Since becoming pregnant, it's like I've been accepted into this special club --- women with whom I would have nothing in common otherwise are suddenly my biggest source of advice and support as I grow this baby and panic about motherhood. We scored some awesome furniture last night, along with some other goodies. It's kinda fun to finally have some baby stuff in the house. We are just a few weeks shy of the halfway point --- time is going fast, and November will be here before we know it. I'm still fortunate to be having a dream pregnancy. Aside from the occasional exhaustion and my too snug pants, I've been feeling great. Perhaps a bit moodier than normal, but who knows? Like always, I save my moods for my husband, so I guess he'd be the best judge of that.

I'm waiting patiently to see if I'll get called for an interview for the Head Start job. My current workplace is more stressful than any I've ever been in, and it has nothing to do with my job. It's poorly managed and my direct supervisor is the culprit. I wonder how she got her job, given what I've seen and heard about her reputation over the course of her 30 yr county career. It's a little discouraging because, at this point, I can't afford to not have a county job. If I went elsewhere, I wouldn't have FMLA or the same benefits package that I have -- and we can't afford that. I sometimes wonder if I should've stayed at Chrysalis, but the insurance alone was so outrageous --- even though my take home pay is less here, at least we all have affordable and decent health care, which is important. I need a healthy husband now more than ever.
Anyway, my boss is an a-hole and I would welcome the opportunity to leave this job. Not only has it been personally stressful, but I'm not married to the work I'm doing, which makes staying motivated that much harder.

I'm on a mission to find a baby prep checklist, kind of like the one I had for my wedding. There's a trillion things to do, and I have no idea if it's too early (or too late) to start doing them. Can't wait for our next ultrasound! Another week and we'll see if we're having a little prince or princess. :-)

baby bump

I'm finally starting to actually feel pregnant, which is strange and also kind of exciting. I had such an easy first trimester that I barely felt any different. Now, I'm starting to get a little bump and feel like something's going down in there. My pants are starting to work overtime, and may need to be retired soon. We'll hopefully find out next week if it's a boy or a girl. I still feel like it's a girl and refer to it as "she" and "her" --- Scott is thinking boy. We'll see who's right! I think it'll make it more real to know, and to actually start making plans for his/her room, etc.

A job posting came across my desk today for a community outreach and volunteer coordinator for the county Head Start program, and I think I may apply. Even at the low end of the pay range, it would be around a $3 raise, and I feel that I would be much happier working in a place that I felt more emotionally connected to. A place that does good for people who need help, but with all the benefits of a county job sounds just perfect. I may be slightly underqualified, but I may go for it anyway. It seems a little insane to get a new job when I'm almost 4 months pregnant, but I think transferring to another job within the county will keep all my benefits and my seniority intact. We'll see.

Kristen and Keith are in town, and I'm excited to see them! It's always good to have an O'Neill around.