Birthday Rundown

Yesterday I had a major birthday hangover,
not from imbibing, of course,
but from putting my slightly sick, very pregnant self
through a whirlwind 3 days.

I was still feeling it this morning,
which may be why I was able to take a solid 2 hour nap this afternoon.
I haven't napped like that in forever.

Now, feeling better,
but still battling a chronic headache,
that seems to be the result of the tension
of lugging this boy around -
I feel up to spilling the deets of my day.

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning
to my first gift from Mother Nature herself -
RAIN!!!!
The sky was dark and my girls were still fast asleep,
but my hubby was up and we cuddled on the couch
downstairs and talked while the rain came down.

When the sky let up, he headed to the store to get me
my most favorite breakfast.
A chocolate chip bagel, which I then smothered in peanut butter,
and a yummy chai latte.
I ate my breakfast curled up on the couch,
and caught up on So You Think You Can Dance.

The girls slept in,
but when they woke up - boy, were they up!
Kisses and hugs,
and songs like this:


Proof once again, that I am the luckiest lady in the world!

I was gifted with a new lens for my camera from my hubby
and the girls. I'm so excited! Now, I just need to learn to use it!

We headed to Nana & Papa's to continue our celebrating,
and where I was spoiled over and over again.
New boots!
A coat, shoes, and a top!
Fabric - adorable, wonderful, can't wait to use it fabric!
A gift certificate to the best store ever!

And my

Pièce de résistance:

A new sewing machine!!!!
One with more options than my little brain knows what to do with!
I cannot wait to try this baby out!

But the day didn't stop there!
After being gifted, and saying goodbye to Chelsea & Leland,
Mom, Dad and I headed out to meet Oma and Uncle Fred
for lunch at the swanky and super delicious
Scott's Seafood.
Sourdough bread and clam chowder,
followed by a chocolate cake topped with ice cream,
chocolate and raspberry sauce and marshmallow.
Delicious!
We then headed over to the theatre to see Spring Awakening.
A truly great show, and the cast was amazing!

By the time we got home, I had about an hour to snuggle my babies
before husband whisked me off to dinner
with my besties and their husbands.
Even though the restaurant was a little bizzare -
a quartet playing "Someday My Prince Will Come" when we walked in,
fried pickle slices offered as an appetizer,
and a waitress who thought I was having my first baby
and told me to prepare because labor is "like, so intense"
and then shared her love for Boone's farm-
my meal was so good,
and the company was excellent!

I'm exhausted just recalling it all again!

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better way to enter a new decade.
Now, if you'll excuse me
I have numerous thank you cards to write!

How Do You Wear Yours?

Tree Skirts are this season's hottest accessory!

30

I had such a wonderful day
with my family and friends.

I'm so spoiled by all the amazing people in my life.

Truly, truly blessed.

Let's Get it Started!

The past few days I've been itchin' for Christmas.
We cruised home last night,
listening to Christmas music - finally!
The girls pulled out our Christmas toys and books,
so excited!

Today Mom & Chelsea came out to have lunch and see the house,
and while we were gone,
up popped a tree!

We all spent the evening pulling things out of boxes,
doing a little decorating,
listening to Christmas music
and cuddling up with some movies.

Bliss, I tell you,
pure bliss.

Thanks for Giving

We had a lovely afternoon/evening at Nana & Papa's to enjoy Turkey Day.
It was a lovely 85 degrees out,
so we had appetizers by the pool.
Like the Pilgrims did.













At one point Hailey was helping bake the rolls
and burned her hand,
like any good mother
I took a picture.
I was trying to make her laugh,
turns out the whipped cream mouth worked better.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.
We sure did!

Sick Sick Sick

Ick Ick Ick
I'm Sick, Sick, Sick.

The head cold that the girls have had
finally found me.

I just want to be able to taste the delicious meal coming tomorrow,
is that too much to hope for?

And on this eve of Thanksgiving, I want to say that I am so thankful
for a husband who doesn't hesitate to take over when I am sick,
and who drove all over town to find the medicine I love,

brought home dinner,
and is now making my favortie cookies with the girls.

I love you John!

Early Morning Dance Attack

For the past two mornings I have been woken up early
by two members of the household.
Yesterday it was my husband, getting ready for a work meeting at 5:30 A.M.
Today, it was Rory who woke up scared at 6.
Neither would have been a big deal, since I wake up a lot these days,
usually 7-8 times a night because of a certain little boy
who is currently using my bladder as a trampoline.
It's the falling back to sleep that has proved impossible.

It seems that said baby has added an extra dance routine to his morning.
And his moves are stellar!
No longer little flutters,
my belly shakes and Sambas, and Rhumbas all over the place.
He must be gathering moves from Dancing with the Stars
and So You Think You Can Dance
through osmosis.

I am unable to sleep through his moves,
but I guess it is all part of the prep for welcoming a newborn
back into the fold.
He's already got me on his schedule!

The Best Shape

The countdown to the big 3-0 is on,
and I keep thinking about the goal I had set for myself last year
to have accomplished by my birthday.

Last year at this time,
I was in the midst of my nutritional cleanse
and my goal for 30 was to be in the best shape of my life.
I was going to eat healthy and shred my way
to physical fitness.

I was going to have a big birthday bash,
a themed costume party
with a lot of revelry,
and then we were going to discuss the idea of having another baby.

Oh how the plans have changed!

There will be no big costume party,
and the revelry will be quiet
and hopefully I will be able to stay awake for it all!
The baby discussion came in February,
altering all future plans and ideas.

I sit here now with my large bump
pressing against my laptop.
Inside it is the baby who is working out.
I eat what I can, when the mood strikes me
and it's not all healthy.
I haven't shredded since the beginning of my pregnancy,
but I have no doubt I still managed my goal.

I am in the best shape of my life.

Cerealously

I think if my doctor was to take a good look at Baby Boy P,
she would be able to see that 70 - 75% of his body may be water,
but at least 20% is cereal.


Cereal has been my go to food this pregnancy.
Although, I never eat it for breakfast,
it makes a much better lunch or dinner.
Special K with some honey has reigned supreme,
followed closely by Cinnamon Life.
For a half minute Granola made an appearance,
but did you know that a serving of granola has 19 grams of sugar?
At that rate, I'd rather indulge in some Cocoa Puffs.

One of my favorite parts of my cereal ritual
is when Rory spies the bowl.
Even if she has finished a full plate of food I get to hear,
"I eat cereal?"
Which while she may pose as a question
is actually a demand.
So, we finish the bowl together
and I know the memory of her round little cheeks
slurping up my cereal will be in my mind forever.




Sometimes I wonder if some years down the line,
Baby Boy P will wonder why he has such a love for cereal.
And I will tell him this story,
just like my Mom tells the story of how
she ate tuna almost everyday while pregnant with me,
as the anecdote of why I love me a tuna sandwich.

Full circles, I tell you!

An Unexpected Break

This week I unintentionally took a break from my blog.
It sort of bums me out, because my goal is to document our day to day -
even though I know that once Baby Boy P makes his entrance that will be super difficult.
Truth is I had a full week of un-inspiration.
At the end of the day I would sit down to write
and would come up with no better than: blah, blah blah.
And even though that is how I was feeling,
I didn't feel the need to publish that sentiment day after day.
So instead, I did laundry,
and cleaned,
and took care of sick bebes.
And wouldn't you know,
I feel better now.

Time to get back in the saddle.

How Bad Would It Be

if this was the picture we used for our holiday card?



Because getting a 2 year old, 4 year old and a 9 year old
to all smile AND look in the right direction
proved impossible.

A Lazy, Lazy Sunday

Is it six o'clock already?

Where did our day go?

Instead of all the jobs I had planned for the morning,
I snuggled my girls.
I snuck in a workout and a shower.
While they played,
I made lunch.
When Rory napped,
I did too.
And for dinner I made pancakes,
and we all decided to snuggle some more
and watch Toy Story.
Super relaxing.

Part of it may have to do with the fact that my arms look like this:



and this:


The first was a gift from the nurse who took my blood
for my Glucola test on Friday.
Every time I see it I think of how she jammed that needle right in,
and then I shudder... yikes!

The second I got while sitting down on the stairs
to help Rory with her shoes.
Carpet burns hurt!

And since I run a thousand degrees warmer than everyone
as I carry around baby boy,
though the weather has gotten cooler - I still wear short sleeves,
and these arms are a little too scary for public consumption.

Hopefully the weather will be cooler tomorrow,
I mean, c'mon - I have errands!!
:)

Hailey Gato en La Playa

It was a beautiful afternoon in Laguna,
the girls had so much fun running around the beach,
and then we had a delicious dinner
at Pei Wei.

I cannot wait to see how our pictures came out!

Practice Makes Perfect

Tomorrow we are going to have our family pictures snapped,
so tonight we practiced our best smiles




and I tried to figure out what I'm going to do with my mop top.

I was a little offended that when I showed my husband this style,


he cringed, instead of laughed which was my intended reaction.

"You're supposed to laugh!"

"I think I've seen you wear your hair like that before."

"AS IF!!! I haven't worn it like this since I was 7."

"Mmmhmmmm."

Hopefully all will go smoothly tomorrow,
like it would be really cool if
Rory will smile,
Sascha stays happy and looks right at the camera,
Hailey sticks with her real smile,
my hair looks fierce and I look only 6 months pregnant
and not 24.
John - well he always looks good and cooperates,
so he can be in charge of keeping us in check.

Pictures to come!

Lullaby & Good Night

I just finished rocking Rory to sleep,
and as I sang her a lullaby,
she sang right along.
As we finished the last line,
she was fast asleep.

I've never seen her fall asleep while singing,
and so quickly to boot.

It was very cool.

Emotional

This pregnancy has been so different from my previous,
in so many ways that I thought I was going to escape
the emotional rollercoaster that I experienced three times before.

Alas, I've been coasting on one for the past few days.
I've cried over names,
and expectations,
and weight,
and parenting ideas,
and my hair.
The fun just doesn't stop folks.

I'm determined to counter these attacks of the spirit,
with necessities like
more exercise,
and fresh air.
If those don't work I have a feeling
hot fudge brownie sundaes & chocolate donuts
will suffice.

Disney Night!

Straight from school
to D-Land,
and then an overnight at Nana & Papa's.

It dosen't get much better!

Ginormous

And I still have roughly 87 days to go!

Adventurists

So yesterday I bought a purse,
a fabulous purse that I was so excited to find.
I brought it home and noticed that the zipper was messed up.
I fiddled with it,
my mom fiddled with it,
my dad fiddled with it,
but it was broken.

The closest store for me to return it is around 30 minutes away,
so Barb and I decided to take the girls on adventure to exchange it.

And it was an adventure, oh it was.

First google maps sent us to the middle of nowhere,
and after an hour as we were driving down a winding road
on the side of a cliff,
it occurred to us that maybe we were going the wrong way.

We stopped for lunch,
asked for new directions,
and eventually found our destination.
Found my bag, made the exchange
and as the sales girl fiddled with my return
somehow the broken zipper
was fixed.

We set out home,
and were cruising along,
until all of a sudden we weren't on the freeway anymore.
So we took a tour of Escondido,
finally finding our way back to the 15.
And then home.

I am so thankful I had Barb with me today,
if I would have been alone with the girls
I probably would have had a meltdown.
We laughed, and found our way through it
and there was no doubt that it was
an adventure.

All that glitters

Today I had a wonderful day with my mom.
My hubby watched the girls,
so I got to shop and have lunch without interruption.

But, you know, I missed the interruptions.
It felt strange without my giant stroller,
I wasn't sure what to do with my arms.
And I kept seeing little ones,
and even when they were running in aisles
or under racks of clothing
it made me miss mine more.

But oh the leisure of being able to stroll along,
and look at whatever and to take as long as we wanted.
It gave us the opportunity to find these


another great gift from the parents.
I think they scream - "I'M THIRTY!!!"
(or was it thirteen?)

Last but not least, my Barb met me at my parents
and we are going to hang out for a few days.
Coupled with the hugs and kisses from my little ones
when I came in the door,
it was a pretty great day!

Almost a year ago....

I can't wait for Thanksgiving,
I'm already dreaming about stuffing.
Yum!

Good News / Bad News

I had another ultrasound today,
and while baby boy did not reveal his name choice,
we did see that the placenta had moved (yay!)
and that he is healthy (yay!)
and is on the high side of normal for his size. (yay!?!)

On the bad side, I found out my OB
will no longer be doing obstetrics after the first of the year. (boo!)
And I won't get to see my new doctor until then. (booooo!)
I hope I like her because I'm a little freaked out by this change.

I can't believe I start the third trimester on Saturday,
this boy will be here before we know it!

Not Yet

I still haven't taken down and put away our Halloween decor,
I know - don't judge,
and apparently I am way behind the game.
Monday the girls and I went to the outlets,
and the Christmas decor was out in full effect.
One of the stores was even playing Christmas music.
I thought it was a fluke.
Lo and behold at the mall today,
Christmas music playing in the stores
all decorated for the holidays.
(To be fair, I was there to buy the girls their Christmas pj's,
but in my defense they were on sale, plus I had a coupon.)
Even though it is my favorite time of year,
it is just way too soon.
I want to see pilgrims and turkeys,
cornucopias and fall colors.


I'll just have to bring the rich colors of fall
into my home,
and stay away from the malls,
until after Thanksgiving.

But you better believe that on my way home
from Turkey Day
I'll have my Christmas music playing,
and be ready to go.

But not yet.

Oh Pregnancy, I could do without this...

He Who Should Not Remain Nameless

Dear Baby Boy,

I am really having a hard time with the fact that we still haven't settled on your name. It is making your already crazy mama, even more loco and a little sad. Who knew that this was going to be so hard? Although, if this is the hardest part of the pregnancy then I'll take it. EVERYONE has an opinion or twelve, and I take them all happily, hoping that a suggestion will pop up that shouts - PICK ME - I'M IT!!

I wish I could be more zen about this, like your Daddy is, but that's not my nature. Let's hope you inherit your Daddy's zen, and not your Mama's craziness. On Thursday, I get to take another peek at you to make sure everything is as it should be, maybe you could hold up a sign or something and let us know your opinion? I realize how creepy that would be, but at this point I'm desperate.

Love you so much,
Mommy

Day One

Today, I was informed, was the first day of what my darling parents
have christened my "birthday month".
Apparently, turning the big 3-0 is a big deal.
I was gifted a fabulous necklace,
and a blue heart which I quickly dubbed,
the heart of the ocean,
and which the girls spent the afternoon
playing with.

When my parents departed,
the girls and I headed off to what Sascha calls,
"The Haircut Store"
and each of my girlies
got their locks
chopped.




A major change for Hailey!
But she looks A-dorable,
and the spunky new do',
suits her just fine.

November is here with a bang!