I've Been Reorganized

Let me start off by saying..."I'm thankful I have a job, I'm thankful I have a job, I'm thankful I have a job."

Last month at my company there were all types of rumors going around and everyone was scared.

"Did you hear? They are laying off everyone on Tuesday."
"NO, they're not, but they are dividing us all up."
"They are selling us to Guthy - Renker."

And then came Tuesday...and lot's of people got laid off. Some of my close work friends ;(
Then came Wednesday and we had a company meeting where they announced we would be splitting up into three companies. After the meeting we were to meet with our bosses to discuss how these changes would effect us personally. I had recently been moved to a different team so I thought I was safe...

Turns out I was reorganized and then reorganized again. I'm thankful they didn't reorganize me out the door.

Melissa, you will now be in charge of Customer Retention Management and you have a new boss.

This is my fourth boss since I started...but I have a job ;)

CRM is boring, and not that fun. I have to look at data, analyze LTV and help improve the customer experience. I should have failed the test when they gave it to me a couple weeks earlier.

I am happy to add more skills to my resume tho... Yay, HTML and Dream weaver!

I finally told my work, well actually just my new boss that I'm pregnant.

He asked, "Well what does that mean?"

"Ummm, well I think it means I'm having a baby. But for you it means I have a Dr. appointment once a month."

He said, "Great, well congratulations!"

and then I checked out maternity leave...I get a whopping 5 months! Woo Hoo! Thank you family leave act.

And now I'm deciding when to tell my co-workers. I think after Turkey Day, I will show up and make everyone think I ate a lot of turkey that weekend. And then I will have my close friend here start a rumor that I'm having Michael Jackson's baby...hmmm good times to come!

Alas, the purpose of why I still have a job!

Dead Man Sleep

Four days out of seven, Kiel is so exhausted when he falls asleep he looks like a dead man. He sprawls out on the bed face down literally looking like he's just been shot in the back. Whenever I see this I feel like getting out my chalk and tracing his body like the police do when someone's been shot in the street.

When Kiel is in his dead man's sleep, you do not bother him. I repeat leave the man alone, for your safety and the saftey of those around you. For example, I made this mistake last night and he told me I nag like his mother (no offense Patrice). I let it go, knowing that it wasn't Kiel but Kiel tired that was talking.

Anyway, sometimes when I can't sleep I scratch Kiel's back or his head and it helps me dose off. So last night I couldn't sleep and started scratching dead man's back and when I layed my hand down on his side, dead man moved my hand back to his back so I could continue scratching.

Typical Kiel, even when he's in his dead man's sleep he still bosses me around. Of course the next morning he doesn't remember a thing, even the part when he said I was like his mother.

Old Wives Tales

Kiel wants a boy.

I mean, he wants this baby to be a boy, no exceptions. He wants it so bad he has said it to be true. Whenever he mentions the baby, he mentions it in "he" form. And in his prayers he asks Heavenly Father to bless his son. I ask him to just say the baby for now, until we know what the sex is, and he refuses. I know it's a boy, he says. Poor Kiel, he's been wanting a boy since before Celia was born.

I on the other hand, have an open mind and think it might be a girl. Call me a skeptic, but with the history of Kiel's Forefathers, I find it hard to believe he would score a boy on his first shot.

Until, I looked up old wives tales and started doing little tests. According to these wives tales and the Chinese gender calendar, we are having a boy. (Kiel is beside himself.)

Since more than half of my blog readers are pregnant and the other half have kids I decided to list some of them here:

Direction of the Ring
Many people believe in the good old ring test as a way to tell what the sex of their baby is going to be. In this test you hang your wedding ring from a string over your belly. If the ring swings back and forth your baby is a girl. If it swings around in a circle then it is a boy. This is not very good indication of whether or not you are having a boy or a girl. Fact is, if you hang your ring over any object or person it is going to swing.

Fast Heart Rate Tale
Some people believe that if your baby has a fast heart rate, near 170 beats per minute, then that means you are having a girl, and that if your baby’s heart rate is closer to 150 beats per minute then you are having a boy. This also is false. You baby’s heart rate will get faster and stronger during the first trimester as he/she grows. Then the heart rate fluctuates in speed during sleep and active times for your baby, just like an adults. So depending on when you listen to your baby’s heart rate, it might be faster or slower than it was the day before, or even earlier that same day.

The Shape of Moms Face
Some people believe that the shape of your face determines the sex of your baby. If your face is round then you are having a girl, long and narrow means a boy. This is just a myth however because where a woman stores fat and water during pregnancy has nothing to do with the sex of their baby. Along with that some believe that if your nose starts to grow or widen then you are having a girl because daughters “steal” mom’s beauty. While this sounds like something out of a fairy tale, it is simply an old wives tale.

The Key Test
Then there is the key test. Some say that if you can tell your baby’s sex by picking up a single key. If you pick the key up by big, round (top) part then you are having a boy. If you pick it up by the narrow part on the bottom then you are having a girl. Then, as if it isn’t detailed enough, if you pick the key up by the middle you are having TWINS!

The Mayan Tale
If you are Mayan then you may follow their beliefs and use numbers to determine the sex of your baby. The Mayans take the mothers age at conception and the year of conception and add them together. If the result is a even number then mom is having a girl. If the result is an odd number then a boy is on the way! The Chinese have a similar way of determining the sex of a baby.

Drain-O Test
So many people believe this old wives tale which is completely false. They are told to put a tablespoon of Drain-O in a cup and pee into it. If the mixture turns green you are having a girl. If it turns blue you are having a boy. Supposedly there is something in the moms’ urine that mixes with the Drain-O causing it to change color and determine the baby’s sex. (I didn't try this one, but am interested to find out if anyone has.)

Acne Myth
Acne during pregnancy is caused by hormones, not the sex of your baby. However, many believe that if you have an increased amount of acne during pregnancy then it means you are having a baby girl.

Cravings
This one sounds good and can be an “explanation” for many of moms’ cravings, but is it true? Some people say that if you crave salty food while pregnant it means you are having a boy and if you crave sweet food while you are pregnant it means you are having a girl. Does this mean that baby girls are sweet and baby boys are salty?

Do You Smell Like Garlic?
The question should be, “Do you WANT to smell like garlic?” There are people that swear that the garlic old wives tale is true. They say that if you eat a clove of garlic, and the smell comes out through your pores then you are having a boy. If no garlic is detected then you are having a girl. Who really wants to find out THAT bad though?!

So what wives tales seem to be always true?

Now that the wives tales are on Kiel's side I am more willing to believe that we are having a boy.

Next week is the end of my first trimester...woo hoo! I'm looking forward to having my energy back.

Lastly, Kiel wants everyone to pray for a healthy boy. I want everyone to talk Kiel into not finding out the sex until the baby is born. Good luck with that by the way, so far I have had none.

Letters

Dear Nausea,

Must you consume every part of my day? Seriously, nausea I need a break. Can you go hang out with someone else now?

Thanks. P.s. I hate you.

Melissa

Dear Toilet Bowl,

Thanks for always being there and putting up with my crap.

(I practice these jokes ahead of time.)

You're a true soldier.

See you tonight, when I need to hurl.

Melissa

Dear Baby,

I know vegetables and tofu are really good for you, but would it hurt to crave mashed potatoes or a sugary snack every once in awhile? Also baby, when you see a commercial that shows steak you don't have to make my stomach turn. We can't eat things from the t.v. I know. You still have a lot to learn. And seriously baby, a jar of peppercinis every night? That's weird baby. Fine. You win.

Love your Mommy

Dear Husband,

Can you come home now? I know your friends are really cool and all but I miss you. Selfishly I want you to have a horrible time so you will never go away again. So, are you having fun?

Love your wife

Disneyland Part 2

Meet Maddie:

She loves dogs, prefers a dry cheddar cheese sandwich on white bread for lunch and hates the movie "A Walk to Remember" because the girl dies at the end.

Maddie is my oldest niece and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with her. She made me laugh, asked all sorts of questions about parenting, and was so grateful that I felt I needed to be more grateful in my life.

It was Madison's turn to go to Disneyland and Beth also came along. We had so much fun and did not stop until Maddie dropped (literally).

Here are a few pictures of our day. Unfortunately, Kiel couldn't come play.

Jasmin, who went everywhere with us.

P.s, I got my Cinnabears. When I came to work Friday morning they were sitting on my desk and tasted better than I remember. Ask and ye shall receive!

Day 3 and Still No Luck

Alright, I'm driving everyone crazy. People at work are hunting for cinnabears and don't even know why. My husband cannot find them. I've been to 10 stores and have not found them. Why now? I used to see cinnabears wherever I went and all of a sudden they are a luxury item?

P.s. - The ones at the gas station don't count, too stale.

I'm going to the mall tonight...I'll keep you posted!

Also thanks to Lisa and Shelley, I'm dying to try these:

I'm in there somewhere

(This picture has nothing to do with my post, I just want them really, really bad)

This weekend I got a glimpse of me. I felt so good I baked cookies and laundered Kiel's 100% wool pants and dried them (thank you very much). I also made dinner for us both, so what if it was only a salad (baby steps, baby steps) it was good (so good I made it again the next day) and Kiel was appreciative.

Speaking of my hot (that's H - O - T, hot - but say it more like hawt) husband he's been amazing. For a month now, my routine was simply: go to work, go home, crash on the couch, eat food Kiel brought me, go to bed. He cleaned the kitchen and whatever else, made me anything I wanted and put in my favorite new show (24) so I could relax, mind you he's been working 12 hour shifts. Oh and yesterday he organized the pantry, but that's not unusual. He always organizes the fridge and pantry for me. I make it disorganized because I know he loves to organize it so much (and if you believe that, I got some ocean front property in Arizona).

So I think it sufficeth me to say, Kiel was really happy when he came home and I was no longer in the depressed, pathetic and irritable mood that had recently consumed my days. But not so happy to find his wool pants went through the washing machine.

On another note, we found a place to live! It's right down the street from where we live now but much bigger and a two bedroom. This means Montana will be able to move in with us, we have cheaper rent and we stay in the same ward.

Kiel works on weekends now, boo hoo! I have been to more steak restaurants in the last 3 weeks than I have in a year. It probably would have been amazing if I didn't have a vegetarian living in my belly. One of the dinners will be a separate blog, I was surrounded by amazing people that have accomplished amazing things and are not done yet.

That's all for now, but if anyone wants to send me cinnabears I promise I will eat them.

October

This is my Month!

The month I was born

The month of my favorite holiday

The month of my favorite colors

The month of my favorite season

The month Kiel and I carve pumpkins

The month I wanted to get married

This is the month that regardless of how I'm feeling I will feel good about this month!

This is the month we go to knotts scary farm and get really scared.

This is the month that I will be Belle and Kiel will be Gaston.

This is also the month we move.

And now my registration is officially past due.