Having a bad day??

Then this should make it better! I don't care if it's gas or not, I still think it's the most precious thing in the world.

He rolled over!

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but Jonathan rolled from tummy to back at 8 days old! At first I thought it was a fluke, but he's done it quite a few times since then. Can somebody please send him the memo that he's not allowed to grow up? It's so funny, with your first all you want is for them to hit these milestones, but by your third (and probably last) you want them to wait.

Christmas Pictures

Life with a newborn has kept us busy, but blissfully happy. Luckily for us Jonathan is proving to be a very easy baby! *knock on wood* My mom wanted family Christmas pictures done, so we all headed to Sears yesterday to do that. She was nice enough to allow us to have some taken of our immidiate family and I'm so happy with the way they turned out. We are truly blessed this Christmas.

Introducing

Baby Jonathan!

Born December 4, 2008, 8:00am
9lbs 5oz, 21 inches long

We are home and doing great and loving life with our new son! The girls are totally in love with him! Hopefully I'll be able to blog more soon, but since we just got home, I'm going to go enjoy some time with my new family.

The Magic of Christmas

I'm normally one of those people who complains that Christmas comes too early. Who am I kidding, I'm still that way this year. Add to it the fact that I am hugely pregnant and have a miserable cold -- I'm sure I was beginning to look a lot like the grinch.

Nacho decided that we should put our tree up this past weekend just to make sure we actually got it up since the arrival of this new one will undoubtedly throw any plans out the window. We would like to keep things as normal for the girls as possible since their world is about to be turned upside down and decorating the tree is something they love...and it's important to me that we all do it together. I personally thought it was a bit early to be putting it up, even if Thanksgiving is later this year, until we went to the mall on Saturday and Santa was already there. If Santa has arrived, then the tree is fair game!

When we got home from school yesterday, Lexi ran into our house, looked at the tree and started yelling "Christmas is here! Christmas is here!" She begged me to turn the lights on, which I was happy to oblige. Both girls sat there and stared at the tree, talked about who's ornaments were who's, played with these musical present boxes they have...for an entire 30 minutes! They didn't care there are no presents under the tree yet or that we're not doing any other decorations this year. They are totally taken with our tree. When I look at it through their eyes, it's not so bad that Christmas comes earlier each year.

On a funny note, we may have confused Lexi a little bit. Way back when we found I was pregnant we told them that the baby would come after we put our tree up, trying to give them a general frame of reference. I didn't realize she was taking things so literal already because yesterday morning when she got up she asked me if it was time to have the baby now since we put our tree up. All I could tell her was I sure hope so!

Pictures of my beautiful girls

Just because I can :)

Baby update

Just a very quick update - I'm 36 weeks today, which means that I've got 4 more weeks left if I make it to my due date. I don't know where the time went because after months of it seeming so far away, it's now right around the corner. I had a dr's appt yesterday - everything is looking good - blood pressure, weight gain, baby's heartrate. She did say that the baby is very low (and still head down - yay!), but no progress yet. Which honestly doesn't mean much since it was the same with both girls and I still had both of them early.

I think right now Samantha is the most anxious waiting for the baby to get here and wants it here NOW! Trying to explain to a 4 year old that I don't know the exact date the baby will get here is hard, but at least now we're counting down in weeks (and even days), which makes it a little easier. She's also now decided she thinks we're having a girl. Alexandra says she wants the baby here now too, but I'm not sure she really understands what she's asking for. But they have both been busy making lists of all the things they're going to help with and going through all their old toys deciding which ones would be good for the baby. Having them this excited makes things so much easier!

So we're still on baby watch. I have an appt next week and if anything changes at that one, I'll be sure to update.

It's been awhile

I realized I've been slacking on my blog, but things have been crazy around here and not in a good way. I honestly don't have the energy to go into all the details right now, but we've all been on a roller coaster regarding my grandmother's (Nana) health. Halloween was looking very dire for her when she got rushed the ER because she was unresponsive, but by the end of the weekend looked like things were turning around, despite the pneumonia they deteremined she had. She was sent home earlier than expected from the hospital and into skilled nursing at her retirement community and things were going really well. That was until this past Sat. when things seemed to be going south again. We went to see her on Sunday and I'm pretty sure she didn't recognize us, even though she was thrilled to see people. And she wasn't making one bit of sense when she talked to us. The frustrating part (more for her, I'm sure) is I could tell she knew she wasn't getting out what she was trying to say. They started an IV because her labs (sodium in particular) were bad and an hour later it was like a whole new person. There had been some talk about readmitting her to the hospital if her labs didn't get better, but as of the last update she's still in skilled nursing, so that's good. She hasn't been eating for awhile now, so the IV is essential. But they can't keep the IV in forever and until they can get her eat something, it looks like it's she's going to stay on this roller coaster. Which means that all of us who love her will stay on this ride with her.

My ballet days are over!

Since Lexi turned 3 over the weekend, she finally gets to move up into the 3-4 year old ballet class, meaning my days in the Mommy & Me class are done. When I asked yesterday about her moving up the first week of November, I was told she could move up any time. That would have been helpful to know the times I asked/confirmed before and before I had her dressed and at the studio for her original class. But hey, at least I'm out of it one week before I thought I'd be. Then, even though I've asked at least 3 times in the past about room in Sam's class and was assured there was plenty, when I tried to enroll her in it yesterday, I was told it was full. Luckily the lady took pity on me and agreed that squeezing one more child in the class wouldn't be that big a deal. So next Thursday, I only have to go to the studio once!

And this couldn't have come at a better time because my doctor informed me at my appt. on Tuesday that I need to stop overdoing it and start taking it easy. I don't know how that's possible with two preschoolers and the holidays coming up, but I'll do my best. The appt. was boring, which is good. She let the girls help her measure and do the doppler to hear the heartbeat. I truly appreciate her getting the girls involved because even though they're both excited, every little bit helps. If I go to my due date, which I didn't with either girl, I've got just under 7 weeks left. It's going by fast! Oh and still no names yet. But we might be making some headway there.

Lexi had her 3 year appt. and is doing great. She's hit all the milestones for her age and is advanced in some. She was less than cooperative with the hearing & vision tests, so we'll go back in a few months for those. He said most kids this age are the same way though. She's 38. 5 inches (77%) and 34lbs 4oz (81%)....so she's solid, but perfect on the BMI scale at just above 50%. Oh and we all got our flu shots...well shot for me, mist for the girls. They were thrilled to skip the shots and thought it was hilarious that mom had to get one.

Is this election over yet?

I know this is a historic election and I do realize the importance of it, but I am so tired of it. I'm tired of how ugly it has become, not just between the two candidates, but between their supporters. People who in any other situation are great friends, yet you bring up this election and you'd think they hate eachother. When did it become so personal? When did people stop being able to discuss issues without it turning into personal attacks. The great thing about this country is we're allowed to have different views and vote based on those. I'm tired of the non-stop political ads, both for president and the propositions. I'm tired of every piece of mail we get being a political ad. I'm tired of listening to news, which is so biased in so many ways. I'm tired of the candidates not giving straight answers. I'm tired of watching people become so divided. I just hope the next week and half goes quickly and that people are able to come back together after this election, even if their candidate is not the one who wins.

Speaking of which....although I realize for the area I live in, I'm in the minority with my vote for president, you can kindly stop forwarding me emails about how horrible he is - especially when the majority of it isn't even factual. And I'm not going to change my mind. And I couldn't even if I wanted to, which I don't, because I mailed my ballot in yesterday.

Crazyness in our neighborhood yesterday

This past weekend we went up to my dad and stepmom's so they could see Lexi for her birthday, since they won't be able to make it this coming weekend. It was a great weekend and it gave us a chance to celebrate our niece's birthday, which we never get to do since she was born the exact day Lexi was (1 hour apart!) and we live almost 4 hours away from eachother.

Anyways, we get home last night and I notice some strange people standing on our neighbor's front porch (they live across the street from us) and all of the front porch furniture is gone. I go inside to get the girls dinner while Nacho unloads the car. He comes in to tell me that he's going to talk to our other neighbor Kim to see what's going on because now these people have taken a ladder out of their truck and are proceeding to climb in through a second floor bathroom window. Kim happens to be coming out at the same time to confront the people and the girl with them claims to be the owner's niece and she was told it was ok. She goes inside to a now unlocked front door, gets the guys and they all haul ass out of there....taking the light fixture from the dining room with them. Nacho and I are beyond confused at this point because who breaks in to take a light fixture? Kim tells us that earlier that day 3 flatbed trucks pulled up and the owners stripped the house of EVERTHING. They ripped out the granite countertops, the kitchen cabinets, the built in double oven, the dishwasher....you get the picture. Yep, they were forclosed on and before the bank takes possession at noon today the took everything they possible could. I can't believe it. The window coverings and air conditioning unit are still there so I'm sure they'll be back in the next few hours to get those. Oh, and the idiots who broke in there last night (who probably are friends of the soon to be ex owners) left the bathroom window wide open when the left. And we're pretty sure they would have taken more if the whole block hadn't been standing outside watching them. I know somebody called the police at some point, but they never talked to us, so I'm not sure if they even came down to check it all out.

I'm sure the bank will be thrilled when they go in to change the locks today. And I guess the owners are blaming the bank for being forclosed on. Turns out their original house payment was $7,000/month and after their ARM expired went up to $8,900. Trust me, the mortgage company was negligent in ever letting anybody have that kind of loan, but were is the personal responsbility in all of this? They had to know they couldn't afford that. The forclosure notice went up about 3 months ago, but they moved back in, so we thought they had worked something out with the bank. Turns out they tried to rent it to some poor young girl and got caught by the sales office, so I guess they just decided to live in it.

I don't know, but the more I think about all of it the angrier I get because this makes for forclosure #2 on our street -we only have 11 houses total. Like our property value wasn't already in the tank. I'm scared to know what this is going to do it.

RSVPing

Can somebody please tell me what's so damn hard about RSVPing to something, especially when it's specifically asked for? We are having Lexi's 3rd birthday this weekend and even though I asked for all RSVPs by yesterday we're still waiting on over half our guest list. For most people that might not be a big deal, but because of the sizes of our families that's still at least 35 people who haven't answered. I have no idea how much food to buy and at this point there won't be any party favors because I'm not about to buy them for kids who may or may not show up. And I even make it easy by providing my phone number and email address, so that people who don't want to talk or don't have time to can just drop me a simple email. This is nothing new, so I shouldn't be surprised, but it doesn't change how frustrated I am over the whole thing. The only thing that makes this funny is watching these same people stress out when it's their party and they're not getting any RSVPs.

So, if you're one of the people who hasn't RSVPd yet and you're reading this, can you please take the 30 seconds to do so now? Or I might decide not to feed you if you do show up.

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year again....where the stupid pumpkin patch stops traffic. Literally. I feel like kind of a hypocrit even typing this because we've actually gone to said pumpkin patch, but it's not going to stop me from complaining. Some brilliant planners decided a pumpkin patch right on the side of the freeway was a great idea. The problem is the minute the corn and pumpkins start growing, traffic comes to a dead stop. I was coming home on Sunday, the 21st of September...a full 6 weeks before Halloween, and the traffic had already started slowing down. It's pumpkins and corn people!! It's nothing special. And it's there every year. Not like it changes. And to the idiot drivers in this area, it doesn't matter if there are people there or not - they stop to look anyways. Last year, the weekend before Halloween traffic was stopped over 20 miles back because of this stupid pumpkin patch. I hope I don't have to go north for very much because I'll be pissed about this for the next 6 weeks if I do. But since I'm sure we'll end up there again this year, I'll be sure to wave to all of you who feel the need to stop and look.

Names

Quick update first: the glucose screening came back negative, so I don't have gestational diabetes, so yay for that! I am however slightly anemic. I had the same problem when I was pregnant with Samantha and it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed with eating more iron rich foods and taking an iron suppliment every other day. So I guess I'll do the same this time.

Now if we could only agree on names for this little one. At the rate we're going it's going to be No Name Lua. I knew it wouldn't be easy, based on how long it took us to come up with names for the girls, but I didn't think it would like this. Our tastes are polar opposites this time around. I thought we had agreed on a boy's name, since Nacho was the one who suggested it, but now he's not sure, so we're back to square one on that too. We've tried making lists and vetoing out the other person's, but that just gave us a full list of crossed off names. I do have hope still, since we didn't come up with a name for Samantha until 2 weeks before I had her. But I did tell Nacho if we don't agree on names by the time the baby is here, I'm letting Samantha name him/her. Not seriously, but I did remind him that I'm the one who fills out the birth certificate. So when you ask if we've picked names and we tell you no, we're honestly telling you the truth.

Dr's appt. update

I had a doctor's appt. on Tuesday and it's the first time I've had to take both girls without Nacho's help. Let me tell what an experience that was, lol. The baby is doing good - heartbeat around 150, still measuring about 2 weeks ahead, but she assures me that's nothing to be concerned about, and moving all over the place. She did tell me that she believes the baby is laying with it's back against mine, which is why I can feel it EVERY time the baby kicks, moves, etc. and why I'm having lower back pain, which has been happening a lot this pregnancy. I'm really hoping this baby decides to flip because I had back labor with both girls and I'm not looking forward to having it again. As for me, I've gained a total of 12lbs - dr. wishes it was more, but since I've still got about 12-13 weeks left, I think it's fine. Which also means that I start my 3rd and final trimester on Wednesday. I can't believe we're in the home stretch already. So I've got another appt. in 4 weeks and then they start going to every 2-3 weeks (which is how I know I'm close to the end). Oh yeah, I have to my glucose test on Monday, so if you could all pray that I pass it, that would be great. I haven't had problems in the past and I don't want to start now.

Ballet has started again

Ballet has started again for the girls and this year we have changed studios. There is a multitude of reasons on why we did, but the biggest being that Miss Amy, Sam's beloved teacher has taken some time off from teaching and she was honestly the only reason we stayed at the old studio.

So we just did week 2 of ballet at the new studio and the girls seems to be loving it. And when I say we, yes I mean me too. Little did I know that the 2 year old program is actually a Mommy and me class. So not only does Sam have to sit and watch, something I'm sure that is driving her nuts (although she's been so well behaved), I get to actually dance with Lexi. I'm almost 7 months pregnant. Can I tell you, it's one thing to *know* you look like a giant whale pretending to be a graceful ballerina...and a whole other thing to actually be able to see yourself in the wall to wall studio mirrors. Luckily she's only in this class until the end of October, when she'll get to move into the 3 year old class with Samantha. This is a day we're all looking forward to: for me...I only have to drive to the studio once instead of the 2x on Thurs we're doing now AND I can sit in the lobby while they dance and not partcipate. For Sam: she doesn't have sit and watch others dance while she can't join in and finally for Lu: who informed me on her first day she doesn't actually want us in her classroom, she wants to do it herself.

Don't get me wrong, I've loved being able to share this with Lu since as the 2nd born, she's mostly been dragged around to Samantha's stuff or at the least had to share it with her. So this all about her and she gets my attention. I just wish I could have done it when I wasn't so pregnant...and so sore...and so tired. But that's for another post ;)

Today

is the first morning I'm by myself and I'm not sure what do with myself. Even though the girls have been back in school for weeks, the way our vacation and holidays fell, they've only been going on Wednesdays, which is the day I help out in the classroom. I'm sure they're doing fine, but I do worry a little bit about Lexi since I think she might actually believe I go to preschool with them. But she did give me a kiss and hug this morning and ran into the classroom, so I guess I don't actually have anything to be worried about.

But I've done the laundry and picked up the house, resisted the urge to drive through Starbucks and now I don't know what to do. I'm sure there is a million things I could find if I actually tried, but that doesn't seem like much fun. I do have plans to work on Lexi's scrapbook (like actually start it before this baby comes), but I think that's a project better put off for future weeks.

I guess I'll just take the rest of my morning and relax, something I don't get to much of. Because the next few months are going to fly by and I'll no longer have the time to myself.

First day of school

Well, it was the first day of school for the Lua girls, who've been itching to go back (please let them keep this enthusiasm in later years!). I tried and tried to coax Lexi out of bed this morning nice and sweetly...you know "Lexi, time to get up. Honey, time to get up." No response and her eyes are clamped shut. Then I say "it's time for your first day of school and the eyes pop open and she's jumped out bed ready to go. She even had her backpack on before her shoes and a full 15 minutes before we had to leave the house.

I signed up to volunteer in the classroom this year (Weds) until the baby comes, so today was my first day. It was amazing to be able to watch them do their thing, but damn am I tired. Who knew preschool could be so hard. But Lexi, who I thought might have problems with me staying (asking me for help instead of the teachers, etc) was completely oblivious to the fact that I was even there. I guess I should be proud instead of hurt, right? The teachers were amazed with how much Sam has learned from last year, which is funny since we didn't really do any "teaching" projects this summer. But I can tell she's already excelling as one of the few 2nd year preschoolers....she loves knowing how it's all done. But she's very sweet and took very good care of her little sister today, making sure she wasn't left out and explaining to her what was going on. Makes a mom proud!

Do-over Day

Do you ever have a day where you think it might be better to just climb back into bed and pretend it never started? That's been my day. Nothing horrible has happened, but there have been enough little things added up that it's made it feel that way. And I can't even have a glass of wine to calm my nerves. It started with our satellite receiver not working - AGAIN! We just had this receiver replaced last month because of a similar issue. And Dish Network customer service is such a joke. I'm so tired of them. Hopefully Nacho can get somewhere with them when he gets home tonight. Then our internet was working at a snails pace this morning. And of course it's the morning where I *have* to do something while trying to get out the door in minutes. I decided I would take the girls to see the last $1 movie of the summer and since I'm already running later than I wanted, of course I would get stuck behind a wide load trailer who's taking both lanes of the freeway, making us late for said movie. Don't even ask why it't still two lanes each direction here...stupid people in Novato who won't agree to the expansion.

So we get to the movies, get settled and everything seems to be going great. Then starts Lu's million and one potty trips that produce nothing. I know this is a part of potty training, but it doesn't make it any less annoying. Plus she's actually potty trained and usually only says she has to go when she has to go. After the movie, we go over to Target to get the girls' school supplies. Why do preschoolers need school supplies when we pay tution for them? I have no idea, but at least the list isn't as extensive as it was last year. And no suprise, the school section is a mad house. I repeated to Sam that she must stay right next to me if she wants to walk. She's doing great. I look next to me and she's right there. Until the time I look (maybe 15 seconds) and she's not. So I say "Samantha" thinking she's right there. Nothing. So I start yelling "Samantha" and of course panicking like any parent would do. She comes running over, apparently having been distracted by some markers and glitter, but behind a display that was taller than her. I know it couldn't have been more than 5 seconds until I found her again, but my stomach dropped. And I'm not sure whether any mother would react this way or it's just the hormones, but I burst into tears in the middle of Target because I was so relieved. She of course felt horrible and kept saying "sorry" over and over again.

The whole day wasn't bad...we did get to have lunch with Nacho which was a nice treat. And now we're home, safe and sound. The girls are napping (or pretending to) and I've got a few minutes to collect myself. Thank goodness our vacation is almost here!

What paperless society?

There has been a bunch of talk over recent years about how we're moving more towards a paperless society. I want to know how that's possible when I have more paper to deal with than ever before.

Today I had to fill out all of the girls papers for school. You'd think I was filling out college applications for the amount of paper they sent. I think I had somewhere around 12 forms per child to fill out. I'm glad they cover all their basis, but how many different forms do they need the emergency contacts on? Speaking of school, I just realized that in the first 3 weeks of school, the girls will only go 4 days. Oops. They're signed up for 3 days/week right now, with school starting Aug. 20th. So the days they'd go would be Aug. 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, Sept. 1, 3 & 5 (for those first 3 weeks). Let's do a breakdown:
August 20th - first day, they'll be there
August 22nd - we're going on vacation
August 25th - still on vacation
August 27th - they'll be there
August 29th - teacher inservice day
September 1st - Labor Day
September 3 & 5th - they'll be there

I'll take responsibility that planning a vacation (long weekend) the first week of school probably wasn't the best thinking on my part. But in my defense I didn't know when school started (what happened to it starting after Labor Day?) and I didn't know how many days a week the girls would go. Last year Sam only went 2, so if we had done the same, they wouldn't have missed any school. But who plans a teacher inservice day for the second week of school? Has so much already happened that they need the prep day? Let's not mention that they will have just had one the Monday before school started, making 2 in 2 weeks. I think it's an easy way to turn Labor Day into a 4 day weekend.

But enough venting. They're both signed up for school. They're both signed up for ballet. It's going to be quiet around here in a few weeks. What am I going to do with all that free time until the baby comes? I'm sure I'll find something ;)

He wasn't kidding!

Nacho really did work with a bunch of idiots! Yesterday was his last day and he asked for his final paycheck. The CFO said they would get them next week with the regular payroll. So Nacho showed him the CA state law stating that when an employee is laid off or terminated they are to receive their paycheck that day. The CFO agreed that it was in fact law and that they were in fact going to break it because they wouldn't issue final paychecks until next week. Nacho told him he now had no choice but to go the labor board, which I'm sure they didn't believe he'd follow through with. But yesterday afternoon we drove to the local office to file the claim and they informed us that Nacho will get paid for everyday (not just work days) that they do not give him his check, so if that's next Thursday, that's 7-8 days of extra pay. She did say it will take a couple of weeks, but it's all worth it. I'm sure the company will fight it, but it's pretty obvious, especially with all the emails we gave the labor board, that they knowingly and willingly broke a law. And this doesn't even get into some of the fines from the state they might incure. Who is stupid enough to willingly break a state law?

Thank goodness Nacho started his new job today!

Baby update

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. I've finally started putting weight, which the doctor is happy about. We went over the ultrasound results and everything looks great. After the scare we had when I was pregnant with Samantha, you can imagine this is of great relief! She did agree that the baby was measuring a little ahead, but not enough to change to my due date, so that remains Dec. 10th. For the first time in any of my pregnancies I'm measuring big, about 2-3 weeks. I don't really know what that means - she suggested maybe the baby would come early (but hopefully not too early), I'd have a bigger baby (and since Sam was 8lbs 2oz and Lexi was 7lbs 14oz, I'm hoping that isn't the case) or it will just even itself out later in the pregnancy. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, we can finally feel the baby kick, which it always finds fun to do as I'm falling asleep, but is exciting none the less. I guess that's all for now. My next appt. is in early Sept, so maybe I'll have more to update then.

Good news in the Lua house!

We've have a week filled with good news. First of all, I had my 20 week ultrasound on Monday and the baby is looking great! The baby is measuring a week ahead and the u/s tech showed a due date of Dec. 4, but I'm not sure my doctor will actually change the date since it's so arbitrary to begin with. But I'll find out for sure next week. The baby is weighing about 15oz and growing right on schedule. I haven't heard from my doctor, so I'm guessing there isn't anything to be concerned about. And we did stay yellow team. Sorry to all those who thought we might cave.

Second, Lexi has decided she wants to potty train! We started last week and today is day 6 (!!) without accidents. *knock on wood*. She's taken this on like a pro and is so proud of herself. And I guess the bribing with candy doesn't hurt either, lol. She's still in pull-ups at night, but I can deal with that. Now, she can start both school and ballet next month AND I'll only have one in diapers come December.

And lastly, Nacho got a new job! We haven't really talked much about this because frankly, it's starting to feel like a broken record. Nacho left his job at Accuchex last year because he had been recommended for a job elsewhere with better pay and benefits. He thought he was doing what was best for his family and at the time I supported him completely. Turns out he ended up miserable at the new place and as our luck has seemed to be, he found out about 2 months ago that they were being sold and he would be losing his position. (That would make 5 places since 2002 that have closed/sold). It seemed like a blessing in disguise because he was so unhappy there, but the job market is tough and his last day of July 31st was quickly approaching. A little bit stressful to say the least considering we're a one income family and I'm pregnant making private health insurance hard (and expensive) to get. Well, as luck would have it, Accuchex called him and was interested in bringing him back! He found out yesterday that he will start there August 1st, with benefits starting for all of us Sept. 1st. So congrats Nacho!

Our anniversary

Yesterday was our anniversary - 9 years! Can you believe it? We went out to a wonderful dinner at the Melting Pot, sans kids. It's not often we go out to dinner with out the girls, so this was a nice treat. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant and it is soooo good! I would highly recommend it. We ordered their Big Night Out dinner which is four courses and so much food - cheese fondue of your choice, salad of your choice, a whole meat selection (ours had pork, two types of steak, chicken and shrimp) with a dozen or so dipping sauces and then of course the chocolate fondue of your choice (we did the Yin & Yang, which is dark chocolate and white chocolate), which in my opinion is the whole reason to go. I ate so much I told Nacho he could just roll me home.

Whirlwind of Activity

We returned from Boston just about two weeks ago, but it's been crazy ever since we got back. Right after we got home, we headed up to Shasta to see my dad and Leann, which was so much fun. Luckily, except for some bad air (smokey) the fires haven't affected them too much. Then Nacho took my grandparents down to Santa Barbara for a few days for a funeral. I'd like to say that we're staying home for awhile, but we just found out we're heading to Seattle for a weekend in two weeks. And then we have our last Disneyland trip before our passes expire in August. BUT after that, things will be settling down around here as we await the arrival of our little one in December.

The Boston trip was wonderful and for anybody wondering the girls did fabulous on the red-eye out. The fell asleep 1/2 hour into the flight and we had to wake them up on landing. Of course that meant I was pinned to my seat by their little heads all night. We got to do and see so much and I still feel like we only saw a fraction of the city. We did take two side trips, one to Salem and one to Cape Cod...I liked Cape Cod better, but I'm sure Salem would be great if we didn't have two little girls who were completely terrified of witches. I'm so glad we went and that we took the extra time to really explore the city. For anybody who might be interested in pictures and didn't get my email of them, here is a link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZOGzdqzbMdA

Traveling

Right I'm procrasting on our packing, even though we leave tomorrow. First of all, wish us luck because we're flying to the east coast on a red-eye. This will either work perfectly or I'll regret it forever. I've told both girls many times that we need to sleep when we get on the plane and I have their blankets, little pillows and lovies ready, so hopefully they go with the plan. But now on to my vent about traveling. We're going to the east coast for 10 days. We're a family of 4. Now that so many airlines are implementing the first bag charge, how are families, or anybody for that matter, supposed to travel? Luckily, we booked these tickets before the change and I don't think our airline has actually made it, but it still pisses me off. The second bag charge, while I don't like it, I can understand. But the first bag? Really? Since we're only allowed a total of 4 quart size bags (1 for each of us) with bottles under 3oz, I can't pack all of our toiletries in our carry on, which means I have to pack a checked bag. Oh and let's not forget that that checked bag has to be under 50lbs or you get charged. Why can't they just add the first bag charge to price of the ticket, where I won't really notice it? They still get their money and I won't be so pissed off thinking I'm getting dinged for something stupid.

Official Announcement

So now that I'm officially in my second trimester and we've now had two ultrasounds, I guess it's time to make the official announcement that we're expecting Baby Lua #3!! Now if you've seen or talked to Samantha in the last three months then you already know, since she has told everybody. Heck she was even telling people before we knew I was pregnant. To answer the most common questions - baby is due Dec. 10th, I'm hoping closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas, we will stay yellow team again this time (not finding out the gender until the birth), no we are trying for a boy (we'll be happy with either!) and we don't have any names picked out yet. Both girls are completely excited and are eagerly anticipating the new arrival. Although they're having a really hard time with the concept of another 6 months, so we just keep telling them after the Christmas tree goes up. I hope they don't think right after. Uh oh, I might have some more explaining to do to them as it gets closer. Oh and I'm 99.9% sure Thanksgiving will NOT be at our house this year - at least not the size it was last year. So we'll keep you updated as the pregnancy progresses. The picture is from the latest ultrasound with the baby waving hello - sorry it's not clear but the baby wouldn't sit still much.

Oh, they make me laugh

Samatha has a memory like none other. It's actually scary sometimes and we've learned never to promise anything we may not follow through with because she will remember. Case in point, driving home last week Nacho and I were having a discussion about languages and about assuming certain people speak a language other than English. Sam pipes up from the back seat and tells that Isabella speaks English. I start wracking my brain for somebody she goes to school with named Isabella and I come up with nothing. Finally she says "remember Mom, Isabella is Daddy's boss. We met her once." Ok. We did meet her once, in November, for about 30 seconds. How does she remember this? The funniest part of all of it though? Nacho has worked with her for 10 months, each and every day and still calls her Elizabeth.

Alexandra has transitioned to a toddler bed and it's going great! The other night I hear wimpering from her room so I go in to make sure she's ok. This is how our conversation went:

Me: What's wrong sweetheart?
Lexi: Nothing
Me: Are you sure?
Lexi: I crying
Me: Why?
Lexi: Cause I sad
Me: Why?
Lexi: Cause I not ok
Me: Why?
Lexi: Cause I want to go to school

So I tried to explain to her again that she needs to start going on the potty to go to school and ballet. Since nothing has changed I'm guessing she's ignoring me or just doesn't care. Somebody else feel like trying to explain to her because she is still upset that she isn't going to school.

Preschool Promotion

Ok, let me start by saying in theory I think the promotion thing has a gotten a little out of hand. BUT, when it's my child it's absolutely adorable and wonderful. Of course, Samantha isn't actually going onto Kindergarten next year, but she had fun none the less. Her preschool held their promotion on Tuesday, where they sang and danced for us, got some certificates and we all ate cake. Not a bad day. Samantha sang all the songs perfectly, but decided for some reason not do any of the accompanying hand movements/dance. When I asked her about it she said she's waiting until it's her turn to go to Kindergarten and then she'll do them. So next year, I'm expecting a big show from her :) Today is their last day of school and I never thought I'd be so excited about it, but I am. Luckily we have a trip planned in two weeks or I think she'd be lost.

She's really a big girl now!

Quickly, it rained here over the weekend. Yep, over Memorial Day weekend, the official start of summer. So 2 weeks ago it was triple digits, now rain. Will it just make up it's mind?

Now on to what I'm actually posting about. We moved Lu into a toddler bed on Saturday. In all honesty, I didn't have high hopes for it since when we tried a few months ago, it was a total disaster. But she suprised me this time. She did get out a bed a few times during nap on Saturday, although she didn't leave her room, she just trashed it pulling out all the toys. But Saturday night, she climbed right in bed and didn't get up once! I thought maybe it was a fluke but it's been the same every night since then! I was thinking maybe this would be the end of naps for her though, but she's in there right now. Granted half an hour ago she was jumping on her bed, but hey she's in her room. Oh and the best part - just like Sam she waits for us to come get in her in the morning! Maybe this means potty training isn't too far behind! One can hope right?

It's getting hot in here...

Today we are supposed to hit triple digits. It's the middle of May. Just two weeks ago I was telling some new comers to the area how we rarely have triple digit heat and if we do it's only for a few days in the middle of the summer and we almost always cool down at night. Bet they're cursing me out right now. So, when I dropped Sam off at school this morning it was 82 out, at 8am!! Our low last night was 67, which just three weeks ago was our high. I love the warm weather, but this is bit early for me. Another day of triple digits tomorrow and then what they're calling a huge "cool off" - down to 85 by Sunday. Yeah I guess 20 degrees actually is a significant cool off, but that still seems rather warm to me. I'm going to enjoy my last few minutes of air conditioned bliss before I have to drag Samantha back out in this sweltering heat for ballet.

The girls got haircuts!!

Ok, we all did, but I know people only really care about the girls! I am lucky enough that my sister-in-law is a hairdresser and even luckier that she was willing to come to our house to cut our hair. The plan was for Nacho to get his hair cut, but then Sam decided she wanted hers done too....which in all honesty, needed at least a trim. The minute Sam was done, Lexi climbed in the chair and announced it was her turn. Since she was 3 for 4 at the point, Tia Mari suggested cutting mine while she was there. So there you have it! I love the girls' hair long, but I really love the length they have now. They look so much older though, especially Lexi. So thanks Tia Mari!!

Already? She's only 2!

Lexi came up with a new phrase today when she got in trouble. "I sorry, I so sorry, I didn't mean to do it." As I was laughing my ass over it (I know bad mom, I'm supposed to stick with her being in trouble), she realized she could say it anytime she did something she wasn't supposed to. Like jumping down the stairs. Or climbing on the counter of her play kitchen. Or hitting her sister. I know I encouraged it by laughing, but when did she learn to lie? Of course she meant to do it. Normally I would blame Sam for teaching her this except I've never heard Sam say it in her life. It's a good thing she's so cute.....

Mom guilt

Why is that moms always feel guilty about EVERYTHING?? At the end of June, the ballet studio where Samantha goes puts on a huge production. This year we're missing it because of a trip to Boston. It took me forever to tell Sam she wouldn't be here for it, but the day they started measuring for the costumes, I felt I had to to tell her. So I sat her down and explained we'd be going on a trip and not here for the show. I was expecting tears and upset and all she said was "ok." So every week when the show has been discussed, she informs everybody that she will be in Boston and not doing the show. So why did I feel like crap again yesterday when they handed out the costumes? Miss Amy was nice enough to give Samantha extra stickers, which she was thrilled with. She could care less that she doesn't have a costume. So I have no reason to feel guilty, but I do. I know she's going to have a blast in Boston and she'll be able to do the show next year so it's not the end of the world. I just have to remember that.

Never say never

You know how you're told to never say never? Well it's true. My husband reminded me this weekend how I said I would never own a minivan. This conversation was had in our newly purchased Toyota Sienna. I'll happily eat my words though because I love it! The girls are loving it too because it has a DVD player. Won't they be dissapointed when I don't allow it on every time we're in the car. I'll be back to mean mom status in no time.

On another note, Samantha is sick again. Just a cold, but I'm so tired of this. The poor thing is feeling miserable and now that they've recommended no cold medicine under the age of 6, she pretty much has to suffer through it. Only 6 weeks left of preschool and maybe we can have a sick-free summer?