Welcome 2011

Goodbye, 2010.  Hello, 2011.  2010 is definitely a year to be remembered.  It was a year in which we spent a lot of time "standing still" while working our asses off and a lot of time "moving in hyper speed" while standing still.  I am amazed at the difference that a year can make in my outlook on life.  Last year at this time, I was feeling very stuck in my life.  I thought we might never have a child. I felt trapped in my job and in our house.  And I felt very little hope that thing would be any different by the next year.  As 2010 came to a close, so many changes had happened (or are in the midst of happening) that it doesn't seem possible that it is even the same year.  And this is the first year that I won't cross my fingers and hope to get pregnant by that December.  I am really looking forward to 2011 and I have great hopes that it will be the best year we have had in a long time!

I know I have been a terrible blogger.  I haven't posted, I haven't commented.  To be honest, I really haven't had the time or the energy.  Dizzy would be a good word to describe these last couple of weeks.  Things have been moving so quickly that it has left us with our heads spinning.

After the job offer, we both turned in our notices at work.  For me, that meant trying to train my co-workers for all the tasks I do and passing along all of the information that is contained in my brain as I am the only one who knew that information.  This was in addition to completing a couple of big projects I had going on AND making a lot of year end updates to our software.  In 7 WORKING DAYS.  Where there were other people's vacation schedules to deal with.  Needless to say, there were many stressful days and late nights.  My last day of work was on Thursday, December 30.  After 7 years and 11 months of working at the same place, it seems very odd that I won't be returning to my job.  I still haven't processed this fact in full.  It feels as if I am taking some vacation time.  I guess it will sink in over the next couple of weeks.

We have also been trying to take care of all of the details of closing out our lives in this state and arranging for the lives in another one.  We found a place to stay when we get there, sold one of our cars, finding doctors in our new town, arranging for medical records to be transferred, and taking care of a million other little details - from picking up the dry cleaning one last time to figuring out how to transfer our mail.  I didn't realize just how many details there were to take care of.  And instead of getting shorter, the list seems to be growing as moving day approaches.

In addition, I have been trying to schedule as much time with my Georgia family and friends as possible.  I know that Michigan isn't a world away and I will still see these loved ones - but it won't be the same as having lunch with them once a week or just taking a quick drive over to see them.  Trying to squeeze all of these visits into such a short period of time has been tough - but the memories are well worth it and I won't regret any of them.  I will only regret that I didn't get to do this with every single one of my friends and family members.

We didn't make it to see my family on Christmas Day.  The snow on the mountain kept us from going over to see them.  Although getting 6 inches of snow doesn't seem like a big deal to those of you in the north, those in the south would understand that a light dusting can make the area come to a standstill.  We decided that risking our lives on slippery roads going over a 4,000 foot mountain wouldn't be worth it.  We didn't have any "food" in the house to speak of and there were no grocery stores open.  So Christmas dinner was lunch at IHOP.  And the meal for the evening was a homemade pizza that turned out so terrible that we ended up eating PB&J sandwiches.  Good Times.  Derek built us a cozy fire, though, and we spent the day cuddled up in our PJs watching the snow fall.  We will be heading to see my parents tomorrow for our "make up Christmas" dinner.  I will be spending the night at my mom's and will be spending Monday with them as well.  Derek will have to return to our rental as he will be finishing out work this week.

We had our first OB appointment and an ultrasound on Wednesday the 22.  To our surprise, they did the ultrasound with the Doppler (Goodbye Mr. Wand).  Not only did we get to see our baby on the big screen, but we got to hear the heartbeat.  It was amazing.  The baby was laying *just so* and the picture is a great profile picture.  I was going to post a picture of it for you, but I just haven't gotten to it yet and I don't feel it coming on tonight, so you will just have to take my word on it for now.  Normally, our next appointment wouldn't have been for another 4 weeks.  But with all that we have been through and the upcoming move, they want to see me again on Wednesday, January 5.

Today I am officially 12 weeks pregnant.  I am still having the evening sickness and the tiredness hasn't really let up yet, but I am hoping that will be ending soon.  All of my friends with babies tell me that one day, you just wake up and feel awesome.  I hope that day comes soon.  I believe it is time to start taking some belly shots.  I am not "showing" just yet, but Derek and I can definitely tell that my stomach is swollen and rounded.  My pants are still button able, but are very uncomfortable and I have taken to wearing a be.band with most of them.  My wonderful friend Jill was nice enough to let me borrow some maternity clothes and we picked them up today.  I was shocked at the amount she had for me to borrow.  I didn't try everything on, and I may have a few holes to fill in, but for the most part she really hooked me up.

I think this is all I have the energy for tonight.  For those of you who made it all the way through this post, you deserve an award.  The next post may be just as bad, but I will try to do better now that the job has closed out.