December 29, 2010

December 27, 2010

Our Christmas

We had our 39 week appointment this morning. Felt a little weird scheduling yet another one for next week. I can only hope that baby comes before then.

Now, I know that I have pretty much the most amazing husband the world has ever seen. But today I noticed it like a slap in the face. The kind of slap that would say 'Be more thankful for him!'
I've been scheduling my appointments early in the day so that he can go with me. Thankfully he was there last week. I had worn my skinny jeans and with me not being able to tough my toes, I relieved that he was there to help. But today, I didn't have my skinnies on and can usually shimmy out of them pretty fast. But there he was, helping put my pants and shoes back on. So, to all you pregnant ladies out there, don't even think twice about bringing your hubbies with you to the doctor. Bring him along!

ANYWAYS!
Christmas! How was yours?
Our Christmas was a nice, quiet day. Unlike the many years as kids, we weren't up at the crack of dawn, urging parents out of bed to open presents. Well, I was up. At 6:30 to be exact. For some reason I was wide awake. My mom thinks it's prep for when the baby comes. But all I could think of was "Am I going into labor?" Sadly I wasn't though.
Everyone was awake around 10:30, when we started to open gifts and chat with loved ones on the phone.
Marcos and I got some great gifts! The only thing I wish I could've gotten was baby, born.
We had a good dinner and took a drive to look at houses for sale.

Now, the year of the end approaches. It's hard to believe.

December 19, 2010

Preparing for Baby

Well everyone, I have been pregnant for 38 weeks now. Can you believe it? I can and can't at the same time. It's seems like I've been pregnant for a LONG time but it's stunning to think that this little baby who has been baking inside will be in my arms within a matter of days!
Incredible.
When I think about it, this baby could be born before my next doctor's appointment. Holy smokes!

Marcos is enjoying his new job and working A LOT! He was even given some of the product from the line to sample here at home. [He loved them by the way.]

The week has been good even though I didn't do a whole lot. I made Christmas cookies with my mom, which are nearly gone after she gifted them all. So I have a feeling that we'll be making more. I also will be making some meals to store in the freezer for when baby comes so that I don't have to be heading to the grocery store.
Sadly, most of the magazines and pregnancy websites suggest prepping for meals by buying frozen meals and such. But, ew. I have never been one to buy or let alone eat canned, boxed or frozen food/meals. [I hope this doesn't make me sound spoiled.] The only thing I can remember eating frozen as a child were perogies, thanks to Dad.
I hope to be making some chicken meatballs, sauces, maybe curry, zucchini bread... not sure what else yet. I know I want to have some pasta in the pantry along with a few other things. Do any of you have ideas?

I just want to be ready. Today we went to Target to buy any last minute baby things we thought we needed. The other day, we bought our crib mattress on sale [which was awesome]. Today we bought the changing pad and a few first aid items that we were lacking. We are also set with diapers and wipes.

Hopefully I will be able to write more this week.
Please comment with any meal ideas that we can freeze, or baby items we'll need that I haven't thought of.
Thanks for reading!

December 14, 2010

My Two Cents on Schooling

I have this sudden urge to buy a house up north. Somewhere like Oregon. Or Washington. Maybe Illinois.
Ok, I guess it's not "sudden," since I've been wanting to move for a while now. But I do have the urge to plan and plant a garden and build a chicken coop. My husband and dad are planning out the chicken coop for where we live now, so maybe I'll take some notes and pictures for the future.
I want to raise our baby so that it learns by means of "hands on." And what better way to do that than to have a garden and some chickens?
When I was in elementary school, my mom was involved in a co-op with other home school families. Oh yeah! I was a home schooler, for those of you who didn't know. So in this co-op of families, we would study a topic [along with our regular studies], and I mean really study. One time in particular I remember studying the American Indian tribes. In my grandparent's huge back yard we had a awesome tepee and each family made a traditional dish and so on. Everything we did focused on the Indians and their way of life. The four of us in my little family even attempted to sleep in the tepee. I will never forget those times.
So with all that said, I want to raise our little one to learn by going and doing, not by just reading out of some textbook.
I want to live within a few hours of museums and aquariums and zoos. I want to be able to go on tours of the Jelly Belly factory and even a brewery. [Yes, I did that as a kid.] I want to be able to travel with my kids to teach them things that they would never learn by sitting at a desk.
 Many people, and I'm sure hundreds have over the years, ask why on earth us girls were home schooled. Even our own family members probably thought we weren't as educated as other children or teens our age. I will even admit that in high school, I wasn't too pleased with my family's decision to keep me home schooled. But now that I'm older and about to have a little one of my own, I haven't [and won't] put too much thought into whether or not we'll be home school parents.
With all the issues there are these days with education and what can and cannot be taught in schools, I am much more confident that I can teach my kids what they'll need to know and more.
Not only are there issues with the schools but the homes as well. I have met so many girls, even ones my age, that don't know how to cook or do laundry. Can you believe that some girls in their twenties don't even know what green onions looks like to buy it in a grocery store? I for one have been cooking with my mom since I was two or three years old and love it now as an adult thanks to her. I've also been doing laundry and cleaning since I was seven. Now, I'm not saying that you should turn your kids into the servants of the house. I'm saying that for me, I learned that cleaning was fun and not just a chore. So now I do it with much more ease than a lot of other ladies I know.
So with that said, we are super excited. My hubby has even asked if he can buy some of the books [that we'll use to teach] now. And I will admit that I've wanted to say yes!

December 13, 2010

Killer Hockey, Or Not

We had a wonderful weekend.
Marcos and I had dinner with a group of my parent's friends and then tagged along to see Marcos' first hockey game. The Killer Bees. Who would've thought that one of the hottest places in the US would have hockey?
Now, I love hockey. I've seen a fair share of good games which of course means good fights. This was by far the worst game I've ever seen. Not much action. Slow. And yep, you guessed it. No fights. Not one.
The last period was the "fastest" of the three and Marcos was getting into it. Most of you don't know, but my husband isn't the biggest sports fan. He's one of the only Mexicans I know that hates soccer. He's just recently seen his first football games. So this was a shock! He loved hockey.
So, we need to get around to seeing a better game. Blackhawks? Mm.. Yes!
Well, now I'm off to attempt a Christmas letter. Wish me luck!

December 10, 2010

Cold Weather? Not.

Growing up just outside Chicago, it was normal to see people wearing coats in November. By December most people sport mittens, hats and scarves. But all of what people wore made sense because of how cold it was outside. If it were above 60 degrees you might not have even spotted people in jackets, let alone sweaters or coats.

When my parents relocated our family south of the border, we couldn't believe that stores still sold winter wear. Who in their right mind would buy winter coats and boots this far south? Especially in Texas.
As the "seasons" changed, we understood why people in Mexico would buy thicker shirts and maybe even thin boots. With the climate dropping into the 30s (sometimes even lower), it would seem like 10 or 12 degrees. Having a house made of concrete, with no heat, it gets pretty chilly. The worse part was when it would get cold and rain. Now, I love rain, so don't think I'm shunning the rain or something. I'm just saying that when you have a freezing cement house that gets even colder with rain, it's not fun.

After being down here for four years, I think my blood has thinned out. It hits 55 degrees and I need to layer up and snuggle under blankets in order to get warm. I wince when I have to use the bathroom only because I don't want to touch the freezing toilet seat. Yeah. I think this is a sign that I need to move back up north. Needing a warm cup of tea when its barely 60 can't be good.

Maybe my situation calls for prayer. Just maybe.

December 8, 2010

Our Week

Our week so far has been pretty swell.

We started out by taking a tour of the birthing center/maternity wing at the hospital, which by the way was awesome! The "normal" labor and delivery rooms were super cute and inviting. They also have VIP postpartum suits which were also nice. I knew about them before the tour and wasn't even going to ask how much more they cost, because well, let's just face it, we don't have the extra money. But I soon found out that I am already a VIP because of the OBGYN that I have. How awesome is that? So I'll have to think about it, whether I'll want to be moved or not. Something tells me that I'll be just fine staying in the labor and delivery room.
birthing center new 1 005birthing center new 015
Pretty nice though, eh?

Marcos got a job! He had an interview yesterday and they told him that they'd contact before the week was over so someone could go over the safety whatnots with him. So yay God!

Also, my belly has moved down! Which means I can finally breathe! The only down fall to it, ok well I guess there are two, are the fact that my bladder is being even more squished than before and that my belly pokes out of most of the shirts I have to make it look like I have a beer belly or something. I am NOT from the hamburger generation! So don't even think that.
It also means that I'm even closer to having baby OUT!

On our way home the other afternoon, we stopped at Ulta so I could buy a peel-off face mask. I somehow convinced Marcos to do it with me when we got home. It was super fun! He loved peeling it off in one huge piece. If the masks weren't clear, I most definitely would have taken pictures!

We have things planned for the weekend and I have yet another doctor's appointment tomorrow. So I'll try to keep you up to date on what's happening! I hope you readers from up north are staying warm! If you can, send some cool weather this way!
Thanks for your prayers!

December 5, 2010

DL

So, I don't know about the state you're from but here in Texas they make you take an adult driver's ed class if you're between the ages of 18 and 25. Since when was this a law?
I'm not that old but when back in the day when I was getting my driver's license, you only needed to take driver's ed if you were younger than 18. Once you turned 18 you could just head to the DMV and take the test.
I guess things are different now, or at least down here.
Anywho... My husband had to take the 6 hour class, which wasn't cheap. This past week, he finally went and took the test. And of course, he passed!!
Now we really are all set for when the big day comes! I won't have to worry about if he can legally drive me.

December 3, 2010

Last Trip

How was every one's Thanksgiving weekends? Did y'all eat enough?

We had a nice night in, just the five of us. I will admit that I was happy that we kept things small and simple this year. It was the first time in my life that we didn't have guests over.
The following morning we headed to San Antonio for a night so that Marcos could see something other than the valley. The first thing we did was head to IKEA. We were looking to buy a crib mattress from them but by the time I had it in my hands I didn't buy it. I was just to nervous that IKEA makes it's crib mattresses too thin and that the sheets would end up being too loose. So we ended up treating ourselves to a new set of sheets and a new duvet comforter cover.
With it being Marcos' first time in IKEA (which is my FAVORITE store of all time) we spent more time than we probably needed to. This caused us to miss the very moment that the Riverwalk was lit, which we had planned on being there for. Oooppps!
There were SO many people there and just there. I mean, in the middle of the streets. Just there. Everyone was there just to see this lighting event. Oh, and I guess it was Black Friday still.
With there being butt loads of people, we ended up having to walk a ways to the mall. Yes, the mall. We were heading to Tony Roma's for dinner.
After finally finding Tony's and eating, my sister wanted to duck into a store to see what kind of sales they still had. And that's when it happened! Baby moved into a position where I thought I was going to pee my pants.
I must have looked surprised or something cause my mom started to get a little jumpy, asking if I was going into labor. Ha. No. I just had to pee. BAD.
We asked a girl who was working there where the nearest bathroom was and can you believe, she had no clue. I wanted to scream! Not in an angry way, just in disbelief that someone who worked there didn't even know where to go. So I ran across to some techie store where Marcos was and we "ran" around (for me it ended up being semi-fast careful steps in order to not pee my pants) looking for the bathroom. We finally found it. Not too far but I mean... come on! The terrible part is that baby stayed in the position for the next day or so. I was constantly in the bathroom, worrying that I might not make it next time.
At first I was worried. But after getting my "updates" and reading about the changes for the up coming week, I realized that this was the new thing. Baby's head was pushing so hard on my bladder that I would soon be spending most of my time in that beloved room of the house.
Now it's slightly better, thankfully!
We had a nice time in San Antonio but couldn't really enjoy it too much with my constant need for a bathroom. (And a clean one at that!)
Sadly that was our last trip for a while. I can no longer fly or take long drives. In a way it's weird to think but I'm also super happy. It just means that I'm that much closer to having this little one OUT and in my arms!
I am all prepped now. The diaper bag and hospital bag is all ready to go. Just in case!
But I will have to write later today; I have to run. Doctor's office is waiting for me!