Last Pre-Holiday Post

Tomorrow at the crack of dawn we depart for two weeks blissfully away from work, although maybe not-so-blissfully in the in bosom of our families. I have already steeled myself for the prospect of bouncing back and forth and never unpacking, and endlessly having to justify how many hours and nights we spend in any given household. But it will be mostly good. It must be. And I will not let it be otherwise.

(Anyone want to place bets on how many pregnancy books we'll receive as gifts? 2 so far, in addition to the 3 we already had....)

Blogging will perhaps be a challenge while I'm away, since I haven't figured out how to do it via e-mail (maybe I'll figure out how to do that instead of working this afternoon; why stop procrastinating now?), and my blog is most certainly a secret to my family. However, given the past holiday performances of one mother-in-law, emergency blogging may be necessary. So, stand by, hope for the best... and have a wonderful, happy, sparkly holiday season wherever you are.

Return of an Old Foe

Big horrible pimples. Constellation-style. Thought they were vanquished about 10 years ago. Discovering they are one of the lovely rewards of pregnancy. Just in time for the holidays. Whatever happened to that "pregnancy glow"? (Or was that code language for "pizza face"?)

In other news, I can safely say I've experienced my career high (The Big Award) and low (a stupid, stupid, retarded mistake) in the space of three weeks. I just hope their proximity reminds my bosses that I'm not a total screw-up, and that the former outweighs the latter.

Heading home to my mommy and my daddy -- and leaving behind this -10 degree weather shit in the deal -- in three days. Not that I'm counting. (Just 237599.99999999985 seconds to go....)

Amazing stuff.

Our 12-week appointment was today and everything was FAB!! Actually when we got there the doc couldn't find the heartbeat with her stethoscope thingy, which made me a bit nervous -- but she said probably just meant the uterus was tilted back. To ease our minds she was able to sneak me in for an"off the record" (ie not reported to insurance) sonogram which was a super bonus!!

We saw EVERYTHING -- the profile, hands and feet waving, lots of moving and wiggling and rolling over!! we even saw 5 fingers on one hand (little pudgy things!). It was so, so excellent. I finally am feeling like I can be really excited about everything and enjoy it. It definitely was a big deal to see the shape of a real little person in there -- definitely changes the dynamic (and makes it impossible to be quite so abstract about it all).

Also, it turns out they think we're at 13 weeks, not 12 like we thought... although it may just be a lonnnnng baby (definitely possible considering the 6'6" papa!). That would make the due date June 21. Anyway, at my next appointment (Jan. 6) they will do another sonogram (and MAY be able to tell gender at that point) and a big blood test (during which time they'll test for possible Down's syndrome indicators... but they don't have any reason to think i have much risk...knock wood). For now, i'm just feeling really positive and happy.

That's the latest and greatest! :)

A Small Christmas Miracle

Today as I dashed off to work, I came over the crest of a hill to see a cop standing in my path, looking ominous. No idea how fast I'd been going, I looked to him for direction. Unbelievably, he waved me on -- and pulled over the *minivan* behind me. What are the odds?

You can understand why I prefer to think about -- and blog about -- the goodness of this small lovely turn of events, rather than the hellacious, rude, selfish behavior of my wench of a mother-in-law that rears its ugly head every holiday season.

I could fill a whole blog or two just with stories of how she hurts my heart with her immature, passive-agressive behavior. And it's all I can do not to tell her to her face how unfair I think she is being (the basic gist is that she constantly accuses us -- either actively or implicitly -- of neglecting her family in favor of mine, when we bend over backwards to be perfectly "fair" -- sometimes at my family's expense). But I know that somehow, that would be twisted and contorted and used as ammunition against me.

I can only imagine how a child will figure into this. I like to think it might give me some leverage... but the truth is, I am a sensitive person, and she is a raging bi-otch, and so it will probably always hurt me.

Note to self: NEVER be this way to your kids and the people they love.

Twelve weeks!

We made it to the big 12-week mark! No major problems so far that we are aware of, though I'm still feeling pretty bad a lot of the time (I just read an article that said some unlucky women are stuck with the sickness through all nine months... perish the thought...). I will really feel much more confident about things after the next OB appointment on Wednesday... assuming all goes well, then we can really tell everyone and start getting even MORE excited! Honestly, it will be so nice not to have to hide it... I keep almost slipping up...!

Meanwhile, G. took a picture of my belly this morning -- so far just looks like I need to go the gym (which I DO, but that's a different story). We'll try to do 1/week or so in the same pose and then do a flip book or animation at the end of it all. :)

Three months down, six to go.........

Bloated Bowling

Last night my office holiday party was cancelled due to low turnout (okay, how pathetic is THAT?), so I forced G. to take me disco bowling. A couple years ago, this was the thing to do (it's 21+, blacklights and neon pins, and loud music... but most importantly NO children's birthday parties). Needless to say we were the ONLY -- and I do mean ONLY -- people there (confirming my long-held suspicion that I am two years behind on most fashions).

Anyway, the logic behind this outing was -- maybe I would feel less bloated and oogy, and less all-around pregnant, if I got OFF the couch and OUT of the house.

It partially worked. But before I go recommending it, here's the rub:

Conjuring up the imagery of passing a bowling ball-sized object through one's pelvis becomes all the more terrifying when one is heaving an actual bowling ball down the lane.

(Holy shit, is 8 pounds really THAT heavy? I am totally screwed!)

Science used for good, not evil

My proposal: How long will it take for husband to a) notice there are dirty, rank dishes in the sink that do not put themselves in the dishwasher, and b) actually move them there without being hounded?

My hypothesis: It could take a long, long time -- perhaps longer than wife can bear.

Possible roadblocks to successful execution: Theory that subject (aka husband) is plotting own experiment, entitled "How long until wife cannot bear it anymore and finally caves in and puts dishes in dishwasher, while gleeful husband plays with iTunes?"

Clearly, this is going to be a contest of endurance.

BRING IT!

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing..."

I've mentioned it before, but it's a topic worth bringing up again, if only as a means of self-flagellation...

1. I feel like crap 99% of the time.
2. While I'm eating is the only time my stomach actually feels okay.
3. Therefore, I eat huge amounts because it feels so much better while I'm doing it.
4. I pay the price with raging heartburn, and want to curl up into a tiny ball under my desk.
5. Repeat.

The books say: "Eat six SMALL meals/snacks throughout the day." I know this, and yet, I KEEP EATING! Ugh. This kid better be reeeeally cute to make up for this first trimester!

Nice.

New York was fantastic... and I don't always feel that way about New York. Part of it was Christmas in the air... the lights and the decorations (although I always feel a bit sick over the Rockefeller tree -- why do they have to chop it down from someone's yard? Isn't there a similarly lush and lovely tree that was going to be cut down anyway? And why are its owners always so HAPPY to see their beautiful -- LIVING -- tree taken away??). But I digress.

Clearly the highlight was that we won The Big Award -- and by this I mean one that will be recognized on my mantle even by people not in my industry.... and I am not too jaded to actually display it there! It was extra sweet because the project was controversial and second guessed by management, even though our team always believed in it. So, vindication.

I also saw everyone I wanted to see in the head office, no one I didn't, and got in some facetime with the big bosses. And about 10 minutes of personal time with the really big cheese, whom I had never met and who was very nice and much more handsome in person. (I know this is all very abstract but blogs are frowned upon in my profession especially...)

So. Over post-award celebratory drinks (and my obvious lack thereof) I told The All-Girl Team my news to great excitement. MGD and I had a girls-only dinner afterwards, and CC and I had a girls-only breakfast.

And, I managed to finagle the very last non-smoking room at my hotel with a combination of truth and untruth ("I'm pregnant [true] and I have asthma [not true]." All for a good and just cause, though, little one.

Only possible downside -- somehow emerged from the bar with streaks of grease ALL over the new outfit... Clearly the moral of this story is that I should NOT wear suits... and that, my friends, is hardly breaking news.

Holy Reality Check, Batman!

Just sent G. a downright gleeful email:

m.s. just told me it's going to be my turn to run the intern program this summer and fall. i just smiled and said "sure, sounds great" -- and inside was giggling because i know (hope!) that i won't be here then! AHAHAHAHA!

His response:

You'll be running your own intern program! 18 years of training....

Holy schnikes! He's right!! Ayeeeee! :)