The Week in Review...

Besides working 55 hours this week, I did other things, too! And here's my week in review...

I took a moment to appreciate the sad, underlying difference between my "panties" from 6 months ago and my current "underwear"...the statement is astounding. BTW new "underwear" was my big Black Friday purchase. I got 9 pair for $10. Exciting, eh?

I enjoyed our Christmas tree with my wonderful husband.

My husband cooked the best turkey you ever put in your mouth! And I made the fixins to go with it. Lunch was at 1 and I was in bed by 2...turkey induced sleep is amazing and trippy all at the same time! Mmmmm...turkey!

I played with Remmy. Or rather, I watched my dog entertain herself while I stumbled through the house like a zombie all week looking for the bed.

Remmy played nicely with Satchmo...sometimes. Well, mostly she just wanted to see if he squeaked.

Prepared for Black Friday with my amazing team...

And somehow between working all those hours, I took the time to enjoy the little man who keeps me company all day (and night) long. Little Christian James rides with me everywhere I go and is my saving grace. Of that, I am sure.

And since my husband is so picky about the dadgum picture I post of him, I decided to let this picture represent who he is to me. Well, actually, he's more of a...

                                                       But this week he was my...

You see, my husband cleaned the house, did the laundry, cooked/heated up the food, fed the animals, worked 50 hours himself and managed to be my guardian angel. He waited patiently for me during my 9:30pm(Thursday)-10:00am(Friday) shift in order to ensure my safety and well-being...and opened a GAP card for me to buy maternity clothes with. Now THAT makes him my hero! Lol...ahhhh...it's the little things, people.

Anyhow, that is my week in review...exciting, I know. Try to contain yourselves, and I will be back with more NEW and EXCITING updates to come!

"Thanksgiving Trooper"-Ode to the Retail Queens

Well, it's the end of week number 23 for me in my pregnancy and the end of of a little rat race I like to call "Black Friday".  I know that many people like to partake in the craziness that is Black Friday. Heck, I did before I started a career in retail! But as much fun as goes into hunting for the best deals and being the first in line to receive giveaways, about 100 times more planning and preparation actually goes into making that day possible for shoppers to enjoy.  If you've ever worked in the retail world, you have an idea of what I am talking about. If you have ever managed in the retail world, you understand what I am talking about. But if you have ever been a store manager in the retail world, you know what I am talking about.

Basically, planning and preparation for stores starts promptly at the middle to end of 3rd quarter (September-October). Schedules consume your days off, backroom organization consumes your time in your store, marketing storage and sorting consumes your brain constantly as you play a sort of mental tetris to try and fit zillions of signs into boxes into mere feet in your stockroom. Sleep goes by the wayside as you lie awake at 2am thinking, "If I get up and go to work right now, I bet I could get about 8 boxes of clearance out of my backroom before we open..." Your body becomes capable of a workload that a 9-5er can never and will never comprehend. After all, you are in charge of a mutli-million dollar store and you are responsible for all of the thousands of units therein. On top of that, you are responsible for hiring, training and staffing a crew for the holiday season.

At 26 years old, my responsibility level far outweighs the average American's. Because I am responsible for producing volume that keeps my company afloat. I am responsible for motivating and encouraging a team of people from different backgrounds and life experiences in different ways that will (hopefully) produce the same perfect customer-oriented result. I am responsible for writing a 400 hour schedule that will best satisfy the needs of my customers who ultimately sign my check. I am responsible for the visual appeal and merchandise flow that is my silent seller for hundreds of shoppers who walk into and by my store with impressed looks on their faces. And I am responsible for being at my store come hell or high water, rain or shine.

I'm not trying to say that I don't get tired or worn out, because I do. 12, 13, 14 and 15 hour days running around on a concrete floor will bring any grown man or woman to their knees. But doing that while pregnant will slap kick your butt. And guess what? My butt is kicked because I did it. My store doubled its' plan and was ready for another great day of business because of the workload my team and I put in. We doubled our sales goal...no one does that. But we did. Because of my amazing crew and their fearless leader...we did it.

You Might Be Pregnant If...

1)  You think of driving to work as "running the gauntlet" since there are no reputable restrooms along the way and any length of time over 20 minutes means extreme bathroom-going upon destination arrival...if you make it.

2) You mentally rank said non-reputable restrooms from 1-10 according to various sanitation levels.

3) Ice cream is now a staple on your grocery list...coming before bread, milk, eggs and juice.

4) You wonder how much waddling it will take for someone to notice you are pregnant.

5) You gauge the width of entryways before entering.

6) Your husband's boxers and t-shirts have become your boxers and t-shirts.

7) You notice it takes a lot more lotion to cover your body when slathering up in the morning.

8) You can go from laughing hysterically to "ready-to-kill-someone" in .5 seconds flat.

9) And then rebound by crying in .2

10)Your husband wears a gas mask.

If any of this turned your stomach or made you think "ewww", you are NOT pregnant. If you understood, empathized or even snickered, you either are or have been pregnant. 

22 Weeks...ALMOST 6 months!

O.K., so it seems I need to apologize to all readers of this blog for my poor photography skills.  Evidently, every photo I take of my lovely spouse distorts her unquestionable beauty and elegance into something less refined and possibly even frumpy.  What was I thinking?  In fact, for some reason, even though I have agreed to lay on the floor, stand on the bed, turn the camera to different angles, change the settings and even stand on my head, I am obviously doing this all wrong and “making my darling Stephanie look fat”.  And can I just state for all readers here and now that she is not fat.  She is slightly and elegantly Rubenesque.   She has a robust beauty that no one can question.. (And you better NOT!!)  She is simply carrying our magnificent prodigy differently than some other women which evidently gives a false impression to the beholder that she has gained weight.  How silly is that???  So, forgive my lack of camera savvy, I promise to do better in the future.

Boy, oh Boy! It's 20 Weeks!

In case you were unaware (because you jumped off the face of the planet), WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!! I am sooooo excited about this (and soooo relieved).  Not that there is anything wrong with having a little girl; it's just that I knew this one named Stephanie Marie, and I knew all the really bad teenager type things she did, and I don't know that I am equipped to deal with that. As my cousin Denise said (oh, so eloquently) when she was pregnant after having been asked whether she wanted a boy or a girl, "I'll be damned if I'm going to have a little (inflammatory noun) talk to me the way I talked to my mom!" Well, Denise, I concur! And apparently so do the fates, because oh! Have I mentioned? I'm having a little boy! And here are some pictures from his first modeling shoot...

My little Picasso

It's his little boy part...awwwww.

He would really like a new book to read (he gets bored easily).

His perfect little feet (actively kicking Mommy in the tummy...awwww)

So, now that we know what the little squamous (nickname that just kind of happened) is going to be...that can only point to one course of action. Any guesses? You got it...SHOPPING!!!  Mom and I went to Babies R Us with plans to scan at least two thirds of the store for the baby's registry. Unfortunately, there's a lot more to consider than just the design and motif of the little one's nursery...there's like, serious stuff...like, "travel systems" (That's right. You can't just strap a kid onto the hood of a car and take off for the hills anymore. Geez, it worked for my parents.), fifty bazillion types of swings, bouncy seats, carriers, cribs, mattresses (THAT'S RIGHT! Not only do you have to buy a crib...you have buy the mattress...???) and let's not forget the fact that you can ruin your child's entire existence by purchasing the wrong type of pacifier (which doesn't seem like a big deal...except there are 100 bazillion of these little suckers just waiting to be scanned! I decided to wait on the pacifier and allow the baby to pick out his own. Surely he can just point to the one he wants when he arrives...good thinkin', huh? *wink*)

After all was said and done, I got some great advice from a few moms and moms-to-be throughout the store. You have to remember that I have no brothers or sisters with children, I have no cousins with babies within a 400 mile radius and I haven't spent a lot of time with any "babies" in general. So...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING. However, I am not! ashamed to ask for help...(from complete strangers, multiple times). And I really lucked out, because all of the pregnant ladies at Babies R Us were super friendly and knew their stuff (I'm not really sure what kind of happy juice was in those ladies' cups, but it sure as hell ain't in mine!)

Mom and I did end up getting a great deal on a "travel system" by Graco. It was the design that I had researched (Correct. I research everything. I am done reading the "What To Expect" books...bring on the teenage years, baby!), and we got the floor model for $50 off; PLUS! another happy-juice-pregnant-lady was more than kind a gave us a 20% off coupon...thus taking off another $50. Amazing, right?

Said "travel system"...shall we call it the "Cadillac of all baby mobility"?

A lot of the nursery stuff I had picked out online wasn't in the store (I refuse to have big stupid monkeys or turtles or big mega print airplanes decorating my baby's room...and apparently that's all they sell in-store), so I will probably complete my registry online. Besides, why drive to a store when you can sit at home in your pj's and still get 'er done? 

Shrine to Baby Clark

Nantucket Blue...crib set planned for Baby Clark

Soooo...that brings me to the subject of names. We have thought about different names we like and have heard a few suggestions from the peanut gallery. For example, Nigel, my youngest stepson lovingly offered "Octavius Reppins Clark". Thanks a lot, Nigel. You really put your heart and soul into that one. My very special cousin Christine thought "Charlie Jacob Maximilian Clark" sounded nice (all first names from her small herd of children). And then, of course, we heard from Jimmy Bates, our dear friend, that his namesake would be most suiting. Well, Jimmy, you might've just gotten your wish, because James is definitely on our list of "keepers"...sorry to Nigel, Christine, Charlie, Jacob and Max. So far, we really like Christian, James, Winston, Collin and Kenneth. 

And as far as your daily dose of laughter is concerned, let me be the administrator and provide you with some pictures of me at 19 and 20 weeks.  I am done trying to look pregnant. If my somewhat "flat" belly is all I have left, I will take it...pridefully...because Lord knows, it looks more like I am growing the baby in my hind quarters (and hips, and thighs, and arms).

19 weeks

20 weeks...and this picture makes me look fat. Plus, Ken is a horrible photographer...I mean, who told him to stand on the bed because it would probably make me look skinnier????  Surely that wasn't my idea.