Sometimes I get the most random songs stuck in my head. And other times the notes and lyrics that come to me seem to appear for a reason, like with Katy Perry’s Unconditional a few weeks ago.

I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d heard this particular “classic country” song, and thanks to a lack of radio time over the past few weeks, Royals by Lorde – and every single parody and spoof and remake I’ve run across as well – has been playing on repeat for DAYS now. But earlier this week, I woke up from a much too short nap with Ronnie Milsap’s I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For the World running through my mind.

Some lyrics, in case you don’t know that one…

I wouldn’t have missed it for the world
Wouldn’t have missed lovin’ you, girl
You’ve made my whole life worthwhile
With your smile

Right. Obviously some part of my brain and heart needed the reminder that, despite the exhaustion, the stress and confusion, and even the boredom, these days with a newborn are precious and I should cherish them.

And I’m definitely doing a lot of cherishing. Though we never intended to have two children six years apart, I won’t complain about the hours Annalyn spends at school each day – leaving me to hold Miss Adrienne as long as I want to and gaze into her squishy face as much as I want to. I can’t just ignore the dishes and the laundry, but I’m making sure to sleep when the baby sleeps when I can – so I don’t end up crying when the baby cries later on.

Still. As adorable as our new addition is (have you SEEN the billions of pictures I’ve been posting? SO CUTE.), this season has given me more memories I want to hold onto than just all the ways my family has fallen in love with a fuzzy-head, milk-breath, goofy-smile baby.

No, I don’t mean how very badly everything hurt on Day 2 – the horrible day they made me get out of bed and walk the FOUR MILES (or four feet. whatever.) to the bathroom.

And I don’t mean the completely mortifying meltdown I had when the doctor – NOT MY DOCTOR – tried to discharge me Friday morning without acknowledging my middle of the night blood pressure spike, the urgent, whispering nurses who’d JUST BEEN IN MY ROOM and their rushed call to a different doctor to order blood work that all had me sobbing and terrified of a repeat of last time’s pre-eclampsia.

Although…CLEARLY I am still remembering those fun things, too. Nope, I’m talking about semi-strange and you-just-have-to-laugh-at-it funny circumstances that surrounded this delivery. [Yes, I’ll get to the “normal” What I’m Into stuff soon, I promise. But first, a few maternity leave-related incidents that have stuck in my not-so-steel-trap mind this month…]

1. Just to make SURE we don’t forget that a) everything in our house breaks and b) we still haven’t sold our [broken] house, we had to replace our thermostat and a heater part just days before I delivered Adrienne. Thankfully, the heater itself didn’t call it quits and a friend from church was kind enough to come over and do all the actual fixing for us.

 

2. Then, just hours after I delivered a baby, I checked my messages and found out that a showing had been scheduled for that week. A SHOWING. On our house that has been on the market for six months and had fewer than 10 showings THE ENTIRE TIME. Ridiculous. Thankfully (again! so many blessings – seriously.), I’d hired someone to clean our house while I was at the hospital, so I only had to make Mark a short (haha! I’m kidding. It was not short.) list of things to do at the house to stage it for a showing.
    
   Side note: Our agent didn’t bother to tell the buyers agent that we were in the hospital, nor did she bother to let us know when she gave him permission to come two hours earlier than scheduled. So the buyer showed up when Mark was in the shower. And after all that, the feedback was merely that the house is too small. Um, YEAH. We are aware of that point, thankyouverymuch. *SIGH*

 

3. Finally, in house-related matters, the day after we came home from the hospital, I got trapped in our [only] bathroom when the doorknob refused to budge. Long story short, Mark pulled a Chuck Norris and literally kicked down the door. He later got himself trapped on the inside and had to completely destroy the door to get out – which meant a trip to Home Depot and a little project for him and my dad. The new door is hung, though not painted, and has not trapped anyone else to date.
    
   Side note: Though that story is ridiculous and not the way I wanted to start our time at home as a family of four, it sure beats what we came home to when Annalyn was born: a raccoon in the attic! What is WITH our house and babies???

 

4. During the emergency c-section of Annalyn’s birth, Mark and I were both so scared that we couldn’t stop our nervous chatter during the actual surgery. I don’t remember a thing we said, but apparently we were so funny (um, probably in that laughing AT us way…) that the anesthesiologists were cracking up.
    
   This time, my surgery was scheduled and normal and supposedly not scary at all. Except, you know what? Surgery is JUST SCARY. And so I was thankful to have my husband and another couple of anesthesiologists near my head this time as well to chat with while SCARY THINGS were happening below that blue sheet. At one point I informed them that I felt like a robot with my control panel opened. I mean, that’s kind of what it’s like. They just opened me up and did stuff. (You know, like pulled out a baby? Yes, I am very fluent in the fancy, technical medical terms.)
    
   So, there I am, feeling like a robot that’s just been worked on and put back together – and you know what they did? They gave me a fancy bandage WITH A BATTERY PACK. I spent a week with a BATTERY PACK attached to me.
    
   I might actually be a robot after all.
    
   [This fancy bandage is a new thing my doctor is using that keeps pressure on a wound or incision and helps it heal faster. In case you’re wondering. Sorry to the 99% of you who weren’t and are now all YUCK. I promise, no more medical talk.]

 

5. I’ve always credited one of my nurses (along with my friend Amy, who said – lovingly – “Mary! Call your doctor! You can’t wait until Monday!”) with saving my life when Annalyn was born, and I’ve often wished I would have had the follow-through to send proper thank you cards to the nurses who took such great care of me while I was in the hospital. So it’s no surprise that I was just as affected by the nurses who cared for me this time around.
    
   Of course, no hospital experience can be all-around pleasant or else we’d just want to stay there forever – so two of my nurses made me a tad bit OUT OF MY MIND ANGRY with their less-than-stellar skills. But the rest of my nurses? WERE AWESOME. In particular two of them did such an amazing job that I tried to take them home with me. They declined (weird.) but I was glad for the chance to tell the nurse manager (or whatever her actual title was) what a good job they both did. As I said on Facebook at one point during the week, it’s amazing how one nurse can completely change my mood and, in part, my health during a twelve-hour span of time.
    
   I realize this is neither funny nor strange, but I couldn’t leave it unsaid. I’m really thankful for good nurses!

So, what have I been into this month? Other than diapers and bottles and not sleeping and trying to remember when I last brushed my teeth? Well, let me tell you:

What I’m Reading:

As you might remember, I made myself a outrageously long list of books to read during the first several weeks after Adrienne was born. You all convinced me to leave The Fault in Our Stars for another, less-hormonal time but Leigh reminded me about Lorelai Gilmore’s Lauren Graham’s novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe. So my list remained crazy long, and I have actually crossed a few books off already.

• Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich – UGH. Why am I still reading this series? {Oh, right, because I have a hard time quitting things once I’m in this deep.} Same “love” triangle, same “mystery,” same “zany” characters. I’m ready for this whole thing to be over.
• Trapped by Irene Hannon – This was a pretty good contemporary Christian romantic suspense. Irene Hannon is one of my favorite Christian novelists, but this wasn’t my favorite of hers. Then again, maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a mystery immediately after having a baby.
• Timebound by Rysa Walker – I am a sucker for time travel books, and this one was no different. Oh, except it’s also a YA novel, so that right there is a double whammy for me. I loved this and can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out later this year.
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty – I don’t read a whole lot of what I call “Book Club Books,” but this one was on SO MANY LISTS that it seemed nuts not to just read it already. And, whaddya know, it was actually really good. Thanks to Jill, who originally recommended it a million years ago.

I’m reading Graham’s novel right now and planning to start Chasing God by Angie Smith this weekend.

What I’m Watching:

It was fun to get home from five days in the hospital to find a DVR full of new episodes of my favorite shows. Now that a couple more weeks have gone by and we still haven’t caught up (what? THREE episodes of Psych to watch now?! How? WHEN?), it’s a little more stressful and less fun. But the initial surprise was nice.

As was enjoying the return of Community and Cougar Town and the winter finales (since when is this a THING?) of New Girl and The Mindy Project. Community and Cougar Town aren’t really my favorites anymore, but I still enjoy them enough. Also? A half-hour sitcom is the perfect thing to occupy my barely there brain during feedings.

And, HELLO?!! The Mindy Project?! You guys, first of all, this show makes me laugh out loud more than any other show – even Parks & Recreation, which I adore. And second of all [SPOILER ALERT], that kiss? The inevitable train wreck this is going to be? I love it all – and can’t wait for the show to return in a couple months.

I’ve also decided to watch American Idol this year, though I’ve only watched a couple seasons and not for several years. But, well, Harry Connick, you guys. And Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez. Yes, please and thank you. Plus? In the episodes I’ve watched so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see a change in tone that actually focuses on the real stories and talented musicians. ABOUT FREAKING TIME, Idol.

Last but CERTAINLY not least, I’m gearing up to rewatch all three seasons of Veronica Mars before the movie comes out. Sadly, I’m too cheap to pay to stream them all and apparently am not the only person to think of checking them out from the library. So while season three is waiting to be picked up at my local branch, I’m still a few people down on the reserve list for seasons one and two. It’s a dilemma. Or not…if I go ahead and buy the first two seasons BEFORE the hospital bills start showing up… [I KID! I KID! But if you happen to own seasons one and two, you should really help a girl – and her budget – out and let me borrow them. Pretty please?]

Wow. If you actually made it to the end of this marathon post of nothing-ness, KUDOS TO YOU. Obviously, I miss chatting with you all and had ALL THE THINGS TO TELL YOU!

So now I want to know – REALLY! – What have YOU been into this month??

I’m joining my friend Leigh for her monthly What I’m Into link-up.

P.S. Want to make sure you see all my crazy cute baby photos? I’m sharing them on a pretty regular [read: all the dang time] basis on Facebook and Instagram! Join me there?