Thursday, May 31, 2012

Back to the Grindstone

So, it's now Thursday and the time I have taken off to be with my family when my son was born is now over.  It's been an interesting 10 days, but enjoyable.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being home with my girls and taking care of the family.  I cleaned some, cooked, took the girls out, took care of them when they were sick, and spent some quality time with #3 and the wife.  It's been a good week.  Like all good things though, this too must come to an end.  It leaves me wondering though, what do we as parents really sacrifice for our jobs?  Do we ever really understand what we are missing out on before we're too late?  I am the first to tell you that my family comes first, but my 50+ hour work week probably contradicts that statement.  What is a single income family man supposed to do to make it all work?  It's just left me a little baffled this morning and making me dread my work day more and more. 

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Day 3

So BB has been in this world all of three days now.  He's amazing.  All of children were remarkable babies, each with their own perosonalities and he is NO different.  He likes a paci, he can take care of himself, and he's just kinda laid back.  It's pretty cool.  He will probably be a good sleeper when we can get into a routine and some of his "things" heal.  We just have to get this baby thing worked out again.

On that note, Mom is doing a great job.  She's right back into the flow of having a new baby in the house and she is loving the girls beging curious about him.  It's nice to have a new baby in the house, but I worry like always.  I have three little ones that want to be a part of his life so badly, but they are all still too young and don't understand how fragile he is.  My oldest, at 7, is going to be a great helper, but she started feeling bad yesterday and has a fever, so she can't be involved right now.  It's hard on her.  We're all home now though, healthy and happy.  Here's to a wonderful day three and many more to come. 

Friday, May 25, 2012

Meet Trei


Born 5/23/2012

7 lbs 1 oz
19.25" Long

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Smile




Anxiously Awaiting

Well, in less then 24 hours, my wife and I will be in the hospital having our fourth child.  To say that I am not nervous and anxious and scared all at the same time would be a blatant lie.  You would think that by the fourth child we would be old pro's at this, but truth be told, every pregnancy has been different and this one is falling right in line.  It's just a natural part of life to wonder what could, would, and should happen.

Trei started out the same as every child we've had, SURPRISE!  Then everything was different.  Little man decided from the beginning to keep his head up.  Normally that would be a good thing, but not with a baby.  The child being breach was new and scarey.  We hadn't had to deal with that yet.  Then SuperMom was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  Again, a scarey new experience.  Thank God for the internet to provide us with all the information of what could happen because of this.  Sometimes I wonder how we made it as children since our parents didn't have all this "good" info.  Oh yeah, less stress.  Time passed though and so did the worrying.  Little man fell right into position with weeks to spare and the diabetes was more of a hiccup then anything else.  The inconvience of daily sugar tests took care of that concern.  Now, as we have entered our 39th week, the concerns come back.  SuperMom has had a lot of contractions over the last several weeks.  Nothing regular, but painful for her and very uncomfortable.  With all this action, you would think we would be closer to her body being primed for labor, but progress is slow.  We have planned to be induced on Wednesday so that we don't have to worry about Trei being too big to be delivered naturally. (Another concern brought on by the diabetes.) We also have a host of other "good" reasons, but it is still nerve racking worrying and just plain not knowing.  So, we are all anxiously waiting the birth of our little boy.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for and we all know it will be alright in the end.  I will update as soon as little man makes his appearance, but for now, the show must go on. 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Where Does the Time Go?

Yesterday on the way to work I had the realization that I am getting older.  I just had my 32nd birthday about a week ago and I don't think the last 7 have really sunk in like this one.  Where did the time go?  I feel like I should still be 25 with my oldest daughter laying in my lap.  I shouldn't be this old.  Then I had the next realization. My oldest daughter is 7 and that means that she only has 11 more years in my house before she goes to college!  WHAT?  She has spent almost half the time she is going to spend in my house and I haven't seen half of it.  It has just flown by.  That's just plain ridiculous in my book.  I look at her and my other girls and my baby boy in Momma's belly and wonder how did this all happen so fast.  When did I miss out?

A saying I heard years ago rings so loudly in my head right now.  "Children make your days long and your years short."  How true that is.  Most days, the kids drive us absolutely up the wall, stark mad,  raving crazy, then their 7.  What the heck?!  The worst part is that it is just getting faster and faster.  It seems like yesterday I was posting about having another child.  Guess what, he'll be born in 4 weeks or sooner.  Where did all that time go?  Next time I post, all my kids will be in college, or getting there first job, or the scariest thought of all with 3 girls MARRIED!  My mind is spinning right now and the day is gone.....

OK, back to reality.  A new coworker of mine was congratulating me yesterday on having a boy.  He told me to cherish every moment with them because you never know what may happen.  He then told me his son died in the war a few years ago.  It really adds some perspective and makes you think about what you have and what he'd give to have a few more moments with his son.  To top it off, the news is full of tragic events of children passing before their time.  Their time as far as we're concerned.  I am sure it was God's time.  I guess my thought here is that it doesn't matter how powerful your job is or how much money you make if you miss out on the most important thing in your life, your family.  By the time we get done working so we can spend time with our kids, they'll be all grown up, with jobs of their own, doing exactly what we're doing.  Working away the time that we can never get back.