Working Girl!

One of the fun (or not so fun, depends on your preference) things about being a Navy wife is the lack of employment options. It's fun because if you're like me you get to quit your full time job, get married, move to a tiny island and declare yourself a stay at home wife. For most of my time in Guam my job pretty much consisted of: going to the gym, swimming in the ocean, golfing, scuba diving and socializing. I took a part time job with Hallmark towards the end of our tour there but for the most part, it was all play, very little work.

Then I moved to Virginia. I started to feel pretty silly not having a job when most other women I knew did. So I searched. For ten months. Not kidding, the job market just isn't what it used to be. Then again, I'm sure you're aware of that. I'm sure I could have gotten a job at Macy's or as a waitress if I really needed to but from experience, I knew I'd be borderline miserable and what good would that be for me? So I waited. I volunteered, worked with the Spouse club at Colin's squadron, traveled to see family and friends. Then I got pregnant and figured it was time to put that hope away and focus on my new permanent job 9 months down the road. Of course, what better timing than to get an offer? Right after Christmas, J&A Racing, a company that puts on 4 major running races here in Hampton Roads contacted me and asked if I could fill in until the baby is born. I find it hilarious that that very morning I was lying in bed trying to figure out what to do with myself for the day when I once again pitied myself for not having a professional purpose in life. Literally fifteen minutes later I opened my email and discovered the offer. If that isn't God speaking I don't know what is!

So two months later I'm still enjoying myself. It's a great company and we're getting ready for our biggest event, the Shamrock Marathon weekend. The company does a great job putting on family friendly races that appeal to everyone from toddlers to first time joggers to elite runners. We wrapped up Virginia is for Lovers 14K this month which was a blast. The 8-ish mile course featured music, candy stations, cheesy pickup line signs and even a wedding! The weekend was exhausting but nonetheless a blast. It felt great to be back in the running world again.

Shamrock is in a couple of weeks and the comedy here is that my coworker is due the week after the race. If she goes into labor before then, well her job becomes mine until she comes off maternity leave! I've got some tough shoes to fill so I'm hoping for the sake of 28,000 runners that the baby decides to hang on until d-day!

It's a........!!

So it's been awhile. But I suppose pregnancy will do that to you! Anyway, just a quick update on the happenings in the Chance household:

I'm feeling better! Gone are the nauseous days of the first trimester. I'm eating much better and still running 8-9 miles a week. This baby LOVES to run, always settling in for a nap once we get going.

Colin started grad school. So when he's not flying 5 days a week he's studying his tail off all the time. I wish I had half his motivation.

I got a job! Great timing I know. However it's a fantastic setup for me and will allow me to work up until the baby is born. I work for a local race event company. We just finished the Virginia is for Lovers 14K yesterday and still have our biggest event, the Shamrock Marathon next month. It's a great job worthy of a separate blog post for later!

Perhaps the best update of all. We found out on Thursday that we're going to have a  baby GIRL!! It is sufficient to say I'm absolutely elated with the news. Colin's adjusting very well. Mostly because he has an excuse to buy a shotgun now. I think he's going to be a pretty awesome daddy. If anything, he got to accompany me to the ultrasound and he thought seeing his daughter for the first time was pretty stinkin' cool. 

It was a fairly eventful appointment in the fact that she was NOT interested in showing us her girl parts. Hence why we found her curled up in a ball with her legs crossed. The technician patiently spent over ten minutes wiggling my belly in hopes of waking her up. Finally after I shifted to my side, followed by some more wiggling she gave us a peek, probably in hopes we'd let her get back to her nap. The appointment was only 25 minutes but I was so anxious to find out that it felt like an eternity. The phone calls that followed later were fun, my parents are pretty excited, as are Colin's. I even got my first baby girl outfit from my co-worker, it even has little ballet slippers sewn into the feet, how cute is that? I think it's all starting to feel more real. More real than just the thought of a goldfish swimming around in me. I'm sure it'll get even more real as I continue to expand in more directions than I care to accept. At least I know it's all for a great cause. :)

Me at 19 weeks.

Baby Chance at 20 weeks!

It's a Girl!

Despite being ticked off at being woken up, she gave us a little wave. How cute is that?