Lost in September

I thought the older you get the easier life becomes. Life has consistently been proving me wrong - especially as of late. By this time in December I will be getting ready to celebrate Zachary's 11th birthday, I'll be on maternity leave with the baby and JG will be deployed, again, and I'll finally get to have an MRI done on my knee . JG and I are both hot for one-year remote tours and I'm wondering if next year will be the year for one of us.

We have yet to order our wedding photos - there always seem to be a greater need dipping into emergency funds. The latest was the boys' trip to visit two sets of grandparents in New England - we didn't count on me flying home on the heels of the call that Zachary was hospitalized. And, we have yet to celebrate our second anniversary - his mother flew in to watch the boys for us so we could spend a weekend away - but duty in Japan called JG away.

Crazy summer

A lot has happened since June. We discovered Zachary has Type 1 Diabetes, the baby we're expecting in November will be a boy, and I'm razor close to failing my first real college class. JG also has a deployment this winter and I'll be putting on another stripe and assuming more responsibility at work. Life just seems a bit overwhelming at the moment.

But, to mark recent successes, I bought a gigantic can of crushed tomatoes at Costco and didn't get grief for it. Crushed tomatoes = homemade pasta sauce, usually with beef ribs slow cooked for eight hours. Mmmmm. Zachary moved into the basement, Edward inherited Zachary's new furniture we bought last year along with his old room, and the soon-to-be nursery is coming along. Four sleeper sacks, two gowns, baby over-boots, socks, and hooded towel are the only signs in the house we have a baby on the way.

The "flat daddy" of JG (life-sized poster from waist up mounted on foam board) is leaning up against the nursery wall. JG had this made right before he left for Japan earlier this year. Edward left some of his artwork on the walls for his little brother - though I think he forgot about his hot wheels holder that's mounted to the back of his door.

We toured the hospital where I'm going to deliver. I can't believe in just three short months we're going to have a baby in the house!

College Girl

I started my FIRST college class this week and had to laugh when a fellow student revealed they felt "behind the power curve" about starting classes so late - he's a decade my junior.

In other news, JG signed for his deployment tasking in December.

Bad Dream

Last week JG and I went to the OB orientation on Fairchild where we got a list of DO's and DON'Ts. The weird ones that I don't remember from the first two times around were no herbal pills or tea and no deli lunch meat. Those two 'minor' things made me even more paranoid about the Vicodin I started to take just one day prior to being reunited with JG. Then I got even more worried when I realized I could have been pregnant before we even left Colorado Springs - at the height of my Vicodin use.

With all of that weighing on the back of my mind I had a dream last night that we went to my first OB appointment. I was telling the doctor about my concern and the nurse pulled out a model of a fetus in a test tube - the baby was missing its entire right arm and had a chunk missing out of its skull. "This is what you've done to your baby," she said. 

I hate bad dreams. 

Baby!

The negative pregnancy test before JG left for Japan made me cry. Why was the world against us? But March 30, with JG on the phone, First Response said positive and the blood test confirmed it. The week has been filled with calling family and friends - not wanting those closest to us finding out on Facebook. The projected due date is Dec. 23. Zachary, whose birthday is the 22nd, said "I don't want to share my birthday!" while laughing. Edward and Zachary say they want a brother. Quite honestly, it would be nice to buy pink for a change. Every baby shower I've attended to welcome a baby girl my gift is clothes for that very reason.

A little Buzzling on the way …

Jennifer’s pregnant.

Wow.

I honestly didn’t think it would be this much of a shock. After all, we’ve been trying for a while now. And really, the most surprising thing is that we were actually in the same time zone, let alone the same room, for long enough to actually GET pregnant. But hey, there it is …

The current batch of minions is doing really well with it too. Edward bought a book from Barnes and Noble to read to the baby. Zachary is excited about having a new baby brother to take care of. As long as it’s a baby brother. I may have scarred them about having baby sisters. I feel justified in this …

Nevertheless, Jennifer really wants a baby girl. So does her friend Martha, also known as her mother-in-law. Really though, we won’t even find out the gender til later this summer. For my money, that means there’s not a whole lot of preplanning we can do. For Jennifer’s money, however, and apparently, it seems to be all hers, we need to look at cribs, clothes, strollers, swings, walkers, car seats, diapers and diaper genies. What kind of wishes do diaper genies grant?

At the very least, at this premature stage, I’m willing to entertain names. Jennifer, on the other hand, finds my names entertaining. I don’t feel like she’s taking me seriously, as she keeps vetoing all my suggestions:

Boba Fett Buzanowski

Tax Deduction Buzanowski

James Tiberius Buzanowski

Megatron Buzanowski

Darth Bacon Buzanowski (since she also vetoed my wanting a bulldog)

Chun Li Buzanowski

Indiana Jones Buzanowski

Should she break the embryo and have a boy and girl twins, we WILL be naming them Luke and Leia. That sound you hear is me putting my foot down …

We expect her to be due around Dec. 23. Zachary’s birthday is the 22 and he’s decided he will NOT be sharing his birthday. I agree. Even if New Baby Buzz is born on the 25th, at least then they’ll share a birthday with Annie Lennox. Sweet Dreams, indeed …

But we’ve wanted to add to our family for a while now, so we’re both pretty excited about it. I can’t wait to celebrate. Of course, that will have to wait at least another week while I’m in Japan helping with tsunami and earthquake relief. Is it too soon to bring home a katana to hang over the crib?

Whether we have a boy or a girl, though, we’re just thrilled to have another little minion to add to the mix. Now to try and convince Jennifer that Mets Buzanowski is perfectly acceptable name …

Normal, Here I Come!

JG left for Japan today. A week ago I started a blog post that didn't quite finish that I'll share with you now (see below) then I'll fill you in on how JG's adventure came about.

FROM MARCH 9TH: So I've been home from my adventures in Colorado for 2.5 weeks now. The knee injury was a bad sprain so my time at home has mostly been spent visiting physical therapy, studying for promotion and cooking. Two weekends ago JG, the boys and I visited my grandmother, Ginger, and my Great Aunt Brenda at my Aunt Daphne's house. It was nice to take advantage of visiting East Coast family while they were house sitting.

This summer the boys will be flying to visit family in New England. They are so excited. Since leaving Virginia the boys are now enjoying a traditional school calendar instead of a year-round schedule. So, the grandparents want to take full advantage. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all the free time. 

Between now and summer vacation we have guests coming to visit us here. JG's mother is visiting us the first week of April. The boys will be on spring vacation and it's also the week of our second wedding anniversary - so JG and I are planning to have a two-night getaway to celebrate. Martha's birthday is also in the month of March so we'll be able to celebrate the occasion while she's here. JG's best man, Mike, is coming here the first week of July with the twins who are now 15. BBQ, fireworks, camping, hiking maybe some boating - it should be fun.

Zachary, Edward and I dropped JG off at the airport this morning on our way to make Zach's morning appointment at Sylvan Learning Center. Surprisingly I didn't cry. I knew it could be worse - so I was thankful of his destination. JG is in his deployment rotation, so if it wasn't Japan for an unknown amount of time it would surely be another six month tasking for the Middle East.

The big joke, since we're trying to have a baby, is that JG needs to wear some groin protection. The other joke is that JG will come home with superpowers. Neither are funny. I take getting pregnant very seriously - so if JG came back with superpowers from a mutation our third child would be even more of a handful.

I need to pick the boys up from their new karate school - they had a parents' night out that they were excited about attending. They wanted to only attend half of the event so they could stay up for a little bit once we're home. 'Super Mom' out. :)