I used to be so organized...

when I lived alone.
I was just thinking about this the other day, when I was in college I lived alone for a while, then I got a room mate who was never home so for about a year I was all by my lonesome. At times I hated it but overall it was freaking awesome. No one to clean up after, no one to complain about what you want to watch, no one to dirty your freshly cleaned home, no one to leave the seat up in the bathroom...etc etc etc.
My fondest memory of those times was how clean my apartment was. It was a cute little 2 bedroom apartment and my hobbit of a roommate never ventured outside his bedroom other than to use the bathroom....so it was all mine. And it was clean, not only clean, but uncluttered too. No piles of crap on the counters, tables, couch, chair and any other free space that anyone decides is just perfect for a pile. No dishes left out on the coffee table, no dishes in the sink for that matter. No coffee slopped on the counter, or crumbs trailing all over the counter. It was HEAVEN.
I also had a closet that I didn't have to share....and it was color coordinated, and I had a bed that was always made, oh how I miss those days.
I always find myself reminiscing about how organized I once was when we start to near the holidays. Way back when life was simple, I used to get all my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, and often I'd have it wrapped before then too...ahhh those were the days.
Last year I barely got everything purchased before the 23rd and then I forgot to take the gifts with me to a couple stops...ugh how the brain goes after kids.
This year, I had grand plans to begin shopping in October, well that came and went, so my next goal was the beginning of November....then that came and went. And now I will set an attainable goal of Christmas eve....
I really envy those people who are done shopping...unfortunately that ship has sailed for me I think.
Oh and have I mentioned that I haven't even put away my Halloween decorations yet...anyone up for a pumpkin themed New Years Party?

It's a girl!

We were finally able to find out what baby #2 is on Tuesday....but considering she's my kid it wasn't without some drama.

Monday the 9th was our big ultrasound with Kaiser, Dan and I got up early and took Natalie to daycare and then went on to the new office building where they have all the new equipment for ultrasounds. We were very excited to find out if we'd be adding a sister or brother to our family. We checked in and sat down to wait to be called...considering we were a bit early I thought we'd get called in right away. Well about 20 minutes later and having read every magazine in the waiting room while eavesdropping on the receptionists conversation we were finally called in. I'd heard from the receptionists that the second ultrasound tech had called in sick that day and they were trying to reschedule all of the appointments. I was relieved as I'd have been pissed to get that call earlier in the morning...or so I thought.

Our tech came to get us and we proceeded into the brand new huge ultrasound room, a far cry from the broom closet our ultrasound was in with Natalie. Our tech was pleasant but clearly flustered...but I figured once we got into things she'd warm up...wrong again.

She flew through our ultrasound, barely stopping to point out what she was measuring.

At the end she was looking for gender and was obviously having a hard time, so he stopped and calculated my due date and all that, turns out baby is measuring a little ahead but only by about 3-4 days....so my due date remains the same. She then say in an exasperated tone, I'll try to check for gender one more time. So she swipes the wand over my belly a couple more times and says "nope baby has it's feet in the way...sorry I can't tell you"

At which point I start to cry (damn pregnancy hormones) Dan starts asking if maybe we can try again, or maybe come back a little later in the morning. "Nope I'm booked all day, my partner called in sick...sorry"

Now the waterworks really start, like full on sobbing in the ultrasound room, which you'd think would tug at the heartstrings of this tech but nope, she was stone cold. As we were pushed out of the room with 2 pictures (we got about 10 with Natalie) I continued to sob. It literally took me like 3 hours to get it together.

So I told Dan we were going to the place where you pay and I didn't care how much it cost...he was smart enough to respond with "sounds good, whatever you want".

So on Tuesday, we went to prenatal peek for a gender peek ultrasound...and quick as can be the baby showed the goods. We're having another girl...which considering I had to drop $75 on the ultrasound ( a great deal in my opinion) is a good thing since I don't have to buy any new clothes for this baby....and we'll get more use out of Natalie's wardrobe.

Of course that's clearly a lie, I will be buying this kid clothing too, but likely in the form of matching outfits with Natalie.

Now let the name fights discussions begin.

WTF!

More and more these days I find myself shaking my head in disbelief of the crimes that people commit, but I don't know that I've read a story more heinous than this one.
A 15 year old girl gang raped on her High School campus, after leaving a Homecoming dance. When I think of my own homecoming dances years and years ago, I have fond memories of getting dressed up and taking pictures with my date, and hours of dancing with friends....but for this little girl homecoming will forever have a different memory.
What I am struggling with most is which is more disgusting, the fact that at least 6 people ranging from 15-21 years old raped and robbed her.....or the fact that at least 2 dozen people watched the event that lasted about 2 and a half hours, egging the monsters on, joining in on the attack, taking pictures with their phones...and not one of them, NOT ONE FUCKING PERSON, though hmm this is wrong maybe I should call the cops, or try to stop this.
WTF, WTF, WTF!

Blog Challenge #4

What was your (or your child's) "best" Halloween costume ever? (Bonus points for photos!)

This was a tough one for me, since I can hardly remember most of my Halloween's past...they must have been really good!
Way back in 1999, I went to a Halloween party with my then boyfriend as Mary from Something about Mary. I had pretty much the exact same haircut as Cameron Diaz did in the movie and I used hairspray and gel to get that ever memorable stuck straight up look that Mary got when she used some of Ben Stiller's "gel". It was a huge hit and super super easy.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from that year..as they were probably destroyed or maybe too incriminating...either way no bonus pictures from me!

Pregnancy Rage...

So I've always been a little "high strung" and had a hot temper...I blame it on my Irish heritage, but pregnancy brings out a whole new level of crazy in me.
When I was pregnant with Natalie most of my rage was directed at Dan. One night in particular I was up for like the 10th time to go to the bathroom, as I come back to bed Dan is snoring and has totally invaded my side of the bed. This set me off. Here I am carrying your child and you have the audacity to encroach on my space....I was ready to pummel him in his sleep. But luckily my rational side took over and instead of hitting him I loudly flopped back into bed and punched my pillow...he startled awake groggily asking "what's wrong" to which I replied...nothing I didn't say anything. ...but Ha he was awake now and could feel my pain!
Well this time I've kept my crazy in check for over 16 weeks...until yesterday. A co-worker who drives me crazy with her "I'm better than everyone" attitude, attempted to "fix" something that I had just spent an hour teaching someone, explaining and re-explaining and walking this person though an entire process. I was correct in my explanation and process, which I know for a fact as I had already run it by a more senior adjuster.
Well I spend an hour of my day helping this gal, walk away and then little Mrs. I'm better than everyone has to come over and completely undermine me....when I was right! I pretty much lost it and said some unkind things. Luckily I was able to keep my rage in check and didn't punch her in the face like I wanted to...but don't worry her day will come....okay I'm sure I won't hit her....

T minus 3 weeks...

Until we find out if we're adding a little girl or a little boy to our family. I can not wait.
I've kept myself from speculating up to this point, but it's getting increasingly hard to ward off the speculation.
I had an appointment today with my OB, I convinced Dan to come along since I had a feeling I'd get another ultrasound....and sure enough I was right. I apparently have an anterior placenta so the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat on the Doppler. The nurse brought in a ultrasound machine, of course one of the super old ones since the new high tech one was in use, and we got to see the babe. After much inquisitive looking with his head cocked the doctor finally told us that he thinks the heartbeat was about 110 beats per minute...much lower than Natalie was at that time (she was about 150 through out my pregnancy). He seemed happy enough with that heartbeat but did mention that it was at the very low end of normal. Then he said "based on that I think you're having a boy...but the caveat to that rule is that it's only 50% accurate" The same joke he told me when he guessed that Natalie was a girl.
So now I wait 3 more weeks to find out for sure. I'm still trying to convince Dan to go in for one of those early gender screens but he's pretty against it.
Ugh 3 weeks isn't long at all...but it feels like forever!!!

Blog Challenge week 3

What is a specific moment/event that made you realize you were truly "a grown-up"?

For me there were a few different moments/events that made me feel like I was truly a grown up, but the first was probably buying our first home. Buying a house has a way of really making you feel like you've hit a milestone. Sitting there signing the papers was an intense feeling, like there was no going back from here...I had to be a responsible adult from her on out. I could no longer blow my paycheck on shopping...I had responsibities.

The second one was when I got rid of the last of our hand me down furniture, it was a computer desk that Dan had gotten from a friends mom, it was nice but it wasn't ever really mine. Once it was gone and I realized that we had bought everything ourselves, shopped, picked it out and purchased it I felt like we were really grown ups. Grown ups in a home full of our own furniture.

Of course having Natalie really made me feel like I was a grown up. When you're a kid you think of parents as grown ups, I still think of my parents and their friends as "adults" while we're still kids. But once I had Natalie, my role had to change. I was one of them, obligated to bring things to holiday dinners rather than just show up with beer. And now with mentions of us hosting a holiday at our house...it makes that all the more real.

I miss the days of being a kid, the freedom that we had even if we thought it was awful that we couldn't do all the things adults did. Life was so carefree and easy.