Category: Pregnancy

Home Improvement

Shame on me for spending the last (quiet, chore-free, childless!) hour online and instead of updating my neglected site, I was obsessively browsing Pink Is the New Blog. I don’t know what it is with me and celebrity gossip blogs lately, but I go to PITNB at least 5 times a week. I’ve even got Mario reading those sites when he gets bored LOL.

My French Vanilla coffee’s got me peeing every 5 minutes, I’m not kidding. I decided to drink regular coffee instead of decaf so I won’t feel so sleepy throughout the day since I had to wake up at 4:30am again to pee, as is the drill every night. At least I’m feeling Alaethia move a lot more now :). (Yes, I think we decided on that spelling. For now LOL.)

So let’s see…last Friday was a good day. It was Mario’s day off so he went with me to drop the kids off in the morning. I took Eenan to his class while he took Jaylen, and Jaylen stayed tear-less and tantrum-less. When I picked him up after school I asked him, “How’d it go? Were you brave?” and he said, “Yup! I felt like I was gonna cwy, but I wiped my eyes and I didn’t cwy!” (As you can see, he still has trouble pronouncing his R’s. Eenan had the same problem. I think it’s adorable though LOL.)

We spent that morning/afternoon moving furniture around (well, Mario and John moved stuff, I just pointed to where everything should go) so that we could finish up with painting. Mario and I did the closet in our room and in the evening finished up with the kids’ room. All that was left to do in that room was the edges near the ceiling and the corners, but I would do that later.

After all the painting we did on Friday, Mario volunteered me to help Mary paint her house. I was silently cursing him since I was hoping to finish painting our house (I still needed parts of the living room + edges and corners like I’d said before) and the whole house needed a desperate cleaning. There was sheetrock dust on every surface of the house and my floors still had clumps of spackle all over the place.

But, I sucked it up and went to help Mary after I’d had breakfast. I was to help do a texture that uses a plastic bag and paint all over her walls. It actually looks really nice and gives the room a vintage look, which works out since Mary has a few vintage-looking porcelain dolls on a shelf. After I’d finished there, I came to work on my house before I became engaged in anything else over there. I was feeling a little annoyed since I had to do all the painting by myself at my house and the only person to help me move things around was John, which I appreciated greatly. Elda, Mary and Noelia were all helping each other paint and were done with Mary’s room, the kitchen, living room, Noelia’s room and her bathroom in one day. Grr. I still had the kids’ closet to paint but I was way too tired to even bother.

We’ll need to buy maybe two more gallons of the beige paint, since the “new” walls don’t look glossy like they’re supposed to. I think the texture sucked it all up.

Noelia’s birthday was on Sunday. We’d slept in as much as we could and then got ready. The food was great and everyone was here, so it was nice. After Noelia’s lunch, Mario and I hurried to Target to get a birthday present for a little girl whose party we were invited to. While we were looking around for something to buy for a 1 year old girl (we were having so much trouble! We need to get used to the baby girl toys LOL) Mario called his friend Manny to check if he was going and he said no, so Mario didn’t want to go anymore either. He’s such a girl about stuff like that LOL.

So, instead of buying the birthday present, we got the kids 2 screen-print shirts that were on sale. We wandered over to the baby department and saw the 4-in-1 crib I liked (and it was less expensive than I thought!) and the Boppy and stroller/carseat combo we liked–in pink! I need to add all this stuff to my Pregnancy Timeline page to keep track of links just in case they don’t have them at the store.

Monday was a normal day, I think? Can’t remember now. Tuesday, of course, was spent doing these things and crying my eyes out because of all the Katrina Anniversary stuff on TV. I only got the things that are marked off done that day and of course washing dishes (which I did the next morning because I was dead tired. I had to drag myself into the shower at night. I even whined to Mario, “I wanna stay dirty!” which is Eenan and Jaylen’s favorite phrase.) I’m glad the house is much cleaner than it had been for a few days, though.

I spent most of Wednesday with a headache (I didn’t sleep enough) and was nodding off every time I was sitting quietly. I didn’t do much that day since the house was actually CLEAN!

Jaylen had been doing wonderfully all week–no crying in the morning since I’d give him a You’re Gonna Be Brave, Right? pep talk on the way to school every day. Well, this morning I didn’t get a chance to give him a pep talk since we were talking about other things. He immediately started freezing up as we approached his class and threw himself on the floor in front of the door. His teacher heard and quickly came to my rescue (thank GOD!) and tried consoling him. I ran away as fast as I could to drop off Eenan before he was late.

Eenan’s been doing great in school, except for the fact that he forgot his homework folder Monday and Tuesday. When he told his teacher about it on Tuesday he said she replied with, “It’s not my problem.” Geez. I know he forgot and all, but do you have to speak to him that way? She looks like she’s a bitter old woman. Hopefully I’m wrong.

He finally brought his homework yesterday though, with the warning that if he forgot it again he was going to get a Red Mark in his behavior folder. A Red Mark is like, the worst thing, ever. I hope he remembers it today *crosses fingers*.

Mario gets paid tomorrow and we’re sort of nervous since it’s been a slow week so far. They’ve been experiencing their Slow Season since about June, but Mario’s always done great. Well, this week they’ve hardly had any work, and Mario’s finally feeling the brunt of it. We have our car payment this week, Mario needs shoes (his current ones are “talking” to him), Jaylen needs new shorts for school since all the other ones we got him are HUGE, thankyouverymuch; plus our credit card, personal plan payment at JC Penny, and storage payments. Oh, and I forgot, we need to get the trim for the doors:

Getting Better

(Nice improvement from before, right?)

Almost Done

And trim, is it? For all the rooms and whatever we may need for the closets. I REALLY need those closets to be finished. Look at where my clothes are for the time being since we took out my old wardrobe closet on Friday (and it quickly decided to fall apart as soon as they took it outside):

Pile

May God help us.

Took a break to pick up Jaylen and Brianna and he did much better after I left. He even got another sticker for behaving well :). I’ve been keeping all the stickers he gets on a little sheet for his scrapbook. I wish I’d done the same for Eenan :(. John calls me “Psycho Mom” LOL.

Lows and Highs

I’ll start with the lows, so that I can end this entry on a more chipper note…

First, I realized that I can’t take the teaching job and that realization sucks. I hate to go all “emo” as John would say, but it seems that everytime a great opportunity knocks on the door, I have to slam the door in it’s face.

I had to work up the courage to call Mrs. C-R and break the news to her. There’s just nobody who can pick the kids up for me. John volunteered to walk to their school and pick them up and bring them home, but I can’t do that to him. Not again. He made me the huge favor of babysitting the kids for me the 9 months I went to school and I can’t do that to him again. I can’t stop him from getting a job (which he’s in the process of doing) just so that I can go and persue something for myself. It’s his turn.

My interview was tomorrow at 2 p.m. She told me to call her tomorrow morning just in case anything changed, but the only thing I’ll be calling her is to confirm my unavailability. I felt so embarrassed and just plain terrible for having to back out. It’s not like I wanted to, but it’s out of my hands at this point. I wish I would have known sooner that there was no way I’d be able to do this. It really sucks.

Another thing that crapped on my day was that I had my doctor’s appointment today and I didn’t get any sono pictures of Alaethia :(. I took a CD-R in so that Dr. C. could record my ultrasound but it obviously didn’t work. The pictures saved in a .CIN format and I searched all morning for a way to convert them (or at least view them) with no luck. Poo. And she grew since my last appointment, too! I can already tell she’s going to be gorgeous :).

Now for the better things:

I had a little trouble getting Eenan to cooperate with me this morning, but eventually he gave in and got ready for school. Jaylen surprised me. I thought he’d fight me on going, but he asked, “Can’t we leave to school already?” when noticed I was taking “too long” to eat my cereal.

Eenan asked me to walk him to his class today, which made me feel like, ‘Yes! He still needs me!’ LOL. I gave him a kiss and he said ‘See ya’ to Jaylen and he went on his merry way.

It was Jaylen’s turn. I gave him a little pep talk on the way to the class.

“You’re going to be a brave boy for me today, right?”

He nods and smiles.

“You’ll be fine. You’ll have fun and be with your friends, like Brianna and I’ll be back for you before you know it, okay?”

He nods again and we get to the door. He gives me a kiss and I watch as he walks into the class. He turns and I blow a kiss to him and wave. As the door’s closing I hear him wail, “MOOOOM!” and I think, “Oh no, not again!”

He’s already in tears when he reaches me and says, “I forgot to give you a hug!” He hugs me and kisses my protruding belly repeatedly. He looks up at me, eyes filled with tears and says, “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t get to spend enough time with you!” I tell him, “It’s okay, Baby. You’re only here for a little while and you get to have fun! I’ll pick you up at 11:30, okay?”

He wipes his tears away and says, “But you’ll never come!” I laugh, wipe his eyes and tell him, “Have I ever forgotten you? No, right? You know I have to pick you and Brianna up. I promise I’ll come for you.” He wipes his face with both hands and we try again. I tell him to have a good day and say hello to Brianna for me, but she’s already sitting at the table eating her breakfast and yells, “Heyyy!” His teacher walks over to me with a huge grin on her face and says, “He’s doing better!” I nod, relieved, and proceed to tell her about his nosebleeds and not to panic if they happen. He knows what to do.

I left feeling so much better than yesterday. I got home and tried waking Mario out of his coma. Mr. Man was busy watching TV till 2:30 a.m. and then kept waking me up to, uh, “cuddle” from 4-5. I finally had to put my foot down and said, “No, means no!”

So needless to say, we were both tired and sleepy. He got dressed and got his stuff together and I sat on the couch to watch TV to help me stay awake. It was 8:25 a.m.; I had my appointment at 10. I ended up falling asleep. I had a feeling I should wake up at what seemed like just 15 minutes but the clock said it was 9:52! I got smoothed out my clothes, fixed my hair really quick and left. I didn’t even get to put make up on. I made it at 10:01!

I had a conversation with a girl I met there who’s 3 months along. She was there to maybe find out the baby’s gender (she wants a girl since she has a boy) and she congratulated me on my girl. We talked about our ailments and previous pregnancies. I didn’t get to ask her what she had, but I hope she got the healthy girl she wanted :).

I was panicking because they took much longer than they usually do today. They finally called me in at 11:12 and I stared at my cellphone till 11:20, when the doctor finally came in. He said we’d be doing the measurements again and the triple-screening (AFP).

We go into the room and I hand him the CD. He tells me he’s really not familiar with the machine, but we’d give it a try (great!).

He measured Alaethia’s head, torso, legs and checked out her spine and said everything looked great. She was moving around a lot this time; she was kicking her little legs, moving from side to side and either she sucked her thumb or touched her face–we couldn’t tell. I asked him to please confirm her gender and he took a still of her bottom. He points to the screen and says, “Ah! That right there’s her little vagina” LOL! I asked him, “So it’s okay to buy her clothes now? and she said, “Sure!”

I weighed 127.8 this time and the nurses said I’m doing great with the weight gain. They were surprised to see how gigantic I am now :P. They also asked about her movements and I told them that I didn’t feel them a lot, but I have been feeling little flutters and “spasms”. I’ve actually been feeling her move much more today. It makes me feel at ease knowing that she’s moving around in there. I was so worried before!

They took my blood (11:30) and I get out of there at 11:33. Thank goodness the school’s nearby; I made it right on time at 11:35. Jaylen ran to the door when he saw me and hugged me, then Brianna grabbed me, too. They were much better behaved today. I felt so overwhelmed yesterday (the kids + not being able to take the job + having to fix Elda’s computer + having to clean up after construction = emotional wreck). It was the cutest thing when Brianna started snuggling up with Mom and then she snuggled up with me. Mom called her my “new daughter” when we had to go pick Eenan up LOL.

John went with me since he had to drop off an application afterwards. It actually didn’t rain at 3 today (it rained both Monday and Tuesday and only at 3 O_o).

We dropped Brandon off at home, then went to Burger King. Got the kids some tenders then we went to get the boys’ haircuts. Jaylen was cooperative, Eenan was throwing fits. He loathes haircuts. He’s always afraid they’re going to cut more than they should, but we go to the same lady everytime and she knows how they like their hair. Didn’t stop him from getting himself into trouble and getting grounded for an extra day, though.

The lady and I spoke about how much the school district sucks, ideas why last year’s principal is now working at Target (no, really), and how the school’s construction is ruining her business. She even complimented my belly and said, “4 or 5 months right? It looks like you’re that far along.” She’s the only one who’s been right. Everyone else freaks out by the size of my stomach LOL.

I also chopped all my hair off on inpulse. Something just came over me. It used to be waist-length, now it’s a little under my shoulders. Crazy. I do love it though. It feels so much healthier. I was due for a haircut.

Mayra asked me about how remodeling’s going and it’s actually picked up speed a little. I helped my dad-in-law finish texturing the walls so now I need to paint. Hopefully those closets will be up in the next 1-2 weeks. I seriously can’t wait!

I also got my beige futon cover and clear frame magnets for my fridge from the ABC catalog. The living room looks like it got a makeover just by changing the cover and my fridge looks so organized and spiffy :).

Once the hallway’s done I want to buy a small mirror and table to give the hallway some life. If not, just this nice corner shelf where I can put some nice vases/trinkets.

At least I have my redecorating to keep me busy now that I’ll be home for this entire pregnancy.

Questions About Your First Born

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED???
Nope, he was a surprise. One of the best surprises I’ve ever gotten :).

2. WHO FATHERED YOUR CHILD???
My husband (and boyfriend at the time), Mario.

3. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FOUND OUT?
Extremely shocked, mad at myself, scared, but excited.

4. WAS ADOPTION OR ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU???
Never.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU???
16 (had him at 17)

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT???
Missed my period for 2 months (thought it was normal since I was super irregular), took three pregnancy tests and then went to the doctor the next morning.

7. WHO WAS THE FiRST TO KNOW???
Mario, Rejeana and her mom, Watson, Art and Robby, Mario’s mom and then my mom.

(8. was missing)

9. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE??
Sometime in August.

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS???
Mild nausea due to migraines during the 3rd month.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE???
Pickles & Doritos sprinkled with Lucas, nachos, watermelon and Chamoyadas.

12. WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST???
Nobody.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FIRST CHILDS SEX???
Boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING???
Nope. I knew he was a boy from the beginning. I had a feeling; even after they told me he was a girl at 4 months, I didn’t believe it, and I was right!

15. WHAT WERE THE NAMES YOU PICKED OUT??
Just Eenan.

16. DID YOU GET STRETCHMARKS???
3 streaks on each thigh and that was it.

17. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT YOUR PREGNANCY???
21 lbs.

18. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER??? WHAT WAS THE THEME???
Yes. Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

19. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW???
I knew.

20. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY???
None at all.

21. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH???
McAllen Medical

22. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR???
Oh GOD. 31.

23. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL???
Mario, my mom, and Mario’s aunt (and Eenan’s godmother) Yadira.

24. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH???
Mario and my mom-in-law.

25. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION???
Natural

26. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN???
I had an epidural. I BEGGED for it.

27. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD’S BIRTHDATE???
July 30, 1999.

28. WHAT TIME???
11:05am

29. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH???
7 lbs 5 oz

30. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS???
No, thank goodness :).

31. WHAT DID YOU NAME HE/SHE???
Eenan Ryan

32. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY???
7 years old!