Study Buddies

Today is test day in the nursing program and I have been studying for several hours now.  While my brain should be focusing on mental health medications and organ donation, I find myself constantly thinking about the whole conception business and honestly, my dogs.  I made our pre-conception counseling appointment this morning and now I feel like it is becoming quite real.  Justin and I have three dogs and a cat who appear often in my blog posts and Instagram posts.  We have a basset hound named Maggie, a pug named Gracie, a blue tick-beagle mix named Beau, and a black cat named Harry who we love very dearly and treat like children most times.  These babies are quite spoiled and are very good study buddies when you are home alone on test day.  The Chew is on television, my notes are laying all over the coffee table, and the kids are all snoozing away (two in the recliner with me, one on the couch, and one in my bed).

As I sit here in the quiet, taking a break from studying, I am busy thinking about how our life will change when there is a baby in this house.  I mentioned earlier that our kids are pretty spoiled and being that they are all around three years old, they can be a little rambunctious sometimes.  I keep hearing that we won't be able to have them around a baby and that they will have to become outside dogs, but I just can't imagine having a life without all of my kids in the house.  I pray that they will calm down and that a baby will just fit seamlessly into our chaotic life here and that if our baby is exposed to the noise and occasional madness early on, they will be used to and it won't affect them.  One of my very best friends has three young daughters and her youngest was born in May while the other two were still only 2 and 4 years old.  Needless to say, children under the age of five can be quite boisterous and loud and really have no concept of a baby needing quiet in the house.  So rather than suppress the older girls and/or keep the baby away from their antics, my best friend would have her baby sleeping soundly in a bassinet in the kitchen while she was cooking or cleaning and the other girls were running around and playing and screaming and the baby just became accustomed to the noise and even now is able to sleep through the sometimes craziness around her.  I guess I just need to continue praying that my baby will be able to adjust to the madness and adapt to the sound of dogs barking.

Here's hoping!!