melton.wordpress.com
I've gone back and forth forever from blogger to wordpress. I am going to start blogging there permanently though. Blogger gives me too many problems for some reason!
I added the link, but it's not showing up! If you'd like, Copy & Paste:
http://melton.wordpress.com
Monday Morning...
Frank & I brainstormed several names for the new baby last night (at 10pm while eating CheezIts. I'm ashamed to admit Lydia was still awake at that hour. She has been battling terrible constipation of over a month now and is currently on Miralax, which has helped significantly. The problem, however, is that if I give a 1/2 capful, it's too much, but 1/3 isn't quite enough (tho it produces a BM every other day). I have been going with 1/3 capful and she's been going every other day, without pain, but she's still very hesitant to go (she holds it). It takes about 45- 60 minutes of me literally coaxing her to poop. Needless to say, I was coaxing at 9 and after she went she was hungry. Soooo, having said all that, we were all at the table last night considering names.
Daughter #1 is Lydia Catherine and we want to stick with Bible names.
Possibilities include: Elizabeth Rose, Sarah Elizabeth, Sarah Rose, Susanna Rose. Frank is absolutely STUCK on Rose, and I love Elizabeth (although it is very common). My middle name is Suzanne and I found Susanna in the Bible recently. Anyway, if it's like it was with Lydia, I had no clue what to write when they brought me the birth certificate. I had to ask Frank if we had decided on something. The truth is, he chose Lydia and my mom chose Catherine. Sad.
Real Life
I love the idea of posting rooms in the house (or in our case, apartment) for everyone to see. I thoroughly enjoyed getting a glimpse into other homes...very fun. I did not quite finish my picture taking and posting. Nor could I manage to get the pics
below this writing, so oh well. The first is our living room, and the next two are our bathroom (only one). Last is the kitchen, complete with messy fridge (magnets, pics, etc.) and dirty dishes in the sink!
Advice Needed
I desperately need some good, Godly advice on our current situation and tentative plans/thoughts. Frank & I are still in our apartment on-campus (designated for married couples without children). We are expecting our second child in October (our daughter is currently 19 months old). We are still at the church we've been at since marriage (he was pastor there before we married actually) and we definitely have to make a change soon (financially). So we are expecting/hoping to leave soon (particularly before the next baby arrives). Frank has sent out lots of resumes and he has finished his classes and tests in the PhD program (meaning he doesn't need to be on campus any longer).
OK, so I am an RN, but I've never really used that license. Here you have to work on Sundays to even get employment parttime in a hospital. I have been unable to find a pt job in a doctor's office. In SC, however, I was recently offered a job making my own schedule and getting paid very well. We don't have a problem going to SC (most of the resumes Frank sent out were to churches in SC). The issue is that I would be supporting the family (even though it's temporary). I have been all for it, up until this morning. Today it really hit me that it would be very difficult to leave my daughter for two or three days each week. Orientation would be three 8 hour shift (7-3pm) and then work would be two 12 hour shifts (7am-7pm). For most people, it's not a huge deal to leave a 19 month old. I mean, it's not like she's a newborn. But the thing is, I have been with her every single day for 19 months! Morning, noon, night.
Am I being too attached...or making her too dependent? Would it be better for her to spend those days bonding with dad and/or other family? Or is she still just too young for me to leave her two entire days)? I guess I should add that I would likely only be working from July until October (when the second baby is due) or until Frank is called to another church.
June
Much to update about in a short amount of time (Lydia's still in bed!). Classes ended successfully...I did well in the classes I took and Frankie passed his comps...yah! His next step is preparing a prospectus. Basically his title/topic for his dissertation. He has been working on that for awhile now, so he's gotten a small headstart.
Lydia is 18.5 months old and is a mess! She is repeating everything (or trying to), she is singing and loves music. She still loves books and will sit patiently at any time while I read to her (usually about 4-7 books at a time). She is so beautiful and is still obsessed with babies (both dolls and real babies!). She adores other kids and I regret there aren't more children around for her to play with. She is really good at sharing (I know that won't last) and is overall such a joy. The only negative is that she is still breastfeeding. I know I probably shouldn't say that's a negative; I'm glad to do it for her. And she only nurses to go to sleep (naps and at night), and like twice during the early morning (4am, 6am). I just really don't think I am not up for tandem nursing. I don't know...I'll do it if I have to. I have not been able to stop nursing Lydia cold turkey (I wouldn't do that to her) and I can occasionally distract her when she wants to nurse before napping. At night, though, if I try to stop nursing her she goes nuts! Anyway, we're managing.
As for the new baby, we'll find out today the sex; my u/s is at 2pm. Frankie made a pretty funny statement worth retelling when asked what he wanted. He would love to have a boy, but he is and wants to appear thankful for whatever God blesses us with. Anyway, a church member asked what he wanted a boy or girl, and Frankie's answer was: "Well, if it's not a little girl, I'd love to have a boy." lol...like what other options are there? I thought it funny.
So the other "big event" is that we're trying to decide about our future. We cannot continue at our current church and are trying to decide/discern if we should continue in KY (while Frankie works on his dissertation) or go back to SC for awhile. It's difficult to make this decision as there are pros and cons with both.
