On staying at home....

Now that everyone knows I'm pregnant the big question is whether or not I'll be going back to work after having the baby. Someone asked me yesterday and when I told them I was going to be staying at home they said, "Really, you WANT to do that?" I can't imagine doing anything but! I thought about their response all day......

I'm already so in love, just hearing the heartbeat and seeing the tiny little picture at our 12 week ultrasound. If I knew I had to go back to work I think I'd be in a deep depression right now. Joe and I always agreed that we wouldn't even try to have kids until we knew we'd be able to do it with me staying at home. Thankfully we're able to make it with me staying at home and luckily Joe has the same beliefs as I when it comes to this. It wont be a cake walk but we're both willing to give up a lot in order to make it happen. We wont be driving new cars or be going on as many vacations.....but that is fine with me. I've always wanted to be a mom and I don't think there's any job that could be more fulfilling than being a mom and raising our kids!

Music to our ears

Yesterday we heard Baby S's heartbeat and it was the most beautiful sound! It took doctor a little bit to find it and he must have sensed I was panicking because he said, "Don't worry, baby is just playing hide and seek." Soon after he said that we heard it. Beating strong at 149 BPM. I will never forget that sound, it was so amazing to hear it.

We find out the sex on May 18th. Joe's birthday! I can't believe it's time for that already. What's it going to be? My feeling is a baby boy. And Joe is thinking a girl. He says girl because he said he's gotten so used to Sophie he just can't imagine anything but a little girl. I'm so happy he doesn't care either way, I think that would make everything so stressful!

I'll leave you with a song. "Pregnant Women are Smug" by Garfunkel and Oates. The girl on the left actually lived on my floor my freshman year at Loyola Marymount! Enjoy!

And I'm back.

Our trip was fabulous! We landed in Amsterdam about an hour before they shut the airports down. For a week. And our scheduled flight out just so happened to be on the first day that flights started flying out again so we made it back with no problems.

We had gorgeous weather to explore in and saw so many things. Don't know where to start! I think the highlights were going to Keukenhof to see all of the gorgeous tulips and our trip to Brugge, Belgium. Such a beautiful city, not as busy as the other big cities we saw. Definitely need to stay there for two or three days if we go back. Our hotel, Grand Hotel Amrath, was awesome and had a free mini-bar. Being that I couldn't drink and Joe couldn't keep up with the daily replenishing, we came back with our own mini liquor collection!

Once again mom and I were totally fascinated by the Red Light District and drove Joe and Dad crazy always wanting to walk through and observe what was going on! I didn't get mean mugged this time, I think I learned my lesson doing that last time!

All in all it was a great trip and we had such a fun time traveling with mom and dad. Memories that will last forever! I came back really sick though and wasn't able to kick it all weekend. It knocked me out and zapped every ounce of energy I had out of me. That on top of dealing with jet lag made for a miserable homecoming. Feeling like the worst is over now, so thankful I didn't feel like that on our trip!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!

Don't stop reading!

I promise I'll start blogging again soon. With a weekend away, more work drama, our trip to Amsterdam, clothes starting to not fit----I've just had lots of other things on my mind!

Last weekend we went to Seattle. I went to the fashion show with the girls on Saturday night. It was exactly like a fashion show you would see on TV. 7' tall girls, crazy clothes...it was very interesting. And Anna did great! It makes me want to go back to Seattle and explore. The show was in Ballard but we went to Lennie and Anna's house first in Fremont. So many cute little stores and restaurants! Saturday night we hung out with Chris and Becky and played a new version of crummy rummy. I of course lost every hand, but hey---I still had a blast. You need to come down and play with us again, Becky!

Monday I met Kendra and Joanna for lunch at the Shamrock. Much needed gossip/girl time. And I must say, one of the best french dips I've ever had. Really. At the Shamrock. Who would've thought?! I really think we need to make it a Monday ritual!

And today, the day we've been waiting for......VACATION! It's hard to believe that we'll be in a far away country this time tomorrow! Not looking forward to the long flight but hoping I can sleep. And if not, Joanna gave me a book to read and I can't wait to get started! It's Pre-Parenting: Nurturing your Child from Conception. I have been tempted to read it ever since Monday but have resisted the urge---I have a feeling it will be finished by the time we land in Amsterdam! Joe's first question was, "Is Joanna pregnant?" :)

Alright, time to go finish up last minute things. I can't leave with any dirty laundry, including towels, so I got up extra early to make sure everything is clean, folded and put away before we leave. Oh, and I should probably finish packing.....

Gauw tot ziens! (See you soon in Dutch. At least that's what it says online!)

Baby S

I have the What to Expect.com app on my iPhone and I love it! Here is what's happening this week. I love reading these updates, it's so amazing how many things are going on---and how fast it all happens!

Week 13

Your fetus is about three inches long and the size of a peach this week. Though your baby's head is about half the size of its body now, by the time your baby is ready to make his or her entrance into the world, the head will only be one-fourth as large as the body.

Your baby's intestines are also in for some big changes right now. Up till this point, they've been growing in a cavity inside the umbillical cord; but now they're moving to their permanent address, in your baby's abdomen. And to serve your baby's growing needs, the placenta is also growing. It weights about an ounce now and will weigh one to two pounds at birth.

Also developing this week: your baby's vocal chords. Because sound can't travel through your uterus, you won't be able to hear any sounds or cries just yet.

Simply amazing! I get weekly updates from three different websites, babycenter.com said that the fingerprints have formed and if it's a girl, she has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries!

It's FRIDAY! Yay! I have a farewell party for a co-worker at the hotel tonight, one of the three people who have quit in the last two weeks. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next days/months.

Tomorrow Joe is golfing at 2 and as soon as he gets home we're leaving for Seattle. His aunt from Brazil, Anna, has been attending the New York Fashion Academy in Seattle and she has her final project/fashion show tomorrow night at 7 so all of us girls are going. Should be fun!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Our June adventure

In June we'll be making a trip to Warden, Washington for a friends wedding. I am so excited for this trip. Not only will it be a huge WSU reunion, I've never been to Warden and I think it's going to be an adventure! And I'm hoping that since the bustling metropolis of Warden is only 2 1/2 hours from Pullman we can make a Pullman visit out of it as well. We haven't been to Pullman for over 2 years and I need a fix. I want to walk around and reminisce about everything, walk through AXO, walk down Greek row, have some Cougar Country, drink a Peanut Butter Frost from Daily Grind and visit the people I worked with at the Alumni Association. I can't wait!

It's Thursday! I have come to love Thursdays almost even more than Friday. It's the day I turn a new week in my pregnancy life! Today I am 13 weeks. Oh so close to the second trimester already! I can't wait until that happens. Although I've relaxed a little, I was a nervous wreck the first 10 or so weeks. Especially because of the lack of symptoms and reading things like, "morning sickness indicates a healthy baby." Hmmm, well mine must be extremely unhealthy if that's the case! We just took our weekly belly picture and I don't see any change from last week but I'm definitely starting to feel a little different. I have to give myself about 20 extra minutes to get dressed in the morning because everything just looks so bad. Can't wait till I have a real bump and it doesn't just look like I'm getting fat!

Post-It Note Tuesday-Giving it a try!

Visit "Adventures of a WannaBe Supah Mommy" if you want to have your own Post-It note Tuesday!

The newest member of our family, Subie 2

We found our car! Joe picked me up on Friday from work and we took off to Vancouver to look at two Outback's we had found that day. Both were horrible. One was so destroyed inside I wouldn't even sit in it. Dog hair everywhere. Chewed up seats. Saggy looking leather. It was bad. Plus, the place wanted $10,000 and they "don't negotiate, this is our lowest price." Whatever! The other one was nice but we weren't crazy about it. I decided there are two distinct owner groups for Subaru's. Younger, active people and really old people. The second one we looked at was obviously owned by a really old lady. The first one was owned by people probably our age, Mt. Bachelor stickers everywhere, dirt from probably every mountain inside. Not to say that's how we treat our cars but in general, I think younger people are a little harder on them.

Anyway, we left feeling pretty defeated and got on our iPhones and started searching Craigslist to see if there were anymore we could look at since we were down there. And then we found it. Private seller, about 30K less miles than all the others we've been looking at, tinted windows, HEATED SEATS, immaculate. Perfect. I called the guy and he agreed to meet us. We didn't have any money on us but we decided if we liked it we could go get some. As soon as I stuck my nose in it I knew it was the one. The guy has used seat covers since the day he bought it. It looks brand new inside. I ran into the grocery store, we gave him $200 earnest money and we picked it up Saturday. Joe is in love and I am SO happy we finally found one. We were starting to get discouraged. Oh, and it's a manual. And he sold it to us for about $4000 less than he could've gotten for it. Amazing.

Now we can go on our road trip this summer since we don't have to worry about going over on miles. Can't wait till I can turn my car back in on October 5th. Never would've thought I'd love an 8 year old car with 93K miles more than my 2008 with 32K miles. :)

Happy Monday? I wish I loved Monday.....it's definitely not my favorite day of the week. But this week should be really interesting at work. Lots and lots of changes happening, never a dull moment.

What I just ordered...

Why you ask? Because I'm sure our future little baby will look absolutely adorable wearing them! That's right, we've got a baby on the way! We've been keeping it as quiet as possible, but since I hit the big 12 week mark yesterday we feel better about telling everyone. We are SO excited! After trying for what seemed like forever and not even knowing if we'd be able to because of all of the cancer treatment I went though, we were successful. Au natural too I might add. :)

Baby S is due on October 15. We had our first ultrasound last Thursday and it was the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed. As soon as the picture popped up on the monitor we could see its hands moving around and it's heart beating rapidly at 160bpm. For the longest time I was convinced there was no way I could really be pregnant. I went through about 20 pregnancy tests---even up until Wednesday of last week before our first ultrasound! I just couldn't believe that it was true, especially since I haven't had any symptoms whatsoever. No nothing! After seeing our baby last Thursday it made me feel truly blessed that everything has gone so smoothly. My first thought was, "Thank goodness---it's arms are moving that means there's a heartbeat!!" :) Everyone has said that the worst of it should be over by now, so I think I just got lucky. I was totally exhausted at first but that was fine---I love sleeping anyway!

Anyway, that's the latest news in our family. I don't think I've ever seen Joe quite so giddy and excited before. He's going to be a great dad, I can't wait for this new chapter in our lives!

New love.

YUM. I have a new love for McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfaits. They are so delicious and only $1.00. I have to admit my car has driven through the drive-thru every morning this week to get one. I purposely sleep a little later to justify "not having time" to make breakfast so that I can stop and get one of these. Yesterday the girl taking my order asked if I wanted hash browns with it. Kind of a weird combination if you ask me. I'm a little embarrassed about this mornings run being the 4th so far this week. Perhaps I'll take a detour and go to Kelso instead. :)

Thursday already? Wow, the week has flown by. And yet another new month. I really can't believe it's April already. I also can't believe that this time two weeks from now we'll be in Amsterdam!