On the Home Stretch

I'm sitting here now contemplating going to bed (my eyelids can barely stay open, but for some reason I feel the need to stay up). I finished my last piano lesson today and I have my recital tomorrow and after that I'm done teaching for the summer. While I will miss all my students, I'm certainly looking forward to a summer break. Not that I actually anticipate having much of a break; I vividly remember having a newborn. There's no break involved. Actually I can't exactly say that I "vividly" remember it because I was so sleep deprived and sore that I'm sure things are pretty hazy. But either way, I have a pretty good idea of what's ahead of me.

One of my good friends sent me a surprise package in the mail today... it was the porta crib that I had registered for! That was the last big thing I needed and so to have it sitting on my doorstep this afternoon was such a big relief! So now Ty can come whenever he'd like (at least after this weekend, anyway).

Back to my recital. This is my 5th recital and it's the first time that I've had enough sense not to play in it myself. I always commit to playing in my recitals and then have to rush to figure out something to play and then pray that I don't screw up royally while I'm performing it (no one wants a teacher who doesn't play well). Between knowing I have to perform, putting together the programs, making sure my students are ready, and overseeing the snacks that are available at the end (most of the time I wind up bringing something as well), recitals tend to make for a pretty stressful time for me. But this year, I decided not to play (the students and parents will just have to trust that I know what I'm doing), my friend Heather, who will be joining us with her guitar students, is putting together the programs, and I'm not bringing a single snack (though I may make a punch... we'll see). And so really, I feel like I'm just going to show up and enjoy it. And hope not to go into labor.

Monday Recap

Saturday was a busy day for me! If you remember, we had Ty's floors put in and then when I went to the park to meet a couple good friends, Vonna came over and set up the furniture in there. So now all I have to do is decorate and find the pieces that I'm missing to the crib so that I can attach the fourth side (I should probably do them in the opposite order that I mentioned them).




While Vonna was slaving over the baby furniture, Tommy and I went traipsing to the park to meet two of my good friends and college roommates. Anais came in town for the weekend and is due with her third baby any day now, and Kelly was in town for the weekend from Wisconsin. So we met up with the kids at the park and couldn't resist getting a couple pictures.





A very exciting milestone for our family and our church was this Sunday. It was our last ever service at Godby High School. The Well has called Godby our home since we officially launched in August of 2007. We have the opportunity to move to a warehouse and convert it to a permanent church for us. The service yesterday was a great time to look back and celebrate God's faithfulness to us over the last three years or so. We've seen incredible things in the Cougar's Den at Godby and we can't wait to see what God is planning to do in our next step at the next location. We still need about $100,000 to do it, but God has always directed us to make a move and have faith and then provided the funds to make it happen exactly when we need them. So now it's time to watch and see.

We're Making Headway

I had hoped to take pictures of the new floor in Ty's room while it was under construction, but our wonderful team of floor layers, led by Mel Cason, did it so quickly that all I can do is show the almost finished product. They are at Home Depot right now getting shoe mold to go around the edges (giving it that clean finished look), so I figured I'd sneak a picture or two. Doesn't it look great?!? Now I can finally get the furniture in there and set it up like an actual nursery! I'm very excited!

It's On!

As of April 25 (my lovely sister-in-law's birthday), I officially have one month left until my due date. And it's now April 29th. Time's a tickin'! Here's some things that are on my plate between now and then:

- A week and a half left of teaching 21 piano students

- A piano recital on May 8.

- I'm scheduled to play keyboard in our Well band on the 9th and 16th (provided I'm still pregnant and functional at the time)

- Nesting... so far I've cleaned out the refrigerator, the oven, and the linen closet. None of which will help baby Ty, I realize, but I'm slowly working my way toward cleaning out his room.

- Tommy's winding down his school year, so there's end of year parties and such. Plus he's three and always requires lots of attention and energy.

And finally, we have less than one month to turn this into a nursery.




The flooring is supposed to arrive today and if all goes according to plan, will be installed this weekend. The giant bookcases will be taken to storage to be used in Dean's new office come August, and the futon will stay in the room for overnight guests (especially Mema, who will be staying for a week or two after he's born... I'm so thankful!!!!). Then we'll just have to get the rest of the baby furniture out of hiding in the garage, clean it all up, set it up, and baby Ty is free to arrive! I will keep you updated on our progress.

Friday Fun

Every Friday we try to have a playgroup day with some mom friends of mine. Tommy always has a blast and loves to be with his little friends. Today we had it set up to go to the fire station so the kids could meet real fire fighters and see a real fire truck up close. Last year, Tommy totally freaked out and choked at the last minute. He talked a big game but when we got there, he wanted to stay in the car. But this year... it was total redemption. I let him pick his favorite fire truck to bring with him, along with Elephant. When it was time to explore the inside of the fire truck, he was right there with the rest of the kids. Of course I couldn't get a decent picture of him looking or smiling at the camera, but I'll take what I can get.





In other news, Tommy's now a godfather. No, not because he's an Inserra and they may or may not have ties to organized crime. Our friend James brought over his new puppy and named Tommy the godfather of little Whitley. How long he'll actually keep the puppy is anyone's guess, but she sure is adorable! Tommy loves her!

Happenings

It's been a busy week. I suppose they all are, but for some reason I'm a little more tired now than normal (maybe because of the almost 6 pound peanut kicking in my stomach). Anyway, I'm here to catch you up on some of the goings-on in the Inserra household.

This past week, Dean was out of town for a few days so Tommy and I had some quality "Tommy and Mommy time". We had lots of outside time, played lots of Candyland, and on Saturday did a little tour de Tallahassee. He woke up early so I made us buttermilk pancakes and we got ready and headed downtown for the weekly Downtown Marketplace that takes place off of Park Avenue. There wasn't a whole lot there and I (purposely) only brought $2 cash, so we couldn't be big spenders, but Tommy had a good time with the hippie guitar duo that was performing.


After walking around there for a bit, we strolled a few blocks down and found ourselves at the capitol building. I figured he should know about the history of his city and state, so after a failed attempt at entering the current capitol to journey to the top (they're closed on weekends), we walked through the museum part of the old capitol. His favorite part was the gift shop, hands-down. Maybe we'll attempt to learn some history later.


Yesterday we had to take Tommy to the eye doctor because his pediatrician was pretty certain that one eye was beginning to turn in. Dean was in full panic mode over having to put a 3 year old boy in glasses (makes baseball and general outside sports difficult), but after a full checkup, including dilation, Tommy got a clean bill of health. Apparently his eye only looks like it's turning in. So it's our eyes that have the problem! He left happy as a clam with his paper sunglasses and a check-up appointment for six months from now. Woo hoo!


And I'm nesting. Hard-core. I went to get some green beans out of the fridge the other night and 45 minutes later found myself sitting on the floor with the shelves and drawers out, scrubbing underneath the bottom of the fridge. Then I spilled an entire casserole dish full of macaroni and cheese in the oven, so bright and early the next morning, I was scrubbing out the oven. I'll either have the cleanest house in Tallahassee or put myself in labor in the process. Oh well.

Easter Egg Hunt

Every year our neighborhood park hosts a giant Easter Egg hunt for all the kids in the neighborhood. The first year, when Tommy was about 18 months old, we practiced hunting for eggs for about a week beforehand. He was ready, I just knew it. When the day came and they blew the bullhorn, though, he simply sat in the pile of eggs that are scattered on the ground and threw them up in the air all around him. Meanwhile, I was pushing small children out of the way in order to fill up his Easter basket. True story.

Last year, we arrived just as they blew the horn and by the time we finished the 45 second walk from our car all the eggs were gone. He was content to run around and play until the Easter Bunny showed up. Then there were tears and he immediately ran the other way.

This year was the year of redemption. We arrived 20 minutes early to scope out the scene and be sure we wouldn't miss the hunt. He had talked about the Easter Bunny all morning long and insisted that he wanted to lots of interaction with the Easter Bunny.

We tried to talk him into seeing the Easter Bunny when he arrived and again he freaked out. No tears, but he wasn't going anywhere near this rabbit. So I took a picture of the bunny anyway. Sans Tommy.


When the hunt started, he had an interesting method of filling his basket.



Then it was time to face the bunny. He somehow feels better if he's "sneaking up" to the bunny and after much persuasion Dean and Todd went with him. And his friend Caleb joined in too. But as you see, in the end, he put the responsibility on Caleb and went the other way.



Finally, we have success! When we left to go home about 5 minutes later, he burst into tears in the car and cried that he missed the Easter Bunny. Go figure