i am originally from the middle of nowhere in wyoming. most people dont even know where that is so i have to say "yellowstone national park" and then they can get some sort of an idea. lol. i moved to hawaii just out of high school to come to university. i just finished with that, and so ive been here for a little over 7 years now (im not a perpetual student who couldnt just finish or anything, i was getting my doctorate. lol) my husband got posted here with his ex actually and we met not too long after his split with the ex, when dylan was about 6 months old. we will be here for at least another 1.5 years, and then we will probably end up in the washington d.c. area. we are hoping, once he reaches his 20 years of service and can retire, that we can move over there...were thinking england, spain or italy. i love england and the language is a plus, spanish was my second major in university, and italy is where his heritage is. its all really exciting to think about, but its still about 11 years off until he reaches retirement age.
as for the leave thing, i work for a really great and understanding firm, so im really lucky. i worked for them for the last two years of my schooling and they let me work around my schedule and were understanding of me needing to take time to work on my thesis too. so, if i requested it, i could probably come back part time or even take off extra time (unpaid of course). i also have some vacation time saved that i could use after the maternity leave runs out too. but, generally, i dont think most places are so lenient. i think the general rule is that places give you your 12 weeks unpaid and then they want you back, full time and like nothing has changed. between the medical costs of having a baby here and the fact that few places pay you for your leave, having a baby in the US can be quite a financial endeavour...and im not even talking about the cost of diapers, childcare, or any of that other stuff! :-/
the ex in your life sounds crazy! i cant believe that she would complain about how much effort youre putting in! yes youre the stepmother to her daughter, but what does she honestly expect from you?! it seems like she just wants to hurt your husband too, saying things like she is taking his daughter away. with dylans mom she is never outright rude and shes never spoken badly about us, that we know of. the things with her is that she has this attitude of "im the mom and ill do whatever i want, and theres really nothing you can do about it." we alternate holidays and for one christmas (which was supposed to be our holiday that year) she took dylan off island without saying where she was going. and when bobby asked her about it and said she couldnt do that according to the custody agreement, her only answer was "ill let you know when were home and you can see your son." she really just does whatever she wants and we have to live with it. its sad because she is like 6 years older than us and in her 30s, but she acts very immaturely at times. at least with your ex it doesnt seem like you have to worry about the petty fighting and all that. its sad that he just left his son, but im sure your husband now is a great father to him.
ohmygoodness...i cannot get enough peanut butter lately! maybe thats the real reason for the weight gain lately. ive been having toast with peanut butter every morning pretty much. in the beginning i didnt want it at all, but the last 3 or 4 weeks im craving it all the time. that and fruit...i cant get enough fresh pineapple, watermelon, apples, grapes, mango, papaya...ahhh, my tummy is growling now! lol. im usually the same as you, not a big sweet tooth, but chocolate calls to me lately. and ice cream too. :-/ its really crazy how pregnancy can change things so much. i hope things go back to normal after the baby comes...i rather liked not being tempted by chocolate before. now i have to fight the cravings off, and its not pleasant!
awww...hopefully your poor mom can enjoy her holiday and not worry too much about missing the birth! at least she isnt saying that youll go late! my mom, on the other hand, is convinced ill go late. i keep yelling at her for saying that. she is coming out here, but she doesnt want to come out for the EDD and have me end up going two weeks late (thats how long they will let me go before inducing) and then have to leave before getting much time with the baby. so she bought her tickets to come out 20 september. thats 11 days after my due date! she will pay the change fee to come out earlier i think if the birth ends up being early or on time though. it just seems like ive waiting so long, i dont want to think about going even longer past my due date. :-/ i gave her a little scare last night though...i accidentally pocket dialed her from my cell at midnight her time. and, obviously i was unware of it, so she hung up and tried to call back three times but my cell was on vibrate and i didnt feel it. she was nervous...and she left me this faux scolding message that im not allowed to accidentally call her in the middle of the night when im so very pregnant and then not say anything or answer her return calls, as it gives her a heart attack. poor lady, i noticed about 45 minutes later that i had missed her calls and i called her back, she was waiting up. i guess its true what they say though, no matter how old they get you never stop worrying about your kids.
ive offically started the countdown...29 days. it seems like forever away still, but i guess its getting closer each day. when the time finally comes ill probably look back and think "where did the past month go?!" hehe.
totally worth the pain haha
lol
poor little mite!
x
