You may have noticed that I sometimes go on these deep thinking benders where it seems like I am totally miserable and deep in something that you are being left out of.
Not true.

Sometimes, my husband goes away on business. And then, my head spins out of control.
I begin to think. No one's around to hear me out when I 'm feeling this sort of crazy coming on, so I just let loose with it.
And think and think and think and think and think... sometimes, I keep busy and don't bother with the thinking thing.
But honestly, from time to time I enjoy reconnecting with myself, alone, and organizing my take on things.

For example. I spoke about "choice" and "acceptance".

If I choose to be happy, do I have to accept that others choose to accept their unhappiness?
I guess I do. Or I would be a hypocrite.
If I choose to accept my family as it is, does that mean I have to shut my trap when I think they are making a mistake or I wish they would do things in a way that could possibly improve their lives, therefore making me happier because I want them to be happy and whole?
I guess I do.

I suppose I have to trust that people know what they're doing.
And if they don't, so be it - live and learn.
They don't always need me to tell them or guide them or LOVE them through their daily lives, struggles and decisions.

Are my intentions always the absolute best?
Yes.
(That was not a sarcastic question.)
When it comes to my family (and my friends that I consider family) - my intentions are always the best.
(Not always when it comes to just straight up juicy gossip and random acquaintances - a girl has to let her hair down every now and then!)

But, you know what they say about the path to H.E.L.L., right? Yeah, I might as well be an apprentice brick layer... I need to shut the F. up sometimes.

I worry that if I don't say something when I feel like I should, that I am somehow shirking my familial responsibility. I really want to mind my own business sometimes, I really do!! But I feel like "well, maybe they need to hear it. maybe that's what will get them to act on this!" And really, they don't always need to hear it. And when people do want to hear it, they'll ask.

And sometimes I think "minding my own business" is another way of saying "don't feel like making the effort" and I never want someone to feel like I don't care, am too self-involved or just too darn lazy to speak up when I think they need me.

See my conundrum?! grrrr

When my Abby gets upset about something random that 3-year olds get upset about and she's crying hysterically, I tell her to breathe. I don't yell, I don't coddle - I just remind her to breathe and I stay calm with her until she gets her shit together. Sometimes, I just say "get your shit together" but that doesn't always work.
I need to start saying that to myself.

I can't fix the world. I can't fix my family. I can only hope to fix myself to my greatest ability. And by keeping myself in order, getting my own shit together, I manage to keep my family - the 4 of us here at 131 - in order and together, as well.

And that, folks, is my numero uno priority in life. Taking care of my family. The 4 people in this house. that is my job, that is my passion and that fills me with all the satisfaction, pride and love I need.

Remind me of this post the next time you start seeing big, colorful definitions on my blog entries, eh?


Spent the day at my mom & dad's today. It was a fun, crazy, busy day of running Grammy & Granbear ragged. When we leave, I can hear the sighs of exhaustion from coming out of my parents as I roll down the driveway.
Or, that could have been the sigh of exhaustion coming out my boy, SuperMan, in the backseat who fell asleep before we hit the highway and slept int he same position, mouth wide open, the entire 85 miles home:

This...

was not..

a funeral!!

It was my big sister's Surprise 40th Birthday Party!
Christine, my eldest sib at 7 years my senior, was shocked to see a room full of people who absolutely love and adore her waiting to celebrate her 40th anniversary on Earth.
And lemme tell ya - Lots of Love for her in that room. It was THICK.
I love her. She's the best.
Everything you could want in a big sis -
from the nagging aggravation to the un-ending love and friendship.
And her friends and relatives love her, too.
And we are cryers.
I come from a long line of 'em - so Look Out, folks -
the freakin' carpet was probably wet from the gallons of tears
that were shed on this day.
Happy, lovey, sappy tears!

Here is my cousin, Ray and my pseudo-sister-in-law, his wife, Christina;
then Christine, Mike, Me and Jay.

I say "P-S-i-L" because of the way we so quickly and easily bonded and because Ray & I grew up so closely that we always felt more like siblings than cousins.
And I love her.
L. O. V. E. her.
Isn't it awesome when you see how much someone you love is so loved, taken care of, understood, adored?
I see that in my cousin's marriage.
Wouldn't it be awesome if all of our loved ones could have that for themselves?

Christine with my Dad.

There was a CONSIDERABLE amount of beer consumed at this party.
People who don't usually drink beer were suckin' 'em down like it was the newest, hottest thing. And there was a full bar with booze, wine, soda - whatever -
but it was just the mood,
the atmosphere, the hot day.
It was FUN.

Check out the Slideshow that Jay and I put together for the Birthday Girl.

Cheers!

I just signed my first official school document.
With my own name, I mean. As the parent.
I signed my own, full, legal name with my own signature. Not my Dad's name... hee hee

I have officially registered my baby girl for Pre-School in the "fall". I put the season in quotes because the first day of school is actually August 27th. Hardly the leaf-crunching, sweater-wearing, apple-eating sort of September I romanticize so much about. But still.
This is huge.

What else is huge?
This:

This is a photo of my big girl heading up my driveway with her friends, for a pladydate of cookie baking without her mommy!
When I received the call inviting her (to my very good friend Jody's house to be with my very precious Quinnie, aged almost-12 and their nanny, aged 20-something, but still!) to come up and bake cookies while Wyatt napped, my jaw dropped.
I didn't know what to say.
Becky, the kids' summer nanny, knew that Wyatt would be asleep and that I couldn't leave, so she was offering to come down and get Abby. Clearly, they were bored. But also, they really like Abby and they knew she would love it and Becky, I'm sure, knew I would welcome the quiet time during Wyatt's nap.
And I did. But it was very strange.
It's nice, peaceful quiet when both kids are asleep and I am putzing around the house, or even doing nothing - like playing Pirates.
It was very different today. I have never been home without my girl. Not counting a quick run somewhere with Daddy here and there. This was, for the first time ever, me, Jay and Wyatt all in the house. Not Abby.

I wasn't devastated or anything. I didn't cry or carry on - don't get me wrong.
But I recognized today, for the umpteen-millionth time (it feels like) that my baby girl is getting so big. So independent. So smart, so brave.
She has been proving it in other ways, too. In ways that often annoy or exhaust me before I have time to reflect on the importance of them. Such as the back-talk, the deal-making, the "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" among other things that come with age.

I try to keep a handle on them, keep things in perspective. Allowing my baby bird to spread her wings but know that here in the nest, you don't talk to mama like that!
And I will openly pat myself on the back and tell you that I do a very good job of it.
I am very patient, I often smile to myself when I know many other moms would be over-the-top frustrated. I take a deep breath before I answer - and if I forget to take that breath and answer in a way that makes me less than proud, I apologize.
And we move on.

Abby also swims underwater now.
All of a sudden.
Two weeks of swimming lessons, she finally put her face in on the 2nd to last day. Now, she zips back and forth, under the water, in the tub like a fish.
She showed me 44 times tonight. Then Wyatt popped his head in to see what the ruckus was and she showed him a few times.
(They generally bathe together but Wyatt is quick - he prefers to run around naked and watch some tv before bed so Abby gets some playtime with the tub all to herself.)
Then, as I was trying to reign her in, Maggie trotted in and - without missing a beat - "MAGGIE, WATCH THIS!", under she goes again!
Maggie seemed relatively unimpressed and I later realized she was just looking for a place to sleep where Wyatt wouldn't bother her. She found that place - it was Abby's bed.

Last night, Abby said "I want a tv in my room."
I said "no."
She said "why?"
I said "Because, like I will never drive a mini-van, never purchase a car-dvd-player and never, ever pay full price on children's clothing - you will never have a tv in your bedroom."
That answer seemed to placate her. Confuse her, probably is more like it. But still.
Also, I would bend my mini-van rule if it were a brand new, fully-loaded, navy blue Honda Odyssey. But, honestly, I'm gonna hold out for the Pilot or Pathfinder.
And, I will allow her a tv in her room - when she's old enough for chores and report cards - real ones, on both accounts - she can then earn a tv, tv-time and the trust to know what to do with both.

For now, I will look forward to "fall" and playdates and the never-ending "BUT" that begins each answer to my request of clean-up, go upstairs, put something down, have something to eat or wear what I pulled out for you...

And one more, just to round out where my mind is at these days:

Acceptance: 1: an agreeing either expressly or by conduct to the act or offer of another so that a contract is concluded and the parties become legally bound2: the quality or state of being accepted or acceptable3: the act of accepting : the fact of being accepted : approval4 a: the act of accepting a time draft or bill of exchange for payment when due according to the specified terms b: an accepted draft or bill of exchange

Let me leave you with this thought: I have not always been a kind, patient, benefit-of-the-doubt-giving woman.
But as I have gotten older, become a mother and become a happy, content human being living in a not-always happy world, I have come to realize that choosing appropriately or living with the consequences of my bad choices;
not assuming that things will go or did go badly;
taking responsibility for my actions - good and bad;
and most importantly accepting myself and those around me for who they are, and loving myself and those around me regardless of how different we might be and how different we might wish we were, or removing myself from those that I can't change and have a negative impact on my life in any way;
this is what I practice in order to maintain my level of happiness, sanity and quality of life.

And as I've said numerous times here on The Raft, Life is Good.

Let's visit my old friend, Webster.

CHOICE noun 1: the act of choosing 2: power of choosing
Only you can decide how your life is going to be lived.
Choose to be happy and see the glass as half full.
Choose to enjoy the moment, each one as it comes.
Choose to assume that people are good and the world is a happy place.

ASSUMPTION 1 a: the taking up of a person into heaven 2: a taking to or upon oneself
Don't assume the worst or the worst will come to fruition. Don't assume what people are thinking.

RESPONSIBILITY 1: the quality or state of being responsible: as a: moral, legal, or mental accountability b: reliability, trustworthiness 2: something for which one is responsible
Only you can be held responsible for how your life is turning out, what you are accomplishing and how it is making you feel.

You are responsible for making the right choices for yourself and assuming the best.

Spray-On Sunscreen is the greatest invention since Popsicles. Applying lotion to a tiny, squirmy body on a sandy beach is never a successful endeavor. Yes, I apply the lotion to their bodies before we leave but to reapply after a few hours on the beach is nearly impossible. Enter the Spray Can. Awesome.
Thank You, Mrs. Inventor.

Went out with my husband last night. J. Gilbert's, as usual.
We get out so infrequently that we don't like to mess with perfection. At Gilbert's, we know that the service will be great and the food will be delicious.
Last night was no exception.
I looked hot, as did my hubby. I love getting decked out for him. Lord knows I don't do it on a daily basis (as Dr. Laura suggests!) but I do enjoy it every now and then.
We also have the luxury of one fantastic babysitter who shows up and instantly wins the affection of our children who, at that point, wouldn't care if we dove off a cliff.
That's a nice feeling when you're driving away.

The thing about Gilbert's is that we know what to expect. And last night, like I said, they did not disappoint. I did feel a little... well, bored, though. Jay agreed. The menu is fantastic but we've eaten the whole thing.
Time to move on.
Time to finally check out all the other great joints all around us that we hear about but, being fearful for when the next time might be that we get out, we don't dare try.
Thankfully, again, Stina has eradicated that fear with her recent announcement that she will be attending Eastern SCU rather than SCU. And while I know she will be a busy college girl with busy college things to do. I am also pretty confident that we'll be able to grab her (at $10 an hour) when we need her with enough notice!
Did I mention that she loves my kids almost as much as I do?
That helps!

I really hate Nickelodeon. It's the worst channel since the WB. Really. They create good shows and for that, I am greatful for Noggin. But on Nick, the commercials are all for dangerous, disgusting and/or expensive crap that targets my kids (and yours).
I do love watching my boy's eyes light up when Diego appears on the screen.
I do marvel at how entranced both kids get when Max & Ruby are on. I mean, really, is there a more boring show on television? Not to mention excruciatingly nonsensical to us, the parents?

Today was the last day of Swimming Lessons. Abby "graduated" Level One and I signed her up for Level Two in August. They offer 2 sessions each summer.
Next year we plan to join the Lake because I just absolutely love the community of it. I love the beach playing - the sand castles, the sandy sandwiches, the sharing of all the sand toys, the sound of the ice cream truck (which we took advantage of today!).
I grew up on a beach. That's what we did every single day all summer long. We went to the beach. Being Latch-Key kids, as we were, we counted on my grandparents who lived next door, my aunt who lived up the street or - if all else failed - whomever we knew that was on the sand that we could sort of drop out towel next to and call our "supervision".
Today, I was looking around and I realized that this beach that we go to, and probably every other little lake beach in America, is the same exact one we grew up on. Moms in beach chairs, kids coverd in sand, screaming, running, tin-foil wrapped sandwiches... the only big difference I see is that there are more juice boxes now, back in my day we all drank Kool-Aid from one Tupperware Cooler with many plastic, environmentally-incorrect cups.
And today, I saw a very big difference. One mom, standing by the shoreline (do you call it a shoreline when it's a lake and not the ocean? anyway-) holding her (equally Earth-offensive) styrofoam Dunkin Donuts cup in one hand, her BlackBerry Storm in the other.
Otherwise - it's LMCA all over again.

I don't know what happened in the past month or two but my babies are not really babies anymore.
Proof?

Well, Wyatt sings the ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle. You can't quite make out each word but there is no mistaking what he's singing. He has more words and phrases, too. Every day he comes out with new stuff. The other day he woke up from his nap and he yelled "DADDY MOW!" And yes, Jay was mowing the lawn and Wyatt heard it.

He also sings and dances to the Wiggles like nobody's business. THe man loves The Wiggles and I pray every day that when I click on their website there is going to be an updated Tour Schedule with a CT date. I have never wanted to go to a concert so much in my life.
Jay won't let me buy tixx for a Long Island show. The Wiggles aren't worth that trip to him and I respect that, but I still really want to do it. I just know that Wyatt's head would explode if he got to see them live.

Abby, too. She loves them. Not with the same unbridled passion that Wyatt shows but she did. She DID love them that much when she was exactly his age.
Because when she was his age, he was a tiny baby and she was OBSESSED like he is now.
And I love them, too. I'll admit it.

I LOVE THE WIGGLES. EVERY UGLY ONE OF THEM!

Ok, I got off topic there. Sorry.

Anyway - Wyatt thinks he is such a big boy. We go to the beach, he plays with the big kids. Today I had to grab him before he went into the water with Abby's Swimming Lesson group. It was so cute and he was so ready!

He says "MOMMY" and "DADDY" with such an attitude - it's so funny, it's not a cute little baby saying "mama" or "dada" - it is a demand in one word.

He gets out of and into his carseat all by himself. And then he puts his fat little had up to mine and we hold hands to walk to wherever we're going.
Unless we are home. Then he just runs to grab his little bike and get right to playing.

Today he chased the cat into the woods. I didn't know if I was ever going to see him again. He is so brave and strong!
He eats more than a small man, too. His breakfast is usually 2 scrambled eggs with cheese with assorted fruits on the side followed by a strawberry Nutri-Grain Bar.

Abby. Well, she went from 3 to 15 overnight. She takes showers now. She's almost 3 and a half and she showers. She had showered a lot in the past - but it was a novelty, there wasn't a lot of actual soap involved. Now, she showers and she wants her PRIVACY!

She also dresses herself. She not only chooses the clothing, she puts it on herself. After she brushes her own teeth, washes her face and hands, goes potty and (attempts to) brush her hair.
Her tiny personality is so independent and strong. She's also a cuddle-bug, so it's not independence venturing on cold - it's just so smart. She is just so smart. And funny. So funny.

And the way that she takes care of Wywy. Just melts my heart every single day.
Even when they disagree or don't play well together - I laugh because it is so cute and typical and funny how she yells at him.
Oh man, I wish I could cite an example right now. This sort of stuff just happens all day long - I don't really retain the specifics - I just enjoy them and store the feeling.

I think people who send "Friend Requests" to people they don't know, specifically just to advance their Crew in the game of Pirates, on Facebook are gigantic losers. Seriously.

I love summer so much. Yesterday, after swimming lessons Wyatt went down for his nap and Abby and I floated in the pool for about an hour.
My husband was working his ass off in his office in our basement. I was floating in the pool.
Yes, sometimes I have guilt.
Today, after swimming lessons Wyatt napped and I did the bills & budget for July. That felt good - like I was accomplishing something. Then, when he woke up we went for a walk to see who was around "The Heights". Saw some neighbors we hadn't seen since school let out and that was really nice. Caught up on the the gossip, gave Abby & Wyatt some playtime and then headed home.
Jay was in the kitchen, after a long day of work, skewering Shrimp Kabobs.
Guilt again.

He's a good husband, isn't he?!

Tonight, I gave two kids a good washing (1 shower, 1 bath, of course - why make it simple?). I washed off suntan lotion, a little bug spray, a lot of sand and dirt and a lot of sweat. Then I put 2 clean, tan little bodies into some clean, comfy jammies (1 jammie dress, 1 Superman set complete with a cape!). I snuggled and sniffed those sweet little bodies and put them into their clean, soft beds.
Tomorrow I will put those clean little bodies into clean bathing suits and do it all over again.
I love the beach, I love summer and I love my cute little family living our cute little life here at 131.

Life is Good.

Jay and I have been camping together many, many times. We love it.
We love sleeping in the tent, snuggled up, listening to the sounds of the woods all around us.
We love cooking on the fire.
There is nothing as peaceful as being in the woods without noise, with nothing to do, listening to the crackle of the fire, eating when you're hungry, sleeping when you're tired, seeing the sun set and the stars come out, hearing crickets and woodland noises and allowing your body, mind and soul just R.E.L.A.X.

I am too tired to go through the weekend detail by detail so I will let the pictures tell the tale and I will refer you to the Egan's Blog, in case Kimmie is quicker or more detailed than myself.

Suffice it to say that we had a really great, really exhausting, really relaxing, really fun weekend.
We arrived on Friday afternoon just a few minutes after our friends, Dennis & Kim with their boy, Matthew. Adam, Chrissie and their boy, Timothy, arrived shortly after us.

Apparently, Matthew has some very funny stuff to tell Wyatt & Abby.

Here's my handsome husband getting a feel for the weather before trying assembling the tent's rain fly.
Thankfully, he got it on properly.
Thankfully, he also set the tent up properly after packing everything properly, building the fire properly
and cooking all the food all weekend properly.
Did I say "Thank You", babe?
Thanks.
This weekend was symbolic of how you provide for and protect us all the time.


Here's "Uncle Denny" with all the kids.
I cannot tell you how stinkin' cute this was. It was not planned.
Dennis had the 2 boys so my kids went over to him, too. Then Wyatt started yelling "cheese!"
so we quickly snapped the pics.
(Then Wyatt got mad and ran away so we grabbed him and threw him back in for the shot.
So, ok, it was a little staged but the kids started it!)

Here's my Big, Three & a HALF Year Old girl with her very first Toasted Marshmallow.
She was quite pleased.
I was, too, that is a rite of passage and I was thrilled for my girl.

Here's the crew.
We took this picture this morning, after we were all packed up and ready to leave.
Isn't that a great shot?
What are the chances that all of us would be looking and smiling with our eyes open all at the same time!?

Summer.

Abby is taking Swimming Lessons at Andover Lake.
The beach is beautiful and the water is among the cleanest in CT.

This is Wyatt on the first day (Monday).
He was not happy with his sister's swimming while he was trapped on the sand with Mommy.

Here is my little froggie blowing bubbles in the water.

Here's Wywy, Day 2.
Considerably more confident but still fully aware of where his sister is and what she's doing.
He waved to her and yelled "HI ABBY" each time he caught her glance.

And here she is, smiling up at us as she and her team "use their team work to make the biggest splashes".
Today on the way home she told me that her cousin friend told her that she will get a trophy at the end of this "season".
I guess we'll have to see about that.

This is truly Summer as it should be.

I can't believe I am using MJ as Blog Fodder right now.
I've never been a fan of Michael Jackson.
I wasn't a "hater" either. But, with all this hoopla surrounding his death, I am faced with magazine after website after tv special of Michael Jackson memories.

Something I am aware of now and sort of ashamed of but more just aware of is that I, like so many others, assumed he was a child molesting monster.
Why?
Because that is what everyone was saying. Who was I to argue?

Now, I am little older and smarter and I would like to think I would have read a bit more about what was going on. I would have looked at more fact and less opinion.
I would have realized that Michael Jackson was the most famous living musical legend in the world. And if people, disgusting as it sounds, see an opportunity to take someone for some free money, sometimes those people are going to jump on that opportunity and if they are willing to do that, it's not such a stretch that they would use their children, too.

And, really, he was a prime target. He was more rich than the word "rich" describes, he loved children and opened his home and heart to them, he was not known for being especially intelligent and his family was not known for being exactly "functional". So, here's this sort of dumb, emotionally-stunted musical genius with more money than God who's naivete gets the better of him time after time.

And we all bought into it. We all thought he was a child molesting monster. We all joked about it and swore we would never leave our children alone with him.
But why? What did we actually know?

In reading about him this last week or so, I realized for the first time ever, that he was never even found guilty of anything. One accusation was settled out of court.
Ok, in an attempt to protect himself from what eventually happened anyway, the richest man in the universe threw someone some cash to shut them up - totally worth it, I'm sure, at the time.
The second time, he went to court to defend himself and he was acquitted. Shouldn't that mean something?

I guess this entry is more about mob mentality than the man himself. I am more awed by the fact that I never even knew he was never officially found guilty but the whole world said he was anyway. That blows my mind, but I'm sure it's not that surprising. It is how human beings work, right? It's "societal".

One thing I completely took for granted is his music. I never really thought about it but with list after list bieng published there are a LOT of songs that I love that I haven't heard in ages that I plan on downloading today... "Billie Jean", "Gotta to be Startin' Somethin'", "Black or White", "Thriller" (duh) and several others... I wonder if they hiked the prices up at Itunes yet...

Got my nails done yesterday...


Thanks, Leenie!


We had a fine celebration for my niece's 7-going-on-17 Birthday!

Love you, my beautiful, almost-a-teenager-please-stop-rushing-it, gorgeous,
witty, brilliant and fabulous girl!

Lots of preggos in my life right now. Good ones, too. Not just "oh, a girl I work with" - real friends who's babies I will love and hold and squeeze and smooch and sniff.

My friend, Kim, just delivered her second baby boy. I don't actually "know" Kim. We met online at CafeMom. We clicked right away and our friendship did and does feel as real as if we went to school together and then moved far away from each other - or something to that effect. What I am mean is, it doesn't feel like we've never met.

My friend, Kimmie, is pregnant with their second baby. We will be camping next weekend and I can't wait to see how that hard tent floor feels on her sensitive, pregnant body!

My best friend, Belle, is pregs with her second baby. Her boy, Ben, just turned 1 in March. She knew they'd have more babies, one right after the other, and here they are, on turn 2.
Her sister, Jess, is pregnant, too. A few weeks ahead of Belle.
And then I found out that their sister-in-law, Emily, is also pregnant!
All 3 sisters will have their babies within 15 weeks of each other!
What an amazing blessing that is for their entire family.

So, it gets one thinking... Right? When do you know you're done?
I hear this a lot:

"You have the perfect family."

And I do.
I have a lovely home, a gorgeous husband and 2 healthy, gorgeous kids - 1 boy and 1 girl.
Who could ask for more?

But I do wonder about more... maybe just 1. Or making it even and having 2 more...
Every woman does it.
Admit it...
"if I got pregnant right now, I'd be due in (insert month of interest here)."

My husband recoils in horror at the prospect. He loves our "perfect family" and his contentment is palpable. Let's just say that the Mr. has no interest, absolutely ZERO interest in any of the following:

a) sleepless nights full of crying and unending dissatisfaction
b) hormonal crazy wife
c) needing a new car becasue the Bu won't fit another carseat
d) needing a new house because 131 is full
e) needing even more money than we have now while already working as hard
and as long as the man possibly can.

So, while all of those are good points made by my Mr. I can counter with these:

a) the nights were not nearly as bad with Wyatt as they were with Abby because I was much calmer and knew much more what to expect. I knew that those nights don't last very long and my tiny baby boy would not need me to hold, nurse and rock him forever.
(I do have to caveat here, for a breast-fed baby, Wyatt has more poop issues than you can even stomach to hear about - it made life a bit difficult at times...
like any time I had to be anywhere other than home nursing him.)
b) I can handle the hormones, I swear.
c) I want one, anyway
d) see C
e) I don't worry about money. I worry about my husband worrying himself to death, but I don't worry about the day to day - I have faith in the system, my husband and God.

Then I think, "boy or girl?"
Well, a boy would be awesome. It would leave my beautiful Abby as my only girl.
My precious, special, angel princess.
And we would have 2 little monkeys running around. How crazy and fun would that be?

But, a girl would give my daughter the gift of having a sister. Need I say more?

Then I think "but I got rid of everything."
Everything.
I am not kidding.

But, ya know what? After having 2, I realize, you really don't need most of that shit.
If Wyatt were out of his crib, I wouldn't need to get one and since Wyatt would need a new bed anyway, there's no added cost. Boy or girl - I have the bedding.
And if he were still in his crib, my sister, Christine, still has her 8-year old daughter's crib that I also used for Abby. I would just need to buy a mattress.

Changing Table? Got one.
Highchair? Always hated them - I have 4 boosters, though.
Got the Pack & Play & Stroller. My brother is currently in possesion of my Infant carseat. I could get it back when they're done, or I could just buy Abby a new booster ($40) and shuffle the seats we have around a bit.

Clothes? I have given everything to Michele. I can get it back - either after she's done with it or before she uses it, depending on whether she has a girl or boy this time.

What else is there? People buy you gifts when you have a baby - toys, trinkets, picture frames - so that aspect would be covered.
(I always hate that the first baby gets all the presents, I buy presents for all the babies.)

Really - I could have 2 more babies right now.
I might go a little mad - but I would be the happy, singing kind of cookoo - not the head-banging, sad sort.
Jay might go a little mad, too, but he would come around - and I have never seen a Daddy love his babies as much as my man loves our kids.
He's very practical. He's very logical and "logistical" - it's what keeps me grounded. So, he's right - we should be done.

But, in my heart - I feel like it's a little early to call it.