officially unemployed

So, I officially quit my job today. Yes, I know I haven't been working for the last 8 months in London, but I was simply on a Leave of Absence from my *important* MBA/Corporate America management job.

However, today I took the plunge and officially resigned.

Termination date effective March 24, 2006.

I feel so weird.

So barefoot and pregnant.

So stay at home mom-to-be.

My *safety* net is gone.

Oooooooh, this is actually kind of liberating.

Hmmm, this calls for a celebration.

I'm free!

a visit from my other dad and sister

I'm doing some serious blog updating (cheating a bit on the posting dates, but finally catching up!).

Last week, J's dad and sister came out to visit us ... my father-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law. Ugh - I don't really like those formal titles. So ... my other dad and one of my new sisters came to visit us from LA :) Mike stayed in a hotel and Caitlin got our posh couch cushion bed on the floor.

They had both been to London several times, so this wasn't a tourist trip. We just did a lot of family bonding -- which in our family means relaxing in the living room, watching TV, debating (any) issues, reading, snacking and eating out. Good times, good times.

Of course, we did catch a few local sights. We visited Borough Market and Tate Modern. Walked across the Millenium Bridge. Wandered down Portobello Road. Sampled dim sum at Ping Pong in Notting Hill. Dined at Roast overlooking St. Paul's Cathedral. Caught a great showing of the Blue Man Group. While I relaxed on Sunday (cleaned house, laundry & napping), the others took a train to Cambridge to visit the Imperial War Museum -- and they highly recommend it!

It was so nice to see Mike. I finally started to see him as "Grandpa S"-- and our kid is going to be lucky. He's like a magnet for little ones. When we were taking a coffee break at a cafe, there was the cutest little girl running back and forth from table to table. As soon as she spotted Mike, her eyes lit up and she just kept bringing him toys and flashing her big toothless grin. She didn't give me or Caitlin a second glance. It was pretty darn cute.

It was so great to live with Caitlin for a week. We're officially family, need I say more? We laughed, burped, cried, ate, snuggled, napped and lazed around together for hours. On Wednesday, she headed out to Egypt for a week and will be joining us again for one night before we all head out to LA together.

Oh, did I mention that we're leaving for a family vacation to Hawaii next week? Hee ... don't be jealous. Ok, you can be a little jealous.

mind the bump: 12 weeks

baby bean at 12 weeks

march 9, 2006

thoughts from my 7th week

[this is a draft from february 2nd ... thought it would be fun to finally post]

i'm in limbo right now.

we found out that i'm pregnant on january 14th, but we haven't officially announced it to all our friends. so, i feel like i'm just in a holding pattern, dying to tell the world, but waiting for the infamous 12-week mark.

i'm at 7 weeks right now and decided to write down some of my early feelings and thoughts. i'll post this once the official annoucement is made.

so, how did we find out that we're pregnant?

[btw - i keep saying, "we're pregnant" and i know that truly annoys some people. forgive me if it does, but i'll probably keep on saying it ... ]

we decided to REALLY start trying in december (we didn't want to miss taylor & suzanne's wedding in july or christy and sam's wedding in august). well, new year's in paris was an especially magical time!

i was supposed to get my period on thursday, january 12th. and, yes, i had been carefully charting my cycles in a nifty excel spreadsheet :) nothing came on that day and since jordan had brought home an insane amount of pregnancy tests from his last visit to the states (they are SO expensive in london, so i made the poor guy stock up!), i decided to take one just for fun.

test #1: blue "negative" line (with a very, very, slight, ghost-like, i-must-be-imaging-things vertical line)

i figured i'd get my period the next day.

friday went by and i started noticing some heartburn and bloating.

saturday went by and we made plans to meet some friends for a mellow movie & dinner night. we were leaving the house at 7:30pm. before we left, i had to go to the bathroom and decided to try another test ...

test #2: blue "positive" sign!!!

there was no mistaking the vertical line this time. it was on the stick before i finished washing my hands. i yelled for J to come into the bathroom. i was smiling from every pore in my body. he was so cute and shocked and had to double check the instructions. then gave me hug and we sort of drifted out to the couch.

at this point, we just wanted to keep taking tests. were we really pregnant???

we had to leave to meet our friends, but i had to at least share the news with someone! so, i called my mom and asked her if she thought the test was right. i told her we wanted to take a few more tests just to be sure and go to the doctor's for a blood test before we told the rest of the family.

i mean, i knew the test said positive -- but was i really, really pregnant?

of course, my mom said that if the test says you're pregnant, then you're pregnant. she was absolutely, 100% convinced. and that sort of scared me. what if it was wrong?

at this point, we had to leave for dinner and somehow stiffled our excitement and awe. we weren't ready to tell friends, not until we were absolutely sure. we're such dorks.

on sunday morning i peed on another ept stick, just to be sure.

test #3: blue "positive" again!

after brunch, we decided to buy a different brand -- a pink stick this time to balance out the blue.

test #4: two beautiful "positive" pink lines

we called our immediate family that afternoon and thus began my (our) amazing journey into pregnancy and parenthood.

went to the doctor's on the following tuesday for my initial consultation and a blood test to confirm (just one more time). we were absolutely, positively, over the moon pregnant.

aaaaaaaaahhhh!

heartburn, tender boobs and bloating have immediately set in.

and, i'm just so tired. i have no energy and keep falling asleep -- out cold -- throughout the day.

i'm nervous. are we really ready for this? am i going to be a good parent?

and, please, will someone stop the nausea.

mints, water, fruit and brocolli have become my favorite foods.

oh, and don't get me started on the heightened sense of smell. i never knew that garlic could be vile. and since when did J's breath begin to stink?

ugh, time for another nap ...

lanzarote pics

We seriously need to get a new digital camera. But, until we get back to the states, I'll just keep on stocking up on disposable cameras from Boots. It still makes me giggle everytime we manually wind the film before taking a shot ... and people can't help but look at you funny when you pop out that fancy schmancy plastic contraption.

Out of 27 exposures on a roll, we maybe get 15 decent pics.

Here are a few of the keepers from our Lanzarote, Canary Islands, adventure:

the view from our room

bus ride to get our rental car

volcanic vineyards

funny goats in the road

a local specialty - black rice - yummy!

catching some rays on our last day

happy birthday to me!

oh no, the big 3-0.

and i couldn't be happier!

since i had been feeling pretty icky the few weeks leading up to my birthday ("morning" sickness and all) , i had no energy to really think about my birthday or push my hubby to plan a shindig.

but, at the last minute, we called all our friends in london, booked a table at a great Mexican food joint - Cafe Pacifico near Covent Gardent - and ended up having a fantastic evening. the margaritas, chips & salsa, burritos and fajitas were flowing. ok, virgin cocktails for me, but good times nonetheless!

i received so many happy wishes, cards, emails, phone calls, sweet gifts and flowers. it was a great day. and ... i have the best present of all right in my belly. couldn't have asked for more.

i think this is going to be an amazing decade. bring it on!

spilling the beans ...

We're Having a Baby!

I'm officially 12 weeks pregnant and so excited to finally share the news!

We had a scan this morning and saw the baby

--amazing --

the lil' bean is kicking, happy & healthy.

Our due date is September 21, 2006 ... just 6 more months to go!

We're coming home in May and I can't wait to be closer to all of our family & friends.

More to come soon ...

sleeper train

we boarded the train at 11pm on friday night ... squeezed into our bunkbeds and woke up in edinburgh at 7am.

tablethotels.com did us right again, and we checked into the beautiful balmoral hotel at 8am. we had an amazing view of the castle and old town. after a few hours in our comfy bed and a power shower, we explored the town.

saturday included a tour of edinburgh castle, walk about old town, lunch at the elephant house (where we paid a quick homage to j.k. rowling and harry potter) and shopping. i got the best green, felt hat - ever. we capped off the afternoon with a nap and dinner at an amazing vegetarian restaurant - david bann's.



sunday included breakfast at a bright, sunny cafe - always sunday. j went shopping and i headed back to the hotel to enjoy the spa amenities ... mmm. we then headed to "new town" and had a great thai lunch, followed by walking & shopping. to escape the cold, we bought a couple of books and relaxed in a corner of starbucks. around 7pm, we joined a night "ghost & ghouls" tour through creepy underground vaults and closes. it was cheesy but fun. around 9pm we decided to sample edinburgh mexican food (i'm obsessed, what can i say?). surprisingly - it was the BEST mexican food we've had in the UK! real refried beans, yummy salsa and tostadas -- my favorite! all in all -- a great end to a great day.

we boarded the sleeper train at 11pm on sunday night ... squeezed into our bunkbeds and woke up in london at 7am.

it's march!!!

i love march.

march is my birthday month -- i'll be the big 3-0 on the 13th.

march is a big birthday month for a lot of my friends and family -- i love pisces, what can i say?

march signals the beginning of spring, warm weather, bbq's, sundresses and flip flops -- at least in texas it does.

march means february is over. which, while it is the shortest month of the year, is always the coldest, most depressing time of the year for me -- especially in london.

march means lots of visitors for us. j's sister and dad are coming out for a few weeks. and some college friends are coming to stay at our flat the last few days of the month.

march means more weekend trips.

it's going to be a great month.

p.s. quick update: we're staying put in our flat until we move back to the states in mid-may. the flat search quickly confirmed that our current flat rocks. we have so much room, storage, light and we're in such a great location. plus, it would have been such a PAIN to move. the short lets don't include council tax, utilities, tv license -- and all that has been paid for in our current flat. AND -- we have been mouse-free for 9 days now! so, time to just sit back and enjoy our last few months in london. did i mention that it's march? and i love march.