Week 20 - Halfway Point!

This weeks blog comes from Alexandria, VA. I'm here for training for my job....yes, I really am going to training, no mini vacation or good off time. But that's not to say I haven't snuck in some relaxation and fun. It definitely gives me a break from the basement. Another bonus to my "work" trip is that one of my really good friends is also here for the same training, and the bonus part of that is that she is 7 months pregnant with her first child! We have had plenty of time to talk all about the pregnancy firsts and the "I thought that only happened to me" stuff (which apparently is normal).

Sorry about the oversized photo. This post was brought to you by the IPad and I couldn't figure out how to make it work. This photo was also made possible by my husband who flew in late last night to surprise me! love him!! Today CJ is 20 weeks old. Today also marks the halfway point in my pregnancy. TODAY also means I have 140 days left to go. CJ is now about 10 1/2 oz and about 10 inches long. That would explain the sudden need to visit the ladies room every time I stand up. And I swear CJ has been using my bladder as a trampoline. Already being a little trouble maker like his/her dad. This week I also got to see CJ's movement. Kinda reminded me of that scene from Alien right before the alien broke through that chick's skin. That's a fun thought. Stay inside CJ, stay inside. Next week is a big week for us. On Tuesday we get to find out what CJ is. Boy or girl?? This past weekend I finally was able to go visit my parents up in the North Georgia Mountains. I met them and my aunt and uncle at a resort like campground. The weather was so much nicer than down in Atlanta, it's amazing how much a little altitude can change things. We spent the time exploring the area and playing games. Pinochle to be exact, and yes my team won. Ah, how I love the mountains. Last weekend JD and I went on a little house hunting trip as well (as busy as we are, we are going to make this next 20 weeks fly by!). We looked at about 6 houses. I saw one I liked and JD saw one he liked. Unfortunately, they were not the same house. And while we couldn't decide on a house we did decide that we definatly wanted to stay in our old neighborhood. We are still in love with our questionable house. It is, by far the perfect house for us, Sofie, and future CJ. But for now (as of right now) back to the hotel room.

Week 19 Tomatoes, Tumbles, and Toddlers

Only 147 more days to go!  According to the app on my phone (I swear they have an app for everything these days!), CJ is about the size of a heirloom tomato and has definitively been making his/her (HIS) presence known on my bladder.  CJ has been bouncing around a lot more these days.  It is so amazing being able to feel him/her moving around inside of me.  I've been trying to catch a glimpse of CJ's movement on the outside, but so far the kicks have only been felt and not seen.  I think I may have mentioned it in an earlier post, but several of my friends are also pregnant right now as well.  One just found out they are having a boy and another one is having a girl.  We will find out in about a 1 1/2 weeks, and we can't wait.  A lot of people ask 'why not wait and let it be a surprise?'  I say 'well, we've already waited 5 months, so we will still be surprised.'  Ah, so true.

Sofie had her 3rd birthday this past weekend.  It's hard to believe she's already 3 years old!  She had her birthday at this huge place that offers a ton of different kinds of bouncy castle like things, slides, and ball pits (they need one of these for adults, and they should serve alcohol).  And yes, a lot, of toddlers running around.  Needless to say, Sofie had a blast.  Days before the party she couldn't stop talking about the dance party.  Sofie's words 'they turn the lights off and say everybody dance!'.  JD and I weren't quiet sure what she meant until we saw it.  Between the dancing (to her favorite Justin Bieber), swinging and sliding, Sofie had a blast.

                                                       Sofie LOVES to dance!

The house drama continues.  We were supposed to close today, but that of course didn't happen.  We've given the sellers agent a deadline of August 9th to get everything taken care of but we are doubtful that anything will actually happen.  So, are we just sitting around doing nothing? Of course not!  Most of our computer time these days is spent looking at houses online and then stalking the neighborhoods where they are.  We've found a few prospects and may go look this weekend with our realtor.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I must say I'm impressed at the lack of pregogrammar and pregospelling mistakes this week.  Great job!

Week 52 (Of House Hunting)

No need to freak out, or think I made a typo, because the title is accurate.  JD and I started looking for a house last August, and while it may not be 52 weeks exactly, it's pretty darn close.  The first house we fell in love with was what we thought was perfect.  The day we put in an offer we found out that the owner (a bank) had decided to sell the house at auction.  So we had to wait and see what the auction brought us.  And what it brought us was not what we wanted to hear.  And so the search started again.  Open  houses on Sundays, internet searches, and just driving around the hood like stalkers.  Lots of houses, lots of time....or so we thought.  The second house we found and fell in love with was another 'perfect' house.  We put in an offer and on my birthday found out our offer had been accepted.  YAY!!  And then we waited.....and waited some more.  Finally, four months later we found out that the bank that was trying to sell the house, never really owned it in the first place.  Kind of makes it hard to sell something you don't own.  So, the search started over, third times a charm, right?  April began and we looked at several more homes, finally we found the most perfect home yet.  Perfect size, 2 car garage, across the street from the park. Absolutely perfect.  This house was a short sale.  Since we had been dealing with foreclosures we thought maybe a short sale would be much easier and quicker. WRONG.  April - offer put in. May - offer accepted.  June - bank finally  finishes it's short sale paperwork.  July 5th, got a closing date 3 weeks out.  July 9th, found out that there are multiple liens against the property, and we can't buy the house until the liens are taken care of.  So, week 52 of house hunting continues.  May the bigger, better, and more perfect house come our way!

Now that the blah news is out of the way, on to better stuff.  CJ is now 18 weeks old and is about the size of a bell pepper.  I didn't really think a bell pepper was any bigger than a turnip, but I make a lot of general mistakes these days.  What I do know is that CJ has been making is presence known a bit more often lately, and a lot more often today.  I'm waiting for the day that I can look at my belly and see it move on it's own.  But for now, I can feel him/her inside and JD can feel it(him)on the outside.

More good news, I absolutely love stretchy pants with fake waists!  I may never go back to real pants ever.....j/k hubby :) (HAHAHAHA...NO.  They are all getting thrown out after CJ gets here.)  I do though seriously love them.  It's great not having to remember if i buttoned or zipped my pants after I use the facilities.  And that is important since I can't seem to remember if I put on deodorant in the morning or not (luckily I'm not a stinky sweater).

A few weeks ago a friend and I went and watched....wait for it......What to Expect When You're Expecting! I know, big surprise seen as how I'm 'expecting' and all.  Anyways, the movie was actually pretty funny and I  even thingk guys would like.  The movie was just like being pregnant too, it had sad bits, happy bits, crappy bits, and all in the span of a few minutes, just like pregnancy emotions!  Another lucky thing for me, I haven't actually experienced the wide range of crying to laughing (sure babe).  I am feeling over(all) much better.  The morning sickness has pretty much ran for the hills.  I'm still waiting for the immense hunger to take over.  Oh, and 3 more weeks till we find out if is a little girl CJ or a little boy CJ!

I'm sure I've told you plenty for tonight, so back to the basement yet again....

Since BD has pregobrain and pregospells stuff and uses pregogrammar, JD has helped with the proofreading in RED!

Week 17 - Turnips and Thumps

Today marks week 17 of CJ's life.  According to the app on my phone, CJ is now the size of a turnip.  A turnip?  Neither JD nor I knew what a turnip looked like.  So like any other person, we googled it.  As it turns out a a turnip looks kind of like an onion but maybe a little bit larger.  No hand drawn pictures this week, JD is still making fun of my lack of artistic skills from a few weeks ago.  I had my 3rd prenatal appointment this past Tuesday and I am finally back up to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Everything else is right on track.  CJ even gave the obgyn a swift kick in the microphone used to hear his/her heartbeat.  Speaking of kicking, CJ also has been being pretty active.  A few nights ago, we were laying in bed and I started feeling a bit of movement, I had JD put his hands on my stomach.  A few seconds later, he looked at me in awe and said 'was that it?? Did I just feel CJ??'  Yep, baby thumps.  It's so amazing feeling those little movements inside of me. That was not the first time I had felt CJ checking out his/her new digs.  I was training an employee at work one afternoon and suddenly I felt a quick jab to the kidney.  My surprise translated over to a loud 'oomph' noise.  I believe the guy I was training was just as shocked when I voiced my discomfort.  I had to explain that it was because my kid had sucker punched me in the kidney.  I also had to give CJ a stern talking to and let him/her know that I would not be raising the next Muhammad Ali.  I finally broke down and bought a few pieces of maternity clothes, just a few basics to wear (hopefully) with my normal clothes.

Other exciting news, we got the call on Monday that we finally have a closing date on our house!!!  We close in exactly 2 weeks from today.  We are already planning our attack on the house.

Week 16 - Where Dreams Come True (Not my preggo dreams hopefully)

Wow! Such a busy week for JD and me.  It was a short week at work but not without a few surprises.  If anyone knows what I do for a living, then you will know that wearing skirts and 'girly' clothes is not exactly practical.  So needless to say when I showed up for work in a skirt on Wednesday there were a few shocked faces.  What they didn't know was that wearing the skirt wasn't done to look cute or nice.  Nope, I had to because none of my pants fit.  And even though I am still not up to my regular weight by the numbers on the scale, my belly(and booty) would beg to differ.  So, in an effort to stay comfortable I wore a skirt (with a stretchy waist of course) to the office.  This was also the day that I got my very first hot flash.  There I was standing in line at Wendy's to get food for JD, and I just started sweating like crazy.  I had to start shedding clothes, luckily I was wearing a tank top with a cardigan, so I didn't become that crazy woman.

JD and I flew out of Atlanta Thursday morning for Orlando, FL.  One of my closest friends was getting married at Walt Disney World and I was to be a bridesmaid.  It was a beautiful wedding and she did an amazing job putting it all together. I have to say I was a bit nervous putting on my bridesmaid dress.  After all, I bought it before I was growing another human in my belly.  Thankfully, the dress still fit, although just a bit more snug around the midsection.  The trip was a fast and furious one without much free time to check out any of the theme parks.  We did get to see a little bit of Epcot thanks to the bride and groom hosting a desert party there.  Unfortunately I'm not to that point in my pregnancy that I crave sweet stuff, quite the contrary, I actually crave cold, fresh fruit.

We got some great news this past Thursday as well.  Our realtor called to tell us that all of the short sale paperwork had finally been approved by the bank.  We are officially in underwriting!!  We are hoping to close before July 20th.  But for now, back to basement.