UPDATE: After emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen, scrubbing a few carpet stains, and cleaning the bathroom, I decided to go ahead and wrap the presents. They're all wrapped now. :) I knew you were concerned that they wouldn't get done, so now you can rest easy. And yes, I did love every minute of it!
I had the realization yesterday that we will be meeting Abigail in just two months. Wow...we have a lot to do before then! (Not the least of which is the nursery, although it has taken a back burner compared to the other things we've been thinking about. Plus, she won't be in the nursery for a while when she does come home--she'll be right next to me in her bassinett while I anxiously watch her all night to make sure she's breathing!)
So what has been going through my head recently regarding our new normal?
* Since a lengthy NICU stay appears to be in store for us, I've been trying to figure out the details of that time: where we can stay, how I'll get to and from the hospital, who will take care of Caleb during the week so that he can stay in preschool (still trying to work that out--our list of "approved pick-up" people for preschool is going to be loooooooong!), how to juggle time with Abigail and Caleb so that he feels loved and involved, and deciding how to still make Christmas special.
* Because I'm going to be a bit busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've put a huge dent in our Christmas shopping now. We have a few more things to get for Caleb (online shopping with free shipping is a wonderful thing!), and I need 2 more gifts for other people. Other than that, we are done! My goal was to get all of the shopping done by the end of September and all of the wrapping done by the end of October. If you know me, you know how much I love wrapping presents!! They're all in our basement staring at me, begging to be wrapped. I think I may have to start today.
* Family Medical Leave Act is proving to be quite difficult to understand. I can take 60 days off and still be guaranteed my job. The interesting thing is that under our new contract, I can be donated up to 70 days a year. That is AWESOME!! This can be added to what I already have (although I obviously can't use donated leave until my own leave is depleted). However, no matter how much leave I have, my job is still only guaranteed for 60 days!! I just learned that yesterday. That doesn't sound right to me. If I have the leave, I should be able to take it. I'm not sure who makes the decision to force me into a leave of absence, but rest assured that that question has already been emailed to the woman in charge of FML!
* Along with all of the FMLA stuff is the insurance question. If I do have to take a leave of absence, I am hoping to be able to keep my insurance (obviously, we'll be paying a lot more). With the medical bills piling up, we're going to need it. I'm waiting to hear back about the price I'd pay for insurance if I wasn't working. I'm sure it's more than I want to pay, but we're definitely going to have to consider the amount we'd pay out-of-pocket for medical care if we dropped my insurance. I'm pretty sure paying the insurance premium is cheaper!
* Naturally, the money manager in me is very concerned about our finances right now. We have a lot saved up, so we will be okay for a while if I can't work. I'm just concerned about depleting our savings and our long-term needs. Pray that nothing big happens to the house or cars!!!!
Wow...so much to think about. "Dance-a-lot-Robot" is on right now and Caleb is doing the Flower Dance. I wish that I had no cares in the world and could just laugh to the Flower Dance! Oh, to be 3 again!
I had the realization yesterday that we will be meeting Abigail in just two months. Wow...we have a lot to do before then! (Not the least of which is the nursery, although it has taken a back burner compared to the other things we've been thinking about. Plus, she won't be in the nursery for a while when she does come home--she'll be right next to me in her bassinett while I anxiously watch her all night to make sure she's breathing!)
So what has been going through my head recently regarding our new normal?
* Since a lengthy NICU stay appears to be in store for us, I've been trying to figure out the details of that time: where we can stay, how I'll get to and from the hospital, who will take care of Caleb during the week so that he can stay in preschool (still trying to work that out--our list of "approved pick-up" people for preschool is going to be loooooooong!), how to juggle time with Abigail and Caleb so that he feels loved and involved, and deciding how to still make Christmas special.
* Because I'm going to be a bit busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've put a huge dent in our Christmas shopping now. We have a few more things to get for Caleb (online shopping with free shipping is a wonderful thing!), and I need 2 more gifts for other people. Other than that, we are done! My goal was to get all of the shopping done by the end of September and all of the wrapping done by the end of October. If you know me, you know how much I love wrapping presents!! They're all in our basement staring at me, begging to be wrapped. I think I may have to start today.
* Family Medical Leave Act is proving to be quite difficult to understand. I can take 60 days off and still be guaranteed my job. The interesting thing is that under our new contract, I can be donated up to 70 days a year. That is AWESOME!! This can be added to what I already have (although I obviously can't use donated leave until my own leave is depleted). However, no matter how much leave I have, my job is still only guaranteed for 60 days!! I just learned that yesterday. That doesn't sound right to me. If I have the leave, I should be able to take it. I'm not sure who makes the decision to force me into a leave of absence, but rest assured that that question has already been emailed to the woman in charge of FML!
* Along with all of the FMLA stuff is the insurance question. If I do have to take a leave of absence, I am hoping to be able to keep my insurance (obviously, we'll be paying a lot more). With the medical bills piling up, we're going to need it. I'm waiting to hear back about the price I'd pay for insurance if I wasn't working. I'm sure it's more than I want to pay, but we're definitely going to have to consider the amount we'd pay out-of-pocket for medical care if we dropped my insurance. I'm pretty sure paying the insurance premium is cheaper!
* Naturally, the money manager in me is very concerned about our finances right now. We have a lot saved up, so we will be okay for a while if I can't work. I'm just concerned about depleting our savings and our long-term needs. Pray that nothing big happens to the house or cars!!!!
Wow...so much to think about. "Dance-a-lot-Robot" is on right now and Caleb is doing the Flower Dance. I wish that I had no cares in the world and could just laugh to the Flower Dance! Oh, to be 3 again!
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