Miscellany From This Strange New World....

Friday, and I am home with just the tiny girl... Noah gets to hang out in Columbia with his grandparents for a couple of days, letting me acclimate a bit to this new world. I gotta be honest--- I actually miss the toddler. This baby is attached at the hip (breast) anyway, so it's not like I get MORE time with her with Noah gone. Its just a bit.... quieter. So.

I DID get to "sleep in" this morning, though... something that having Noah around would NOT have facilitated. Thank you, kids.

Anyhoo... Today is SUPER gloomy and wet and rainy, so I am still in pajamas (oh, who am I kidding-- I've been in pajamas 94% of the time since coming home from the hospital)... and the baby girl has been snoozing on my lap as I get some pics ready to blog. I figure since it's so BLAH outside, it might be time to give some more updates and fun stuff here... Since I went from blogging like a crazy lady to barely ANYTHING. (funny how a new baby will do that to your productivity, right??)

So today's post is dedicated to the random and miscellaneous details and photos from the last week and a half... probably par for the course as far as how my mind is gonna work for a while. Snippets, pieces, randomness.... But really, is that so different from my usual postings?

So. I KNOW the biggest question you've all been dying to ask is, "what did you eat first to celebrate being done with that diabetic diet?" I am happy to report that I ate a big plate of:

Waffles. 

And okay, this photo is a cheat--- This is from a subsequent morning at the hospital... (yes, I had waffles twice. I REALLY craved them!! Still do!) But for real, about 35 minutes before Lucy was born, between the epidural and the pushing (or was it right after Lucy was born?? Gosh! I don't remember now!! I DO remember the timing was surreal and kind of hilarious at the moment), the nurse glanced at the clock and suggested that I might want to order a meal before the kitchen closed at 7:00pm... So I took a menu in hand, weird circumstances and all, and ordered a chicken salad sandwich and Belgian waffles. YUM.

And they were amazing in all their syrupy, buttery goodness. And no, waffles and chicken salad DON'T really mix.

And if "Waffles" is a disappointing answer to that diabetes question, let me assure you that in the next 48 hours, I definitely got to luxuriate in a chocolate chip cookie binge like you wouldn't believe (Thank you, Amy and Sarah! I only shared like 5% of them and totally ate the rest! Ha!)

And I ate a couple of these:

Oh man, Cupcakery bliss. The one pictured is lemon and raspberry. Wow! Thanks to my sis Beckie for bringing the celebratory cuppies to our hospital room!

Beckie also brought the best treat--- my sweetie Noah-- to the hospital each day of our stay. Man, I love that kid and MISSED him!

He was a bit INTENSE after the sleepy little Lucy got me used to slowness and quiet... But ya know? He wouldn't be Noah if he wasn't a bit loud and intense... and wacky.

Sis Beckie got to be one of the first to hold Lucy during their visits...

And after three days and two nights, we packed up and headed home. Here's one of Lucy's first home pics, kissy face and all:

We got home Thursday afternoon, and that first 24 hours home was a bit of a haze... Learning to adjust to having TWO, realizing sleep was gonna be elusive for a while.... Dealing with the physical pain leftover from the birth... etc...

Friday, we got to see my mom and dad, and they came in the nick of time--- ready to entertain a restless toddler, ready to hold a fussy newborn... Ready to help however they could.

And as much as I love staying up too late and talking for hours, I HAD to go to bed early or I was going to collapse. So I went to bed at 9:30 pm, and mom and dad took turns holding the baby while watching a movie. Oh, and mom hemmed some swaddle blankets for me, too... SuperParents, they are. They even sent Joe to bed at 11:00pm and kept their newborn vigil til ONE O'CLOCK AM before coming to wake me and give me the baby. Seriously. The BEST gift of all time--- that three hours of sleep. Amazing. They finished their visit the next morning with mom doing a little bit of yardwork for us (THANK YOU!!) and Dad helping Noah get his wiggles out for hours. So amazing of them!!

Later that day, my bessie Genny came in town for some Lucy Love:

She brought with her food, gifts, and so much love and willingness to play with Noah or hold the baby or let me talk about everything for hours.... Such a good visit!!

In the days since those first few home, life has been simplified to a major degree... Just as it should. Truly, I am focused on:

sleeping when I can

being PRESENT for Noah as much as I can manage

keeping Lucy fed and cared for

trying to remember to thank Joe as much as I can for all he is doing

putting on deodorant daily

And anything beyond those things is just icing. Like the day I actually managed to do dishes and tidy the kitchen. I was so proud of that accomplishment that I even took a photo. I'm a dork:

(Sunflowers and cupcakes... happy gifties from lovely friends!)

Here, Joe shot me as I worked to get Lucy soothed to sleep for her photos on Monday:

And before she caved into the inevitable sleep:

And so.

The first week home has come and gone. 

The baby is still alive. That's saying a lot. 

And we are still happy we did this. 

Meanwhile, the laundry will keep... the dining room that is all boxed up from the Great Furniture Exodus of March 2011 will stay boxed and cluttery for a while longer.... The cooking will continue to be on hold for a bit longer.... And we will continue to ease into this insanity by trying to sleep when we can, and saying THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU as much as we possibly can... to our loved ones who help, to each other, and to our God who saw fit to gift us with this simple, beautiful life of ours.