Making Room

We've been a little busy as of late.  And I'm not just referring to the past few weeks, but I am referring to the past few months.  It's pretty standard for us to be constantly on the go, but these past few months have been absolute madness.  Of course all of this madness will be culminating in birth of our son next month. 

Up until now, I have felt horribly unprepared for his arrival.  Primarily because he did not have a room.  I would make statements on Facebook like "I can't believe we are "X" number of weeks away from the baby being born.  We are so not ready!".  Such comments would prompt people to reply "What else do you need to do?",  "Babies don't require much, you'll be fine", etc.  I would simply shake my head and think to myself, "Oh, you have no idea!".

Unfortunately, his room wasn't so much a bedroom as it was an office/guest bedroom/game room/storage/pile of crap room.  The bad part about knowing that we would eventually be forced to tackle this room and somehow make it presentable was that up until that point, we continued to just throw stuff in there to be sorted out later.  "That's next months problem" seemed to be our mantra.

In the intrest of full disclosure, here is photographic proof.  (you'll just have to tilt your head sideways because cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn these pictures the right way)

Mountain of Crap

More Crap

Ok, this is getting embarrassing

Not exactly cozy is it?  It seemed like such a huge task that it was depressing to even think about tackling this project.  What makes it worse was that we really didn't have anyplace to put all of this crap.  Some would suggest, "what about the garage?"  Well, this was my garage at the time.

again with the head tilting... sorry

no imagine this back wall stacked to the ceiling with plastic storage tubs

So we were in desperate need of a solution.  After thinking about it for a while I decided to call upon the carpentry skills of a good friend and build storage units in the garage.  The final goal being able to organize my garage some and move all of our stuff from the pile o' crap room to a new and organized place.  It was a huge task, but necessary none the less.  We built these units from scratch using plywood and our awesome boyscout skills.  And clamps... lots and lots of clamps.  In total, the project came in at under $350 for materials.  I was very pleased!

awww... storage

took approximately 2.5 seconds to fill them up

fancy hanging system too!

 While I still feel like it's a little cluttered, it is light years better than it once was.  Now that this project was complete, we could really get to work on the baby's room.  Julia ended up getting a big girl bed so he could have her crib so we did a whole lot of shuffling of furniture in each of their rooms.  After that we painted his room and I am extremely pleased to say we are pretty much finished!  The transformation is pretty remarkable if you ask me!  All along I've been telling Breanne that this child is not allowed to come until he has a bed to sleep in and clothes in drawer instead of boxes.  Both of those are now complete so I suppose he could come anytime now!  I shutter as I type that!  Here are the final results!

we are doing "argyle and puppies" as a theme

Alright little guy, I hope you like your new room.  I was a LOT of work!

 



The Heart of the Matter

I wrote this last week and have been sitting on it ever since, not sure if I would post it or not.  At this point, enough people know what's going on that I am ok with sharing with everyone.  Prayers are appreciated and I will be sure to update when I know more.

-Michael

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Have you ever had a fight with God?  I am in the midst of one right now.  Admittedly, its not a fair fight and I'm losing, but its a fight none the less. 

Many know that 7 years ago when I was 24 years old, I had to have open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve due to a birth defect.  I was supposed to be done after that.  No more complications.  I had my surgery and I felt better.  The end.

Unfortunately, I learned last week that this is not the case.  I had to switch cardiologists recently because my old one left the practice.  In getting established with a new doctor I had to under go a few tests.  I had an echocardiogram and was also sent for a cardiac MRI.  the tests indicated that I am now having problems with my Aorta and I have an aneurysm, which means it is enlarged.  My last surgery was to replace my valve and when I had that surgery my Aorta was 4.1 cm wide.  A healthy one is around 3.0 cm.  Recent tests indicate that I am now at 4.9 cm and surgical intervention is recommended at 5.0 cm.  The danger is that my Aorta will eventually rupture if not repaired.  I'm not 100% certain, but I hear that's bad.

This would mean that I will be having another open heart procedure to replace the enlarged portion of my Aorta.  I don't have a ton of details yet as I'm still waiting for my follow up appointment to go over the tests and game plan in detail.   I go back in on the 30th of May for that appointment.  They may recommend surgery now, or they may just put me on a "wait and see" plan which will have me getting tests done every 6 months until the procedure is necessary.  Unfortunately, from what I understand, surgery is not so much a question of "if", but of "when", as my Aorta will not shrink back down on its own and it continues to enlarge.

so, this is where I argue with God.  I can't help but wonder "why"?  I'm 30 years old.  I have a family.  I have kids.  Why do I have to go through all of this..... AGAIN!  

I question, fight, get pissed...  It doesn't help.  And then it hits me.  How much God loves me.  It doesn't  make sense.  I began with thinking that if God truly loved me, he wouldn't let this happen to me.  Now I can't help but see how he has gone before me and will continue to do so.  The only way that I can feasibly make it through this is to entrust it to Him.  The God who created this entire universe also cares about something as small as my Aorta.  He LOVES me so much and cares for my safety.  He cares for my family.  And while I don't understand why things happen, I can't help but feel his presence surrounding me.  Lifting me up and helping me to stand.

I still fight.  I tell Him that this sucks.  I'm scared.  I'm frustrated.  Impatient 

I trust in Him.  I trust that he will provide.  He will use these circumstances for His glory.

Pink or Blue?

Today is the day that we find out what we are having.  A Boy or a Girl.  I tend to lean more towards thinking that we are having a girl despite the fact that I am more so hoping for a boy.  Of course either way I will be happy (insert here any other comments necessary to stop people from saying "as long as the baby is healthy that's all that matters...)  Of course I know this is true and will love my baby regardless of gender, but I'm allowed to have a preference.

I'm not really sure why, but I just get the feeling that this baby is another girl.  Maybe I'm unconsciously trying for a little reverse psychology.  Girls have just been the trend with the men in my family as of late so I'm not confident that is going to change.  However, my twin brother did have a boy last fall so maybe he has broken the cycle of estrogen domination.  So I have officially placed my bets on team pink because ultimately, I just have to go with my gut... and I want to be right.

Finding out the gender of our child is bringing us one huge step closer to this whole thing being a reality.  Of course I have known all along that we are pregnant and a baby is coming it just hasn't felt super real yet.  I'm sure that is mainly because I am the dad and I don't have anything living in my body as a constant reminder of things to come.  I'm sure if something was pressing on my bladder at 2AM I would think about it more too.  Also, we have done almost zero prep work for the child to come.  Theoretically, we will have a place for him/her, we just are not sure where that will be.  We are strongly considering putting a girl in the same room with Julia, thus retaining our "pile of crap" room.  This is the room in the house where everything that doesn't really have a home gets stacked.  It's a little ridiculous at the moment as it is serving as guest room/office/storage at the moment.  If we have a boy, he will take over this room and all of the stuff in the "pile of crap" room will have to find a new home.  Where exactly, I have absolutely no idea.  We just don't want to make a boy live in Julia's pink, green, and purple room.  Not that he would care or know the difference, but you know what I mean.

By this point in time when we had Julia, we had a boy name and a girl name picked out.  Although we ultimately scrapped the girl name that we had and went with something else entirely.  The point is, we had one picked.  This time around, we have nothing.  There are a few boy names that each of us like, but nothing that we can agree on.  We have zero girl names picked.  It's all contributes to the overall feeling that I have of not being the least bit ready for this child to get here. 

Oh well, I'm not going to try and stress out too much about it.  That's future Michael and Breanne's problem.

Who Wants To Be My Friend?

There are certain benefits that come with being considered "Clergy".  Not a ton, however there are a few.  "Clergy" is such a formal word by the way.  I have never once considered myself a member of the clergy.  I suppose that I am, it just sounds weird to me.  Anyway, the perks.  I know you get the sweet parking spots at the hospitals.  That's a perk... I suppose? After that, I'm pretty much out, so if any of my other ministry friends know of something that I'm missing, please let me know.

Today I unexpectedly had a major clergy perk dropped in my lap!  Through an unnamed inside contact I was able to obtain a "Clergy Pass" to St. Louis Cardinal's games!  Now if I'm understanding this correctly, this card entitles myself and a guest to get in to almost any regular season Cardinal's game free of charge!  The only exceptions are opening day, cubs games, and sold out games.  Can this really be true!!!  Holy Cow!!

I am so stinking excited about this!  The only problem is that I am a super busy guy so finding the time could be difficult, but even if I only catch a few games, it would be awesome!!!  Maybe the Cardinal's will go 12 in 12 this year?!?!

So the only question left is, who wants to be my new best friend?  

DVR- Rules of Engagement

Admittedly, I love television.  I enjoy a good story.  Even more so, I love simply relaxing on the couch.  Call me lazy, but its the truth.  I know I should go exercise or read a book or something else that is more productive, but I just don't want to.  It's my guilty pleasure.

We lead a pretty busy life at our house so the times that we actually get to sit and watch television are very few and far between.  As a result, Our DVR is totally backed up and verging on too full.    Now that I have found myself with a week and a half without a wife or a baby to take care of, I have a lot of time to watch TV and catch up.  So here is my dilemma.

Which shows am I allowed to watch without Breanne?  We have a few shows that I know I can watch by myself but there are a few that are considered "our shows" that we watch together and I know I'd be in huge trouble if I watched them without her.  I feel the need to categorize them as to help me decide what is fair game to fill my time with and what is off limits.

So here is a sneak peak into our DVR.  Don't make fun of my show selections either!  I know there are several really interesting shows that have recently started but I just can't make time for them.  Should you feel the need to make recommendations, keep in mind that I don't have cable.

My shows- shows that I feel safe to watch without Breanne
1. The Office- I only have watched 2 episodes of this season so far.  It's just not the same without Michael Scott.  So I have a lot of catching up to do on this one.
2. Survivor- I haven't watched survivor in years and randomly decided to check it out since it was just starting. 
3. Private Practice- I'm so embarrassed.  I got hooked years ago when they did a Grey's Anatomy crossover show.  Try not to judge me too harshly.
4. How I Met Your Mother- I record it in syndication and new episodes.  The syndication episodes are safe.  New ones... not so much.
5. Big Bang Theory- Also recording in syndication.  Stinking hilarious.  She likes this show too, but I don't she minds if I watch it without her.

Her shows- shows that she records that I have no desire to watch. 
1. Rachael Ray- I think we have approximately 77 episodes of Rachael Ray on our DVR.  Breanne just doesn't have time to watch them anymore.  She is in definite danger of getting about 52 episodes erased to make room.

Our shows that I might be able to watch- Shows that we typically watch together, however we are so far behind on them that I don't think we will ever catch up.  Therefore, if I watched them without her it wouldn't be the end of the world. 
1. The Voice- Fun singing show.  They are still in the audition phase so there is nothing to crazy going on right now anyway.  I just like that it is different.  We typically put his on while doing other work on couch at the same time.  I don't think she would mind too much.
2. Grey's Anatomy-  Episodes from last season are still on our DVR.  Catching up together is hopeless so I think it's fair game.  Again.... I am so embarrassed.
3. Glee- I used to really like Glee a lot, but it has gone super down hill as of late.  Therefore, 6 episodes have piled up on the DVR.  It's one of those that I feel obligated to watch because I have seen so much of it so far, but it's becoming a little too much for me.  And horribly unrealistic.  I hope kids don't think this is an accurate portrayal of high school life.  Just stick with the songs.  That's what I like anyway.

Our shows that I am forbidden to watch without her- I know that if I were to watch these shows without her, I would be in big trouble!
1. New Girl- One of the funniest shows on television right now.  She would be soooo mad if I watched without her!
2. Smash- We are only one episode into this show so far, but it was good. I can wait.
3. Up All Night- Again, it has piled up on the DVR but we started watching this show together from the very beginning so I feel obligated to wait for her return to catch up. 

Julia's Shows- no danger of me watching this. 
1. Sesame Street- I love Elmo and all, but its been nice to have a week of from him and his Muppet friends.

On a Side note, I've set my DVR to record the new show Awake that starts next week.  It looks really interesting.  I'm anticipating it being filed under the "My show" category.


Did I miss anything honey?  Let me know now so I know which ones to act surprised about when we finally get around to watching them.  :)

The Bachelor

Due to an family emergency Breanne and Julia are going to be travelling to New Mexico for a week and a half.  Unfortunately, I will not be going with them.  I need to save my vacation time for when baby #2 arrives later this year.  This leaves me all alone to fend for myself.  So I foresee a total regression upon her departure.  Over the course of the past few years of marriage I have actually become sort of competent in the kitchen.  I'm nowhere near as good as she is, but I can whip up a meal or two when necessary.  Somehow I just don't see that happening next week.

I imagine that I will return to my old ways of frozen pizza type products, including but not limited to, regular pizza, pizza rolls, and pizza bread. 

I think this whole routine will be novel for approximately 2 1/2 days and after that I think I will get really bored.  There is only so much television you can watch and only so much of a conversation you can have with the dog.  I am also really going to miss having them around.  Especially Julia.  Who am I going to have tea parties with while she is gone? 

So here is my question.  Who wants to entertain me?  That's right.  It is now your job to entertain me!  How's that for delegating?  I am hearby making myself available for movies, working out, hanging out, games, etc.  Please, not all of you at once.  There is only so much of me to go around.

If no one replies I will be sad and lonely.  Do I sound pathetic enough yet?

I'm sure I'll be fine.  Breanne really has the hard job of managing the munchkin all by herself so this is me officially shutting up before she feels the need to reply to this too.  :) 

Murphy's Law of Economics

We are all familiar with "Murhpy's Law" right?  Something along the lines of "as soon as something bad can happen, it will".  This law also has very close ties with the world of economics.  Murphy's Law of Economics goes something like "the moment you have a few extra dollars, something will come along that will steal them".

Here are some examples.  You get a raise at work and then your kid needs braces.  You manage to have a little extra at the end of the month and you think "Yay, I can make an extra car payment this month!".  Not so fast!  Murphy steps in and breaks your alternator.  And then there is Murphy's favorite time of year.  Tax Return Season.  The moment you get that check in your hands, your furnace will need repaired!  He is pure evil I tell you!

You get the point.  It's so frustrating.  Currently my wife and I are pushing super hard to pay off our car.  Its so close and I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We are needing to pay it off before the baby gets here and the ultimate goal is for Breanne to work even less in the future.  Along with paying off the car, we are needing to save up for the upcoming hospital bills.  Since we have a stupidly enormous deductible, it turns out to be a very sizable expense.  They say you can't put a price tag on the joy a child brings to your life, but apparently the hospital can.  The last joy we are saving up for is maternity leave.  Breanne has  great job, however it has zero PTO time.  That's 8 weeks without a pay check!  Ouch.

So we have gone into serious budget lock down mode.  We have a plan-ish and everything is on track.  Then Murphy moved into our house.  On an unfortunate note, Breanne's father is having open heart surgery tomorrow so she is going to be driving down to see him for a week and a half to help him as he recovers.  So now a large portion of what we were planning on using for savings this month is newly being allocated to travel expenses and next months bills as she will not get paid for that time off.  (see above PTO problem)

It's so frustrating to have plans derailed like this.  Grrr!

Ok... so now I am done complaining about it and here is where I count my blessings.  Ready, set, go.  We are making headway on the budget and are blessed enough for it to be possible for her to go.  We have an emergency fund (thanks Dave Ramsey), so this little hiccup is not as much of an "emergency" as it could be.  God provides.  I have always had enough so I can't start complaining now.

so, Breanne... cause I know you are reading this.  An open letter to you.  Don't be stressed.  It will be OK.  God provides.  It will be fine and we will work it out.  We always do.  Let the voice of God be louder in your life than your pregnancy hormones.  He cares about the health of your father.  He cares about the logistics of all of this madness that you are trying to figure out.  The where's, when's, who's, and how questions you are asking are not beyond His control.  Not saying that everything will be perfect and will run according to plan, just that we will figure it all out as it comes.  Just take a breath and handle it all as it comes.

While you are gone I will do my best to find where Murphy is hiding in our house and I will beat the crap out of him for you.  Hopefully he will be gone before you return.

Love,
Michael