Second Post in an Hour

After reading up on [almost] everybody else's lives, I've thought of more to say!

Martin had mentioned on his blog that our friends Turgay and Charlie stopped by the other night. It's true! And they came bearing gifts!! Not just any old regular gifts--they came bearing CHOCOLATE!!! They brought us a very cute crock that has blue painted kitchen utensils on it and a bag of M&Ms, which were embarrassingly gone by the next day. (okay, they weren't gone THAT fast, but they could've been if I'd been lacking any more self control than I already am.) It's always funny when people randomly stop by, and they were the last people we expected. But we had a nice visit and it was Charlie's first time to our house. He especially liked Theodore. (Really though, what's not to like? He's marvelous.)

Then I was reading on Clare's blog about housework. It's funny, I only just now am beginning to feel like I have a real handle on our house. Martin and I were raised in houses that were polar opposites of cleanliness. Because of that, I feel I owe it to him to keep a clean house, even though my own habits tend to lean toward that of his mom rather than of my own who has always kept an insanely immaculate house. I'm never going to be the person who washes my baseboards on a regular basis--or ever--but I think I've reached a nice medium of clean. Of course I get behind, mostly on days when Anja is being crazy, or when I'm out of the house all day, but in general, stuff gets done and is pretty well kept up with. And that brings me to my next thought.

Laura is due to have their first baby at the same time as we are due for this second one. I am amazed at how much more prepared I am for this second baby than I was for Anja. Anja was a complete shock to me when she was born. I somehow had managed to go an entire nine months of knowing I was pregnant without realizing that at the end I would have a screaming baby who needed taking care of... along with an incredibly dirty house, because at that time I hadn't yet gotten a handle on the housekeeping!! Not only that, but Martin was still commuting, still traveling reguarly, we didn't know what the heck we were doing as new parents, and we spent most of our time with the dark cloud of the next Travel Season looming over us. I'm not saying that life wasn't enjoyable... but it took me awhile to find my groove. And now that I've found it I feel totally ready to take on a new baby. I am much more prepared for the challenge than I was with Anja, which sounds impossible since going from zero babies to one seems like it would be way easier than going from one baby to two. And maybe I will be proven wrong in March when this new little family member arrives... but for now, I am feeling very confident.

The other thing I'd like to mention is Martin's new job. It's been a looooooooong time since I've heard Martin say "I love my job." (He used to mention that a lot when he worked as the CC librarian.) But he says it nearly every day now!!!!!! The other day he told me, "I love my job. Both for what it is, and for what it's not." His co-workers are actually nice to him, and seem to be genuinely nice people! He's only missed the bus a few times since he started, and even now in the midst of their busiest time, he comes home happy! And not exhausted! And still enthusiastic for a rousing game of Bananagrams! I'm telling you... this is a complete turnaround. And a great one!

Okay, I think that's the end of my second post now.