A couple of weeks ago my dd14 told me that she needs more shirts, and finally yesterday I took her and my dd12 out to remedy that. While I was out, I also picked up some things for the boys ages 10 and down, and some neutral newborn clothes (suprisingly, I just realized a few days ago I have hardly anything- I lent one person all my newborn girls’ clothes 20 months ago, but she said she can’t remember which are mine and was planning to sell everything at a yard sale, and I lent someone else all my newborn boy clothes, and she returned all the bottoms but none of the tops) but my focus was on dd12 and dd14. It was nice to be able to get them things they’re happy with – neither of them are picky, but both have their own sense of what they like so I no longer like buying things without them being there. And since exactly a week ago ds15 and ds14 decided that they’d like to go to sleep away camp again this summer, it gives me peace of mind to know that most necessary camp shopping is taken care of for dd. Even though dd will be going at the end of June, I won’t have to rush around between now and then with a newborn, getting things done with her. Amazingly, though they made their decision on Friday morning, I was so glad I was able to have all the camp paperwork completed and in the mail by Monday afternoon – including completed medical forms, which necessitated visits to the doctor first thing Monday. I prefer to get things done right away than to let them hang over my head.
Today my ds15 went to speak to a prosthetist to learn more about what is involved in it as a possible profession. He spent about an hour with him, asking questions and being shown the lab, equipment, etc. I think I’m going to encourage my ds15 to do more of this – to actively seek out people and find out first hand what’s involved in training for a career, salaries, advancement opportunities, etc. The next person I want him to speak with is an accountant. I’d like to get him started this coming school year working towards his career path as far as college credits, so he needs to get some idea of what he wants to do to focus his energy appropriately.
Then I took my ds10 to a friend to spend Shabbos, and headed on to do some shopping. The first fresh corn of the season is now out, and we love having it raw for Shabbos lunch – it’s yummy and refreshing. While I was there, I found whole turkeys for 1.99 a pound, so I bought a few. If we have a boy, we’ll have enough to serve for the seuda! And if we have a girl, we’ll have turkey for Shabbos all month long. 🙂 It’s funny to have found them today – this supermarket advertised them at this price before Pesach, but both times I went the shipment hadn’t arrived. I think the shipment and people’s Pesach needs must not have coincided, and that’s why they have so much still at the sale price – it’s not being advertised, though. (At Superfresh, for those of you in my area who want to take advantage of the good price. :))
I also did some preparatory shopping for after birth while I was there – buying foods that are good for simplified meals. Basically today that meant cottage cheese, plain yogurt, brown rice (we were almost out of it), and some corn tortillas. I forgot to mention this when I wrote about preparing for the postpartum period – you can and should stock up on easy to serve foods, even if it means spending a little more than usual on food that month (though I hope to stay within my usual parameters). I usually buy yogurt and cottage cheese, but wouldn’t normally pay the prices I paid today. I couldn’t find much else that I would want to buy – I looked at the premade pizza shells for about 2 seconds but the price is so outrageous that I just can’t justify it. Especially since it only takes a few minutes to mix up some pizza dough.
I was outside when a neighbor came home from work, and she told me she and another neighbor were sure I must have had the baby and were keeping it quiet. They thought that because neither of them realized I was pregnant until six weeks ago, and one of them had been to our house for a Shabbos meal just a couple of weeks before that. (And today the neighbor who lives closest to me, whose little boys play with mine a few times a week, was there when the other neighbor asked my dd if we had a baby yet, and said, shocked, “You mean she’s pregnant?!?” She just hasn’t seen me close up enough or it would have been obvious.) I reassured her that I wasn’t trying to keep being pregnant a secret, and that my kids will be spreading the word as fast as they can once there’s news to share, so she doesn’t have to worry about it flying under the radar. Actually, I think I’ll buy a balloon to put on my front steps that says ‘it’s a __’ so that anyone who goes by will know. 🙂
I hope everyone has a wonderful Shabbos!
Avivah
