well, that kinda sucks

Well, much like my high school chemistry class, I took the three hour glucose tolerance test and failed. Which means I probably have gestational diabeetus.

I have no answers in regards to officially having diabeetus or what my levels were but I've been instructed to make an appointment with the specialist who will inform me of what course of action I'm to take now to keep this under control. All I know is if I have it, it usually goes away after the baby is born but I'll have to watch myself for all subsequent pregnancies and make sure I watch her nutrition as she grows to make sure she doesn't get it when she's older. Poor kid has diabeetus on both sides of the family. Her great grandmother and future namesake has it and her grandmother aka my mom it.

I also know it's gonna change my diet significantly and our office PA has it so she's been really helpful in telling me what food is good and what food is bad. It's definitely good to knock out all the high sugar stuff I've been eating anyway: donuts, ice cream, etc. It's about to become a crazy healthy pregnancy.

I'll update you guys when I know more. 

Edit: I also found this amazing video of birth through a computer graphic that shows the various stages of labor and it's really helpful to understand the process from a scientific/what's really happening in there way. You guys should check it out if you're curious about labor, it's pretty cool. Well it was too me.

one more picture of the backyard

Matt sent me these pictures when he finished the ground cover. He even moved some of the old furniture into place just to show us that it was done. Well, you know the big, heavy part of it.

Exciting isn't it??! Maybe we can buy furniture soon!

I have a 3 hour glucose test tomorrow morning SUPER early and after I eat and maybe take a nap, Matt and I are gonna hit up a Victorian Festival with my family for a few hours and then chill out. I work Sunday unfortunately but hey, could use that extra money for all the backyard costs we're piling on!

about a thousand dollars in rocks

Ta-da! Behold, the glorious concrete paver path that defines the outdoor "zones". It's even better than I imagined in my dreams...

I'll attempt to explain what my men have done since I've been at work making money to pay for the things they're doing back there. After they installed the piping, they laid out border to define the plant areas and to keep the ground cover at bay, and placed weed block over most everything (that's the black stuff you see on the ground). You can dig through that weed block when you plant things and it helps keep the weed problem down and then you put some bark on top of that business to make it look finished and also help with weed problems. The boys did it in the front yard and it worked out great. This is the "lounge area". Along the wall we hope to plant boxwood hedges.

So, originally I had drafted up the backyard floor plan with the floor covering for the different zones as what I learned later was called "decomposed granite". Aesthetically it appealed to me the most but upon reading the instructions and hearing about what a mess that crap makes sticking on your shoes etc., my father in-law aka the greatest grandpa in the world suggested using pebbles as floor covering instead. I looked at my pictures on pinterest and I had already pinned a bunch of things with pebble floor so I said sure, go for it. That's been the biggest change of plan so far.

While I originally thought in between the pavers it would be dirt or moss, my father in-law placed the pebbles and daaang they look terrific.

My wonderful husband loaded up our truck with all the bags it could carry and what you see is one truck load. Yes, starving children in Tijuana and we are dropping money on mexican beach pebbles. Now as penance, for my yuppie-ness I have to donate money to Save a Child's Heart.

Over here by the fence is my chilluns play area. The ground cover here will be rubber playground mulch so it's soft on her sweet sweet feet and in case she takes a tumble she will land on softness. I think I want a sandbox there and I saw this amazing one from Costco that would protect it from potential animals wanting to pee in there as well as provide some shade. And won't that brick wall in the back just be a PERFECT wall for toddler chalkboard masterpieces??

As she grows we'll change with her and maybe get her a cool playhouse and obviously she'll need her own table for when her little friends and cousins are over for tea parties or serious coloring activities. And when she's too big for that, we'll get a ping pong table instead. That'll make big and little kids happy, I've always wanted a ping pong table.

We want to plant some greenery and bushes around the shed and I am at the point where I wanna just pay someone to paint this shed before the party. It would help it look a little more finished.

And here's the "dining zone". Dunno what kinda greenery will be around these parts...

And if you see those pipes by the tree, that's for the "water feature" we've yet to determine. Maybe Eric can build us something. He's crafty, he could do it.

My men are gonna take a break next week but the week after they'll start building the fence to cover the ugly alley stuff.

I think seeing that path in place has really helped me see it all coming together. Does it help you all? Aren't my men amazing?

water feature and landscaping

The backyard is coming along nicely! I came home to find the path had been laid out and the zones were defined. I don't have photos quite yet but soon there will be a fun blank slate for you all. In the meantime, let's empty out some brain clouds. Other than the furniture purchase the next big decisions to be made will be the landscaping and the "water feature."

I know I want something modern looking but I'm not quite sure what that means. 

Oh and we decided to go with a portable fire pit and I'd like for it to be propane tank powered. That's another thing I gotta find. Can't wait to show you guys what we decide on!

quiet mornings as a mother of four

If I'm up before my alarm and make myself breakfast, I am able to enjoy a kind of peace and quiet I very much wanted to capture before I become a mother of five. 

The dining room curtain is open about 90% of the time since the sheers give us plenty of privacy and the morning light is just so darn perfect.

Our morning ritual with the pups is whoever is awake first lets them out of the laundry room and makes sure they have water. The boys book it for the fence area where they do their business and then start patrolling the yard. On this particular morning Matt was still asleep and they were being barky so I let them back in and they hung out on the couch. 

Usually the cats will be seated on the living room couch in the same position the dogs are and once I walk into the kitchen they are on me meowing for their breakfast. They're not polite Japanese cats.

After I've filled their bowls and topped off their water, I make my breakfast. Lately it's cereal or eggs but we're out of regular milk and I had time so I made myself some Coach's Oats oatmeal and a cup of decaf Earl Grey.

I integrated the stuff from the guest room into the house like this flowery jar with tea. Plus it seemed springtime appropriate.

I also have these tea bags in a little basket from my earlier nauseated days and one lonely bottle Matt used at a shower game to remind us of what's coming soon.

The morning light hits the bar just so, reminding me that before we have a bunch of people at our house in late May, I need to do some serious dusting and scrubbing.

Right now Gadget is in the office on the pink couch, Lebowski is patrolling the house for dropped food and chasing his tail, and  LJ and Woz are doing this:

And I'm enjoying my tea and feeling blessed to enjoy the quiet before work and before these furry guys move down a few pegs as kings of the castle.

backyard progress

Well we're all back to work. I started last week on Thursday and the gents got to work on the backyard. Digging trenches for the new sprinklers, leveling out the ground, and adding electricity.

Supervisor Woz approves.

Here's the nice clean slate ready for some more action. Where the shady are is where we'll put the dining table/outdoor desk for Mrs. Alexa.

Dining area again. Those posts will eventually have a modern looking fence. We're installing outlets for laptops and such on the fence, see that little pole sticking up? Electricity my friends.

To the left of this shed is where we'll put the play area for Miss Alice.

You can see the sprinkler system up and ready. Around there is where I'd like to put a doggy pee area. 

Here's an outlet by the lounge area. For laptops or outdoor lamps and such.

Here's a sample paver that will become our path around the whole place.

It's so refreshing to see the beginning of something. A nice clean slate.

The boys are doing minor tweaks today and then will pick up again next week. We have a busy weekend out of town again so my goal of starting the front yard garden will have to wait. 

f is for baby

A few weeks ago Matt had a great idea for our girl's room: a ceiling fan.

I was thinking about a pretty light fixture but a quick google of "ceiling fans in nurseries" and the result of "are very good for baby" moved me in the yeah lets do it!

Now I gotta find one that's not hideous.

a funny occurence

I noticed something funny that happened over the weekend recently, well two weekends I guess. We were around a lot of women due to a family wedding so it was a lot of meeting new people, catching up, and general chatter. Obviously the majority of chit chat directed at me was about the bun in my oven. Understandably so, it's a big life event. 

But I did notice that during the course of the weekend, not a single person asked me what I did for a living. Ain't that funny?

trimester three!

I woke up this morning to an alert from my pregnancy App telling me that I am now in my third trimester and to "get ready for the big finish and a new beginning". This is the current state of me:

I can tell this girl is gettin' bigger because her movements, while in the beginning were adorable and like little flutters are now big ole alien movements and at times, uncomfortable; like someone poking you very slowly from the inside.

How am I feeling? Overall pretty good, I love the kindness of strangers and smiles I get from friends and co-workers when they see me. I was a big hit at the wedding with Matt's family. It's been four years since we've had a baby in the family and I think everyone was ready for another one (luckily they were all polite enough to never pressure or ask about the state of the uterus but now I know they were all praying for it). The extra weight has put a little strain on my lower back, as I expected, since I suffered from lower back/hip pain before I was pregnant. I can barely make a lap around Target without feeling like I really need to sit down for a spell. Luckily my job requires I sit in front of a computer all day.

The food aversion is still there though my food repertoire has expanded somewhat. And just when you think I'm done barfing… the other day I made myself some eggs and tortillas and then decided to drink a glass of milk. Well little miss Alice was not having that and barf! I get nauseated or a gross kinda taste in my mouth a few times a day but it's much better than before. Honestly the food thing is the only bothersome part of this pregnancy, everything else I can deal with so yes, I might be crazy enough to do this again. But… let's take it one kid at a time. And this kid has me feeling very very happy.

of ancestry

I didn't really care too much about ancestry before, especially since I'm 100% Mexican (with some of your usual Spanish/Aztec situation) but it hit me on St. Patrick's Day this year as my child was dancing to The Chieftains, that I was having an Irish baby. Well, part of her anyway. Now instead of glazing over stories of Matt's ancestry, now I'm very interested in learning that he has family that was born in Cork, Rochester, NY, and Germany. I wanna know more about all these cultures and people my daughter will be born into.

All of these long gone people are a little part of my daughter now. Ain't that something?

And this weekend I get to hang with a bunch of them. Have a great weekend everybody!

lay-z and such

Well… still no work. We did however get a few things of importance done. I went in for my monthly baby check up (all is well), I went to take that gestational diabeetuhs pre-test (the sugary drink tastes like flat sprite but the blood draw was extra painful for some reason), we checked out cars at CarMax, we emptied all the spare boxes in the kid's room out, we saw Captain America: Winter Soldier, and we just lazy'd about. Like Gadget.

YAWN! STRETCH!

I feel like I should be more productive during this unexpected time off and I'm trying very hard to be. So I guess that I should get out of my PJs, get my nails did, and head to Target and the grocery store for supplies. Know what I badly need? Shorts. I have one pair that fits because they're stretchy waist but with the weather warming up, and HURRAH for that, I am in need of some chorts.

Oh! We got the mattress! I had a crib sheet hanging around just waiting for this moment.

We kinda got it for free since we used our credit card points and turned them to amazon gift cards and used it for that. Big time sigh of relief for this soon to be momma.

what's to be done about LJ (and the pets)

As you know, we have a zoo at our home with two cats and two dogs. Over the many years our nieces have visited, the pets have been generally tolerant and stay away. All except one.

To put it bluntly, when it comes to kids, LJ is a little jerk. He's scratched at the girls on more than one occasion and he's extra deceptive when he does it too. We're always around when the girls are in the room with him but if we look away for a second, he reaches out and scratches them if they're near him. It's a total dick move and that has been cause for concern around the farm. If he's like that with these girls, what hope is there for his behavior with our girl?

My mom's solution is to simply get rid of him (she's not much of an animal lover) but he's my first baby. How can I get rid of a member of the family? That's not an option. Matt and I have said before and I'll say again that once these cats pass, we're done with cats. It's not that I don't totally butt stinking love cats more than dogs, and I totally do, but keeping a clean household with cats, holy crap is it a lot of work. The shedding, the litter around their litter box, our family/friends suffering from allergies, and the fact that nice furniture doesn't stand a chance… I think we're done once these guys have passed away. But until then, he stays.

I really don't know what he'll be like when a baby is around, especially one that is a part of our family. Will some sort of maternal instinct (he does possess them, you should see him care for his brother) kick in when she's born and he'll want to be near her and sleep at her feet like those cute photos of babies and cats that float around the internet? Or will he be jealous and mean?

The only part that really concerns us is the scratching. He and the pets have been kicked out of the guest room and master for years so they're used to having rooms be off limits and won't associate that with the baby but when she's out of those rooms and in the living room with us or on the office couch where they hang… what will he do then? So, cruel as it may be, if he starts showing signs of hissing and batting, we gotta get him declawed. He's an indoor cat and if he just can't be trusted, that seems to be the only solution. It kills me but when it comes to the safety of my baby, babies trump kitties.

As far as preparation for the rest of the critters, I'm reading a lot of blogger experiences with introducing their babies to pets, consensus seems that you let the dogs smell the baby before they meet it so they can get used to its smell and bring a present and treats for the pet so they will associate good things with babies. I'll be continuing the research. Other than that I don't anticipate much stress with having to care for the pets and the babe. The pets have a routine and they're easy, just fill bowls and clean litter boxes. The dogs run wild in the backyard so they're pretty well exercised. Hopefully though we'll take more family walks together, stroller and non furry baby in tow.

a la mirada-icious weekend

It was a good weekend full of a lot of food and a lot of family. Saturday we just hung out but for dinner we went to El Cholo in La Habra, a family favorite. During the family prayer Poppa Dan mentioned the four generations around one table and that got grandma all teary eyed. 

When Matt's mom was a girl she would eat here and get a toy from the treasure chest, her kids did too, and her kid's kids. Isn't that something? Decades of cheap $1 toys that bring so much joy.

The nieces really wanted to feel the baby kick and of course she wouldn't perform once prompted.

On Sunday after church we made a pit stop to the newly opened 85º Bakery Cafe in Buena Park. We lucked out and there were no lines so I piled on the pastries and had a big ole cup of sea salt iced coffee. It's the end of my second trimester this week gang. Next week begins the ole home stretch.

Believe it or not after the pile of pastries we had lunch at Gondola Pizza, another family favorite.

Then we got picked up by the groom's mom and headed to a bridal shower. Did I ever mention the funny story of how a girl from my former floor and I are going to be related? When we first met our cousin's then girlfriend now fiancee, she mentioned her sister had gone to Biola. I put two and two together with the last name and what do you know we knew each other. It'd been years since we'd seen each other and now we're gonna be family. Small world huh? The little critters on her lap were two of the girl babies that were hanging out at the party. Both were fairly pleasant and very adorable.

And because none of the photos of me with the bride to-be were to the satisfaction of this here chubby pregnant face, here's a photo of the groom's mom, the bride, the matchmaker aunt, and the other beloved aunt.

It was a great weekend and I should not eat like that for another few weeks.