Wonderful Thanksgiving

While the turkey took an extra hour to smoke - it was well worth the wait. Everything turned out wonderful. To a full table, with the most guests to date, we went around the table stating what we are thankful for. I began and over a chocked up voice told my Sweetie that I was most thankful for us. My mother went next telling the table that after 9 months of being out of work, she has found a job and starts Monday. My Sweetie finished. While everyone else was talking we held hands. At his turn he said "I am thankful for the family I had, the family I currently have, and the family I will have. But most importantly, I am thankful that you (looking at me) are here to hold my hand". By the end we both were teary eyed. It was perfect. We have so much to be thankful for. After the meal we played games and had a wonderful time. I simply could not have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is a time for family and friends to gather and give thanks for for everything that we have.

This year I am thankful for many things. Over the past year my Sweetie and I have experienced the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. I am thankful that our relationship is stronger than ever as we anticipate the new life growing inside me.

Summary of the past year

~I walked the Motorola Half Marathon for Team in Training
~We both left jobs that were sucking the life out of us
~I became a member of DeltaMuDelta - honor society
~I received approval to sit for the CPA Uniform Test
~We both found good jobs
~We saw Sarah McLachlan in concert
~We found ourselves again and the confirmation that we are soulmates
~We created life
~We are stronger than ever before

This past year feels like a decade. So much is different from a year ago at this time, it is so much better. It is funny, sometimes you don't even know things aren't going well untill things get better. I guess it is true, it is darkest before the dawn.

My emotions - which are on high alert right now - have me deep in thought. Life is not about fairy tales. In fact, fairy tales don't exist. And you know what? I am happy about this fact. I am not perfect and my Sweetie is not perfect. Knowing this, losing this expectation of perfection, allows for pure love. I love my Sweetie unconditionally. Not many can say this. I, however, know this is true. I know that I will love him no matter what. This is why I believe we are soulmates. No matter what happens we are drawn to eachother for support.

As I sit writing this - taking a break from my ethics paper - I watch my Sweetie prepare smoking the turkey. Since it takes an hour per pound, he stays up all night preparing for the Thanksgiving feast. He has not smoked the turkey since Thanksgiving 2000 due to my Sweetie working in the service industry and such. It is so nice having him in a job he likes. He really hasn't been happy at work since the end of 2000. What a difference being happy at work makes.

I am simply so happy right now.

To sum it up:

I will be the answer at the end of the line
I will be there for you while you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance if you cant look down

Monday on Vacation

Thanksgiving is this week. Although I have experienced the worst morning sickness during the past week, I am determined to enjoy the holiday. I am home this week to use up vacation time and to finish my classes for the semester. Today is not working out to be as productive as I planned with nausea and a headache. However, I am making sure that I do not become too stressed.

The good thing is that my paper in Ethics is a topic that I am very interested in, Sarbanes Oxley Section 404. I sent questionaires to many in my company regarding the effectiveness and have been very happy with the results. Now it is time to compile my results.

The most important thing today is to try and keep food down and keep my headache away.

MY B-DAY!

Today is my b-day. Time for me to have fun and to make everything about myself. So far the day is exactly what I wanted. With a cool 40 degrees and overcast sky - I am happy. I am feeling pretty good today - with a little nausea, but that is ok. I get to go home early today (without using vacation) and that is all that matters. Of course I "should" work hard for the next 2.5 hours until it is time to leave for lunch. My boss is out today so that is going to be hard. This weekend is going to be a full celebration. Tonight is family and a couple of friends and tomorrow is just me and my Sweetie. We are not sure what we are going to do, but I want it to be grand :-)

Beautiful Day

As I have mentioned many times in this blog, I love cooler weather. I was born during a sleet storm so I am pretty sure that has something to do with it. Tomorrow is my b-day and the forecast is calling for colder weather with a percentage of rain. Oh I hope so. Don't get me wrong, I love the clear blue sky of today with the chilling winds - the kind of weather that you spread your arms out while walking, but I adore an overcast day with cold rain.

So tomorrow is my b-day. While I love my b-days, it always makes me self conscious to hear "Happy B-day" all day long at work. However, this b-day is going to be different. The top executives are taking all of finance to Pok-E-Joes for lunch tomorrow and we get to go home afterwards. YEAH ME!!!

The biggest news is that I think my morning sickness is easing up. I had to go home early on Monday because of how bad I felt along with a migraine. Tuesday morning before I got out of bed I decided I was not going to feel sick anymore. So far it has worked. No, I am not suddenly 100% better, but I am doing much better than the last week.

I am still hoping to take the 17-24th off from work. I need it for my paper, but also my sanity. Would be nice to have a long leisurely time to prepare for Thanksgiving. My semester ends on December 2nd. Right now work is talking about sending me to Chicago from 11/29-12/1, which means all school work must be done before I leave. It is for training. I am hoping I do not go, the thought of flying now is awful, not to mention my inability to stay awake, or my husband going crazy. But we shall see.

Other than that, things are great. My Sweetie and I are doing better than ever and I am really enjoying my life right now. It is funny, you don't know what pregnancy will be like until you are there, experiencing it. Other than the hormonal rush, you also begin to see the world differently. People that normally bothered you (or at least for me) don't bother me as much. I feel more secure in myself and my relationships. I am more accepting and forgiving in people's faults and mistakes. It is amazing. Everything in my life has changed and I feel stronger, more confident, and happier because of it. I feel very poetic and intelligent.

Another Day

I have not posted much during the past week because my morning sickness has gotten worse. I am sure everyone is sick of hearing about how I feel. And I am sure when I feel like this that I come across less than happy. Do not worry, I am happy.

My morning sickness was bad all weekend. Today is no different. I am wondering how long I will last at work - just wanting to crawl into my bed. Unfortunately, I have class tonight so I cannot just go home for the rest of the day. But a small nap would be nice before my late night.

This weekend was fun. It was Violet's first b-day party. I can't believe she is a year. My Sweetie and I bought a cute ornament for our Christmas tree - it is for expecting parents with 2004.

My Sweetie has been amazing. He cleaned the fridge, did laundry, and took out the trash yesterday. He takes the best care of me.

My b-day is this week. I am excited. It is my last b-day without me being a mom. It is also the start of the holidays. I can't believe it is the second week in November. Time has gone so quickly over the last 7 weeks.

Hopefully I will start feeling better and back to my old self soon.

We are at 9 weeks now.
This is what the websites say that the baby looks like now.

Amazing Day

Yesterday was amazing. We went to our first prenatal visit. My family doctor recommended this doctor so I had never met him. I was worried that we might not like him. That is so not the case. We love him. He is amazing. He made us feel like we were his only patients and that he was genuinely happy that I was having a baby. Both my Sweetie and I liked him right from the beginning. He is also a more laid back doctor - I can have coke in moderation - like one a day.

Then the most amazing thing happened. We got our first sonogram and got to see the heartbeat. The heartbeat was what I was looking forward to. This is a good sign that the pregnancy will not miscarry. Not only did we see the heartbeat, we saw a strong and steady heartbeat. The doctor said that it is a healthy baby. My Sweetie and I both teared up when we saw it. We knew I was pregnant, but to see it - that was amazing. We got to see what we made - that our love created life. And that our life will never be the same.

Everything looks good. The doctor said we will get better pictures during the next visit. The only thing is that my uterus is tilted forward - while I am more tilted than most, I am not out of the range of normal. I think it is why I am starting to show. My weight is good. Have not gained since I found out I was pregnant - so I am technically down since getting pregnant. They also took blood for a wide variety of tests - unless something is bad, I will not get the results until our next visit on December 1st.

I told my work yesterday after the appointment. Let me just say that I told two people at one hour before I left yesterday. Almost everyone I know knew yesterday, or at least this morning. Word travels fast around here.