Ah, how life has progressed in the past few months.
Brett and I decided that it was high time to make a REAL trip home to Indiana. By real trip, I mean more than a weekend jaunt. Since Brett still had to work weeks in early September, I guess it was a real trip for me and two weekend excursions for him. No matter, we both made it home to visit with family in early September. Since we found out we were going to have a baby, I’ve been going through a little family withdrawal, so it was really nice to spend some quality time with everyone.
We made a quick trip up to lake in Michigan the first weekend. We hadn’t been up there in three years, so it was really nice to dangle our feet in the water and watch the kiddos play. Strap life jackets on those kids, and they’re absolutely fearless! Evan and Dominic figured out that they could blow on the ends of those hollow noodle floats and get water to rocket out of the other end. Little Elizabeth is still the tentative one and held on to someone’s hand the whole time she was in the water.
Carla and Laurie worked extra hard this trip, and they organized two baby showers. One was up at the lake, so while I was guessing baby food flavors and open gifts, Brett was down at the pier being the human water jungle gym. He’s such a good sport. There was a great turnout for the shower. Mom potted three plants for the game prizes. Aunt Marg brought a big sheet cake that everyone enjoyed. We received some wonderful baby gifts, which I’m so excited to use…all except the clothes hamper full of 200+ diapers. Nice job, sisters. At least we didn’t have to play the chocolate-bar-in-the-diaper game!
Our day trip to the lake was cut a little short, since Brett and I decided to drive over to Michigan City and meet up with his parents. They spend their weekends on their boat, so we decided to join them for the night and the next day. I have to say, sleeping on a boat is great. It’s wonderful to be rocked to sleep all night long, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. BUT…it was certainly a tight squeeze to get into the bed that was in the bow of the boat! I took a picture of Brett down in our little sleeping area, but someone should have taken a picture of me – the 6-month pregnant woman trying to squeeze into that little door! It was so funny… We had a great time up in Michigan City and spent all of Sunday on the water. Brett braved the cold water temperature and dove in for a quick swim. I was not so brave! I ended up dropping Brett off at the South Bend airport and then heading home Sunday evening. We pretty much covered everyone that weekend and had a great time doing it.
The following weekend, Carla and Laurie threw another baby shower in Lafayette for all the local friends and family. Grandma Hess came for the weekend and Aunt Kay came for the day. It was nice to see all the family and friends, and once again, Carla and Laurie impressed me with their creative baby shower games. Ask a graphic designer to play baby pictionary, and you’ve hit the jackpot! Everyone at this shower was on a baby clothes kick, so we now have lots of little sleepers and even a little Purdue one-piece outfit thanks to Grandma Musick.
So it was a great trip home, and we almost fit all the baby things in our suitcases for the flight back to Albany. Now we have to find a place to PUT all the baby things! Brett and I went on the apartment/townhouse/condo hunt last weekend and found some nice places. We decided not to purchase a house here in Albany, since we’re only going to be here another two or three years. We’re going to see another townhouse complex this weekend and possibly a house that’s for rent. I hope we can find something soon before I start “nesting.” I already would rather put all the baby things in a room rather than a box, but that will have to wait. Where ever we end up, we’ll be moving there over Thanksgiving while Brett’s parents are here to visit. Yes…we’re moving less than four weeks before my due date, so I’ll be doing a lot of pointing and door-holding that weekend while everyone else does the grunt work.
The next weekend following our trip to Indiana, Brett and I decided to take a road trip up to Brunswick, Maine for an air show. We packed the car and were off to the north country late Friday night. We wanted to make it up to Brunswick by Saturday in order to see the “good stuff” at the air show, but we were met with downpours of rain. Not exactly conducive weather for watch airplanes fly around. So we decided to wait out the rain in Freeport, Maine and shop at…drum roll…the L.L. Bean outlet store. Holy cow. The place was huge. It’s a good thing I can’t fit into regular clothes now. I did take advantage of the deals in the shoe department, since the tennis shoes I packed for the weekend didn’t fit that morning. (Lovely pregnancy elephant feet.)
So we walked around Freeport in the early afternoon and then headed to the air show late that afternoon. Perfect timing, I must say. We parked the car at the Marine base and headed for the gates just as we heard a big WHOOSH and saw the Blue Angels take off. They were amazing. I can’t believe how close those planes fly to each other. Brett was like a kid in a candy shop, and the baby basically buried itself to escape all the loud engine noises. We were kicking ourselves for forgetting the camera. Little did we know that when we came back the next day, we’d get to see the show all over again. Thankfully, the sun was out and the weather was warm, which made everything better. Brett took some great pictures and once again, oohed and aahed over the crazy maneuvers that the pilots did. The whole trip was well worth it.
The next week was pretty normal. Unfortunately, I got a call from my brother the next weekend, saying that my grandmother had passed out at a wedding reception and was taken to the hospital. Not an hour later, he called back and said that she had passed away. It was either a massive stroke or heart attack. They don’t really know. All we know is that it was really fast. By the time they got her from the wedding to the hospital, she was pretty much gone.
So Brett and I made another trip home in order to attend the viewing and the funeral, which were both in southern Indiana. Everything actually went really well. I really wished we could have stayed longer in order to help, but time just wouldn’t allow it. Aaron, Carla, my Uncle Steve and I got together and did the music for the funeral mass. I think Grandma was listening to everything during that mass because she would have loved every note. The whole family gathered at my Uncle Chuck’s after the funeral reception at the church. Uncle Chuck lives in the old farmhouse where my mom and all of her siblings grew up. With my mom’s sister and five brothers all together, the family gatherings naturally turn to music. Grandma definitely left her mark on all of us, as we sat around that evening playing guitars and singing songs while the kiddos played outside. There was a moment when we were all in the living room, Aaron and Carla’s kids were peering through the open windows from the porch outside, and we were all singing Little Brown Jug, which is my grandma’s favorite song. She would have been cutting a rug right there in the living room if she were there. I like to think that she was.
Next trip home to Indiana will be for Brett’s cousin, Justin’s, wedding in Marion on October 27. Plans are that both of us will make it home, but I haven’t asked the doctor for his okay yet. After our crazy trip back to Albany after the funeral, I don’t know how I’ll handle another plane ride. Of course, it’s not too often that it takes us two days and almost 15 hours to get back. We’ll see! It would be great to get to see all of the family again, but we’ll have to get the green light from the doc.
Brett’s base for work was changed back to Albany. We’re both very happy about that, but he has worked a reserve line all month, meaning, he’s still been gone on two or three day trips. He’s had a Monday-Friday shift, so it’s nice that both of us have the weekends off. We’re hoping that he can secure a more consistent line by the time the baby comes so he can be a stay-at-home dad for a couple days a week.
My job has been going alright. Business has really picked up at the office. They’ve been hiring new people right and left. I’m not too terribly happy there and am looking for another position that I can hopefully start after my maternity leave. I probably do about 70% administrative work and 30% design work. I’ve really accomplished a lot in the nine months I’ve been there. Since management isn’t used to having a creative person on staff, they don’t really realize how much I’ve turned out for them in such a short period of time. They just have nothing to compare it to. All in all, it’s a very negative environment that many people are trying to leave but can’t due to the high salaries. I might as well get out now before being convinced to stay because of the money. I’m sending a resume to a design firm this week. Let’s hope for a interview.
We had an ultrasound last week, so I’ll be posting baby pictures very soon!
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