Preggie Pops

I now have them within my possession. They're not bad. They actually even fit into my allergy profile (which is amazing in and of itself). As far as their ability to quell morning sickness (which, by the way, has calmed down ever so slightly), I'm not sure how effective they'll be. They do pretty well at meeting their claims of curing dry mouth...they definitely make you salivate. They're quite tasty, too (based soley on the one I've eaten which was actually a lemon flavored "Preggie Drop").

Now I do have to relay one concern should anyone else who's expecting decide to try these little goodies. My concern - one of the Preggie Pops is peppermint flavor and includes some amount of peppermint essential oil (all the flavorings seem to be essential oils...perhaps the reason they may calm the tummy?). For those who aren't "in the know," peppermint can increase the risk of miscarriage. So, I might just save that pop for post pregnancy (or the delivery room...if you're delivering, it seems like you're probably safe from miscarriage, right?). At any rate, just keep it in mind.

While on our Preggie Pop mission (which was at Babies R Us), we did have a look at some cribs and other implements so we can think about what it is we're going to want for our new little family member. Since there is some possibility that we'll move back to Colorado soon, we want to pick furniture that moves easily. Since we don't have a lot of space in our current living arrangement (the baby's room will probably be a corner in our room so that grandparents and others who want to visit the little one will have a place to stay), we're also looking for smart solutions that will allow us to make good use of our space rather than stub our toes regularly. :)

Other than that, we took a huge load of stuff to Goodwill today. The new little guy/girl is a great motivator to start clearing out some things that we've been on the fence about whether we want to keep or not. I alone got rid of probably 4 bags of clothing....and amazingly, we don't have much under our bed now. Hee hee!

Last little tidbit for today - strawberries. Frozen ones that have been thawed. We bought a big bag last week at Costco and we've (that means primarily me) have eaten almost half the bag. So, you can add frozen strawberries to my list of "can't get enough of them!" foods. On the other hand, bacon is on the "ewww" list. Also on this list is hamburger which hasn't been rinsed. The cow that we bought at the beginning of the summer is pretty lean so we usually just cook it and go from there...that is no longer allowed.

We hope you're all having a great weekend!

Morning, Noon & Night Sickness...

If only this took the place of the temper tantrums, the terrible twos and adolescent attitude...but alas, the challenges of parenting only begin with "morning" sickness which is more of a 24/7 ordeal it seems. At this very moment, I'm in one of the worst waves of the day so forgive me if poor grammar plagues this post.

Yes, I am definitely in full sickies mode...without, knock on wood, the need to pray to any porcelin idols in the bathroom. As is the case for many moms-to-be, I have been given many tips on how to help myself through this time. Because I know a few moms-to-be stop by here, I'll share!

First up - the things I'm plan to try or have tried but haven't yet decided on their effectiveness:

• Frozen red grapes sans skins - Supposedly you just nibble on them like a squirrel. I've had a couple and they're quite tasty, but I don't know about their effectiveness yet. This came from one of the doctors at Mark's school.
• Preggie Pops - a tip from Angela. These are available at Babies R Us and must work given who recommended them. I have nothing to complain about after hearing about Angela's morning sickness - 4 trips to the hospital and 14 lbs. lost - ay carumba!
• Ginger Tea - I tried this back in the "false" pregnancy days. It's vile to me since I'm not a fan of straight ginger, but I'll probably give it another chance anyhow. It can't hurt. This came from the doctor who is responsible for the false pregnancy problems (he's been fired, of course) and so it's lower on my list of options.
• Tortilla Chips - a substitute for saltines suggested by mom. Tried these with the false thing but haven't tried them really since we've been truly pregnant.

Second on the list - Things I Think I'll Pass On:

• Seaweed - Anyone who knows me knows this just isn't going to happen. The smell alone will ruin my record as far as "praying" goes.
• Flat Soda - We don't drink soda very often anyhow. The ginger ale I have been drinking isn't flat, but the bubbles seem to help ever so slightly.
• Saltines - This is always the first recommendation out of every person's mouth...but I'm allergic to wheat so they aren't a good choice. :)

Next Up - Things That Seem to Work for Me

• Ginger ale - I've not decided between cold or warm, but it seems to calm the angry stomach quite well.
• Oatmeal cookies - yep...believe it or not, one cookie has done wonders on several occasions...more than one usually cancels some of the benefit. We're out. I need to make more and plan to do so with a bit less sugar to try to up their healthy quotient.
• Fruit - strawberries and peaches seem to be the favorites right now.
• Eating small meals - this one isn't a food, but it has been very helpful. I eat a little somethihg about every 1 to 2 hours (not much at all!) and it seems to keep things a bit less grumpy...

And now, because it's rather amusing to me, the foods which I normally go gaga over that taste less than stellar:

• chocolate - say it isn't so!!!
• toast with cream cheese - even adding cherry jam made no difference
• dried apricots - vile to the highest degree
• pizza - which is not like the pizza most of you eat, but nonetheless it was a favorite and is not simply tolerated
• green olives - they taste like campho phenique. They are vile. And, they used to be snack food.
• sugar - amazingly anything with too much in it is less than appealing.

Finally, a list of foods I simply can't get enough of:

• cottage cheese - we bought some on Sunday and had to buy more yesterday which is unheard of.
• cucumber - I never grow tired of these - it's too bad they aren't more nutrient filled.
• chicken broth with chicken, rice and peas - of all the combinations, this is a favorite...soothing, soup-like (I miss the days when Campbell's was an option), easy on the tummy and very comforting

I'm sure there will be more revelations such as these as we go along....and now it's time for a nap while I can still take them.

I don't think I've mentioned that I'm probably going to be returning to the corporate world quite soon. The doctor wants me to take it easy and devote more time to things like accounting and what not rather than running all over for weddings and the like. The wedding and event business is still up and running, but it will be sort of "on hold" until probably September of next year. I'm ramping down a bit.

What is funny is Mark and I had decided prior to even going to the doctor or even suspecting that I was "with child" that I would try to rejoin Safeway since he's doing well and we believed it would be good fiscal policy for us. I even called my old boss on Sunday evening...so we'll see what happens, but hopefully they will let me return very soon! If not, I suppose I'll have to find another position that I can assume that will be low stress...but hopefully, everything will work out with this.

We're Expecting!!

We just received some terrific and exciting news today! It was a big (or maybe we should say little) surprise to us. Yeah, I had missed my monthly, but since I'd also made some changes to my medications, I figured that and the tiredness were all due to that. How wrong we were!

Here's our cute little sweetpea. I had the pleasure of seeing its little heartbeat flutter yesterday...it truly is the cutest little pea I've ever seen. Look in between the pluses to see the little tyke!

The doctor estimates we're about 6 1/2 weeks along and using that little (and rather inaccurate calculator thingie), our due date is approximately May 21, 2007. We look forward to bringing you many more updates as our little pea grows into a nice healthy little boy or girl!

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?

Wow - it's been more than 2 weeks since I've provided an update! Does that tell you how busy we've been here in the Rocco household?

At any rate, let's see if I can bring you back up to speed on all that's transpired over the past couple of weeks (the good stuff, of course!). But before I do, I think I owe you a few things like pictures. But, of course, the photo feature on blogger is giving me grief again so we'll resort to the easier to upload quickly (and so you'll get more pictures in the end anyhow!). Go here for pictures of my new hair do which are included in wedding pictures from Jackie and Jason's day, pictures of my lemons of which I am terribly proud (and they're way bigger than in that picture, a picture of Mark at his clinic entrance ceremony and pictures of my recent booths. Unfortunately, you don't get to see the final rose booth yet because I spaced bringing my camera with me to the show, but hopefully one of the people who took some for me will come through....

So - onto the recap. We left you with details that we were going to have a party for Mark after all. It was a fun time! I made a yummy (yes, I did eat a piece - and I paid for it for days!) spice cake with maple frosting. YUM. For such short notice we had a pretty decent turn out and everyone was so sweet and brought Mark a little card or gift. Very thoughtful indeed. This all happened on Friday night (Sept. 8).

Now earlier that day, I had a pretty thrilling experience (in the good kind of thrilling way). I now have a way to get flowers at wholesale for my clients. If you looked at the pictures from my shows, you've seen some of my work. That's about as good as it gets folks. I can do simple arrangements.

At any rate, earlier that day, I bought about 200 roses (which was thrilling in and of itself!). Unfortunately, as we well know, every rose has thorns (or at least they do when you buy them wholesale). So, I had the pleasure of dethorning all 200! It actually went pretty well once I figured out how to use the dethorning tool I bought. The roses were a big hit at the show, too...especially for the 7 people who signed up for appointments to discuss their event with me. Very cool! These 7 people actually represent 10 events. My first meeting with one is this coming Thursday and I'm very excited because the bride I'm meeting is a total sweetheart! Hopefully everything will work out better than they have with another bride I've been talking to.

She's in Germany right now (as is her fiance) with the AF, but is getting married in ND. Her budget, was, I thought enough to accommodate my services, but after doing some checking, it became clear that it simply wouldn't work out. I told her I would try to work something out with her, but I haven't heard back. I took about a week to play with numbers and see if I could make things go, but to no avail. C'est la vie. On another bummer note, the bride I was supposed to meet on Mark's birthday ended up being a no-show. I haven't heard from her either....I may follow up again, but I don't want to be too pesky.

On the night of Mark's birthday we went to a Talent and Treasure auction at our church. Last I heard, about $9000 was raised that night. We played our part with the gift certificates we offered. Mine was won by a dear lady whom I adore. She and her husband are contemplating what they'd like to do with their certificate - whether to use it to plan a party or a vow renewal. Either will be a blast! :) We're not sure who won Mark's certs yet.

We didn't end up winning anything in the auction, but we only bid on one thing and another lady really wanted it so that's cool. We truly didn't need to be spending $$ anyhow...but it was for a 2 night stay at the Embassy Suites in So. Tahoe and we thought it might be a nice little getaway during his break. As things are shaping up, we might not have been able to go then anyhow!

On Sunday was the first of three bridal shows in a row for me. I have 10 possible events from this show to discuss over the next few months with people. Very exciting stuff...especially since every one of these people actually wants to hear from me. It's nice to call and find someone receptive on the other end!

On Monday, Mark's dad and brother celebrated their birthdays (kind of a bummer to be born on 9-11, but hopefully they had good days despite the tragic things that happened a few years ago). I did a little tax work on this day to earn a little $$ and then later that evening had a nice little meeting with a pianist who is trying to increase his wedding and event business. We met at Red Lobster and had a great discussion and I'm now the proud owner of his newest CD. On our way out, I grabbed some dinner for Mark and I - belated birthday fare. He enjoyed his for lunch the next day since I was a little tardy in getting home.

On Tuesday, I attended the networking meeting I've been helping plan. It was a fun time meeting other bridal consultants in the area...even if I did get lost on the way there. The precious (the GPS system I use) sometimes takes you to old locations. *sigh*

Then, on Wednesday night, Mark and I attended both a new member reception and a mixer for the Chamber of Commerce. Mark's luck is always the best. They were having drawings and one was for a cute little Bank of the West bear...he won! I was so happy. Not two seconds before had I said "oh, I want one." So, I now have little Cali the bear in my possession. Some people said I should have wished bigger, but they obviously don't know about my obsession with stuffed animals...

The mixer was great otherwise, though, too. I met a photographer from here in town whom I'm actually meeting today to see if we can work together. It should be a great meeting, I think.

Then, of course Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent doing last minute preparations for my next bridal faire at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. That one went very well also. Everyone adored the mum arrangements I did. In fact, one person told me she now has a new appreciation for just how stunning they can be. I'm glad it was such an outpouring because they took longer than the roses. The biggest compliments I got, though, were from brides who thought at first that I was a florist. Does it get any better? The final talley on this show was another 6 people to speak to about wedding services. It looks like a majority of people are looking for day-of coordination and some are looking for dates earlier next year so that is nice since I'll be able to continue marketing to brides who want summer weddings.

And, now we're finally to this week. Mark has been studying for finals (another quarter is just about done!) and I've been trying to send out a lot of emails to people who attended these past two fairs. We did go to a little function for teachers on Monday as well...

So, as you can see, we've been busy beavers here and that is why you haven't heard from us. I have one more show this weekend and then, hopefully, things will slow down enough that I can catch my breath, but not so much that I'm lacking in things to do. I don't see that every happening again with my little business venture...and since it doesn't feel like I'm actually working, that's just fine with me! :)

Hope everything is going well in your respective locations!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you're all enjoying your 3-day weekend. Mark and I aren't doing much that's out of the ordinary. He's at school laboring away on test reviews while I am at home doing "business stuff." We know you're all jealous. :)

Mark's second board exam is quickly approaching (as is his birthday (see the counter down below on the side bar). I guess we're going to have a little soiree for him (despite his telling me on countless occasions that he didn't want a party for his big 3-0 birthday). So, it's going to be very informal - we're inviting friends to join us on Friday of this week at the O'Hana grill down the street from our house for a dutch-treat birthday dinner. We'll supply the cake and ice cream...and, of course, the birthday boy!

Other than that, on Saturday of next week (Mark's actual birthday if you're doing the match), we plan to attend our church's Talent and Treasure auction. We've even donated a couple of items - 2 hour long massages from Mark and 3 hours of wedding and event consulting from me. Exciting stuff sure to garner at least a few dollars for the church!

On Sunday the 10th, I have my next bridal show. I'm approaching it from a different standpoint and hope it will be a bit more successful than shows past (which haven't been too bad, really). Speaking of shows past, I was supposed to meet with a client this weekend. It has been pushed back to Mark's birthday as well which is just fine. There's another potential prospect I need to get back to as well. At this next fair, my focus will be to schedule as many actual appointments as possible. I have something up my sleeve to at least get them interested in stopping by my booth. ;)

Other than that, I have just been sending out information about my company and it seems to be driving traffic to the website. I've also received a ton of traffic from a wedding planning article that has been published on Wed Plan.net which I've linked the post title to. :) What's super duper about this is that they actually chose my article to send out to brides in their monthly newsletter so now, brides and other vendors from all over the country are learning more about my business. How cool is that? I've even made a few new contacts from it. Pretty neat stuff!

Today it will be more of the same for me...emailing clients and entering more vendors' info into my wedding planning software. It seems that I'm meeting people faster than I can get them in my system, but sooner or later it should start to dwindle. I actually really enjoy the meeting process much more than the inputting so keep them coming! :)

Hope you all have a great week!