March Work Trips

ARIZONA

Ironically, the weather in Iowa was about the same as it was in Arizona in March because of a little Iowa heat wave.  It was great to go with my friend Natalie and see our buddy Alyssa who just moved to AZ.  She is in the Camelback area but we also explored downtown Phoenix a bit and then drove to Tucson for our work conference.    GREAT Mexican food everywhere – I tried tamales for the first time, definitely a win!

COLORADO

I had two conferences in Colorado in the same week which gave my co-workers and I a little more time to explore.  Driving from Colorado Springs to Denver, we stopped at Garden of the Gods (rock formations) for a quick walk in our business attire.  The next night we went out in Golden, CO and went to the 2nd largest brewery there, GCB = Golden City Brewery (Coors being the largest).  A cool little place that Tony would have loved but a little torturous for me since I couldn’t really drink.  Then we drove on a nice mountain road back into Denver.  I couldn’t get many good pictures from within the car but the views were spectacular.

Baby Month 2 - Feb

(Contribution to our child's college fund from Tony, courtesy of the claw machine)

In our second month (February), we had an appointment with the OB nurse to confirm the pregnancy and get some information regarding next steps.  I wanted to make sure I saved up some really good pee so we would have a nice, concrete, positive YES!  Well, turns out I saved a little too much!  As I peed into the cup, it went in with such force that it looped right back out and went all over my pants!!!  There I was, sitting in the doctor’s office bathroom, with urine soaked pants and an empty pee cup!!  Luckily, I mustered up enough for a sample.  But then I had the problem of dealing with my wet pants?!?  So what did I do?  The same thing I did in first grade when I peed my pants – pretended it didn’t happen :-)   I now refer to this day as the day corduroy pants saved my life because the coloring of the pants made it hard to notice they were wet (or at least that is what I told myself).  We went on with our appointment then I went home to clean up and change my pants before going back to work.  On my next appointment when I had to pee in a cup, I didn’t want the same issue to occur.  So I COMPLETELY removed my pants before peeing into the cup.  Luckily though, I have since gotten MUCH better at the task with LOTS of practice.  

Other Notes from Month 2:

• Tony’s mono is still considered contagious.  You would be amazed at how difficult and annoying it is to be forbidden from kissing your husband.
• We went out for dinner at The Star Restaurant to celebrate the pregnancy.  But with my pregnancy symptoms and Tony’s mono, we were a pretty dull pair.
• Feeling a little anxious about the thought of really being pregnant.  Luckily the chapter of the baby book I am reading is addressing that exact issue.
• Tony typically has a pretty high level of “sappiness”.  Even more so when I am leaving on a work trip while carrying his baby :-)
• I really dislike having to watch everything I say around my family so I don’t accidentally tell them I am pregnant. 
• Earned a “pregnancy badge”, as I like to call it.  I had to run out of a meeting at work to go in the bathroom and puke!

Baby Month 1 - Jan

We are expecting!  I have been keeping a journal ever since we found out I am pregnant.  Here are my notes from the first month, January.

The Positive Test: I think the first words in my head were "oh wow", followed quickly by "oh sh*t". Why was it that we wanted to start a family so soon? Pregnant is such a small word but it kept getting bigger and bigger the longer I looked at the test result. Tony was a bit surprised by the result since we had a negative test a few days earlier. Earlier in the night I was teasing him about the horrible outfit he was wearing (white shirt, white shorts, black socks) so he was happy to rub in the fact that the image of him in that outfit will be forever burned into my memory because he was wearing it at the time we found out we were expecting. :-)  Tony summarized his thoughts in a similar manner "Oh crap, its real but in a good way."

The Next Days
  --  I find myself smiling ear to ear every time I go to the bathroom because it is another confirmation that I don't have my period and am likely pregnant. We decide to wait a week and take another test as additional confirmation before we allow ourselves to get too excited.
  --  First failure as an expecting mother, accidentally drank two caffeinated beverages in one day! But a little research showed I was still under the max for the day.
  --  We couldn't wait a week.  We took another pregnancy test and it was still positive. We are calling the doctor tomorrow to figure out what is the next step.
   --  Tony has mono and we are taking measures to make sure I don't get sick but every time I say something sassy, his response is "do you want me to kiss you?" Which ironically, is quite sassy. And what about all the pampering I need!