39 Weeks: Four More Days...?

Happy Saturday everyone!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on my maternity leave so far.  I have to say, not having to drive my long commute to work and back this week was very nice, but I'm still getting used to maternity leave.  I have been sleeping a lot longer which is wonderful.  But even though I told my folks I wouldn't catch their cold, I think I did-my nose has been stuffed up more than usual the last couple of days.  Sigh.

Anyway, my days are all blurring together, but let's see if I can remember what I did since I last wrote in my blog...

Thursday we took Miles for a short walk in the morning but it started raining hard so we cut it short.  Good thing because it started coming down even more once we got back to our place.  A little later on my folks came over and while my mom watched The Conjuring and Grumpy Old Men, my pa, hubby and I played a couple board games.  And guess who won both-hubby of course.  I told you he's good at games.  Afterwards we took them to our once favorite Filipino fusion restaurant White Rabbit.  I say once favorite because 1. They don't upgrade their combos with boba drinks anymore, which is quite silly. 2. The service was terrible-little teenagers with attitude and 3. The food wasn't as good as it usually is.  So unfortunately, I doubt we'll be going there anymore.  Then we tried to take our folks to this place called "Candy Cane Lane" that was about ten minutes away-and not everyone had lights up!  It was kind of a let down.  Some houses were really decked out, but it wasn't as exciting as when hubby and I stumbled upon it last year.  Oh well-can't win them all.

Friday hubby had to work super early and so my folks came over and we did some last minute Christmas shopping.  I took them to one of my favorite lunch spots "Souplantation" and then after a little more shopping, came home and hung out with the hubby.  We took Miles to the dog park and then played a couple games when we got home.

His favorite corner of the couch now, but Dominion was in the way

Today while my folks visited the Reagan Library again...

Mom got a new haircut!

I did a couple errands around the house which included making Thai Chicken and Peanut Soup in the crockpot and then made lunch.  This is what happens when you have a huge belly and pregnancy brain:

I need a bib.  Mustard tummy.

After a quick post office run we took Miles to the larger dog park and then grabbed last minute food and necessities at Target.

Tonight is a relaxing night of more games and my crockpot soup which is making our place smell super yummy.  Not too much exciting news to report, but let's see if Baby H actually waits until his due date to come out!  I read only 5% of moms deliver on their actual due date-some odds huh.  My lower back was hurting at the park-I think Baby H got a little heavier which I didn't think could happen.  I'm hoping he doesn't grow much more in the next few days, I'm about to topple over!

39 Weeks: Anytime Now!

Happy Hump Day!

I'm still getting used to maternity leave...as hubby and I were talking over dinner tonight, this is my first time I haven't worked since before high school.  I've been working for 15 years straight now; vacations don't count...because maternity leave being about four months, that's a long break!

Baby H is heavy at 39 weeks.  He's putting a lot of weight on my lower back and I have this weird pain on the left side of my back only...I must lean that way to keep him up!  And it's hard to get out of bed in the middle of the night now.  Also the last couple days I'm getting hotter and sweatier, which is apparently normal because my hormones are going haywire.  I sleep with the fan on and no blankets!  I'm both anticipating this baby's arrival and frightened of labor-but I'm just trying to relax and go with the flow.

Having my folks in town has been really nice.  But let me recap my last few days...

Sunday morning hubby and I had our Christmas!

It was neat having our own Christmas so many days before the actual day.  We did well for each other-a lot of necessities (for example, I got hubby new undershirts and socks, hubby got me chapsticks and hair-ties, etc), but we also got fun things for each other, like Zombies!! the game for hubby and canvas prints of our wedding for me.

Afterwards we cleaned up fast and got ready for my folks to come over to watch football.  Unfortunately living in California we were unable to get the Seahawks game on TV, but we watched the A.D.D. Red Zone (where they show every football game that's in the "red zone") and were able to get snippits of the Seahawk game.  I met my folks outside our apartment complex before football and my pa wanted to take a photo of my belly...so here I am.

Facebook friends were generous about this photo...I still feel/look huge!

When half-time rolled around for the Seahawk game, hubby and I took my folks to our faaaavorite restaurant, Salsa and Beer.  We thought it wouldn't be so crowded for lunch, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes which wasn't too bad.  We stuffed ourselves silly and parted ways...and I immediately passed out for a nap when we got home.

Sunday night we broke out hubby's new Christmas present:

Zombies!!

After an intense, long round, hubby won.  What can I say-he's good at games.

Monday hubby didn't have to work so we did our grocery shopping and then took the pup to the smaller doggy park.  We also played Dominion, a really fun game Missy bought hubby.  That's a really neat game!

Tuesday hubby had to work, so after taking Miles for a walk around the block, my folks came over and we got Thai food for lunch.  Then after a quick run to Costco and Starbucks, we watched some TV and they took off before hubby came back from work.  Not much else that night except more Dominion and dinner.

Today we woke up early and drove out to my work to pick up a card/present from the College of Arts & Sciences faculty-every Christmas they collect money and divide it up for the admin. assistants which is really generous of them.  Then we drove over to my OB/GYN office and had my weekly check-up.  Quickest wait ever today!  But I got a little nervous when the OB couldn't find Baby H's heartbeat...took her a few tries and actually pushed him around a little, but she eventually found it.  Phew.  Then she said the obvious...Baby H will probably be around 7.5-8 lbs. and then joked "He's not going to be a six pound baby.  But you never know..."  Yes, I'm huge.  She also said I'm not really dilated and projects Baby H's arrival for next week (unlike my mom who swears he's coming out tomorrow!).

Afterwards we ran a few errands, got lunch nearby and then ran home to get Miles to take him to the dog park.  Took a short nap when we got home and have been playing games all night.

And this is why we take Miles to the dog park...so he can pass out all night!

Back to my thoughts on Baby H.  Pregnantchicken.com says at this point Baby H can come out at any moment so I should probably stop counting the days.  But another website says studies show that the longer baby stays in the belly, the better brain and motor skill development happens.  So even though he's making me rather uncomfortable lately, I'm happy he's taking his time.  I want this baby to be as smart as he can be!

Tomorrow it's going to be rainy, and I think my folks are going to come over to play board games with us and then we're going to take them to our favorite Filipino-fusion restaurant.  Near that restaurant is a street where houses really get into Christmas lights and decorations, so we're going to try and take them to that.  Yay Christmas time!

Week 38: Fun with Family & Friends

Happy Weekend!

Recap of the week so far:

Thursday-Short work day which was nice.  My dad really wanted to eat lunch at the Reagan Museum so we ended up there.  Before we went in, we took a couple photos of my dad...

Lunch wasn't bad and we got a discount for being members (my dad bought me a membership for my birthday).  Afterwards we walked down to see Air Force One which was pretty neat.

Yay Fish-eye lens to help get the whole plane in the shot!

Then we walked around a little more, and I got a neat photo of the piece of the Berlin Wall they sent to the museum.

After we saw some more of the museum, I had to go to my weekly checkup.  So far everything is still good-I gained only one pound, blood pressure is good, was told I can take Benadryl and/or Benadryl Cream for my itchy belly (very minor case of PUPPS, kind of a rash due to stretching of the skin.  My belly is just super red, but no lesions or gross things related), and I'm not dilated.  And still measuring normal even though I feel like a whale.  Overall, good checkup!

Friday-Last day of work which meant everyone pile on everything all at the last minute.  Besides a quick visit in the morning to the President's Office for their weekly "Morning Holiday Cheer", aka free hot cocoa, coffee, apple cider and cinnamon rolls, I was swamped.  I slipped away for a quick lunch with my folks too which was a nice break, but man, I was busy up to the last second of work.  I even left later than I planned on, but I had to leave at a certain time since my folks bought tickets to see the Hobbit at the local movie theater.  My favorite coworker gave me a gift card to Macy's from the whole music department right before I left-and they instructed that it was for me, not the baby.  How nice of them.  But, I'm not going to miss work at all!

The Hobbit was suuuuuper long, but the fight scenes were cool.  I guess I'm just baffled on why they had to stretch it into a trilogy.

Afterwards my folks insisted they follow me back to Santa Clarita to have dinner with the hubby too.  We ended up at El Torito and had a nice meal.

This morning I met up with Jen for a birthday/Christmas breakfast (belated birthday for her!).  I found a yummy breakfast cafe in between our places.

After catching up on life, I ran last minute Christmas shopping errands and headed home to wrap presents.  Now it's time to relax on a warm Saturday afternoon (folks, it's 70 degrees outside.  Mid-December.  Not a bad way to go!).  Countdown remains, 11 days to go!

Week 38: Two More Weeks

Is it Christmas yet?

Haha...yes, I am ready for Baby H to make his arrival.  The last week or so has been a little more harder than this whole pregnancy due to the severe itchiness of my belly and backaches.  Yesterday I  only had one itch attack and I broke down and popped some tylenol before bed for my back pains.  Thankfully I didn't have an itch attack in the middle of the night and I was able to roll out of bed to use the bathroom without any pain.  Success.

Here are my weekly pregnancy update photos thanks to pregnantchicken.com and whattoexpect.com...

Yes, I agree with this 100%.

Also, good news (I think?), Baby H has dropped.  Besides my belly being a little lower than the usual, the main reason why I know is because he's been punching me much lower...it feels really weird and last night I had to clench my teeth a couple times as he punched my bladder along with everything else down there (and/or head-butted).  Baby H will definitely be a strong baby!

Yesterday my pa drove out to my place and he drove my car to the dealership while I drove my parent's Kia.  He was able to experience my car problems and tell the service department exactly what he thought was wrong-I'm lucky to have a dad who knows cars fairly well!  The dealer was able to give me another loaner (this one being another Forester but newer and black).  Afterwards we grabbed a delicious breakfast nearby at Eggs n' Things and then I drove to work while he drove back to my mom in Malibu.  We didn't hear from the dealer until later in the afternoon and my dad explained what was wrong and I understood, but I'm not going to try and repeat everything back here.  They're minor problems and they're going to replace my tires (even though they were replaced two years ago-guess I drive a lot)...but Merry Christmas to me from my folks.  They're the nicest parents ever people.

And I made the mistake of telling my dad over the phone that I had a "minor cramp" that afternoon...it resulted in my dad telling my mom, worrying my mom then in turn worrying my dad.  So they drove out to see me in the afternoon at work...hahaha.  I had to reassure them I was fine and they were off on their merry way.  :)

I tried wrapping presents last night but got around to one and that was it.  Whoops.  I'd like to do that all sooner than later so that I don't have to worry about it later!

Two and a half more days of work left and I can't wait.  Tomorrow I'm taking off early to have lunch with the folks then to my weekly checkup; Friday I'm going to leave a little early as well because we're going to see the second Hobbit in the early evening.  My mom almost didn't want to book movie tickets because she thinks Baby H will come out early!  I had to reassure her it's fine; I know, I know, he could come out early, but I don't want the anticipation to stop everyone from having fun!  Who knows, maybe the Hobbit will make Baby H want to come out and once the movie is over I'll head to the hospital ; ).

Week 37/38: Fun Weekend

What a busy weekend!

Friday went by sooo slowly, but my parents arrived right as I was done with work.  It was/is great to see them!  I was starving at that point, so we grabbed some yummy thai food.  Afterwards we hit up Starbucks and walked off dinner a little bit at the dollar store...

I should have taken a photo of her trying to put it on first-she had it backwards.  But presenting Queen of the Dollar Store!

They dropped me back off on campus and we had our first Christmas concert which went well.  Think I played fine...but I was bummed that I didn't get home until 10:30pm.  Long day!

Saturday afternoon hubby had to work so I met my folks back near my campus and we headed over to the nearby mall since the weather was so cold and dreary/wet.

Took them to where we adopted Miles-so many cute puppy beagles!

After food court lunch mom wanted to take photos while we looked up what to do next

Cheeeeeese!  (where am I looking?!)

Mom and I decided to get our nails done since we still had a couple hours to kill, and my dad would walk around Whole Foods while this happened.  My lady was rough and quiet...she made me bleed a couple times!  I know I don't get my nails done often and my cuticles are terrible, but man she was brutal.  I didn't speak up but just know I won't be returning back there any time soon.

Second and third Christmas concerts went just fine, although I was super tired before the second one and tried to sleep a little bit (successfully but in a very awkward position on a chair).  Right after the second concert I had to bolt after I performed to make sure the dinner for the orchestra and choir was delivered and set up.  My department assistant helped me out with it and the dinner went well.

The seniors doing a traditional reading of a Christmas story after dinner

Again I didn't get home until 10:30pm; hubs and I watched a little TV and passed out soon after.

But then I woke up in the middle of the night.  A few times.  My tummy has been getting severely itchy a couple times a day now-to the point where I have to get a cold, wet wash cloth on there for a good half an hour before it stops.  I will definitely be asking my doc about this as it happened again last night and I couldn't sleep for an hour in the middle of the night.  If any of you know what causes this, help please!  I haven't started using any new shower gels/soaps and I've been using Bio Oil for the last couple weeks without any problems, so I don't think it's an allergic reaction to anything.  I don't feel like I'm growing much more either (or maybe I am and I just don't notice it!).  But it's just way itchier than normal... : (

Anyway, Sunday morning I had hubby open up his present from my dad (we have a family gift exchange now and my dad drew Matt-I drew my mom)...they said he could open them now because...

Ooh the anticipation...

Seahawks shirts for the big game!

And of course a board game, and he realllly loves his games.  And this one he was super excited about!

We were able to take a little photo of our little Seahawk family...

We decided to take Miles to the dog park since he was going to be home alone while we went to the last Christmas concert/dinner with my folks, but as we were getting ready I was able to take this photo:

We find it hilarious that he watches TV sometimes when he hears animals-you can't really see it, but there were rats on a movie and he couldn't stop watching!  Also, check out our new glider/recliner on the right

The last concert went really well and we ate dinner at the Lazy Dog Cafe which was really yummy.  We got home around 8:30pm and while I finished the laundry we watched TV.  Like I said, it was a busy weekend!

I'm on the home-stretch as far as work this week now...I am happy that I only have five more days left. My folks are going to be in the audience for the Price is Right today-wish them luck as my mom tries to get on!  Then tomorrow my folks are driving up to my place to take my car in...AGAIN.  That's right folks, my engine now sounds like it's about to fall out when it is first started...but once it warms up it's not terrible.  Both hubby and I are having some serious car problems, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.  That's how it works though, right?  I'm just glad my folks are here to help me get through it-I'm terrible with cars.

Well, 16 days left everyone!  I think I'll try to create a "12 Days of Xmas" song once the twelfth day hits...we'll see.  ;)  Have a good Monday everyone!

Week 37: Happy Friday!

Yay Fridays!  Especially when it's a Friday when I get to see my folks.  : )  They made it to Northern California last night and we're trying to make plans to see each other for an early dinner before my first Christmas concert tonight.  Yay!

Quick catch up...Wednesday I had to take Miles to our friend Susie's house since hubby had to work all day.  They took him for a long walk in the afternoon then Susie's mom took all the dogs (they have two-and seriously, Miles could be these dog's love child because one is a beagle and the other is a big shaggy brindle mutt that looks like Miles's dad!) to the dog park...so he slept all the way home and then that night...

I know I have a million pictures of Miles sleeping, but it's just too cute.

Yesterday dragged on at work, but later I had my last rehearsal with the choir in the chapel which went well, and when I got home I saw:

CHRISTMAS TOWN!!!  Hubby was sweet enough to to clean the apartment up and set up all our Christmas lights.  It's pretty festive in our place now.  Before when I found out Baby H was due on Christmas I was kind of bummed that he had to share his birthday with such a big holiday...but thinking about how happy this time of year is, I'm glad he's going to be born close to/on Christmas!

Alright, wish me luck on these concerts!  I'm only performing in one piece out of many, but I get a big solo in the middle of it...watch out, pregnant lady playing gospel!  Heehee :).

Week 37: Full Term

Gotta love pregnantchicken.com to keep things light.  :)  So today marks Week 37, which means Baby H is full term.  But every article says the doc doesn't think the same since Baby H still needs time to develop his lungs and brain.  I'm fine with that, stay in there Baby H!

Besides the silly people that comment on how I look like I'm ready to "pop" (which I certainly do feel that way), I'm doing okay.  My lower back has become more achy, especially when I wake up in the middle of the night to go potty.  Monday night I barely slept due to tossing and turning, so last night I created a pillow fort which helped a lot (sorry hubby for taking up so much room in the bed!).  After eating dinner last night I got a little uncomfortable so I sat in the glider, pulled up my sweater and while scratching my belly, Baby H was moving all over the place.  Hubby exclaimed in disbelief as he could see the baby stretching out from the couch.  Just call me Kangaroo Nichi.

A comforting article I read this week was from whattoexpect.com-apparently "(Baby) Boys are likely to be heavier than girls...moms carrying boys tend to eat more than moms carrying girls - a foreshadowing of teenage refrigerator raids to come".  And yes folks, I've had a huge appetite the last few weeks.  Whoops.  But here's Baby H right now (or a simulation of him):

I'd like to picture Baby H with a lot more hair...

Let's break down my current status in numbers, since that's how I've been thinking about my life this morning on my way to work:


2: Days until I see my folks
2: Days until my first Christmas concert
4: Approximate months I'll be on maternity leave
4: Christmas concerts I have to perform in-so Baby H needs to stay put until I'm done on Sunday!
7: Hours until my next check-up
8: Days left of work before I go on maternity leave
21: Days until Baby H's supposed arrival
21: Days until Christmas
40: Pounds I have gained so far (I'm not ashamed of this...as Angela, my future nanny, reassured me yesterday that she had gained 60 for both her babies.  And she looks better now than she ever has!  But I still have three weeks left, ugh...)

Week 36/37: Happy belated Thanksgiving

It's been a week since I last posted, but I will try to keep this post from dragging on since I have so much to catch up on!

Tuesday, November 26
Nothing super eventful, but we did manage to get this cute photo of Miles before we took a walk that evening:

Proud Miles in his scarf!  No, he didn't take a walk in it.  : )

Wednesday, November 27
Work went by fast since I was able to get off early for my weekly check-up.  But I did spend 45 minutes in the waiting room of my OB...apparently there was an emergency that my scheduled doc was facing.  I was able to see my other favorite doc though in a matter of minutes so it worked out just fine. Baby H's heartbeat is loud and strong!

Later in the evening was Miles's last day of training, where we went over everything he has learned and then "graduates".  All the other pups did so well but we were a little disappointed in Miles because he kept whining and was just super excited to be there.  He has a little puppy A.D.D.

Our graduate

Thursday, November 28
After some football in the morning and grazing on small amounts of food, we got ready and took off to our friend Daryl's house-his roommate was going to cook us all a feast (little did we know).  We brought Miles and he had a wonderful time meeting all the new people-he was so hyper!

It ended up being seven people total including the cook...and he did it all by himself.  When he started putting food on the table we were extremely astonished by where the food came from since they have such a tiny kitchen!

The meal included Turkey, Stuffing, Homemade Mac n' Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, the BEST sweet potatoes w/marshmallow I have EVER had, Brussel Sprouts, and bits of MAPLE BACON to put on whatever you wanted.  O. M. G.

Daryl's roommate Josh needs to become a chef, or at least compete in one of those cooking shows, because the food was amazing.  Needless to say we were happy to have gone to their house instead of Black Angus, holy cow.

After letting our food settle a little bit, we sat down to play Cards Against Humanity and eat dessert, a homemade peppermint cheesecake.  First, Cards Against Humanity is a very fun game-kind of like Apples to Apples but politically incorrect.  Folks, play this game with people who you know won't get offended easily.  Second, the cheesecake needed to be featured in some restaurant and it was too good for Cheesecake Factory.

So far at dessert time, I had won only one question-"What don't you want to find in your Kung Pao Chicken?"  I forgot my answer...

Hubby approved of dessert, and take a look on our friend George's face...he was in awe of the cheesecake!

Once we returned home, hubby crashed on the couch and I stayed up to catch up on Once Upon A Time, but fell asleep immediately after one episode.  All in all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 29 or BLACK FRIDAY
My diagnostic appointment on my car was at 8am, and it couldn't have come any sooner as my check engine light and AT light were on when I started my car.  Dropped it off bright and early and we decided we'd brave some crowds and take a look at a few stores.  We figured it wouldn't be so crazy since stores were open on Thanksgiving.  First stop was Barnes and Noble so hubby could look at games; I just wanted a yummy holiday Starbucks drink.  After perusing, we went over to Target since we needed actual household items.  Nothing super exciting there, but did get the items we actually needed and didn't stand in any lines.  Phew!

We then stopped in Ashley Furniture just to see if they had any rockers/gliders, and they had a sale on these huge rocker/recliners-buy one get one free.  We don't have any room for one of them let alone two, so we left right away.

Later that afternoon we took Miles for a walk around the block, and we still hadn't heard from the dealership (it was 2pm at this point!).  Finally after the walk I received a voicemail and...duh duh duuuuuuh...it was going to cost $1,400 to fix my car.  Aye chihuahua.

First, can I say how much I love my parents and I don't know what I would ever do without them?  I also feel pretty useless since I rely on them for so much.  But I'm extremely thankful for them.  After discussing what was wrong with my car, they're helping me out on this.  Pheeeeeeeew.  My pa even talked to the mechanics for me about the problems and wanted to see how much my car was worth if we even tried to trade it in-and wah waaah, it's not worth much since there's so many miles on it.  But I'm still considering after the car is fixed to trade it in since it's had so many stupid problems in the last year or two.  I do drive the heck out of it...

Anyway, we had purchased tickets Wednesday night to see the Hunger Games later that afternoon so we took off after talking to my pa for a while about my car.  Good movie!  They did a good job sticking close to the book.  While we were walking out we decided to snap a quick photo of me in front of the tree they had in their plaza.

I look so huge!  Ugh, me at 36 weeks.

On our way out we decided to stop at Big Lots to see if they had any gliders/rockers on sale since I saw some in an ad in the mail.  We stopped in our faaavorite town of Van Nuys (please note the sarcasm)...we should have been forewarned about what we were entering when I got out of the car and witnessed two people arguing in and out of their car...convo went something like this:

(Man standing outside of car): "What do you want me to say, I'm sorry?"
(Woman sitting in driver seat of car): <muffle muffle>
(Man): "Well, I'm sorry for calling you names."

And that's all I caught.  Once we entered it was a mess-stuff all over, dim lights, it was kind of scary.  Funny thing is we found a glider we wanted on sale for a good price, and surprisingly comfy.  We decided to walk around before we inquired about the glider...and it was still scary.  I saw a woman pulling out things on a shelf and letting them fall on the ground so she could get something in the back of the shelf.  I saw a plastic bin sitting right in the middle of an aisle that was very narrow.  I did find something to buy for hubby, so I decided to stand in line and purchase it before we inquired about the glider...the lady in front of me was counting out exact cash for a large purchase, and the cashier counted it twice, and then needed 38 cents...the woman slowly dug through her purse looking for the change.  Some other cashier not working pulled out a bunch of change for her, and got the exact amount.  Right as she was getting her receipt, one of the woman's daughters runs in front of me wanting to purchase an iPad case and candy.  So of course she decides to buy it.  After all that hassle in what looked like not having enough $ to buy her very large purchase, this lady was going to buy an extravagant iPad case for her daughter, letting her cut me?!  UGH.  I moved to another cashier that was thankfully open.  It was ridiculous.

Anyway, we found out that they were all out of the gliders at that Big Lots, so we tried our luck one last time at a Big Lots closer to our house.  Lo and behold they had ONE left.  Since the price was good and we both liked it, we ended up buying it.  Yay, we are done with our long list of Baby stuff (for now!).

Saturday, November 30
After a big yummy breakfast, we took Miles to the dog park where he had a LOT of fun.  We stayed there for a while until I got a call from my dad saying I can pick up a rental car Monday morning at 7am...which is no bueno since I leave for work around 6:45am.  I made a call to the dealer and they said they could have a rental for me that afternoon.  So we made our way back to Valencia after the park and hubby dropped me off at the dealership.  They put me in a 2013 Subaru Forrester, which isn't terrible, but the color, ugh.

I brought it in to work today-my co-worker commented that I was Cinderella since it looks like a pumpkin...I said I'm the Knocked-Up version.

When I got home, hubby was struggling to put the glider together-the directions were terrrrrrible.  I managed to help with a couple parts of the process, but hubby was a trooper and after some rather tough bouts, he was able to get it together.  I should have taken a picture of it, maybe this week...but it's super comfy and I actually fell asleep in it that night before retreating to the bedroom.  Success!

Sunday, December 1
While hubby watched football in the morning, I made the last box of my Fair Scones-these were blueberry and they required a little heavy cream, which made them super tasty.  Om nom.  Anyway, we also broke out all our Christmas decorations and I updated our wreath since hubby and I thought it looked "unfinished...

As Portlandia would say, "Put a bird on it!"

Reindeer Miles, or...

Football Reindeer Miles!!!  

After breaking out all our decorations and after football slowed down, we took Miles to the closer dog park.  It wasn't as fun since there weren't as many dogs to play with, but he did get a little play with a Siberian husky and then we took him over to the small area because he kept playing with these two cute jack russell terriers through the fence. 

The result of taking Miles to the dog park.  Sleepy pup!

Once we returned, we sat around for a little bit then decided to take a nice walk since I needed to burn off so much food from the weekend.  When we returned, I finished up the laundry and some errands around the apartment.

Super sleepy pup

After a walk and the dog park, Miles decided to lean his head on a pillow in his little pillow fort.  Too cute.

Overall we had a really nice, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend (besides the car trouble).  I'm just thankful to have had four days off in a row-without a baby in tow just yet.  Today has been busy at work-thus taking so long to update this blog!  But I only have two more weeks of work and then it's a much longer break.  I shouldn't consider it a break-I guess a break from work...but I know time will fly with Baby H's arrival.  I'm excited to see my folks who are driving down starting Wednesday-we're hoping to catch an early dinner together this Friday before my first Christmas concert.  I know I say this a lot, but I can't believe how fast time has flown!

Week 35/36: One Month Today!

Alright folks, today marks ONE MONTH until Baby H's arrival!  They should have Advent Calendars for one month before, not starting on December 1.

Weekend was nice; but let's start with Friday and how frustrated I was at work.  Every time I have had to complete a schedule for the music department's classes, I have now had to use a different form every time.  No biggie, just transferring the same information into a different Excel file every time.  But every time I submit these forms, they ALWAYS come back riddled with errors as someone else enters the same data into a different form.  I swear our school is behind the times...but anyway, so I'm now having to enter in data into drop-boxes, so instead of just typing, I have to click on EVERY single box in this file, which means clicking "MUS" for every class (which is the only option they give me anyway), click each class number, click how many credits, click what type of class it is, click the name, click the teacher, click the time, etc. etc.  Well, let's say there are classes missing.  And class numbers missing.  And rooms.

So I tell the registrar's office this, and they correct it.  I start over because they want me to use the updated form.  But then something else is missing.

I do the same thing, and lo and behold, 10 CLASSES ARE MISSING.  So then I start over a NEW form.  Again.

I've been filling/refilling this form over the course of a few days.  I'm taking a break from it now because I'm so frustrated-I'm going to submit what I have with notes on the side of everything that is missing.  Just know I'm thankful that I will be on maternity leave when these proofs come back, because I know the form will be riddled with more errors, just like usual.  Not my problem soon...

Sorry, that was a long work tangent, but that was me Friday (and today).  The nice thing was my chair was on vacation and my old chair took off early and said if the other faculty members don't have anything for me to do that I could take off early as well.  Yippee!

Friday night was uneventful, but hubby and I were baffled on how the weekend snuck up on us so quickly.  We celebrated with a trip to El Toritos, a restaurant we ate at when we went down to Disneyland (of course this was a lot closer).  Delicious dinner.  Afterwards hubby graciously accompanied me to Michael's to pick up materials to make our Christmas wreath, then we headed over to Babies R Us since we forgot to get a changing table pad.  Babies R Us/Toys R Us is one of the smartest stores.  They must rake in so much money, because a changing pad costs you $30, and you use it for only so much time.  Yes, it will help if you have multiple kids, but the life span is still pretty short.  Then the changing pad covers-holy smokes-$15-$17!  Seriously, a sheet that fits over the pad that your baby will most likely pee/poop on?  Nonsense.  I need to really learn how to sew/get a sewing machine.

Saturday we took Miles to the dog park which wasn't as exciting as it usually is.  Then we took a walk around Lake Balboa, close to the dog park.  I used to take Coltrane there all the time since it's about 20 minutes away from our old place.  Lots of birds flock there, and strange enough, weird people, but what can you do.

I wasn't sure what type of birds these were, but they kept their wings open and flashing as if it was a mating thing.  Or a gang thing.

Later that afternoon I worked on our wreath, and voila!

Simple yet holiday-ish.  :)

Hubby got tired early, which made me sleepy, so we turned in early.  Might as well catch up on sleep as much as possible now, right?

Sunday after watching a little bit of football, we took Miles to the closer dog park which was boring since he really didn't find a special dog friend to play with.  After an hour or so I went and got groceries at TJs while hubby took Miles to Petco next door.  TJs was a mad house filled with surprisingly a lot of old people.  But I survived.  : )

Sunday afternoon/evening consisted of taking Miles for a walk around the block, Target run, laundry and dinner.  Not super exciting but got a lot accomplished.  Mr. Miles was a very sleepy pup though.

He briefly fell asleep on hubby while standing on him.  It was precious.

Today towards the end of work I have another rehearsal with the choir for the Christmas concerts, but the composer will be there which makes me a little nervous seeing how I'm a classical musician trying to play a "gospel" tune.  Wish me luck!

Week 35: Yay Friday

Woo, made it to Friday!  Now to get through the short work week next week and then it's Happy Thanksgiving!  : )

This week has had its ups and downs.  Let me recap.

Wednesday's Staff Connect Lunch was okay...a lot of my friend co-workers dropped out last minute, but the food was good.  I didn't win any of the raffles, but it's probably a good thing since most the prizes revolved around See's Candies (my FAVORITE).  I sat next to a lady who asked me some pretty intense questions about pregnancy and the baby, then I found out from my friend she's the lady that everyone avoids in the office because of how nosy she is.  People like her make me glad I'm the only staff member in the music department.

When I got home, hubby was working on Baby H's crib that was delivered!  Glad I got home then though because he needed some assembly help, which I was able to provide.  Before we went to training, hubby snapped some photos of my 35 week progress.

There's the crib being put together behind me!  And look at Miles behave while taking the photo.  : )

So here's a downer of my week...I forgot to mention that Monday after work my check engine light turned on along with the "AT" light, or transmission.  I couldn't see what gear I was in and my car was a little jerky.  I had my sensor replaced a few months ago so I thought that's what it was.  I took it over to where I had it replaced, they reset my electrical board, and the lights went away.  He said bring it back if it happens again...

Well, right before Miles's training those lights went off AGAIN.  UGHGHGH.  We took hubby's car and I stressed about my car throughout Miles's training (which consisted of tricks.  Kind of a pointless class).

When we got back, hubby tested my car and it drove fine with the lights, so I planned on driving slowly to work the next day and taking it straight to the mechanic.  That night I was so grumpy with my car, my foot cramped, dinner took a long time to cook and that caused a minor meltdown.  I went to bed early in hopes of shaking off the bad juju I was feeling.

Thursday my check engine light turned on but the AT light didn't, so there was a little progress.  Drove over to the mechanic and dropped my poor car off...then got the call about a few hours later.  It's not the sensor-it's my whole computer system (according to the mechanic, who had called a Mazda dealer).  He said it can cost about $1,200, and even then it could be faulty wiring so it could cost upwards of $2,000 and that I have to take it to the dealer.  BUMMER.  He reset the electrical panel and I picked it up during my lunch break.

What do I do when I have car problems?  Call my pa.

His recommendation: take it to the dealer to really have it diagnosed and cough up the $ to do so, that way I'll have a more accurate take on it.  Of course my car acts up before Baby H comes.  So I made an appointment with the one Mazda dealer closest to us for next Friday, which will cost me $150.  Yippee.

After a tedious work day (locating band/choir/orchestra directors on California high school websites and entering all the information into an excel file for a mailing list...blech), I left early for another two-week checkup.  Everything seems fine and the doc said I wasn't dilated (not surprised), but now I have to come back for weekly appointments.  Home stretch!

I found a Coffee & Tea Leaf shop near Simi Valley Hospital after my appointment since I was done so early and had an hour to kill before the Infant CPR class; chatted with my pa for a while, then made my way over.  The class was kind of a joke for $30; simple enough that I could have just You Tubed it.  We basically watched a video most the time, practiced on our doll for a few minutes here and there, and ended class half an hour early.  Hubby had to work late so he couldn't make it, but I'm glad since we saved some money.  Here's a stupid downer...as we were walking out of the class, someone asked me when I was due and she proceeded to say, "Any minute now, huh?!"  Um, no lady...I answered "Christmas".  This other pregnant girl and her mom were close behind and she exclaimed, "Oh, I'm due New Year's!"  and folks, she was half the size of me.  So...that made me feel like a whale.  Thanks people.  Needless to say I smiled politely and took off as fast as I could away from them.

Missy sent us a really cute Baby H box Wednesday night, but I didn't have a chance to take any photos since I was in a bad mood, so I did that when I got home last night:

More super cute hats, an Ernie sweater and burp cloths in Baby H's put together crib!

I'm so glad it's Friday.  Bad news is that my check engine light turned on while driving to work this morning.  I'm crossing my fingers the AT light stays off until I take it in next Friday.  Stupid cars.

This weekend we have no real plans which is nice-I want to see the new Hunger Games movie since it's probably going to be the last movie I see before Baby H, but I'm not sure if we will save that for next week.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!