Well, obviously it's been a very busy couple of weeks - I haven't had a minute to blog and keep everyone posted on what's going on... But I have a big, fat update for you today!
First of all, let me wish all of you a very happy New Year! I genuinely hope that 2009 is a fantastic, rewarding, prosperous, and healthy year for all of you. For Sheridan and me, 2008 is going to be hard to top... but I think given that our little baby is expected soon, 2009 will be the most memorable year ever!!
So we last left off at Christmas. Since I was so pregnant, I wasn't really able or authorized to travel very far, so Sheridan and I spent a quiet holiday at home. I made us a special dinner on Christmas Eve (chicken parmesan with homemade marinara served on our finest china and new flatware, complete with candlelight and lots of Christmas music) and we opened up lots of presents from under the tree on Christmas morning. On Christmas day, we joined Sheridan's family for a lovely meal and some spirited games - lots of fun!! And the very next day... we started getting Sheridan ready for his brother's wedding on New Year's Eve in Indianapolis, and I started packing for our big adventure to Texas.
Yep, Sheridan's brother, Matt, got married to an awesome woman, Carolyn, on New Year's Eve in downtown Indianapolis. I'm so excited to have *another* new sister - and she's sassy, beautiful, independent, smart, and hilarious just like my other two (Shannon and Sarah)!! I had to miss the wedding - again, since I couldn't travel long distances - but Sheridan had an amazing time and the pictures are gorgeous!! I'm so happy for my new brother and sister. :D
While Sheridan was partying in Indy, I was at home PACKING. Good times! ;) My mother came out to babysit me, just in case I went into labor, and to help out with the move. Thank God for her - I don't think we could have done all of it without her help. We ended up packing 16 feet of a 28 foot trailer (about 160% of how much we were expecting to use, hence 160% of our budgeted cost) and it took 6.5 hours to load into the trailer (again, we budgeted for 3). OUCH. Apparently we have a lot of crap!
But anyway, we finally got our stuff loaded onto the trailer and on its way to Texas. Sheridan and his dad jumped in our cars and headed west (big thanks to him also for helping out with this effort!) and my mom and I jumped on a plane with my mom and Baci and headed to Houston, where I'd wait for Sheridan and Fred to arrive.
While there, I got a chance to see the Orrs and Darbys, which was awesome!!! I love them dearly and always enjoy my time with them. Little Finley melts my heart more than ever... After some downtime, it was time for Mom, Dad, Baci and me to head to Austin to meet up with Sheridan, Fred, the trailer, cars, and our NEW HOUSE!
The move turned out pretty smooth! The trailer delivered our stuff on time, everything was in pretty decent shape, the movers in Austin were great and unloaded our stuff in a flash, and before we knew it, we were in the house. We're still in the process of getting everything unpacked, organized, and cleaned, so it's still a lot of work, but it's been fun getting settled in. Sheridan started his new role with Apple on Monday the 12th and I had my first appointment with my new OB on Monday, too, so life is resuming as usual... Yay!!!
The baby seems to be doing great. I'll be 36 weeks on Thursday and it does seem as though he's on his way!! He's getting big, and so am I, and apparently I'm about 40% effaced (I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I do think that he'll be early). So with that, I'm a busy bee trying to get his nursery prepared and get everything into place, just in case he arrives soon. I'm SO NERVOUS and SO EXCITED!!!!! I can't even describe the way I feel about this little baby's impending arrival... I'm starting to feel very emotional about it all - I'm about to cry just talking about it! :)
So that's it for now. Sorry it's been so quiet around The Mer Show, but I'll try to do better as things progress with the baby's arrival. But for now, we're in Austin, we're happy and excited, love our new house, and are looking forward to the new adventure that 2009 is sure to bring!
Lots of love from Austin, Texas, Mer
It is the greatest pleasure I've ever known to announce the arrival of our son, Patrick Sheridan, 3 weeks early. Impatient like his mommy, he just couldn't wait to make his appearance!!
Lots of details to come - I can't wait to share all the fun stories about his arrival, and keep my blog groupies apprised of the wonderful updates we have about our much beloved baby boy - but I've got to use my time wisely, as my extra minutes are preciously allocated between diaper changes, cuddles, feedings, cleaning, and trying to rest up when I can. Stay tuned for juicy details!
Meanwhile, please join us in our celebration of this blessed event!!!
