Yesterday we came to the full realization that it was the last Christmas as just the two of us. It was strangely reflective, yet prospective. We took a few minutes before opening gifts to take a look back at how our Christmases of the past had been and our thoughts flowed to how future Christmases might look, and how we plan to incorporate traditions of our individual families into the traditions we will build together. We know that we will have "every other year" traditions, as we spend every other year either here in PA with our family here or in GA with our family there.
Then, we decided to enjoy our last Christmas as "just us," and enjoy it we did. We had a great day with our family here in PA.
Of course, we're really looking forward to a couple years down the road.....and I'm really looking forward to playing Santa. :-D But, we also vowed to enjoy each one as it happens, so that we never look away from the future memories that are happening right in front of our face.
So many decisions to make, so little time. Oh wait, actually there are several months to make them. This is a good thing. We've been looking into daycare the past few days, and we've picked out several and are starting to call for more information and pricing. After seeing the prices, we've definitely decided that I will go to an alternate work schedule of 4 - 10 hour days and have one day per week off. So far, it's about a $300 per month savings, just for the one day per week. We're also going to see if Michelle can do the same thing, as that's another $200 or more. That way we're spending more time with baby, and shelling out a LOT less when we're not. I see it as a win-win.
We also went to Sam's Club with Michelle's Mom for the first time this weekend. Her parents hardly ever go, but why have we never done this before?!?!?!? Another decision....we're getting a membership there. We spent as much on 1.5 months worth of groceries as we normally would have for about 3 weeks, and diapers come in packages of 240 per box for less than $40. Jackpot!!!
I've also been looking at finances and where we can cut back and all that stuff people say you should do. Yeah, we're looking at a huge lifestyle change, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We actually waste a lot when I look at necessary vs. optional. If anything, this is forcing us to realize that and watch things more closely. Needless to say, there's a reason I got all the toys and electronics I wanted, her the jewelry, purses, etc. that she wanted and we traveled to places we wanted before we started this adventure. :-) The good news is I think we'll be ok. So, money is less of a worry now and more of an action item. Trim the fat out of the budget and we'll be ok. Blech, sounds like government when you say it that way.
So, more baby updates! Michelle is at 12 weeks now. We went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and didn't hear the heartbeat on the doppler. The doctor kept going "hrm" and "wow" and "no, that's your heartbeat." I was a little annoyed and felt like asking her "What's the hmmm and wow about?" Then she said it....."I keep hearing movement but can't seem to find a heartbeat. With all the movement I'm not worried, but just to make sure let's see another ultrasound. With my second one we couldn't hear a heartbeat at 12 weeks either." Sweet! Bonus ultrasound! So when we get the picture, we could see why she could hear movements. It seems we have quite the little acrobat! It seems like "it" was doing rolls, backflips and moving all kinds of stuff every few seconds. It finally settled down and we could see a strong heartbeat. More than just a flicker this time.....you could actually see it working. We could also make out arms, hands, little legs and the head. It's so weird how when you see a still picture of an ultrasound it's tough to make anything out, but in motion it's so easy. Speaking of which, I'll post another picture where it'll be hard to see anything tomorrow if I remember to scan it.
So....we're good, and can go back to concentrating on baby preparations.
