20week belly pic - WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!!!

So here it is folks - my 20-week belly. We had an ultrasound this morning and my OB confirmed that we are in fact having a healthy baby boy! He has a nose, mouth, 2 eyes, heart with 4 chambers, a brain, a bladder, two kidneys, two arms, two legs and he weighs about 3/4 of a pound! Overall she said things look excellent and that I should expect to gain about a pound a week for the next 20 weeks. :0

I enjoyed every second of seeing our baby on the screen, especially since Ben won't let me get a 3D/4D ultrasound - he says it's not necessary. Well we all know it's not necessary, but we all also know how incredibly impatient I am. It would be an amazing Mother's day present to see what he actually looks like before September! (I'm still working on this. I'll keep you posted.)

I had an interview today with an HR Consulting firm. Ben's recommendation when I complained last night about not having anything to wear to the interview was, "It's okay honey. Just suck it in." Yeah. Like that would work. I somehow managed to squeeze into one of my suits with the help of the bella band and had a really great interview. I told the guy who brought me in at the end of the interview that I'm 5 months pregnant, but fully intend to work up until I deliver and then go back full-time in January. To my amazement, he didn't flinch. He immediately said congratulations and that we can work around my availability. I'm hoping to hear back from them later this week. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for an interview with another company who called me this morning for a phone interview. I feel as though it went really well and am hoping to land an interview with them next week. Wish me luck!

Kayla's baptism

Today was baby Kayla's baptism! She was surrounded by loving family and friends. It was a beautiful ceremony. Too bad Kayla slept through the entire thing! Even the part where the priest poured water on her head. She looked like a princess in her white christening gown. Jen and Brian couldn't make it, but they sent a lovely flower arrangement and Brian sent his blessing. :) After the mass and ceremony, we went over to Matt & Kel's for a delicious lunch of pasta and salad and cake & cookies for dessert. Kel gave us some cake to take home so I get to enjoy it all week! YUM! Kayla is almost crawling ~ it won't be long now!

Saturday brunch with the Colombells

Alevia, TJ, and Alevia Marie came over yesterday for a lovely Saturday afternoon brunch. Ben got more baby-holding experience! Alevia & TJ brought fresh veggies and rosemary bread from the Arlington Farmer's Market, along with cheese and crackers for appetizers. I made a tomato, leek, and goat cheese frittata, hash browns, and a strawberry spinach salad for our main course. We ate outside on the deck in the shade because it was such a beautiful day.

After lunch we took a little stroll around the neighborhood. Alevia Marie rode facing forward in her mommy's snuggly carrier and we all enjoyed the walk. When we got home we hung out for awhile in the family room with our ice cream sundaes to cool off. It was such a fun day!

Unemployed...for the moment

My company has been conducting layoffs since January of this year. So I knew it was coming. It happened yesterday morning. When I arrived at work at my normal time of 8:00am, my boss's boss was in her office with the door closed. She's never in before 9am, so I knew something was up. After the guy she was talking with left, she asked me if she could talk with me. As I walked into her office I said with a smile, "So, today's the day, huh?" trying to lighten the mood. She said yes and started crying. Her job is definitely emotionally draining. I got teary too.

I received a nice severance package, even though I've only been with the company for a year. It was a great year full of really good experience. The company paid for me to take an HR course and certification exam, for which I am very grateful. The hardest part was saying goodbye to my wonderful co-workers. I am definitely going to miss them. But I am sure we'll be keeping in touch. I didn't get to say goodbye to my boss, since she was on vacation this past week, but I'm sure we'll catch up soon for lunch. She was an awesome boss and I am definitely going to miss working for her.

A month ago I started looking around, anticipating the layoff. I had several good phone interviews, but no actual in-person interviews. This may be due in part to the fact that I was being upfront with everyone, telling them that I am pregnant at the end of the initial conversation. They all appreciated my honesty, but no one was interested enough to bring me in for an actual interview. I do have several good leads I'm following up on, so that is encouraging. And I'm going to try a different strategy this time: letting them figure out that I'm pregnant when they bring me in for an interview. Maybe this method will work better for me. :) My goal is to find something in my field before the baby comes and before the enconomy goes deeper into a recession.

So wish me luck!! If you know anyone looking to hire a 5-months pregnant, PHR-certified Recruiter in Northern VA, please let me know! :)

Baby boy rocks out to DMB

Since baby boy's ears are developed and he can actually hear things now, I started playing music for him tonight. I got comfortable on the chaise, and turned on my ipod. Artist of choice? Dave Matthews, of course!



He started kicking when the music began! I hope he grows up to be as big a fan as I am.

Riley models our favorite baby bib

Uncle Mike and Aunt Lindsey sent baby boy a package this week. The first thing I saw when we opened the box was this adorable bib. Lindsey said Mike picked it out himself.

For those of you with bad eyes, it says: "My Uncle Loves Me"!

He actually does like the couch....sorry Mom!

When the new couch came, a strange thing happened. Riley ignored it. He didn't really jump up on it, unless we really coaxed him up by calling his name over and over. Well, things have changed over these last few days....

Baked Ziti

During my weekly chat with Erica today, she told me about how she made Baked Ziti Saturday night for a dinner party. Erica always makes the yummiest dishes ~ she's such a good cook. I told her it sounded delicious and that I might attempt to make it tonight.

It was Erica who told me about Allrecipes.com - it's so great - so I went online and found what looked like a pretty simple recipe. I wrote out my shopping list and went off to hit the gym and stop by our old place to pick up mail before heading to the grocery store for the items I needed. I couldn't wait for dinner!!!

I got home around 7:30pm and got to work. (I even called Ben on the drive home to ask him to start a pot of boiling water so I would have a head start!) It took me about 45 minutes to put it all together complete with torn fresh basil on top. I served it with a green salad and garlic bread and if I don't say so myself, it was a huge success. :)

Here's the proof:

The new couch

I am so excited about our new couch! I've always wanted a big, soft, sectional couch and now we own one. It takes up most of the family room, but I think it works well in the room. Here are a few pics.
View from the TV:


View from the corner with the kitchen in the background:


View from the kitchen looking towards the fireplace:


As you can see, our walls are still bare. We haven't yet unpacked the pictures, so we really need to get to that so that we're not staring at bare walls for much longer. :)

18week belly pic & appointment update

Today we are 18 weeks pregnant and Ben and I went to my 18 week checkup. First things first, I stepped on the scale to find out I've gained 11 lbs since I became pregnant. Not bad, considering both the fact that I've been slacking on the walking lately and that I'm 2 weeks away from hitting the half-way point!!!

Here's the latest belly shot:


Everything is looking good so far. Can't wait for the ultrasound on the 29th to get some more pics of baby boy!