Some people love holiday newsletters. Some people despise them. Some people wouldn’t dare write one for their family, but want to read about everyone else’sfamily. So…my solution to that this year is to send out Christmas cards(and e-cards) directing people here if they want to read all about our year.

2008 was a big year for us. Here’s what happened:

• Tucker turned 3 last January, and finally got potty trained this year. I can’t believe that he’ll be FOUR in just a few weeks!!
• We put our Augusta house on the market at the end of January. It didn’t sell until October, but at least it sold!
• In April, we were able to take a family trip to Walt Disney World. It was, indeed, magical! I’m not sure who had more fun: me or the kids. The looks on their faces when they saw “cin-rel-as cassle” wer
• e indescribable and perfect.
• In May we found out that we’d definitely need a 4 bedroom house because of a new addition to our family, due January 3rd. Since we didn’t find out the sex of the baby, we’ve been affectionately calling him/her “#3A”.
• Marshall completed his medical training(four years of medical school and 3 years of residency) on June 3oth. (HOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• We moved in with my parents(in Haddock, GA) for the months of July, August, and September. It wasn’t nearly as cramped as you might think…and it was overall a good experience.
• Marshall started his new job in a private pediatric practice in Milledgeville, GA in July. He is in practice with one other physician, and he loves it!
• Emmie turned 2 in August. She may be only 2, but she has no trouble keeping up with Tucker. More often than not she’s telling him what to do!
• The kids started their new “school” in September. It’s the same preschool where my brother went way back when. They both love their teachers. Ms. Pam and Ms. Wendy said that Emmie has just recently started to talk at school. I was a bit shocked by this because she’s quite a motor-mouth at home!
• We finally moved into our new house(email me if you want the address because I’m not going to post it here!) at the end of September. Just because we’ve been here 2 1/2 months doesn’t mean I’ve taken care of all the boxes. I still have one whole room to go through!
• November brought Thanksgiving, of course. We were enjoyed a visit from Marshall’s brother. And my family came to our new house for Thanksgiving dinner.

And now here we are in December. The house is decorated. The kids even have their own tiny tree in the hallway. We’ve watched a lot of the “old” Christmas movies with them. Things like “Rudolph” and “Frosty” and the original, animated “Grinch”. They are both really getting into it all this year. I was hoping that we’d get to go back to Augusta/Grovetown and see the awesome light display they have there, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I spent a night in the hospital earlier this week for observation. This whole pregnancy has been hard-with nausea and vomiting and headaches. I’ve also had some blood pressure issues. I thought all was getting better until I was recently hit with a pretty horrific headache that won’t subside(hence the overnight observation). I’m now at home doing the bed-rest thing until further notice. If nothing changes between now and December 22nd, then we will go in for an induction that day. Hopefully that will allow us to meet Mr. or Ms. #3A that day, and still be home in time to enjoy Christmas with the “big kids”.

Keep checking back here at www.theiveyleague.com for updates and pictures! And feel free to visit us in Gray, as well! We love to have visitors!

Leave a comment or drop us an email…we’d love to hear from you all!

Love, Bridget, Marshall, Tucker and Emerson

I was never a girl scout.  (Or is that the boy scout motto?  Well, I wasn’t one of those either…).  Let’s just say that even though I was never a scout of any kind, I’ve always been the girl you wanted to have around if you found yourself in need of some random item.  My purse is(and has been for a long time) crammed full of lots of crap that’s very often not needed, but turns out to be a life saver in the most random of moments.  Have a headache?  I have Tylenol, Ibuprofen and Alleve.  Paper cut?  I’ve got bandaids.  Stinky breath?  I probably have some gum and some of those little melt-on-your-tongue thingys.  Need a pony tail holder?  I have a few hundred in the bottom of my bag at all times.  Snack?  It’s really smooshed, but I do have a granola bar!  See what I mean?  Always be prepared.

But here I find myself with #3A being as unprepared as I’ve ever been.  Not mentally or physically…I’m so ready to meet him or her, and my body is more than ready to rid itself of this “parasite”.  But we still don’t have a name picked out(boy or girl).  We still have boxes completely filling the baby’s room.  (You can get to the crib, but not the glider/rocker.)  I don’t have a concrete plan set up for what’s going to happen with Tucker and Emmie while we’re at the hospital.  We also don’t have a plan for the dogs.  I haven’t packed a single thing for the hospital…for me or the rugrat.  I just don’t have it together this go ’round. 

Last night I was having some pretty significant pain…Braxton Hicks,  unfortunately, because they would never settle into a good pattern.  I’ve felt pretty crappy all day today, too.  So it’s given me plenty of opportunity to lay around and think about all the things that need to be done.  But have I actually done any of it today?  No…I did take 2 naps and watch “The Holiday” though.  Oh…and the kids and I read about 100 books this afternoon.  That has to count for something, right?

So…instead of focusing on what I haven’t done, let’s take a quick look at what I have done. 

I washed the carseat.  It was pretty gross.  Em got a kick out of trying to fit in it. 

I’ve been through the “big kids” clothes to see what was salvageable, but I’m realizing now that formula spit-up stains get very, very dark over the 2-4 years the clothes have been in storage.  If it’s a boy, we’re doing ok on clothes.  Tucker was also born in January, so there are a lot of winter 0-3 month clothes.  But if this little one ends up being a girl, she’s sunk.  Emerson was born in August.  No cold weather clothes for her in 0-3 month size!  So…if you’ve asked me if there’s anything we need, and if it happens to be a girl, then my answer is clothes. 

I’ve read/skimmed 4 baby name books, and looked online countless numbers of times…but have yet to find anything that seems to sound good together, and also sound good with Tucker and Emmie.  You have to have sibling name flow.  And First Middle Last name flow has is important, too.  I have a system of what’s acceptable sounding and what’s not…but it’s really too confusing to try to explain.  It just has to flow…

I have a plan of what to do with Tucker and Emmie if #3A comes after school is out.  But if (s)he makes her debut before the end of school, I’m floundering…

With both of my other kids, the hosptial rooms were full of our family and friends.  This hospital is much smaller(as are the rooms), and they have rules about how many people can be allowed in the room.  I’ve kind of not been thinking about this because I hate to have to pick and choose who comes in and who gets left outside.  But we need to figure this stuff out, too, and let people know what the plan is.  Of course, how often to things actually go as planned?

I need to make a “to call” list and an “email” list.  And I need to delegate people to take care of each of those.

And I need to take time, like today, to just sit back and enjoy these last few days/weeks of feeling a little one move inside me.  I need to enjoy letting Emmie be “the baby” for a little bit longer, and enjoy watching Tucker transform into a really “big kid”.  I know that once the baby comes, I won’t have as much time to listen to them play trains or “Dora” when they don’t think I’m listening, or watch “The Grinch” from start to finish with no interuptions, or hear little feet pounding all the way down the hallway and into the living room and into my room each morning…all to be greeted with crazy bed-head, stinky morning breath, and unlimited snuggles.

So yeah…I’m excited, and unprepared.  But as I write this I’m feeling better about it.  The baby won’t care about the boxes or whether or not there’s a bed in that room.  Girls can wear boys clothes.  And there will be somebody who can keep the kids, I’m sure.  And what really matters most is not all the planning and preparing of the “stuff”, but the planning and preparing of our hearts and our home(not our house) for a new little one.