Having a new baby is a great excuse not to blog, right? I think it's a great excuse for anything. A legitimate one. Really, it could be so much worse. Noah is a pretty good baby. He's sleep isn't quite what it used to be, but just knowing that he CAN sleep 6 hours is reassuring. Korban has slept through the night for several nights in a row now, and when he doesn't he's usually only up once or maybe twice. Noah still prefers to eat every hour and a half or so. From his 2 week appointment to his 4 week appointment he gained 2 lbs. I'm guessing he's nearly 13 pounds now. He likes to eat, and eat, and eat. Like my other kids. The difference with this one is it's actually helping me lose weight. 21 lbs in 6 weeks. I'm guessing it's because there's no way I can possibly consume enough calories to equal what I'm using, because I just don't have the time. In fact, this blog post may never get finished, because while Noah is finally asleep (he's not much of a sleeper during the day), Korban is busying himself by eating candy, and Kennady is at preschool.
Noah does not sleep fantastically during the day. He likes to cat nap. And he smartly sleeps with one eye open. And doesn't like to be set down. Because every time he is peacefully asleep, Korban finds him and starts poking his eyes, headbutting him, or sticking a finger down his throat. I need a cage for the baby, to keep the toddler out. If, and that's a big if, I get a shower, I have to either lock Noah in my room, or drag his bed into the bathroom, our tiny bathroom. Really, I'm not complaining, because I'm kinda enjoying the time with my tiny baby who just wants to be held. But please don't expect to show up unannounced and find a clean house. That stopped when my mom left.
We loved having Mom Nelson here for the first week, and then both my parents, and then just my mom. That's 3 weeks of help that I had. It was great. I'm pretty sure there's a 2 year old who would have been sold to the circus otherwise. My mom was here for the most part of Ben's first out of town trip, or vacation, as I like to call it (he assures me it is not a vacation, but I consider going to the grocery store alone a vacation, so maybe you can understand). And then she left. And Ben was gone for, like, a whole 24 hours, and I was alone with 3 kids. I'd like to tell you that everything went smoothly, because I'm a capable and competent woman. Well, it didn't. Noah was in the middle of a growth spurt and woke up every 1 1/2 to eat all day and all night long. Korban woke up screaming for daddy and wanted no one else. That woke up everyone. Then I realized that Kennady had wet the bed (for the record, that's only the second time EVER, including potty training), and that Korban had soaked through his diaper and his bed was all wet (which also never happens). We had a lovely laundry party from 3-4 AM. And then after I got all the kids back to bed, realized that Noah had also leaked through his diaper, on our bed. Somehow we survived until Ben made it back from work. And then, as we are putting kids to bed, Ben sits down in the recliner to rock Noah and falls soundly asleep! Since he was holding a baby, I didn't throw a shoe at him.
He was home another 36 hours before he hopped on a plane and headed to Arizona. Somewhere in between I realized that he'd made zero arrangements for a place to stay/way to get around when he got there. So, if any of you reading in Arizona had Ben show up on your doorstep, thank you, and sorry for the short notice. He was gone for another 3 days. This time was a little bit better. I think. Or maybe this was the time the kids peed everywhere. I can't remember. We missed Daddy.
The good news is that it all paid off. Ben got accepted into 2 medical schools and waitlisted at 1. He's going to be a doctor! I won't say where he'll be going yet, because we've not officially made a decision. But, we're pretty excited. Or we mostly are.
See, it suddenly became pretty real as we started scrambling looking at all the details- the budget, the loans, the schedule, the housing. The packing. Ugh, the packing. Did you know we've moved 8 times since we've been married (6 1/4 years)? Pretty real, and really scary. I mean who doesn't want to go $400,000 into debt to be all but tortured for 7 years? You think doctors are rich, so it will all be worth it in the end? Well, if your doctor has been out of school for anything less than 10 years, he's not rich. You should probably consider tipping or giving him a nice Christmas bonus. The reality of medical school is ugly. And it's getting uglier. However, it's what Ben really wants to do, even knowing the reality of it. Which probably makes him a better person than me. I'm still trying to sway him to be a dentist instead. He's not swaying. So I think I'll start brainwashing Korban now. Maybe a dentist would disagree? You know, during one of those 3 days in a row they have off every week.
I guess my point is that I've got about 8 months to get my act together and figure out how to manage 3 kids with way less help than I'm getting now, and preferably get a shower more than twice a week. I see a lot of lists in my future. How can you spend so long preparing for something, and still be so unprepared? Procrastination, maybe? I'm just hoping this medical school thing doesn't kick our butts. The one thing I'm sure of, and so thankful for, is that we get to do it together, Ben and me. And, even though I'm sure there will be plenty of moments when we both want to throw a shoe at the other, there will be way more moments that we are just happy to be together, wherever we are, while our silly kids are sleeping peacefully in their beds (or noisily jumping on the couch, whatever). So, here's to our new adventure!
Also, for the record, Ben's promised me an exotic trip when this is all over (or just beginning) for our 15th anniversary. Just thought I'd put that out there in case he forgets. Call me shallow, but I think there may be times when I need something wonderful to look forward to.
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