I went with Pam today to her “girl stuff” appointment (reference the pregnancy).  It’s been the first opportunity I’ve had in a few months since I was away dealing out death and destruction.  Trust me: I didn’t go to see her spread ‘em in stirrups under a sheet, though I’m sure she appreciated the moral support.  What I was interested in was the very last ultrasound before kid #2 makes the same journey down the slip-n-slide that Brenden made 1½ years ago.  Prior to this ultrasound, the only other one I saw was when we found out it was a Snakette brewing in the fermenter.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t really get to see any break-out features.  The kid was, well, ready to make like a baby and head out, with her face hidden due to the head dropping into position for the final ride.

On another note though, the nurse practitioner confirmed Pam was 1 cm dilated, which is about right on par with where Pam was with Brenden around the same time.  I guess that makes sense since Pam’s been getting a little more vocal about contractions lately.  If Pam follows roughly the same timeline, then we have almost exactly 3 weeks until the arrival.  Needless to say, I’m not all that ready.

I’ve been feeling incredibly overwhelmed since returning home, facing a lot of decisions that either deal with a considerable amount of money or time.  Some of the more major issues:

• Grad School - I’m currently taking two classes that I’m now two weeks behind in, mainly due to my redeployment from the desert.  Failure in those is not an option, seeing that they represent about $2000 invested.  Moreover, one of the only things keeping me going at this point: after completion of these two, I only have 3 classes, 4 months, and $4000 to go until I get my diploma; I expect to be Grad-School complete this coming May.
• Selling the house - in this market?  Right now the county values our house at about the same amount as the outstanding balance of the loan.  Pam put the house up for sale about a month ago, and we’ve had a few bites but that’s it.  I’m hoping the military-heavy community here (with not one, but two, large Army bases) will get it sold soon.  If not, I guess perhaps renting is an option… not optimal though, because we’d probably eat about $400 a month to keep the price competitive to rent it out.
• Finalizing my orders and out-processing - no one knows what the hell I’m supposed to do here because I fall in some gray area: I work with the Army on an Army base, the nearest Air Force base that has jurisdiction over me is 3 hours away (driving), and my chain-of-command is at yet another Army base about 5 hours away (driving).  No one knows what to do with me, let alone give me any direction.  So my out-processing fate lies solely on my shoulders and my ability to figure it out for myself.  Not a fun place to be in because I probably spend quadruple the amount of time the normal Air Force guy with direction does.  Furthermore, I can’t schedule a move (to vacate the house) until I complete this process with orders, and going overseas just adds an extra layer of complication to the entire matter.

So at this point, throwing the birth of a kid into the mix just adds to create the “perfect storm.”  Not that I can do anything about it… the kid will come when the kid (and Pam’s body) decide that it’s time regardless of who’s ready.  I am looking forward to the new addition soon.  I’m certainly not ready for it this time, but then again there is no real time that is probably perfect anyway.  In the meantime, rather than looking at the peak of the mountain I need to hike, I’m just looking down at my feet and concentrating on each next step… hopefully that peak will be a whole lot closer the next time I look up.

Keeping the house in show condition (for selling) has also taken out some of the “umph” from Pam’s nesting instinct.  She’s prepped a little bit, but it’s all in supplies and decor to set up a nursery after we move to Italy.  We’ve decided that Snakette is going to get Brenden’s crib and current furniture.  In the next week, we’re going to buy a twin-sized kid’s bed and another dresser for Brenden to have “big boy” furniture upon arrival to Italy; we’ll just keep it in the cardboard boxes and ship it with the rest of our household goods when the movers come.

Lastly, before anyone wonders, we have no clue what we’re gonna name the new one.  Pam constantly shoots down my idea of Brunhilda, so we’re still in deliberation.  I suspect that, like with Brenden, we probably won’t have it figured out until we’re at the impasse of leaving the hospital.  At this time, the household is aptly increasing the alert status to BirthCon 4: