Category: MLV

My Appointment, Days Between & Work

My appointment went really well the last day I updated, aside from feeling incredibly annoyed by that woman. People never really bother me, because I can usually block everyone out, but she was so loud. Anyway, I weighed in at 127.9, so I gained about a pound and a half. Dr. C. did a sono and I saw my lil’ one’s heart beating for the first time! It was lovely. It confirmed everything for me and gave me a sense of relief. And we saw him/her moving! I’d never seen them move so much at this stage, ever! The little arm nubs were moving up and down; it was the cutest thing. As for my blood work: everything came back healthy and normal, even my blood sugar! Laura said it’s like nothing was ever wrong with me. As she escorted me down the hall she put her arm around me and said I was an inspiration, especially because Mom’s sugar’s been very good, too, since I found out I was borderline diabetic. I can safely say I’m not diabetic right now, though I still have to be careful. You can see the full update here

I came home and showed the kids the sono pic and spent some time with them before John and I met Mario at Target during his lunch. We were on a mission to find a sports coat, so he could return his suit. We found nothing. We went to Ross right next door, which was actually Mario’s idea. I hadn’t even thought of Ross! We found a nice coat and shirt right away. He kissed me goodbye and I dragged John to the maternity section to hopefully find some clothes, but I only found a plum colored blouse and some maternity sweat pants.

We went to JC Penny next to return his suit and look for a matching tie. It took forever trying to find something that was half-decent and matched the shirt, especially since the coat looked green in fluorescent lighting, brown in natural light. I finally decided on an off-white/light yellow shirt and matched a tie. I was starving by the time we left the mall. I wanted Kumori but John didn’t want to go so I settled for Taco Bell. We took Mario a drink to work and showed him his new duds. He was satisfied, thankfully. We made one last stop at Hancock Fabrics to find some maternity panels for my pants. A nice lady helped me find the panels. I asked if they were demi panels and she said they were. Cool. Got some nice fabric for new curtains for the kitchen since I want a change. I’ve had my cherry theme in there since 2002 or so!

Mary was going to mail out Mario’s documents for Border Patrol on Thursday, but he forgot to sign 4 sheets. So there I go, dragging John along with me, all the way to McAllen to get them from Mary, take them to Mario to sign and mail off. Well, that’s the plan. What really happens is all the ladies I speak run into want to talk about the baby and Mario going to the BP Academy. Usually I don’t mind, but I’ve only got 40 minutes to get everything signed and sent off.

Get to Mario’s, who’s in a bad mood, and he signs everything. Mail everything off Priority at the post office and then rush to Hancock Fabrics (rush because John’s being a pain) to return the maternity panels because they ended up being these huge things that I’d have to sew into an oval in my old pants. No thanks. Too much work. So I returned them and bought the upholstery for the kitchen chairs instead, which is a beige vinyl. I learned my lesson: no non-washable fabrics for these chairs! The boys stained them all in a week when we first got them!

Mario had his oral interview on Friday. We woke up super early and I made him breakfast. I made myself some, too and stayed awake because I couldn’t sleep from the excitement. I finally did fall asleep around 8am, for about an hour before getting a call from Sally. She wanted to meet up for lunch. I quickly got up, cleaned up, took a shower and got ready to go. Mario called with the awesome news that he’d passed that part of the process! I made some quick lunch for everyone from the shredded chicken we had left over from the chalupas I’d made the night before. Sally arrived and we went to eat at Chili’s, talking about her and Pete’s upcoming wedding (yay!!!), my pregnancy and everything else in between.

Mary, Mom, the kids and I all went to the outlets the next morning to exchange the boys’ shoes for smaller sizes. Everything went smoothly and thank God, they had their sizes available (the last time they didn’t, hence going back this time).

We ate at Long John Silver’s (always a treat because we don’t have one nearby). Alaethia ate really well. It’s always great to see her eat because she doesn’t always want to eat actual FOOD.

We took Mom and the kids back home so I could go shopping for work clothes. I got a nice amount of maternity clothes for work that’ll look great even while I’m at this awkward stage where my old clothes don’t fit and maternity clothes are still too big. I got a shitton of clothes at Ross and only spent about $70! When we got home Mom already had her specialty made: burritos! They were SO GOOD.

On Sunday, we went to Target, Payless (where I got new ballet flats and Mom got me a new purse for work and shoes for Aly), met Andy and Noelia and went to the mall and I can’t even remember where else. Oh yes, and I picked up my makeup bag at Sally’s. Quentin is so big already with the most beautiful gray/hazel eyes! I chatted with her and Pete for a bit and she’s so sweet: she bought me a few maternity things and threw some extra stuff in! I love that girl :).

I did nothing on Monday, on purpose because I had to do laundry, clean the bathroom and get everything ready for work. I watched The Wizard of Oz with Alaethia, which is her favorite movie of the moment. Well, it has been for about a month. She’s in her “favorites” stage. She’ll watch it all day if possible and sings ‘la, la, la, la, la’ during the Munchkin song. For about a week I’d have to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to her in order for her to fall asleep. She’s got her favorite stuffed bear, named Bunny. Her favorite blanket (that sounds like Bacon when she says it). Her favorite drinks are owanjuice (orange juice) and milk.

I had trouble sleeping last night, because of Alaethia, of course, who woke up 3 times and because I had to pee. I got ready just in time and got to work right on time. Eenan was the only kiddo awake to see me off, aww. I got to work and said hello to everyone and Mrs. V. got there a few minutes after I did. They were waxing our floors so there was furniture everywhere but it was really nice to be back. We quickly got to looking through inventory and checking off a mental to-do list while we walked around. We were looking through the laptops when she asked how my summer was and I found my chance. I told her I had a surprise. She stops what she’s doing, looks at me and says, “You’re pregnant!” and I say, “Yes, I am!” She hugs me and I tell her how I found out and my reaction and everything. We talk about maternity leave and then she asks what I’ll do afterwards. As nervous as I was to hear her reaction, I told her I didn’t think I’d be going back because Mom couldn’t watch both babies. She tells me, “As a mom, I’d stay home and take care of the babies. If I’d had the choice I would have stayed home. As an employer–” and she writhes and clutches her fists and throws them into the air in frustration LOL. She continues, “I’d stay home. Family comes first. You do what you need to do.” I could have thrown my arms around her and hugged her…and bawled. It went so much better than I thought it would. I’m seriously lucky to have her as my boss *tear*.

I spent a few hours putting Newberry labels on books then helped the office staff with 6th grade registrations. The principal taught me how to use the program really quick and he was impressed with how quickly I caught on (he told me himself during lunch *beams*). After lunch, which was some delicious botanas they ordered for us, I went back to help and then was sent to the office since Vero, who was manning the phones, had an emergency. I spent the afternoon reading the news (with the principal’s permission) and answering phones and taking messages. It was such a good day, really. Hope tomorrow’s awesome, too. Just 3 more weeks of work and then we have a 3-day weekend, heh!

Eenan’s 9th Birthday & Other Tidbits

I haven’t updated because I’ve been out and about. Friday, the 25th, we lazied around the house and then John, Alaethia and I went to Kumori. I called first to make sure they were open since some parts of McAllen still didn’t have electricity.

I wasn’t too happy with my visit that day. They were packed, so I wasn’t too bitchy, but they took forever to bring us our Miso soup, which made Alaethia throw a fit. Not even the chopsticks were keeping her busy. Then they took forever with the food and never came around to refill our lemonades, which they’re usually right on top of. Alaethia was not happy in her high chair so we tried eating as fast as possible so we could leave. She’d done so well the last time we took her LOL.

On Saturday we didn’t go anywhere since we were having a get together for Elda’s birthday, which had been on the 23rd but we were in the middle of a hurricane so we didn’t do anything. I contributed a Dump Cake (really have to add that recipe; it’s more delicious than it sounds!) and we had Shrimp Cocktail as the main course, yum. Mario got to Yadira’s early (where we were having the party) and I get a text from Maggie inviting us over for brisket that Hiram was making. We picked up some sodas and went over. Alaethia stayed with Mom (the mosquitoes were awful and her bites get really infected), Eenan slept over at Mary’s as always and Jaylen had gone with us but their boys were with their grandma so poor Jaylen was bored. Well, somewhat. He got to play games on their computer and then went outside to the garage with us where Jorge let hi play Guitar Hero. Jorge is obsessed with it! Jaylen caught on pretty fast.

We woke up late Sunday morning and browsed through the ads online, fed the kiddos and then Mario and I went on a date. We ate at Whataburger and then went to the movies. We watched Step Brothers, which was kind of disturbing and so ridiculous it was funny. John was going to go with u

It’ll Be Here Soon

We were up all night with Alaethia, who caught a cold out of nowhere and was having a hard time breathing. Not even the nebulizer helped. We were waiting and waiting for the crashing thunder, but nothing came.

It’s been raining on and off since we woke up at 11:28am, since we were up watching the Weather Channel, up with Alaethia and then waiting to call Mario’s boss to check if he had to go in to work or not. Hurricane Dolly’s a category 2 now and already made landfall. I’m worried about the Rio Grande River overflowing (it was already at 80% capacity) or the levees breaking. I’m worried about my cats, Alidocious and Ash (the only two I have because someone “stole” all my other ones), and Rocko :(. I don’t even have a litter box to stick them in my bathroom till the worst is over. But everyone’s trying to convince me that they’ll be okay. Not if it floods. If I have to I’ll stick them all in the bathroom, litter box or not.

And I hope Gramma’s okay. I’m sure her nursing home took proper precautions but since I’m not over there and can’t see how they’ve prepared I can’t help but feel anxious.

We made a last-minute run to Dollar General for Mom and it was PACKED yesterday night. We went to put gas in the 5-gallon jug for the generator and Mayra just so happened to park right next to me. It was so nice to see her after all this time! Hopefully next time it’s over lunch and not preparing for a hurricane LOL.

I’m just glad we’re all together (Mario and Mary didn’t have to go in to work after all). John’s at his house, but I’m sure the big chicken will come over here soon. Mom’s already over here.

I wonder how long the power will be out once it goes–because it will go. John goes bat-shit when the power’s out.

At least we’ve got tons of canned ravioli and books to keep us busy.