Category: Life as I know it

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Buffett #9

Saturday was our annual trip to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Alpine Valley, and I’m pretty sure this was my 9th show. We’ll have to do something fun for my 10th anniversary next year. A signature cocktail maybe?

This was the 2nd time I’ve gone while 7+ months pregnant, and I will admit, it wasn’t quite as fun this time around as it was when I was pregnant with D for some reason. Maybe it was the 5k I walked the night before that wiped me out. I don’t know, but I was just so tired the whole time, it made for a very long 12 hour day.

It’s always great to see our friends with whom we go with each year, though. They bring a whole spread of food, Ryan makes his famous gumbo, we set up our tent, crank up the tunes, and watch the crazy. The row in which we parked this year was pretty tame, though, so there wasn’t a whole lot of good people-watching from my chair, and since it was 90 degrees again I was definitely not up for doing the whole parking lot walkabout this time.

But overall it was a really good day. I saw a guy with whom I swam at Madison and his wife, and they’re wonderful people, so it was fun to catch up with them. R’s ego was permanently boosted when 8 Louisiana natives said his gumbo was the best they’ve ever had, and I don’t think they were just blowing smoke up his ass either – it was delicious, as always. He definitely had his fair share of the cocktails, though, and was walking on a slant by the time we headed back to the car. Mind you, Alpine Valley’s parking lots are completely flat. 😉

And of course the music was as awesome as ever. It’s hard to believe Jimmy’s 65, the way he still rocks it on stage. They did just play 1 big long 2.5 hour set this time, though, instead of their usual 2 set show with an intermission. Maybe they’re getting ready for the end? My favorite part was when they all sat down for their acoustic-ish segment, during which they played “Southern Cross”, one of my all-time favorite songs.

Then, somehow, our exit from the usually chaotic, jam-packed parking lots was the fastest ever. The friend to whom we had given a ride was already back at our car when R and I arrived, we were able to pull right out of our row, and we were home a solid 2 hours earlier than normal. We typically stay and fire up the grill again afterwards to wait out the traffic, but this year we were just elated to be out of there so early and easily.

So here’s a little peek into the day. We didn’t end up taking many pictures at all this year, but we did manage to get a couple good group shots as various people showed up. And here’s to not being pregnant for the next show!

no tailgating and no alcoholic beverages? oh yeah right. then why did we get there 8 hours before show time, ha!

another of r’s annual treats – teriyaki shrimp skewers. yum!

boys stirring gumbo

group shot #1

 

group shot #2

yes, the 31 week pregnant girl had had enough. and this was before we even went into the show, haha!

 

 

 

 

 

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What have we been up to?

Well since I can barely remember what we’ve done myself most days, I’ll just let some pictures do the talking…

The last weekend in July was our northern WI vacation, so we’ll start with a glimpse into that.

The first day we went to Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point, WI; found Nueske’s, the famous bacon-makers; ate lunch at Red Eye Brewing Co. in Wausau, WI (don’t freak out, i only had one small sample glass. the rest of the sampler was ryan’s); then checked out a supper club that Ryan discovered called Marty’s Place North before spending the night in Minocqua, WI. On our way out of town the following morning we swung by Little Bohemia, where the movie “Public Enemies” was filmed and the real-life John Dillinger hid out.

The rest of that weekend we explored Madeline Island (1 of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior); Bayfield, WI; and Ashland, WI. That upper coast of our state is simply beautiful, and we had a blast.

The last day of our vacation was spent in Green Bay. Since Ryan and Della are now Packers shareholders, we met up with 2 of our friends at Lambeau Field to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting. It was really hot, but even as a Bears fan I still had fun.

The following weekend we went to my first, and quite possibly only, Brewers game of this season with friends.

Then the Tuesday after that was d-day – my last day of work and Della’s last day of daycare.

The rest of that week was spent getting ready for our annual summer party/birthday party for R and D.

And since then, D and I have been getting into the swing of our stay home routine. You know, helping me in the kitchen (yes, i actually made that Elmo cake pictured above), taking walks to go explore the beach, and playing at the park.

And that about brings us to the present. We did go to the Wisconsin State Fair last week and the Milwaukee Air Show yesterday, so I’ll get those pictures up soon. Despite losing my job, we are having a great summer!

 

 

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Sayonara

Well, today is the day. My last day as a member of the gainfully employed.

Bittersweet? Definitely. I’m beyond sad to be leaving a workplace I loved, but I’m also excited to get to spend time at home with Della. I think these next couple months with just her before the new baby comes will be priceless.

And we already have plans for our first day home together. I should say I’ve made plans for us, she’ll just be along for the ride. Since tomorrow is her birthday, I’m going to take her to the zoo for the first time. I hope she loves it, since she totally digs animals right now. I think 1 or 2 of my girlfriends and their little ones may join us, so D might have a birthday entourage.

And although tomorrow is her actual 2 year birthday, her monthly update post will have to wait a bit. (nothing new there, though) We have her 2 year checkup tomorrow night, so I’ll get her official height/weight stats there to include. Plus during the day we’ll be busy zooing, not blogging, duh.

I sent my farewell email out at work yesterday with tears in my eyes, but they dried pretty quickly. I’ve realized I need to just calm down and enjoy this time off instead of constantly bemoaning the fact that my paychecks have dried up like those tears. This is the time I so craved after D was born. What am I afraid of now?

So hopefully I’ll still be around fairly regularly to keep you all entertained, even though I’ll no longer be sitting in front of 4 computer screens all day. Maybe my eyesight will enjoy this break too, come to think of it. I do owe you a lot of pictures from our recent travels though, plus I’ll still keep you abreast of my weekly pregnancy growth.

And with that I say good-bye, desk at work; hello, summer!

 

 

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The End

2 words. So simple, yet so final.

And my reality in just 1 week’s time.

As of next Wednesday, August 1, I will be unemployed. Yep, that’s right. J-O-B-less.

Unfortunately, I now know what it feels like to be fired. Well, technically terminated, but still. I’m out of a job.

Here’s the scoop…

I work at a hedge fund, and in a nutshell we’ve lost all of our outside investors. I say outside because I think all of the Principals have some of their own money invested, but you can’t really run a business with the employee base we’ve been carrying based solely on funds from the Principals. You need outside dough coming in, and that is one thing we’ve been severely lacking for a couple years now.

So they made the hard decision to close down our main investment funds and return all outside investors’ capital. In plain English, we went broke.

Now here’s the thing. This was no surprise. Those of you who know me well know that we’ve been living through this possible scenario for the past 4 years. Thankfully I survived every round of downsizing and layoffs until the end, so I do take that as a sign of my worth and standing as an employee. This was due to no fault of my own, and the Principals had nothing but praises to sing about my intelligence, work ethic, qualifications, etc., when the hammer finally dropped and I learned my final date. So that makes me feel a little better about everything.

Still, though, it means the end of a paycheck. The end of 401k contributions. The end of 100% employer-paid health insurance and medical benefits. The end of working in an awesome building with a full cafeteria staff who cooked us breakfast and lunch every day. The end of year-end bonuses. The end of working with people who have become good friends over the last almost 8 years. The end of my career?

That last one is probably the one that scares me most. This is the only “real” type of job I’ve held since graduating college – finance. And now, after a decade, I’m out. And I honestly don’t know if I’ll want to get back in when the time comes. I’ll be off at least the rest of this year, for who wants to hire a 6+ months pregnant chick who they know will be off for about 3 months with a baby shortly after she starts work? Yeah that’s what I thought too – no one.

Thankfully everyone is receiving severance packages, including continued health insurance coverage. And they did throw me a bone since I’m knocked up and extended my insurance coverage through the end of January instead of through October like most have been receiving.

I was really hoping to get just a couple more months out of the deal, since people are being let go in waves – July, August, September, and December, with a very small group staying for 1 year to get everything wound down. End of September would have been ideal. But such is not the case. In speaking with the Principals when I was given my final date they did say there’s always the possibility they could start something back up with a pool of their money, in which case I am high on their list of people they’d want back, but I’m not holding my breath on that whatsoever. I’m fairly certain that when I pull out of the garage on July 31, that will be the last time I see most everyone who’s left.

It’s sad. I’m sad. I foresaw myself working there for the rest of my career, however long that was to be. And for as much as it tore me up to send Della to daycare at 5 months old, I actually hate having to take her out now. She talks about her friends there constantly, she loves the teachers, and we love what they do for the kids. I hope I can keep some semblance of a social routine up for her once she’s at home with me full time. I’ve been saving their weekly lesson plans for the past couple weeks for ideas of what to do, and I’m planning on keeping their daily schedule in tact as much as I can at home, but I’m not going to lie. I’m nervous.

I have no idea how to be a stay at home mom anymore. What if she hates being home with me all day? What if I have no idea what to teach her or how to teach her what she would’ve been learning at daycare? What if she drives me crazy? What if I drive her crazy? What if we drive each other crazy and Ryan comes home to find 2 heaps on the floor, dead from all the crazy?

And then there’s the whole issue of a new baby coming in October. Oh yeah, that!! Someone, anyone, please tell me how to simultaneously (and successfully, mind you) take care of a 2 year old and a newborn all day alone. That is probably the part that makes me most frightened. I don’t know how to do it! The other day I was trying to remember what we did with Della and having her go to daycare when she was born, and then I remembered – she WAS the one who was born. DUH!! See, my mind is already partially gone. How am I going to survive the double kid whammy?

So you see, times they are a-changin’ at our house. Whether for better or worse, I have no idea, but it was out of my control. So it’s just happening. Fortunately, with the severance we’ll be ok financially for awhile. Thank god. And I am hoping to pick up a little freelance work between now and when the baby’s born to help tide us over too.

For those who don’t know, I’m an excellent proofreader/editor. Please check out that JEditing button at the very bottom of the page to be taken to my website for a little more info. And if you need any proofreading/editing services, EMAIL ME! I’m not just being egotistical when I say I’m good. I really am.

If I could do proofreading/editing work indefinitely after the baby’s born this fall, that would be ideal. I like it, I’m very good at it, I love finishing a project and knowing I made it correct, and I could do it from home. And if I were to get enough hours doing that, we could always send the kids to daycare once or twice a week so I could get large chunks of time in to work. Ahh, pipe dreams.

So, my friends, my days as a working mom are numbered. Like I said, I have no idea how I’ll be as a stay at home mom now, but I guess we’ll find out in a few days. Wish me luck!

 

 

 

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A day at the races

Saturday we went up to Road America in Elkhart Lake to watch the AMA Pro Racing Superbike races, and it was a great day. It started off a little breezy and chilly when the sun went behind clouds and then some rain passed through late in the day actually delaying the final race of the afternoon, but as a whole we had some really nice weather.

R made a batch of his famous jambalaya and we caught up with some friends we hadn’t seen in years, so fun was had by all. I will admit, this is the first time I’ve been to these races and stayed sober the entire day, but it was still a wonderful time. I’m not big into motorcycle racing by any means, but seeing those bikes in action is always pretty amazing.

Plus D had a blast running around all the open grassy areas near where we were sitting and even found some puppies to pet. Her day was complete.

It was a typical tailgate set up, except instead of watching a ball game, we were watching motorcycles zoom by on the track. D actually didn’t mind the noise at all, which was a nice surprise.

The way these guys take corners is insane and always blows my mind no matter how many times I see it.

Like I said, our littlest racer had a great day too.

Running up and down the hill with Daddy helped tucker her out for a nap in the stroller as we walked around the pits, checking out all the bikes up close and in person.

We got to see a racer from one of the TV shows R watches, so that was pretty cool too (#23 in the picture above with the 2 bikes). Once again, the knee-draggin’ was in full effect and Road America did not disappoint.

One of the highlights though, for me anyway, came right at the end of the day as we were leaving. Our good friend Craig, who hadn’t met D before that morning, commented on how well-behaved she was all day, just having her own little fun being around everyone. He said we must be so proud. Yes, yes we are.

 

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D v2.0

{written on 2-22-12 – 4w4d. i have a couple posts that i wrote before we shared the news of this pregnancy that i’ll be putting up in the next few weeks.}

So I think I’m pregnant again. YIPPEE!!!!

I won’t know for sure until this afternoon when I get home from work and can take a test, but I’m pretty sure. And here just last week before we went to Tucson I told R I thought our efforts had failed again this cycle. Guess I’ve proven myself wrong. Thankfully!

**Warning: This post may contain material not suitable for those not wanting to know the ins and outs of my body’s monthly cycles, so if you fall into that category, TURN BACK NOW!**

We tried for 4 cycles this time around, whereas with D I got pregnant on our 2nd try. Well actually we could technically call it 5 cycles, since the very 1st one we did have good timing, but I think I was more ready to get this ball rolling than R at that point and it wasn’t a very concerted effort. So I guess that one doesn’t really count.

Then there was 1 cycle in there where I was frustrated so didn’t keep track of anything, and we totally blew our chances. Well played, body, well played. I kept track from then on.

So in all, we tried for 5-6 months.

Like the 1st time around when we were trying for D, I did keep track of my morning temps, signs from my body during different phases of each cycle, and used ovulation predictor strips. TMI? Sorry, I warned you. I didn’t feel like doing any guess-work this time either.

There were a couple cycles in there where I thought we had excellent timing, so I was starting to get discouraged when I thought this one was a bust as well. I was even going to call my doctor to chat if this cycle didn’t work. Yes, I realize 4-5 cycles is really nothing to be worried about, since it can take perfectly healthy couples a year or more to conceive, but I was just hoping there wasn’t something wrong since it took a shorter time frame for D.

Plus, charting and counting days can really wear on you when all you want and hope for is that one positive sign. It starts to suck the “fun” out of the whole process, if you will.

What did I do differently this cycle than the last that may have made a difference? The only real things were cutting out coffee drinks in the mornings and actually eating breakfast (i do still usually have a caffeinated soda at lunch, so i didn’t cut out caffeine completely) and drinking 8 oz. of pomegranate juice every day.

I’ve heard that pomegranate juice is supposed to help thicken the uterine lining, thereby lengthening the luteal phase of the cycle and making a more hospitable environment for implantation. Plus it’s just good for you.

My luteal phase tends to be on the shorter side, so I was afraid that was causing our lack of success. I had drunk the juice in some of the other cycles too with no luck, though, so I can’t put all the credit on that. But maybe it did help?

I’ve really had no symptoms that would clue me in, mainly just a lack of my little monthly friend. I did read back to my journal entry from the day I found out I was pregnant with D (yes, an actual pen-to-paper journal!) to see if there was something I could be watching out for, but I didn’t have much to report then either. Just really sore boobs, which I don’t have this time.

Here’s what I can report:

  • Light cramping on 8dpo, then more crampage around 10-12dpo, which was when I totally thought the jig was up. The 10-12dpo cramping didn’t really feel like menstrual cramps though – they were more like a gas/bloated feeling, so that’s kind of when I started thinking ok, if it hasn’t shown by 11dpo (which was when it usually did before) then I may just stand a chance.
  • Pretty hungry and peeing a lot, but that also could have simply been because we went on a couple of long walks in Tucson and I was trying to drink a lot of water after the flights out, since they always seem to dehydrate me more than usual.
  • Very tiny, fleeting waves of nausea and barely heartburn over the weekend. Like if I weren’t on high alert hoping I was pregnant, they wouldn’t even have registered on my radar. Maybe just a “hmm, that was a weird feeling”.
  • Temp was up higher than the rest of my luteal phase this morning. I didn’t take the thermometer to Tucson (temping on vaca? no thanks), so I was just curious to see what it would read today even though I really didn’t need it.
  • Super emotional today. Actually, that’s just really about 1 thing – this morning I found out I’m being inducted into my high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and the wonderful comments I’m getting from all my friends on my Facebook page are practically making me cry. Maybe I’d be doing that even if I wasn’t pregnant.

Other than those very minor symptoms (which can hardly be counted as symptoms), I’ve really felt zero difference so far. That was another reason why I was still pretty skeptical until yesterday and today (14-15dpo). I assumed that since my body’s been through this once already maybe the 2nd time around it would get more of a head start feeling stuff. Dumb idea? Maybe.

I did weigh myself this morning in anticipation of a positive test this afternoon. Starting weight this time = 149.5. That’s exactly 5 pounds lighter than my starting weight last time. I actually did weigh myself last Friday morning before we went to Tucson thinking maybe if I was pregnant this time I’d take a 10dpo reading, and I weighed 151. Why I now weigh less after eating a ton over the weekend (In-N-Out = YUM!!), I have no idea. But that’s where I’ll call my starting weight, 149.5.

Whatever’s going on in there I’m just praying that the pregnancy sticks, and I hope this feeling great continues the whole time! I really shouldn’t get ahead of myself until I take that test this afternoon, but now I finally have a pretty sure feeling that I will see those 2 pink lines this time. And I have a really cute way to break the news to R if I do see them.

 

**Edited on 2-23-12: I was right – I’m pregnant!! I bought some pregnancy tests after work yesterday and took one right when I got home, and there were those 2 pink lines, bright as can be! I took D into her bedroom and put an adorable little “Big Sister” t-shirt on her that I’d gotten a few months ago, then sent her out to show Daddy. Needless to say, R was very surprised, since I’d told him last week I thought we were out again this time. I took another test this morning just because I had 3 and I could, and there were the lines again, even brighter than last night. Here we go again!

 

 

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St. Thomas!

I promised you pictures (and a good tan, which i got) from our Caribbean vacation last month, so here they come!

Fish eye view off our balcony at the Ritz. I sure do miss waking up to this each day…

A back side view of the residence area of the Ritz in which we stayed, from a beach you could take to walk into town.

The always plentiful booze stock, of which I was unable to partake this year. That makes 2 trips in a row to St. Thomas that I’ve been pregnant and not able to drink. Ah well, there are much worse things in life.

Family pic our first night in town, out for some extremely delicious Island Time pizza.

The whole gang at Havana Blue, an awesome open-air restaurant right on the shoreline.

Cruz Bay on St. John, where the ferry comes in from St. Thomas.

Sandy Cay, BVI, one of the little islands we visited on our day of boating. We tied up offshore and had to swim in. Surprisingly, D loved that.

The beach on Jost Van Dyke, BVI, just waiting for our swim-in arrival.

The water bug herself, goofing around with someone’s sunglasses. Or as she calls them, “eyes”.

Mommy and D at One Love on Jost. I seriously love that island. It’s more fun with a few painkillers in you, but sober is good too.

Me, my sister M, and my mom on the boat back to St. Thomas.

Me and R. I love this pic of us. Once the Dramamine kicked in and the urge to barf every 5 seconds passed, I actually had a great time on the boat. Lucky for me, nausea is worse in those pregnant women who also get seasick, of which I am one.

D running around at dinner one night. Fortunately we had our own (soundproof) room. If you ever go to Sunset Grill and have a decent-sized party, see if you can sit in the wine room. It was wonderful.

The last weekend we were down there we moved over to my sister M and her husband’s boss’s house on a different part of the island. He’s currently living in the UK and let us have free reign of the joint. That view wasn’t so bad either.

I knew D would make a bee-line for the pool as soon as she saw it after how much she loved swimming in the ocean, and I was right.

We went to an absolutely gorgeous beach on one of our last days – Magens Bay. It’s completely smooth, not a shell or rock in sight, and you can wade out really far. It was super calm, and since there weren’t any cruise ships in port that day we lucked out and it was empty. It started raining while we were there, but even that couldn’t damper the beauty of the place.

Our last picture before heading to the airport to come home. We were definitely sad to leave!