Just hanging out....for now

Nikki's taking her mid morning/afternoon nap and so I have some time to blog a bit. Nick is getting his Father's Day massage and we're waiting for him to get back so that we can go to lunch. Before Nick left, we met with a pool contractor to sign the paperwork for the pool remodel. I think I may have posted once before about the pool being a pain. Well, the time finally came when the pool just got the best of us. After all, it is 25 years old and when it's time, it's time. We're excited about getting it remodeled and using it. Hopefully, everything will work out just fine and we can use it without having to worry about another pipe springing a leak. It seems to always happen around summer time too. Go figure.

It took a couple of weeks to finally decide on the contractor and there was a little bit of a bidding war. I was going to go with this other guy and although I don't think I was obligated to stick with him, since we hadn't signed any contract, I changed my mind and went with this new one that gave me a better quote and more features. Soooo the first guy got all, well, not really offended, but thought we had made a verbal contract and he felt that it wasn't done right. I felt kind of sort of bad, but afterall a "buck is a buck." I hope I don't get bad karma for this.

I haven't been on here for a while....

It's been a while since I last posted. I almost forgot how to get in here. Anyways, what have I been up to? Well, Nikki is 15 months old now. She's a lot of fun and from what I can tell so far, she's got a goofy sense of humor. She's silly, she likes laughing at herself and others, enjoys it when you joke around with her, and loves it when you smother her with big kisses. Nick and I love her so much. Actually, we sometimes argue over who has kissed her more times. Frankly, I think I've kissed her about 20,000 more times than Nick has. :) Nick is still busy with work and school. As far as the latter one is concerned, I think I'm actually starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know how it would be with him out of school. Weekends with no studying? I don't know if I can handle him being home more. :) Kidding...I can't wait for that.

As far as work, since moving to the Air Quality section, I've found it to be so much more rewarding. I'm learning, I'm being challenged, I'm doing work that is meaningful (well, at least to me anyway). I'm so busy, that I no longer even use my MP3 player anymore (and this is a good thing). I hate being bored and doing the same old thing over and over again. I hate days that seem to never end. I love it that my Franklin Planner has tasks and todo lists written all over it.

I feel comfortable in my skin. Sure, there are days when I feel like crap, and I would love it if I can lose 10 pounds, but for the most part, I like me. With all my faults and everything, I like who I am. I love my Fridays off, because it allows me some time to do stuff that I want to get done (ie. errands, housework, relaxing, and maybe even a nap). Nikki keeps me busy and Nick is awesome about taking her out to give me a break. Those breaks bring some sanity back and allows me to decompress a bit. I like my freedom and when you have a rambunctious little one running around, you lose most of that. But I appreciate my breaks, my quiet moments, and I love my family beyond words. So far things are good.

My puppy

My little puppy is almost a year old. She's having her 1st birthday party in a couple of weeks. Time sure has flown by, I tell ya. I hope the fires are fully contained by then. Otherwise, I will have to resort to Plan B....whatever that is.

Maturation....

Growing up
Moving forward
Accepting your faults
Being comfortable in your own skin
Liking yourself
No longer caring what people think of you
Cherishing the people that love you
Bettering yourself for you and not anyone else
Letting go if you’re better off
Looking after yourself and those most important to you
Being considerate of others
Playing fair
Treating people the way they treat you (better or worse)
Showing interest when someone's telling a story
Not holding grudges
Being able to express your feelings to someone who has hurt you
Taking pride in what you have without being made to feel guilty
Appreciating cleverness and wit
Content
Done

Can't Break Her Fall

Mat Kearney

"Can't Break Her Fall" - I'm loving this song right now. I tried to get tickets to see him at the House of Blues but I was too late. I'd have to get them through a scalper to see him.

My Little Peanut - 2 months old

My little peanut

Born: November 18, 2006 at 8:44PM
6 lbs 9 oz, 19.5 inches

What does one do with themselves?

I technically started my maternity leave last Thursday. It was pretty good, I got some stuff done around the house and all. Come Monday of this week, I was getting stir crazy. I'm not one to sit around and clean and cook and wait. I was sort of hesitant to go out and run errands so for the whole day I was stuck at home, twittling my fingers, on the verge of going crazy. I made phone calls, went online, watched tv, took a nap, but I don't know how people can do it. Be home all day and like it. I expressed my frustrations to Nick, who had class that night and didn't get home until close to 10. On Tuesday, I woke up and thought about what I was going to do that day. I laid there in bed and thought, great another fun-filled day of being home alone and trying to find things to keep my mind occupied. Nick called a few minutes later that morning and left a message, asking me to call him back. I did and he said he was going to pick me up at noon and he was going to take me out to lunch. Really?!?!?!? I was completely surprised that he was going to leave work and meet me. I was thinking he'll take me to lunch and then he'll probably go to school and study for the rest of the day and come home early in the evening. When noon came around, he picked me up and we went out for Indian buffet. It was very good but later it gave us horrible heartburn. While waiting for the bill, I asked him if he was planning on going back to school or work. He told me he had taken the rest of the day off and was planning on spending his entire day with me. I was really surprised and happy and almost close to tears. He was so sweet for thinking of me. He knew I was somewhat upset and sad about being home and with the emotions and waiting for the baby, he decided to take the day off and take care of me. Isn't that awesome?!? I felt so special and happy and it's reinvigorated me. Today, I'm feeling much better. I've made plans to go run a few errands close to home and to try to do constructive things. I went and rented a movie to watch later this afternoon. I feel very lucky to have him.

It could happen anytime now...

Last Friday Nick and I visited the doctor and she checked to see how the pregnancy was going. She did a pelvic exam and informed us that I was at 1-1/2 centimeters dilated and that the baby has started to go down. Wow!! I had no idea. It's all starting to happen and it's so exciting. So what does that mean? She said that it could happen anytime now; in a matter of a couple days to a couple of weeks. It's a huge range, but the fact that it's all beginning to take place is pretty amazing.

Today is my official first day of maternity leave from work. Actually, with Veteran's Day last week, my last day was Wednesday. I've been doing the usual stuff around the house -- organizing, preparing, washing baby's clothes, etc. I have to pack my overnight bag and have started filling the baby's diaper bag with things she'll need. Other than that, I'm just pretty much waiting. We're almost completely done with the nursery. We have to go exchange the crib mattress because I read it's better to get a mattress that's a bit firmer with a coil count of at least 150. Yeah, I've been reading a lot about that stuff, so I'll have to wait until Nick has time or if someone else can take me to get it exchanged. I can't really leave and go by myself to run those types errands now. My brother is taking a week off from work Thanksgiving week, so that will be good.

Nick still thinks she's coming Thanksgiving weekend, around Nov 27th. My due date's the 28th. My family and I have all made bets that she will come earlier. I think I had predicted that she'll be here Nov 19th, my sister said Nov 16th and my Mom and Dad were saying Nov 20th and 21st. My brother was the only one who thought she was coming a little later at Dec 1st. Since his birthday's Dec 14th, maybe he's hoping she'll be a December baby like him. I guess we'll find out eventually when the day finally comes.

Baby Update #2

I went in for my routine checkup and everything is progressing very well. Nikki's growing and I'm sort of using my belly button as a marker to check how much she's grown. The belly button hasn't popped out yet but, ummm, I'll give it a month or so. We started our lamaze classes last Thursday. It's a 2 and a half hour class and we have to meet for a total of 5 classes. In the first class, I think the most pertinent information that was told could've taken just an hour or less. What I got out of it was that I needed to practice squatting and breathing. Since getting pregnant, I haven't really been excercising a whole lot. When the times comes and I have to deliver Nikki, muscles that I haven't been exercising will get a shocking surprise. So essentially, I need to practice squatting so when it is time, I'm hoping the pain won't be as bad and I'll have better stamina. But who the hell knows if all this is true?!? I'm just hoping that what they're telling me will help and if I prepare enough, it will ease the pain and discomfort. Just 8 more weeks to go until baby comes! I'll be on my 8th month next week and so the count down continues.

P.S. I'm blessed with an amazing husband. He threw me a surprise Baby Shower last weekend and it was wonderful. There were maybe 70 or so people that attended and he had Hawaiian dancers perform. Although, I wasn't completely surprised, he still managed to pull it off and did an awesome job at that. I'm very lucky!!!

The proud Papa!

Why you....

I overheard a salesperson at Babies R 'Us make the following comment, "Yeah, they're better than the Dodgers. The Dodgers never win anymore." WTF?!?!? The Dodgers are in a freakin' penant race you stupid B@#TCH!!! Sorry, I just had to let that out. Come on, if you know nothing about a topic just keep your gums shut!! HAHA

Nick bought Nikki a pink Angels outfit. He says she can wear it on game day. It's very cute and all but I don't watch any of the Angels games. I'm going to have to find a Dodgers outfit for her, because whether he likes it or not, she'll be rooting for my team!

Tappa....tappa...tappa....

The baby sure is active. She keeps kicking and squirming in my tummy. I think she wants to come out, but she isn't done yet. Nick, for the first time, felt her kicks. I told him to place his hand on my belly and within a few seconds she gave me two BIG kicks. Pretty cool!

Baby Ticker

Baby Update

So I went in for my routine checkup yesterday. One of the items in the agenda was to discuss the results of the AFP test and the ultrasound, which I had done a couple of weeks ago. I looked down at the paperwork in front of me and saw the word "twin" written at the very top of the ultrasound results. I didn't think much of it at first because when they were doing the ultrasound, there were no signs that showed I was carrying more than one baby. Well, the doctor noticed this and said that it definitely looked like a mistake because the results on the ultrasound was only referring to one fetus. To confirm, she pulled out the ultrasound and we took a look at my little girl. She looked so cute! :) And she looked like she's grown! She was moving around and was very active. I actually feel her movements quite often in my tummy. Anyways, the doctor said that it appeared like there was only one baby and that the radiology department must have goofed. I'm hoping this was the only thing they goofed because everything else looked fine.

It was an interesting feeling, thinking for a split moment that you may be having twins. There was a feeling of slight elation at first, obviously. But when you start thinking of how much work would be involved with two, utter relief comes over you when they tell you there's just the one. Maybe we'd be fortunate enough to have twins the second time around but for now, we're just ecstatic with the little one on the way. I'm now half way there...

Cute little peanut nose

At almost 5 months, the belly is expanding a bit quicker and has gotten quite firm. The baby's still fairly small so I don't know if the size and firmness of the belly is all baby or some of it is from gas. haha We went in for the ultrasound last Monday before the 4th of July. We saw the baby alright, and it further confirms that there is something 'a brewing inside my stomach.

Prior to going into the examining room, we had to wait at least an hour. We were at Kaiser and so it wasn't a total shock that they'd be running late. I was supposed to have a full bladder to facilitate the ultrasound exam. I had been trying to hold my bladder for over an hour. How the hell are you supposed to do that and to top it off they're running late! I had enough of it and just decided to go. Right after I finished, I was finally called in. When we were about to go in the nurse tells Nick he'd have to wait an additional 20 minutes so she can do what she needs to do. Whatever that means. Poor Nick. So she and I go behind the white curtains and I laid myself down on the bed. She slathers this gel on my stomach, which I was expecting to be cold on first contact but it was the opposite. Nice and warm and soothing, it was. So the nurse is doing her thing. The probe is on my belly, she's moving it around and I'm watching her. I can't really see the monitor because she has it right in front of her and I'm at an angle. She's not really telling me what she's doing. So I start asking questions. Uhh, whatcha doing there? Does the baby look all right? Is it a boy or a girl? She tells me she's looking at the organs, bones, etc. and that she can't provide any results to me. The doctor would have to say what all these pictures mean. OK....so when can I check out my baby? So she tells me she's taking a bunch of pictures and she can't really talk now because she's concentrating.

Eventually, Nick is allowed in and he stands behind the nurse and has a better view of the monitor. Because of the silence, he starts in on the questions too. I ask him to shush because she's concentrating. He starts making faces and the nurse tells him she can see his reflection from the monitor. haha FINALLY, she is done taking the pictures she needs and turns the monitor towards us for a better view.

We see the baby moving around and are shown different views. We got to see the profile, the body, hands and feet, and even the vertebrae. It was all pretty amazing. Then the nurse asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Of course we did! So, from what she can see, Nick and I will be having a baby girl!!!! Nick says he confirms it, as he can tell, obviously, that the baby appeared to be a girl. We do have a name for her. I'll share that name later.

Likey the new look?

The last couple of weeks have been busy, busy, busy. It's nice to be home this weekend and be able to take care of things around the house.

Maui was glorious. Awesome weather, beautiful torquoise blue ocean, relaxing time. We swam, layed out at the beach, worked on our tan, and got to be away from the daily grind back in civilization.

Then it was off to Santa Barbara to meet up with some friends. Good times as well. We got to see live performances, make bracelets out of flowers, watch a marathon of Pride & Prejudice, and do a bit of cooking at home. Thanks for letting us crash you guys. You were so hospitable.
Trang showing me how to make bracelets out of flowers

Weekends

I've been so lazy lately, especially on the weekends. Lazy in a sense that I don't feel like getting dressed to go outside and run errands. Today I have a list of things to do....go shopping for my trip to Maui, buy a gift for a friend's little boy whose birthday is tomorrow, buy my Dad's Father's Day gift, go to the dry cleaners, etc, etc. Instead I'm here writing this blog about being lazy and not wanting to go outside. I think it's the whole having to get ready and dressed thing that's putting me off. I'm on my second trimester. Clothes are beginning to not fit as well as they used to. That's why I really need to go shopping. I need someone to just come to my house, pick me up, throw some clothes on me, make me go out and drive me to the stores. Ehhhh....Lazy indeed.

Little Nick(ie)

Nick's namesake....
At 8 weeks

Maui...here we come!

For a while now, I've been telling people that I need a vacation. More than anything, I'm in need of a vacation from work. I think I've complained about it before. My coworkers now are a bit on the dry side. I have only 1 buddy who can make me laugh out loud. He's someone who I can talk to about anything and everything. Yet there's another person who I just want to strangle. I've never disliked anyone before in a work environment. Sure, there's people that are annoying and that irritate you on occasion. But I've never said I really disliked like someone before. Unfortunately, he's someone I have to share an office with. He's just the most rigid, opinionated, stuffy, boring blow-hard that I've ever met. I'm at a point now that I no longer want talk to this person. I'm sure he knows I don't like him. And I don't really care anymore. There was a time when I just wanted to pack all of my things and move to the office across the hall. I'm sure I'll want to do this again. But now, I'm coping. I've come to terms with the fact that I don't need to talk to this person. If I want to have a conversation with someone normal and sane, I can leave the room and find people else where. I'm fine with that now. So, going back to taking a vacation. I was at work one day and I thought, the hell with it let's plan a vacation now. We were thinking of taking a vacation sometime in September or after the new year. But f*#$ it! Now that there's a new addition coming in the near future, we should do that before we're bogged down with new responsibilities. So, yes!! I've booked a trip to Maui and we're going in mid-June. I'm really excited!
Ahhhh...relaxing, laying out, and sipping my virgin Pina Colada....

So...tired...

I am sooooo tired. Lately, I've been plotting and dreaming about when I can take my next nap. I plan out my day so that I can find someplace to nap. I drove to my Mom's after work today so I can nap. I'm thinking about tomorrow. During my lunch break, I'm going to drive to the beach to.....guess what? Nap.