I think the term they use for people like me is 'Slacker'

Oh boy! It's been quite a while.....

Well, the kids are getting big. Noah is getting big and precious and sweet and cute as a button. The kid is such an answer to my preggo prayers. I made a deal with Heavenly Father-- give me another one like Ava and we are DONE (in the reproductive department). I was ready to tie my tubes myself....seriously. But, really, the kid laughs in his sleep. He has such a sweet and gentle spirit. What more can you ask for?

Ava is AMAZING! I know it sounds like I don't really appreciate the beauty of her soul, but it is just so magnified that I can only handle one of her. I think that I am not ready as a parent to have more than one of her. She is spunky, loving, D.ramatic (notice the capital 'D'), energetic, strong-willed, decisive and HIGHLY imaginative. She has great things in store for her. She sings with perfect pitch. Remembers lines to every princess movie after watching it once. I will be very surprised if she doesn't do at least one musical in her lifetime. Her personality is so BIG that I can only handle it for so long before I am all tuckered out. She had a sleepover at Grandma Terry's house on Saturday and went to church with her on Sunday. Our friend Miki was the Sunbeams Sunday school teacher that day. She told me through facebook that Ava told a little boy in her class, 'Promise you'll marry me, okay?'. I immediately text messaged Adam to 'LOOK AT THE MESSAGE THAT MIKI LEFT ON MY FACEBOOK, RIGHT NOW!'. He replied quite simply,  

'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!'

I told him Ava and boys are his department and that he needs to start polishing his shotgun.

I went back to work about a couple weeks ago. The first week back, I felt so energetic, like it was waaay easier than staying home with two kids. I would come home so rested. I swear being a stay at home mama is HARD work, but being on maternity was the happiest I had every been. I was practically a hermit. I wanted time to stop and stand still so that I could appreciate every. single. moment. I really hope that I can be a stay at home mom someday. Right now, I have to work. It breaks my heart to have someone else raise my children for me. I feel inadequate as a mother, but I know this is just a season and we will still make it as a family and be happy and healthy.

As for Adam and I, we are doing great! My birthday was a couple weeks ago. At 12am on the dot, Adam surprised me with the COOLEST watch! Finances were tight and was kinda stressful on us. He had scraped up what he could weeks before to get it for me. He is such a hunk. He made me cry. Then, my WONDERFUL cousin Kamalei (practically sister) asked me what I was doing on my birthday and honestly, on that day, I just wanted to lay down and let the day just pass on by like a bad case of the flu. She knew that somewhere deep inside of me I wanted to celebrate the day. Last minute, she called everyone on my dad's side of the family and set up the most AH-mazin' birthday dinner ever. It was lovely to have the family all together. The morning of my birthday, my co-workers dropped a confetti, streamer, balloon filled bomb on my desk-- made me feel special. Then, my sister Diane surprised me by coming to my work and dropping off the most beautiful princess balloon bouquet complete with a tiara. And to top it all off, I got home from work today and found the cutest polka dot gift bag hidden in my front door from my dear friend Stephanie (i love you!).  I've made a resolution to never feel so utterly and shamefully sorry for myself again.

My desk in its birthday finery.

Ohhh yeah!!! 

My love and me at my birthday dinner.

If you've made it this far, you are a champ and also probably bored, but I love you. Lastly, if you have not listened to Adele's music, you must drop everything and listen to something of hers. She is INSPIRING and that voice. That voice! She is one soulful, British sistah!

Isnt she gorg?!

We've been going to the zoo a lot...

For Christmas this year, we got an annual pass to the honolulu zoo as a gift from my aunty. Being in a house all day is fine for a 2 month old and a mommy, but Im finding out that it isnt very fun for a little three year old that thinks she's a disney princess and feels like everyday needs to be a magical adventure.

 I told her to take a picture with the elephants and she ran to the little statue and starting posing. I asked her why she didnt wanna take a picture with the real elephants and she said that she was scared.

 She warmed up to them later; enough to do this.

 She doesnt really care much for the monkeys, she likes the turtles in the water a lot more. She was trying to tell the turtles to wake up.

We're gonna try and use our pass as many times as we can until I have to go back to work. It seems like a good deal. When we were talking to the membership lady, she told us that aside from the free admission for 2 adults and up to 6 children, we get 20% off at the gift shop and the snack bar and 1/2 price admission at participating zoos in the U.S.. And if we renew our membership at the end of the year, we get $5 off the price. Not bad for $45.

Anyone wanna come with us next time?

We have a little boy in the house!! (WARNING: Very long post)

When I started having contractions the night before the big day, I didn't believe it was the real thing. I started getting some pretty convincing false labor episodes three weeks before my due date. I would wake up in the middle of the night with strong contractions that were 5-6 minutes apart. Then after an hour, without fail, they would stop COMPLETELY.

The day before started out pretty normal. I went into work, had a normal day then went to a going away party for a very dear friend. My Auntie Deb was scheduled for surgery the next day at the hospital I was planning on giving birth at. Everyone at the party joked that I would go into labor that night and would give birth the next day and Auntie Deb and I would be in the hospital together.

At the party (I was a beast!)

Then, as if he could hear everyone outside his cushy womb, I started having contractions at 8pm that night. I dismissed them and didn't tell anyone about them. At 10pm, they started to get stronger, but still very inconsistent. I said goodbye to everyone at the party and drove home.

The contractions continued into the night and gradually became stronger and more consistent. Adam and I realized that this might be the real thing. He convinced me to call in sick to work, since I work in town-- if I had to drive myself to the hospital, there would be a very big chance that I would get stuck in traffic. I woke up at 9am. I decided to watch some t.v. and time my contractions. I was shocked to find that they were now very consistently 3-4 minutes apart. I became terrified, it was a Tuesday and everyone was at work and I was home alone. Everyone I needed was at least an hour away. The only thing that kept me calm was the fact that I didn't have the 'bloody show' yet (tmi?).

Around 10am, I went to use the bathroom and looked in the toilet and the water was bright red. I rushed to the phone and called Adam. I told him that my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and that I had my bloody show. He needed to come home-- it's 'time'. Because he works the furthest away from me, I called my grandma to come and get me. Adam also called his sister, Diane to come and get me. It became a race to see who could get to the house the fastest.

I took a bath and packed while Ava, my little brother and I waited for someone to come and get us. The first person to come was Adam! He was the furthest away from me! I was so relieved to see him. The next to show up was Diane, followed by my grandma =) Everything worked out because Diane was able to watch Ava and my grandma was able to watch my little brother while Adam and I checked into labor and delivery.

We got to the hospital at 11am and at that point, I had been in labor since 8pm the night before. The nurses got me hooked up to the machines and got me settled in. They did an exam and we were all shocked to find that I was dilated to 6cm! They asked me if I wanted to get the epidural. I knew what kind of pain I would be in and I knew that I wouldn't have much time to get it, so I told them yes. I know that a lot of women are really good with labor pains and delivery and have no need for them-- a good example being my grandma who delivered 6 kids without any pain medication or a husband allowed in the delivery room with her. I delivered our first son without pain medication. At the time I had hoped that it would help him to be strong throughout the delivery. At that time I would do anything to help him survive. He came out breech (feet first) and that was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. The experience was not a very beautiful one for me or anyone else in the room with us (regardless of the outcome).

Happy as a clam

After I received the epidural, I felt great. I was smiling, joking, and mostly importantly resting. When I got the epidural, the anesthesiologist showed me the most glorious button. If I felt like the epidural was not strong enough for me at anytime, I could press this button and I would get a boost of pain relief. The midwife (kaiser has midwives now!) told me that if I got to the point where I would have to press the button more than once an hour, to call them because it would be time to push. As time went on, the pain became more profound. Everyone noticed how quiet I had become. My mom was the one that caught me pushing the button twice in 30 minutes. I thought I could get away with it, HA! She called my nurse. When she came to check on me, I was 10cm and fully effaced. Everything after that happened so fast that honestly, it's all really a blur.

It was such an amazing experience. I felt powerful. I felt so in love with my husband. I felt so hopelessly in love with and powerless to the beautiful, little being that was looking up at me. He is such a strong little boy. From the moment they placed him on my chest, he was lifting his head and looking around at everyone in the room.

I didn't think that I had any room left in my heart to love someone else after I had Ava. Now that he is a part of our lives, it is like he was never not a part of us. We cannot imagine life without him. He is a sweet, loving, quiet, forgiving (to his very intense sister who still thinks he is one of her baby dolls), strong, hungry little kid. We love him so very much.

Free Sling =)

Hey Friendsies =)

If you need or want a sling, go to www.sevenslings.com. Choose your sling and enter in promo code: babies and all you have to do is pay for shipping & handling. I ordered the blue Northern Lights one, but with the 3 piece gift set (sling, matching leg warmers and matching acrylic cuff - shipping and handling + additional $5).

An Update

We have been doing some pretty fun stuff as a family and been pretty busy lately...here are some things that we have been up to--

 

When you have Kaiser coverage, you switch off visits with your OBGYN and your nurse practitioner. I love both of them sooo much. I think they are both fab. At my 28 week check up, things seemed to go really well. I was checking out and measuring just fine, until I asked my OB about my weight. I was a little concerned because my weight had been jumping. He asked me what my weight gain was and i told him 22lbs. He smiled and said, 'that's enough.' I took that as, 'wow, thats great that you could gain that much, keep it up!', but really he meant, 'please stop gaining weight...'. He also told me that I should start exercising 4 times per week for 45mins each-- a little bit dramatic don't you think? So, I started exercising and working out and it's been really nice. I've been feeling a little more energized and better about myself. I've been eating pretty healthy lately so all I really needed to work on was my exercise. The good news is, I went to my 31 week check up on Thursday and I was able to maintain my weight =) The nurse practitioner was very happy and said Im doing great.

Ava is fully potty trained now. It's really nice to know that we will only be buying pull-ups and diapers for one child. Finances have been a little crazy lately, so every little bit helps.

Adam and I have been super anti-social lately. Our schedules are super crazy and any little bit of family time we can get, we take full advantage of it. Adam's been doing really well with school-- mostly getting A's on his tests and labs. He also has a really crazy schedule and I am so thankful for his strong desire to provide for us. Monday-Sunday, he is either working, going to school or both-- he never gets a day off. Im working full time too still with Kaiser. The department that I work with now is super awesome. They give me the option to take time off and make it up during the work week between the hours of 6am-7pm which has been a HUGE blessing since it allows me to save up all the vacation I can for my maternity leave.

I also got offered a promotion to patient accounting representative! Right now Im just the office assistant and the pay is pretty lame. When I was working at the hospital, I was getting paid a dollar an hour more, but I felt like there was no possibility for growth. I had been there for almost 4 years, applied for higher positions twice and only was able to get the title of trainer for a little while. Plus, the new boss there was a boob. I took the chance and got a position in the accounting department of kaiser and 3-1/2 months later, Im being offered a promotion that will be about a $4/hour pay increase =) This is a very good thing since Adam is trying to finish school and his hours were cut to accomadate that.

I wanna make my own baby sling and another nursing cover. I looked up some tutorials online and I was shocked to find out how easy they are to make! Maybe we can have this as our next sewing society project?

A drunk guy ran out of gas in front of our house last night around 7pm. My mother in law had come to steal Ava for the night and Adam was helping to put her carseat in her car when this drunk guy drove past Adam up the hill by our house and stalled right in front of Adam. He then proceeded to roll back down the hill, almost banging both our CR-V and our Scion in the process. All Adam could do was stare in shock. We never have people like this in our neighborhood-- it's a pretty affluent neighborhood (we are one of only a few middle class families that live on the street) and the neighborhood watch usually scares off people like that. Anyway, the guy ended up sideways in the middle of the road, in an attempt to turn around, with his lights off. It was pretty dangerous, so Adam went over to him and the guy told him he had run out of gas. His girlfriend (who was also wasted) told Adam that she told him to not drive on empty (like driving drunk isnt bad enough). Adam was able to get the guy's car out of the street, facing out of our driveway. This is when it got even more weird. They guy wouldnt leave and started asking Adam for money for gas and started asking really weird questions like, where was my mother in law going with Ava, why do we have so many SUV's, do you have gas, can you give me a ride to the gas station, thanks for the ride, and weren't you the guy that gave the last call? Adam didnt know what to do with the guy, so I went upstairs and asked my dad for advice. He came down and told the guy that he needed to get out of our driveway and park his car somewhere else and walk to the gas station (which is less than a mile away). The guy was pretty upset and tried to get out of his car a couple times, but my dad kept him contained and with the help of Adam and my mom, was able to push him back onto the road. The guy coasted it down the hill and we haven't seen him or his car since. It was really weird.

About 2-1/2 months ago, I went to trina's and on a whim, bought some wax. Ive been waxing my legs and underarms and I am HOOKED. The hair hardly grows back now and when it does its so soft and silky. The skin also seems to look healthier. You should try it! I really like the Clean 'n Easy brand for sensitive skin.

I stole this from your page Steph - Remember this?

I wanna go for a pedicure! Can we set up a Pedicure day sometime in the 9weeks before I give birth? I miss all my chica's and really wanna do this before Noah comes. You could invite anyone and we'll make a party of it. Sound good?

Okay, thats enough for one post =)

Self Portrait

Ava and I had a nice productive day today. I got off early from work and got home in time for Adam to leave for school. Ava let me sleep for a little while on the couch while she watched a movie. When I woke up, she was being a good little girl, sitting nicely, enjoying some cereal while watching her movie. I felt so bad that I took a nap, but I was hardly functioning when I got home and I really needed it. Waking up at 4am is just not right.

After I woke up, we left to go back to my employee health office at work. I had to take my annual TB test. Ava was so interested when the nurse was giving me the shot. I think she was just really shocked that I was the one getting the shots this time.

Ive been acting like a crazy woman looking on craigslist for a combi stroller for cheap. We have two infant carseats that are still in really good condition, but her stroller has seen better days. Its really messed up because we've kept it outside. The canopy is totally broken and the whole thing is just really dirty and not fit for an infant. If you've ever tried to fold up a combi stroller, you can understand just how easy it is to break it. Before work this morning, I pulled up craigslist and I found a really good deal that I just couldnt pass up. The lady was selling a green combi stroller, 2 matching carseats, and four bases-- all for only $150! The stroller in itself is almost $200. I called her as soon as it was a decent hour and she told me that I was the first one to call =) So, after the TB test, we went over and picked up the lot. The stroller looks like this-

Im really happy we found this one. We have everything else (besides boy clothes and diapers) and this was the only big thing that we needed. Things are moving fast.

We finished the day at Costco. I love Costco and I love a full fridge. Today was a good day =) I love productive days. Tomorrow is another long day at work =( At least I can look forward to another day like this on Friday.