out it goes. I'll keep the bins, those are good for organization, but his whole room is going to get overhauled too.
I can't begin to tackle his old clothes (which are in bureaus, in rubbermaids, you name it) until we know what we're having so I refuse to think about that until March.
I have a hall closet that looks like it's ready to throw up. There's so much stuff in there and none of it is getting used. It's time to clean out. There's more that we can do in other areas (I've already done the kitchen) but I won't bore you with that since I've been rambling like a mad woman.
I guess what I'm trying to say, in my own long and convoluted way is that I love our apartment. I don't love that we have to clean our cars when it snows, but I'm very lucky that my husband's been taking care of that for me, and it's only a few months out of the year.
I love that we are all on one level. I may have to walk one flight of stairs, but we have beautiful cathedral ceilings, and everything on one floor. Our washer and dryer is in the unit, and it's easy to keep track of everyone in here. I just...really love where we live. Yes, figuring out before and after school care for my son will be a challenge, and yes, I will be doing a lot of back and forth to my parents.
But I love where we live. I love our apartment, and I love this town. I love the library and I love living practically next door to a grocery store. And McDonald's, ha ha.
So I know all these things need to get done. I was on a great roll, but being sick and working has just taken its toll and I feel so worn down right now.
So when I think of my trip, I think, yup. Going to Disney.
Hope I can get a chunk of this stuff done beforehand. Because I really am looking forward to the trip. I really do want to be excited.
But today, I think...
I need a nap.
Maybe I'll dream of Dole Whips and Jack Sparrow and the Grand Floridian lobby.
Ooo...the Grand Flo lobby.
Alright, I feel a little bit better now.