changes

When I think about the mental effect this move is having on our family, I get a little concerned for Luc. He knows about Baby #2, we've read books, watched movies and talked about the topic a lot with him. Now we've started to tell him about how we're moving. And not taking Kitty with us. And Papa might be away after his brother arrives. Yikes. That's a lot for a 3 year old to handle. In the past month he's started to pee in the toilet, but we haven't tried to switch him over to underwear full time because we think that he's got enough on his plate for now.
But he's doing well, amazingly well. We take care to keep him on a routine, knowing that will help him feel secure to know what's coming next. His imagination these days has really impressed me. He makes tunnels out of blankets for his cars. He makes up stories for his wooden train set as his plays with it. He sees little berries on the bushes outside as "jumping beans". His legos become a spaceship. He looks for the moon outside and tries to jump up and reach it.
And today, as we were talking about moving to a new place and taking an airplane to get there, he told me the three things he was going to do on the airplane; eat food, watch a movie, and go dodo (sleep). Perfect! Our 2 hard suitcases became airplanes, and he put special chosen toys and his blanket in the third. When I asked him if he wanted to bring any clothes he said no. He got his sunglasses, flip flops, and Papa's backpack, and he was ready to fly.

this is my funny smile

the big move

Most people who read this blog know already that we are moving to New Caledonia. Like soon. It's the reason I haven't posted much in the past couple of weeks. When the plans became solid, we had to start right away with the planning for such a big move. And all I want to be doing in the meantime is nesting or resting. Nesting is out of the question, but Alex makes sure I don't try to do too much during this time. "I'll take care of it! Go rest, you're 9 months pregnant you know", he says to me. But if you know me, you'll know I can't just sit back and do nothing. I think it's in my genes.
There has been so much to think about, with the arrival of baby #2, obtaining a passport for the new little guy, renting out our house, what to do with the stuff we are leaving behind, how to ship other stuff, cleaning up inside the house, packing, the copious amounts of paperwork, saying goodbye to our cat (she'd have to stay in quarentine 6 months if we wanted to bring her with us, and we don't want to put her through that), and the numerous house projects to finish before people start to come look at the house. Alex can't do everything.
On top of that he is due to start work on Feb 20th. Will baby #2 be born in time for all of us to travel together? That is the big question. Also, if I travel alone with the 2 boys afterwards, how the hell am I going to cope with recouperating after a delivery on a 14 hour flight? (Hey Luc, you're 3 now, could you get all those heavy suitcases?) Let's not even think about if there are any complications. We debated for a better part of 2 weeks if we could find a way to get someone here to help and to travel with me. If money weren't an issue....tickets can't be bought until the baby is born. Last minute long distance flights aren't cheap.
Don't get me wrong, we're both pretty excited about this opportunity, but honestly, I find myself thinking, "why not just a few more weeks, please, let's delay!" Not an easy situation to be in, for sure, but it will work out, even if it's not exactly how I pictured the arrival of our second boy. He may not use cloth diapers like I had wanted, and I may find breastfeeding difficult during our move, but as long as we all remain healthy, I'll be happy.
I have been impressed though so far with how Alex and I have worked together in this, and not gotten all crazy-crazy stressed out. One step at a time. That's what we keep telling each other. He is working so hard on the house. Have a look-see:

repainted balcony

working on repainting the exterior

36 weeks...plus a few days

We're SOOOO close now folks.
I have been telling Alex that I feel like this baby is going to come early. I can just feel it. Just like how I could feel we were definitely going to have a girl. Yeah, so count on that.
I wouldn't mind if he showed up early though. I'm ready. I mean, I haven't set up the bed, or changing table, or washed out all the baby linens and other items we used 3 years ago, not to mention even packed a hospital bag, but you know, I'm ready.

That's a lot of baby right there

While this picture clearly shows the belly, it also looks like I forgot to put on underwear. I assure you, it's there

2 weeks ago, you could say I was in a full-blown nesting phase. While that desire still persists, we have other issues coming at us that put me in a 180° change of direction. I still cannot divluge details, but I assure you, when we know something is sure, you'll know.

2012 goals & resolutions

I've been pondering this topic for a few weeks now, and though this list may seem short, it's been narrowed down to the few things I'd like to improve upon, because I think having fewer goals will help keep me on track. In no particular order, here we go:
1. Make photo albums - this means shelling out the money to print photos and to buy a book, but it is so worth it once it all gets put together. I may even turn it into a scrapbooking project. It's so nice to have photo albums, to look at from time to time, to share with others, etc.
2. Hang wall art - We moved into this house a year ago and have yet to hang anything! (with the exception of Luc's room, we hung framed underwater shots that Alex took while diving, plus a cross-stitch my mother made when he was born) This also sort of ties in with the "print photos" goal above, because we have some unused frames that can be utilised.
3. Create a writing center for Luc and I - I have a little dream of us sitting next to one another (or to have him on my lap) at our desks, writing, drawing, and creating. I want to make more cards this year. Luc has enjoyed the process too, enthusiasticly scribbling away at the pieces of cardstock I handed to him to decorate our holiday cards this year.
4. Make a birthday calender with all our loved ones special days - this ties into the goal above of making more cards to send by snail mail, because it's just so nice to get handwritten cards in the mail, isn't it?! I figure if I have a pretty little calender made up and posted to our wall, I have less of a chance of missing those important days! I have to get on this goal, since people are already having birthdays!
5. Give this blog a make-over - I think this will require a little practice and research in creating more eye-pleasing details in internet-land, so this is a goal that will probably get pushed to later in the year, when we have a normal routine again after baby #2 arrives. Seeing as how I do like blogging, and it keeps our loved ones involved in our lives here, I think this is a nice resolution.
6. Find a class just for me - Be it yoga, or swimming, or tennis, or some kind of crafting, I want a little time for me, away from motherhood and wifedom (did I just make up a word?!) that will help me to stay balanced. Preferably, I'd like to do some exercising, because I'll probably need it after baby #2 is ready to start solids.

early December, in Jardin d'etat

this is our today

Okay, so these pictures are not actually from today, but last week on one of our visits to Jardin d'Etat in centre ville.
This morning Alex left for Mayotte for work and will be back Thursday. Luc and I had a VERY lazy day. We didn't even go down the driveway to check the mail. It was a beautiful day, but we still just spent it inside, laying around, reading, watching "Earth", eating leftovers, taking a long nap, and not changing out of our PJ's. By the end of the evening though, I knew we had to get on with more activity, at least for tomorrow. I was able to make a list of things for the rest of the week with my head all cleared from lounging around all day. Days like today allow me to catch my breath in a way, to prepare, to move on, to recouperate from whatever stresses had accumulated in my/our systems. (I've also finally completely cleared my body of the nasty sinus infection I had for 2 weeks.)
Without giving anything away for the time being, we are expecting some major changes around here very soon. And that's not including the baby boy who's due in 5 weeks! As soon as we have some solid news, I'll be sharing it here with you.
Have a lovely day everyone!

Welcome, 2012!

2011 was a great year for us;
We moved into a house, we made new friends, we learned we were expecting a second boy (only 6 more weeks until his arrival!), we travelled to France to visit family, we adopted a cat (or was it the other way around?!), and we spent a lot of quailty family time together. I realise this is a really short and general list of what happened this year and I'm not saying our lives are always simple, but these things stand out the most. Certainly, there are many, many things that never make it onto this blog that also affect our lives, but one can only blog so much, right?

Luc and Kitty occupied with trains, me and the neighbor using Luc's Play-Doh

I have a feeling that 2012 will be great too, but full of surprises and learning experiences along the way. I will try to keep this blog up to date, but I have a feeling there will be a period of quiet around February and March.