Job update

I received news today that I did not get the position that I've been interviewing for. It's been over 6 weeks since I started the interview process so it's been a long road. While it sucks not getting this job, I'm sure it is for the best. There is obviously something else out there for me. I've also been contemplating making a career change for some time. Maybe this is the kick in the butt I need to make the change.

So I'm going to keep looking and thinking about what to do. Like I said before Ben and I have made some great decisions in the past. I'm sure we'll receive clarity on what to do from here on out soon.

Thank you to everyone for your support and well wishes. Without them I'm sure this bump in the road would be horrible!

Hello new friends!

I've noticed that I have some new followers. How fun! I never thought anything in my life would be interesting enough to actually blog about. Then when something did happen I never imagined I would have so many hits on my blog. It's fun to share this journey with new friends and old. I hope you're enjoying this trip with us. It's hard to believe there's approximately 17 weeks left! Where has the time gone?

Tomorrow is the start of week 23 of my pregnancy. Wow. Just....wow! Every day I'm so happy to feel our daughter "have a party" inside of me. She's so predictable that it makes me laugh. It also gives me hope that she will adjust to a schedule when she arrives. I may have just jinxed myself!

Since my last blog entry a few things have happened. I went to a second interview at the company I really want to work for. It was very promising and I left there with confidence that I would be working soon. Here I am a week later and I'm not working. I'm not sure if I'm putting too much hope into this job prospect or what. I called to follow up on the interview and it sounds like they are close to deciding but it may be another week yet. Lovely. I just want to jump into this job and get as much done as I possibly can before I have to take leave. And how the heck do you tell someone "Thanks for the job offer! I need an extended amount of time off in 17 weeks or less."? Everything I read says I should inform them before I accept any offer they give me. That makes me worry that the offer would be rescinded. Legally they could say that I require special arrangements and they can't accommodate me. I know that if they did that I wouldn't want to work for them but deep down I can't blame them. And if they don't rescind the offer I'm in no way covered by FMLA. That means they can replace me when I go on leave. So much to worry about.

If I don't get this job I have to give serious consideration to how hard I should search for a job. I need a job but is it worth it? Should I just wait? Should I work part-time? Can we survive if I don't work? All things I have to think about. All things Ben and I are tossing around. I guess when the time comes we'll know what to do. We've some how been lucky enough to make sound decisions up to this point. Hopefully our streak continues.

On to baby news - Her room is coming along. It's completely down to the studs! We've been taking pictures along the way. I'll try to share some with everyone soon. Right now it looks like a tornado went through there! It's exciting to think about how it's going to look when it's done. I was just saying to Ben last night that I wished we had some more money. The ceiling could be a lovely tall ceiling that slopes towards the windows. I could add some beautiful pendent lighting that would hang so nicely from the slope. While those thoughts are nice her room will still be absolutely wonderful! Her closet will be widened by a whole foot!! What a lucky girl! It's already a huge closet. Needless to say mom is slightly jealous!

Last night was my first experience with baby induced heartburn. Let me just say this is the worst heartburn EVER! Seriously I could not stand it! Since I didn't have anything in the house that is ok for me to take I had to head out to the store.....it was almost midnight! Of course being so late there was no way Ben was letting me go alone so he took me up there. I bought some Rolaids soft chews. Two of them and a bath later I was able to sleep comfortably. I was thinking that maybe it was the food I had for dinner but I had the same thing for lunch today with no problems. Apparently she was just letting me know who is in charge. LOL!

I'm taking an idea from my friend Amy. We have decided on a name for our little girl. We have not shared it with anyone yet. While it may be a while before we share the name I thought I would give hints to what it could be. I know there are some people who read our blog that are super sleuths so this could be fun! If the name is guessed I'll have to get permission from Ben to confirm the name as we haven't decided when we'll share the name. In the mean time everyone can have fun trying to figure it out!

Baby Name Hint #1: She will be the only member of our house (that's between myself, Ben and the furkids) that won't have the letter "a" in her first name. (LOL! Yep! I even did the same hint as Amy!) Happy guessing!

A job hunt update

This job hunt it like a new relationship: All of the good signs are there but no commitment!

I didn't update after the assessment because there wasn't much to update. I took the test on Monday. I didn't hear anything. I called on Friday and they said they needed to have a meeting and would get back to me.

On Tuesday of this week (yesterday) I received a message that they were sending out an application. They said to fill it out and send it back in. I called back and left a message offering to go down and fill out the application. I didn't hear back from them.

This afternoon I receive a call and it's the HR guy. He wants to set up a second interview with me. So now I go in on Thursday October 9 for an interview with 4 people. From the sounds of it I'll be meeting with each person separately.

So that's where I'm at. Still waiting for that commitment

Seeing Baby Girl!

Today we got to see our little girl again! It was a lllloooonnnngggg wait to see her though. When we got to our appointment (15 minutes early) we were told they were "running a little late". Well "a little late" ended up turning into a two hour wait. Ben was starting to get very upset. I had to remind him that if we had an emergency other people would be put off too. He calmed down a tiny bit.

What really calmed Ben down was seeing our little girl. The first image we got to see was of her face and she was "jawing" at us. LOL! She was just "talking" away and waving her arms. So. Cute.

Everything is going very well. Her brain is developing normally, the kidneys are good, her stomach is developed, her bladder is good, she has all 4 chambers of her heart and she's definitely a girl. There was one heart area we couldn't see because of the way she was sitting but Dr. B wasn't overly concerned. We found out she's measuring right on schedule. She weighs about 14 ounces and is 9 inches tall.

I didn't gain that pound they wanted to see. I actually lost 3. But again the doctor wasn't concerned. My blood pressure is excellent and my sugars have been great. The only "concern" that we have is the placenta is sitting a little low but Dr. B says it's moving up so there's no need to change my activity level. All in all it was a great appointment even though we were there for almost 4 hours.

I just wanted to apologize for not updating on the assessment testing. It was a very uneventful hour. I'm still waiting to hear back about the results. They did say it would take a couple of days so I'm hoping to have some news either today or tomorrow. I can't tell you how great it feels to have all the support of my wonderful friends! The notes on my blog, in my emails and on the boards I frequent have been wonderful. I truly am a very lucky girl to have you guys!

No second interview for me....

Instead they're bringing me in for assessment testing!! YAY!! I go in Monday at 8 am. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes (as always).

Status of Interview

So the interview went really, really well today. I was there for almost 3 hours. I met with 3 people. It was nice to learn more about the company and the position.

I'm excited about the position. It would be a mix of familiar work and new work that would be a challenge.

They're going to be doing call backs sometime next week. Hopefully I'll be on the list!! I'll let you know if I get a call.

An Interview!

I have an interview tomorrow at a company I really would like to get into. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

No worries!

I had a doctor's appointment today. It went very well! Little girl is VERY active. We had a hard time getting her to sit still long enough to get a good listen to her heart. We finally "pinned" her down but it took a good 5 minutes and 2 different dopplers to do it. LOL! I think we're going to have our hands full when she makes her appearance.

Today was work day 2 of being unemployed. I have to say it's not as horrible as I thought it would be. Granted there is NOTHING good to watch on tv during the day but I am getting a few things done around the house. I know if I'm home for too long I'll start getting bored. Thankfully it looks like I may not be home for too long. I've heard a "rumor" that one of the places I sent my resume to on Friday is interested in interviewing me. YES!

So I think I've used all my lemons up! It was suggested that I make lemon bars instead of lemonade.....it uses up the lemons much quicker!

When life hands you lemons....

make lemonade.

Today life handed me a big bag of lemons. I was let go from my job. I kind of saw it coming hence why I was looking for a job before. For some reason I was hoping that I would be able to make it through this pregnancy with my job. Apparently life had other plans for me.

Everyone goes through these hard times....right? I'm just paying my dues as an adult. I have no room to complain about this set back. Yes I don't have an income. Yes that means our family income has been cut in half. Yes that means I won't have health insurance in a few weeks. Yes that means I may not have the lovely new furniture I wanted for the nursery. But all in all this should be a new start for me. I'll work at temp jobs if I need to. There are plenty of ways to cover having a baby. If I need to I'll take advantage of those government programs I've been paying for for the last 15 years. I'm sure I'll be paying into them for many years to come so I may as well use them if needed.

Yes things will be rough. I will miss the wonderful friends I have made. But there are plenty of ways to keep in touch. When one door shuts another one will open.....eventually. It's scary to think of going through this pregnant but it will work out. Life is funny like that. Just when things seem so dark and horrible there is a light to lead you through it all.

11 weeks and whoa!

On Thursday we entered week 11 of the pregnancy. It's hard to believe in just 2 weeks we'll be out of the first trimester! This week the baby is the size of a lime. The head is starting to tilt back and the finger nails are growing.

On Thursday I also received a call I never thought I would receive. To fully explain we need to back up a little. Earlier in the week I was told that I was considered a "high risk" pregnancy. This label didn't overly concern me. I was diagnosed as insulin resistant last year so I knew that I may get labeled high risk. I've been fighting off diabetes for probably the last 4 years. Up to this point I've been doing pretty darn good. Even though I've struggled here and there I've kept my sugar under control with diet and exercise. I knew that getting pregnant would pose some challenges for me but it was nothing that I didn't think I couldn't handle.

I was referred by my doctor to a high risk doctor. They called, asked me some questions and upped my glucose testing from a few times a day to 7 to 8. I started to feel like a pin cushion! On Thursday the high risk office gave me a call back with more information. They fully expect me to end up on insulin at some point during this pregnancy. As a person who has been working so hard to stay off of pills, insulin is a possibility that never entered my mind. I immediately felt like the biggest failure as not only a person trying to stay healthy but also as a mom. It's a feeling I've been struggling with ever since.

I know I'm not a failure but I feel like all of the work I've done is for nothing. Thank goodness I have the most amazing support system of family and friends. My personal trainer Erin has vowed to help keep me in shape. She also was a great voice of reason to talk to the day I received the news. Just an ear to listen and a great workout can do the mind more good then you can ever imagine. My mom and Ben (yeah, that's DTB's name) have been beyond great. They've allowed me to be the overly emotional pregnant woman that I am. I've cried probably more times then what is really necessary but never once did they tell me my feelings weren't rational. They've been understanding and there. My two best friends who have themselves have been getting healthy were quick to offer me reassurance and to be there for me no matter what. Even an acquaintance offered words of encouragement that touched me very much. So as I start this new challenge, I thank everyone who has been so great. I probably don't tell them enough but I love them all more then they know and I never for a moment take them for granted.

The good news is that I don't have to start insulin right away. For now I'm going to diabetes education classes and keeping in very close touch with my high risk doctor's office. We'll know more information as time goes on. I honestly don't know if I'll end up on some kind of medication or insulin for life. It is a possibility but if I keep healthy it may just be for the pregnancy. At this point we don't even know at what point I'll need to start taking the insulin.

So I'm going to keep working hard. I still see Erin once a week. I'm also joining a couple of exercise classes. Thank goodness I'm starting to get some energy back! I'm going to need it!

One less thing to worry about

Today I received a phone call from the company I interviewed with before heading out on vacation. They ended up hiring someone else. That's o.k. I don't have to worry about how to handle the whole pregnancy/new job thing. Plus like I said before I love where I'm at so it all really works out for the best.

The nice thing about the phone call I receive is that they wanted to let me know how impressed they were with me. He said I was a top pick and that my resume and background was very impressive to them. They just thought that I would be taking a step backwards in my career path rather then forward. I saw it as a step up since it was a manager position.

So like I said, it's one less thing I have to worry about. At this time it wasn't meant to be. I'll now enjoy working with the great people that are at my job and have fun sharing my pregnancy with people who have become much more then just friends.

New Job?

I'm seven and a half weeks pregnant and going for a job interview. I really had stopped looking for a new job because I love where I'm at and for the time being things are going well. This opportunity presented itself though and I just could let it pass me by. I'm struggling with the guilt of possibly taking a new job and not telling them up front that I'm pregnant. For right now I'm just going to concentrate on doing well at the interview. Who knows, it may not even get past the first interview (of course I told myself a few weeks ago that I probably wouldn't get an interview). Wish me luck!

We also leave for our trip to Colorado on Wednesday. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!