9 months

I told Duffy the other day that Harper, being 9 months old, has been alive as many months as I was pregnant. I remember thinking this with Zoe and Teagan, but for some reason, it seems so much more meaningful with Harper. I've been thinking about it a lot this last week and am in awe of how much she has changed in 9 months. Here are some of the things I've thought:

• Since she will probably be our last child, I'm trying to cherish every last baby moment. Unless God has other plans for us, this will be the last time I'm dealing with rolling over, crawling, first teeth, diapering, etc.


• I was laid off at 5 months pregnant and other than working at The Good Book a few hours a week, I was home full-time and able to really enjoy my pregnancy. I worked full-time with Zoe and part-time with Teagan and even though things went smoothly, I sometimes look back and don't even remember parts of their pregnancies. With Harper, I was able to play with my kids, garden, enjoy the great weather we had and enjoy being pregnant.


• Since we've decided that life at our house/life goes more smoothly with me being home more, I'm enjoying being home with Harper more as a baby. There are frustrations that come with this though: less money, being creative with EVERYTHING, Harper refusing to take a bottle! But the joys are so much more: Harper's love for daddy and sisters, being able to spend so much more quality time with the girls - I can NEVER get this time back! Being available to watch Mr. P (a entire post of it's own - a total blessing!!) and being available to spend time with family and friends.


• It's amazing to me how much a baby learns in 9 months. They go from sleeping, eating and pooping all the time to laughing, smiling, rolling over, crawling, grabbing everything, finding amusement in siblings, eating "real" food, being silly, pulling themselves up on things, playing with anything!

Blogging

I really want to be one of those people that posts at least once a week! I'm jealous of those that can do it with wit, creativity and style! I always think of good topics to blog about when it is the least convenient time to blog and I have seemed to fail miserably at the recipe a week, photo a week, etc.

Maybe if I think about it like laundry and vacuuming, it has to get done every week, I'll have better success.

End

Well, my unemployment benefits have come to an end. I have reached the end of my benefit year and will not be re-applying for benefits. I am glad to be done with the job-searches, meeting with WorkSource as to why I haven't found a full-time job (hello, I haven't worked full time in over 5 years!) and feeling like I've always got someone checking up on me.



I'm excited/nervous/scared as to how things will work out financially, but am thankful for the hours at The Good Book (you know, my boss there can be a total slave driver!! Love you mom!!) and I'm going to be watching our friends little boy one day a week and fill-in when needed, so there will be a little income coming in. I'm getting really creative with all sorts of things around the house to save money and we are relocating our garden beds to hopefully have a more fruitful garden! And I'm loving the time at home - I can never get this time back, so to be able to be at home with them is amazing! Yes, things would be easier if I was working and bringing home a bigger paycheck, but what is more important for my family, right now??