Sappy Mommy Moment

I have to say that I still love being pregnant, and I don't think that it is just because I am afraid of labor or what to do with the little guy once he is born.

I love feeling the little feet kick me (still pretty gently), and feeling how the feet are growing. I love the warmth that I feel in my belly. I love the way he make my heart more tender and feminine than it was before. I love putting together little things in his room in preparation for his. I love sitting in his room and absorbing it. I love having to figure out new ways to do things because my belly is now too big to do it the way I did before. I love trying to figure out what he is like from the way he moves around.

Big little boy?

Today was the 36 week midwife visit. We nailed down ideas and wishes for the actual birth, It is nice for someone to ask you what you envision for the birth. I know that we are spoiled. So, here are some of the decisions made

1. Nathan (daddy), Kathy (grandma), and Kelly (doula) will all be present at the birth hopefully.
2. Lighting will be low in the room and I wil labor in and out of the water, and will try to squat for part of the labor process (opens the birth canal by approx. 10-15% more).
3. Baby will receive vitamin K upon birth and the PKU blood draw. He will not receive eye treatment as it is mainly to prevent infection from STD's, which is not an issue.

Also, it turns out that little Luke does not have a big head, and is pretty normal in overall size, except that he is long. The midwife was surprised at how much he had to curl up (and I am not a shortwaisted person!). So that all sounds good to me. Bring on the 8-8.5lbs as long as the majority of it is not in his head.

Earth-Shaking Day at Work

I thought that my last week of work would be uneventful.....

A little bit ago, a 5.8M earthquake hit our area. This is the first time that I ahve experienced an earthquake so close to the center, on the 7th floor of a skysraper, at 8+ months pregnant. Our building swayed back and forth for about a minute (though it felt longer). I kept thinking, how do I get down from here? There really was no safe way, so I jumped under my desk, held my belly and prayed something like "Lord have mercy" and asked for forgiveness of my sins.

So, it is over now. They are checking for structural damage to our building, and we go on working. Besides being shaken up and a skinned knee (from diving under my desk), baby and I are ok. :) He did kick around a lot, so I said to him, "Calm down little guy, and stay in there."

Praying that everyone else in our area is ok.

Family/Friend Shower

Saturday was the second shower for little Luke. It was held at my Aunt Kristi's beautiful home in Vista, and was organized by my mother-in-law, Aunt Susie, and Bethany Jean. They did such a nice job. Thank you for everything.

I got some beautiful handmade quilts from my Grandma and Nana, Bethany Lee, Aunt Susie and my Aunt Kristi. I also got the baby carrier/car seat that we registered for, bath supplies, cloth diapers, lots of cute clothes, and more. We are really beginning to feel ready for the little one. :)

Today I purchased the Arms Reach Co-Sleeper that pulls up tot he side of the bed so that he can sleep in the same room as us when he is very small. The only thing that I need to get now is a changing table. I have an idea of what I want in my mind and have not found it yet, or at least, not for a price I want to pay. :)

Here are some pictures:

Baby Room Pictures

Last night, I was up until 11pm getting the crib put together. The directions were innacurate, but I checked online to see what other people did to resolve the problem and figured it out. I think all new moms should have to put together their own cribs, its good training. :)

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

The big family/So Cal friend baby shower is this Saturday. Originally my mom was not going to be able to make it because of the long drive from Northern CA and having to take off of work, etc... Then she called yesterday morning to say that she would come. Yay! It would not have been the same without her.

To any other Northern CA folks: there is room in the back seat!

Home Sweet Home (sans furniture)

Here are some pictures of out new place. These were taken before the move. I have been nesting up a storm since we moved in and trying to find a place for everything, so I should get some pictures of the more complete baby room up soon.

The kitchen is bright and airy and has a great pantry off to the side. We did not see that beforehand, but it is so wonderful to have.















Here is a picture looking from the living room into the dining area and kitchen.












Next is a picture of the storage that we have in the baby room and the baby's bathroom. Isn't that a cute little robe? :)





















Last are a couple of pictures of the outside. There is a nice sized patio and a little lawn. I am going to plant some veggie and plants out there very soon.

Some good ole' Country Music for Packing

Sing this with a twang:

Watching You by Rodney Atkins

Driving through town just my boy and me
With a happy meal in his booster seat
Knowing that he couldn't have the toy
Till his nuggets were gone
Green traffic light turned straight to red
I hit my breaks and mumbled under my breath
His fries went a flying and his orange drink covered his lap
Well then my four year old said a four letter word
That started with "s" and I was concerned
So I said son now now where did you learn to talk like that

[Chorus one]

He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool
I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I've been watching you

We got back home and I went to the barn
I bowed my head and I prayed real hard
Said lord please help me help my stupid self
Then this side of bedtime later that night
Turning on my son's scooby doo nightlight
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands
And spoke to god like he was talking to a friend
And I said son now where'd you learn to pray like that

[Chorus two]

He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool
I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We like fixing things and holding mama's hand
Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I've been watching you

[Bridge]

With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug
Said my little bear is growing up
He said but when I'm big I'll still know what to do

[Chorus three]

Cause I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool
I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
By then I'll be as strong as superman
We'll be just alike, hey won't we dad
When I can do everything you do
Cause I've been watching you

100th Post

.. and not an exciting or organized one.

We are moving tomorrow and have been taking over breakable items to our new place since Tuesday. I have been working far away in Yorba Linda ("the land of gracious living") without an internet connection, and have been tired carrying all this baby around, thus no blogging.

Update on baby:

We had the 34 week check-up and birth details class recently. Baby is still head down (hooray! He is moving so much that I can't always tell), and has a strong heart beat. The midwife also watched my stomach and said kind of abruptly that I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions. Really? They don't hurt at all, and feel much like a little painless earthquake.

Next time I blog, we will be HB residents. :)

A New Undertaking

I am undertaking a new project. I have tried to study for the CPA exam before unsuccessfully. Last summer (when I was actually not working crazy hours), I applied to sit for the exam and studied. There are four parts and I had made a plan to sit for each part throughout the course of last year. However, that was as far as I went in my CPA quest.

Before the final payment was due, I had to change plans because the audit I was working on, which was supposed to be pretty regular hours, suddenly became very intense. Taking into account that I did not get home for dinner more than one-two nights a week (Nathan would suffer), and my Church Treasury responsibilities (Church would suffer), and my own sanity (I would suffer), I decided to put a halt on the CPA exam. At this point, I had invested time and energy, but very little money. It was a hard decision, and I have been looked at as weak by other people in the firm, but it was the right choice to make. Nathan had not married me to be an absent, career obsessed wife, and I needed to make sure that I fulfilled my responsibility to Church.

That being said, I am now at a point where I am going to try again. I have three weeks of unassigned time in the office (meaning that I have no client and therefore can work on whatever education project I want) to study. I also will have 4+/- weeks before baby comes to study (if he comes on time), I will have six months of maternity leave, and we will see what comes after that.

I want to emphasize here that this does not mean that I plan to spend 8 hours a day studying, or that I will study if it takes away from quality of care for baby. This is just a plan, and real life can change plans. I gave up the CPA idea once, and I can do it again if that is what needs to happen for the good of our family. I will study when I get the time and/or energy. Here's hoping that he is a good sleeper.

Reasons for getting CPA:

1. The firm has paid for all my study materials ($2000 if I had to pay)

2. I have a friend who is going to try too, so I will have a study partner.

3. Makes me very marketable- I can get a lot more flexible jobs so that I can stay home with baby and only work 10 hours a week or so.

4. Good for Church- I think that we need someone with a CPA to ensure stablility for finances. It means something to our banks.

5. If I don't do it now, I probably won't ever. I still remember how to study and have a lot of information fresh in my mind.

Free Stuff!!

Today I got two very cool free things:

1. A super-fancy, ultra-lightweight $600 breast pump from KPMG's workplace lactation program. This is one of the reasons that they are given the honor of Working Mother's Top 10 companies to work for.

2. Nathan won some tickets to Dr. Laura's One Woman show for this Saturday night in Riverside, CA. I am a Dr. Laura groupie and I know that Nathan is a happier husband because of her.

Things I can't do at work

Since becoming pregnant I can't listen to certain things without needing to grab a tissue or step outside. All these new hormones. :)

1. Listen to Dr. Laura- some stories are so touching and impactful that I find myself crying. Today I listened to a lady who made huge sacrifices to have her father near her as his life was ending. Another story was a poem that a man wrote to his wife about how their love for one another makes facing their current difficulties bearable.
2. Country music- a lot is garbage, but some is very sweet and sentimental. I like "The Good Stuff," and "My front porch looking in," especially.

At about 7 and 1/2 months

Well, the due date is approaching and baby is growing! Here are a couple of pictures for those who want to see how "baby in tummy" is progressing. He is still head down and moves all the time.... 3am, 6-7am, etc. I am getting prepared to be a mommy I guess. :) As a side note, we will be moving on July 19th. (note the boxes in the background.)

Happy 4th of July!

I wanted to paint an American flag on my belly to show my patriotism: America- land of the free, home of the babe. Then I thought the better of it. We spent a lovely evening at friends of ours and saw fireworks on the way.

Our New Home

For the next year at least, we will be living here:

The pictures are from the front, the garage (we have two of the garage doors), and looking down the street.


We are very excited. :)

Promotion Day

My new signature for work:

Kathryn Jones
Audit Senior Associate
KPMG LLP

The "Senior" part is new. It also comes with a bonus. Yay, two years of hard work. :)

Happy Summer Days

These past few days have been really nice. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Most people at work are on vacation this week since we already get the 4th off. This means that the office is quiet and more lighthearted than most of the year.

2. Traffic has been much less congested due to school being out and vacationing 9-5'ers.

3. Perfect weather for swimming (yay for the weightless feeling :) )

4. Friends from out of town can visit since school is out.- last weekend I saw a dear friend from Quail Lakes Baptist (my home church while growing up in Stockton)

5. The days are long and we can take walks after work.

6. Fun gatherings with friends. For the 4th, we will be barbequeing with friends. So far, I think I am bringing the following: Lemon pudding cake and hot fudge cake. Gooey desserts have sounded good lately, and believe it or not, these recipes are actually lighter versions.

Other good news: We finally signed the lease, put the first month and deposit rent down, and are set to take our new apartment on July 15th. It is so nice to know that we will have a place for baby- especially one just like we were hoping to find. Sorry no pictures yet, but I will get some soon.