state of the pierses

we are all hanging in there! i've been VERY preoccupied trying not to throw up while keeping the house spotless in the event of a last minute showing request!

so here is an executive summary state of the union update...

the house. our lovely home is for sale. i swear the more i think about living somewhere else the more i love it. it is like part of our family. i mean, it is our home. this house is definitely the first time as an adult that the place where i live is truly home. mom & dad's is mom & dad's. at age 33 i can say home and mean it in every sense of the word. i must be a late bloomer. anyway - as of today we've had eight showings. the first week we had six, two of which told us our home made it to their final cut. then we never heard from them again. then a whole week went by without any showings. and this week we've had two so far. all of the feedback has been positive, but we are getting a bit more anxious with each passing day. we close on the new house on june 6th, but we are leasing back the home to its current owners until june 30th. so if everything goes according to plan we'll move in during the beginning of july.

me. well, in even more life changing news my too-good-to-be-true job is ending in mid-july. i'm probably the only financial analyst in history to have left a full time job managing people to going to full time telecommuting at the same salary, to a measly telecommuting 10 hours a week...ANY 10 hours i want mind you, at an hourly rate of my 2006 handsome annual salary. 28 of us have had our positions eliminated but we were encouraged to apply for one of 9 new positions opening at headquarters. full time, of course. so after much discussion & number crunching, clay & i have decided i will soon be gainfully unemployed by choice. full time employment for me at this time is just not ultimately what we want for our family right now. this topic probably has a whole other post worth of things to say.

clay. he's working working working, planning & number crunching. the third time in i've realized that this is his dad nesting thing. ya know, the one that happens with the realization that another human being will soon be depending on him for financial support for the next 18 years + college. he takes it very seriously, and while i love that about him, it bums me out a bit that it puts so much stress on him. and obviously it is multiplied by the fact that a-we are about to take on a larger mortgage b-without my income and c-with the possibility of two mortgages looming for some indefinite amount of time. it's a lot. thank goodness the house has been spotless...it is about all i can do for him at this point.

the lu. she's feisty as ever but has started talking/whining/crying like gus. a lot. it kinda drives us crazy. all of her little friends have turned 4 and she's quite upset that she's still 3. like really upset. so being the manipulative mom i am, i'm using this to my advantage. 'lu, did you know 4 year olds don't drink out of sippy cups? if you want to be 4 you better start practicing your big girl drinking!' 'lu, that didn't sound like the way a 4 year old asks/talks. can i hear you say it again like a 4 year old?'. she takes it all very seriously, and so far it is working. we'll see how long it lasts. yet all that said, she's getting so big, right before our eyes. i can't believe she IS almost four! how in the world did that happen! one more year of preschool & then she's in KINDERGARTEN. dude. it brings me to tears just typing it! but i am pregnant ;)

the goo. after his double ear infection & a round of clindamycin he developed a rash. last dose of meds on thursday. woke up friday covered in spots. ugh. that said, he's the happiest he's been in months!!! and dad is his new favorite playmate. he's a talking fool and i could just eat him up most of the time. more to come on his 17 month notes.

the newpea. 14 weeks today. sweet baby. making me the sickest of all of my kids. i'm hoping we'll do the big ultrasound at the end of june so we get results before the best ob-gyn in the world heads to india for three weeks in july. i don't go back until the second week of june...unless i just can't wait...then they are so sweet they let me come in just to have an ultrasound to calm my nerves. why? cause she's the best ob-gyn in the world!