Planning Ahead

I just came home from an estate planning workshop. I feel a bit overwhelmed. When we found out Potus was coming, we did get P signed up for a life insurance policy that should cover the house and any outstanding debts. With me quitting work and having significantly less earning power, I felt it was the smart thing to do. However, apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg. We need to organize our policies, review beneficiaries, make living wills, choose powers of attorney, health representatives, guardian(s), think about trusts, etc. My head is spinning.

With the news released today about the increase in Americans living in poverty, I realize we are extremely fortunate to have to worry about estate planning. I still find it incredible that 1 in 5 children in this country lives in poverty.

Which makes my next topic sound utterly vapid. I just found out today that my feet may get permanently bigger as a result of this and any subsequent pregnancies. I'm beginning to think I'm easing up to a 9 1/2 which is depressing. If I keep going though, I could adopt some of my Mother-in-law's cast off 10s. I've been contemplating shoe purchases because I can't seem to find any comfortable ones in my closet. Flip flops and cheap ballet flats have worked all summer, but it's starting to get a bit colder and that won't work for much longer. However, the shoes I'm looking at are not cheap (because I'm craving comfort) and I don't want to make the investment if they're not going to fit long enough for me to get sufficient wear from them. I've really cut down on maternity clothes purchases also as I've come to realize that much of what I've bought won't work for the duration. I only spent what I did because I thought it would last. Now, the clothes budget is pretty well shot. The forums just say to buy your pre-pregnancy size in clothes. Unfortunately, I took that misconception shopping. I'm glad a friend lent me so much maternity wear to start so I didn't invest in too many pairs of pants. Virtually none of them fit anymore. The shirts are faring better, but they're mostly sleeveless, so I've been layering with cardigans, some of which fit like shrugs now.

In closing, if anyone out there has extra size 8 maternity pants with a 34" inseam or some closed 9 1/2 shoes they're not wearing, drop me a line. I'm running low on presentable work clothes.

Week 15

Today marks the beginning of week 15. One more week until the 4 month check-up. I'm supposed to have gained 5-10 pounds. We'll have to go with the doctor's scale because I show 3-4 on my home scale. Today I realized I may have to start splitting up my meals a little bit more. I had lentil soup, salad (admittedly a good sized one), crackers and cheese for lunch and it feels like Thanksgiving. I've already got 1st and 2nd breakfast. So now, it looks like I need a pre-lunch snack at 10:30-11.

A friend at Kappa last night suggested these movable buttons "as seen on TV" that they have at Kmart. I'm pretty sure I'm about past being able to squeeze into regular jeans, but I may look for them as a back up. Part of me also wants to invest in a belly band which kind of converts your pre-pregnancy pants into modest maternity wear.

I do need to find some looser yoga type pants to wear on my upcoming road trip though. (And, for if I ever make time for yoga.) Right now, the most comfortable clothes I own are dresses, a pair of insanely large sweat pants my sister got me when she worked at Nike, and a yoga waist jersey skirt that I wish I could clone.

Tonight, I went to a daycare Open House for the new Growing Kids Learning Center that is opening a half mile away from our home. It looks like it'll be a very nice facility. I especially like the flexible late hours. Their hours are 6:30am - 11:30pm. They have spots for 8 infants. But, they only do full time care for infants. No part-time care. So, for $195/week, we could put our child in daycare. Assuming we get through on the waiting list. So, the damage isn't as bad as I'd thought, but that's still a major chunk of my income. Lots of food for thought.