It's a......

BABY! We didn't find out. I'll admit, it was hard. Jason reallllly wanted to, and I was about to give in. The ultrasound tech never asked, and neither did we. We now have an official surprise baby in late April/early May. I won't lie, I looked. with both Ashley and Davey it was obvious. Since this tech never even seemed to look for it, I couldn't tell. At one point while she was doing leg measurements I thought- it's a boy!- but she then pointed out the umbilical cord. Not a penis. Throughout the various measurements I tried to see any hint and sometimes I thought GIRL and others maybe boy. All in all, I think maybe girl. We had enough leg shots where a penis should have been obvious, but no direct inbetween the leg looks this go round. It was by far the longest ultrasound I have ever had (almost 45 minutes). Baby looked perfect and everything measured between 18w5d and 19w5d. We had a doctor's appt afterwards and really chatted about Papp-A. She reiterated that there is not an additional worry about chromosomal abnormalities and is 100% onboard with making sure I make it home before delivery a priority. Basically the plan is to monitor just in case my placenta starts to crap out and if there is any indicator of an issue, send me back to NC asap. I like her.
In other news we go home in 4 DAYS!!! Please come visit me. I will have no car. :)

Inadequate

You know the moms who make you feel like you are failing as a mother? The ones with amazingly clean houses-all the time? The ones with well behaved, well dressed, CLEAN children -all the time? (You know-no snot, dirt, unidentified food on their shirts, etc.) The ones who never ever yell, make everything from scratch, and don't feel the need to lock themselves in the bathroom and curse every-so-often? (The ones who don't have children who rip chunks of hair out of their siblings head like my son just did?) They live in hotels too. There is a very sweet mother who lives here with her FOUR children. (In the same, tiny 2 bedroom hotel suite my family lives in.) Her four kids (all under 7) are perfectly well-behaved at the breakfast buffet, I have yet to witness a yell from her, and I have never seen her looking like she wanted to give one (or all) of them away. I once mentioned to her how excited I was to go back to my house because living in a hotel was making me twitch with my two kids. I expected her to agree, but get this folks- SHE LOVES IT. Say what??? Four kids, 700 sq feet, and it's all peachy keen. She has to be lying, right???
(Honestly, she is very nice and I am generally in awe of her mothering skills. I just can't understand the love of hotel living. It is beyond me.)

On a different note, this age - two and three- has been the hardest stage so far for me. I am beginning to wonder if where and how we are living now is making me feel that way. My two kiddos, while they fight and bicker a lot, really do play nicely together. If they had more space, toys, and the freedom to be really loud, would I be loving this age? Hmmmm....

We are coming home in 10 DAYS!!! Get ready Charlotte :)

Thanksgiving fun and my kids are cute

I hosted Thanksgiving at my house in 2005, whole newlywed come eat at my house and use my pretty new china type deal. It was a bit of a disaster. Jason was insistent that we buy a RAW, uncooked, not sliced, pork butt ham. News flash folks, ham is not raw. A raw "ham" equates to a giant pork chop. We all fought over the tiny fried turkey. (Raw "ham" aka giant pork chop makes good bbq. Traditional Thanksgiving leftovers.) This year I did Thanksgiving in a hotel room. I did a ham (turkey too intimidating in a hotel). It was not a giant pork chop. Score one. Actually, pretty much everything turned out great. Sue and Dave flew up for Thanksgiving and we had a great 4ish days with them. We had some interesting encounters on a street car (one man cleared an entire section, the smell was that bad), twice. We hit up Powell's Books, some of our favorite brew pubs, the Christmas Parade, Tree lighting, and even attempted to go to Mt. St. Helens. No actual plan, directions, and snow covered roads in the wilderness made the Mt. St. Helens adventure a bit of a bust. It was a nice holiday, and so wonderful to be able to celebrate with family all the way out here.

On a totally different note, tonight I got to witness a "typical" male behavior evolve in my 2 year old. He asked to talk to his Auntie Claire Bear, and then proceeded to hold the phone away from his head and say "Yeah" every so often while staring at the TV. Oh Davey, Davey, Davey. Ashley is such a girly girl, still continues to request more make-up and now "matches" her outfits by wearing all pink. It's quite popular among the 4 yo girl crowd I hear.

Papp-a who?

So as you have read, I told everyone I was NOT having a baby in the next year. I also told people I have nice, normal pregnancies. I need to stop opening my mouth. So far this pregnancy IS nice and normal except for this thing called papp-a. My ob said my papp-a levels are low. I thought, my pap was low? Does this mean abnormal? Actually it's some pregnancy hormone they test for in 1st tri screenings. I probably read about it with my first pregnancy in the nice little pamphlet they give you. This being my third pregnancy, I didn't open the pamphlet and was papp-a-what? Basically low papp-a gives pregnant women the opportunity to worry and stress about what could really amount to nothing. It COULD mean problems in the third trimester. It also could (and is more likely to) mean absolutely nothing. Since I had both kids with me, and my doctor seemed so calm about it all I didn't worry until I consulted Dr. Google. He didn't have much to say on the matter, but enough that I have a loooong list of questions for the next appointment.

On a slightly different note, Jason is using this information to fuel his argument for why we should find out what we are having. I am still in the surprise me camp. What do you all think. Should we find out?

Just call me Eloise

We've been Marriotting it up for three months now. Ashley thinks everyone in Portland lives in a hotel. Despite my best efforts, I have yet to convince her otherwise. Living in a house is going to be so dull for them when we go home- no elevators, no indoor swimming pool, no super long hallways to run down, no ready-made buffets waiting for them at breakfast (and sometimes dinner). And while I don't love living in a hotel (let's be honest, generally I don't even LIKE it) there are some things I have gotten used to. Need towels? Call downstairs. Trash full? Call downstairs. Need your living room vacuumed? Call downstairs. Want breakfast? Go downstairs. Kids going insane and it's raining out? Go to the 2nd floor and torture yourself in a COLD pool (but it will wear the kids out). Lose your key (again)? The helpful folks at the front desk hand you a new one. Clearly, there are some perks. I have gotten so used to hotel living, while I was in Denver I didn't lock an apartment door before leaving. In fact, when the owner asked me why I didn't take the key I didn't even understand why that was a problem. Cause, you know, doors lock automatically behind you when they shut! Duh.
(Oh, one additional perk. Marriot points. Children, prepare to be abandoned at some point next year so Mommy and Daddy can take a fabulous vacation. Nice.)

There really IS a baby in there

I had my NT scan last week. The OB office out here sends the NT and anatomy scans out of office to the fetal something or other place at a nearby hospital. (Somewhat confusing because it is not in the hospital complex my ob is at, but apparently a related one on the other side of I-5). It was a preschool day for Ashley, but Davey got to come along. I brought a lot of snacks, and was ready to youtube George in a heartbeat. The was the most thorough NT scan of all three pregnancies. Baby was kicking and moving all over the place. Definitely a baby in there. Really having a third. I wonder when I will stop being shocked by that... Anyway, Davey did a great job. I only had to resort to George when the doctor came in the review the ultrasound results (all normal, blood work will confirm). Otherwise, life is good. We met some of Ashley's preschool friends for trick or treating in Multnomah on Halloween. It was nice chatting with the other moms. Ashley totally get's it this year, and Davey was a quick learner. That kid is motivated by candy. In other news, it looks like it is finally going to start raining soon. Believe it or not NC folks, you've gotten a lot more rain than us since August!
Next up: Veterans day trip someplace. Jason has thrown out the tantalizing idea of Idaho and on to Bozeman, Montana - gateway of Yellowstone... oh so tempting (but a lot of driving)

Bachelorette Fun

This weekend it was off to Denver (sans children!) to celebrate Claire who is getting MARRIED! Shocking as it is, Denver was the most centrally located place we could meet. The party goers came from Denver (2), Nashville, Lake Charles Louisiana, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Portland. We are a geographically diverse group to say the least. We ate fabulous food, saw a ridiculous amount of zombies (Denver has a yearly zombie gathering - think Franklin street but with a common theme) , prettified our toes with pedicures, and caught a burlesque show. The things those ladies can do with pasties and tassels was impressive. It was a fun, relaxing weekend. I managed to stay up later than I have in the past 5 years and spend quality time with Claire, her wonderful friends, and my awesome cousin Bonnie. It was a good get away. And even though I am tired, I feel refreshed. I miraculously have more patience today, and taking a deep breath is actually helping like it should. Now granted, Ashley did step on a baby snake on the way home from the gym (eeeeeeeeek) and morning sickness is back (yay public puking) but I am not cranky or counting the hours til Daddy.

In Denver we visited with Bonnie, Brett and the adorable Wyatt and Lucy. It was nice having a chance to relax for awhile and see some of the lovely Smith family but seeing them at home, in their house, with their things made me want to be in my home. This hotel, while it is where my family is, is not where I wanted to go back to. Flying "home" to Portland just wasn't quite the same. 6 weeks til Christmas break! It will be nice to visit home, even if just for a few weeks :)

Next up- Regular routine. Preschool, swim classes,etc.