Shopping Excursion!

Today I went shopping...baby shopping!  But not for me and Hubby....I went super early shower shopping for my friend who is due 8 days before me.  I've decided to secretly crochet her a baby blanket, but for the shower itself, I'm going to make a diaper cake and put stuff on/in it from her registry.  Granted, I love making stuff, and since she's a pretty close friend, I figured I may as well go all out, right?  The baby blanket will be a secret gift that I give her when there aren't friends from church there (I don't want there to be a jealousy issue.  I made one for another friend, but told the girls if they all expect one from me, they can't all get pregnant at the same time.  They all did, so no blankets for them.)

The worst part of this all??  My friend registered for so much super cute stuff, I just want to buy it all!!  (I love baby shopping for others...heck shopping for others in general!!)  When I made the first diaper cake a couple years ago, I just bought stuff that I knew babies needed.  This time, as an expectant mother myself, I've decided to buy off her registry.  She does have quite a few less than $5 items, that would fit perfectly in and on the diaper cake, so I've decided to go with that.  I'm using diapers she registered for, and will try to top it all off with either ladybug or tulip ribbon (her favorites).  I think we're going to have a double shower sometime in August, so I know I'm way ahead of the game, but then again, my hubby reminded me that I may just want to get the stuff now before someone else buys it.  Then I know I can get what she wants and make something super cute out of it all!  I can't wait to get started!!

As for me...I'm doing well, and my little girl is super active!  This morning I was lounging on the couch, and my belly was just going all over the place!  She definitely is going to be a high-energy baby/toddler, that's for sure!  I love every second of it though.  After dealing with IF, even the painful kicks and punches are so loved.

I've also had a huge change at work.  When my boss resigned, I told them I wanted only 32 hours a week.  Yeah...it's only been 2 weeks, and both weeks I've put in way over my requested 32 (I had a total of 75 hours when it should have been a max of 64).  We have a church intern who is supposed to be helping, but she's really not much of a help at all.  Tuesday, she came in later than she was supposed to, and Thursday, she called the pastor's wife (who was at the church that day) to see if they needed her to come in because she didn't think we had anything for her to do.  I was livid.  She is supposed to be in the office Tuesday-Thursday 1:30-5:00.  Thursday was the only afternoon I got off last week, and she is normally supposed to be in the office at 1:30.  She came in at 2:00 because the pastor's daughter was doing her hair.  Say what?!!?!  I really get the feeling that she has the same attitude the pastor's daughter has..."I can do whatever the heck I want because my dad's the lead pastor."  That is so not going to fly with me.  At least now, the new pastor and I set up a schedule for her which requires very little interaction between me and her, so we'll see how that works out.  We even figured out what she can be doing each afternoon she is there. 

It's going to be a fun interesting summer once again!  Oh joy!!

No update on my sister's wedding.  We really haven't spoken in a week or so which is odd for us.  I sent her an email personally inviting her to my baby shower in July, but I haven't heard anything back from her at all.  No email, no text, no call.  I'm not worried...if she wants to do that, it's her thing, not mine.

I need some advice...

This whole wedding thing with my sister has become quite the mess.  This past week, they had a little bit of a fight/disagreement, but it all stems from a lot of "me, me, me, I, I, I" from my sister.  The pastor who is doing their pre-marital counseling told them to take a week and not talk, text, call, or basically see each other.  He wanted them to have no contact for an entire week.

Now enter more drama...

The pastor has been a mentor to my sister's fiance for the past 6 years, so there's quite a relationship built between them.  Apparently, he doesn't seem to like my sister (based on the previous 1 counseling session they had had) and basically told the fiance that he doesn't want him to marry my sister.  Say what?!?!?!

Well, yesterday they had another counseling session, and the two of them (my sis and her fiance) have decided to postpone their original August wedding date.  My sis said they have some things they need to work through and feel it would be better to push the wedding back.  They haven't set a date for sure, but they're thinking of pushing it to...


October.

Are you flipping kidding me??  My sister is fully aware that I am due in October, and I even told her that if she wants me and Hubby there, that September through November are out of the question for sure.  Granted, I do not want her to plan her life around me or our upcoming family, but it almost seems like she doesn't really even care if her own family (and not just me) is at her wedding.  Heck, when we thought we were going to have twins she had a back-up bridesmaid in case I couldn't be there.

And if they do an October wedding, it also puts my parents in a predicament.  Do they go to my sister's wedding, or do they make plans to come out to see their first grandbaby?  They're going to feel torn between the two of us, and if they chose to come out to see us when Aubrey is born, my sister will be completely jealous and say stuff like "She's the baby...she always gets her way."  (Not kidding at all.) 

Am I wrong in thinking that it's rude of her not to consider the fact that October and the months surrounding it are not good ones for us?  Granted, October is not set in stone, but still.  How would you handle this situation?  What in the world should I say to her?

I can honestly say that if my parents have to choose, I'll selfishly admit that I'd want them here.  But I don't want them even having to face a situation like that either because it's really not fair to them at all.

I just have no idea how to even approach this whole thing.  I want to tell my sister straight out all this stuff, but I know she wouldn't take it well at all. 

Why can't life just be easy??

Updates

So I probably should have blogged a lot sooner than now, so I'll do a bullet-version update!

• We had our screening ultrasound on May 23.  At that time (I was 19 weeks), we learned that we had lost twin B.  She had quit growing at some point after our last ultrasound (at 11 weeks 4 days),but we really don't know why.  On a brighter note, we found out that twin A is a baby girl!  She has some cysts on her brain which can sometimes be indicative of Trisomy 18.  She doesn't have any other signs of having T18 (clenched fists, rocker bottom feet, cleft palate, heart problems, crossed legs, etc.), so that means she has an isolated case of CPCs (choroid plexus cysts).  They are going to monitor them to make sure they resolve on their own and that her growth is not affected.  The CPCs themselves will not affect her developmentally and typically they will go away on their own by the third trimester.  We had an appointment this past week, and her heart sounded great, and she's been super active the past month too!  We'll have a follow-up ultrasound at the end of the month and will most likely continue to have scans every month.  I won't complain!  Who doesn't want to see their baby more and more?

• On Thursday, I found out that my boss (who was just hired at the office in January) put in her 2 weeks notice.  We recently had a pastor leave the office to pursue missionary work elsewhere, and a lot of his work fell to her (as it should...he was her boss).  From the few minutes I talked to her, it sounds like a lot of stuff happened that she just wasn't happy with, so she felt it was becoming too stressful for her and her family.  I really don't know what exactly happened, but Thursday ended up being her last day.  Long story short, that means once again, I'm basically in charge of the office for a little while.  I have no problems with it, and after meeting with the new pastor and the senior pastor's wife, they are aware of what my wants/desires are as far as what I am able to work hours-wise, and that I will need to have time off for doctor appointments and ultrasound appointments.  They are willing to work with me as I work with them during this transition.  We have a church intern for a few months, so she'll be helping out some which will help.  Unfortunately, it also means that I will most likely be putting in 40-hour weeks for a couple of weeks until she is trained and I can drop down to my preferred 32 hour weeks.  The new pastor seems to be pretty laid-back and I guess this will just be a huge time of adjustment for him and for all of us as we figure things out.  The really crazy part:  it was the new pastor's very first week, so he was hit with quite a bit of stuff as is, and then to have that thrown at him too.  I guess on a more positive note, he can hire who he wants, and I think I trust his judgment more than the previous pastor's.

• About a month or so ago, my sister and I had quite a spat over the baby shower that my sister in law is throwing for me in July.  Needless to say, she took herself out of the whole thing (her decision, not mine.  I think she wasn't taking her meds at the time which means super pissy sister over the smallest of things.).  So, I've been working on getting all the addresses for my sister-in-law.  Today, I realized I didn't have her address (my sister's), so I texted her to get it.  She responded with something like "Can I get it to you next week?  I'm working til 2."  Umm...hello?!?!?  It's going to take you a week to get me your address?  How hard is it to text a few numbers and some letters?  Well, her excuse is that her and her fiance are on the "out."   I'm not quite sure what that has to do with getting me her address, but it sounds like the whole wedding is iffy.  She said they'll know by next Friday if the wedding is on or not.  Say what!?!?!?  Wow...

So that's the latest from my world.  It's been a roller coaster past couple of weeks, but we're excited for what the future may hold for us!