Staycationers Get Stuff Done

I don't mean to brag...but...Look at these nails!!! Never mind my hideous prearthritic fingers, but my nails are rad!! Thanks prenatal vitamins!!!

Good day and hope this finds you coming off of a long and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. Ours was exactly that and you'll find no complaints spewing forth from our lips regarding such a thing. Wish all the weekends could be that long!

We fell into the new group entering everyone's vernaculars thanks to the insane gas prices this year: "Staycationers"! Since we opted not to head anywhere this year, I was able to cross a couple of things off of my "To Do" list and that always feels fantastic! One of the items that has long been haunting us has been the prospect of calling daycares. Admittedly, I've snoozed a bit on this more so than my better half. Cardo was pretty proactive right away and began stopping at centers (think Kindercare) for information right away after we found out we were expecting. I immediately leaned toward the centers since I knew that a legitimate licensed franchise would most likely be operating under the strictest of rules and guidelines. I also liked that they would always have a structured schedule. Of course, that went out the window when after talking with some of the other newer parents that he works with at Best Buy, Ricardo thought that maybe a home daycare would be a better fit for us at least right away. Not only does an infant require less "active hours" because they will most likely be sleeping all day, but they also don't require structured activity until they are up and moving around which is at least 6 months to a year. (And yes, I am the authority of all things child development...I received my PhD from the University of Awesomeness). BUT, most importantly...Daycares (home or center) charge more for an infant, and centers charge more than a home in general. As such, we opted to go with a home.

My ideal situation when I thought about becoming a new mother was for Cardo to be disgustingly rich so that I would be able to stay home and raise my own children. (With help from my nanny and maid while I was getting my hair done, on a shopping spree at Saks 5th Avenue or working out with my personal trainer, of course!) Sadly, my very realistic expectations never came to fruition as I am now stuck heading back to work after 6 short weeks of maternity leave. All sarcasm aside, I really am having trouble with leaving my child for some stranger to raise considering that they will see her more than I will. I suppose this is one more reason why I like a home better, since it will be a much smaller group and almost seem like another family after awhile.

Cardo was also very proactive in rounding up the home daycare information. He asked around and figured out to check onto the Social Services portion of the Minnesota State website. We did a search within a mile radius of our house and they snail-mailed a list of several names, addresses and numbers back in March. As of Monday, we were VERY late in the game considering that providers are only licensed to watch one infant at a time. These open spots get filled in very quickly and most have already been long spoken for. We still managed to find a few folks with openings and will arrange to have a face-to-face interview sometime next week. A very tedious process considering that leaving my firstborn to some person I've met only briefly is nothing to take lightly. I'm positive I'll be having BIG issues with that one. More to come on that!

Also very painstaking is the registry process. We opted to go to Babies R Us which was incredibly overwhelming. As first-time parents, how are we to know what simple items are a necessity let alone narrowing them down out of millions of items in a superstore the size of a Best Buy?????? Brutal, indeed, but we eventually came out of it in one piece. Whoever designed the registry process was a smart person. That gun-shaped scanner is the ONLY thing that kept my husband from staying extremely patient and even enjoyable. (Same thing for our wedding too!) You are the best gunslinger this side of the Mississippi, Cowboy Cardo! Getting the registry over with and online has proved to be a very handy learning experience for us as well. Many of our friends and colleagues who are parents have browsed through and let us know that they don't recommend one thing and we ought to trade it for another better item. From bottles to thermometers, we've gotten tips, and we appreciate them thoroughly!! We'll take as much of a head start as we can get! Needless to say, there are plenty of online revisions to be executed in short order...Thanks Modern Day Technology!!!

Can't believe that we are already at 25 weeks...That means we are 6 months and 1 week along. That also means that I only have 2 months and 3 weeks to get everything ready! Where has the time gone since January when I was first shaking the stick and then my head to be sure I was reading the digital "Pregnant" correctly?!?

Here's my big mama belly which seems to be getting more and more in the way lately.

So, consider this my last post of May since next week is already JUNE!!! So excited to get in one of the two HOT maternity swimsuits I purchased last week. Man, maternity clothes are sexy. Okay, I will let my facetiousness stop here.

In closing, I would like to wish my father a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow, May 29th!!! I love you daddy and hope you have a wonderful day! Wish we could be together. Make sure you go out for a delicious steak dinner. :)

Hugs to all and talk to you next week,

D