Just before we found out we were expecting (seriously, about a few days before) we bought a new home. We moved in shortly after and have been living in a largely empty house that we are very slow to furnish for the past few months. Currently there are three of us living happily (well, most of the time) in the Schneider household. Myself, Jeff & Wrigley.
Dawn & Jeff
We are two 30-something Chicagoans who both love the Cubs, reality television, city-living, and our dog, Wrigley. Outside of a few mutual interests, Jeff and I are about as opposite as can be. This can be both good and bad for a relationship ... and we will find out how that works in parenthood in just a few more months.There is that old saying, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage". This saying is quite out-of-date, considering a good amount of marriages do not appear to be based on love and these days the baby often precedes the whole marriage thing. They also seem to forget to mention that often somewhere after the marriage thing comes divorce (though this actually occurs more often in childless couples)
This is one thing the Jeff (the hubby) and I appear to have done correctly, though we may have taken one of the more lengthy strolls along this journey than most. Jeff and I met our freshman year in college. We actually lived directly across the hall from one another in a co-ed dorm. We were instant friends, but didnt begin dating until the end of that year. We dated for 8 years before we got married, and now are expecting a baby ... several months past our 5-year wedding anniversary. The things we do are never suprising and often when we share our exciting steps with others we get reponses more similar to "It's about time" than "Congratulations!". Our friends that started dating long after we did got married before us. And our friends that got married after us are already on kid #2 or #3. But, we are happy with our slow-and-steady style and think we are finally ready to add to our family.
Wrigley
Wrigley was named after a place in which Jeff & I often enjoy spending much of our summer...rooting on the home team and doing some people watching. Wrigley is a 72 pound chocolate labrador retreiver that can be a bit high-maintenance at times. She is high-energy and often needs to run simply to get (what we affectionately refer to as) the crazies out of her system. She is also exremely independent, but demands attention when she is in the mood. She prefers to sleep on couches & beds versus the floor (thats where the common canine sleeps), refuses to drink "dirty water" (this includes water with her own drool in it), prefers not to socialize with most other dogs (especially if they are yellow) and selectively listens/pays attention based on what else she has going on. Despite her occasional snootiness, she tends to be loving and charismatic and has been the source of most of our entertainment over the past 5 years. She tends to win people over quickly, and in fact most people prefer her to Jeff and I. She has been treated like a princess by all members of the family: receiving the most attention and praise, never being able to do wrong, and always being the #1 gift recipient at the holidays. She is unaware of the changes coming and may soon find her throne ripped out from underneath her :)
