Letter to our Family & Friends in Preparation for Baby Peringer

September, 2014

To our Nearest and Dearest-

The time for our little Sweet Pea’s arrival is quickly approaching. We have prayed/slept/not slept/cried/shopped/painted/built and celebrated much in anticipation of this day. We are excited to not only welcome in a new part of the Peringer family but also welcome a new member into our community here on our street. 

With that being said, Patrick and I must reiterate how incredibly blessed and cared for we have felt as we prepare for our little one. You all have truly acted as the hands and feet of Christ. thank you. 

A number of you have asked how to best serve us in the following weeks and I have some ideas. of course, because Patrick and I are new at this, there are some things that we are unsure of, so I want to iterate our commitment to be in communication with you all. If we had originally mentioned that xyz was just fine with us but now is not fitting into how we are doing life with baby, then our commitment is to let you know and not let things fester and brew to bitterness. its just unnecessary and no fun. we know y’all love us and you know we love you.

Nichole and Patrick

FOOD

Pragmatically, I’d say our biggest need, even right now, lies in the dinner department. this third trimester has been fraught with non-stop sinus infections/allergies and pregnancy exhaustion and it has left me sadly inept at many wifely duties. Patrick has been super gracious and patient despite, but i know how hard he works and i know that Ramen with an egg in it, is not the best substitute for a well balanced meal. 

A meal-train/ a sign up sheet for people to commit to bringing a meal for us for the first couple months would be incredible( A BIG THANK YOU to one of our Homegroup ladies for organizing this for us!) but I admit I could also use some help now. A sweet friend made a great recommendation on my Facebook wall the other day. While she was still pregnant, a few girlfriends and her got together and went grocery shopping. Tricia provided the recipes and the funds and the girls essentially made 10 freezer meals for her while she sat down and enjoyed their company-they prepped/chopped and packaged everything so that her freezer was already stocked even before the baby came. This would be a DREAM if we could make this happen. 

Here are some guidelines for the Meal Train list.

Dietary Concerns/Guidelines:

• Please package all meals in disposable trays for easy clean-up. 

• Please Non-Dairy, we both are allergic/intolerant. So sad about this. CHEESE/ICE CREAM ARE SO GOOD... :(

• Please no Barbecue sandwich type dishes- Sloppy Joes/pulled pork/ Manwich/ etc...  we enjoy Barbecue chicken/ribs but nothing of the shredded and put on a bun variety. 
• Please nothing too spicy, although mama loves it, papa sure doesn't and who knows what baby will feel like after I’ve had a few of my favorite jalapeños in my system. 

• Please no spaghetti. Enjoy any other type of pasta however.  

• YES Please to ethnic dishes.

• YES Please to breakfast for dinner- breakfast casseroles/french toast/mini quiches/ etc...

* YES Please to Gluten-Free/Sugar- Free/ etc...  Not a requirement however. 

Some of Nichole’s Favorites:

Butter Chicken & Naan- Anything Indian.

Hamburgers/Potato Salad(not sweet)/ Baked Beans

Rice and Beans

Chicken Pot Pie

Veggie Pizza w/out cheese.

Veggie Lasagna w/out cheese.

Chili- Meat or Veggie & Cornbread 

Anything with Sweet Potatoes. 

Any kind of comfort food.

Mr. Chopsticks/Cracker Barrel/Five Guys/ Taco Cabana/ Fuzzy’s Tacos/ VietBites

Some of Patrick’s Favorites: 

Shepherds Pie

Beef Stroganoff- No way around this but to make it with dairy. We will eat it anyway though. 

  Hard Shell Tacos

Salads. Salads. Salads.

Hungry Man- Fried Chicken TV Dinner... 

Oreos

Pepsi

Mr Chopsticks/Weinbergers/Arby’s/Taco Bell

CHORES + GUIDELINES 

Another question that some of y’all have asked is when to come over/how to interact with us. 

I will tell you that Patrick and I will have the first week covered- My mama will be in town after the baby is born. So for the first week do not worry about feeling the need to come over and do anything but say hello and love on baby Peringer.

For those of you who we normally welcome into our home to do laundry, if you could give us the first two weeks to adjust and free up the washer and dryer for my mama and papa, that would be amazing. 

As far as after that, here are some Please Do’s and Please Don’ts:

• Yes, please come over! I know myself and prolonged alone time is not good for me. It helps me be a better human being and doubtless will help me be a better mama to have people over to interact with.

• Please check in with me (nichole) or Patrick, via text, before coming over. More likely than not I will swing open the door wide in your welcome but there is just no way of knowing in the beginning how things are going to go. I make a promise to keep my phone close/on/nearby me at all times. :p

      * Yes, please wash your hands before holding baby.

• Yes, please bring us a meal AND check to see if we would be available to eat with y’all! I would love to not have all of our friends feel like they have to drop off something and run. Ask to spend time with us.

• Yes, please come over- to do the dishes/laundry/vacuum (if the baby is awake)/clean the bathroom/Tidy up/ run errands/ etc...

• Some important information about chores:
• The water is ridiculously hot, be careful not to scold yourself.
• Please dry whatever is washed and please put away. If you don’t know where something goes, you can place it on the kitchen table and we will get to it later.
• The Dish Strainer is under the sink.We normally just place the dishes on a clean towel.
• Clean Towels are in the dish cabinet- first drawer on the right. 
• We vacuum instead of sweep- we do not own a dust pan.
• I will put a note on the washer and dryer with instructions about washing our clothes/diapers. 
• All cleaning supplies are under kitchen sink.

• Yes, please come over for an hour or so while baby is sleeping in the evening so mama and papa can go out for a walk/get a soda/ feel human again.

• Yes, please write us notes of encouragement/bring us flowers/ or Oreos/pray for us when you see us. I’m sure we’re going to feel at times out of our minds. 

• Please do not avoid us because you think we ‘need space!’ We don’t have the plague, we have a baby. The only thing you might catch from coming over is baby fever, because our bebe is going to be ridiculously cute. ;)

• Please understand that when we seem inflexible to change times for an activity, it’s not because we are sticks in the mud but because we’re trying to place little, baby Peringer on a schedule. 

We love y’all so much.