My Week

Warning: Long Blog post ahead.... I sure am wordy sometimes :)

Things have been kinda hectic around here lately. I feel like I have been so busy, but honestly I don't know what I have been busy doing. This past week, I have had something to do everyday. I try to fill my days with at least one trip where Taelyn and I get out of the house, so the whole "Stay At Home Mom" gig doesn't get old for me.

Last Saturday: I went to lunch with Marlene and her daughter Samantha at Red Robin. Marlene is my OB's nurse. When pregnant with Taelyn we were there so often, we were able to get really close with the staff and our doctor. I LOVE THEM! After lunch, I came home, got dressed and packed Taelyn up to spend the evening with Auntie Alisia and Kaleb. Todd went to a Dodger Game, while I went to the Selena Gomez concert with another one of our wonderful neighbor's Tracy and her daughter Mikayla. OMG was Mikayla surprised and HAPPY! She LOVES Selena Gomez and knew EVERY song. Great day indeed :) (BAD ME, again I didn't take any pictures)

Last Sunday: Alisia and I went on a date :) We left Taelyn and Kaleb with Todd and we went to see the last Harry Potter (*tear*). Then after the movie, we visited a friend who recently had a baby. Her little peanut was just so cute. The whole time I kept thinking, this is going to be me in about 2 months.... Ekkk, I still can't believe we are going to do this again. I'm excited, yet very nervous about having two little ones. Then we had lunch at Thia House. Yummy!

Monday: We had workers come to inspect our house for any damages or neglect from the builders, so since it was Todd's day off, he stayed home to manage them, while Taelyn and I went to check out some venues for a potential baby shower location.

Tuesday: Taelyn and I had lunch with my friend Raylea. We had Benjerong (Thai Food) Great company and great food always makes for a happy me.

Taelyn before we left for my appointment:


Wednesday: I had my monthly doctor appointment. I got to hear the baby's heart beat and visit with our doctor and Marlene. I actually missed them after Taelyn was born. Since things with this pregnancy are going so great, I don't get to see them as often. That is good, but bad. I am sooooo overjoyed to be having an amazing pregnancy, but I would like to see my friends more often, hence the lunch with Marlene on Saturday.

Thursday: I planned on taking my glucose test today, but Todd had an early meeting, so I had no problem pushing that test back. Besides, I planned on having Kaleb all day and pick up Alisia from work. I love having my Godson. He was so sweet and affectionate with me all morning. He truly is a joy to watch. I was hoping Taelyn would follow suit and be affectionate, not so much. She didn't even care that another little one was all over her mama. When I picked up Alisia, we went to JoAnne's and picked up some things for the baby shower. When Todd got off, we went to dinner at Thai House (again for me, I'm on a Thai food kick lately) with some of our neighbors Shaelyn and Scott. Scott's mom (who is Thai) was in town visiting from DC and treated us all to dinner. So sweet of her.

Taelyn being silly:


Friday: I woke up early and went to get my glucose test out of the way. That orange drink was not as bad as I remembered it with Taelyn. I was in and out in an hour. After that, I came home, picked up Taelyn, Todd went to work and we spent the entire day at my mom's with Allan, Maya and Leah. Taelyn LOVES her cousins!!! This is not an exaggeration. She is so happy whenever they are around. she didn't even notice when Mommy, Apo (grandma) and Bapa (Uncle Russell) left to get a foot massage for an hour. When we came back, she was playing with her cousins just as we left them.

Eddie, my step dad, has finally decided to retire, after years of working for the US Postal Service, he has decided to take a break. His coworkers and friends had a retirement party for him. It was nice seeing him with his peers. My mom wanted to have a huge retirement bash for him, but in true Eddie form, he declined and just said he wanted this simple pizza party, so that is what we did and we were all there for him.

Saturday: My mom doesn't drive on the freeway, so anytime there is anything that is farther than San Bernardino, Highland or Redlands, I am surely the one to take her. She wants to have Lasik surgery on her eyes, she is tired of wearing glasses, so I set up a consultation. I took Taelyn with me since it was just a consultation, how long could it possibly be? When we got there at 9am, they took my mom back right away. The 1st hour seemed to just fly by, the 2nd hour passed and Taelyn was beginning to get cranky, by the 3rd hour, going into the 4th, it was meltdown city! She was falling on the floor fussing and whining, I had run out of ideas to keep her entertained. What was frustrating was there were people who came in after my mom who left before her. I KNOW it took long because of the language barrier and them having to repeat things over and over for her, but sheesh! I was irritated! Thank God Taelyn finally got so worked up, she fell asleep


When we finally left at 12:30pm our plan to go to Victoria Gardens fell through because I had a 1 o'clock appointment with a venue for the baby shower. We made it there by the skin of our teeth. Good thing we did, because this place was it! I am so happy to finally have a venue and I can get things rolling with this baby shower. We had lunch, my favorite right now, Rosa Maria's and then Eddie dug up all of my old dance videos. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching me when I was a kid dancing. It was a nice trip down Memory Lane.

Today: I plan on having breakfast with my family, then going to church, then going to a friend's birthday party. I am most happy when I am busy. It was a great week and hopefully the next few weeks run smoothly with the preparation for the baby shower and most importantly the BABY!!!

Here I am at 28 weeks


This is the picture that will be on my baby shower invitation:

Play Date with Lucas

Last Thursday, Todd had a guest lecture at the Claremont colleges with his friend Allen, who happens to be the husband of my cousin Jhonda. They have a 2 year old son named Lucas. Lucas and Taelyn are 13 months apart. I have been trying to get them together for a play date, but with crazy schedules it has been hard. Since the guys went to the lecture and Jhonda had to work, I got to host the play date with Lucas and Taelyn. Boy were they sweet together. He was gentle with her, they shared everything. There was not one moment where either of them even whined.

They played with Glasses


They played with Legos




Lucas was such a good boy, he was mellow, mild mannered, polite, everything anyone watching a kid for the 1st time could want. They entertained each other for a few hours until Taelyn was so tired, she sat on her princess couch and stuck her thumb in her mouth, that's my cue to put her to bed. Soon after Todd and Allan came home and they Lucas was winding down as well. I have to say, that was a very successful play date. I will watch Lucas ANYTIME!!! I pray that this baby in my belly is anything like him, if so, Todd and I will have NO problems with 2 kids under the age of 2. It was great practice.

Playing With Brother

Last night, I was sitting on the floor playing with Taelyn and she lifted my shirt and said "Baby." She then proceeded to rub, talk, kiss and bring my tummy toys. It really was the sweetest thing. Todd got a few shots of her "Playing with Brother" I love moments like this, especially because they don't happen as often as I would like. I think Taelyn sees that my stomach is getting bigger and bigger by the day and is beginning to actively take notice. I LOVE it, so I thought I would document it.

"There's a PARTY in my Tummy!"

26 weeks

Baby "No Name" is seriously a mover and a shaker! He is going to be awake ALL the time when he finally makes it into the world. I don't think there is a moment in my day where he is NOT moving. I thought babies are supposed to be sleeping most of the time at this stage, him, not so much. He is always parting it up in there. Imagine someone nudging you all the time, it gets annoying. I used to be so excited when I felt him move. I WANTED him to move, now... I honestly want him to chill out. I know, it is a blessing and it is the most amazing feeling ever, blah, blah, blah. It was the ONLY thing I missed about being pregnant once Taelyn was born, but seriously, it is getting out of hand. He actually HURTS ME! He startles me. He will be moving slowly and rhythmically and then BOOM! He hits/kicks me so hard, my eyes water. Taelyn was NOTHING like this.

I think maybe he is feeling neglected. He STILL doesn't have a name for heaven's sake! Taelyn and I are the only people who talk to him, or even touch my stomach. Todd NEVER touches my stomach or talks to him. To be completely honest, this makes me MAD. He didn't do this with Taelyn either, but I chalked it up to him being worried to get too close until she was actually here because of what happened with Trent. Now, I just think he doesn't care. He won't touch my stomach unless I take his hand and physically put it where he is moving and when I do this, I feel like he can't wait to take his hand off.

Being that I am Filipino, none of my family ever touches my stomach. It is a superstition that you should never touch a pregnant woman's stomach because of transferred spirits and negative energy. So really no one around me will touch my stomach. I think I just want someone else to feel what I am feeling. I think my baby boy is begging for some attention and taking it out on me. I'm not saying I want some random person to touch me, but if I know you and your are a friend, feel free to rub Buddha's belly, it may be good luck ;)

UGH

I apologize in advanced for my melancholy post. After a VERY rough night, I woke up feeling tired, irritable, uncomfortable, HOT and sick. I'm not a happy camper today. I honestly feel like I have been pregnant for the last 3 years. Technically I have been in a way. It started in May of 2008. Todd and I had only been married for 2 months and we were overjoyed when we found out we were pregnant! We knew getting pregnant would be a struggle since I previously had uterine cancer, but we knew it was not impossible since I had been pregnant before in 2003 (another story, another life). I miscarried that baby a week after I found out. When Todd and I found out we were pregnant, we shouted it out at the top of our lungs to any and everyone who would care to listen. Yup, we were excited.

Not long after that, we felt the heartache of a loss. While processing what happened, two weeks after, we found out we were pregnant again. How is that even possible??? We couldn't make sense of it, but the doctors didn't seem to be surprised. They said it happens all the time. Although they suggest to wait 6 months after a miscarriage to try again, sometimes it happens right away. In our case, we didn't even have time to think. We were going through such a roller coaster of emotions. This was the 3rd time I was pregnant and I was going to do any and everything in my power to keep this baby alive.

We found out we were pregnant in July and on Christmas Day, we lost our sweet baby boy Trent Mason. This is one of the last pictures I have with him in my tummy. Think about him ALL the time.


11 months later, I was pregnant again with my sweet Taelyn. I was on bed rest for what felt like FOREVER, but boy was this little girl worth it! She is my everything. 4th time was a charm for us.


I went nearly full term with her. I delivered her at 36 weeks and a few days


I had such a restless nights sleep and woke up emotional and unhappy, I didn't know where this post was going, but I actually feel much better than I did when I started writing. This is why I love my blog, even if no one reads it, or comments on what I write, it makes me happy when I do write. I am thankful for what I have had to overcome and what I have to show for it. I'm excited for my growing family and even though this baby boy, who is yet to be named growing inside me makes me emotional, I love him and can't wait for the new adventure he will bring our family.

I'm ME Again!

For the past month, I have been having a super hair crisis. Like I have said in this blog, I am just NOT one to go out looking like, "Who Shot Jon?" Who is that? Exactly! I don't go out looking a mess, THAT is who shot Jon. For the past month, I have had the worst time with this southern weave I had. It was too BIG! I couldn't manage it, I wore it in a bun at all times. It was itchy and unmanageable. It was just a horrible experience. Maine always tells me not to get a full head weave because 1. My real hair is too long it won't look natural. 2. I won't like how itchy my scalp will get. 3. I just won't like it. I hate to say it, but he was RIGHT!! You hear me Maine? "YOU WERE RIGHT!" Lesson Learned, I won't do that again! No matter how desperate I get to try something different.

Yesterday was hair day. Hair day is once a month for me, I used to go every 2 weeks, but since having Taelyn, I have had to sacrifice a day and just settle for once a month. And boy do I look forward to that once a month hair appointment! How I missed my Maine Man. He took one look at me and LAUGHED!!! The nerve of him, I couldn't even blame him, I was laughable. Even on my worst day, I did not look that bad... right?



He started by taking out that HORRIBLE weave and washed my hair. OMG... HEAVEN! I love getting my hair washed. He massaged my head and gave me a deep conditioning. It was the best. Then he blow dried it and flat ironed it. When he was done, it was like I was a whole new person! I was ME again. It felt so good to have my hair back. Something so little can seriously make such a difference. For me it is my hair. I have always had nice hair. When I was going through Chemo, the worst part of it was losing my hair. I don't know why, I guess I am superficial in that way, but, in all honestly, I don't care and I won't apologize for it. I like my hair, I like my hair to look good, and I LOVE my hair dresser and hair day! I don't think that will ever change. Thank God (and Maine) I am ME AGAIN!

Chaparrel Lane's 4th Annual 4th of July Block Party

Since we moved into our neighborhood, we have thrown a block party for the 4th of July. Every year it keeps getting bigger and bigger. The 1st year, there were only 10 houses on our street. Out of the 10 houses, only 8 were occupied and 5 of the 8 participated. Since then 8 more houses have been built and most of them participated. It was a great way to meet the neighbors we don't know.

I ALWAYS talk about what a great neighborhood we live in and I will say it again... I LOVE MY NEIGHBORS! Most of us moved into together and have maintained healthy friendships. Two of my neighbors were my friends even before we moved. JJ and Kellina moved in at the same time as us and we kinda bought our houses as a package deal. If they were out, we were out and vice versa. We got great deals on our homes just for that reason :) Adam and Alisia moved in last year when one of the newer houses were built. Their son Kaleb is our Godson, we LOVE them dearly!

Anyway needless to say our annual block party is always full of fun, food and fireworks! Living 3 miles from University of Redlands has its perks during the 4th of July. Every year they have a huge fireworks show and we have the PERFECT view from our street. The whole show without the crowds, the noise, and the smell of smoke. It was great. We buy the kids (the amount of kids seem to be growing every year) little poppers so they can have something to enjoy before the show starts and when it does, we all our lawn chairs in the middle of the street and enjoy the show. After, everyone collects their dishes and do a quick clean up and go home. It was a successful block party full of fun and friendship, can't wait til next year! I'll have 2 little ones to be chasing around.

Taelyn pushing London on the Quad

Mingling

Food

Grubbing

Scott starting the firecrackers and poppers

More mingling

My little 4th of July Baby getting cranky towards the end of the night

I'm like the worst photographer ever... Not only did I not get a family picture, I am not in ANY pictures from the whole day. Next year I will remember to make it a point to get a group shot of everyone AND a family picture of MY family!

VEGAS!!!

Russell and his family were in Vegas for the weekend, and after talking to my mom, we decided on Thursday that we would go to Vegas on Saturday. We went online and booked a room and we were off. My mom worked Friday night, so at 4 am on Saturday, I picked her and Richard up. By the time we packed the car and were ready, it was 4:30 am and we were there by 7:30 am. I don't know if I have ever gotten to Vegas that fast, but I was happy about it because I HATE DRIVING!!!

We ate the moment we got there at Denny's. The server put a cup of coffee and the creamer right in front of Taelyn and she grabbed the creamer and spilled it all over her. I got so mad! I told the server, she is so lucky that she didn't grab the coffee. I don't understand why servers would put anything in front of a baby.

After we ate, we met up with Russell Gigi and the kids. We went straight to the pool. My mom even got in! (That NEVER happens) We had a great time. Here are a few shots from the pool. The only time I even took the camera out.








After the pool, we washed up and went to lunch. Taelyn and I went back to the room to take a nap while everyone else went to Red Rock Casino. There is a really cool facility for kids while the parents gambled. When Taelyn and I woke up we met up with them there. I took Taelyn to the Kid Quest while I went to play poker. My mom, Russell and Gigi were there playing. By the time I got in a game, I played for almost an hour when the people at Kid Quest called me and told me that Taelyn was crying and I needed to get her. It was about time for dinner so we all cashed out and went to Excalibur so the kids could play in the arcade. At about 10:30 pm, I about had it and the kids were beginning to melt down. We went back to the room and called it a night.

When we woke up, we met up with the rest of the family for breakfast and then we headed back home. I am so glad we left when we did. We made it home in under 4 hours. It was a great impromptu trip, especially on a holiday weekend.

Todd's Company Picnic At Universal Studios

Todd had his annual Company Picnic at Universal Studios. Being that my mom works there also, she decided to make it a family affair. There were 12 people including me. That is just way too many people to coordinate anything and actually have a good time. It was Todd, Me, Taelyn, my mom, Richard, Russell, Gigi, Allan, Maya, Leah, Maila and Gigi's mom, Tina. (Whew!) It was a mess! I didn't even get a picture of everyone together.

Taelyn was happy pretty much ALL day, she was awake all day. She took maybe a 30 minute nap. Thank God for a pleasant baby.

Tram Ride, she was trying to get Allan's hat.

Taelyn loved it! She didn't even get scared during the King Kong section.

Maila and my mom

Here I am, taking a quick rest in Taelyn's car seat.


Funny story: Todd is taking the picture and Taelyn was trying to get to him, Russell tells Todd that she hit him and Todd said no she didn't, I didn't see it, then we look at the pictures, and sure enough, she got him good. LOL :D




It was a LONG day. We got there at about 10 am and we didn't leave until almost 8 pm. Taelyn slept the entire way home and when we got home, she didn't even wake up, she went straight to her bed and didn't wake up until 8 am. We all went straight to sleep. I LOVE my family, but boy are they exhausting!

Raylea and Ryan's Wedding

My dear friend Raylea, that I have known since my middle school days at King got married last Saturday. (June 26, 2011)

We go way back to 7th grade science camp:


to High School:


Somehow we lost track of each other after college and through the wonders of Facebook, we regained contact and most importantly, our friendship :) I was able to celebrate her 30th birthday and go to the Fray concert together. We never seem to have a lack of fun when we are together. Even better, our guys get along, that always makes things great!

Enough of our history, back to the wedding. Boy was it beautiful. She crossed every T and dotted every I when it came to detail. Anyone who knows Raylea, knows if she is gonna do something, she is gonna do it right! Her colors were very summery with a burnt orange and brown mix. She got married at South Coast Winery and I was sad because I have been known to enjoy a glass of wine or two, and being that I am pregnant, I couldn't enjoy any of it :(

Raylea had her Mom and Step dad walk her down the aisle.




The ceremony was was short and sweet. They wrote their own vows and they had the sweetest things to say to each other. The thing that I liked the most is that they did the "Sand Ceremony." I love the story of this, in the olden days each family would bring sand from their "home land" and combine them. The story states that when you combine the sand you are combining not only yourselves, but your families and your history, and you can only separate when you can separate the sand. Since sand is nearly impossible to separate, you must stay together forever. Todd and I did this at our wedding as well and I LOVED it! Plus you can always have it on display and a reminder of your vows in your home. This is mine and Todd's sand:

Here I am at 23 weeks pregnant

Todd and I enjoying some wine, (apple cider for me) before the reception started

Jessica and her hubby Matt (Our partners in crime ("Blowies") inside joke)

Our place settings at our table

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Morris!!!

They had an AWESOME candy bar!

Jessica, Raylea and me

We had LOTS of fun with the photo booth. I CAN'T wait to see the pictures we took, we were way too silly for our own good!


Jessica was my dance partner, I think there were a few times were we were out there all by ourselves! Our loving husbands got up and danced with us too, but not much. We had a GREAT time!!!!


Congratulations Raylea and Ryan Morris!!! Have fun in Jamaica, make a baby! (No pressure or anything)