The Home Stretch

After such a long time of floundering and wondering about life's little turns, it seems like all of sudden there's not just a light at the end of the tunnel but we're close to just knocking the whole thing down! Could it be that things are finally coming together for us?
Brandon is nearing the end (next week) of completing his nursing pre-requisites. While, of course, there is still a lot to work left to actually become a nurse, at least the path has been started.
We are officially now in the third trimester for Baby #2! Now that's literally a "light at the end of the tunnel." I have some sadness that I haven't enjoyed being pregnant this time as much as I was with Abigael, but maybe that's to be expected when you also have a three year-old demanding your full attention. Physically, this time around has also been much harder on me. As a result, I don't think I've been a very pleasant person for Brandon or Abigael to be around and for that I'm also a little regretful. I don't feel like I've done anything to prepare for the new baby. No shopping, no obsessive reading or list-making, nothing. I did manage to sign us up for a refresher childbirth class. WooHoo! Way to go! But as I was saying, we've now hit the last phase. Not much left to do but just get bigger. Is that even possible? I think my belly is already bigger than when Abigael was born. It feels like it's ready to pop some days, and I still have at least 2 1/2 months to go!I have a feeling this is not going to be another peanut-sized baby.
And, of course, there is the BIG news. We are "this close" finally becoming homeowners! For those of you who may not know our situation, we have been renting for a VERY long time. Brandon and I have been married for 10 1/2 years and have been in rentals for the entire time. We've lived in a variety of houses and apartments over the years, each with it's own personality. Right now we're in residence #6 and it's definitely time for our own space. If nothing else, I NEED a yard to throw Abigael out into! But more practically, with baby #2 almost here, we need more space and we've been aching to put down roots for a while now. We've procrastinated on this big step for several reasons...money, waiting on the fire department job, money, fear of commitment, money, home prices, fear of the unknown. But, we finally reached our breaking point, and decided it was now or never. All in all, the process hasn't been nearly as traumatic as I had feared. When you look the articles and tests to measure stress and possible depression in your life, buying a home (and having a baby) is listed as one of the top triggers. I, for one, was a little worried about this, the past couple of years have been pretty tough emotionally for me. (I'm already trying to prepare myself for any postpartum issues after the baby is born.)But, so far, I'm feeling really good. I'm excited about the move and have had hardly any panic attacks over the impending mortgage payments. Everything is moving along just fine, and we should have the keys in our hands in the next few days. Except for the actually "moving" part, this is going to be pretty awesome.
This is going to be a good year after all.