never-ending week....

ever feel that some weeks just last FOOOOOREVER?
that's been this week.
maybe cuz puffy isn't around...or maybe because we're waiting for payday.
or maybe because it's 100 degrees outside.
or maybe because i have so much work to do, which i've procrastinated on.

all in all...i'm glad tomorrow is FRIDAY :)
the weekend will include some time with an old friend, niki, from my previous place of employment! she's in town with her new hubby and we'll be celebrating her birthday tomorrow night!

then.
at 8am the Puff and i have ...drumroll... CHILDBIRTH PREPARATION CLASS at the hospital.
this outta be interesting.
i've taken a gander at the syllabus and it seems that "episiotomy discussion/video" are directly before lunch.
now, WHY would anybody do that???
then shortly after lunch, there comes the childbirth VIDEO.

why the heck should we even bother to eat?
gosh.
chad is going to literally fall over and die. literally.
it'll be an all day affair of "comfy clothes, floor mats, pillows, and girl talk." except only 50% of us will be girls. and that's just weird to talk about your coochie possibly getting sliced -- in front of other women's husbands. sick.

but we're all adults, right? ;)

it must be the weekend of regnery hang outs because later on that evening, we'll need to shake the labor and delivery brainwashing out of our heads, and we're having dinner with another couple that i used to work with. FUN!

sunday is biz as usual = church all day.

and MONDAY, folks, is the next Perinatal Specialist appt to take measurements of the little baby. please pray starting NOW, that all will be ok!!! i'm hoping time flies between now and then -- i just want this appt behind me.

speaking of baby morgan -- so long as he's got auntie lahlee in his life -- he's going to be stylin' and high profilin.'

please check out baby morgan's new duds...









i mean, looook at the matching swaddle blankets and hats -- hello. too cute.
thanks lahlee!!!!

my final piece of information this evening is that you should all be taking advantage of PEA POD grocery delivery :) frankly, our kitchen is on the 2nd level of the house and i'm not about to load up my car with 30 bags of groceries, drive home, and drag them up to the 2nd floor myself. no way, jose. therefore, i made my dinner menu, drew up my grocery list and clicked, "BUY." and this evening, everything was delivered and i'm happy as a little clam!!

but there seems to have been a LITTLE calculating error on somebody's part. i should pull my grocery list out to see if it was my mistake or theirs, but i believe i received my personal order of romaine lettuce AND a few other people's orders. literally, there was a head of lettuce in nearly every bag!!!



i think i'm set on salad for a while....
what do you think?

who did it????

somebody purchased the Chicco Lullaby Playard for me off my registry and had it shipped to my house -- and there's NO NOTE, NO CARD, NO PACKING SLIP, NO NOTHING!!!???

how can i thank you if i don't know who you are!!?

step forward because this was a wonderful gift to receive and i'm LOST as to how i can possibly tell you of my appreciation!

*****
*****

in other news, i'm not having such a hot day.
and i'm not going to get all dramatic about it because i'm too tired.
but i had a prenatal appt this morning and here are the highlights:

1) i've gained 8lbs in 4 weeks. awesome.
2) my fundus height measurements were on the low side. i should be somewhere around 29 cm and i'm between 26-27cm. doctors don't seem worried but hello, let's face it, that's not the reading i was hoping for and it sorta just underscores my fear of IUGR.
3) i've been having cramping and i told the doc that and she said if it happens again, to head over to labor and delivery. uhm. please. i did however take her advice and head over to another wing of the hospital for an NST (non-stress test) where they hook you up to random monitors for an hour and watch for movement, heart rate, and contractions.
4) i have some minor "uterine activity" going on...but nothing serious. i passed and was sent home.


the good news is: my high-risk Level 2 sonogram is scheduled for monday. it'll be interesting to compare THOSE very highly accurate measurements to the measurements of a freaking tape measure across your stomach (seems archaic to me...just saying). they'll be measuring for growth, and for brain, kidney, intestinal, and heart development.

guessing i'll have more concrete answers then.
and i'm assuming all the worry will be for nothing -- just like it always is.

....until then....

oral surgeon

.....dont you miss the days i would gab on and ON about my TMJ-related disorders??

yea, me too.

at any rate, i still have them, but i have to relay that MUCH of my discomfort has been alleviated. between the jaw splint i get to rock, 24 hours a day...and the bite adjustments that my ANGEL doctor does...i think i'm making progress.

i can actually eat potato chips and cereal again - without my teeth hurting. without my jaw hurting. and i never even popped ONE pain killer. i consider myself a miracle. well. scratch that. i consider my doctor to be a miracle-worker. honestly, after all the dentists and oral surgeon's that have been in my mouth - NOT ONE of them actually helped. and this guy is aaaah-mazing!!!

all that aside, i had a rough visit today with him.
lots of random drilling and by the time it was done, i had LITERALLY sweat through my clothes onto his vinyl chair. not joking. it was gross. i was so sweaty i felt like i had wet my pants. my shirt was soaked. my shorts were soaked. i was sorta weak in the knees as i walked out.

I HATE THE DENTIST CHAIR!!!! the jury is still out on what he did today -- i may not make it till my appt again next month. he may need to see me again, sooner...BUT...i just wanted to send an OVERALL positive report that i THINK we're making progress :)

since i was in bethesda, MD, i decided to give ann marie a call to have lunch. he's a great oral surgeon, but he's sure as heck a long way away from my house. it's about a 30-40 min. drive BUT SO WORTH IT. given i'm in ann marie's neck of the woods only once a month, i figured it would be nice to see her and baby owen. (flashback to mom's group last week....the girl from those photos). we did lunch...and owen did really well, right up until the end when he flipped out over being hungry and looked very sleepy :) i act the same way when i'm tired and hungry, so i can't give him a hard time!!!!

speaking of tired and hungry....

...just kidding. sorta.

in other news -- i was in bed last night reading some magazines and unwinding before falling asleep and i felt this non-stop kicking under my right rib cage. nothing abnormal, but it was pretty persistent. so i put my magazine down and pulled my t-shirt up, to expose my rib cage and WHAT IN THE WORLD -- I COULD SEE A FOOT PUSHING INTO MY SIDE!!! it was insane. i immediately started laughing and pushed back :) and he pushed back! HARD! it was a little bitty foot.....taking jabs in there. insane. that was definitely a first!!!!

heelarious.

i get the distinct impression that another storm is brewing.
fyi.

that's all i have really.
i'm going to try and assemble a bed frame that arrived recently.
and then i'm going to try to vacuum, and clean up upstairs -- i was slacking this morning.
and then i'm going to work on some weddings! woo hooo!

it doesn't feel like thursday, does it....?

i'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

hiya.
i have a feeling it was a pretty good idea to leave town during the time that i did!!! it seems there were some seeeeeerious storms and alotta peeps lost their electricity, lost trees, lost decks, lost actual powerlines, etc.

what is going on with the STORMS? i mean...hello.
we've had THREE MAJOR storms in the last...i dunno...two weeks?

scary.
so while i mourn the devastation this storm has caused, i can't HELP but SHARE THE GOOD NEWS that friends of mine (Glenna and William) are the NEW adoptive parents to their BABY BOY!!!! this story is nothing short of MIRACULOUS and the Lord has come through in such a DIVINE MANNER for them both. i am beyond thrilled for them and you can follow the process at:

www.williamandglenna.blogspot.com

they came SO CLOSE to the birthfather pulling the plug on the entire thing, but starting on sunday -- hundreds of people hit their knees in prayer and the Lord turned the birth father's heart. it's so exciting i could DIE!!!! i can't wait to see PICTURES!!!!!!

father's day was good -- we totally surprised my dad and took him out to dinner and caught up with the family. rudy was TRULY the Prince of Darkness, as he attacked both of my mom's dogs -- BUT -- i don't feel like talking about it.

rather, i'll recap with some images:

Prince of Darkness, in his quiet slumber as we rode to PA:



me and puffy on the roooooad agaaaain....



what happens when chad takes over the camera?
he cuts my head off....and captures the widest part of my body....



me, my brother ryan, and our two babies...



puffy and ryan....



ryan and kristen's aaaadorable king charles spaniel, levi.
honestly -- too cute for words!



on the way to dinner with dad!!!
see why i hope my child gets his father's eyes?? ;)



L to R:
jordan, kelly (girlfriend), puffy, me, and dad!!!
(ryan and kristen were at her family's house...and totes was on ice at home....)



classic dad face!!!!!
i swear, EVERY PICTURE we have of him -- he's making that face!!!



at any rate -- we got him! he had no idea we were coming and it was fun to catch up with everybody!!!!!

for those of you who continue to ask about mom -- please continue in your prayers for her as they struggle to determine the source of her continued pain in her back, despite efforts to alleviate it via surgery!!!!! it's just a slow process and hopefully we'll have more answers soon!!!

i wish i had something cooler to talk about today.
i mean. adoption and holidays are at the TOP of the cool list, but i still feel boring....?

i refuse to go grocery shopping. but i have no food. why should i shop and cook when puff is only home 7 nights in this entire month? i'm definitely having deja vu, too. like. how many times can i blog about this, right? i hear you.

well, i'll conclude by saying i'm off to finish some weddings, schedulings, and paying the bills. THRILLING!!!! please let us go ONE DAY w/o the threat of rain......please?? :)

laters!

packin' up...

since we did it for mother's day -- we feel compelled to do it for father's day too!
chad and i will pack up and head to PA to surprise my dad for father's day :)
we'll leave around 8am on sunday and i THINK we'll be returning on tuesday evening.

it all depends on puffy's schedule, honestly.
the only reason the trip will be so long is b/c he's got meetings monday and tuesday in philly, so he'll just leave me at my parents house and come back around to get me on the tail end of his biz trip.

i'm excited for a car ride with my hubby, as weird as that sounds. we just haven't had alot of time to TALK and catch UP....even today, we literally said our FIRST personal hello's as i came through the door and he was walking out the door. i miss him. and i have a headache. pitiful combo!

as for my rudy update = he was accepted to dog school on a trial basis. how pathetic. he actualyl did REALLY well on his evaluation -- actually fell asleep while the trainer and i talked for a few HOURS regarding his mental psychosis. i'm tenative about this school/training ordeal working, but see no other options. with the baby coming and such -- i need him UNDER FREAKING CONTROL or he'll inevitably get the boot. and you KNOW how i love me some rudy. so that's saying aaaalot. he'll start sometime next month when their next slot opens.....which personally gives me more time to save up for this ridiculous ordeal.....

he was quite apprehensive the morning of....sitting in the back seat as we pulled up to the school.....



on a completely unrelated topic, i have FINISHED my babies r us registry. it feels SO WEIRD!!!! thank the LORD for my friends julie, ann marie and glenna who sent me emails/info on what to register for. julie actually took me to the store so that i could push strollers through the aisle and figure out which ones i liked the best. gosh. who KNEW there could be so many bottle selections. it's TOTALLY why i have avoided it to this point. i literally handed the laser beam over to julie and let her start adding things to my registry. LIKE I HAVE A CLUE! but anyways -- i feel a LITTLE less lost, a LITTLE more educated, and JUST as overwhelmed. where on earth am i going to put ALL this stuff!?






sidenote: while i was waiting for julie to finish getting ready, i snapped some pics of her PRESH one-year old son!! he's such a ham! he gives me his two front teeth in this hysterical grin, every time i pointed the camera at him!!!!




i'm this close to crossing the 20 lb marker for pregnancy weight-gain.
and it hurts.
alot.
i took out the "heaven" jeans -- my first maternity purchase (the darling Sevens maternity jeans) i splurged on at 12 weeks. what a FOOL i was to spend so much money on a pair of jeans SO EARLY in my pregnancy. a taste of heaven will do that to you. they FELT SO GOOD. at any rate....i went to put them on today and...could...not....pull...them....up.

chad walked into the bedroom and stopped cold in his tracks as he watched me jump all over the room, BEGGING the jeans to pull up and over my fat hips and rear.
mama gots some junk up in her trunk. CANT SAY ITS ALL BABY when the pants start to scream when they hit your THIGHS. chad runs to rescue me, and starts yanking on the backside of my jeans, breaking a sweat trying to get them over my rump, as well. we both look at each other -- him about to laugh. me about to cry. and i gave up.

they sit rejected in the dark crevices of my closet.
may they come in handy in the post-partum portion of this pregnancy.

i was disgusted.
i know....spare me.
"your hips start to widen during pregnancy...."

yea, well, i'm sure those late night choc chip cookie binges don't help either.
is it wrong to diet in your third trimester???
(speaking of -- i'm starving and already mentally cheating on this diet that hasn't even BEGUN YET)

i humbly pulled the only pair of jeans i own that still fit, out of my closet, and put them on.
i hate those jeans.
but that was all i had.
and i proceeded to head to the mall (for father's day gifts and a bday gift) and spend serious cash on another round of maternity gear. hopefully all of this stuff can be worn again the next time i do this pregnancy thing.
my size DEFINITELY jumped up since the last time i was in there -- and the shoe saleswoman (wait. ok. fine. i BROWSED the shoe dept as well....) made comments about me losing my balance b/c of my "big belly." uhm....you're about to get B****-slapped, lady.

so anyways. i'm stocked up again. but i'm certain it's only until my next growth spurt, which from my pregnancy books, looks to be roughly ELEVEN more pounds.

(any moms out there brave enough to tell me what they had gained by the 28th week?? or TOTAL, for that matter, throughout the entire pregnancy?)

alright...i need to finish the laundry, packing, ....and eat. again. ;)

i'll be back around on wednesday, but will be surfing your blogs every day --
happy FATHERS day!!!!
xoxo, al

PS:
this image is for lanier.
since we spoke of DMVs today and all things car related....i felt it was appropriate to take this picture while at a traffic light, after leaving your house today. right on rt. 1. HYSTERICAL.....
i share in this man's sentiments:





can't you see it?
he was in a RAGE after waiting at the DMV in line for 8 years and was just told he'd been waiting in the wrong long. "i'm sorry, that line over there is where you should be...."

is she bored???

i know.
raaaandom.
back to back posts.
consecutive dates.
she must be sick.

i feel like i had alot to say, and...now i'm drawing a blank.
i certainly have some photos, so i'll let them tell the stories....

FOR STARTERS -- between my three dog visits to the doggie hospital and such, i somehow glazed right over MISS LAHLEE'S 30TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! hello. huge ordeal. i nearly DIIIIEEED when her sissy told me the surprise bday party was going to be on THE WEEKEND i had flown to Tamps. sweet timing. gosh, i ALWAYS miss the big deals around here. sheesh.

at any rate, i took her to a fun dinner (mostly out of selfish reasons, i needed to be able to CATCH UP with her!) in georgetown and it was just good ole fun girltime. certainly not comparable to the week she had been given by her LOVING FAMILY, but.....i certainly needed to do something to ring in the BIG 3-0!!! so this is my public announcement:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANIER!!!



then per request....i have some belly pictures!
it's not as cool when you have to take them of yourself, but it gets the job done. good enough. if somebody pointed a camera at me, i'd probably not allow them to capture any images, so doing it myself is best. CONNNNNTROOOLLLL.

so, here ya go! 27 weeks:








sorry, wasn't sure which one did the best job of describing WHY i've already outgrown my first round of maternity pants. yeah. things nobody really tells you. i bought the MOST adorable pair of black capris which were going to be my summer "church uniform"....since they were cool enough to wear all summer and nice enough to pull off at church, being that i default to my comfy sweats 9 out of 10 days. i've worn them ONCE. i pulled them out to wear to the wedding on saturday -- THEY WOULD NOT BUTTON UP. are you JOKING ME!? they are BRAND NEW! i thought maybe if i left a button undone, it would work, but you could SEE the constricted line across my abdomen from the waistband, underneath the shirt i was going to wear and it looked like i was trying to hide a watermelon or something. i knew after 10 hours on my feet, that would just start to get really old. i'm actually still in shock over it.

which would probably explain the newfound STARVATION that is hitting me. i ate a casual dinner with lanier last night, a salad, a sandwich, a bag of chips....at roughly 730pm. by midnight, i couldn't sleep through my stomach growlings. i persisted however, and determined in my heart to NOT EAT at midnight. only that causes ravenous and unsightly binging sprees the following morning. i woke up hungrier than EVER. i've eaten a cheddar and bacon scone (bigger than the size of my hand...), a huge bagel with piles of cream cheese, a banana.....well, actually that's all so far. but its 1pm and i could kill for FOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

i think it's safe to say bebe cheeze is growing.

and since i look more MOM-ISH than ever.....i decided to attend a MOMS GROUP this morning. gasp. i think i used to swear these things off...like...with every fiber of my soul.

actually, if you recall, i think it was this time last year that i jumped ship on the women's bible study that felt a LIIIITTTLE too much like a "mom's group." i couldn't handle it. but there were many reasons for that.

needless to say, when i was invited to one, with today being the opening day, i was hesitant but knew it would be a good thing to do.

and it reminded me of WHY it was so painful to attend last year. it isn't painful at all now, but gosh...why did i subject myself to SO MUCH BABY TALK when i suffered through the season of infertility.

it was just what i expected. it was a room full of swollen bellies or newborns. i went with annmarie, as the leader of the group is a friend of hers. owen "the great" is the oldest baby there, and BY FAR the biggest!!! he's a strapping 5mth old, if i ever saw one!!! but tell me he's not the most precious kid in the world!! i'm more excited to have a boy b/c both julie and ann marie have them...so i feel my "boy posse" is going to help me out tremendously!!!

it was good to hear that my braxton hicks contractions are normal.
it was good to hear that my doctor is insane for capping my weight gain at 22lbs.
it was good to watch how moms respond when their babies scream the entire 2 hours.
it was good to eat an entire canister of cream cheese.
it was good to talk to the girls who have had or are scheduled to have c-sections....very interesting topic.
it was good to just catch up with ann marie, meet my new "babysitting timeshare" girlfriends, and to get to know the local Alexandria mothers-to-be!!!

i'm loving my canon point and shoot, FYI. SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT to carry around i feel you'll see more pics in the future, now that i am not lugging around a huge camera case!!!

ann marie and her little tank!! 95th percentile!!!


owen wondering WHY we made him wear the hat....


i got him to smile a smidge...


looook at those CHEEEKS!, and i wish you could see his eyelashes ...the envy of every chick.


one of the girls had twins.
and DIDNT FIND OUT UNTIL SHE WAS 20 WEEKS!!!
twins are in the matching car seat...and they're hangin' with with their girlfriend.
it's like they're all waiting for the metro to come pick them up. or at a bus station.


last two of owen.
i'm sorry.
in a weird way, he reminds me of ryan, my brother, when he was little.
his build, his massive black-brown eyes, his chubby cheeks....
owen is honestly the MOST CONSISTENTLY happy baby i've seen in a long time.
non-stop laughs...i dont think i've ever seen him cry.
PRESH.




so that was my first mom's group :)

but until my human child is born...we have a doggie child who needs massive amts of attention.
during mom group today, his trainer called and wants to see rudy for an evaluation at 9am tomorrow morning. TOMORROW!!! i feel like it's college application time all over again!

WHAT IF HE FAILS??
the trainer was very fair in stating he makes no promises on accepting rudy into the program. rudy may be beyond what help they can offer. but he'll spend an hour with him, figure out his life history and why he's been the spawn of satan for the past 2 months and build a plan to help him.
i'm not going to ask you to pray, even though i secretly thought it in my head.
but i'll keep you posted!

oh and the A/C update is not pretty.
seems the 11 year old unit is a piece of SH** that is undersized for the square footage of this house. we need a 4Ton unit and the builder installed a 3Ton unit. so our house is about 500sq ft bigger than what this A/C unit should be serving. i can't utter out loud (much less see it in writing) the quote he gave me for a new furnace and AC unit, but .....THAT is something that we need prayer for, for sure. holy expensive homeowner expenses. PLLLLLEASE let the AC make it through 2008 and we'll deal with it in 2009. that's ALL i ask....

ok.
it's going to be 2pm before long.
exterminator coming.
consultation tonight.
lunch to eat!

it 's been real.....xo, al

PS: on a final note, the Economist had this article regarding the CFA Exam, the one that chad takes every year. it'll give you some insight into how freaking impossible it is....i found it really interesting, and though it could be helpful for those of you who have no real clue what it exactly entails....

***************
Charter school

Jun 5th 2008
From The Economist print edition

How not to unwind after work

ON THE weekend of June 7th and 8th, up to 175,000 people round the world will face one of the most arduous tests of their lives. They will sit one of the three exams required to earn the coveted status of chartered financial analyst (CFA).

One of those candidates will become the millionth person to take the test. That is phenomenal growth for a qualification that, as recently as 1995, was taken by fewer than 20,000 people a year. This expansion partly reflects the lure of earning big money in finance (at least until the credit crisis). But it also shows the growing appeal of the CFA brand outside its American birthplace; more than two-fifths of this year's candidates come from Asia, where job ads in the South China Morning Post now often say “CFA-required”.

Although no profession formally requires employees to become a CFA, it is increasingly seen as essential for those trying to get ahead in financial services. Despite already working in institutional sales at Man Group, a hedge-fund firm, Lucy Johnstone, a classics graduate from Edinburgh University, is putting herself through the agony of the level III exam. It “really helps when you're talking to other finance professionals,” she says.

Unlike the well-known MBA degree, which usually requires a residential course, CFA students mostly study at home. Neo Wee Koon, a Singapore-based engineer who wants to move into fund management, says he was attracted by both the flexibility and affordability of the course; he receives a grant from his local CFA Institute to help him study.

But this structure also means candidates need a lot of self-discipline. Aelita Arampova, a recent CFA charterholder who is now chief executive of a hedge-fund group, says she studied from 8pm till midnight from three to four days a week with a further five to six hours at weekends. She decided to duck out of the programme for a year in 2006, when she faced the equally demanding task of organising her wedding.

After all that effort, there is no guarantee of success. Nitin Mehta of the CFA Institute in London says that only a fifth of the candidates who start complete all three stages; a quarter do not even turn up to the exam. Mind you, faced with questions such as “What are the desirable statistical properties of an estimator?”, they can hardly be blamed for that.

(i firmly believe a quarter of them don't show up b/c their wives have killed them....i'm just saying.)

UPDATED!!!!! :: no title tuesday ::

UPDATE:
the second i pressed "publish post"....my hospital called me :)
"we've got an slot opening at the end of the month -- would you like it?"

AHHH!!! praise the LORD!!!

:: end update ::

******
******

it's 98 degrees outside.
that's all i'm gonna say about that.

but it should not feel like it's 98 degrees (omg, the songs will be in my head all day now) in your bedrooms.

the joys of being a new homeowner .... :)
i have made an appointment for an A/C inspector to come out this afternoon to give me a "check-up" if you will, on the status of the situation upstairs. i mean, there may simply be nothing we can do about how FREAKING HOT it is up there....but it's 2008. i mean, there comes a point where you realize, "i dont HAVE to live like this...there must be SOME resolution. it's the 21st century."

but that's what i always thing when i wonder:
1) why's the dentist STILL have to hurt?
2) why do cars STILL run on gas?
3) why does our medical system suck SO BAD?

after all, it's 2008 and i thought we've made more progress.....

cough, cough.
back to my AC.
i ASSUME the dude will say, "eh, your unit is fine (it better be, it's only 11 years old), the air simply doesn't make it to the 3rd and 4th floors." yes, we live in a VERY vertical house and chad will need knee surgery by the time he's 30.

if this is the case, i'll be heading over to home depot to buy those portable AC units for bedrooms. NOT window units, but the ones you plug in, like julie and seth have. guys, WHERE did you get yours? i know they're NOT cheap, but when you sweat through your sheets, concessions must be made.

or maybe we do need a new massive outdoor AC unit.
in which case i'll slit my wrists.
because thats mega-bucks and we'd ultimately end up sweating through alot more than sheets if we have to make that sorta purchase right now.

homeowner issue #2.
property taxes.
because my lovely husband FAR prefers paying his own property taxes twice a year, rather than escrowing the taxes, HOA fees, and insurance like 99% of people out there, we get a NICE FAT BILL twice a year :( his thoughts, "why give the bank small increments of money EVERY MONTH when we could be investing it monthly and pay the city ourselves, only twice a year."

great points.
though i'll have twice-yearly heart attacks.

i woke up this morning, and had i not been the aforementioned 98 degrees, in my bed sweating, i would have been sweating over thoughts of when we sat down in our closing meeting with the settlement company.....THE LORD caused me to remember these words:

"your taxes are DUE by june 15th, if you don't GET THE BILL in june....call the city immediately."

myheartsanktomytoes.

sweet.
so i call the title company, sure enough, the bill went to the previous owner's mortgage company.
i have till TOMORROW to come up with the money and send the check in on time.
just one more of those SCARY THINGS that "other people" in your life (husband, dad, landlord, etc) are supposed to deal with.....NOT ME!!!!! yeah. scrambling today.

in other news.
my hospital decided to turn their back on me and tell me, "all birthing classes are full till october 23rd."

"that's funny, because i'm DUE on september 12th."

"sorry, i'm sure you can sign up at another hospital."

"i'd LIKE to take the classes AT MY OWN HOSPITAL WHERE I WILL BE DELIVERING."

"well, we can wait-list you."

that's when i flipped out.
i just got off the phone with my OB, who will hopefully pull some strings for me.
PLEASE PEOPLE....just FIT ME IN! good grief! my husband will tell you good jokes and we'll be the life of your stinkin' party. JUST LET ME IN.

(so tell me, moms.....was the child birthing classes worth it? will i just DIE if i miss out on it? i mean, women for centuries have given birth in caves, barns, passenger seats of cars.....i'm sure i'ts not rocket science and if it is -- that is why doctors are present....right?)

uhm, omg. yesterday we had such a fun afternoon catching up with our close friends Joe and Ashley Wollersheim!!!!! they came by to see the new house, to see a preggie allison, and to delve into their adventures around the world. i'm honestly IN SHOCK over all they've done and all they've yet to experience!!!

they're both in the peace corps about to head over to TIMBUKTU which is a REAL PLACE (i had no idea) ...for 27 mths! they'll have no electricity, no internet, no NOTHING.....but they're excited and we're going to miss them!!!!

they even came bearing gifts for baby morgan :)
thank you, friends!!! we'll follow your blog religiously!

also, everybody, thanks for the prayers on Puff's test. he needed them. i needed them. and it's behind us until August when we find out if he passed. PLEASE LORD!!!! now he's off for another string of business meetings and it's just me and the rucifer. who is OF THE DEVIL, right now. i haven't slept for THREE FULL NIGHTS b/c i'd place him in his crate for the evening and HE WOULD FLIP OUT. he literally screamed from 10-12AM, at which point i put my ear plugs in. (product of being married to a COMPLETE nerd...) then he woke up and proceeded with his freak-fest from 1-4AM.....ear plugs back in.....and then i woke up at 8am.....pulled the ear plugs out...and he was STILL SCREAMING. SCREAMING. SCREEEEEEAMING. full on freaking PANIC MODE.

we called the dog school yesterday. well. finally got through to the manager yesterday.
"well...you ARE aware that Shar-Pei's are a more difficult breed to train...right?"

:::rolling my eyes::::

REALLY LADY?! i had NO EARTHLY IDEA!!!!
thanks, really.
so we'll see if he passes his "evaluation" to even ENTER into the lofty ranks of those trained by the Old Town School for Dogs. makes me want to vomit.

lastly.
i registered.

i did it.
there was no fanfare....or anything hugely amazing about it.
i'm frankly overwhelmed over the magnitude of THINGS that will be stored in my house, once my showers are over. wow. fortunately FOR ME, my dearest ann marie emailed me a "must have" list for babies...and i registered verbatim off her list. then she sent me a registry of one of the MOST organized expectant moms ever known to man. and i copied her registry too. juju will take me to babys r us on friday to complete the entire ordeal.

now that it's behind me -- i feel so relieved. i'm excited over how fun everything is, but i couldn't have done it on my own -- which is why i haven't. so voila. the registry is UP!

on tap for this week:
air conditioning dramz.
exterminator dramz.
bridal consultations.
painters/contractors.
scrambling for father's day (what are you buying YOUR DADS???)
appointments with my internet provider.
registering at babys r us.
possible "evaluation" for the Rucifer.

we're just chuggin' along over here!!!
more soon -- XOXO, al

FYI:
obsession of the month = PEARS!!!!

i miss my husband :(

i had dreams about him last night :(
he's been gone for over a week now, and though i've DEFINITELY kept myself busy with random escapades over our time apart, i still miss him.

and i'm BEYOND sick of dealing with my dog right now, by myself, as well.
as of this morning, rudy peed on a $40 rug which is now trashed, and managed to get his name taken out of the will.

wait.
we don't have a will.

i mean our future will.

i may abandon him soon.

this has been a bad rudy week.
between getting bitten (again. don't make me explain it.) 4 times in the face on monday and going to the hospital, to destroying cafe furniture and making a scene at a local cafe, resulting in a bloody fiasco at the hospital again, to peeing on my new rugs.....he's batting 1000 this week.

my patience is running very thin. very. and this time. it's not a joke.

wait, this got derailed because i was just talking about how much i need Puffy to come home...and rudy even ruined that line of thought.

so yeah, independence is cool for a little while but now i'm lonely and missing my husband. and sadly, he comes back home on sunday...and leaves again on tuesday for another week of travel. and that's our life for june.

he's sleeping in his own bed for nine nights this month.
NINE.
or was it eight?....i forget. i counted it once to use as a guilt trip factor at some point, for some reason....but now it just makes me sad. :(

i always used to make fun of emo women during pregnancy. the ones who cry at commercials and when butterflies wisp by. "gay crying" in better terms.

well, i think i just hit that point.
and no, i still don't cry at butterflies and hallmark commercials, but boy oh boy can i turn a faucet on right now at the drop of a hat if my dinner burns, or if it's 1030pm and i realize there's no ice cream in my freezer. and no husband to run and find some. WAAAHHHH!!!!

in other news, chrissy was here for 24 hours!!! :)
it's been a while since chrissy and i had ALONE time. like. w/o Puffy, or one of her boyfriends. :) sorry, chris, had to get that in there ....they were on a tight rotation there for a while :)

but she came, we ate, we talked, we went swimming at my pool, we saw scary movies (WHY!?) and we slept in. good ole college days catching up fun. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY CHRISSY!!! i feel a little more up to speed on your life, which is always a very good thing :)








pllllllllease pray for my husband at some point tomorrow, if you remember to.
he takes the final phase of the CFA exams (been an ongoing ordeal for the past 7 years...hello.) and we're both just holding our breath. in a sense, i'm thrilled this part of the year is over. he takes the test and we move on with our lives until august when we find out if he passed or not. but at the same time, we don't feel really READY for it because this year has been SO distracting and hard for him to carve out time to fully study.

...something about what happens to your wife when she gets pregnant, packs, moves, unpacks, goes to court, shoots insane weddings...

it can be a little...how shall we say....hard to study under the same roof with me ;)

so just pray that the Lord would SUSTAIN him tomorrow, he's so excited to have this over. but would be more excited to have it COMPLETED FOREVER!!! (as would crazy wife)

PRAYER TALKING POINTS:
1) recollection of 6 mths of material. his poor brain has taken on new job responsibilities, new husband responsibilities, new homeowner responsibilities, and new FINANCE TESTING MATERIAL that would blow your mind if you saw it. i can't even READ a question b/c they're so hard to understand. just pray that God helps me recall EVERYTHING he's jammed into his poor head.

2) blood sugar. the kid has to test for 6 hours straight. this is the same kid who eats 6-10 meals a day. he goes DOWNHILL QUICKLY when he gets hungry....and i don't think snacks are allowed in the testing center. they get a break, but they typically jam their heads with 3x5 cards and such during this time. no mcDonald's runs for them.

3) calmness of mind. he's invested so much and worked so hard and given his entire heart to this test and i would be beyond thrilled to have his desires fulfilled and to simply pass the test and have this season of his life behind him. PLEASE LORD!!!! so of course, he gets jittery and nervous and shaky and i pray he is just calm when he wakes up tomorrow....physically calm.

4) reminder of God's sovereignty. God knows already if he's passed or not. He does. He holds the future. there is such peace in that....and i want chad to feel it and realize he's done his best and the Lord resolves the rest!!!!

have a great weekend to everybody!!!
xoxo - al

100 days....

howdy everybody:

i'm sorry i didn't update sooner.
i feel that i've been SO absentee for SO long that nobody really checks in with me regularly, therefore, nobody will miss me if i let a post slide for a few days...

...or a few weeks.

where to begin.
and that's the problem.
i sit here and since it's normally been so long...i dont know where to go and it's overwhelming and i walk away :)

as for the appointment -- it went very well.
it's so strange to WATCH the baby kick on the sonogram and to FEEL him kick at the very same time. CRAZY! it seems he's found a resting place in my body, where his feet are actually kicking my right side that's been so sore lately. the kicks dont hurt....but the overall RIGHT SIDE of my body does. maybe that's why? dunno.

the perinatal specialist did the entire grueling level 2 sonogram again. i was there alone. there were some moments where i'd just watch the ceiling b/c i'd rather not know what part of the body the doctor is staring at with a weird expression....for 20 seconds or more. i'd inevitably come home and google something like, "doctor finds weirdness in baby's brain area...." and slit my wrists. at least i KNOW when to NOT want to know more.

he said the baby is measuring EXACT for his due date. i mean. hello...i couldn't ask for more.
he's 53rd percentile and at the time, i was 24 weeks 4 days....and every single thing on his body was measured at 24 weeks 4 days. thank you FATHER! well...except for the baby's legs. :) they were 24 weeks 6 days. which is also something to be thankful for!! we're hoping he gets his daddy's height of 6'4" :)

he said under normal circumstances, he'd call it a day and not even ask me to come back to be seen again -- things seem that good. BUT since there is an umbilical cord hiccup....he wants to see me every 4-6 weeks until he's born.

i just hate that.
i asked him, "IF something were to go wrong (outside of low fetal weight), wouldn't we know it by now?? wouldn't you see it by now??"

he said no.
not everything.
"sometimes there are intestinal issues and brain development issues that can't really be seen until the 27th week....so we'll be able to rule out all the final concerns (they're not thinking they'll find anything, but they comb the body over with a finetooth comb and will rule anything they can out, since i'm there...) at your next appt."

my heart sank.
like...people. it sucks waiting for the next sonogram. like. are you kidding? i thought we were in the clear and though i don't feel there will be any problems, i just hate anticipating the appointment where they will be LOOKING for these very things, in CASE they exist. just sucks.

but the baby seems happy.....he kicks almost non-stop and has 100 days to go!!! even though 100 sounds like alot, when i say it in weeks, it doesn't sound so long. 13 weeks to go. wow. that sounds short. considering all i need to accomplish before then, especially....

my next level 2 sono is on the last day of this month and i'll let you know to PRAY as time gets closer and keep you posted on the progress!!!

in other news, i've been MIA b/c i went to Tampa for a long weekend with some girlfriends!! my husband is in CA for 10 days, taking the CFA Level III Exam, and so 4 of us took off and has some relaxing time in the sun!!! it was SWELTERING hot....but the Gulf was really warm and we swam at the beach and at the pool and ate amazing food...and slept however long we wanted :) it was fantastic!













then it was REALLY sweet...the first morning we woke up there, the girls whipped out amazing BABY GIFTS FOR ME! i was shocked.....it was adorable!!! everything was precious and so thoughtful -- THANK YOU FRIENDS!!!







so that's that.

continue to pray for chad as he studies for his CFA III which he takes on Saturday. if he passes -- HE IS DONE FOREVER with this insane exam. PLEASE LORD!!!!!

i also shoot my final wedding on saturday -- another praise-worthy mention. i'm so over it, right now....being as awkward as i feel physically. i dont think i SEEM OR LOOK too pregnant, but it's getting weird to bend over...and do random stuff that normally is effortless!!!!

ok, this is getting too long and i'm off to run 234324 errands!!!

so glad chrissy is coming to town soon!! hope we can sit poolside and pretend we're in FL, too :)

XOXO - al