A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Or could it simply be an oncoming train like the one that is parked outside of our house? I don't think I've ever mentioned that we are an official train stopping place. Whether it's Amtrak, Union Pacific or some other line, it seems that many trains find the tracks outside of our home quite cozy and, thus, they stop here regularly - at least one per day - and just idle. This is, at times, rather annoying. Today it isn't really bothering me (of course, it has only been there for a few minutes at this point - if it's still there in a half hour the verdict may change), but it did seem to fit with the post title I chose. I suppose I should get onto business, though.

I'm contemplating if maybe, just maybe, I'm breaking on through to the other side of morning sickness. This is the beginning of week 11 pregnancy-wise and I haven't really felt too bad...even the heartburn issue seems to be at least somewhat under control. I'll keep you posted on whether or not we're truly out of the woods.

I have been a lot hungrier (feeling) the past couple of days which is tricky because what I'm wanting can basically be summed up as "anything with sugar." And, yet, I am a savvy preggie princess (just came up with that one this minute - I'm sure someone else has thought of it before but whatever!) and know that gorging oneself on sugary goods during pregnancy serves to make one blow up like a balloon, causes one's baby to crave nutritional sustenance and puts one at risk for gestational diabetes. My answer to all three of these possibilities - a polite "no thank you."

So, I am doing my very best to steer myself toward "healthier" goodies like dried apples that we got at Costco that have this ascorbic acid stuff on them (since I love sour stuff I wish there was more of it!), popcorn made in the Alton Brown fashion with coconut oil and butter which is just heavenly, apples (I just discovered today that despite my protests to Mark last night about how I really could just do without apples in general that he was right - I do still like Granny Smiths...even without caramel dip), fruit juice and string cheese. So, I'm doing okay, if not perfectly, I guess...

In other news, we are having a Christmas party again this year. The invite list is going to be huge this time around because we're planning more of an Open House style party. Since I'm in charge of parties around here, I decided that this format would be a bit easier on me. I have some great goodies in store for our guests - all of which I am not allergic to because, well, there's no sense taunting me with food that I can't have anymore than I am by just turning on the TV or walking down the street (I hate that KFC is all over the news today - I could soooo go for a crispy strip with or without the transfats! This is actually pretty amazing because the thought of eating chicken as of late has been rather unpleasant...that and lettuce are definitely on my "I'd rather not eat it" list). Back to the party food, most of the items can be made in advance making things even less stressful and time consuming.

As for activities, I'm contemplating giving attendees the opportunity of a lifetime. You'll totally think I'm being Tom Sawyer here (well, maybe not if you know me well enough), but I'm actually contemplating letting them help decorate our Christmas tree. What on earth is so special about this? Well, let's just put it this way - last year I made myself (yes, made myself) let Mark help me with decorating the Christmas tree...and I made myself not move every ornament that he hung afterward (I'll admit...I did move a few). That sounds bad, I know, but I am *psycho* about decorating my Christmas tree. There is a right way and a wrong way to decorate and, naturally my very systematic and neurotic method is the right one. ;) I think it was good of me to take that leap last year...I'll admit that it did make the tree feel more like "our" tree and less like "my" tree...even if most of the ornaments are still mine. Speaking of ornaments, let me just say my mom rocks and bought each of her children at least one ornament every year of our lives so that by the time we moved out we would have enough to decorate a tree - I plan to carry on this tradition with the sweet pea! :)

So anyhow, that's kind of what's been happening in our little abode...just a couple more days until I start my new job. That should provide some interesting blogging material. I hope you are all having a fabulous week!

Week 10 Pictures

So, apparently, the pictures are willing to load now after a quick break from the Blogger site. Yea! I must work on my patience...

Anyhow, here is your first view of yesterday's photo session. The little pea looks a bit more like a peanut in this picture, doesn't he/she? You can see a little wave on top there and his/her head is on the left and bum is on the right. What a cutie, huh? Well, okay, I'm a bit partial.




And here is the totally cute second shot. You can catch a glimpse of a little footsie there on the left and you can see (can't you?) that the little one has rolled over onto his/her tummy. This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever...it's just so totally adorable. Again, I'm a bit partial and a little more than silly over our little one!

This is the shot where the doctor to the "crown to rump" measurement. As you can maybe see if you squint, the little sprout is 37mm in length now...almost two whole inches across which equates to 10 weeks and 4 days...which is right one with our little counter to the left that said yesterday - you guessed it! 10 weeks and 4 days. So, I think even though the doctor finally gave me my due date yesterday and it was a day later, I'm sticking with the one I originally calculated since we're right on the money and since these things are rarely right on the money anyhow! :)

I guess that is about it for this short post....as it should be since I blogged your eyes off earlier. Have a fabulous rest of your weekend!

Miscellaneous Topics of Interest - A Very Long Post!

So, I didn't get around to posting about the true after-effects of the doughnuts the other day. Let's just say that it wasn't so much of a victory. They made me pretty sick after all...I just can't win for losing, can I?

My theory is that the oil temperature on the recipe was a bit low and so instead of just frying in the oil, the lovely little doughnuts became saturated with the stuff. It was two days of pure unpleasantness as my stomach just didn't seem to want to give up on making me feel just wretched. In the end, I actually threw the whole batch in the trash, but that wasn't before I tried to wick some of the oil out of the little buggers...after I'd went through about 3 rounds of sopping paper towels, I decided it was a lost cause. C'est la vie.

I'm tempted to try this doughnut experiment again (with an oil temperature of about 25 degrees higher or so), but I have to admit I'm a wee bit scared about that! But, we can't let the doughnuts win, can we? If they work out maybe I'll feature some little donut puffs at our Christmas party this year...which I think we're going to have but I really need to work on plotting it out if so! :) I'm guessing that will be a task for today.

In other bittersweet news, Mark's grandmother has passed away. It happened a few days ago. We're sad that she won't be able to meet her great grandchild in person, but we know she will be here watching over all of us. She is already greatly missed - she was a very special lady who had a fabulous life. :)

For today, besides contemplating the Christmas party, other tasks will include looking through the book of Hawaiian names that Mark wants me to check out. I figure since he's pretty much told me that I can choose our little one's name (I do plan on bringing him into the process so that I'm not making a unilateral decision - I don't feel that's exactly right!) the least I can do is consider the names in Hawaiian that I like to add to the list of names that have been pulled out of a couple of online baby name sites. I have about 9 each of male and female names at this point which I really like. Mark thought most of them were good as well so we have a start.

As for using a Hawaiian name (probably as the middle name of our little one), I'm not sure I'm excited about it. There are sooo many names that have special meaning to me, but other than one particular Hawaiian name (okay two if you count Mark's middle name, but for the most part we've decided we're not going to name our children after ourselves), none of them really have special meaning for me so far. I also just have an issue with picking names that will be misprounounced, mispelled or butchered and since I can't pronounce most of the names, I have to admit I'm a bit worried! With a name like MeLissa, you can probably guess why...it's abnormal and pretty much everyone I come in contact with has to be gently told that the L is not a mis-spelling. Then we have to go through the whole "so how do you pronounce that?" game. Is is Me - Lissa, Melissa, Ma Lisa, what? I love my name, but the drama that comes with it is sometimes frustrating so I'm kind of trying to shield our little one. :) We'll see what transpires as I make my way through the book...

A related name game consideration at this time is whether or not we should be only considering names which start with an 'M.' Surprisingly, there are quite a few people who seem to think this is the way to go. I can understand the concept, but well, I'm not sold on it. That is not to say that there are no 'M' names in the lists of boys and girls names I'm considering. I have 3 girl's and 1 boy's name that do begin with the fabulous letter. But I'm not a fan of limiting myself and there are a ton of non-M names that I love. Besides that, I remember how silly I thought it was that one of the families I grew up with had everyone in their family with the same first letter in their name....and I don't want to have to roll my eyes at myself. ;) I'm sure we'll figure it all out in the end...

And, now for the part everybody really wants to read and see...the update about our latest visit to the doctor. Naturally, we have more pictures. :) I'm assuming that just like me you've not grown tired of seeing how much the little guy/gal is changing in even a short amount of time. If you are tired of it, please just keep that little fact to yourself! You'll get a bit of a break, I think, for a couple of weeks since our next appointment with the doctor isn't for another four weeks. In two weeks, I get to go get a nuchal translucency scan and a first trimester blood test (which, thankfully, involves a finger prick - yea!). These two tests are used to detect Down syndrome. They tell by measuring the fetus's neck length at week twelve and then checking the blood for certain qualities. It's pretty cool in general.

Speaking of screenings, we're probably not going to pre-screen for aniridia (the eye condition Mark has). A year or so ago, we did discuss the possibility with the genetic counselling department at Stanford. We also discussed the possibility of actually having eggs and sperm combined by the geneticists to ensure that our baby wouldn't have the condition (they can detect the gene when as few as 8 cells are present). We ultimately decided against both of these routes and are leaving matters in God's hands. If our child is born with aniridia, we will ensure that they have the best medical care possible and that they grow up in an environment where they learn that they can accomplish whatever it is they set their mind to. I figure that just having Mark as their daddy will make that pretty clear!

So, aside from all this screen stuff, we watched the little baby on the ultrasound. As you see from the pictures I've posted, he/she is looking more and more like a little human every day. The doctor said he/she looked like a little monkey yesterday - rightly so. He/she (have I mentioned lately that I'm anxious to know where we have a he or she coming so I can stop writing both genders?) was squirming and rolling around the whole time - it was pretty cute. The doctor did actually try to get a glimpse at the baby's sex, but it was still a bit too early to tell and our little sweet pea apparently also got mommy's modesty and just wasn't letting anybody have a look. ;)

Well, as usual, I can't seem to get the pictures to upload - curse you Blogger. I'll try again later....

Victory!!!!

Woo Hoo! I have conquered one of the "issues" that surrounds my pregnancy and allergies. Homer Simpson would be proud and a craving has been foiled without resorting to making myself ill!

I have made doughnuts!!! They're technically more like beignets which I am totally mispelling, but without eggs and without wheat (for those who aren't aware cuz I've had a couple of people ask this recently, regular all-purpose white flour is made of wheat). The only thing I didn't accomplish is making them good for you, but well...you can't everything!

So anyhow, this is today's major accomplishment and after having secured victory and nibbled on a few of the spoils, I'm exhausted and heading off for a nap with my little kitty, Pixie, who probably thinks I've lost my mind given the extreme display of happiness that I participated in after tasting my first doughnut and finding that it was very good! :)

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

Well, after giving everything a good amount of thought and after giving the larger firm I was interviewing with the opportunity to make me an offer, the offer from S&s ended up being the offer I couldn't refuse. I now am slated to start working in their office on November 1. How exciting!

Even better news is I did breech the pregnancy info with them and they are already coming up with viable alternatives so that I can still support us and be at home most of the week with our little one. What will probably happen after the sweet pea is born is that I'll work 3 days per week and have 4 days off total. This makes me feel sooo much better. I was just really upset the past few weeks over not being able to be a stay at home mom. It seriously was tearing me up. Although this is not the perfect situation, it is so much better than the alternative of working 5 days per week and having someone else raise our child. So, with that and all the other wonderful things that come with this firm, I am very pleased with my decision and they are also tickled pink that I'm coming aboard. :)

In other news, please keep Mark's grandmother in your prayers. She's currently in the hospital and not doing the best. She's lived a wonderful life and is tired, but we'd love for her to be here as long as possible. She is truly a special lady.

Finally, to end on a more upbeat note, I suppose I should tell you that our little soiree on Saturday night went beautifully. Mark even received a couple of offers for assistance as far as finding someone to work with once he graduates in Colorado Springs. We are thrilled about this. My dress earned me a few compliments and we made quite a handsome couple.

Shop Till You Drop...

Today was a pretty decent day. We attended a few lectures at Mark's school for their spa days first. With the exception of one recent graduate who is a complete idiot when it comes to accounting and taxes who basically insulted my profession (never guessing, of course, that there was a CPA in the room) by saying that all CPAs who do not have a degree in Tax Law - which frankly most CPAs do not...though we may have a Masters in Taxation are equivalent to H&R Block employees. I was furious to say the least...and had to do everything in my power to not go all postal on him and punch him after the session. I guess I'll just wait until he gets acosted by the IRS for some of the shady things he was suggesting the students do. Then we made our little trip down to San Jose for some shopping (as promised) at Japanese Weekend Maternity.

As I suspected, it was hard to not go a bit crazy in this store! When all was said and done, I left with 2 pairs of pants (both suitable for working), a cute brown (oh my goodness...yet another brown article of clothing in my closet - what is this world coming to? I'm sure my mother would like to know since I wouldn't wear it for years!) lace top with a cami, 2 awesome long skirts that double as strapless dresses. Since these two pieces are reversible, I actually ended up with 8 articles of clothing by buying two...not bad, eh? I also bought one other very lovely red top that will be awesome once I'm breast feeding because it has secret little breast feeding flaps...very very cool all in all. I won't tell you how much I spent, but it was much more than I spent at the Motherhood store the other day...and so terribly worth it! And, as with the Motherhood clothing items - most of what I purchased does not look like maternity wear so I shouldn't have to desert these adorable things once I'm back to my "normal" figure...

In other news, I was innundated with recruiter calls today. Sheesh...these guys really want their commissions. I don't blame them...we all like to get paid. I told the one who's working with the larger firm that I interviewed with yesterday that if they want to ensure that I go with them, give me a salary in the range I've specified and let me telecommute 3 days per week once the baby arrives. I hope they go for it. If so, I will give the other smaller firm the opportunity to match the telecommuting part of the offer and any other disparate features. They may not be able to, but since I really like them I feel it's the right thing to do. If I have to go back with a counter offer, I will be sure to tell them about my impending pregnancy to explain why it is that telecommuting is of utmost importance. If the larger firm doesn't go for the telecommuting, I think I may just go with the smaller firm because I am a little more familiar with their personnel... I may also ask to meet more of the people I'll be working with at the larger. We'll see what course I want to take once I get the second offer.

This weekend we're going to take things a little easy. I'm still having a bit of spotting and we want to make sure I don't overdo it - even thought the doctor said everything was okay, it seems that being cautious isn't a bad thing! So, rather than go to the expo tomorrow as planned, we're going to hang out here and then tomorrow night we'll go to our little dinner dance thing for the school. I'm going to wear one of the dresses I bought today - I can't wait to show them off. :) I still need to pick an outfit out for Mark. We may be a bit underdressed, but I think everyone will understand...and if they don't we'll just tell them that Mark picked out what we were going to wear! ;)

A Bit of a Scare...But All's Well That Ends Well

We had a bit of a scare this afternoon, but not to worry. I had some spotting and a few little mild cramps and so I called my mom (since I couldn't get a hold of Mark) who suggested, wisely, that I should give my doctor a call. I did so and was told I should make my way over to their office. Since it was almost closing time, I was a wee bit scared to say the least!

On the way, I stopped by the school to pick up Mark since I defintiely didn't want to go through something like this by myself. I think he has a lot of classmates that are going to be dying to get details tomorrow since I looked a bit panicked and even let out a few tears at one point.

Once the doctor was able to get in and do an ultrasound we were able to see that all was well. The little one's heart was a beating and he/she was even waving a little bit...especially when I chuckled because his/her little hand was so cute. :) Our cutie pie is still growing strong, too - today he/she is 28mm which equates to a bit over an inch long. The coolest part of the visit, though, is we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was pretty cool sounding and very special since daddy Mark could actually enjoy one of the parts of our visit! :)

And, of course, we have more pictures because, well, we just love sharing pictures even if a lot of our faithful readers can't figure out what they're looking at.

So here's picture number one. In this one you can see a little wave toward the top of the little baby blob. Cute isn't it? :)


Here's picture number 2 which also kind of shows off the a little arm or two. As you can maybe see, we're looking more and more human all the time!

So, yes...all's well that ends well! Baby and mommy are doing just fine. Baby's little home just happens to be right near mommy's cervix which is probably why there was a wee bit of bleeding. We may have a little more due to its placement but they're keeping a good watch on me. Our next visit is on the 27th of October...

In other news, I had a fabulous interview with the other accounting firm today. I should be receiving an offer from them soon, too. I'm kind of excited about maybe working the offer with this one so that I can telecommute several days out of the week which would allow me to work but also stay home with the little lovie that is on the way. I'll wait to see what they offer originally and then see if we can add it to a counter-offer. I'll keep you all updated!

Shopping

After putting on an outfit for my interview Tuesday and noticing that the pants fit perfectly at my waist (which they never should - one of the tricks of this tall woman is to buy pants that are a size too big so that I can push them down further on my hips to give me length without having to redo the hem!) and that my jacket was a wee bit tight, I decided to be proactive. Rather than wait until the last minute when I woke up and nothing in my closet fit, I decided to buy a few things to wear once I have that little baby bump look going on.

Today's shopping trip was pretty fun, frustrating at times (but then, when you're picky about what you'll wear and you're trying to keep from just screaming "I'm pregnant!" to the world with your outfits, it's bound to happen), but overall very satisfying. Since I didn't feel like driving to San Jose today, this was not so much of a splurge shopping trip. That we'll probably be having on Friday...when Mark will have the pleasure of accompanying me to Japanese Weekend's store on Santana Row. I figure every mom-to-be deserves to indulge a little and since I received a job offer yesterday (haven't decided to accept or decline yet, but I'll probably accept) I have double the reason to buy myself a couple of nice things, right? Maybe I even have triple the reason since I noticed they're having a sale right now! :o)

So, today's trip was to Motherhood Maternity at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton. I ended up having great luck - pretty much everything I liked was on sale. There was only one top that was not, but it was so cute that I had to get it. Now you can call me silly, but I was really looking for some cute clothes that would possibly make it as "normal" clothes as well. I have no issues with wearing maternity clothes if they don't scream "pregnant woman coming through!" and most of what I found counts, I think...though, post pregnancy one or two of them will need a little tweaking perhaps. We'll see if I still want them in my closet since my selection of clothing is going to probably be somewhat limited over the next few months.

At any rate, I ended up with 4 tops and 2 skirts. I didn't have any luck with slacks, but since when I was having hormonal issues a couple of years ago I purchased a few pairs of jersey maternity pants from Target (which I'm always getting compliments on...he he!) I'm not totally sunk in that area. I figure I'll see if I can find some at the JW store or at the expo I'm going to on Saturday where they're supposed to have a bunch of gently used clothes from places like the Gap, JW, etc.

In other job news, I have a second interview with the other, larger accounting firm today. I will see if they have anything that excites me greatly. So far, I've felt pretty lukewarm, but maybe since I'll be meeting some actual tax people rather than HR people, things will improve. This will probably be the deciding factor as far as whether I take the aforementioned job offer or not. I'll keep you posted, of course...

When Medications Make You Worse...

So, some good news and some bad news today...we'll start with the bad, of course! The doctor gave me that Rx for prevacid this past visit to help with heartburn issues, right? (As an aside, I haven't had heartburn for soooo long since I stopped eating all my allergy foods and it has been so pleasant!) Well, unfortunately, said medication comes with some side effects and yours truly, having the sensitive constitution that I have, is experiencing some of them - or was. The added nausea and "other" symptoms were so awful that I stopped taking it. I figured I'd clear it out of the old system and then start taking it every other day. Apparently, everything was cleared out yesterday...misery is back. So, today I took another dose of the meds and hopefully I'll be able to experience some relief.

Onto the good news - it's a two-parter since I just received an email that confirmed a "suspicion" I was having. So, the first is that I have a follow-up interview this afternoon with S&S (the firm I'm all into) to meet one of their managers and one of my peers. I'll also be spending a wee bit of time with one of the partners before I head out the door. The possibility that an offer will be tendered today is there...so maybe I'll have even better news than before. I'm really looking forward to this interview.

The second piece of good news is the other larger accounting firm I was interviewing with also let me know this morning (after I finally got a thank you note out to them - I was interviewed last Friday so it is within reasonable time limits, but I usually like to send them right away...just wasn't feeling so hot Friday due to the whole prevacide situation) that they want to do a second interview as well. This interview will be in their Walnut Creek office as well so it looks like I will be working in Walnut Creek regardless of where I plan to go. At least location is removed as one of the deciding factors! I don't mind too terribly...I really like Walnut Creek. If we could have lived in that area, I would have been thrilled, but it would have been such a pain for Mark and school. Hayward isn't that bad in all honesty, but Walnut Creek has more of the same feel as Colorado and we always like the familiar right?

November 1

May be the beginning of a beautiful partnership. I had a fabulous interview today with S&S and am pretty sure they will be the lucky employer that gets to make use of my talents. They are very generous with compensation and understand that I'm going to need a little time to get up to speed. As an added bonus, their least busy time (as is the case in most CPA firms) is from mid-May to the beginning of August which is very important given that a certain little someone is planning to arrive in late May.

I do have another interview tomorrow with a larger firm and will be hearing very soon about interviewing with the other corporation that I just had the phone interview with yesterday. This firm has set the bar high with their benefits of employment so these other two are going to have to really wow me to lure me away. Here's what this particular firm has to offer:

• a small, close-knit environment...just the kind of firm I've always felt most comfortable in
• generous compensation in the form of a standard salary, paid out tax season overtime, as well as a discretionary tax season bonus
• the ability to bank up to 80 hours of tax season overtime as added vacation
• 17 paid days off (for sick leave or vacation) after 6 months of employment
• the usual holidays (minus things like MLK Jr. day & President's Day) plus an extra day off to recover the day after tax season concludes
• Semi-flexible work hours (be in by 9 a.m. and they're happy campers)
• casual Fridays (including jeans!)
• Paid medical, dental and vision for me...Mark is a bit extra
• Oh, and did I mention I'd have an office with a door again because I got the sense that that is a possibility. Woo hoo!

So anyhow, there are lots of benefits to this firm and the two partners and I hit it off very well. They've indicated that they'll get back to me next week through the recruiter I'm dealing with and I would be shocked if an offer wasn't coming my way that is quite difficult to refuse. :)

I'll keep you all posted....

What a Lucky Duck!

They're going to ban us from Chamber of Commerce meetings. It's true.

The reason? Mark is too lucky! For those not familiar with his history, Mark has always been a lucky guy. My first experience with it was on our first trip to Las Vegas (which wasn't terribly lucky for me, but we'll just not go there) where Mark won $1,195 playing a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Very cool. Since then, he's stayed true to form bringing me fun little moments of wonder!

At our first Chamber meeting which happened last month, Mark won me a little Bank of the West bear. I was thrilled! For those of you not familiar with our guest room, let me just let it be known that I have a slight "addiction" to stuffed animals. I had seen these cute little bears when we walked into the bank where that mixer was held and thought "oh I want one!" What a good hubby to bring one home, huh?

Well, tonight at this month's mixer which was fun as well, I had a look at the door prizes available just for kicks. I like looking at stuff because I am always looking for ideas for gifts we might need to get for others. There was only one basket that seemed of interest to me...it had a few movies and a bottle of wine in it. Wouldn't you know that when the basket came up to be won, Mark's business card was drawn again! Very very cool! So, we have a nice collection of movies to watch which is great since we are spending rather calm nights lately.

Now as far as this recent string of luck goes, Mark thinks maybe the little baby started it all. :)Sounds good to me!

Persistence

If nothing else, I am definitely persistent and it appears to have paid off. Here's a picture of the pea, the sprout or whatever you'd like to call it from yesterday's ultrasound. Since he/she is a bit bigger now (and since this picture has some good magnification going on), I'll try to direct you a bit better as far as where to look and what you're looking at.

So, in the middle of the picture you see this dark half circle thingie...right about it is the baby kind of looking like a little blob. His/her (man, I can't wait until we find out whether we're having a boy or a girl so I can use one pronoun!) little head is on the left side (look for the plus sign like I mentioned in the last post) and the little bum is on the left side. Use your imagination and you can kind of see that we do have a rather human-looking being here now. :) Still just not getting it? Well, there will be other ultrasounds....and as we go along here our little one will look more and more like a little baby and sooner or later, I have faith, you'll be able to make out all the major features. :)

Now finally, in case you're not up on your metric measurements (as I'm not), I have pulled out my handy dandy ruler that has both inches and centimeters so I can tell you that 2 weeks ago the baby was a bit shy of 1/4 inch in size...about the size of a little pea hence the nickname. :) Now it's just shy of about 3/4 of an inch (which is pretty impressive if you think about it!) or about the size, let's say, of a rather plump raspberry. I'm not sure I mentioned in my post yesterday that this is great news that we have a healthy little grower like this. It means it's about 90% sure that the pregnancy is viable. The only hurdle left is making it past trimester 1...which is only one month away (thank goodness - this morning, noon and night sickness is killer!).

Still Growing!

We had our follow-up appointment with the OB today for the sweet pea. We're happy to report that s/he is doing well and growing! And, we're happy to share the latest photo of the little tyke! Yeah, it's still hard to see anything (especially since blogger, wretched blogger, isn't letting me upload anything - WAH!!!), I know. Sorry. But, there is now a head and bum...the head is to the left (marked by the plus sign on the life) and the bum is on the right (marked by the other plus sign). As far as the actual increase in size - in a mere two weeks our little one has grown from 6 mm to 19mm! The doctor was quite pleased about this!

Other things we learned at the appointment are that we can travel up until February 1...then we're cut off and need to stay around here. That's pretty exciting since it means we can go home for Christmas. I also am free to travel to the seminar that is in Colorado in the middle of November, but because going home at Christmas time is more important to me, I think I may forego this jaunt to bargain for another couple of days during the holidays. Depending on where I am working, it won't be a big deal.

We also found out some things that should help with some of the unpleasantries of pregnancy that I've been experiencing. I'll spare you the details beyond that. We've also been given the go ahead to do up to 30 minutes of whatever kind of exercise I want to...which means I am going to start working on being a lean, mean, baby carrying machine! ;)

Other than that, on the job search front, I have three interviews this week. Two are with CPA firms and one is with a company that offers telecommuting for its employees (I would love this job since it would mean I could probably work my schedule so I could be home for most days after the baby arrives). I'm still waiting to hear back regarding Mervyn's to whom I'm being presented by another recruiter. I also have a few other companies out there that I've been introduced to and haven't heard back on. All in all, the hunt seems to be going well.

As for the wedding business, it is in a bit of a lull. I have a difficult time putting energy into things that I can't really do much with (don't we all?). I have a few clients I need to follow up with, but to be honest, I've kind of been slacking on this. I guess now that I have what I've been wanting for quite some time (a baby in the belly!), my need for excitement has waned a bit. Who knows. At least in a few short months I will have the pleasure of assuming the most important role (in my not so humble opinion) any woman can assume...that of mother!

On a final note, Mark has renamed the pea to the sprout. I'm sticking with pea for now...I like it. :)

Pixie's Ponderings...

Pixie here....

MeLissa, my loyal typing, food and most importantly, pet slave has, thanks to Meankitty's typing slave, realized that *I* am who this family revolves around and that you all are seriously feeling deprived and depressed about not having an update about or from me for months! The shame of it all. Let's hope she behaves better in the future...if not, maybe I'll just have to find out how one makes morning sickness, whatever that is, last for 9 months (perhaps Meankitty knows...).

So enough about all this...let's talk about me shall we? I have been having a fabulous year, my friends. It's been several months since the demon (aka Banshee) vacated the premises. I finally have mom and dad all to myself again...and mom's even been home a lot for the past few months so I've been getting pet and tended to throughout the day. I'm finally being treated like royalty. Life is perfect.

I have heard, though, talk of a couple of things which I'm not terribly thrilled about. Until they actually happen, I'll assume it's all talk. First, there has been talk of a DOG joining our household at some point. Hello?! What are you thinking? A Dog? Ewww. Should this happen, I refuse to come out from under the couch until said ruffian is banished to the garage or sent away...

And, then my humans have been all happy and buzzing about some other thing they say is coming to live with us. It's referred to as "the baby, the pea, the sweet pea" and other stupid names. I don't like the sound of it. MeLissa keeps making stupid comments about how she's always wanted to be the pregnant lady with a cat on her lap and keeps making comments to me about how I better enjoy all the room I have there to roll around in ecstacy while she pets me because it won't be there forever. She's crazy. That's my assessment. She doesn't strike me as the kind to go on an eating binge...especially since recently she doesn't seem to want to eat much of anything and when she does she whines about how her tummy is feeling. She probably just needs some catnip or some tuna. That seems to fix everything for me.

Speaking of tuna, I have been introduced to its yummy goodness by Mark, but after introducing me to this stuff, he's been quite a pill. I implore him to give me my share and what do I get in return? Water droplets. Sorry dude...I don't get the connection. Just give me the tuna and I'll stop whining. Which reminds me...it's sure been a long time since we've had tuna (MeLissa's note - because it stinks!!! I can't handle it!)...

I have other tales to tell, but this post is getting lengthy and, frankly, I don't wish to relive the experience I had the other evening. Let's just say I was tortured because I was scooting my bum across the floor. It's not myyyy fault that certain glands of mine don't work as they should. They seem to work fine now, though...thanks Mark for fixing my "issue" - you kitty molester you.

Hope everyone is doing well...I think I'll go make MeLissa pet me again. Or perhaps we'll play some more ball. We've had a grand day today while the Enforcer (Mark) has been away.

Update...

In terms of an update, first things first. I will be ignoring all future cravings that involve allergy foods. The chili tasted great but it was quite evil. C'est la vie!

As for the job search, things are coming along. I have an interview next week with a CPA firm in Walnut Creek and there are a couple of other interviews also possible. I'll keep you all posted on how things are going.

Other than that, we've been busy this week with various things. Mark is learning how to use the internet and seems to be enjoying his first week of the new quarter. I've met with a few different wedding-related vendors (despite the fact that I am not sure where I plan to go with my business now that we have a little one on the way). I'll probably keep things pretty low key until January when I have one final bridal show. I am thinking I will basically just start being very selective about who I "hire" as my clients. With a full-time job I will be able to serve as many or as few clients as I want. I do really like that aspect of returning to corporate life.

Not too much else is going on so this will be a very short post today. We will be going for our first official OB appointment on Monday so hopefully we'll have some new news to share about our little pea (who is probably closer to the size of a raspberry by now) and how he/she is doing.

My First Craving...

Which is, of course, something I shouldn't be eating has taken over my body. I MUST HAVE CHILI. Must, must, must!!! And lest I forget...said chili must be accompanied by real fritos (corn tortilla chips just aren't going to do it tonight my friends!) and by cheese...and lots of it.

Now what is the likelihood that the very first food that I absolutely *had* to have (to the point that I was actually considering how yummy eggs and chili would be if combine and hamburgers and french fries...oh yeah, I have it bad) is something that has oh, about 4 or 5 allergy foods in it? Chili powder, garlic, onions (these last three are coming purely from the chili powder...I didn't add any additional garlic and onions trying to at least behave a little) and, of course, tomatoes in two forms (tomato sauce and diced canned tomatoes).

Well, at least I'm approaching it from a semi-smart stance. As I mentioned, I removed all the extra onion and what not. I also diluted the tomato sauce (what good that will do who knows...but it sounded like a good idea at the time). But the really smart moves I made? I took a Claritin and I took a dose of my preventative asthma medicine (advair) because otherwise I will be basically in big trouble. I may be anyhow.

Note to Sweet Pea: Try to make future cravings things your mommy isn't allergic to...because breathing is good and when mommy can't breathe, you can't breathe!

Note to Chili: Please go easy on us, will ya? I mean, come on, I'm pregnant here....do you actually expect me to say no to one of my favorite foods when I crave it and I'm pregnant? Please! ;)

In other non-pregnancy news, I have two mini-interviews tomorrow with recruiters. I know one of them from a prior job search - he's a goodie. The other is a new one but seems like a nice guy. I'll be treking into the city and I might just make a little stop by good ol' PG&E to say howdy. If you're a PG&E-er and want a visit, put your request in prior to noon and I might just grant your wish! ;)

Happy October and The Pea's First Blessing...

We went to church today - the first time since we learned our little pea was with us. It's possible that the pea was with us on other church outings, but this was his/her introduction day and the first day she/he received a little blessing. Oh how it warmed my little heart!

We announced our "news" during the thanksgiving portion of the ceremony. I let Mark do the talking. Everyone was, of course, thrilled to hear (we even were applauded!). Then during communion, I went up for my typical blessing (since I'm allergic to wheat, communion bread or wafers are kind of off limits) and the priest made sure to extend the little blessing to the pea...very sweet and very worth remembering (hence, it's in the record now!).

Other than that, today is a rather nondescript day so far....the day is young!

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!