So lots of you have been asking for pics of the baby bump. Here it is!!! Also, if you scroll down a ways to a few posts back, I added a pic of our ultrasound from week 16. I tried to put things at the right dates so it shows up in order.
We still don't know if its a boy or girl but we should officially know by Monday of next week. I've seen lots of people put polls on their blog so I thought I'd join in on this fun idea. Please comment your vote boy or girl and we'll see who's right!
Alright, I'm off to teach. I am handing back tests tonight and apparently you should never take a class from me because my tests are WAY hard. I feel bad, I didn't think it was that difficult but the average was a low C and only one person had an A. I think I'll have to go easier on them next time. I still LOVE my job so far, it keeps me busy so I don't think about being sick as much. Yes, I'm still sick :(
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Jack or Jill/ Tarzan or Jane???
Posted by Ali Andrus at 6:47 PM 6 comments
Saturday, September 27, 2008
WICKED
While my parents were in town we were also all treated to see the Musical, Wicked. I can't say enough good things about this show. It was soooo amazing. You laugh, you cry, you'll fall in love with the music and the characters.... so good! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
The Parkinson/Yarger clan at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.
Posted by Ali Andrus at 11:15 AM 2 comments
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Welcome to JP Morgan Chase
The U.S. government has put an end to the pain for Washington Mutual.
Federal regulators seized the teetering savings and loan Thursday and orchestrated the sale of the bulk of its assets to JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ).
WIth depositors pulling their money, the Office of Thrift Supervision said the Seattle-based bank was left with insufficient liquidity to conduct business. After a bidding process conducted by the FDIC, JPMorgan acquired the deposits and assets of WaMu's banking operations for $1.9 billion. JPMorgan said the deal excluded the assets and liabilities of the holding company and its nonbank subsidiaries. It will not be subject to claims for compensation by debt holders.
In conjunction with the deal, JPMorgan said it would raise $8 billion in capital through a sale of common stock to the public.
With about 2,300 branches and $310 billion in assets, WaMu's failure is the largest banking collapse in U.S. history. The FDIC said it would not have to draw on its insurance fund as a result of the seizure.
Washington Mutual (nyse: WM - news - people ) had been in increasingly desperate straits, racking up billions of losses as a result of its heavy exposure to subprime mortgages. When it put itself up for sale last week, a number of buyers expressed interest, including Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) and Wells Fargo (nyse: WFC - news - people ), as well as JPMorgan. But the government's proposed $700 billion financial sector bailout package seems to have stood in the way of a deal since it wasn’t clear how much the bailout would help WaMu.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that WaMu approached Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group (nyse: BX - news - people ) about a possible deal. The Journal said it was not clear if a deal could be completed.
Earlier in the year JPMorgan offered to buy WaMu for $8.00 per share. (See “ WaMu Defiant.”) That was a discount to the $8.75 it traded for then, but a handsome premium to the price JPMorgan is paying now.
The addition of WaMu's assets will give JPMorgan the second-largest branch network in the U.S., giving it a major presence in California, Washington State and Florida to complement its extensive footprint of its Chase network in the Northeast.
On Wednesday, Standard & Poor’s slashed WaMu's counterparty and preferred stock rating further into junk status, which helped to bring on the end for the bank.
On Sept. 16, Washington Mutual made an unorthodox move, releasing third-quarter projections six weeks early. (See " WaMu Rides the Rumor Express.") It said losses from home loans could reach $19.0 billion through 2011 with $2.7 billion in write-offs in the third quarter alone. Despite its woes, the thrift insists it has "sufficient liquidity and capital to support its operations while it returns to profitability." It claimed it had $50.0 billion of liquidity from "reliable funding sources."
Posted by Ali Andrus at 7:13 PM 2 comments
Monday, September 22, 2008
Fun with the Visitors!
Last weekend was all about family... first Bryan came for a visit, and then the Parkinson parents. Jesse and I arranged for a little time off from work and we lived it up for a couple days. On Thursday we picked Bryan up from the airport and showed him around town so he could see what his kids (and grandkid) are up to around here. Next, the Parkinsons arrived with an extra car of theirs that they were kind enough to bring down so we could borrow it for awhile. Jesse's car decided to throw in the towel and die on us. The radiator AND the engine both blew while Jesse was on his way home from work. We'd been using a rental car to get by until our rescue crew came with the extra vehicle (Mountaineer). Thank you mom and dad!!!
Here is an intense game of cards. My husband, the dealer, won I believe. I was busy preparing my lesson for class that night, which explains my absenteeism in this pic. Looks like Jesse can manage ok without me though.
This clip is from a filming of the show Burn 'n' Firm. This was being filmed in front of Universal as we were walking in to Universal Studios. I told Jesse if I wasn't pregnant I would so be in this show. They've got some moves! haha
On Friday we decided to hit up Universal Studios, Hollywood to show Bryan cool things like this statue man that moves! We found some coke cans that said you can get in for the price of kids so we were all kids for a day. Turns out being a kid isn't as cheap as you'd think though. It was $57 for a one day kids price! Ouch. It was an awesome day though. Unfortunately, I had to sit out on many rides because there was a sign with a pregnant lady and an X through it, which meant it was a no no for me.
Lots of cool characters there, as you can see...
I especially like Bryan's flexing. :)
My dad looks too happy to be strangled by a mummy.
Next was a day at the beach. Ahhh, nice and relaxing. Nothing like picnics on the beach.
Three handsome men I caught on film.
Me showing off my baby bump. Its there, promise! This was my favorite part of our day, we rented bikes and rode along the beach. The weather could not have been more perfect. It was the perfect day!
And after all that fun in the sun, we enjoyed a delicious meal back home the next day. Our red faces are a good indicator that we had a good time.
Posted by Ali Andrus at 6:20 PM 0 comments
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Coming Soon....
I will be updating the blog soon, I'm so sorry I've been a bad blogger!!! We lost the connector that goes to our camera so I can download pictures. I am going to search for it this weekend so I can put some new ones up. Lots of exciting things have been happening, and we have been so busy!!!!
I am now working 3 jobs, one of which I LOVE!!! I was hired as a part time instructor teaching an Investments course at the college here. So now I am Professor Yarger! :) So far it is by far my favorite job, it just keeps me super busy trying to keep up! I am still working at the bank, and then at the Behavioral Learning Center, with autistic children (where Jesse works).
My pregnancy is going well, but unfortunately I'm one of the unlucky few that seems to be staying sick throughout the pregnancy. I go through a LOT of cereal, because that's basically all I can eat. But at least its something, and I am gaining weight, which is a good thing. I'll post pics as soon as I can. Until then.... :)
Posted by Ali Andrus at 12:22 PM 7 comments
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Our little guy/girl at 16 weeks :)
Look below, we have posted a picture of our unborn child! This was at the last doctor's appointment (just 16 weeks). After intense scrutiny of the computer screen, the doctor concluded that he was about 80% sure the sex of our child was female. Then I caught a glimpse of something very un-female like between the legs and asked the doctor what it was. Our doctor (Dr. Navi) stated that he did indeed notice the extra little something and said that he took back his prior statement and was back to 50/50, girl or boy. It remains a mystery. The suspense is killing us.
Jesse and I think our poor little child has a large nose to be a fetus. How soon is too soon for plastic surgery? :) Just kidding, we love him/her already, despite the mysterious extra appendage and the seemingly large respiratory structure on his/her face. He/she's still a cutie that makes mom sick :)
Posted by Ali Andrus at 6:08 PM 0 comments