A$$holes R Us

So when you have so many people buying you presents you are bound to get some doubles. I sorted through all of the clothes we got by size and realized that I had to return some things because based on Ella's age and the time of year they wouldn't work out - like a summer dress for January. So early last week and I went to Babies R Us and loaded a cart up with doubles and some clothes. I was excited to get a gift card because we still have a few bigger items to buy.

They took back the items with gift receipts no problem. Then I got to the items without gift receipts. The girl tells me that they can't take anything back without a gift receipt or if my registry wasn't scanned when said item was purchased.

Me: "But these outfits are from Babies R Us."
Her: "Without a receipt there is nothing I can do."
Me: "But this was never mentioned when I registered here."
Her: "This is our policy."
Me: "But all I want is a store credit to buy more things from your store."
Her: "There is nothing I can do."
Me: "Can I at least exchange the clothes for bigger/smaller sizes of the same exact outfits?"
Her: "Nope."
Me: "I need the manager."

So the manager comes and tells me the same crap and has no remorse whatsoever. I started to argue about all the money that was spent on me through their store because I chose to register there...She told me to call corporate. I wanted to say horrible, awful things to her but she really doesn't give a sh*t about me or what I have to say. The next day I called Schaumburg Babies r Us and was told the same thing and found out that their policy just changed in August of last year. I went online and there are hundreds of horror stories about Babies and Toys r Us.

The sad thing is that I went to Target later in the week and was told the same thing. No gift receipt - no return or even exchange (Even though the things I tried returning are Target Brand!!!). What is the world coming to? I'm going to try Buy Buy Baby next even though I'm sure none of these things came from there. Luckily Buy Buy Baby is coming to Schaumburg in June and no one will ever have to register at the dreaded Babies r Us again!

Baby Shower

Last Sunday, March 22nd, we were thrown a baby shower at Topa Restaurant in Elk Grove Village. My mom, Buzz's mom, my sister, Buzz's aunt, and some of my aunts threw the shower. I've never had a restaurant shower before. It was beautiful. Everything was great from the space to the decor, to the food to the fact that my mom or Buzz's mom weren't working it. There were around 50 people and boy did we get the presents! Everyone was so generous and I can't believe the baby store that is currently my basement. It was so fun to open all of the presents.

My sister flew in from Austin with her two youngest boys. She took about 200 pictures and also bought us our bedding. My favorite was that she let each of her sons pick out a book and an outfit for their new cousin. She also had them sign the books. My parents and Buzz's mom both bought us a piece of furniture for the nursery. We are so lucky to have so much help. Now we just need to get some darn baby furniture so we can put all this stuff away.

30 weeks 6 days ultrasound

On Monday we had our 30 week ultrasound. As you can see from the pic below, Ella had her hand over her face. The ultrasound tech tried to jostle her with the doppler thing and in the next pic you can see a little bit of her face. Well, some of you can. I can see it clear as day but Buzz and my mom can't see it to save their lives. This was our last ultrasound - unless something goes wrong.

Current Weight (Ella, not me): 3 pounds, 11 ounces

Heart Rate: 148

Head: Large, but not abnormal or anything (why the heck would you tell me that?)

Sex: Still a girl

Can you see her? It's a profile and a half. Her hand is in the middle of her forehead and her arm covers the other half of her face. Her head looks like it's being cradled. I think that she looks like Buzz. What do you all think? Buzz is right below, I'm on the bottom...

Saturday's Photo Shoot

Saturday morning a friend of a friend who is a photographer came by to shoot my dogs and me. I am not the maternity photo kind of person but when I inquired about her prices for photographing dogs she told me she'd waive the fee if she could do some maternity shots for her website. I've always wanted to have Otis professionally photographed because I think he's the handsomest dog I've ever seen. Greta's pretty cute too! Here are the sneak previews from her blog: http://bellajacksonphoto.blogspot.com/

My absolute favorite is below.
My dad reacted really strangely to the pic of Otis staring at my belly. Later my sister told me I should hang some belly shots in the nursery and I said, "No, that's weird."

My dad jumps in and says, "What's weird is you taking a picture with your butt hanging out." He totally thought my pregnant stomach was my butt!!!

The photographer's name is Lindsay and she does amazing photos of newborns and children and her fee is $100 per session. She also has maternity/newborn package deals. She came to my house and was totally laid back. I highly recommend her. Here is her website: http://www.bellajackson.com/

The Infamous Man Trip

Man trip, year two. Buzz insists that he needs to take my nice camera again. He promises to take more pictures this year. I tell him that it would be nice to see him in a picture as well. He comes home with maybe, maybe 10 pics on the camera!

Here are the guys sans Eric, Mike & Buzz. I don't know why Buzz refuses to take pictures of Eric. Oh, are you wondering where Gino is? He backed out before he started - the only smart one in the bunch.

Don't they look ready to tackle anything?

What is that? A little rain?

This pic below looks like the setting for a horror movie.
8 city boys return to nature, but only one makes it out alive!!!



Day two of the hiking trip. Did you know you can find Chuck's Barbecue in the middle of the trail? Oh wait, you can't. 5 of the 8 decide that they aren't campers after all. Only Chack, St. Leger and Campbell carry on. Buzz spends the next few days wearing DiMaria's clothes because his stuff is in Chack's car.

Buzz's attempt at a scenic shot.
We were glad that they all returned safe and sound. I joke but I do think it's cool that they attempted this adventure again. They still ended up having fun and getting to see their pals Gino and Eric. Maybe next year they'll just head straight to Vegas...

District 54 drops all block grant employees or Ella's jobless mother

So yesterday there was a "voluntary" meeting after school for all grant employees. This is confusing but try to stay with me. I work in a District 54 school and have the same exact job as the other teachers in early childhood but I am paid through this place called, The Center. This is the case in the district for a lot of teachers and instructional assistants in early childhood. Yesterday we were informed that we are all being let go at the end of this school year and we can reapply for our jobs through the district but these jobs will also be open to the general public. I am the only teacher that does not have my special ed certification and so I can't even apply for my job through the district. I was going to be moved anyway at the end of this year to a place where I didn't need that certification but now I don't know if that will even happen.

Here's what stinks...The instructional assistants (many with 15+ years under their belt) if re-hired by the district will not be compensated for their experience. They will have to start at the bottom of the pay scale as well as lose all of their sick days. If teachers are lucky enough to get through District 54's exhaustive hiring process, they will be compensated for their experience. There are 43 people who this is affecting. A nice surprise before spring break. Not to mention all of the local districts seems to be doing some serious lay-offs. I'm not going to freak out, I'm not going to freak out, I'm not going to freak out...My only saving grace is my insurance takes me through June.

For me this is just one more disappointment from a long line of them working with this district.

30 Weeks

Please excuse my rockin' wardrobe for this photo shoot. These were taken Monday after a lovely, but muddy evening at the dog park. In the last pic you can even see some mud on my belly.

So I passed the one hour glucose test (shocking due to my sugar addiction) and our next ultrasound is Monday, March 23rd. We were supposed to get one last time but they forgot to schedule. I am dying to see how this child has changed.

I know you all love my hair in this style so I'm sorry to say that I got it cut the next day. We will all miss the long, lifeless tail that I've been sporting for months.

My hormones are still raging but I am thankful for everyone's positive feedback and support. You'll see how much I need it when I share a doozy with you in tomorrow's post...

The Pregnancy Blahs

Here we go... I have the blahs or the blues or whatever you want to call it. I'm back to feeling exhausted and useless. I come home from work and sit on the couch or lay in the spare bedroom and think about all of the things I should/could be doing. But I don't do anything. I overslept for the Pet Clinic on Saturday. I've called in sick to school just so I can sleep. I don't feel like myself. Buzz thinks I'm crazy half the time. Everyone is telling me how small I look and now I'm panicking that maybe something is wrong with the baby. I'm very moody and things set me off very easily. I don't feel like chit-chatting or socializing. My shower is coming up on Sunday and I know I have to be "on" for that (still nothing to wear by the way) I'm starting to panic because we won't have our furniture until early to mid May and Ella is coming at the end of May.

What if she comes early?
Where will the shower gifts go until we have furniture?
Why do I have to pee every five minutes?
Why is there so much pressure down there?
What if I can't shave my legs when it's "go" time?
What if I have post-partum?
What if I have pre-partum?
What if she is colicky?
What if Ella's allergic to the dogs?
What if I have a terrible labor?
What will my rash look like when I'm done giving birth?
What if all Buzz and I do after we have the baby is fight?
What if she's funny looking?
What if we have to live in our townhouse forever?
What if I still don't understand the whole breastfeeding thing - even after taking 3, 2 hour classes?
What if I can't get all of my end of the year school stuff done before I leave?
What if we don't find a glider soon?
What if I don't have a job next year?
What if we can't afford daycare?

As you can see, a lot of these questions are ridiculous. Although some are not.
I thought Zoloft was supposed to take away all of these annoying questions and minor freak-outs. I know this isn't my typical, semi-amusing post but I had to get this junk off my mind. Now please, don't you all go calling to check on me!!! I'll be fine.

Girls Getaway - Lake Geneva

Thanks to Jill we were able to get away last weekend for a little girls/spa getaway. We left Friday after work and Mandy drove us to Lake Geneva. It turns out this is about 50 minutes from my house. I guess I need to look at maps more often.

Jill and I went to check in at the French Country Inn and were greeted by the resident cat, Ruthie. Her breathing sounds like she's been a smoker for 40 years. She's quite old but a real sweetie. I think she looks like Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies.

We checked into adjoining rooms and started preparations for Teresa's surprise shower. We wanted to get her some girlie things for her new baby. The rooms were so cute and each had a fireplace. Unfortunately, the consensus was that the water smelled like metal and looked like breast milk. We roughed it though.

That night we ate dinner at the Inn. I was careful to ask that my Ravioli entree was vegetarian and was promised that it was. I few bites into it (and loving the flavor) I realized that it was covered in bits of ham and bacon (I thought they were sun-dried tomatoes, I swear). I expected a free desert but was granted none. We had plenty of snacks back in our room so I survived the stressful ordeal.

The next morning we had free brunch at the Inn and headed to our spa appointments. The three preggos had maternity massages. At the spa I drank cold defense hot tea and poisoned my baby. It did taste good though. Next we had lunch at this cute little igloo and headed back to the rooms for naps. We had a beautiful back deck but were unable to enjoy it due to the cold and rainy weather.

That night after much contemplation we decided to head out to dinner. Here is the obligatory pregnant pic: Teresa in the back (due in April), Jess in the front (due in June). All girls!

When we got back that night we had a fun time playing games. Oh wait, Mandy and I were the only ones up for gaming so we did not do this. Jerks. Sunday we had a later brunch and headed to downtown Lake Geneva to visit some shops. We made it to one shop and hit the road to head home.

Unfortunately the girls confirmed my snoring. Although they did note it was not that loud. I also talk in my sleep. Teresa and I shared a bed because both of us toss, turn and pee all night. Jess's sleeping is unaffected by her pregnancy. How nice for her. All in all it was a relaxing weekend away from our lovely (but annoying) husbands.

Breastfeeding Class -- The final chapter

I know everyone has come to love these breastfeeding pics so enjoy the last one.
We (I) had our last class tonight. Because I am the best wife in the world and Buzz is leaving for his man trip tomorrow, I insisted that he skip this class. There isn't anything remotely amusing to mention about this final class.

We also had our 28-29 week appointment today. Although it was the dreaded glucose test we were also getting an ultrasound so I was super excited to see Ella. But low and behold, those absent-minded gynos forgot to schedule my ultrasound. Now we will wait two more weeks until our next appointment - I can't believe I'm on an every two week schedule now. The doc said to relieve my pelvic pain/pressure that I should get a maternity belt. How sporty.

I reported my awful snoring and she said that may be why I'm so tired. Or maybe it's because Buzz wakes me up every half hour to report on my snoring! He also records it on his cell phone.

Also, the cute blood guy had to leave for class before he could draw my blood so I was subjected to a female technician. Oh well, better luck next time...

Buzz is ready for the man trip

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