Pop 911

Ian and I have been discussing asking my dad (a.k.a. Pop) to come to Florida to assist me while I'm supposed to be taking it easy (sounds much better than modified bed rest). Well, tonight I made the call to Pop 911.

Ian's mom, Grandma Ruth has been a great help, but she works three days a week (even though she claims she's retired) and always seems to keep a crazy schedule. I really only need help in the morning, until Bella goes down for her nap and for a little while in the afternoon, before Ian gets home from work. We have managed to make things work, but it's sometimes a little tricky. My mom, Dee Dee, works full-time and is saving her vacation for when baby #2 arrives. I'd much rather have her down here for the birth and the week following, so I didn't think it would be wise to ask her to come down now. Plus, my sister just had a baby and I'm sure she would like to spend some time with my new nephew. We will still continue to utilize Grandma Ruth and look forward to Dee Dee's arrival, but we decided it might be a good idea to call for back up.

When I spoke with my dad, I didn't have expectations of how long we'd like for him to stay. My dad asked how long we were thinking and I honestly replied, "I have no idea... for however long you would like." What came out of my dad's mouth next was a surprise and a huge blessing... he offered to stay for up to two-weeks, if we needed. Wow! 14-days of company and an extra set of hands was such a pleasant surprise and I quickly said, "Okay!" I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and like I could actually survive the last few weeks of this pregnancy. When I told Ian the good news, he was also very excited and relieved. It's a very busy time of year for Ian and he helps out at home as much as possible, but having my dad in town will definitely be a big help for our entire family. Plus, it'll be nice to just visit with my dad for that long. Thanks, Pop!

Tomorrow I will look at flights and book my dad a flight. Hopefully we can plan his trip around Grandma Ruth's spring break to effectively utilize all of our resources. With only 7 more weeks to go, maybe 5, we have help planned out for 3 weeks. Once mid-March hits, Ian should be back to working normal (as normal as normal gets in the accounting world) hours. For the first time in the past two weeks, life seems manageable again. We can get through this and we will survive. In the meantime, we're eagerly anticipating the Pop's arrival.

Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Baby #2