How it all started....

First date December 2004. 13 years ago!!!

Married in Tahoe 10/30/1997 - 10 years ago!!

I can't believe we've already been together for almost half of my life!!! Happy 10 year wedding anniversary, honey! :)

'Ehlo!

Damn, time for an update, I guess. I had my OB appointmet this morning. Everything looks good. My bp was 130/60. I was shocked. My low number has never been that low. 70, es, once. But 60?! The nurse found the hb the first place she put the doppler. I was damned impressed. :) I had my blood drawn for the AFP/Triple Screen. That HURT! She apologized, and thinks she hit a nerve in my arm. Yeowch! I'm sure I will have the bruises to show for it tomorrow.

I also called the 3-D place and made the appointment for our gender-determination u/s on December 1. That's going to be so cool! Plus, this time around, Jeff's mom, step-dad, and sister will be able to be there with us! :)

We went up there this weekend, and celebrated BIL's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Yesterday we went and did a little shopping. Their Old Navy has some Maternity stuff. I got a nice hooded sweater for $12 and a cami with a built-in bra for my yoga class.

Tonight we're going to get a Costco pizza and carve our pumpkins.

Tomorrow is Jeff & my 10 year wedding anniversary!! :) Holy crap! How did THAT happen so fast?!

We're going to have his Grandma watch Travis for a couple of hours (for the first time ever!) and go have a nice dinner out. AND this Saturday we're leaving him with Jeff's mom OVERNIGHT! (Another first!) We're going to stay in Napa, and go out to a nice dinner at the Culinary Institute. My MIL gave me a Gift cert. last Christmas for there, and we wanted to use it before baby #2 comes. I am a little nervous about the leaving him overnight, but he'll be great. He loves going to Grandma's! :)

Feeling the burn.

I just got up from a nap. Hooray! Travis is still snoozing, at least until I hit Publish. So nice, considering it's been like pulling teeth to get him to nap. And then he's just so tired, cranky, and unreasonable. And yet, he JUST WON'T go down!

I DO have a terrific case of heartburn right now, that I can do NOTHING about. Apparently, it was a supremely BAD idea to make apple pie today. And to have Honey Dijon chips with lunch. Oh, and mayo on my sandwich. Yay!

I can't take Tums because the calcium in them apparently interferes with the absorption of the beta blockers in my blood pressure meds. Lovely, no? Also, I went in on Wednesday and my bp was 140/70. My dosage has been upped to 200 mg of Labetalol 3 times a day. I was already taking 200 mg twice a day.... but the last couple of days I have felt really crappy.... nauseated, headache, while my body adjusts to the new dosage.

Also, I started prenatal yoga this week. It's 1 hour on Tuesday and Thursday. I like it, but it's kicking my ass! Oh, my arms, chest, abs too! OUCH! At least it's also an hour of QUIET twice a week while Travis is down the hall in the Kid's Zone. Yay!

So, this weekend, we have a birthday party to go to for one of the kid's from our Parents Place class. They are doing some lavish thing at Pebble Beach... cause they have $$. So, that should be nice to go have a catered lunch tomorrow. Although, I still haven't found a good gift yet, I am leaning toward a gift card for Thinker Toys. Plus, we can stop by and pick it up in the morning with our Bucks run. :)

Tonight, we're having dinner with my dad.... although I don't know where yet. Crossing fingers that Travis behaves himself..... because last week at El Torito his behavior left much to be desired for the first half of dinner. We shall see....

Weekend....

We had a nice weekend.... Saturday we went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. We had never gone before, and weren't sure what to expect. It was CRAZY busy. I mean TONS of people. More like a glorified street fair than a "Festival", but whatever.

We stayed a few hours, and Travis was anything but behaved. Time-outs were improvised on the sidewalk curb, or in random benches. It was tiring. We walked a LOT!!

On the way out of town, we stopped at at Pumpkin Farm, and that was really fun! We got Pumpkins, and they had this area for the kids to throw straw around. We had pumpkin ice cream, and took some pictures (see Flickr for the whole set.)


Then we drove through Santa Cruz and had a late lunch. We drove home, and went grocery shopping. Then I made pasta for dinner. Yummy!

Sunday, I got up early, and did laundry. Then we met my dad at Denny's for breakfast. I had gone with Travis on Thursday to help Jeff's Grandma pick out a new La-Z-Boy couch. So we to pick up her old couch with my Dad's truck to take up to Santa Cruz for Jeff's sister in Santa Cruz. So we drove up there, dropped off the couch, and then we all went to the Boardwalk with my dad and my SIL Sarah. It was a lot of fun for Travis especially! Travis rode the dragon rollercoaster with his Auntie Sarah! :)

Then we went to this yummy Mexican place we love for lunch. We ate way too much food. Then we dropped Sarah back off at home, and said our goodbyes.

Travis threw the biggest screaming, kicking, freaking out fit in the back seat as we left. I mean screaming like you wouldn't believe.... for miles He got really upset because Grandpa AND Auntie were leaving. And he had had NO nap all day. SO, that seriously sucked. Then he finally calmed down enough to fall asleep. Whew! When we got home, Jeff and I watched Next with Nicholas Cage while Travis napped.

It was nice, and busy, and stressful, and relaxing. If that makes any sense whatsoever!

Maybe it's just a buggy software update....

Ever since Travis was a wee little baby.... any time he started with a brand-new behavior, we have had a running joke. "He got a new download." Like our Tivo - we're certain our child receives software updates, in the middle of the night.

Seriously, he'll wake up, and exhibit a never-before-seen behavior, shriek, or some other mind-boggling thing.... Jeff and I look at each other and one of us says "He must have gotten the new download." I think at this moment, he's running version 2.35 (cause he's 2 years, and 35 months old.) But version 2.35 is buggy. REALLY buggy.

And boy, do I ever want to run anti-virus on his narrow ass some days. Sigh.

The screaming, throwing things, hitting. It's driving us effing crazy. And time-outs only work so well, ya know?

So, today, after we go to our weekly Parents Place, I will be the one at the library checking out "How to Gently Discipline Your Spirited Toddler While Pregnant So That You Do Not Fly Off the Handle, or Spontaneously Combust, For Dummies."

Wish me luck.

Blah, blah, blah

The last couple of days have been measurably better. Because of napping.... and for that I am greatful.

Travis is still being a tad more aggressive than I would like. He's freaked out and slapped me a few times... landing himself in trouble. Time-out, scolding....he seems sorry after he does it.... and he apologizes, but, damn.

I wonder, though.... where is this behavior coming from to begin with? We don't hit, he doesn't see it anywhere. I guess it's just a phase. Hopefully, it's short-lived.

Anyway....last night we went to the grand opening party for our new Safeway here in town. Er. Well, Del Rey Oaks. Oh My Gosh. It's the coolest grocery store in existence. No, really. They spent $15 million on it, and it's truely a sight to behold. This store.... 74,000-square-feet. Hell yeah!

They have a Starbucks Cafe with seating, a sushi bar, wood-oven bakery, TONS of freshly prepared stuff, and their produce section is just awesome!! Also, there are tons of organic and gourmet foods, and it's just awesome! Woohoo!

Yeah, I'm a dork.... but so are the other zillion people who went to the grand opening last night. Now, I just can't wait until the new Trader Joes opens!! :)

We came home, and I made Chicken with Apple Gravy, Rice Pilaf, and Green Beans for dinner. It was SOOO good!

Today, I need to go to Whole Paycheck and get a few things... I am attempting a Vegan cake for my brother-in-law's birthday tomorrow. I'm using this recipe for Vegan "Buttercream" Frosting which I'm sure I will add cocoa to. Hopefully it turns out, cause I have never attempted baking anything vegan before.

Oh, and the other day, I had my OB apointment. Everything seems great! :)

I got my doppler in the mail, and have found the heartbeat on my own, so YAY! Week 14, here I come!

Le sigh.

Yesterday was hard. Damn hard. As in, I had a request (after breakfast) for a Starbucks chocolate donut and milk. So, we went to the one in nearest proximity to the park playdate we had scheduled. We NEVER go to that Bucks, cause it's Way the eff out on Highway 68.... and it's a pain to get there. But the playdate was only like a mile away, so that's where we ended up.

There were NO chocolate donuts to be found. He started tearing up in line, and pushed his lower lip out, and cried like his feelings had gotten really, really hurt. He cried, and sobbed, and said "Travis SO sad!" Poor thing.... he was eventually placated with a couple of Brownie Bites, but he kept reminding me that he was "so sad" in between bites.

After that, I took The Boy to the park, and he hated being there. He screamed, like he was being killed. At the PARK, people! Then, even though my mom had planned to visit early enough to have lunch.... she was delayed, making it closer to 2:30 than the agreed-upon time of 1:ish. So, we were starving, and Travis was cranky, and not napping.

Finally, she got here, and we did have lunch, closer to 3:00... Travis started to doze off in the car, but woke up 5 minutes after the food got to our table. So, I ordered him a quesadilla, and we all ate.

Afterwards, we hit Trader Joes, and the Cranky-fest continued. We decided to skip the Farmers Market. I was dragging ass, too.... and decided to skip my Stitch 'n Bitch. Again.

My mom came back to our place for a few, and then headed out. Travis freaked the eff out. He cried. He screamed. He wailed. He went out on the balcony and yelled "GrammaWary! GrammaWary! GrammmmmaaaaaWaaaary!" (Grandma Mary) at least 5,000,000 times.

He did NOT nap! I did not nap. It was lame, lame, lame.

Add that to the round ligament pains I had all damn day, and sheer exhaustion, frustration, and the fact that my day started at 7:30 am with all the above crap.... well, at least we got pizza last night.... cause I was SOOOO not making dinner after all that crap!

I had a mini-breakdown and cried after Jeff got here. I said I didn't remember the pains of pregnancy starting this early, and it was a hard day, and I just didn't know what to do.

He comforted me... he's good like that. :) Then he suggested that since I have a couple more months left on my gym membership... and honestly? I haven't gone. InmMonths. Really.

But, he suggested I take advantage of their daycare, and either go in the pool, or take the laptop, and surf the'r wi-fi while getting a break a few times a week. Brilliant!!!
I knew I married him for a reason!! :)

P.S. It's the Great Mofo Delurk today, peeps!! Come out of the closet and post a comment for eff's sake!!


Thanks to Leslie for the heads-up!

Toddlemonster

Travis is experiencing a resurgence in the Terrible Twos.... but right now, mere weeks from 3.... what do we call it? The Toddler Terrors?

Whatever it is... it's driving me to the brink of insanity.

Last night we went to Red Lobster with friends.... and he was HORRIBLE! Screaming, not listening, having to drag him outside to give him talks, only to have to do it all over again several times during dinner. I thought we'd have to leave before our entrees arrived.

So, Jeff and I decided.... unless it's a family-type of place like we go with my dad, or to breakfast.... we're just going to have to forgo it unless we can have Grandma watch him. It's just too damn stressful, and stress like that I can live without! Shrimp, or no shrimp!