So what is new with your life?????

[dulcemariamar]

People here are like M.I.A.

What is new with your life?

[CakeLover]

I feel like I haven't been contributing much lately. I'll try to make a better effort.
Lets see, whats new with me? I'm trying not to be a Debbie Downer, but my back is killing me with these last few weeks of pregnancy. I think I'm having some sciatic pain. And I've spent most of the last week and half laying on my couch while my toddler runs laps around me. Makes me feel like mom of the year.
In about 2 weeks time I may have some new news regarding a move....hmmmmm! I'll keep details to myself for right now, but if something happens I'll tell you all.

[anna7602]

I've been traveling and trying to orchestrate everything I needed to do to leave town for a work event- prepare, get overnight babysitting, etc.

Now I am back for 2 days before I take DD to Copenhagen to meet up with a friend I made on the Bump (and met up with in NY last summer). So, it's been crazy times around here.

On the upside, I just spent 2 days in Lisbon during which I only had to work for about 5 hours. I got plenty of time to soak in the sun, walk around, explore awesome little book shops, ride the trams, eat yummy food and catch up with some folks I know who flew into Lisbon for this event. And I was child-free! I don't remember the last time I had 2 full child-free days, maybe when I was househunting last fall?

Plus, I love Lisbon. My heart sank a little when I flew back into miserably rainy, land-locked Paris last night. I feel like such a brat for comparing the two cities, but it obviously influenced my mood to have to leave people behind in Lisbon with whom I had a great time re-connecting.

[oneslybookworm]

Well...nothing fabulous here. I've been talking to my parents and my mom is going to take my dad to the doctor...we think my dad is in the beginning stages of Dementia. It sucks...ever since he had his knee replacement surgery a few years ago, he's gone downhill, and fast. So...lately he's been doing some things that just hasn't added up...and we're concerned.

So, with that...DH and I have pretty much stopped looking at overseas assignments after this one. I think we'll move home, at least until things have ever settled down or (god forbid) our parents pass.

So...sorry for the conversation downer there, but that's where my life is right now. bah.

[crimsonandclover]

I was having some pain on my right side earlier this week that really freaked me out. Since our German insurance only covers acute care here in the States, we called to ask if I could get checked out for an ectopic. They said sure, but they would only pay if it turned out to be ectopic (or if another reason for the pain was discovered, like a cyst). My awesome OB worked it out that I could go to a free women's health clinic to get an ultrasound done to rule out an ectopic. They were an amazing bunch of women, and on a boring day in the future I'll tell you the whole story of how I accidentally went to Planned Parenthood on abortion day first (the clinics are across the street from each other), but they actually advised me to go and apply for a medical card (Medicaid for pregnant women) while I'm back in the States so I can get regular prenatal care. I didn't know that was an option, so I applied yesterday, and for the remaining 2 months of my stay, I'll be able to get everything checked out instead of just waiting until I go back to Germany in September, which was the original plan (both the US and German doctors said things would probably be fine doing it that way since I'll only be 17 weeks when I go back). On the one hand, I feel bad about applying for the card since, if we really needed to, we could afford prenatal care, but that would be really dipping into our savings. Also, long before we came to the US, I looked into all sorts of insurance to see if I could find one that would cover prenatal for the time we're in the States, and there was basically nothing. We would have had to have a full insurance plan costing around $800 / month for at least a year before I went to the States, and in the end that would have cost way more than just paying for prenatal OOP. So I will take this medical card, swear not to abuse it, and be thankful that I will be able to have the few prenatal appointments that I need while we're here without paying OOP.

But the great thing was that at the ultrasound, everything looked perfect. The baby was measuring 2 days ahead, heartbeat looked wonderful, it was not ectopic, and it even did a few little dances for us, which looks really cute. And that's what's going on with me right now!

[anna7602]

Crimson- I am glad everything worked out and looks good. I am also glad that Medicaid exists, in your situation and in the situation of so many other people who need it. Down with the haters!

Oneslybookworm- we suspect my mom is also in the beginning stages of dementia or Alzheimer's, but she absolutely refuses to seek any care for it. It's really hard to deal with emotionally, knowing that my mother is quickly slipping away from us. Big hugs to you and your family.

[dorothyinAus]

I don't have very much news. I am starting an Adult Tap Dance class on Monday night and I am excited and nervous about it. DH and I have settled on dates for me to be the States over Christmas -- I'm going over about two weeks before he'll join me and we'll come back together in January. I'm excited because we'll be in NOLA for New Year's and that means I can have dinner with my Mom on her birthday (NYE) and then have black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day. Ohh!!! And sonce we're not coming home until later in Jan, I'll get a real King Cake on Twelfth Night. And I'll be home for the College Football Bowls -- that means I won't be at the mercy of my data plan or IP spoofers to see the Bowl Games. College Football and the Olympics are the only sports I'm really passionate about and I seriously miss my College Football. I had a 10 minute argument trying to convince the woman at Foxtel that NFL and College Football were not the same thing and just because Foxtel offers the NFL channel doesn't mean I'd be getting SEC College Football!

Sorry, got a bit ranty there. To recap, Big news: new Tap Class. Good news: dates decided for going home.

[mrspurdy]

Hi everyone. I didn't come on much as I was planning and moving. I have moved with DD to join DH in Canouan in the Grenadines from Ambergris Caye in Belize. It has been a real adjustment for me. As in Belize I had a very active social life and here I really haven't met any other women who I click with yet. However it has only been 3 weeks so have to wait. Having a hard time renewing my passport with my married name now that I am here. Have to send it to Barbados to get renewed. Otherwise I am enjoying life and being back with DH.
Hope you all have a great day.

[oneslybookworm]

Jul 13, 2012 8:08:10 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Oneslybookworm- we suspect my mom is also in the beginning stages of dementia or Alzheimer's, but she absolutely refuses to seek any care for it. It's really hard to deal with emotionally, knowing that my mother is quickly slipping away from us. Big hugs to you and your family.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this as well! My mom was pretty adamant that nothing was wrong, but finally opened her eyes. She talked to Dad, and he's willing to go back to the Neurologist (he was diagnosed with Parkinson's a few years back). So yeah...we're just all sort of waiting around to find out what's up.

[crimsonandclover]

Onesly and anna, I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. I watched it happen to my grandma (my mom's mom), and it was really hard for everyone. The family dealt with it by making light of it a bit, but it's just difficult for everyone affected.

[dulcemariamar]

I have been spending the last few days with DH organizing the house. We are planning on staying in our 1 bedroom flat for a few months, maybe a year, with our LO so we really have to have the place super organized. But we are bit lazy and it is really boring so we take long breaks.

[ktkl09]

I'm in the US for the next couple of weeks. Not doing much besides hanging out at the pool and seeing friends and family.

I think I will be getting a new tattoo while I'm here though .

[clogged]

I have hit the irrational, angry point in my pregnancy.

I want to beat people senselessly and I hate everyone and everything, especially my husband. Today's big hatred of him is he went to his farewell shindig for work (planned a month ago) and I feel he is a total dick for not cancelling on everyone and staying home so I can spend 45 minutes playing rollercoaster tycoon 2 (an old game from like 1995) before I get pissed off the game and grump around the house. See? Totally irrational.

So I found it best NOT to post and to try and refrain from commenting too often. No one deserves my stabby bitchy self.

[irish]

Not a lot going on with us on a day to day basis... work, home, playing with N, bed, work, home....

We've been ttc for the last few months with no joy, though I think we need to focus more at the right time of the month. Like, last month the window of opportunity was totally missed cos either one of us was so tired we fell straight asleep when we went to bed and I O'd a day or two earlier than normal... I'm getting older (38), his joints are getting worse (off medication)... neither of us want N to be an only child... (I'm one of 5, he's 1 of 4).

My grandmother (86) is recovering from her broken ankle 7 weeks ago (got knocked down on forecourt of petrol station!) and my grandfather (96) is getting on great after breaking his hip 4 months ago and is back home living on his own again (though he is checked on a couple times a day). They aren't related...

And my FSIL is having her hen night next weekend here in Dublin which will be nice (though I know cocktail afternoon and ttc don't really go together...)

[Deleted]

That was so funny, clogged!

We're enjoying the summer in NYC and doing all sorts of things. We made a plan to visit the Met Museum more often and finish up with the exhibits we have yet to see. Then there's a jewelry show we'd like to catch, visiting the Top of the Rock is also on the list, more Lincoln Center shows, running in the park etc etc etc.. We're thinking about moving to the west coast in the next few months, which would be huge so the brainstorming is exhausting us.

Other than that, a few exciting jobs are in store for me at the end of the summer before my trip to Italy. Busy all 'round.

I'm really sorry for those of you that are going through a rough time family-health wise... If I have one fear is that of my parents' health declining. The mere thought of it scares the crap out of me. I wish you and your parents all the best, ladies! You're in my heart and thoughts.

[travelingturtle]

Nothing big. We're contemplating a possible move in a few months. Either somewhere in our town, a neighboring town, or somewhere else completely. Our apartment is just a tad too small, but in such a good neighborhood that it would be hard to move within our town and still like the neighborhood.

I have been trying to work on a new website for myself and I haven't been motivated the past few days. It's not so much of a blog, but it does have a bit of a blog on it. I don't know how people are so comfortable doing this type of stuff.

I read more than I post, too.

[anna7602]

I'm back to say that I have spent all day entertaining thoughts of moving to Lisbon, even though I spent nearly a year looking into fellowships and whatnot there--unsuccessfully--before DH was offered his gig here. I am tempted to write to all my contacts there again to see if anything new has come up, but I feel like maybe I should just focus on real life in front of me for a while.

[tktravels]

My life has been super crazy in the last week.

Being pregnant but told I have no viable fetus, deciding to move back to the US pronto to get health care options that are illegal or not available in Poland, spending time with my ancient relative in Poland, actually moving, etc.

I'm now at my brother's in the US, doing laundry and waiting for my pregnancy "products" to vacate my womb, assisted by cytotec.

I saw my doctor here yesterday, and he was absolutely wonderful and listened to me, treated me with kindness and respect, and gave me the options I wanted.

And if everything processes as I hope it does (soon and safely), we may be moving to Mexico as soon as next week.

I don't think I've ever had so crazy of a two week period. Lots new with me!

[pittpurple]

Jul 13, 2012 11:34:20 GMT -5 tktravels said:

I saw my doctor here yesterday, and he was absolutely wonderful and listened to me, treated me with kindness and respect, and gave me the options I wanted.

And if everything processes as I hope it does (soon and safely), we may be moving to Mexico as soon as next week.

I'm so glad you got the care you deserve TK, I've been thinking about you. I saw you were on the m/c board on the bump, I hope you found it as helpful as I did.

Kelly (I seriously cannot remember your new name) - glad everything is going well!

I'm so sorry that it's been a hard time for some people lately :-(

I haven't been around much - between trying to do some sort of work sometimes and obsessively googling every symptom I have and checking the bump, I'm a bit one-track minded lately. I'm still really anxious and scared all the time - only 3.5 weeks until my next scan when I can hopefully start to breath again.

DH and I booked a babymoon to Italy in August, I am very, very excited to get away from this rain, I swear it's making me crazier than anything else. We haven't seen the sun in weeks.

And Anna - we were in Lisbon last year and fell in love with it. It's the one place we've visited that we could totally see ourselves retiring to one day, it's just such a lovely city. I just adore Portugal in general but there's something so nice about Lisbon.

[Cheesecake]

Hey everyone,
Not much news here. We're still TTC - no success yet that we know of, I started running, which is super-duper hard, but rewarding. We're finally truly starting to plan our vacation to Italy (September) which I truly can't wait for. So, so ready for this trip! My co-worker and bosses are still batshitcrazy, but there's not much I can do about that and I'm super enjoying the summer veggies, despite the fact that we haven't truly had summer yet.

So sorry for all the people who are going through medical issues with family members. Unfortunately I can add my uncle to this list. He's in the final stage of prostate cancer and things suddenly went downhill like crazy. He is now looking into end of life planning, so that's extremely sad.

No much other news here. Which is why I really haven't posted much, I guess.

[allibally]

Jul 13, 2012 8:14:33 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

I don't have very much news. I am starting an Adult Tap Dance class on Monday night and I am excited and nervous about it.

Jealous! I took tap lessons when I was younger and loved it! Hope you have a good time.


Honestly, I've been feeling a bit depressed and stuck in a rut. Hopefully things start picking up in the next week. Good news is tomorrow I will hopefully be volunteering for an organization that goes into hospitals and other facilities to paint younger girls nails as a sort of cheer up.

[azure]

Hi all!
I started a new job about a month ago and don't have much time to post anymore. I've been enjoying the beach, picnics and bbqs with friends. So far summer has been pretty great.

[elenetxu]

It's been a crazy summer so far! I just had college roommate here for five days, which is a little tough in a 47 sq m. apartment. I didn't sleep much since I was so worried about her having a good time and/or being comfortable but it was really nice to have her here.

The bad news is that it looks like my job is on the Spanish government's cutting board and I might loose my position next week. All of us who were accepted to the program for next school year got a call yesterday saying we hadn't received our contracts because the budget hadn't been approved. It's still not approved, and they're not sure if/when it will be. I'm hurt, frustrated, and unsure what to do. We were told in May we had work. It's mid-July and suddenly we might not. I'm very lucky since I think I can definitely make at least enough to pay the mortgage through private classes, but I'm really depressed. I hope things work out, but I'm waiting for "the call of doom" next week confirming our worst fears.

But, well, as I say to my coworkers: At least the wine here is good. And cheap.

[kradleygirl]

Hi all. I lurk a lot so I guess I should start posting more.

News for us is that we bought an apartment and are moving next Saturday! I'm so excited. We finished painting it last week and are just waiting to get a built in put in and floating floorboards.

I go back to work tomorrow after our 2 week holiday break (my H and I are teachers).

Sorry for all those ppl with family members being unwell


Sent from my iPhone using ProBoards

[wise_rita]

I read GBCN on my phone during my commute, but don't post as often because it's easier to just read.

DBF just left for 2 weeks in Darwin for work. I really wanted to go visit over the weekend but his one weekend there is the only weekend per year I need to work. Hope I don't miss much.

Today we started discussing what will come after his 2 year contract in Australia. Bottom line: Australia is perfect in every respect except for its location. If the damn continent would move to the middle of the Atlantic it would be 100% perfect. So the discussion continues...

[bail229]

Sorry to hear so many people are dealing with family illnesses and losses.

I haven't been posting much since DS now takes up most of my time. I cannot believe he is going to be 3 months on Tuesday, the time has just flown. The good news is that we seem to be getting into a routine and he is sleeping really well. Hopefully now that DS is going to sleep at a reasonable hour I will be able to post more!

[tricolore]

Just got back from our last whirlwind junket-- just shy of 3wks driving through Italy, France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
Hotter than hell in Bella southern Italy. Should make packing up a blast. We had back to America in two weeks!

Happy to be moving closer to family and friends, but will miss the chaos, coffee, and pizza like nobody's business! I hope that we'll be back in Italy or maybe in Spain in the future (maybe 5yrs or so). But am trying to sell myself on the good points of life back in the American 'burbs (VA Beach specifically).

[americaninoz]

I like reading what everyone's been up to - good post!
We're just ticking along really - back to real life after our trip to the USA.
I must admit, after that trip I am devastated again - at being so far away from my family. My Grandma's face when we left was absolutely heartbreaking. And at the airport I told Genevieve to say goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa, and even though she's only 2 I think she kind of understood she wouldn't see them for awhile, because she pulled out of my arms and ran to my Mom screaming GRANDMA!
Anyhow, we are enjoying our house, and starting to get to the point where we feel like it's 'ours' now that we had it painted and new carpet put in. Dh works so much though it's hard to get much done, but we do it little by little.

[Deleted]

Irish, I totally think that TTC and cocktails go well together! How do you think there are so many surprise pregnancies in the world?

TK, Glad you went to the US and that they listened to you. I hope your body takes care of everything quickly.

I don't post a lot because I don't have too much to say right now. I'm ready for my vacation time and am just tired of the day to day stuff for the moment. Only 3 days of left of work and then i'll be breathing clean mountain air for a long weekend and hopefully that will rest me up a bit!

[irish]

Jul 16, 2012 0:38:11 GMT -5 @myblue said:

Irish, I totally think that TTC and cocktails go well together! How do you think there are so many surprise pregnancies in the world?

So true... but these cocktails won't lead to a surprise pregnancy... the timing is the wrong way around...

But I'll bear that in mind next month at the wedding!!