Monday, June 30, 2008

Today is the first day of the rest of my pregnancy...

Today, I'm at 16 weeks.

Last year, at 16 weeks, we went in for the ultrasound and learned our baby had no heartbeat anymore.

I don't go back to the doc until 7/14, and will have to wait for heartbeat confirmation until then, but I'm staying positive, and have no reason to think something is amiss.

It makes no sense, really, but this was such a milestone day in my head. Like, if I got past this point, I'd actually be having a baby. So, I guess I am. I hope.

Thanks, Aimee, for remembering that today was a big one for me. It meant alot. You rock.

So, no more screwing around on this end. I'm having a BABY, after all. Time to start paying more attention to what I eat, and caffeine and all that good stuff. Maybe lay off the weed, you know. (Dad, that one's a joke...)

For the first time in my pregnancy I feel like this is real, and it feels GOOD.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

The apple in my tummy.

So, I'm at about 15 or 16 weeks right now, an according to the reports, the baby's the size of an apple, or an avocado, or some type of food item approximately that size. Why doesn't baby center use pregnant-lady craving type food, instead of fruits and vegetables? I would have much rather envisioned my baby as a Gobstopper or a chicken mcnugget (instead of a kumquat), or a twinkie, or even a caramel apple instead of just a plain ol' apple. That's the way this pregnant lady's mind is working these days.

I've been craving candy, tart and chewy like now and laters and laffy taffy. If that goes the way everything else does, this should last about a week or two, just long enough for me to have a nice, big stockpile of the goodies, only to decide that I don't want them anymore. Then they are left behind to be consumed by the big man. So, it's yet another week of strange and random grocery store purchases. Today: now and laters, laffy taffy, Jax cheese puffs, vanilla yogurt, sugar smacks cereal. So far, no weight gain, but I think big man's up about 10-12 pounds because of my recent purchasing habits!

A bit of writer's block this week...once my blog starts getting traffic, I suddenly become unfunny and have nothing to say...oops.

Embarassing confession of the week: I'm watching the finale of Groomer Has It while I type this entry. Somehow, weeks ago, the big man was working some overtime, and I just happened to be flipping, and started watching it. It's basically a reality show where dog groomers compete each week to see who is the best groomer in the nation. It may be the worst reality show ever. But, once I start watching a reality show, I just get sucked in...which is why I generally avoid them like the plague. You'd think I'd get tired of weekly shampoos and blow dries, but I'm sucked in. I can feel my baby's IQ going down as I type...

Spiffy for summer.

I came home the other night to some additions to our front porch. Flag and flowers compliments of the big man:


Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Keeping my December free

Had to go to a court conference today. I was successful on a motion I made, and we were required to revise the scheduling order. (Dad: this is the series of dates lawyers set to finish discovery, file certain papers, have a settlement conference and ends with the trial date). As we were discussing the timeline, it became clear that the trial would end up, well, around December. So, I mentioned to the judge and my adversary that I am expecting a baby in the first week of December, and they were awesome, asking me how much leave I thought I'd want to take, and offering to push the dates out to the spring if I wanted. It was really considerate, but more importantly, the first thing I've actually scheduled around the baby.

I bought a digital camera online today. You have to check out woot! See my link in the sites I like section. Got a good deal on an 8.2 megapixel Kodak which got good reviews, and has a USB option (I think). Deal with shipping only $65.

Also found some financial advisors who I love! They are handling my office's new 401k but are a full service group, and met with me and the big man today to roll my old 401k into an IRA, and helped us decide to start a Roth IRA that can help pay for college, or if the genius-baby that I birth doesn't need it, can help us to retire more comfortably. The big man even brought his deferred comp info and got some free advice. The even better part is that they asked me about referring some of their clients to me, and I already recommended them to someone. Just good all the way around.

Final random thought--I actually said out loud today, "I know why people hate lawyers." I have an adversary in a matrimonial matter who has absolutely refused to compromise, has been horribly unfair to my client, and basically is using all the leverage he/she has to completely screw us over. And, this is an attorney I've known somewhat for years, and my first dealing with him/her. I understand wanting to be a good advocate, but he/she has completely ignored all of the case law, etc. in our favor and has just been awful. Not fun.

Hubby just took dinner off the grill, so I'm off.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

John McCain's wife must need new batteries.

According to CNN, John McCain wants to offer a "prize" for anyone who can invent a new battery which will "leapfrog" current hybrid technology. Apparently he's getting of buying Duracells for his fembot wife.

This proposal is perplexing, and ridiculous. First, as a capitalist, wouldn't McCain believe that the market held a sufficient incentive for development of such a product? Isn't the market the cure for everything?? Honestly though, whoever invents such a product will easily make that much money in the market by selling it to Toyota, or some other manufacture of hybrid technology. There have to be thousands of R&D folks currently working on a way to make hybrids work more efficiently.

At the same time, what's he doing to reduce our reliance on oil? Besides supporting the war, that is? Is he mandating conservation, or requiring greater efficiency? Limiting oil company profits? Reducing taxes? Nope, nope, nope and nope.

But he does want to encourage offshore drilling. Because we know how reliable that is in bad weather (think of the post-Katrina increases), and how safe that is for the environment (because they never leak).

So who does he really want to help with this whole thing? Not me. Or you, that's for sure.

I think its time that he put the ol' thinking cap back on that butternut squash head of his, and came up with some policy proposals that will actually work.

Until then, I'll be in the scary room in my basement working on my battery prototype.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Third time's the charm??

Two nearly complete posts to blogger tonight and poof, they were gone and I was told Blogger was unavailable (the first time) and sent back to my manage my posts (the second time) only to learn that there wasn't even a draft saved.

They were pretty good rants, too.

But I think it's a sign that I should call it a night.

Remind me to rant about email forwards tomorrow, okay?

Don't know where all this traffic's coming from but a boatload of peeps read my blog over the last 48 hours. I think I have to thank the Penguin Mistress blog for that one--don't know how she found me but apparently she enjoyed my McCain post.

Anyway, check back again soon, y'all.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

What's the point of facebook?

A little over a month ago, some young democrats from the State Young Dems said that if I wanted to attract young dems to my county democratic committee that I needed to set up a profile on Facebook. So, I create a profile, and now I have 42 friends. Oh, and no new young dems in my commitee.

A large number of my friends are people I went to college with, and haven't talked to since, say, 1995. Some are high school friends I haven't talked to since, say, 1991. Some are local politicos and fellow dems. Every day, someone sends me a game, or a green patch, or some quiz challenge. In other words, it seems to be just a collossal time waster, like all of the social/professional networking sites I've joined. It just seems to be another way that I can do absolutely nothing productive... The whole world seems to have a facebook profile. I must be missing something.

Friday, June 20, 2008

It's a dog eat dog world...

...and today it felt like I was wearing milk bone underwear. (Thanks Norm from Cheers for that one.)

Really, if I weren't pregnant, I'd probably already have consumed a bottle of wine. If my husband weren't home, I'd probably have had a glass anyway.

I went to family court with a client today. Routine first appearance on a custody matter.

Suffice to say that the judge essentially called my client a godless fornicator and gave the other party temporary primary custody, and my client limited visitation. No evidence. No grounds. No nothing. But we did get a morality lecture.

I engaged the judge on the issue about four times, trying to make the point that there was absolutely no basis for his ruling. Honestly, I think I was moments from being threatened with contempt. All to no avail, because he didn't change his mind.

My adversary (who has been a pretty tough cookie in this case) approached me afterward and told me I was brave, as she'd never seen anyone have the cojones to challenge that judge. She and I spoke later on the telephone, and she told me that I was a very good advocate and that the law guardian was similarly impressed that I fought the fight on this one. Apparently, it's just not done, not with this judge. Ever.

How would I have known any of this? Today was my very first time in family court! (no lie. my old firm didn't do any family court work) I didn't share that detail with my adversary.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Stimulus scam!

I got home last night to a stack of mail. One envelope was from my friend, the feds. The envelope (which I threw out so I can't post it) said "Stimulus Payment" in HUGE red letters, in TWO places! I thought, "woo hoo, new laptop here I come!"

Inside, no check. WTF???

Rather, there was a notice inside, dated June 16, 2008, stating that me and the big man had qualified and that we could expect payment by June 20, 2008. Only our federal government would send me a letter to tell me they would be sending me money in a few days. What a needless waste of paper and postage.

The worst is that fact that the envelope screamed in red, bold print, "Stimulus Payment". What a let down.

Turns out the big man had already opened it, but thought it would fun to see my reaction to the no money bullshit notice...he enjoyed my reaction, it was David Banner-like. :)

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Obama!

My front lawn:Mine's the first in my 'hood!

Baby 3, Doctor 0

Third week in a row of the nuchal translucency ultrasound. Stubborn baby still wouldn't get into the right position, so we will have to rely on the 16 week quad screen blood test for our birth defects testing.

Baby's now 8.84 centimeters! He grew over two centimeters in one week! Super baby! The ultrasound photo was pretty blurry so I'm not going to post it.

Next visit at 18 weeks, but not another ultrasound until 22 weeks, so we won't know the sex for two more months!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

To Grandmother's house we go...

Drove to Connecticut yesterday with my friend Deb to visit my Grandma. She is home and doing awesome. My Mom had flown in from NC, and her cousin Nancy and son Andy from AZ to help Gram get settled back in. All in all a nice visit, except for the storms we had to drive back in.


Here's Gram:

And Mom and Nancy:


Again, gotta love the $4.99 camera and photo software!

Father's Day.

Love you DAD!!

Also love my dad-to-be hubby. His present:

Go Cubbies!

Friday, June 13, 2008

RIP Tim Russert

CNN just reported that Tim Russert died. What a total bummer. I'm not sure if it's legal to paste his picture into the blog, so just google him if you don't know who he is.

He was THE political guy. The guy who was always the guy that did all of the political stuff on TV. Even the not-so-political hubby would semi-regularly watch parts of Meet the Press on weekend mornings.

Big man and I used to watch him during primary season, he was our favorite because he was always so into it. Really, one night toward bedtime, during the thick of the Obama/Hillary season, Big man and I were watching the primary coverage, and Big Man made the astute observation that Russert always looks so excited during primary coverage, like so excited there's got to be an erection under that desk. (Yes, we are 13 year old boys trapped in 35 year old bodies.) I never watched him again without thinking that the look on his face was of such measured excitement that it was his boner face. Literally, chuckled over it every single night there was a primary election and I was watching his coverage.

I don't say the foregoing with disrespect. He was an amazingly talented journalist. I'm sad that he won't be around to see this race through to its conclusion (Obama victory, of course.)

He will be missed.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Just another reason I hate John McCain.

The internet (and many of the blogs I enjoy) is abuzz with the story of John McCain's first wife. Find coverage at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/06/10/2008-06-10_why_mccain_didnt_reup_with_first_wife.html (You'll have to cut and paste into your browser because I'm too dumb to make the hyperlink option work. Or just google John McCain first wife.)

Like there aren't already enough reasons for me to hate John McCain. His head is the shape of a butternut squash for pete's sake.

Really though, he has a ZERO (0) lifetime rating from NARAL on women's reproductive issues, now supports Bush's disasterous tax cuts, now says he doesn't support his OWN immigration bill, and is pro-war. He sucks in every way policy-wise; the sad thing is that I didn't always think he was so bad, back when he supported immigration reform, opposed the tax cuts, etc., but now that he has become a conservative-pandering whore, I absolutely detest him, and his stupid butternut squash shaped head.

Now, the story about Mrs. McCain number 1. Yes, there are two sides to every story, blah, blah, blah. Mrs. M #1 waits for McCain who is being held captive, for MORE THAN THREE YEARS, waits, worries, etc. She gets in a horrible car accident while he's overseas, is really hurt and disfigured. Then, "In 1979 – while still married to Carol [Mrs. McCain #1] – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage."

He married the fat-cash-laden-fembot-arm-candy one month after leaving #1.

I don't care how bad your shit gets. Don't cheat on your crippled wife. Don't cheat on any wife, or husband. Have the respect for your spouse and the common decency to separate, divorce, whatever before you start sticking your dick into other people. Is that so hard???

OH, and he's opposed to gay marriage. But apparently he has no problem with adultery. So, if it's not the marriage vows that are sacred to ol' Johnnie boy, what is it? Oh, two penises bad. One penis, many vaginas A-okay. Sure, I get it.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

God bless blackout shades.

Our big ol' house has lots of windows. Big man sleeps during the day when he's working. I am a light sleeper who is very sensitive to light while I'm trying to sleep, unless I'm napping on the couch in which case light is okay.

Two years ago I bought dark brown roman blinds for the bedroom. They've since faded a bit. I haven't been sleeping too well these days, and literally wake up at dawn when it starts to get bright each morning. It sucks. Big time.

This weekend I bought blackout curtains.

Oh my god. I don't know how I managed to walk 34 years on this earth without them!

It's like sleeping in a cave. A big warm fluffy bed-cave with out any bears or other predators. Awesome. And, it should help the big man to sleep better too because it will feel like night. See, good wife, I really bought them for him! Honest. That's the ticket.

In any event, in an attempt to stockpile sleep for the upcoming multi-year deficit I will be facing, these sure will help.

Is it bedtime yet?

Monday, June 9, 2008

Baby 2, Doctor 0

Went for the second try for the nuchal translucency test today. I also refrained from the iced coffee this morning. While the uncaffeinated baby was definitely acting less like a ping-pong ball, he still wouldn't get into the right position to be measured...but he did grow more than a centimeter in one week! There was one time that the baby got close, and they switched over to 3D, and it was SO cool. He looked like ET. Really, at 13 weeks, babies sure don't look like people. But it was our cute little alien!

So, I have to go back Monday for one more try. Nothing like making extra trips to Latham when gas is a million dollars a gallon!

Anyway, that's the news here. My buddy Deb and I are going to head to CT this weekend to see my Gram, and meet my mom, who is flying in. Should be fun.

Went on a double date this weekend--with Aimee and Seamus, their first night out after having a baby in Feb. Very nice. Went to see the new Indiana Jones after dinner, and wow, I was disappointed. They had 20 years to come up with a better story line, and the cg effects were unnecessary and downright distracting. Monkey scene in particular. Disappointing. Glad they finally brought Marion back; she really got the shaft in the first trilogy.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Role reversal, 1930s style

A blog I like (www.buggydoo.blogspot.com) had a neat quiz today:
Are you a good wife or husband based on a test from the 1930s?

Shockingly, as a wife, I was average by 30s standards. (I would have expected to be far below grade!)

55

As a 1930s wife, I am
Average

href=">Take'>http://www.magatsu.net/maritaltest/">Take the test!



So, how would I be as a husband in the 30s? (My guess: pretty damn good, given my propensity to drink and my love of pampering)

Behold the results:

97

As a 1930s husband, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!



Ahhh, it's good to be king. Honey, my slippers and cigar?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

I'm proud of America today.

Last night I stayed up to hear Obama's speech, as I have on most primary nights during the election.

I'm inspired. I'm proud.

I am happy that in December I will give birth to a mixed-race baby who will be born into a country which believes he can be anything, even president. Because he will believe it, and he will be capable of it.

My lawn sign goes up tomorrow morning.

My "McCain, Bush's Third Term" stickers (100) are on the way, and will be distributed. Obama '08!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Grumpy old man.

Wes read my blog today. (cue scary music...dum dum dum...)

He thinks that I have cavalierly exposed his personal information to the world. (aka my faithful reader Dad). Although nearly all of the random pieces of information can be googled, I have removed his last name from the blog, in the ONE post from LAST YEAR that mentioned it.

From now on, he will be referred as "the husband formerly known as Wes", or at least until I get tired of typing that. Maybe I can come up with a cool Prince-esque symbol that can be my secret reference to him.

Point of fact. This little cutie pie is definitely not him:

Neither is this, nope, not the husband formerly known as W*s:

Neither is this cute widda baby, definitely not him:


(Disclaimer: I got him to concede that little kid pictures were okay. But those aren't him. Really. Just a representative sample of what my blog would be like if I used pictures of him when he was little. Which I didn't. Really.)

Monday, June 2, 2008

Just like his mommy.

Uncooperative baby today.

No news on the test. The ultrasound was just black and white, but good definition. Little bugger kept hopping around and waving his arms and kicking his legs. He also wouldn't get into the one position they needed to do the damn test. So, we go back in a week to see if baby will cooperate. Apparently he's already trying to emulate me!

Lost 3 pounds according to the doc. No complaints there, from me or him; baby is the right size and I'm supposed to be cautious to only gain 15lbs.
Just got this shirt in the mail today, from my fave site Woot. (see my links). Every day they have one electronics deal, one wine deal and one shirt deal. The shirts are always off the wall, and only $10 with free shipping. I got this one size 3x--perfect for sleeping. I think it's way cute. Wes says he doesn't get it. Thoughts?

(in case you can't tell, the hot dog on the right is jumping on a packet of mustard! love it!) *photo from woot* hope that's okay to use?

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Random Sunday thoughts

Why doesn't Hillary just drop out of the race already???? I can't wait to put my Obama lawn signs up!!

Headed for the 3-D ultrasound in the AM, can't wait to see the baby in high-def.

After a long vacation, Wes goes back to work tonight, can you say king size bed all to myself? It's the best of both worlds, he snuggles with me until I'm fast asleep, and heads out of the bedroom around 10:30, and then I have the bed all to myself. Which is great. Unless I have a bad dream, or there is a scary noise. Then it sucks. But, since he's working, I can always call him if I get scared, which I have done from time to time.

Did 2 political events today with the candidate for Assembly. He's great--dynamic and hardworking and I hope he does well. I got to speak at both events, and maybe I've just finally been doing it long enough the lawyer-politics combo that is, but no butterflies. Not nervous, just comfortable and talking. This is progress I like!

Need to start networking again now that I'm feeling more like a human being--had a burst of clients at the beginning, and it has begun to wane, so I've got to start working it! Baby's gotta eat!

More later.