Uh Oh...

Well, I guess that bug I caught was a good one. It looks like Mark may have it now. I took today off from work, too, since I still just wasn't quite back to normal. I've finally been able to at least get some food in and staying in the system. Assuming Mark isn't sick, I will probably be find to go back to work tomorrow though I have no idea what I'm going to take to eat because as of yet I really can't handle much food at all.

I just feel really awful though that my Mark is now probably coming down with the bug....especially since it usually takes a pretty decent bug to bring him down.

I wonder where on earth we picked this little gem up...I sure hope it goes away completely by the time my birthday rolls around.

Take your vities people, the bugs are upon us!

Sickie Quickie

Today has been a pretty wretched day. I actually stayed home from work because I can't keep anything down. I must have caught a bug some where, I guess. It's been so long since I had a virus of this sort and this is definitely making up for the lapse of time.

The silver lining - my wonderful husband stayed home to take care of me. Another - it looks like maybe, just maybe, the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen...I hope so, I am so thirsty and a drop of water here and a drop of water there just isn't cutting it. :(

Hopefully things will be bright and pleasant tomorrow.

Picture Famine

Well, it's been real and its been fun...and at times it was even real fun, but the picture fest seems to be over kids. Can you hear the cries of despair and disappointment?

So, yeah, we did go to the doctor today, but no ultrasound pictures. I did, however, get to catch a glimpse of our little one on the ultrasound machine. She/he wanted to be sure that mommy got a short glimpse so he/she maneuvered so that the little heart beat was hard to find. What a good little one we have. :) Nevertheless, I have nothing to show for the short ultrasound experience. I can tell you though that we look like we're growing quite nicely and we have a very nice looking spinal column and some very cute feetsies!

On the bright side, along with this decrease in ultrasounds comes a decrease in appointment frequency which is nice since I have to make up time whenever I'm away from the office. So, our next appointment with the doctor is one month from now. Prior to this, I get to go visit the screening people a couple more times. Once next week to get an AFP blood test (which involves 5 whole drops of blood...yea! I've avoided a needle again!) and then we get to have more pictures...or at least I assume they'll not be greedy! So, in 3 to 4 weeks from now we'll have our Level II Ultrasound screen which will finish up our screening for various issues that will impact the baby's nervous system, organs, etc. With any luck, friends, we'll have some show and tell after this visit.

Oh, and just cuz it was pretty neat to learn, we did find out that our risk for Down's Syndrome based upon that first scan we did is 1 in 8000. Yeah, I think we're good. The doctor was thrilled with the results since someone of my age should be around a 1/200 risk I think he said. Let's hope the rest of the screens go just as well. :)

Let's see the only other stuff we really discussed that was of interest was where the doctor delivers. I have to go do some checking since I'm switching health plans in a few days and will be with an HMO (I've never been on one of these before so I'm a bit scared of what will transpire to be honest). Since it's with blue cross, I imagine we won't have an issue, but still it would be horrible to find that the hospital I'd prefer (which based upon current info is one that works with Stanford but actually has birthing rooms that you get to yourself) was not on the provider list. In general, I think all three of us agree that me being in a room by myself is going to be much better...the idea of listening to other women give birth just doesn't sound like a good thing for me given how empathetic I can be toward others.

Otherwise, everything looks good and so we're just moving along...here's to trimester 2!

Christmastime Is Here!

We've been busy bees here at our house...and it shows!

Our weekend was great...especially since I got to leave work at noon on Wednesday. This gave me the opportunity to go to the Cingular Wireless store and switch us over to a Cingular plan (we are some of those hold out "former ATT Wireless" customers) so that Mark can use his new fangled contraption of a phone. I got that taken care of and, in the process, got myself a newer phone, too...with, I'm happy to say, a few less bells and whistles than dear Mr. Mark's phone. It seems that they would try to keep things simple for people with visual impairments, but whatever. At any rate, despite a few "issues" with converting our accounts, everything was up and running by Wednesday night.

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving and we enjoyed a nice quiet day at home. I fixed us a nice allergy free (with the exception of yams which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole if I weren't allergic to them!) meal of turkey, mashed turnips and gravy, grape salad (which I may have to make again soon), spinach and artichoke dip, broccoli with cheese sauce and a couple of desserts to enjoy. We're still eating some of the leftovers, of course. Everything was really good, but man was I tired after all that slaving in the kitchen. I was almost too pooped to even want to eat the spoils of my hard work. I guess I never really realized how much energy I expend when I cook a holiday feast. Point noted and we may be having grilled cheese sandwiches on Christmas (I'm kidding!). I'm not sure what we'll have, but it may be significantly less time intensive than a full holiday spread...we shall see.

So, anyhow, after we finished eating and cleaning up after "hurricane MeLissa" (a category 5 storm in the kitchen this time around per Mark), I decided the time to move our living room around was at hand. Um, yeah, I did say I was tired, but for some reason the mere unsightly look of two separate work areas finally took its toll and I just couldn't stand it any longer...not to mention that I am just not one of those people who does well doing nothing. This drove my parents crazy I'm sure when I was home sick as a child...

When all was said and done, Mark and my work stations are in the same area of the front room...behind the couch and, for the most part, they are organized...the parts that aren't are hidden by the couch. :) I am loving the new layout!

On Friday, we jumped right into holiday preparations which is normal for us. I have a little rule that the house needs to be Christmas-i-fied by my birthday and as you can see from that little counter on the side bar, we are quickly approaching said day! We got most of the stuff up and out yesterday and finished up the rest of it today minus the greeting card display that I usually do in the entry way. I am just not sure I'm ready to expend the amount of energy that usually takes to make it look lovely...so we may just let it go this year.

Last night, we had a little visit from some new friends, Sara and Dan. Sara and I met in a rather odd way...she called to sell me some advertising in a bridal publication. We just seemed to really hit things off over the phone and we've been trying to get together ever since. She and her husband were great company for a nice Hawaiian dinner and then a little game of Disney Trivial Pursuit which we chose after discovering that, for the most part, our selection of games isn't exactly the best now that Mark can't see what's going on. I think we might make a trip to buy a couple of games soon...any suggestions on things we might be able to enjoy together?

So, as I mentioned today, it was still go, go, go as I finished up decorating our Christmas tree (which we really must upgrade either next year or the year after - it's getting very difficult to find empty branches for ornaments!) and the banister for the entry way. When Mark came home from the clinic, we tackled the guest room which had become a "catch all" and just really needed some TLC. Thankfully, I'd started that project last week and so there was plenty to do but it wasn't impossible to finish by the end of the day. As part of the process, I went through and cleared out a lot of wedding-business related stuff. I've kind of decided that if I do continue on here in California with my business I really prefer to just do a very minimalist day-of package. I have one more bridal show to do in February and this will be the slant I take. I plan to revise my website to reflect this as well at some point, but as of yet, the motivation to do so hasn't quite hit me! :)

We hope you all had a lovely holiday and have a wonderful Chirstmas season (or other holiday) ahead of you! Perhaps I'll try to get some pictures of our house as decorated up sooner or later. Until then, let us be the first to wish you a very
Merry Christmas!

Just a heads up that tomorrow we may have more pictures to show...I have an appointment with my regular OB/GYN. I'm sure you can guess that if I have anything to show and tell, you'll be the first to know!

First Screen Results

I am happy to report that our Nuchal Translucency and First Trimester screen came out A-OK! This means that our little one has a smaller risk of having chromosomal issues. Pretty neat, eh?

We also finally got our wireless service set up so that Mark can now make his own phone calls and such...very cool! I got a new little cell phone myself which can take pictures and such. I needed one to get on our new plan.

Other than that, we're just preparing for Thanksgiving. We're not doing anything too exciting...just hanging out and having some turkey. We hope you all have a lovely holiday filled with blessings.

Pictures-a-Plenty

As usual, blogger just wouldn't cooperate last night. I guess we'll see if it's feeling a little more amiable this morning - it looks like we have pictures! :) Without further a-do...

In our first little view here, you can see that baby has a cute little nose and mouth...I could look at these all day. If we have a girl, I hope she gets my nose. It's such a silly thing but it is one of my favorite features. :)









Here's one of my "hmmm, where did all the space go" shots. If you look you can see a little baby arm on the left side there going up to his/her little head. Too cute for more words except to say that this picture was taken as the roll of ultrasound tape was running out hence the crooked bottom edge!







Here's another good view from the side. Funny thing about all of these pictures except the first one was that they had the wrong patient name on them. If I hadn't been there (which obviously I had to be, I guess) or paying attention, I would have thought they were the wrong baby pictures. You can rest assured though they are of our little guy/gal!





Our final pictures is yet another head scratching view...from the side this time around. Still utterly adorable...I can't wait until I can cuddle this little baby in my arms. :)

Feeling Deprived?

I haven't posted in quite sometime have I? I have to admit that there just hasn't been much going on this week. I did have a visit for an ultrasound/finger prick blood test to screen the baby for Down Syndrome and other disorders. Based upon the ultrasound things seem to be looking fine, but definitive results won't be in until later. As I'm sure you can guess - ultrasound = pictures. They were pretty generous so I have five pics to share today.

Our little one is looking like a human now. :) He/she (still don't know yet what we're having!) was striking some cute poses as you'll soon see. My favorites are the ones where he/she's scratching his/her little head wondering where all the room went. This is because on the day of this lovely screen I was having mild (thankfully) contractions. The doctors and nurses told me it was perfectly normal and that my body is just practicing for the birth process. Fine by me...as long as I don't have to endure pain yet!

Let's see in other news, I'm finally sporting just a wee bit of a baby belly. If you know I'm pregnant you can barely tell, if you don't you think I'm hitting the twinkies a bit too hard (which proves you're totally out of the loop since I'm allergic to them...alas!). Yeah, twinkies are sounding good...yet another allergy-laden craving that I'm resisting. There have been so many I won't even bore you!

One thing that is sort of "exciting" with respect to the whole food situation is I actually found a cracker recipe I like. It's for oat crackers and if they're rolled thin enough and baked to just the right state, they taste like a cross between a triscuit and a wheathin. Yummy. I've been enjoying them all week long and I think I might just make some more! :)

Okay, okay...enough chattering (or Jibba Jabba as Mr. T would say - have you seen his new show on TV Land? It's quite a trip...we love it!) - let's get onto those baby pictures! :) I'm not sure these scans are quite as nice as previous ones, but we take what we can get, right? :)

So here's picture number 1 of our little girl or guy. You can see the head to the left, the arm toward the bottom, etc.

Well as is all too often the case, blogger is now not cooperating so I'll bring this post to a close and try to get pictures into another. *sigh*

Scouting for Furnishings...

We decided to make good use of our time today by visiting Babies R Us and having a good look at the options available for baby furniture. Our primary focus at this point was to see what options were out there as far as strollers, cribs, changing tables and dressers. We were pretty pleased with what is available.

Perhaps the thing we like best is that many cribs now can be converted (at the appropriate time and with the addition of some rails) into daybeds and/or toddler beds and then full-size beds. Perfectamundo! Spending a few hundred dollars on a piece of furniture that will maybe work for a couple of years - not so much fun. Spending a few hundred dollars on furniture that can last the little tyke for most of his/her formative years - very cool. :) So anyhow, we have a few that we like better than others as is typical and as time draws nearer we'll figure out what it is we ultimately want to do!

Other than that, Mark finally got all the equipment the Department of Rehab has been promising to help him with school. We're pretty excited about all of that. One of the niftiest things is a GPS system that will help him get around...isn't that neat?

Work continues to go okay. It's usually tolerable and sometimes quite annoying but at least I've tackled the commute problem which did improve my mood somewhat. Nevertheless, I'm still planning to find ways to get into full-time motherhood and out of the rat race (again!) as quickly as possible.

Final little tidbit - I'm going in this week for a Nuchal Translucency scan to check for Down's Syndrome. We're not too worried about this sort of thing, but since they do scan for other things, we figured it would be good to do just in case so we can plan appropriately. That's on Wednesday...otherwise, not too much baby excitement this week (well, other than the fact that we are starting to see just a wee bit of a "baby buddah belly" as Mark calls it).

Lunch with Joe Montana

Been there. Done that. :)

Yep, I chose the restaurant to have lunch with my recruiting team wonderfully yesterday as Mr. Joe Montana was there as well. He was the next table over from us. Pretty cool, huh? We didn't pester him so I have no pictures or wise quips to share, but nevertheless it was a highlight of my day....even though I care little for football. :)

One other quick update and then I have to run to work. I think we can say Mr. Skeeter did get one good punch in. The blood that was in the little bugger was probably mine. I have a huge bite on the right side of my face. It's quite obnoxious, but eventually it will be gone and I will have won the war.

Have a fabulous weekend!

MeLissa vs. the Skeeter!

I've frequently said that excitement is very much over-rated. For those who've not yet heard my reasoning, take for example a car accident. It can be very exciting....and yet it's just not so good. Same thing about a swarm of bees chasing you - exciting indeed, but not good. Now, of course, there are plenty of things that are exciting and good, but well, just go with me on this!

So, when I tell you there was a wee bit of excitement in our household early this morning, please understand that we're speaking along the same lines. Also know, though, that we won't have similar excitement this next sleep cycle unless a) my nemesis is reincarnated or b) another takes his/her place.

Have you ever been sound asleep and were awakened to the sound of buzzing? You know that buzzing that a mosquito makes? Yeah, that. Well, last night I was peacefully slumbering (despite my seriously cranky attitude thanks to all the election stuff which we're just not going to talk about) on the couch and I awoke to said sound. I batted myself hoping that I'd killed whatever it was that had gotten a little too close for comfort. In a way the buzzer helped me out - it encouraged me to head into the bed room for a proper night's sleep. This all happened around 9:30 last night.

Around 4:00 this morning, I was sleeping peacefully in our bed and the evil buzzing came to shake me from slumber again. I batted and thrashed (waking Mark of course) and tried to kill the evil thing, but it was to no avail. In no time at all, the probable blood sucker (for I still had not seen it) came back for another fly-by and then proceded to torment poor Mark as well. After several batting attempts, we finally decided we'd go camping (i.e., we pulled the covers over our heads)...not that it mattered. The stupid little bugger continued on its quest for sustenance.

I finally was fed up with the whole ritual and got up to go to the bathroom (for like the 5th time last night...ay carumba) and drink some more water (because we wouldn't want to miss out on trip 6) and eat some food because I was, frankly, starving myself. Maybe the blood sucker was pregnant? Anyhow, I finally came back to bed and discovered that in my absence, Mark had arose and turned on lights in the hallway and the guest room to try to trick the skeeter out of our room. We didn't have a stupid skeeter...it didn't fall for it. We continued to be buzzed right up until the time that the alarm went off.

To say that I was miffed would be an understatement. For the past two nights before, I had not gotten a goodnight's sleep (the millions of trips to the bathroom are surprisingly not the problem - it's the hunger to some extent, but primarily just weird dreams...like about shaving or about telling friends whom I'm not very close to anymore that I'm kind of glad they're gone because they weren't terribly healthy for me anyhow...yeah, weird stuff like that). So, I was already sleep deprived and this little jerk was compounding my problem. I had told said jerk that it was in BIG trouble when I got up in the morning (now that I'm a bit more coherent it occurs to me that I should have just turned on the lights and found him when he was bugging us, but whatever).

Anyhow, to get to the point, I was on my way into the shower this morning when I noticed a speck on the wall over by my side of the bed. It turned out to be one VERY LARGE mosquito. I mean seriously...it was HUGE!! Now, before I continue on I would just like to say that this is one of those things that really bugs me about California. Are there mosquitos in Colorado right now? Um, no....not even remotely likely, but here we are in the beginning of November (November!!) and there is a big mamoth mosquito tormenting us - does this seem just a wee bit messed up to anyone else or is it just me?

At any rate, I popped that little bugger a good one and was pretty grossed out by the result - seriously. I had blood on my hand and all over the wall. It was uber disgusting! But, I vanquished the little tormenting jerk and hopefully tonight I'll manage to get a good night's sleep...woe be to any other creature that intrudes upon my slumber! :)

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Not Much to Speak Of...

Nevertheless I'm going to do a quick little post (yeah, sure....little) anyhow with just a few highlights.

First of all, the spaghetti episode seemed to go reasonably well. I did indeed have a bit of a reaction which is still sort of hanging on today; however, it has been pretty mild and tolerable...and therefore worth it because I'm over the spaghetti craving. I did buy stuff to make lasagna. I may make it and freeze it in case another one of these "must have real Italian food" episodes comes to haunt me.

Next up - I rode BART (rapid transit) to work today and it made going to work a much better experience. It was nice to be able to relax and just read a book. I contemplated sleeping a bit, but I fall asleep so easily lately (though I seem to not sleep terribly well despite this fact!) that I decided it would probably be a bad idea since I have transfers to make and such. I also was treated to lunch by my two supervisory people today. We went to the Yacht Club in Walnut Creek and when Mark's parents come next I'm thinking they might like to try it out. Lots of great seafood preparred in so many ways even I had a few choices as far as things to eat. :)

Speaking of Mark's parents, we've heard a rumor that they might pay us a visit either before or after the big family bash at Christmas and New Years. We were happy to hear that was a possibility since we're going to miss the party. We figure that with impending maternity leave and my planning to go down to a reduced schedule, we'll need to save as many pennies as we possibly can over the next few months...

We're thinking we may have some guests, if they'd like to come, over for Thanksgiving as well. Right now, we're kind of leaning toward inviting people from other countries to come join in the festivities. We'll keep you posted on where we actually go with it. We've also sort of decided to table the Christmas party. I am so worn out lately that the thought of adding responsibilities to my schedule isn't terribly appealing and again we're trying to save a little $$. Mark has asked if he could maybe throw a very informal birthday party for me instead (our party usually coincides with my birthday - it's my tricky way of having a party without too much of a hullabaloo) and I told him he's welcome to do so. It might be quite fun to get to sit back and enjoy something someone else has planned!

That is pretty much the extent of what is going on here...no baby pictures or news other than that my clothes seem to be fitting a little snugger this week. Since we're in week twelve (almost done with the first trimester!), I suppose it is to be expected. I've got a nice little wardrobe of clothes to step in to, but I've kind of been trying to really enjoy the last little bit of wearing my "normal" clothes. Once I actually have a baby belly to show off, maybe we'll treat you to a before picture I took a couple of weeks ago...I'm not sure most people could tell the difference if I took one at the moment. I think I just look like I have been overeating a bit! I assure you've that's not the case. I'm actually right on track as far as weight gain goes...

So here's to a great week for all of us! Time is just flying by....

It's Going...

Well, my first week at work was okay. I have to say that I like where I work, but I hate the commute and I'm pretty sure I was right about my tolerance for accounting being pretty much used up. C'est la vie...work I must so that I can provide for my family. I can't wait until Mark can take over.

Speaking of Mark, I may have already told you, but it bears repeating - he passed his second set of chiropractic board exams. Yea! Only two more sets to go until he's all done - he'll have Part III in March and Part IV in May. If all goes well, he'll be finished up by the end of December at which time we're still pretty sure we'll return to Colorado Springs...but things can always change. I sure hope they don't, though...I miss home.

As for other "stuff" to chat about, I made crackers today. They turned out pretty well and will allow me to enjoy some goodies I got today without having to resort to allergy foods. I do want to try one more recipe before I pronounce these "the ones," though. :) Also, I've broken a vow...I'm sorry and I won't make the mistake of making it again. Tonight for dinner we had spaghetti...with marinara sauce. I know, I know...I said I wouldn't give into allergy-food cravings. I'm weak. I admit it. I was hoping things would go a little better...

As luck would have it, they seem to be slightly better - I don't feel the need to toss my cookies...yet. It's an improvement. I do unfortunately have a bit of asthma and a very tingly tongue, though. I really gotta go find out more about those allergy curing techniques I've heard about....

Final bit of news - tonight we wandered around our community and talked to residents about Mark's school and receiving care. We met some great neighbors and a couple of them seem to be great contacts for Mark...our favorite is a guy who is president of a union. If you need some nice affordable chiropractic care, give Mark a call - he's anxious to help as many people as he can!

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...