32 weeks and getting into the swing of fall

I was just reading my last post - things got better at school last week!  Well, things have been fine with school, but we're still working out transportation issues.  Now I ride my bike with Tadpole and Turtle manages just fine, and I stop when he needs to stop and we walk up the hill.  When I pick them up, I usually bring Tadpole's bike and we do something similar on the way home.  We spent last weekend biking to anyplace we needed to go within a reasonable distance, and while she is still having trouble starting and stopping, and can't make it up the big hill in either direction, she can pedal just fine.  So that's a relief.

I accidentally signed up to volunteer in the kids' class on Thursdays.  I thought it was just a one-time deal, but apparently not.  I still need to remember to email the teacher to follow up on my verbal clarification that I am only available for the next 6-8 weeks until the baby comes.  My first day volunteering had a shaky start, since I was just sort of thrown into the mix without a great idea of what I was doing, but I mostly figured it out by the end of the hour and it was cool to see how the classroom functioned and start figuring out how to handle so many kids with such a HUGE range of prior school experience and current ability.  There were kids who were about to turn six who could pretty much already read, and tiny little English language learners who couldn't even write their names nor understand me.  I don't know how kindergarten teachers do it!

And ... I'm officially 32 weeks today!  I've entered the realm of prenatal visits every 2 weeks, which may be a bit early because I go to group appointments and I have the earliest due date in the group, but that's ok with me.  I also need to schedule my VBAC consult with an OB for about 2 weeks from now, I guess.  I'm getting both nervous and excited about it.

I'm not really ready for the baby in many ways.  I have bought almost everything we'll need, at least that I can remember that I need from having the twins, but I haven't set anything up, mostly because it's still early and I don't want things to be in the way when we're not using them.  Since I've been storing stuff in the garage, I'm worried I'll have to wash a lot of it before I use it, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there - which is pretty soon!  I'm thinking I'll start setting up the basic necessities in about a month, give or take depending on what the OB appointment tells me about what to expect for a VBAC or repeat cesarean.  Sometimes two months or 8 weeks seems like it's still a long time away.  Sometimes it seems like it's all coming up so fast!  My ticker says 56 days, which doesn't sound like a lot.  I have all the newborn through 6 month clothes organized and put away, although I don't know if I'm going to keep my current system for where things go.  I haven't gotten my cloth diapers back from my friend who lives 1.5 hours away, and I'm not sure I'm going to use them anyway.  I don't know what else she has that I might need, and so I may need to get a few more things.

Anyway - I have so much to think about.  It turns out we'll probably be able to get our au pair here on October 23, and the baby is due November 3.  That's not even 2 weeks - I'm not sure that's wise.  On the other hand, those first few weeks with a new baby are going to be hectic as hell, and having an extra set of hands around might be a great help.  I'm also torn about who to pick as an au pair - that is SO HARD.  And unfortunately, my husband is leaving for Europe tomorrow, and won't really be able to help me with the decision.  It seems like such a personal decision, to pick someone to live in your house and care for your kids for an entire year without being able to actually meet them first.  We currently have two candidates who are on track to meet the deadline in order to arrive by October 23, and I'm struggling to decide what to do about it.

Turtle and Tadpole are getting along really well at swimming these days, and they've each had one soccer practice so far as well.  Turtle's team seems super disorganized.  Practice times were supposed to get changed, the team meeting was maybe cancelled (but maybe not?), no one seems to know what's going on.  I'm feeling a bit nervous about it - maybe I'll email the coach.  Tadpole's team is VERY organized and she will know one or two girls on the team, plus they all seem pretty sweet, so I'm feeling happy about that.  They have their first games this weekend, and hubby will be gone, so I'm anxiously waiting to see what time they'll be to see how I'll manage.  They also have a very informal violin concert (flash mob), and we didn't sign up for the fall swimming barbecue in time, so we won't be doing that.  All in all, a very busy week and weekend coming up, all without hubby.  Sigh.

Well, it's after 5am, I'm hoping I can overcome my insomnia for a few more hours' sleep.  Wish me luck, please, I haven't slept well the last two nights and I never sleep well when hubby is gone, so the next 8 days are going to be extra tough.