Good News...I think..? Yeah, good news

Just to let everyone know that I haven't told already, our Baby's due date got moved up from December 28th to the 16th!! I am very nervous/happy/excited/anxious, and am frequently prone to nausea when I think on the reality of it and very reluctant with regards to labor and all it entails. All I wanted was to be moved up, but now I feel particularly rushed to get all his things ready. It is a great blessing, however, considering now there is a better chance of my family being able to spend ample time getting to know him this holiday season. Just pray I don't throw up/pass out when I feel the labor starting!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Much to be grateful for...

I know its cheesy, but I always love reflecting on the many blessings we have in our lives, especially at times when I tend to feel down or lonely. This weekend taught me a lot about gratitude, and mainly how we should simply be grateful that nothing is going wrong :)
The first fiasco we experienced was the plumbing backing up. (I am so grateful we live in the upstairs)! We had to resort to making bathroom trips to another family's home who was out of town, which wasn't awful but for me the trips were frequent. Then that night we noticed a really awful smell coming from Chad's room. He had stepped in a dog's mess and not only tracked it into his room but in an attempt to get it off his shoes rubbed it into the carpet. The smell was so bad we could smell it upstairs!
Then as we were getting ready for bed that night we noticed some ants in our bedroom on the bed. I then discovered they were all over the chair and in our closet on our clothes!! I hate bugs of any sort, especially when they're in my sleeping space!
The bad luck ended there for me and Jared, but not so for his parents, Mike and Sabrina. They got a call the next morning (as Mike and Jared were snaking out the blockage in the plumbing-yuck), that one of their condos had found a water leak, and some mould. Turns out the leak had been there for about two months, pooling water under the house and causing some damage. Ugh.
Since then things have been, thankfully, uneventful! As we reflected back on the chaos it made me really appreciate all the wonderful comforts we enjoy living here, in this home and in the U.S.. We have been so blessed with our little baby, health insurance, Jared's new job, and money we've been able to make in the mean time. We are so grateful for such wonderful parents, siblings, and extended family that we not only love as family but friends too.
Oh, and GO COUGS!!

Santa Baby

The christmas season is drawing near and we are getting very excited with each passing day! We had our final birthing class last night, and they ended the course with a short movie vignette of newborn babies helping us to realize what this whole birth and labor process is really for. It was very touching. The class was pretty eventful, considering one husband passed out during the video about epidurals and we had to take 15 minutes off to let in the paramedics! Poor guy. It was a good thing he wasn't around for the c-section video right after that. All in all we learned a lot from the class and hopefully it will help us be prepared!
This week is Thanksgiving, which I am really looking forward to. I'll finally get to have company during the day with everyone taking off work. Its tough to be home so much but at the same time I have been feeling exhausted and seem to be spacing out a lot. I'll say one thing and have no recollection of it 30 minutes later. Needless to say, Jared finds it quite entertaining.Speaking of Jared (he's all anyone wants to talk about these days it seems!!), he lost about 15+ lbs, and just accepted a job with Allstate Insurance. He really liked the company and the people that work in the office, and I'm liking that he wont come home with paint or dirt all over him! He starts around the beginning of next month.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

LA Weekend

Last weekend we decided to venture from Danville for a little trip. We went to LA friday after work to stay with Jared's grandma and to see our friends Darci and Niel. I was very motivated to go as I have been feeling very well lately and I wanted to get out before I became uncomfortable.
We didn't do too much, but the weekend was great. D&N drove down to see us and we spent the day at Hollywood, catching up and exploring the lovely touristy sites. They were even having a premier for a holiday movie that night, Fred Claus, so we got to see the Red carpet all decorated for the event. It was so fun, and totally worth it just to see them and catch up. We have been missing having friends!! One thing I am looking forward to is friends who will be coming to the Bay area for various holidays this year. We are excited to see you all!!! And for all those who aren't planning a trip yet... please do!
This week I'm not working (the lovely nature of temp work) and I am finally beginning to feel myself slow down a bit. I probably wont be up for working much longer. The baby is at 33 weeks tomorrow, and he is very busy moving inside "rearranging furniture", as we call it. His new favorite activity is getting hiccups at 7 am and waking me up. Its so cute though I can't really get mad. I wonder if thats how parents can get up all night long for years and still maintain so much love for their children.
The dental school application process is beginning to wear on Jared now too. He's been exploring many other fields now, but we still feel like this is the best choice for us. Now if only ONE school would accept us, that'd be great! There are about 13 left, but as time continues its harder to remain optimistic. That's the nature of life, we're beginning to find out, that you can't really plan much, just prepare. I still really have hope that this will work out in the end.

New week, new experiences!

I am sorry for being such a horrible writer! I need to catch up on my journal too, and return several phone calls!
This week ended up being much busier than we anticipated at the start of it, but I welcome the distractions. I worked at another company where I was the main receptionist/secretary for 5 groups of lawyers and a company called ECR Inc. I love being busy and especially with the chance to earn some money! If anything this experience I've had dabbling in different offices has shown me how much I enjoy working and feeling productive. I would love to have more opportunities in the future to work once my kids don't require my undivided attention. Jared loves that I'm willing to work in the future, as some wives in this area have been without young children for years but seem to go month after month occupying their time with often expensive hobbies to pass the time. It is a good thing we're having this baby though, because otherwise I might like working too much to leave!!
Everything is going well, and thankfully uneventfully with the pregnancy. I have been so blessed to be comfortable and healthy, with no complaints for this entire 7 months. I anticipate the arrival of our little guy greatly, but am learning to enjoy the fact that he is being taken care of now, and that I have him all to myself for the last time. We are starting to "nest" and get everything ready, and in just over a week the birthing classes start!!