Busy Monday

So, today was a busy day... I think we found a daycare solution for our baby (starting in September), I spoke to my boss about the future of my job and future responsibilities, and Baby P starting flipping and tae-bo-ing with such force, that I actually felt it!! I had been feeling the kicks, but this was the first time that I could feel the rolling and body parts jabbing me... very weird, but very cool! Steve is dying to feel the baby move... he'll put his hand over my stomach, and the baby is kicking under his hand, but he can't feel it yet... Maybe now that I'm starting to feel the rolling and more forceful kicks, hopefully Steve will start feeling the movements too.

We're soldiering on with the home search. We have an appointment to see 2 houses of interest tomorrow afternoon. We were going to see a third one, but apparently the house just went under agreement, so there is no point to it... kinda a bummer... One of the houses would be perfect, but the price could halt us in our tracks, and the other is priced less, but needs a LOT of work... so it might be too much for us to undertake.... so opposite scenarios to look at, and we've got one other in a nearby town to look at hopefully later in the week or next.

Figuring out finances is a chore in itself... I was never good at math, so numbers are a scary thing for me. I think our next step is to have a financial consultant or someone accurately tell us exactly how much of a mortgage payment we can afford, especially now with daycare expenses, along with every other expense that having a new baby brings... Of course the Mortgage guy says we can afford a whole lot more of a house, than we KNOW we can afford... now is just figuring out the real number.

Post-Holiday Fun

We went to my company's post-holiday party last night... It was a fun excuse to dress up! Even though I didn't have a drop of alcohol to drink, I still managed to look drunk while dancing the night away. Being pregnant is a little strange when trying to dance... Your balance is all off!

Steve and I spent most of yesterday driving around and looking at potential houses. We found a few that we liked (well from what we could tell of the outside) so we might be taking the inside tours soon. It still SOOOO expensive. As hard as we try not to think about it, the more it becomes apparent that we need to... So many things need to fall into place in the next few months to a year. We keep waiting for one decision to be made, so we could start making other decisions... We only need one factor to fall into place, and then we could plan around it.

Today, my old roommate and I went to the movies.. We finally saw The Holiday. A very good chick flick!

all-in-all, another great weekend.... now off to work.. I can't believe its almost Monday again.

mmmmm OREO Balls

These are the best. My sister-in-law introduced these to me last summer. If you like chocolate (and who doesn't!) Then you'll love these!! This isn't the exact recipe, but its close enough... I feel it is my duty to pass on the recipe for these delectable treats! Amazingly enough... there are still some left in my freezer from a party last weekend! We have made these for a few parties, and they have been a hit... watch out chocoholics.. they are rich and addictive.

Oreo Balls
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
4 cups crushed Oreo® cookies
2 cups chocolate baking chips
1 tbsp. shortening

Directions:On high speed of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add cookies and beat until well combined. Refrigerate 2 hours until chilled enough to roll.Roll dough into 1" ball. Over double boiler, melt chips and shortening until smooth. Dip balls into mixture and thoroughly coat. Place on wax paper to harden. Store in refrigerator.

(my lunch is SOOOO not going to be satisfying now!)

Friday's Baby Checkup

I went to the doctor's on Friday afternoon. As some of you know.. I was in my dark paranoid place, becuase I haven't been 100% certain that I've actually felt my baby kick. You can talk yourself in our out of anything, so I had convinced myself that everything I had felt since like the 16th week wasn't actually movement (and well more dark thoughts had taken over). I am happy to report though, that the doctor found the baby's heartbeat right away! I am now fairly certain that I have been feeling the "flutters", and now that the baby is getting bigger, the movements are actually starting to resemble kicks or punches!

I really like my doctor.. She is very nice, and she has been on the "Best of Boston" list of doctors for quite a few years running... I do however feel very rushed when I'm at the office. Perhaps its because my appointments are always late on Friday afternoons... but I always walk out, and within minutes of leaving her (and standing at the receptionist desk making my next appointment) it dawns on me that I actually had 3 or 4 questions for her.... this happens everytime. She asks me if I have questions, and sometimes I get one in, and then othertimes I stare blankly... duh. Of course I have questions... I just need to write them down, so that I'll actually remember them when the time comes! I must have flustered her too this time, because she had the tape measurer out to measure, but she skipped right to the heartbeat, and then told me I was all set to go for 6 weeks. So I can't even tell you how the baby is measuring...

Well, my next appointment is not for another 6 weeks.. and that appointment will be the fun GLUCOSE tolerance test. I get to drink the sugar filled orange drink, and then have my blood drawn... Did I tell you that the lab tech at the doctor's office told me that I had the veins of a junkie? I don't get it.. I used to be the champion blood giver.. Something has happened though.. With my last wrist surgery.. they actually tried to find my vein (and missed) three times. They ended up using a pediatric needle and getting my IV to go through my leg instead. sheez. This should be fun.

First week of 2007

The funk has been slow to leave my body, but I'm starting to sound better. I went to work all last week, and Steve and I actually went out to eat on Friday night!!! I can't remember the last time we did that when we both felt decent! We had a good weekend. We started looking and registering for baby stuff, and the weather was so nice, that we (on a whim) decided to test-drive a potential mommy-mobile on Saturday. I went to my sorority's area alumnae chapter's annual post-holiday party.. and I walked away with the best "Yankee swap" gift!

On Sunday, a fellow pregnant friend/co-worker and I decided to go dress shopping for our annual work post-holiday party. After finding outfits, we had lunch, and then did some more (you can guess) baby supplies browsing/shopping.

Steve is a happy camper today... The Pats won last night, and advance in the playoffs!