Iesha - I totally feel the same way; it seems like I've gone off on the kids at least 3 or 4 days in a row, mainly for the same mess! You'd think they would figure out that I cannot tolerate my living room being cluttered. We have a play room, and family room, a nursery (which is off limits to them right now, but still), and the girls' room that they sleep in. Can't we just keep the crap contained to those areas??? I don't have a cracked TV to continually piss me off, but the cat that my hubby just HAD TO save has turned out to be a sprayer. The first time he sprayed the couch and my youngest daughter's favorite hat (looks like a racoon). I was LIVID and ready to be done with the cat then and there, but hubby talked me into giving him another chance, and he is a sweet cat other than the peeing. Then he peed on hubby's pants, which he leaves in a heap next to the bed (typically about 3 feet from the clothes hamper. Seriously). I was angry, but slightly amused since it was hubby's stuff
And apparently at some point Saturday night or Sunday, he peed TWICE in the girls' room. Once in the corner where their clothes hamper usually is, on their pile of dirty clothes (filthy now...), as the hamper was by the laundry room and I never got it back upstairs last week. That was bad enough, but... he also apparently sprayed in their closet, on their box of 'dress up' play dresses. That was it. I told hubby our choices are to take kitty to a shelter or throw him outside and feed him through the winter, but he CANNOT be an indoor cat. I suspect he never was an indoor cat! Who would tolerate the spraying?? Hubby's basic response was 'fine, you can kill him if you insist'. Blah. Not on my happy list, especially since our littlest is sick today, and hubby is staying home with him but used it was an excuse to sleep in and still not help with morning chores, during which I was trying to deal with more cat pee.
My sister's family is staying with us right after US Thanksgiving (next week), and then OH's family is staying with us the week before Christmas... and all I can think is my house smells of cat pee. *sigh* He really doesn't understand that literally EVERY SINGLE TIME I get a whiff, I feel the same anger and helplessness all over again at ever getting things clean and fresh. It is like an open wound until it is dealt with, kind of like the unfinished trim we've been living with on the main levels for... 4 years now. At least he's got the guest room almost done (and it DOES look spectacular imo!), so I"m trying not to be a total harpy, plus if I do go off on him, he typically reacts like a 6 year old and pouts and declares that he won't do ANYTHING.
In much happier and less ranty news, I had a great experience at my 3 hr - the clinic had a comfy & cozy area for me to curl up in while waiting between blood draws. Still skeptical that I'm going to 'pass'. I've had a history of low blood sugar, which apparently is an indicator that you are at risk for GD and type 2 later in life. Lovely. Plus with having it last pregnancy, I'm all but convinced I'm already having sugar issues.
Even better than that, and I got the first pre-Christmas gift for my oldest - we're going to go the Nutcracker Suite! I haven't been in YEARS, but my dad used to take me every year, starting when I was about 6 or 7, and I absolutely loved it. A little nervous that I'm leaving my younger girl out, but she's only 4 and I think it would be a bit much. As for other Christmas items, hubby and I really haven't done much yet for it. Every year Santa brings one 'big' item that is sharable amongst the kids, or if nothing seems quite right, brings some 'medium' things for each kiddo. We typically wrap 1 present (almost always clothes) for under the tree. My mom and DH's dad send up quite a few other things (my mom is nutso at Christmas time - I literally had TWENTY packages one year from my parents not counting any Santa stuff), so we try to really underplay it to avoid overloading the kids. I also typically confiscate all the toys and then let the kids 'discover' them throughout the year, and only play with them if they can identify spots to store them. I really dunno how my dad managed to pay for all the stuff my mom would purchase - we're currently a dbl income family and we could never afford all the stuff my mom would buy!
As for teaching the value of money, I haven't done too much yet, but a friend of mine with older children (oldest is turning 17) turned me onto the Love & Logic series, and I really like that approach to money and discipline. It is a bit rough for me to come up with stuff and enforce rules sometimes (just wasn't how I was raised at all...), but I'm seriously hoping my kids can turn out 'better' (more stable, better adjusted, less likely to make the same hare-brained decisions I did in my teens and early 20s...), so I'm happy to try something different than what I was raised with.
Holy cow - that was a super long post, and I didnt even mention how awesome Donna's owl bouncer looks, or how excited I am for Claire, and about 20 other updates I was going to talk about. Sorry guys - I'm so wordy today!
I have to eat smaller portions now too or im so full I feel like I will explode!
and yay for single digits!!
double digits 
Hopefully it is too bad for you!! 
And that does sound like a very good price on the travel system stuff. I'm not really going to do any shopping for this LO until after Christmas, in part to see if anyone is planning on doing a baby shower (doubtful, its my 4th baby in 7 years...), or if anyone was going in on presents (my sister coordinates that kind of thing). But also because I will go way overboard since this is probably my last, and overspend, and then not have any $$ for actual Christmas 
where did I come up with that?? thought maybe my book said 28, but it says 25 wks??? its so confusing when each place has different standards lol. regardless... I don't think I said congrats! 
