End of pregnancy exhaustion…

Well, folks, we’re nearing the end of the road now. 4 weeks and 6 days until the scheduled C-section and I’m so tired my hair hurts. Honestly.  ‘Course, it doesn’t help that my toddler is battling some sort of infection. We’ve been to the doctor multiple times and are now on our third medication. I’ve been having serious fears that I’m going to be able to handle baby number two. I keep reassuring myself that people have had more than one child for centuries. Oddly, that doesn’t seem to make me feel much better…

In other news, I’m still waiting to hear back about my book that’s on sub. Hurricane Sandy fried a bunch of the publisher’s servers, so we had to resend my manuscript last week. Of course that means the waiting period had to be restarted as well. Maybe it’s for the best.  I’m certainly in no shape to do revisions right at the moment.

Finding joy in life.

My husband and I are the same in many areas; we have many of the same beliefs, hobbies, etc. But there is one area where we are vastly different. He is a pessimist and I am an optimist.

I actually think this is a good thing. He helps keep me grounded and I help him to find the joy in life. It’s a good balance.

This year has been a difficult year. We’ve had a lot of very good things happen to us, but it’s also been very stressful. And we both know it’s only going to get harder before it gets better; as our second son will be coming at the start of December.

This weekend, we took a drive to look at the fall leaves. My husband was thinking about his new job, which he’s had since september. It pays great, but he works a ten-hour day, with a one hour commute in the morning and again in the evening. On top of that, he sometimes has to work overtime. To add in another difficulty, we live in an area where we usually get over 200 inches of snow in a season.They’re predicting snow already for Friday and saturday. I know he’s worried about managing the job and drive while also having a newborn at home.

He turned to me while we were driving down a quiet country road and said, “Life is just plugging away day after day, isn’t it?”

I thought for a minute and said, “Sometimes. But I saw you laughing at our son this morning when he was running around the house pretending to be  a Tyrannosaurus Rex. You weren’t plugging away then, were you?”

I was just trying to make him feel better, but I thought more about it when I got home. Yes, life is about plugging away. But it’s also about looking at beautiful fall leaves, laughing at the funny things your kids do, enjoying a good tv show, book, or movie, going for a long walk outside, and getting excited about the first snowfall. Making sure you notice and enjoy the small things in life is what makes your life a joyful one. Sometimes, you  might have to force yourself to do it, but it will always make you happier.

As a perpetual optimist, that’s my key to a happy life. Enjoy!

Too much to do, not enough time…

Sorry for missing my Monday post everyone. It’s been a very hectic week. I’ve gotten a ton done though! My book is now through the copy editing stage and on to the very final stage, proofing! Not too much longer now! I think it’s sixteen days until the digital copy is released. Then, the print copy will follow it.

In other news, we have the first official showing of our house today! I think I mentioned we listed it on the market last week? So of course, I’ve been cleaning like a manic. My husband tried to put a cap on it last night when I wanted to run to the store at 8 pm to get fresh flowers for the table. I know he’s worried I’m doing too much. Having a wife that’s 24 weeks pregnant tends to do that to men, right?  🙂

I know some of you noticed that I took my book trailer down. We’re making a few tweaks to  it, mainly shortening it and making it less wordy.  I’m hoping to have it up later today or tomorrow! Have a great day everyone!

My dream writing schedule vs. my real writing schedule.

Dream Schedule

7:30 a.m.-Wake up and write until 11:30 while someone watches son.

11:30 am-12:15 p.m. Take a nice walk outside with son and dog.

12:15-12:45- Eat lunch with son.

1:00-3:00-Write some more while son naps.

3:00-6:30-Play with son, pick up house, cook supper etc.

6:30-Husband gets home, eat supper, have a nice quite family night.

9:00-Son goes to sleep.

11:00-I go to sleep too.

 

Actual Schedule (this is my actual schedule for today. Son’s bedtime, what happens during naptime, etc. is based on yesterday)

 

8:00-Accidently sleep late. Rush to shower and have a cup of tea before son wakes up.

8:30- Son wakes up.

8:30-10:00-Son clings to me, saying he doesn’t feel good. Insists I watch Thomas the Train with him, then play with stickers on floor. Bangs laptop when I place it on couch.

10-10:30-Son eats breakfast in high chair next to me while I write blog post then write out bills. Only interrupted twice, once to get him more milk, and once when the cat throws up, massively and spectacularly.

10:30-12:30-Alternate between cleaning house and playing with son. Real estate agent coming over later to take pictures and list house on market. Must be spick and span.

12:30-1:00-Read son books and put down for nap. Fusses in crib for half an hour before falling asleep. Continue to clean.

1:00-3:00- Hopefully will get two hours to write while son naps. In realty, being 23 weeks pregnant and taking care of a toddler often catches up with me. I’ll sit down on the couch to write and then wake up an hour and a half later, realizing I accidentally fell asleep and now have an awful cramp in my neck.

3:00-4:30-Take son and dog outside for exercise.

4:30-6:30-Continue to clean house and make supper.

6:30-Real estate agent shows up to take pictures.

7:30- Husband gets home late. Together, we sign documents to list house.

8:00- Finally get to eat.

11:30-Fussing son finally falls asleep

12:30-I finally get to go to sleep too.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it? I’d love some advice!

How do you make time to write?

My life has been so exhausting lately; I’m usually asleep before my head hits the pillow. I’m pregnant and I have a two-year-and-two-month-old-child. I’ve been applying for mortgages, house hunting, trying to get our current home ready to go on the market, and trying to finish my first round of editing on my novel. On top of that, I have all my other, normal duties, like cooking supper and cleaning. My husband has a demanding, physical job and works long hours, so we don’t get to see much of him. So my question is, when you are crazy-busy (and I know I’m no the only one who is!), how do you fit writing into your life?

I usually write during my son’s nap time, but to be honest, a lot of the first trimester of my pregnancy involved me sleeping during my son’s nap time instead. I’m feeling a little better now, but I still have a problem. I usually end up making a lot of my important calls to the bank and real-estate office during nap time.

Maybe I should have titled this post, “How do you keep a two-year-old from banging on your laptop?” Because really, that’s the problem. I could probably work for a while well he was awake if he wasn’t fascinated by it. Do you guys have any tips for writing with a toddler in the room? I’d love (am desperate?) to hear them!

Things are still complicated…

Sorry, everybody. Things have not gotten easier as I expected. The house we put an offer in on flooded twice. Today, I have to drive round trip four  hours to go see a special doctor. *sigh* Will keep you all updated.

Some Bad News…

Here’s what I discovered; if you try to apply for a mortgage, make an offer on a house, do edits on your first novel, and take care of your two-year-old son by yourself for twelve hours a day while you’re in the first trimester of your pregnancy, you’re going to have to deal with lots and lots of stress.

I don’t know if it’s the stress or what, but I ended up in the emergency room with some trouble with the baby. We seem to be okay for now, although I guess it’s kind of a waiting game at this point. I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to have to take a vacation from the blog for a week. I’ll resume posting on Thursday the 14^th (of June). See you all then.

What do You do When you Feel like Life is Going to Fast?

As all of my regular readers know, I’ve had a lot of good things happen in a very short time; my husband got a new, better job, I signed a contract with a publisher for one of my novels, and I discovered I was pregnant for the second time. Now I have something else to add to that list: I just found out that the offer we put in on a new house was accepted. Soon, we’ll be moving to a new home, an hour and a half away from here, but closer to family and my husband’s job.

All of this is wonderful, great, spectacular, except… I suddenly feel like everything is changing too much, and too quickly. I feel like I’m standing still and the whole world is rushing past in a blur of color and movement. I can’t seem to get a hold on anything. My world is turned upside down, and I’m not turning with it very well.

I do know that all of these things are wonderful. I guess I’m just feeling lost, extremely stressed out, and maybe even a little scared. Everything is so very different from the way it was. What if, once I’m on this new path, I can’t handle it, or discover I don’t like it? What if I made a mistake choosing to go in this direction? (Not with the baby. I know that’s not a mistake, although I am a little scared about being able to handle a new-born and a 2-1/2-year-old.)

Has anything like this ever happened to you? How did you handle it? Do you have any advice for me that might help be get my feet back where they belong? I sure would appreciate it!