My first

Puke in public.

Thank you, pregnancy.

Basement is finished!!

Kind of.

I still have the base moldings to install, finish one more section of drywall around the closet door and touch up the paint in areas that need it.

But....

All of the furniture is now moved back into place and we have our dining room again. The floors were dry enough to put back the furniture/appliances last Thursday. Andrew helped us on Friday evening and we finished the rest of it yesterday, with the last dregs of it this morning. The appraiser came at 10 am this morning to inspect the house (no word yet on how that went).

Things are finally going back to normal. Andrew also found a place nearby and moved most of his stuff from storage to his new place on Sunday. He'll be getting the rest of his stuff from our house over the next few days.

So by next weekend, we'll have the place back to ourselves -- in a heated, refinanced house that now has all of its rooms functional and with working cars in the driveway. It has been a long, tough month.

Telling the Bosses

Last week, I told my bosses that I'm pregnant. Before I broke the news, I asked for some advice from Gary, my previous boss and mentor from graduate school. I asked him for tips and what to do/not do. Here's his advice. More on what I did below.

Obviously, you'll not be able to hide your pregnancy, thus do not hesitate to tell your boss as soon as possible. He probably wants you to keep working with him as much as you want to keep working. Therefore, when you tell him, have a plan already devised to show that you've given the issue lots of thought and that you have some things in place to make it work. You have a plan to handle daily care while you're at work. You have a plan to deal with who will pick up little Gary at daycare when he's sick or has an appointment with the pediatrician. You have to assure your boss that you're not going to be missing lots of work because your husband is willing and able to share some of the responsibility. Your boss has to come away from your conversation feeling as though you have it all under control and that he knows that you intend to make it work, no matter what. If he has children, he will be aware that no one, not even you, will be able to anticipate every emergency that is going to take you away from work. It is not necessary for you to state the obvious. Do you have a back-up babysitter for when the daycare cancels? When can you mom move into the house next door? My experience has been that daycare will equal you salary, thus you will be working for nothing and not seeing your child all day. At times you may wonder why are you bothering. Every mother's answer to that anxiety-rich question is different. In spite of my exaltations of you, you are not superwoman. Every mother sets her priorities differently - you cannot do it all.

His advice hit home for me. I did my research and looked into lots of daycare options. (Sidenote: most places are full with waiting lists, so I'm glad we looked early. We'll be going to look at a couple this week and put our names down on the wait list.) But, suffice it to say, it will work out.

One of my bosses came in to ask me about some numbers and after we finished, I told her the good news, when I'm expecting, how it won't interfere, etc. She skipped over the logistics and just hugged me instead. She said it was great news in light of all the financial cutback darkness around work (thank goodness for grants, NIH. I am very thankful; especially nowadays). She said my other boss would be excited to hear the news, so I went into his office and explained that I was pregnant, that it wouldn't interfere, that it was planned around major work events, how all of my doctors appointments from now until October are scheduled for outside of work hours, etc.

He was also happy for me and started thinking back if I did anything at work that could have harmed the baby in the past three months (I hadn't). They said they had no idea and asked if I had any morning sickness. They told me to take as much time as I needed and to take it easy. He also mentioned the possibility of telecommuting from home after maternity leave. (I don't know the extent of it, but I was very happy to hear that and would love to do this -- especially, since most of my job is computer-based... except for events where I actually see kids, teachers, etc).

So, it's out in the open and is totally wonderful because it's hard keeping a secret that big. It makes you feel very lonely when you're in a huge place yet the only person who knows. Especially when you're queasy and/or your pants aren't fitting like they used to. In other news, things seem to be good on the horizon. I was asked to write the supplement for our grant and my boss asked me to co-write our renewal grant in a year or so. So that's all wonderful that he sees me as a colleague here (and not that pregnant lady who'll be disappearing forever when kids come around). He's also talking about opportunities for me around the university in science education now that there are layoffs and restructurings, etc. It's kind of the best opportunity to leverage yourself into a new position. So, all of this is great news and I'm very thankful. It's wonderful to have a mentor who's looking out for your future (I hadn't had that since Gary, who was incredibly supportive).

Fingers crossed but things are looking up for 2009.

Total (Belly) Recall

I think it's Total Recall when the woman is freaking out as her body is morphing into something else. That is kind of how I feel (physically, not emotionally) as I can feel my belly changing. It's a very awkward pulling/pushing sensation. Sometimes it hurts, other times it feels like it's stretching. I'm also really queasy. But I can definitely feel there's something going on down there. That, and I'm starting to show. I have to pull my pants up so my lower abdomen has a waistband-free place to hang out. It is all a very awkward feeling. As far as time goes, I just hit the 3 month mark this past weekend.

Basement Paint Finished

Now it takes three days to dry before we can move furniture back. Then, no cleaning (or washing it) for 30 days as the epoxy fully cures.

Our house is still cold. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when we can turn the heat back on.

Basement, First coat

The basement is now free of etcher, has been primed and the first coat of paint is down. Only one more to go -- which should go down tonight.

I can't wait for it to be over.

Basement Hell, continued

We learned yesterday that parts of the "wet basement floor" weren't wet from water, but chemical. It took three of us three hours to scrub the 85 degree basement on our hands and knees last night. Bucket of clean water, empty bucket for dirty and a sponge (pluse chemical gloves, of course). As soon as we applied water to the "wet" spots, you could immediately see the soapy bubbles which we painstakingly tried to remove.

Luckily, there are no fumes in this process. It's just incredibly hot down there due to the heat being cranked to dry things out. (Note: the heat from the basement coming through the vent in our living room blew the circuit on our TV console twice -- we had to close the vent to prevent this from happening).

After the 3 hour wash session, places that were wet are now dry... only to show us the spots we missed and will have to do again tonight. Luckily, there aren't that many places to redo. No wonder people do this outside. Or on smooth surfaces. Pock-mocked basement floors with no drainage are a huge pain.

Plus, we realized we totally missed a spot -- meaning complete re-etching in a 3x4 foot area. For better or worse, it's in a high traffic area so I want to make sure its done right so the paint doesn't peel in a few years. I don't want to have to go through this again.

I am Wolverine

I just looked down to see my fingernails have grown so long this path month. Apparently, this is one of the side effects of pregnancy. Good to know.

Under the Gun

We're in the process of renovating our basement. The current project is refinishing the concrete floor. It's been stripped (thanks to Andrew and Ken) and was etched on Monday night. We expected it to dry in a day. No luck. We turned off the heat to lessen acid fumes from entering the rest of the house. We also removed the basement windows and installed window fans to increase cross ventilation.

But Tuesday morning, the floor was still wet
Tuesday evening: wet

We went to our local big box and hardware stores looking for fans. A bust due to it being winter and all. Sigh.

Wednesday morning: wet

So we went to gmail and facebook to ask friends if they had any to spare. Success. Several replies and we ended up borrowing Dave's 24,000 btu kerosene heater. Dave says it can heat his house to 85 degrees in 30 minutes. Perfect. Ken picked it up at 5:30. It was on by 6:30.

When Ken went to bed at 11 and turned it off (I was in bed at 9 and no help), the floor was still wet.

Thursday morning: wet. The basement was 55 degrees with 80% relative humidity (usually our basement is 65 degrees with 65% relative humidity -- excellent for sausage making -- and also the reason I have a thermometer and hygrometer down there).

On my way in to work, I realize that the moisture has nowhere to go. It's been raining outside for days. The heat's off. The only thing that's gone are the fumes. I realize our best bet is to reinstall the windows and turn on the heat to push the moist air from the basement through the rest of the house (and warm it up in the process). I email Ken to tell him my idea.

He does one better. Ken went to Dave's and borrowed his dehumidifier as well. So we can close the windows, turn on the BTU heater, turn on the house heater (to circulate the air) and have the dehumidifier on. A great plan.

Ken was feeling achy today and is working from home. It is an especially perfect day to do it because he can have the heater on while he works upstairs. He said within 30 minutes, our basement was 85 degrees with 80% humidity. A balmy rainforest. However, it's now down to 73% humidity (still 85 degrees).

I'm hoping the humidity continues to drop. We're way behind on being able to prime for painting. Did I mention we're refinancing our house and the appraiser comes next Thursday? Here's the schedule from whenever the floor dries:

Day 1: Apply primer
Day 2: Apply epoxy paint, coat #1
Day 3: Apply epoxy paint, coat #2
Day 4: Paint needs 72 hours to dry before bringing furniture back in. This would be 24 hrs
Day 5: Drying 48 h
Day 6: Drying 72 hours. Can move furniture back in at the end of the day today.

So if we apply primer today (no chance), that means furniture/appliances can come back in next wednesday. Appraiser comes 10 am Thursday morning.

Do you think he/she will mind seeing a dining room stuffed floor to ceiling with boxes? Or that we have a washer, dryer and refrigerator in our backyard?

Sigh.*


* Note: I'm still happy we're doing this project, I'm just a bit overwhelmed. Our house is a cold, dark, queasy place for me right now. I'm ready for spring -- in every sense of the word. Kind of mindblowing that in 10 days, everything will be different.... the basement will be finished and I'll be in my second trimester (theoretically much less queasiness). We'll also have heat and more space to move around (due to furniture/appliances being back in their normal spots). I'm hopeful. Also queasy, tired, hungry, frustrated, etc.

_________________
UPDATE: Just as I was about to post this, I got a call from Ken. He said the places where the floor is wet, it isn't wet from water. It's leftover chemical. He was on his hands and knees with a sponge and two buckets of water -- lo and behold, it dried almost immediately. So, it looks like we have some grunt work for tonight, but at least it will dry quickly. He also said there's one spot that wasn't etched, so we'll have to redo one section. Boo.

Etching Complete

The basement project continues. Last night we cleaned and etched the floor. Ken, Andrew and I wore acid-resistant hazmat suits, goggles, vapor respirators and acid gloves. We took turns applying the phosphoric acid-based product, waiting 10-20 min, scrubbing vigorously and the laborious process of mopping it up. We started around 6:30 and finished at 11:15. This would be a very easy process outside, but inside, it sucks.

We were exhausted afterwards and each went directly to our comfort foods as we propped our feet up from the couch. Ken went for the ice cream with nestle quik powder on top (his favorite), I went for a bowl of clementines and Andrew cracked open the baby loaf of cheddar cheese. We ate in silence and exhaustion, then went to bed.

Our house is very cold right now. The basement windows are open to vent the fumes. We also turned off our heat -- since the furnace is located in the basement -- and pumping the fumes through the house (or igniting them) is stupid. It's 44 degrees outside. I'd say our house is somewhere between 50-55. Needless to say, it was hard to wake up this morning. I bribed myself with a belgian waffle and sausage when I got to work, which did the trick. It was delicious.

Tonight, we're applying the primer (provided the etched floors are dry -- I have a good feeling they will be). This should be a pretty simple night. Quick vacuum. Cut in around the corners and roll the rest. One coat.

I can't wait for the basement to be finished and our house go back to normal.

Ultrasound

Ken and I went in for the prenatal ultrasound today to check for neural tube defects. They measure the fluid-filled pouch at the back of the baby's neck using ultrasound. They also do a blood test (on me) to check for hormone levels. Together, they'll tell me the risk for these defects. Results come back next week.

They can now detect the baby through my abdominal wall (the uterus has grown such that it no longer hides behind the pelvic bone). I guess that's why everything in my abdomen feels bigger. They found the baby pretty quickly. It now measures 4.5 cm (about 1.78 inches). It is 11 weeks and 1 day old. It's heartbeat is 170 bpm. Apparently all of these things are normal.

It was moving around quite a bit. They were able to snap these pictures for us. Enjoy.


Where they determined the baby's length to be 4.5 cm


Baby's head


Another pic of the baby's head. You can see the white spine running down the back.


Where they measure the fluid-filled pouch at the back of the baby's neck:


Another fluid pouch measurement




One of its arms


Another arm


Apparently, these are its legs. I would have no idea if the picture wasn't labeled "legs"


More legs


It's still too early to tell if it's a boy or a girl. Both sexes have a protrusion between the legs at this stage (can kind of see that white circle in the picture above). We'll find out the sex in 7 weeks at our 18 week appointment. Honestly, we would be happy with either. We think it will be a boy due to the large number of boys currently residing at Hotel Roko. But time will tell. I know my mom is hoping for a girl (but again, will be happy with either since either will make her a first-time grandmother). She is very, very excited. I wonder which of these pictures will make their refrigerator.

Basement Hell

We are in the middle of painting the basement floor with a garage epoxy. It is killing my soul. We've moved everything (including washer & dryer, refrigerator, all shelving, workbenches, etc) out. It is either in our dining room, guest room, garage or covered with a tarp in our backyard.

On Saturday, Ken and Andrew stripped 100 year old paint in the gear room. Full on respirators, hazmat suits, chemical gloves, the works. They finished around 1:30 am.

Yesterday, Ken did a test patch of the etcher/cleaner. It immediately fizzes and then you scrub 20 minutes later. This is what we're doing tonight over the entirety of the basement floor.

Tomorrow is the primer.

Wednesday is the first coat of epoxy paint.

Thursday is the second coat of epoxy paint.

3 days until furniture can come back means Sunday night. Did I mention we have no heat until this process is finished.

Hell is cold.

Pap continues

For those who have asked (or were wondering), pap smear results came back atypical and were sent for further testing. I'll know more in three weeks.

Don't worry too much, this is the same routine I've had after every test since I was 15.

Car Flux

We bought a car last night. It's a certified pre-owned 2008 Toyota 4runner. Very similar to my last car, but newer with better gas mileage. Amazing that a car 1 year old is half the price of a new one. We got a great deal on it and are pretty happy about it. We were going to do a hybrid, but they're really, really expensive and the gas mileage isn't much better for SUV hybrids than it is for the car we ended up purchasing. So my fingers are crossed that by the next time we'll need a car, they'll have worked all that out.

In all, we're happy with the car but I miss my old one. Someone is purchasing it. They had a 2000 engine but a totalled car. We had a car with a totalled engine. I'm glad they will love it. I sure did.

So, everything is being worked out... but it's never quite that simple as Ken's truck has been acting up over the last two months and then starting running a bit hot over the last week. We took it in yesterday now that we have a mode of transportation and just found out that it needs a new head gasket. Boooooooooooooo. The last one was covered under warranty...but not this one. So, we're looking at another $800. Still cheaper than a new car and we're getting the repairs done.

I doubt they'd give us a 2 for 1 deal, right?

Alive and Beating

Ken and I just got back from our first doctor's appointment. The doctor did an ultrasound and she found the little one in there moving around! She also found the heartbeat (which was going so fast!). So it's in there -- alive, heart beating and kicking. I am officially pregnant. My chances of miscarriage now drop to 5%. We couldn't be happier. I was so relieved when they saw something there. And even more so when there was a heartbeat. She then went a little farther to see if we were having multiples (Ken and I looked at each other in horror), but we're safe and only having one (thanks for taking twins for the group, Rob & Jana!).

She gave us a copy of the ultrasound picture to take with us and measured it to see how far along we are. 9 weeks, 4 days -- just as we expected. That puts our due date around October 4, 2009. My blood work came back and everything's normal on that end. I also found out I'm not a carrier for cystic fibrosis, so that's one potential disease we don't have to worry about. The doctor says everything looks great.

The only thing that gives me worry is that I learned today that I have totally forgot to get pap smears (since 2005!). Not good for a person with a long history of abnormal pap smears. The doctor performed one today and I find out the results next week. I can't believe I let it lapse so long. I am just hoping everything is ok. That would be awful. So I'm so happy for the baby and disappointed in myself.

But at this point, I'm mostly just happy. And hungry. And queasy.

What would you do: Car Edition

Ken and I are trying to decide what to do about our car, which had a massive heart attack of sorts over the weekend. Here's Ken's email to me. What would you do? Any advice is very much appreciated.

So here's the deal: The connecting rod was broken in several pieces and damaged, obviously, the piston in question but apparently other pistons have been damaged in the process when it broke. Basically it would need an engine overhaul which is the approx. $5000+.

In thinking about this, I am slightly torn as to whether this repair is worth it or not.

1. On the one hand, we would be looking at the cost of a new car (or used) which in either case will be considerably more than this $5000+ that we're talking about. Considering the monthly payment, we may well be looking at about a year's (maybe less) worth of payments. If we keep the car for longer than a year, then we've saved ourselves money from there out until we decide to sell the car.

2. On the other hand, we are looking at an up front expense that, when compared to the potential book value of the car, may not seem financially tenable. If the car were worth $30000, then maybe it would be, but given the $4615-11050 (assuming the low end), we may well be spending equal to or more than the value of the car. This is obviously a strike against doing the repairs.

If we were to consider to NOT do the repairs (#2 above), I already have an offer for the car as-is of $1100. This tells me that the car is worth at least $6100 and probably more considering that the person who buys it would want to make a tidy profit on it. It may well be worth about $8000+

Considering my distaste for years of monthly payments on a vehicle that will only depreciate in value and my anticipation of increased expenses with our potential little one, I am leaning somewhat toward actually doing the repairs and holding the car for as long as we can.

Anyone have any thoughts on the matter. I would certainly appreciate anyone's comments on the above or other options that I have not mentioned.

Cribbage Champion

Ken beat out yours truly to win the Cribbage tournament last night.

I knocked him to the loser's bracket in the semifinals and he ended up coming back to beat me twice and win the title. Shaking my fist at him (albeit proud the title stayed in the family).

Behold

Your Darts Champion in the 2009 David Keys Olympics....

Mr. Ken Roko

Busted

On our way home from a ski trip this past weekend, we heard a loud "boom" and our car started shaking violently. We pulled off the road to check things out. Things looked fine. We could shift between gears so it wasn't the transmission. The vibrations continued in park and neutral, so it wasn't the tires/steering. The temperature/oil lights didn't rise dramatically, so the car was driveable.

So we continued the our 1.5 hour journey home. In overdrive to minimize the vibrations that cause the "check engine light" to come on. And in the right lane. We figured it was an engine mount that blew. We looked up repair costs and they run around $26.

Instead, we learned it was a piston that blew. (Manufacturer's defect that just took this long). I have a 2000 Toyota with 104K miles. Cost to fix? $5000. Cost to sell car "in rough condition"? $5500. I think you're getting the idea of what this means. Looks like my beloved car is toast.

There is an option C... there may be a bad connection rod that blew. If this is the case, they can work on just the one piston instead of the whole thing. That will be considerably less expensive and may give us a lot more miles on the car. Diagnostics are being performed now. Stay tuned...

First Appointment

Ken and I went to our first appointment yesterday morning. It was with the nurse, who they make you meet first (to get your chart in order, answer any questions, do the blood draws). She was very nice and did a complete history on both of us. She got my chart in order for my doctor's appt on Thursday. I found out that I will get an ultrasound on thursday, so I'm really happy about that. Should be able to hear a heart beat if there is one. Heartbeat starts at 7 weeks and I'm at 9.5, so that should work out.

Besides the questionnaires, they did the first of the blood tests today (hepatitis, HIV, RH factor, syphillis, rubella, etc). they also did a cystic fibrosis screen (to see if I'm a carrier), which is covered by insurance (Ken found out for me during the appt, so they got to add it in at the last minute -- thanks ken!. He also found out that I'm covered for another genetic screen (noninvasive) so we were scheduled for a down syndrome/trisomy 18/neural tube defect screen in two weeks. $750 test that's covered by insurance. Yeah! It will be interesting to hear what our risk is -- I have no idea going into it. They say they present it as an odds ratio (1:1000, 1:50, etc).

Fingers crossed everything's OK. We should have a pretty good idea later this week. I can't wait. From what I've read, my uterus is the size of a grapefruit. Here's what else is going on...