part time? full time? no time?

so the plan was for me to go back to work part time in Jan. i'd work regular hours Mon- Wed & leave it at that. sounded good, yes?

well my lovely boss just informed me that the company isn't currently "allowing" part time because blah blah blah (they want all of us all the time damnit!) hmmm- so, yes.

i'm wondering if i strong arm them & say it's either part time or no time if they'll change their minds. wouldn't you rather keep a seasoned employee who knows her shit (and does it quite well if i might add) at part time rather than hire a new person that's going to take over a year to train at full time? i would!

either way- i'm actually fine with either. i decided part time because i felt like that's what i should do (because i had no reason not to) but now that they said "No"- i'm also quite fine with working full time. my mother & MIL will watch alex so i won't have to pay for daycare or worry about her being safe & such- and i can work my regular hours & have money to bank.

so it's a win-win either way, i just don't like being told "No". heh.
we shall see what happens i suppose!

20 weeks

first things first: one of our sugar gliders (deb) died yesterday. we knew she was dying but it was still sad (even though she was a complete bitch & always tried to bite us & never let us get near her)
seriously- she was MEAN! but still- for the last week she's been so sweet & helpless so i think that made up for the past 4 years of her constant PMS. we had to feed & water her by hand & it was very sad.
so when the husband opened up the pouch last night & she had finally died- i was relieved because i felt bad for her, but thanks to the massive amount of hormones flooding through my body i had to lock myself in the bathroom & cry for a good 15 minutes. then i was fine.
poor deb- we'll miss you...sort of.
we still have napoleon (who only has half a tail because she chewed it off a couple months ago & then we had to take him to get it amputated- see i told you, she was a BITCH!) and he seems fine being alone so we're just going to have to play with him more now.
so yeah- that's that!

ok, in happier news- i'm 20 weeks 1 day!!! holy crap! halfway there!

my belly is pretty hard now and my belly button is pretty much flat- it's got a little more to go but it's almost there. i'm pretty sure it'll pop out before the end. everything looks bigger when i'm standing- but i'll post that picture later. i didn't want to seem like i'm all about me...hmm.

annnd, in house news. we should close around May 20th. we're just waiting on the appraisal to come back- eeeee! i cannot WAIT to move!! i'm so pumped that everything came through the way it's supposed to- God is good!

la la la- that's about it. oh yeah, my co worker told me on Mon that she's pregnant too (with #2) and she's 15 weeks! it was nice to be able to be happy for her- i mean, there was still a little twinge of jealousy because she has nooo trouble- but i was more happy than anything. so that makes 3 of us that will be out at the same time. my boss is happy but a little worried- ha. poor woman.

ok- i have to go decide wether it would be appropriate for me to eat 2 more toaster streudles. i already had 2 but i'm starving...and i also have to decide if i'm going to use the 25% off Coach coupon that i got or if i'm going to give it to my husband's co worker. i mean, i really don't need it but DAMN! i love those things! argh!

...alexis praise?!

well well well- i was VERY wrong. it's a GIRL!

(95% girl- she wouldn't let us get a detailed look of her privates but when we did...there was nothing there. ie: penis was MIA. so the u/s lady said %95 girl but i can always double check at my next appt. i believe her- but i'll take another look anyway because it's free!)

so yeah- i was pretty surprised because i was SO sure it was a boy. the husband, on the other hand, wasn't surprised because he never assumed anything- but he's now concerned that he will fail miserably trying to raise a girl. poor man :)

ok- now onto the "scary" & not so scary stuff.

the not so scary were my NT Results: 1 in 10,000 for DOWNS & 1 in 10,000 for Trisomy 18 (these are wonderful #'s accoding to the OB)

the "scary" were the following: during the U/S the tech found 2 "soft markers" for downs:

#1: a choroid plexus cyst
#2: a bright spot on the heart ie: echogenic intracardiac focus

both of these things on their own are "normal" & "nothing to worry about". also considering my NT results there would be no reason to worry- however because she found both, she set me up for a Level II U/S. she still insisted that the most the Genetics Counselor would do is cut my odds in half- ie: 1 in 5,000 chance for both DOWNS & Trisomy 18- but she said for peace of mind she would set this up.

she also mentioned that all the other measurements were fine: bones, kidneys, spine, abdomen- etc etc. and that the CPC & EIF are only "soft" markers which are loosely linked with DOWNS & Trisomy 18. so....whew?

she told me "not to worry & that she's sure everything is fine"- and i'm going to do just that. i googled the crap out of both "markers" and from all accounts these things usually don't indicate anything. so yeah- i'll go for the the Level II u/s & we'll leave it at that :)

and here are some pics:

hmmm-the husdand is already concerned about her flexability. heh.
i call this: "i'm in the ute- doing flips n' shit"- lmao

peace

profile

profile #2

skeletor- aaaaiiieee
arm/face

STATS: measuring: 19 weeks 3 days. weight: 11oz. heartrate: 140-145ish bpm.

and there you have it: Alexis "Alex" Praise

my mother in law will be mucho pleased. :)

p.s. we got our rental approval! so the last thing is the appraisal tomorrow & then we're good! thank you God.

omfg- really?

ok so i was just feeling some pretty good kicks (i'm assuming) like in one spot over & over, so i put my hand down there & held my breath & I SWEAR ON ALL THAT IS HOLY THAT I FELT HIM/HER!!! I COULD FEEL THE KICKS ON MY HAND! it was like something was rolling across my belly...

please re-assure me that this isn't crazy talk- right? this sounds normal? i'm not that crazy lady that swears she could hear her child talking in the womb- ::whistles::

omg- so cool! baby must like Zebra Cakes. i must eat more! hahaha!

VOTE!

ok- what am i having? vote vote vote!!! --->
we find out on Thurs @ like 3:30- argh. that's going to be a very unproductive day.

everyone i know thinks it's a boy- soooo we shall seee!

in other news: home inspection today ::squee:: the father in law is doing it so that saves us $400+! muchos gracias father in law!

still waiting on the rental permission- that's going to make or break this whole thing so i'm praying that they say yes...and that they get their asses moving. gosh.

ok that's all. carry on!

holy crap- we bought our house!

so, anyone who knows me knows that my dream home is a log cabin. i've wanted to live in one ever since i was a child- it's this...NEED i have!!!

well, there are some log homes in NH but most of them are up north- like WAY up north. finding one in our area is all but impossible.

well- we found one! and we bought it- i can't even believe it! it's 30 min from where we live now & right in between EVERYTHING! our work, our parents- everything!

here it is:

front outsideliving room

kitchen/dining room

master bedroom (#1)

nursery- bedroom (#2)

bedroom (#3) (downstairs/basement)

back yard/shed

back/side yardclose up of front

I LOVE IT!!! it's got:

3 bedrooms

1 bath.

living room

dining/kitchen area

finished basement

a deck out back

cathedral cealings

exposed beams

wood stoves

hardwood floors & etc etc!

it's on 1.71 acres & it's way far back off the road. we've got woods & neighbors (not too close though!) and it's in the "country" but so close to everything!

it was crazy too- we were the last showing because they wanted to sell THAT DAY!

we went & looked at 11:30am.

we fell in love. (they had DOXIE stuff EVERYWHERE! they had pictures & tons of stuff- and they had one (but he wasn't there)- it was like a sign!!)

we cancelled our next 3 showings.

we called the seller's agent & were told that there were already 4 offers over the asking price- YIKES!

we went & wrote up the offer (and a letter to the sellers) @ 2:30pm.

we prayed & crossed our fingers

our offer got accepted at 3:30pm!!!!

...and then the husband realized that he had lost his wallet ::slap::

it all worked out to perfectly (minus the lost wallet)- GOD IS GOOD! they put it on the market @ $179,900 which is MAD LOW! the offers coming in were for $185,000! so we went in at $187,000 with the promise that we'd offer $1k over the highest offers up to $190,000. i also wrote a letter about our own doxies, our love of their home & the baby (heh) and i guess they liked us best because they picked us!!! our final price: $187,000!

i'm so stoked we won a bidding war! and i'm so stoked that we got it so cheap!! they reeeeally needed to sell it. we were looking in the $235,000 range & then BAM! this comes along ::squee::

ok- this is too long so i'm going to end it. basically, we close in about 30 days & should be in by the end of May!! the husb's brother is renting our condo, so as soon as the permission comes through we'll be good to go! i can't wait to move in & get to work on the nursery! now i don't have to paint (well, 1 wall- but that's nothing!)

yay!!!!!

is that what i think it is?

so...i think i'm feeling the child. no lie- for the past week i've been feeling random little twirlies & such in my ute area. like gurgles & pops & blips & flippities.
way down low & a little higher & such.

yeah- i'm pretty sure it's not gas anymore- the child has begun to make his/her presence known. ::cue alien music::

but for realz. i'm stoked. it's like having my own little constant present. none for the husb- just mine!! mwahaha! for now anyway :)

babiez r kewl!!!1 ;)

diaper bag?

so i found this $70 Steven Madden tote marked down to $25! it's big & roomy & has many pockets. however, do you think it's too big & roomy for a diaper bag?
i've seen those mothers struggling to dig down deep into their d-bags for things- meh!

apparently the puppies thought this was about them. der.

yay or nay? i kep the receipt & i'm always looking, but what are you thoughts? even if it's a nay on the diaper bag front keep it anyway for other things?

18 weeks

so as you can see my shirts/sweaters are getting a little short- i'm still wearing them because i refuse to buy new ones yet- but we'll see how long it lasts.


i obviously look way more ku with the bare belly- but you can tell either way (if i take my coat off) - however i've still managed to keep it a secret at work (for the most part)- nuts.

i'm going to "announce" after my big u/s next week- it's on a Thursday so i'll bake something & bring it in on Monday. woot.

and there you go! it's amazing how much bigger i am than just 3 weeks ago. i'm also in love with my doppler- i love how much higher i have to probe in order to find the heartbeat- i'm right at the belly button line now (which is starting to flatten out- it's so weird)

in other news- we're househunting. we found one that we really liked but they neglected to let us know that they were waiting on an offer to go through already- so when we put in ours they hemmed & hawed & finally told us. losers. so it's back to the search! we need to find something within the next 2-3 months so that we can be in by August at the latest. hopefully we'll be in before then because i have grand nursey plans that need to be started. there are tons of houses- we just need to agree on one. meh!

ok- i need to go watch The Hills now (yes- need)

ciao

stuff

i got home yesterday to a kitchen filled with the remains of my slippers. that's right- the remains. stupid cessna decided to chew them up & spread them everywhere. i was mad- however, not as mad as i could have been because i bought a backup pair this past winter. yes- i am wise. she chewed up another pair right before that so....i'm on my 3rd pair of slippers this year. super.

she also did this, to the bag of Lindt candies that the cat knocked off the counter, the day before. luckily there were only 2 small pieces of chocolate in the bag- the rest were jellies. argh.

anywho- i can only stay mad for so long- because then they do stuff like this:

how adorable are they?! i love them. i mean, max is always a good boy so i'm never mad at him, but cessna is seriously the devil. but she's so cute i can't even stand it. damn her.

in other news- i got my fetal doppler on Wed & i'm pretty much addicted. i found the babe's heartbeat right away & it was a steady 140-150 bpm. then last night, it took a little longer, but i found it & let the husband listen. this time it was anywhere from 140-160. woot!

i also made him tell me which stroller he liked better:

the Bumbleride Flyer or:

the Bugaboo Frog

after much hemming & hawing he finally decided that he liked the Flyer better. now i'm not sure if it's really because he thinks the Bugaboo Frog "looks kinda weird" or because the flyer is about $300 bucks cheaper- either way. i'm ok with the Flyer (i will cry for my bugaboo later)

so yeah- that's that. i also made him look at furniture online- but i'm going to drag him to Tiny Tot Land to actually look at it. i have current name brand pref's so i'm pretty open. we won't be spending buko bucks on the furniture because i AM getting my glider. huzzah!

ok- umm- we're going to look at more houses tomorrow so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that we find something we like. and then we can actually start buying stuff because we'll have somewhere to put it. until then, i bookmark.

ciao

this is the glider i'm getting/i want

it's the Luca Glider by Monte. i absolutely love it- seriously. i love the color (there are so many to choose from) and it looks super comfy. i have yet to sit in one (because i have yet to drag my ass down to boston to do so) but i'm imagining that it'll be heaven.

the husband likes it too- minus the $945 price tag for the chair & $385 for the ottoman. so yay.

i think it's the one thing we'll "splurge" on- i don't need an expensive crib or dresser or bedding or anything- just a super confy chair!