Weekly Babble Blog: Welcome to the third trimester!

Thursday marked the beginning of my third trimester. I am beginning to accept that the reality is that I have 12 weeks left to go - provided she doesn't come early or late. I view this like a contract ‘I, Tanya have 40 weeks – no more no less – to complete the gestation process before you, ‘fetus’, arrive’ but I don’t think she sees it that way.

In no particular order of importance, we have 12 weeks to finish my last craft projects in the nursery (including a photo/art collage for her room), cook and freeze some casseroles so that we don't have to cook the first few weeks of parenthood, buy the last of the stuff that we need, stock up on diapers, wash the baby clothes, plant the veggie gardens, trim and weed the shrubs, plant Spring annuals in the flower beds, attend hypno-birthing classes, listen to hypno-birthing tapes nightly, attend breast feeding class, attend prenatal yoga, finish the will that we’ve been working on but never had the motivation to finish, finish investigating and preparing for my own small business, network with all necessary outlets, finalize the doggy mid-life transition, and continue working full time as long as possible. Like I said…in no particular order.

The lives of our doggies have undergone a few changes. First, they sleep downstairs now - in the laundry room – which gives them access to the doggie door and outside. The laundry room is also where they go when we have company over and are eating, the pizza guy is coming, we are mopping the floors, etc. The latest focus: door manners. I appreciate their enthusiasm when people come for a visit, but we have got to get them away from the door and stop the frantic barking. Overall, I think they seem a little less neurotic under the new rules, and I know I certainly am. The theory here is that if life changes before the baby, they wont resent the baby. That being said, we’re not going to be letting them roll on the floor with our newborn, and given his history the Weimeraner might have to wear a nylon muzzle just for insurance. I figure if he had to choose between being put down after another incident or wearing a nylon muzzle, he’d pick the muzzle with both paws.

On top of impending motherhood, I have decided to live my dream. Not the easiest, but seemingly the smartest way for me to continue making money post-baby will be to become an independent contractor with my current company. I will be working from home on the same projects I have been working on all along, but I will be setting my own hours, writing-off a couple of additional expenses, and paying my own taxes - quarterly - great. While I will seem like a part-time employee that works from home, I will be a completely separate entity from a legal standpoint, and able to contract with other firms should the time and desire arise, take on my own projects, and reap the benefits of the Women Owned Business Status with the different local entities (a program that is desperately needed and that I am so glad exists). Hopefully I will continue to work with my current company for a very long time, but if not, I will have the safety net of an up and running business. Since we’re preparing for a pay cut anyway, might as well make it work for our family, right? All of this is subject to more research, a meeting with an attorney, negotiation on my hourly rate and determination on the capital needed to begin, but it really looks like I am headed in this direction. A baby and a business….2012 is shaping up to be a winner. I have been reading up on other crazy women who have tackled both at once, and while it’s not going to be easy, it is doable. Someday, when the craziness has passed, I think I will be grateful that I attempted to tackle motherhood and have a career at the same time.

Back to baby stuff, last Monday I sent out the long distance family and friend craft project – lovingly deemed ‘Project Birdhouse’. I have sent 16 birdhouses to those that I will not see before the birth of the baby, and some of them for a while after that. Included in the Project Birdhouse Kit was paint, instructions, a label to write who it’s from, and brushes. I sent 16 houses out, and I know some have already started their crafting. I so appreciate everyone taking the time to put them together and cannot wait to get them back. Each house will be pictured on the blog as it arrives. I also finished my crane mobile which is very cute, but a friend sent me a picture of another one that I want to make now that I know it is out there and awesome.