Friday, December 30, 2011

Holiday Reflections

The only thing missing, making the holidays only one tiny human short of perfect, the missing tiny human being the wonderful little munchkin growing inside of me, of course.  Had he been here to enjoy Christmas with us, everything would have been even better than perfect!  And for some reason, everything still seemed different this year.  Maybe it was the presence of children on Christmas morning that made everything so exciting and warm.  Or maybe it was the timing of our uneventful travel, leaving us time to get excited before Christmas and a couple days to unwind after.

Regardless, it was so wonderful.  My only regret is that we didn't have one more night because I had to bail on one of the most important stops of the trip.  Missing my cousin Allison and her family, and seeing the excitement on her kiddo's faces as they explained each gift they received with detail only recalled by the mind of a child.  It's one of my favorite parts of our trips home for Christmas.

Thankfully, I will be back in Michigan in a couple weeks and will be able to see Alli and the kids (and Matt too, I hope) during that trip.  (Allison, I am sending you the email with my schedule next!).

Pregnancy seems like such a long journey when it begins.  Forty weeks of constant change and weird stuff.  That's only 12 weeks of a full year that a woman ISN'T pregnant.  That's just crazy.  But here I am.  Twenty-four weeks down and only 16 weeks to go.  Where has the time gone?  Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go back in time or prolong this pregnancy business one day longer than I have to.  But it makes me wonder how quickly life-in-general will go once our son is actually here.  I am guessing that time passes in the blink of an eye, making me thankful for the fabulous camera that will hopefully help us capture and save some of the most special moments.

Thank you to all who were able to squeeze a quick visit in.  And I am VERY sorry to those I missed on this trip.

Cheers to a wonderful Christmas and I hope 2012 is as exciting, rewarding and special for you and your family as I am expecting it to be for mine.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A month already? Or should I say 6 months!

It's a little difficult to believe it's been a month since I last blogged. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, but most likely what I had to say I shouldn't have shared in such a public forum.  Right, Mom!

As for the baby, well, he's growing like crazy I think.  I am 23 weeks pregnant (as of tomorrow) which is 6 months according to the "What to Expect when you are Expecting" book.  I have found that if I put some music close to my belly I can encourage him to dance.  Here's hoping he inherits more of my moves and less of his dad's.  Although based on the  non-rhythmic kicking and fluttering about, I can safely say that either he hates my music choice and is running from it, or he's going to dance like his father. And let's just say that I didn't marry Chris for his dancing skills!

I am feeling pretty darn good.  I want to do things that I used to do but my stamina is not what it was a few months ago.  I get winded much easier, which is frustrating.  I ran 10 miles the week after I found out I was pregnant and now I get winded carrying laundry up the stairs.  It's all part of the process, I know.  And when I think about what I get for it, it's a pretty handsome reward.  Literally and figuratively.

It's a very weird feeling to want so badly to run with that stranger on the sidewalk who seems to be keeping a good pace for me, but knowing that if I even tried, I wouldn't make it a block before I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk or got so tired I decided to just sit down and wait for Chris to come get me.  Have I mentioned how clumsy I've become?  This kiddo sure has my center of gravity moving all over the place!  I've always been a little...ummm...heavy in the front, but this takes the cake!

We are very excited for Christmas in Michigan.  Here's hoping that our travels are uneventful.  It's not looking very good for us, but that's ok...it always happens this way.  If we can score a delay or cancellation along the way, I think that will keep us with a perfect record.  0 for all of them.  I don't think Chris and I have ever traveled to Michigan without something changing our plans.  It started in 2005 when I took him home with me for the first time and a massive thunderstorm ripped through the Dallas area...when the luggage cart was trying to get to safety, the driver got too close to the plane and knocked of an antenna from the nose of an aircraft.  Then there was the time that I just flat-out whiffed on our departure time and we missed our flight.

Today, Colorado is in the midst of preparing for yet another big snowstorm that will land at the same time we should take off.  I'll keep you updated on the McFarlane's luck.  It's similar to Murphy's law, but relates to my family and our travel adventures.  And by "adventure" I mean messed up travel experiences that could rival the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and/or "Home Alone."  But we expect it, therefore we laugh about it.

We've had blizzards and freezing fog, snow storms and thunderstorms, and aircraft maintenance.  We go to the airport fully prepared with snacks, games, books, fully charged batteries and all the necessary charging devices.  Bring it on Mother Nature.  You can't keep us down!  We're gonna have a baby and we're gonna get to Michigan no matter how much snow and wind you give us!