Big decisions

Aaron and I have made a lot of big decisions lately regarding the future of our little family. Here goes the recap....

I am hating my job (the hours, mostly), but in the interest of paying off mucho debt, I am going to stay there until July 1. Coincidentally, my paid vacation time kicks in on July 1. I will be around 35 weeks preggers by then and very much in need of some time to rest before the little guy makes his entrance into the world.

At that point, I will take my week of paid vacation, thank you very much, and then I will start collecting paid short term disability for as long as I can. We will also let Trent finish out the summer going to Primrose 3 days a week. That way, he can spend some time at home with me, and still get to do some really fun stuff at school. They have a lot of really cool stuff planned for the kids this summer, and I don't want him to miss out on that to be at home with his VERY pregnant mommy!

Somewhere in there, I will have the baby. At the end of the summer, we are going to pull Trent home full time, and I am going to try my hand at being a stay-at-home mom for a while. I will continue to look for a good job with more normal hours, but I won't stress myself out doing it--unless we start feeling a significant pinch in our budget. I'll just enjoy the time at home with my boys! I might try and find something I can do from home, thus becoming a "work-at-home mom", just so I'm pulling in some kind of income.

I'm very excited about doing this and not having to worry about whether or not we're going to make it financially. My job is helping us aggressively pay off our debt, which I'm very happy about, but the hours I have to work right now are making me miserable. Basically, I open the store for 2 weeks, and then close for a week--that's 7 days straight--and the week that I close, I pretty much don't see my family. I can't do it anymore. By the end of my closing week, I'm pretty much an emotional wreck. And it takes its toll on Aaron too. He hates seeing me in such misery, especially when I'm carrying his child. And if I were to go back to this after the baby is here, I would feel so guilty all the time, leaving him with a preschooler AND an infant.

So, thanks, but no thanks...I'd rather stay home and be there to greet my husband in heels and pearls with all the laundry and housecleaning done and a hot meal on the table when he gets home from work...ok, maybe not, but I would love to spend time with my kids and husband! :) It's gonna be awesome!

I went to my doctor today for my 4 week checkup, and everything looks great. I have only gained 12 pounds overall so far, and I'm 21 weeks along--a little over halfway there! Baby's heart rate was 151, and he is kicking like crazy. I swear, in the last 18 hours, he has not stopped moving. And last night, Trent had a dry, allergy-type cough ALL NIGHT, so if it wasn't one kid coughing keeping me awake, it was the other kicking me! :) I love it!

On a final note, we have chosen a name for Trent's baby brother! We actually have had it picked out for a few weeks now, but as I've said before, I am terrible at keeping up with this blog, so I'm just getting around to posting it. The newest Landenberger's name will be:

Drew Thomas Landenberger

And no, it's not short for Andrew. I know we'll probably be asked that question, but can you imagine? Andrew Landenberger? People would call him Andy, and I will not have a child named Andy Landenberger. If we ever have a girl, we could name her Candy Landenberger, ha ha! :) Ok, I think that's all I have to update on. I wish I had pictures of the belly to show, but I have been so busy, we haven't had a chance to take one. I'll try and take some pics soon!