Saturday, December 29, 2007

Hope You're Enjoying Your Holidays!

Here are my favorite guys in the world!! We had a wonderful Christmas. Dan's parents are up from Florida and they've been enjoying their little grandson. They've also been a great help to us with babysitting. We even got to go out on our own for the first time since the birth of the baby.

Will got spoiled for Christmas with plenty of gifts. He is very much loved and it fills my heart. From toys to clothes to even cash, he's set. Everyone was super generous and I'm very grateful.

There's been much going on, but there's no way I have the time to blog about it. The baby has been sleeping through the night, which has given mommy and daddy much more shut eye. We're still trying to juggle parenthood and settling into our place. Finishing up the apartment has been a great deal of stress. We're receiving the baby's furniture within the next week and that will help out tremendously. I've run out of space to put Will's clothes away, which makes the apartment (our bedroom) look very messy. Little by little, we'll get things done.

Anyway, I wish you all a very happy new year. Have fun!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Proud Mommy!

If you're tired of hearing Will stories, skip this post! If not, read on. Guess what Will did? He put his pacifier in his mouth all on his own! Dan and I were jumping up and down like morons when we saw him do this. I ran over to him and started clapping and kissing him. His response was big laughs. Will just amazes me. I love him.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Well Hello!!!

I know, I've neglected my blogging, but not because I've wanted to. Time is very scarce these days. Whatever free time I have, I take advantage of it by doing stuff around the house (like putting laundry away, trying to cook, etc). In all honesty, not much has been going on around the Diaz household. We've been working (Dan is working an extra job) and having fun with Will.
The baby is doing great. He's up to 13lbs. and 3oz! Yup, he's a bit heavy. We're putting 6mo clothes on him for the most part. Will is taking after us. He's not fat, but he is broad. I love him so much!!! He also seems like a happy baby, laughing at us every chance he gets. Will also loves it when I read to him and watching TV. When I read to him, he stares intently at the pictures and sometimes laughs at them.

Well, as you know, my time is short. I must go. I'm actually making chicken rice soup. Dan's a bit under the weather. It's an ideal dish to make to have for the next several days (since cooking is now a luxury). I'll leave you with my little guy!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and stuffed your faces with plenty of food. My Thanksgiving turned out to be very nice. My side of the family and Dan's side got together. We had plenty of yummy food and dessert. Since this is a Cuban Thanksgiving (well except for my mom, she's a Spaniard), our table had turkey (of course, I made it), ham, pork, stuffing, arroz morro or con gris (it depends on which side of the island you're from), and yucca. For dessert, we had flan, dulce tres leche, and cupcakes for the kiddies. Not too shabby!

Dan and I had our traditional turkey sandwiches yesterday for lunch. These sandwiches are especially made by Dan. They're actually better than the meal. I won't divulge much of the recipe, but let's just say that he uses gravy as one of the ingredients. I wait all year long to eat these sandwiches. They're so freaking scrumptious.

Yesterday, we celebrated our friend's Frank's birthday. He had a little party at his place. It was a potluck dinner, but not just any potluck. You had to make something you've never made before. Several weeks ago, Dan had bought The Cookie Cookbook. So, I figured I'd make some cookies. I decided on the Cappuccino Spice Cookies. I went out got the ingredients I needed and started baking. Oh my god, they turned out to be so yummy! I must have gained ten pounds eating them. The birthday boy loved them too! When you get a chance, get your hands on a copy of this book. I don't think you'll regret it!

Last, but definitely not least, here's my little guy in his turkey outfit:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I'm Sneaking a Post...

I just finished putting William down to sleep. He's not there yet, but he is laying quietly listening to the rain and jungle noises. Hopefully, he remains quiet because I'm pumping now. It's around 12:30am and obviously I'm up. Although, I can't complain. I fell asleep on the couch when Heroes started and woke up at 11. There's nothing like snoozing.

One of the reasons I'm sneaking in a post is that I wanted all of you to know that nursing is a success! So much so that whenever it's my turn, I nurse him. The only times I plan to give him the bottle is in the morning before leaving to work. Nursing takes longer than bottle feeding. I'm already running around in the mornings to add more pressure on myself. Besides, when you're stressed, you don't let down.

The second reason I'm posting is to show you the cutest picture in the world!! Yesterday was Baby Cal's christening. This christening was extra special because Dan became Cal's godfather. He's very proud and honored to take on that title. We were able to get the two little guys to sit side by side on a couch. You could imagine that it looked like the paparazzi had found their celebrity to target. The cameras did not stop flashing. They were so incredibly adorable together! So, I'll leave you with the picture!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

It's Sunday Already?

Wow, the weekend flies by when you don't have much free time. Well, I have next weekend to look forward to. Let's see, my little guy is growing sooooo fast!! He's already up to 11 lbs. and 8 oz. Can you believe that? He's outgrown all of his newborn clothes and some of his 0-3. We bought him 3-6 month old onesies and pj's. Hopefully, they'll last him awhile.

Mommy's milk is increasing! I don't know if it's all in my head, which allows me to relax and let down or the tea actually works. My frozen supply has gone up to two days worth of milk and I even have four bottles set-up in the fridge for when he feeds. I am so happy about this. I thought for sure I would have to start introducing formula to him. Obviously, he's drinking enough milk because in a week he gained almost a pound.

Speaking of feeding, I decided that I would start nursing him on weekends and most likely when I get home from work. I had stopped doing so because he was not having it with my boobs. He would cry a lot and become so frustrated and exhausted that he would just fall asleep. So, it's been about 4 weeks that I haven't nursed him (once in a while to soothe him). It didn't bother me at first, but as the days went by, I felt that we were both missing out on something special. Will and I have bonded just fine, but I feel that we need that extra bonding that you only get from nursing.

When I got home Friday night from work, I tried nursing. He fought with me a bit, but eventually drank for close to 40 minutes. I was soooo happy about this. Nursing didn't go well in the middle of the night, but yesterday we did fine. When I had to feed him at 3:30 this morning we did great and he nursed for 40 minutes. I guess since he's older, he nurses better. He doesn't bite or hurt me like he did when he first started nursing.

So, what I started doing as a result of nursing him is that I pump immediately after I'm done nursing (well, actually when I put him down to sleep). I completely drain out the boob he drank from and obviously pump out the other one. I think this is the key to increasing my milk supply. Even after nursing him, I still get enough to make a bottle and sometimes to store (very important).

Even though I started nursing again, Dan and I are still sharing the feeding responsibilities. I do one feeding and he does the next. I feel it's important that he remains involved because it helps with their bonding. While he feeds the baby, I pump out milk. Although, I have to admit that it's very challenging to wake up at night just to pump. There have been plenty of times that I've almost talked myself out of it.

Well, it's time for me to go. I'll leave you with a picture of my sleeping prince (he woke up a few minutes after the picture was taken).

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Ahhh, My Weekly Update

I tried. I really tried hard to get some blogging time this past week, but obviously I wasn't successful. This one will be another quick one since Will is about to wake up to eat. Let me get going then.

The baby has been doing fine except for the fact that he has indigestion. Dan ended up taking him to the doctor yesterday because he was projectile for about 24 hours. It didn't happen with every feeding, but it was enough that we knew something was up. Everything is fine and he's not dehydrated in any way or loosing weight for that matter (he went from 10 lbs. on 10/24 to 10 lbs. 12 oz. yesterday). Can you say butterball? The doctor told Dan to get him chamomile tea and give it to him in 1 to 2 oz. increments whenever he seems in pain.

Will is not too crazy about the tea, but it did make him poop like a madman. After the explosive poop, he calmed down. This morning, I sterilized more water (10 mins. rolling boil) and made him 9 oz. of the stuff. Whatever works to keep him happy. I hate seeing him in pain. He does this pout thing with his mouth that totally melts my heart and makes me want to cry with him.

He's probably getting indigestion from something I'm eating. So, I've come to the conclusion that I better stick to chicken, rice, and potatoes. Anything crazier than that, and the little guy will suffer. He's inherited the sensitive stomach from me. I always have stomach problems.

Now on to the breast milk. I've figured out what my problem is. I'm definitely producing enough milk to feed him throughout the day, but not enough to store. This is why my frozen supplies are dwindling. I've been drinking the Mother's Milk Tea three times a day and I'm gradually noticing an increase in the supply. It hasn't been anything crazy, though. My goal for today, is to pump every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to see if that ups my supply.

Besides the tea I've been drinking, I've been having oatmeal and mixing condensed milk with coke (Cuban wives' tale). I've also been drinking as much milk as I can. I don't know if any of these remedies work, but you can't accuse me of not trying. We'll see what happens with this. Worst case scenario, I'll start blending formula with the milk. That's allow me to store more milk.

Well, that's it for today. I do have pictures to post, but I'm not sure when that will happen. Until next time!!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

The Weekend is Here!

It looks like I won't have time to post until the weekends. Throughout the rest of the week, I'm getting home close to 7pm and exhausted. I've been trying really hard to get home earlier, but I'm either staying at work later or when I get to my mom's, the baby needs to be fed (or is in the middle of feeding). I think I managed to cook dinner twice this week. Oh well! To be honest, the only day this week that I was hungry when I got home was last night. We ordered Chinese and devoured it (of course I devour the most calorie laden food).

This weekend we have a birthday/Halloween party to go to (in a few hours) and the rest of the weekend is still dedicated to cleaning up and unpacking the apartment. We're almost there. I wish I could blink my eyes and everything would be in its place. I'm tired of this.

My milk supply seems to be dwindling. I know I keep on saying this, but I'm pumping less milk. This morning (3:30am), I actually pumped 7 1/2 oz. I'm going to try Mother's Milk Tea. I hope to see results from this. I just want to pump enough for a whole day's supply of milk. He's drinking anywhere between 4 1/2 oz to 5 throughout the day and drops to about 4 oz at night. Yesterday, I only pumped 28 oz, which doesn't make enough for a day's feeding. If the tea doesn't work and my supply dwindles even further, I'll probably start introducing formula to him.

I know there's more on my mind, but I have to go. I'm waiting for Dan to get back so that I could shower and could get going. Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

I Got Him to Smile!

He's been smiling for a bit now, but never responding to our actions. The two of us are up now (just fed him) and I'm walking around with him to see if he falls back to sleep so that I could shower. We walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. He totally stares at himself, by the way. So I started asking who was the baby in the mirror. After a few times, I got an ear to ear smile!!! I can't wait for Dan to wake up so that he could hear the great news!

On other news, Will had a doctor's appointment yesterday and it went well. Remember his birth weight? 6 lbs. and 15 oz? Well after six weeks, he's up to 10 lbs. He also grew an inch, which puts him at 21. The doctor was impressed with the fact that he's only being breastfed. I am too. At least I know I'm doing a good job with my milk supply.

Well, I'll leave you with another picture of him:

Sunday, October 21, 2007

I Know I Should be Sleeping...

I know. The baby is sleeping and I should be right there with him in dreamworld. But if I don't take time for myself this morning, it won't happen at all today. For instance, I got up at 6:45am and fed the baby. Afterwards, I began pumping, which took me about a good 45 minutes. I hadn't pumped throughout the night and busted out with 12 oz of milk. Hey, that's 3 feedings I don't have to worry about!

Yesterday, I tried napping while the baby was sleeping and Dan was around. I think I snoozed for about 10 minutes before the baby started wailing. Where was Dan? Poor guy was in the bathroom. Of course, I totally ragged on him about it. Like it's his fault! Sorry, babe! So much for any "me" time.

This past week went back to work. I started a new position (I think I mentioned this in another post that I was promoted) in which I research archived commercials dating back to the fifties for clients. I like the job and it keeps me busy throughout the day. The previous position I was filling in for was extremely boring and I spent most of my time reading. Some of you may think that's ideal, but try doing nothing everyday for several hours a day. I'm sure you'll be bored fast.

The week was tough. It was actually extremely tough. My mornings start between 4 and 5 depending on when the baby wakes up. I have to give myself enough time to feed him, pump, shower, and drive to my mother's. To say the least, it's been very stressful. The lack of sleep adds to the stress. Thursday night I only slept about 2 1/2 hours and that's with Dan helping me out. Imagine if he hadn't?

Getting home hasn't been a piece a cake, either. For one reason or another, I've been getting home around 7. This does not make my day any easier. I still have to worry about cooking/eating, feeding, pumping and sleep. Please let this week be easier.

Besides work, the apartment has been coming along somewhat. Although this past week unpacking has been nearly impossible, the place is looking nice. Hopefully, I'll be able to do something today besides wish that I could be doing any putting away. Let's see how that works out.

I know there's more stuff I want to talk about, but I can't think of it right now. I should get going anyway because it's almost feeding time. Talk to you soon!!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Quick Post

Ok, this will be quick. I'm tired and ready to fall asleep. My weekend post will be filled with more information. Anyway, work has been great. My new position is interesting and keeps me busy for the most part, which helps me not miss Will as much as I do. Sunday night and Monday morning, I cried about going back. I just want to spend as much time with him as I can. Can you blame me?

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Look at this face? Wouldn't you want to spend as much time as possible with him?

Since I'm back to work, Dan and I need to figure out how to manage our time. It's overwhelming to say the least. We've been stressed out about it, but are trying to keep our cool. Today, we started taking separate buses home (even though we work together and leave at the same time). I went to pick-up the baby and he went home to tidy up. If we don't do that, then we won't get anything done.

Speaking of picking the baby up, Grandma is having a blast with him. She's really cute around him making sure that he's dry and well fed. Thank God for her help. It's making a huge difference.

Well, that's it for now. I have to post on my crochet blog and go to sleep. See, this is where motherhood gets confusing. He's due to eat in 45 minutes, but right now he's asleep. Should I stay up and wait or go to sleep and let him wake me up? Who knows?

Friday, October 12, 2007

Random Emotions

Today is the last weekday I get to spend with my little guy. I return to work on Monday (only four weeks off). I was offered a promotion at work with a 20% raise that I couldn't pass up. In order to take this job, I needed to return early. I'm very happy about the promotion and that I'll be making more money, but I'm really sad that I'm leaving my little guy. Fortunately, my mother is watching him so I don't have to worry about him. Still, this isn't easy for me. If it were up to me, I would be a stay at home mom. I love spending time with him.

Speaking about cutting my maternity leave short, I have not rested at all. Now, I knew things would be hectic with a newborn, but the move added to the stress. Of course, I don't get anything done with the baby around while Dan is at work. But you know how I'm suppose to sleep when he sleeps? Yeah, that hasn't happened much. I believe I've napped a total of three times in these past four weeks. The truth of the matter is that once I'm up, I'm up. It doesn't help either that I have a million things to do when he's napping.

My mornings are good. I make it a point to go online while I pump, drink my coffee, and have breakfast. If I don't put this time aside, then I won't have any "me" time. Tending to a baby all day without having some free time is brutal. Also, I have to make it a point to eat because I get caught up with everything that's going on and forget.

Yesterday marked a month since William was born. Even though I'm extremely happy that he's growing and is very healthy, I'm also sad that he's changing. He's already wearing a size one in diapers and has begun drinking 4 ounces of milk instead of three. His face is changing, too. It's fuller and rounder. He's also more alert following you around with his gorgeous eyes. Again, I'm very happy about all of these changes, but a part of me wants him to stay very small.

Alright, I must go. I just finished my breakfast and now I don't have an excuse to be online. He's actually calm laying on his rocker. So, let me take advantage of this and try to unpack a box or two. Chat with you soon!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I Think I'm Getting the Hang of this Mommy Thing

William is doing wonderful. He's just a yummy little baby and I can't get enough of him. As of yesterday, he's four weeks old and has changed much. His face is fuller, his legs and arms are bigger, and his expressions are changing, too.

I've also changed. I'm realizing the hunger cry, or the I can't poop cry (which was yesterday for most of the day). Daddy does a wonderful job with him, also. He jumps in and helps out whenever I need it. It would be extremely tough to do this without him. I even got him feeding the baby (I'm expressing my milk), which gives me the little breaks I need.

I've also learned a lot about my patience level. For example, Will spent practically the entire day crying. His belly was hurting him and no poops were coming out. I did my best to comfort him by rubbing his belly and the top part of his butt. Not once did I loose my cool. In fact, my main concern was to calm him down, which kept me calm.

Now, the only thing I need to get the hang of is getting things done with him. When I'm home alone with him, I'm lucky I shower. Forget about unpacking boxes or doing anything productive for that matter. It just doesn't happen. I don't feel so awful about it because the few times that I've gone out to run some errands and left Dan with the baby, he hasn't gotten anything done either. At least I know it's not only me.

Multitasking is the name of the game. While trying to write this post, I've eaten breakfast, talked to my sister, and pumped. I should probably try to quickly shower, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. We'll see. Well, I'll leave you with these two pictures!


Thursday, October 04, 2007

Stress does not Even Come Close to What We've Went Through with the Move

We dealt with three different moving companies. Company #1 was booked on Friday. They were set to come between 9/10 am on Monday morning. We were in touch with them throughout the morning to get an eta on their arrival time. Right around 10:30 am, we receive a call from them stating that they're not sure they have a license to move us to Jersey. WTF!!!!! They didn't know this on Friday? Obviously, they weren't coming over.

Company #2 quoted us $120 an hour flat rate. Fine no problem. There was a $200 deposit fee. Again, no problem. When the movers showed up they wanted a flat rate of $2000 to move a one bedroom apartment. When we said "no," they dropped the rate to $1400. We agreed to do it even though we knew we were getting ripped off. We needed to move out. Even though they took the deposit through a credit card, they wouldn't accept payment that way (of course, this was never explained to us). Furthermore, the freaking deposit was nonrefundable (again, that wasn't explained to us). Yeah, that ended in a fight. The guy was lucky that my son was with me because I wanted to charge at him and break every single bone in his body. We're disputing the charges with the credit card company and reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.

Company #3 was recommended to us by the lady that moved out of the apartment we're moving into. She said they were very fast and professional. Fine, we called them. They were suppose to show up at 5 pm, but didn't get to us until after 8pm. They did bring five guys with them and were very fast. They had our stuff out of the apartment within an hour and the same went with moving us in. We were done moving in by a quarter to one in the morning. Luckily, I spoke with the lady moving out (she's the owner) and she let the downstairs tenants know of our situation. They were very understanding (thank God).

I didn't cry on Monday for some unknown reason. Dan and I were utterly exhausted and devastated at how this day turned out. The baby suffered from my stress levels because he spent the day throwing up the milk I was feeding him. I guess it's true that anything affects your breast milk. I thought it was an old wives' tale.

The story ends well. We moved in and had help from friends and family. Even last night, Cody (our friend and coworker) came over and helped Dan rearrange our furniture. I could now finish unpacking the boxes since everything is in its place. I'm hoping by this weekend we'll be done. Then it's relaxing time!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Random Updates

Motherhood is awesome! I love my little guy. He has to be the most precious, littlest person in the world (well, to me he is). We're getting use to each other. I'm beginning to understand all the little noises he makes, whether it means he's hungry or he's about to poop. I know that the minute he wakes up, his diaper needs changing. If I don't do so, I'll learn to regret it.

He went to the doctor yesterday and everything is great. He's gained a good amount of weight. He's up to 7 lbs. and 9 oz. from 6 lbs. and 15 oz. He also got his first vaccine, yesterday. It broke my heart to see him screaming the way he did. Poor baby!

What's been difficult has been (and still is) breastfeeding on demand. The doctor wants me to increase the feedings from 8 to close to 12 (I guess it doesn't matter that he's gained weight). I have begun pumping and freezing the milk, but I still haven't introduced the bottle to him. This means that I'm the one feeding Will and not Dan helping out (well he can't). Even if I were giving him the bottle, I wouldn't wake Dan up. He's back at work and I'm not, but man sometimes I need that extra hand.

This morning was especially tough. I think I got out of bed at around 5 am, changed him, fed him, and fell asleep on the couch. I didn't have the energy to get up to shower while Dan was still here and had a very difficult time waking up at 8 for his next feeding. I must figure out how I will shower today. Ugh...

Doing laundry with the baby is a pain in the ass. Luckily, I have an elevator in my building, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I still have to lug a bag of clothing and a baby downstairs to the laundromat. I think I'll take my chances today and wait for Dan to get home. I can't deal with this right now.

The move is happening on Monday! We're not done packing, but we've done plenty. For example, my closet is completely empty and so are most of my drawers. This weekend will be extremely tiring for the three of us. I hate moving! On the bright side, I went to see the place yesterday and it's looking wonderful. The owner put in a new kitchen with new tiles and sink! It looks great! The place is painted and they're putting the finishing touches to it. I can't wait until we're moved in. I'm very excited! Soon enough!

Well, I should go. The baby is asleep and should take advantage of this somehow! Let's see if I could get dressed! I leave you with this picture:



He loves having his arms up!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Saturday, September 15, 2007

He's Here!

Here we are at the hospital. This is the beginning of my 29-hour labor, which resulted in the most beautiful and important event in our lives. Believe it or not, I was having contractions in this picture, but they weren't that bothersome.

Monday morning I called the doctor to let her know that I had a "bloody show" and was directed to go directly to the hospital. I didn't think I would be staying, but once you're there, you're there. I called Dan immediately and told him to come home. We got to the hospital and I was told that I was definitely having contractions. The doctor was contemplating whether or not to keep me there or send me home. After a good 7 hours of contractions becoming worse, she felt that I should stay just in case and also that I would be induced the following morning if I hadn't given birth overnight.

The contractions were of course getting worse and I was becoming tired. Here's an indication of what was to come:

Dan was just snapping pictures of me. I totally don't remember this one, but from the look of my face you know I didn't care. Overnight, I tried getting some rest, but the pain was pretty horrible. I had rejected taking any pain killers because I wanted to go natural. Although, I knew I would have an epidural since they were inducing me. There was no way I was going natural after I was told that.

Anyway, Dan kept on urging me to take a pain killer so that I could sleep. I was going to be induced at around 8 in the morning and needed all the rest I could possibly get. At around 3:30 am, the doctor walked in and caught me holding on to the side rail for my dear life with probably an expression worse than the one I'm sporting in the picture. She asked me again how bad I was feeling and Dan jumped in and told her that I'm downplaying the pain (which I was). She decided to give me the pain killer and I couldn't reject it.

So now that I'm not feeling any pain, I figured I would sleep until they woke me up. It didn't quite work out that way. I had a reaction to the pain killer and spent the next 3 hours scratching my face and feeling as if I wasn't able to breathe (right because I needed this after about 15 hours of contractions). Anyway, by around 8 am I was induced. By then, the painkiller had worn off and I was now feeling worse than ever. There was also a possibility that I wouldn't be given an epidural because my blood platelets had come back low.

I for sure thought I wouldn't make it through this labor. By 10 am, I had only dilated another cm. bringing me to a whopping total of 4. My contractions were constant and absolutely horrible at this point. Luckily, my blood platelets came back good and I got my epidural. Once the numbness wore in, I was able to relax for the most part. I couldn't feel my contractions (although, I did feel the pressure) or my legs for that matter.

To cut this story short, William had to be vacuumed out because his heart rate would drop with each contraction. It turned out that he had his umbilical cord wrapped around his body. No problem, everything came out just fine.

He had a little bit of a cone head, but that quickly disappeared by the following day. William was born on September 11, 2007 at 3:11pm. He weighed 6 lbs. and 15 oz. and measures 20 inches. We're both doing great, just tired. On Thursday, we were released from the hospital. We're all extremely happy and love our little boy!



Here are two more pictures of William with the both us:




Sunday, September 09, 2007

A Little bit of Everything

William hasn't made an appearance, yet. Things are progressing quite well with me getting contractions (but not on a steady basis). I think by this week, I will have gone into labor, but what do I know? I keep on having conversations with him about moving on in life. Obviously, he's a little hesitant. That's fine, he'll do so when he's ready.

I'm officially on maternity leave. Friday was my last day at work. Even though I wanted to work up until I went into labor, I think I made a wise choice. We're packing up the apartment for the move. I'm too exhausted to do much (even though I try) when I get home from work. This way, I could work on my own leisure. I've also become extremely lethargic after lunch to the point that I can't keep my eyes open. Also, my coworkers just keep on trying to send me home. I think they're afraid I would go into labor at work. Since I've already begun dilating and all that fun stuff, staying home now is a good choice.

Last night, we went to see the apartment!! This time is was almost completely empty and got a better visual of where we're going to be putting stuff. Dan and I absolutely love it and the owner. She's a very sweet person. She's also very thorough. She walked through each of the rooms and told us what exactly was going to be done with repairs and paint. We gave her the security deposit and next weekend we begin to move our stuff in.

The apartment is officially a three bedroom, but we're going to use one of the rooms as a dining room/computer room (well that's what we're envisioning now). That room is adjacent to the kitchen with the wall between them open sporting a breakfast bar. It's a great open area. The kitchen has three windows! I love that. Our current kitchen is a galley kitchen with no windows. The place has plenty of closet space, which is fabulous. The baby's room is next to ours. In fact, to get to his bedroom , you have to go through ours (and no it's not a railroad apartment). We have plenty of space, which I'm excited about. I can't wait to start moving in.

Also, we met our new neighbors. They're in the process of moving in themselves and heard we were coming over. They stopped by to meet us and were very lovely. The mom and the daughter are both Virgos and were excited to find out that little Will and myself are Virgos. They seem like sweet people and I'm glad we met them. We even got a peek at what their apartment is turning out to be and love what the landlord has done with it. I can't wait!!

So that's pretty much what's been going on with me this past week. As you could see by the time stamp of this post that I'm up early again. I've been up since about 4:30 and got out of bed a little after five. I can't lay in bed if I'm not sleepy. This is the only time I'll probably get to blog today, so I figured I get up. I'm also not upset about being up so early. Since I'm not going back to work, my sleep won't be disrupted. Honestly, I'll probably fall back to sleep in about an hour, but whatever.

Well, that's about it. I'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Almost There!

I went to the doctor today and as she said "You're opened a fingertip!" I then boldly asked if that meant that I would be going by this weekend. She laughed and said "no." But it could happen. It's a great sign that I'm opening up. I'm super excited about this! It could happen any day now!

You know, I've also lost 4lbs. I knew I was retaining tons of water. So my tally on weight gain is 21lbs. I'm very impressed with myself. With all the ice cream I eat, I'm surprised it hasn't been more. Well, I eat ice cream once a day (almost everyday). Regardless, I'm glad. Once the baby is born, I expect to loose if not all but all of the weight fast.

By the way, the sleep gods must have heard me because I fell asleep rather quickly after this morning's disruption. I even woke up at 8am and even though I was exhausted got plenty of my chores accomplished. When I finally made it home this afternoon, I knocked out for about an hour and a half. I would have continued sleeping, but I'm making beans from scratch (without a pressure cooker) and I still have laundry to do. Tonight will be an early night.

Can't Sleep

I've been up since 4:15 this morning. An hour has gone by and I'm wide awake. This sleep disruption will put a damper on my day because I have so much to do. Luckily, I don't have to go to work because of my doctor's appointment. I do have a lot of running around to do. I'm finishing my thank you cards from the shower, a visit to Babies R Us is a must, I'm paying a visit to my local craft store (I need to buy buttons for the jacket I knitted for William), of course I have to go to the post office (to mail out the thank you cards), and last but not least, laundry must be done.

What will eventually happen is that once the sun comes up (yeah, sometimes I wonder if I am a vampire) I fall back to sleep, which will totally disrupt any possibility of getting all of my chores done. What also sucks is that it's so nice and comfortable in bedroom (temp wise) that I don't have to push Dan away because I'm too hot. And now I'm missing out on that.

Alright, I will attempt this sleep thing again. Sleep gods please help me out on this!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

September 1st.

September is my favorite month of the year. There are a few reasons why:

1. Autumn begins at the end of the month (autumn is my favorite season).
2. Beginning of the school (yes I'm a nerd, and what?)
3. My birthday
4. My mom's birthday (I was her birthday gift)
5. And now I have another reason to love September: William!!!!!!!!

Of course this September will be a hectic one for us. We started packing and have made eight boxes. Not bad. I had to take a break on the eighth box. Dan forced me to go to bed and take a nap. Not that I minded at all, I fell asleep pretty quickly. I've been up for an hour and now is when I feel some energy. Pretty soon, I'll get back to packing. I'm also going to attack my wardrobe. Goodwill will get clothes this weekend.

We did find an apartment that we're going to see again next Saturday. The owner's mom is moving out this week and we wanted to get a look at the place empty. We really like the owner because she's been very pleasant and she likes us. In fact, she won't advertise the apartment until we give her a definite answer. The fact that she's giving us first dibs is very nice.

The apartment is going to be fixed up. She's doing some stuff to the kitchen and painting it. Not that it needs a lot done, but she wants to leave it nice and ready. The place will be ready for the 15th. The place we live at now, we'll have until the 30th. This will give us time to move in. As crazy as things will get with the baby having the leeway to move in little by little is a blessing.

Alright, I have to get back to work. I have to stop slacking off.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Full Term!

As of today, I'm officially full term. I've entered my 37th week!! Yesterday was my weekly trip to the doctor and all is well. I haven't started dilating, yet, but the doctor was able to feel the baby's head (weird, right?). I brought Dan with me because I was having a sonogram done. What's funny is that he says the baby is too big to get a whole picture of him. According to the measurements the technician took (I have no idea how this is done), the baby weighs 6 lbs. 13 ounces. I'm also up to 25 lbs. Hopefully that'll be all with my weight gain. I am swelling up a lot so that's why I think I've jumped in weight in the past two weeks.

Anyway, who cares about how much I weigh? My little guy is doing great! I was given my chart. Just in case I go into labor, I'm able to give it to the hospital when I show up. I can't believe William will make his presence very soon! I'm so excited about this. Let's see how much longer we have to wait.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Random Ramblings

We decided today to take it easy and go to the mall. We needed to grab some more stuff for my hospital bag like toiletries, petroleum jelly (for Will), and some other items that I can't remember of right now. We were having a nice time, but boy was I extremely tired. The swelling of my legs, combined with my sciatica kicking in, made walking around the mall absolutely painful. On top of that, I couldn't shake off my sleepiness. Actually, I fell asleep on a bench waiting for Dan to come back from a store (I must of looked like a crazy pregnant women). Who falls asleep at the mall?

So much for taking it easy! I couldn't even hang out and enjoy the day. We were even suppose to go grocery shopping, but I wouldn't have made it out of the car. Ahhhh..... and now tomorrow back to work. How will I make through the day? I did manage to fall asleep on our drive home and take a nap when we actually got home. Honestly, I could go back to sleep.

I find it amazing how quickly my energy level has diminished since I've hit my 36th week. I'm a mess. Granted, we've been actively searching for an apartment for the past two weeks, which has seriously added a great amount of stress besides the obvious upcoming birth of our son. Regardless, I just can't take it anymore. I looked like an old lady trying to walk through the mall today. I even need help getting up from my seat at times.

Are my energy levels going to get worse once Will is here and I'm feeding him every two to three hours? At least I'll be home for the first two months, which should ease my pain. I think I would feel better if I weren't running around all over the place. I need to scale back my activity levels because obviously I'm crashing.

Speaking of activity levels, (this will sound weird due to my lack of energy) but I'm dying to exercise. I really am! My legs and arms are looking flabby and I hate it. I also miss the energy levels I get from exercising. Hopefully, I'll be able to juggle a newborn, a job, and exercise. Why not? Other women do it all the time. In reality, it's been almost a year since I've worked out. I had messed up my knee around October of last year and stopped working because of it. Once it had healed, I was already pregnant. I could have worked out during the pregnancy, but that lack of energy has been a problem with me throughout my whole pregnancy.

The one thing that will be different once I get back into my exercise routine is the type of job I'll have. I'm no longer working nights or weekends. My jog is a straight up 8-4 gig, which makes planning an exercise regime easier (of course this doesn't include a newborn taking up most of my free time). Besides that, I think I'll be able to work something out. Having the weekends off will help out with my time. Let's see what happens.

Alright, I think I'm done with my rambling. There's more that I probably want to chat about, but I have to fix the hoody I'm knitting for little Will. I have a feeling tonight will be the only time I'll get to it. Chat with you soon!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Exhausted

If you read my blog, you'll know that I've been in a whirlwind. Between my apartment being filled with beautiful gifts that I can't open yet and apartment hunting, I'm utterly overwhelmed. The little hooded jacket has basically been on hold because I can't stay awake on the train. In fact, the other day I woke up at my stop while the doors were closing at my stop. I had to go to the next stop and take a train back. Of course, I was in a hurry because I was going to the doctor.

This past Tuesday, I had to call out of work. I'm just too exhausted. Practically every single evening, we've been driving to Jersey (remember, we live in the Bronx) to look at apartments. We end up getting home late as a result and it caught up to me. Honestly, I've entered my nine month and I'm just miserable. This weekend is filled up with more apartment hunting, but all I want to do is sleep.

Hopefully, we'll find a place soon, which will allow me to rest for about a second. Then comes the packing, but let's not forget, I'm full term as of Tuesday. Yeah, I'm looking forward to any of this moving. You ask why we're doing it now? Well, our lease is up on Sept. 30th. If we renew, we could get a 90-day rider, which doesn't work for us. My mom offered to babysit Will, which is why we're looking to move back to Jersey.

Alright, I'm going to get going. It is time for some breakfast. I'm making some pancakes for some sugar induced energy for our apartment hunting. Guys, send well wishes for us on our apartment hunting. Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Way too Much Going on!

I would say since August 10th, my world has been nonstop. This is not because I've been having loads of fun, although this past Saturday we went to the Delaware Water Gap and had a wonderful day. Stress has been the keyword to my existence. Even though the shower was spectacular, we're are bombarded with gifts all over our living room/dining room (not that I'm complaining about that; trust me, I'm very grateful). What we're (and yes Dan is stressed, too) overwhelmed with is the fact that we're moving.

Yes, we're moving in the next few weeks with a newborn, a dog, and a whole bunch of stuff. Now you see where the stress is coming from? We're actively apartment hunting and we're doing it in Jersey. My mom offered to babysit William and it makes sense to move back to Jersey. Of course, our lease is up at the end of September, which is the reason why we're moving when Will is only a couple of weeks old.

We haven't stopped looking at places, driving back and forth to Jersey, and being utterly exhausted from all of this. Did I mention that I am now nine months pregnant? Well, it caught up to me today and I had to stay home from work. I hate doing that, but it had to be done. I did manage to wash all of Will's stuff and squeeze some hours of nap time. I'm also cooking a really nice dinner for Dan (poor guy, I've been lacking in that department lately). Not to mention, we've been searching for apartments and trying to make appointments to go see them.

The problem we're running into is our Louie. Jersey is not pet friendly, which is why we ended up in the Bronx to begin with. Fortunately, I have been finding places that do allow pets, but getting them is another question. I have faith that we'll find something soon (we're going to see a place tomorrow). We just have to start packing, which is why Will's stuff is still out and about. Aghhhh!

I will leave you with a picture of me lightly hiking at the Delaware Water Gap. We went with Dan's aunt, uncle, and cousin and had a blast. The day was perfect only going up into the 70's. We napped, hiked (it wasn't the usual hiking we do), and explored the area around us. Dan also played some ball with his cousin. We definitely ate plenty of food. It was great!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Now that the Pictures have been Uploaded!

Finally, after a week from hell (well practically, but that's another post), Dan was able to upload the pictures from the shower. I can't begin to tell you how beautiful and wonderful our shower was. So, I'll try to describe as much as I can.

For starters, Sal (the host) is very talented. I'm always amazed at her attention to detail and how creative she is. The place looked awesome and I know how hard she worked on it. There were fortune cookies that she ordered that read fortunes about Dan, me, and the baby. It was so cute! One of the fortunes said, "The baby's name will be William." I had no idea you could do this.

Every table had two piggy banks with pennies in them that everyone took home at the end of the day. I loved that! We decided on a seating chart to make it easier for everyone (no fighting on who is sitting next to who). When you went up to the table to grab your number, your name was attached to a blue pacifier. She also had boxes that included picture frames, Cadbury chocolate bar, fortune cookies, and some had piggies. Every table also had tones of mints for after dinner.

So Sal, I could never thank you enough for making that day as wonderful as it was. I love you a lot!

Now I have to go to my other friend, Andrea. She is also Miss Creative! Andrea is responsible for the invitations. She personally made them, which came out beautiful. Her creativity doesn't stop there.

The doll that Dan and I are holding is made up of blankets, cloth diapers, bibs, wrist rattlers, little toys, and other stuff that I know I'm leaving out. How adorable is that? She should definitely start making these and selling them. She'll make tons of money. I felt bad pulling it apart when I got home.

Andrea, went absolutely crazy with everything, too. She made a card box for us so that anyone who had gotten us gift cards, checks, or cash didn't have to worry about their money being lost. She also made a book box, which now stores all of Will's books that I'll be reading very happily. I love reading and the fact that Will already has a library of books, excites me to no end.

Andrea is another person that I have no idea how I would make this all up to, but somehow I will. I thank you very much for all of your hard work. I'll never forget this.

Now I have to go to the grandparents (all four of them). Between my parents and Dan's parents, they've spent a small fortune on their grandson. They've been very helpful and without them this shower would not have happened. They blindly trusted Sal to do all the preparations without any hesitation. They were all smiling ear to ear at the party. I could also never thank them enough for all they've done. I love them very much.



Last, but not least, I have to say that I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone. All of my friends and family have spent way too much money. The amount of gifts that we have is just astonishing. I don't know how we'll be able to repay each and every single person. I love everyone of you and I'll make sure that Will will always know how much he's loved by everyone.

Here's one last picture to show you what our apartment looks like after it's been filled up with gifts.
The funny thing is that there are more gifts that have arrived since this picture like the stroller/car seat set, my glider with the ottoman, a bathtub, and a few more items. You could only imagine how amazed Dan and I are. The following morning we stood in the living room just staring at everything, not sure of what to do. Dan turned to me and said "This is no longer our apartment, but the kid's apartment." He could not have said it better.

Monday, August 13, 2007

The Shower!

This had to have been the best shower in the world! We really haven't had a chance to upload all the pictures, but I got one. I have to post about this day and tell you how wonderful it was, but it will probably happen either later on today or tomorrow. It's been a hectic, nonstop weekend. I'm stealing a few minutes this morning to just make this little post. Enjoy the pic!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Today's My Shower!

I've been waiting for this day since I found out about it. My dear best friend Sal has been furiously working nonstop to make this the best shower in the world. The one thing about Sal that always amazes me is her attention to detail. For instance, yesterday she gave me a little sample of what to expect. She handed me fortune cookies. We open a few of them up and see little fortunes about me, Dan, and the baby. I would have never thought of that! How cute is that?

Poor thing looked exhausted last night when I saw her. I would have loved to help her with the preparations, but of course I'm not allowed to see anything. Today will probably be even more hectic than all the preparation she's been doing. She'll want to make sure everything looks perfect. I know she'll worry about every little detail to who shows up on time and doesn't. She's my greatest friend and I treasure her very much. We're going to have so much fun!

Well, I must go. Dan and I have loads of stuff still to do. We've been doing some major house cleaning. When I say major, I mean going through stuff we haven't looked at in years. We decided to throw away all (well almost all) the notebooks from college. The only things we kept were important papers. It was about time! We need to make room for the baby and we're also planning to move by the end of September (that's another post). The junk needs to go.

Besides cleaning, I need to get pretty! I need to wax, give myself a pedicure and manicure, and I have no idea what else. So now that I've had breakfast, I need to get my ass in gear. I'm letting Dan sleep in a bit because I zonked out on him last night at 10 pm. He did so much work. Well, off to my pedicure!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

One of Them Days

It started off with a bowl of cereal on my lap, feet, and floor. After cleaning it off, I cried a bit to Dan about it and finished getting ready for work. Nothing spectacular happened throughout the workday. In that aspect, I can't complain.

I stayed at work until 5 (I need some overtime hours; I left early on Friday). I don't mind staying late because then I get to go home with Dan. We leave work about 10 minutes early. Our car is in the shop and it was ready to be picked up. The place closes at six, which doesn't leave much leeway on time. Anyway, we get into the train and it's packed to the point that I don't get pass the door much. It takes three stops for anyone to actually notice I'm pregnant and offer me a seat, which I greatly appreciated. My belly kept on hitting the lady in front of me. We all looked like sardines.

Once we enter the Bronx, the conductor announces that the train is going local. At which point Dan asks me if we should get off, but we couldn't. There was no way we would reach the door in time. Our train doesn't empty out until our stop, which is delayed right at the station. We're stuck for some unknown reason. Finally, the train moves and we get out.

We pick up the car and that works out just fine. Once home, I quickly start making dinner. There was nothing exciting about dinner. I cooked some sweet Italian sausages and rotelle pasta with store bought tomato sauce. I wasn't going to eat. I got stuffed from the ice cream cones we got from a Mr. Softee right before getting home. Anyway, I ask Dan to strain the pasta for me. We have one of those pots that you could strain from because the lid has little holes. He's done straining it and turns it over one more time to get the excess water out. The lid comes crashing off and the pasta goes all over the sink. He just walks out and gets really upset. I laugh it off.

If my day is going to finish with remaking pasta, so be it. I think the weird stuff stopped there. I don't feel anymore bad vibes. Even though I try not to focus on how bad my day starts, I do believe it lingers on throughout the rest of the day. Luckily, I keep a pretty optimistic outlook of life. If I had truly let that bowl of cereal get to me, my day would have been worse. I did also participate in some gossip, which I try not to do. It just brings bad stuff.

Anyway, that's how my day has been. How was yours?

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

What I Have a Knack for

The two things I've always had a knack for has been the bearer of bad news and knowing when I'm in danger. The first one happens because people seem to trust me or I happen to catch someone doing something they shouldn't be doing. Of course this talent I had was very big in high school where there was something always gone with one of my friends. I hated breaking this type of news to any of my friends. I always felt like a big turd doing so.

My other talent is knowing when I'm in trouble. There have been a few instances where my life has been in danger and luckily, I've gotten myself out of it. Two of these instances, my life was on the line and I thank the angels that protected me for getting me out of it. I've learned over the years to trust my instincts when it comes to thinking something may happen. I don't want to later regret it.

At around 7pm, I took out Louie for his walk. I left my keys and cell phone at home. When I got downstairs, I got that feeling that I shouldn't have done that. The minute I stepped out of the building, two men crossed my path. One of them stopped me and started asking me questions about Louie. He nervously looked at the other guy who had stepped into my building and had quickly come out. I had instantly gotten a bad vibe from these two and kept the conversation short.

I kept on walking and Louie did his thing. I picked up his poop, walked to the corner, and threw the poop out at the corner garbage can. When I turned around, I saw that these two guys were now standing in front of the door. Now, I'm totally regretting leaving my keys and phone upstairs. I couldn't call Dan and tell him what was going on. So, I decided to walk in front of the guys, turned the corner, and walked down the block. I wanted to see what these guys were going to do.

I stopped in front of our garage and turned to look up the street. The guy who had stepped into the building walked to the corner and looked to see where I was. He looked frustrated and turned around. I now knew that I couldn't go back to the front door. I stood in front of the garage and begged my runners (they are spiritual guides who help me out when I'm in need) to have the garage door open. About a few minutes later, maybe two or three, the garage door opens and my neighbor was pulling out. I happily waved at him, walked inside the garage, and profusely thanked my guides.

Listen, this could have all been a coincidence and I was just paranoid, but I rather be safe than sorry. I'm pregnant and I feel that I'm more vulnerable to stuff like this than normal. The guys acted strange and I had never seen them before in the area. I know I live in a city and there are many people who travel through the area. But I still know the owners of dogs that get walked around the area and see practically the same people walking in and out of the subway.

What freaked me out the most was the guy walking to the corner to see where I was and turning around, slapping his hand against his leg out of frustration. What if I hadn't followed my instincts and walked into my building and those guys followed me in? God knows what would have happened. I may not be posting this now.

Do yourself a favor and always trust your instincts when it comes to situations like these. It has saved my life. Always be aware of your surroundings. And if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. Trust me on this and you'll thank me. Also, always ask your spirit guides, God, or whoever you put your faith in to help you out. It's worked for me.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Pics and Anniversary Update

Our anniversary was wonderful! We went to have brunch at The Madison Bar and Grill. This is our favorite spot and haven't been there in about two years. When Dan thought of it, we immediately changed our mind about dinner. The unfortunate thing about our day was the weather. There were thunderstorms all day long, which cut our outing short. It was way too dreary to be out. Also, the roads were dangerous to be driving around in.

We went home and knocked out. At around 8:30, Sal and Guy made us dinner and dessert. We had a great time and stuffed our brains once again. Even though the weather sucked, our day was perfect. We spent plenty of quality time together and shared it with our friends. It was great!

On to a different subject, I have pictures of baby Cal. He's so yummy, wonderful, and precious. I can't wait for Will and him to become best buds. So here he is:

Isn't he adorable?









Sunday, July 29, 2007

Happy Anniversary!

Seven years ago today, Dan and I exchanged wedding vows! My how the years have gone by. It's amazing. Every year on this day, I get super excited because it means we're adding another year to our relationship. I love telling people how long we've been married. Besides, we have a great relationship. We're loving, honest, and respectful towards each other.

We're having a nice, quiet day followed by dinner. As long as we hang out with each other, I don't mind what we do. Wish us the best!!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I Finished!

As much as I wanted to take my time reading the last Harry Potter book, I devoured over 500 pages in the last two days. I loved the entire book from start to end. Her writing has a way of sucking you in. So much happened in this book that I'm not sure how it will translate once they make it into a movie. Either way, I highly recommend you reading all of the 7 books.

I'm sad it is over and won't have anything like this again. While growing up and even now, I've always spent my time reading. I live through the characters I read as if I were part of the story. One thing I have to say is that I never read a series of books that caused so much emotion in me. The author has a way of writing that doesn't allow you to think of anything else. If I had wanted to, I could have read the book in a day. This book has 759 pages! That's a whole lot of reading.

Now, I could devour any book at anytime, but not the way I've done with these books. I wish there was anything remotely close to this while I was growing up. I read the vampire chronicles by Anne Rice and even those don't compare to the Harry Potter series. They didn't inspire as much emotion in me. I hope that she comes up with some other wonderful series. I'll be the first one to buy her book.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Louie's and Other Updates

Louie is miserable. Last night, he had a difficult time sleeping. He would get up from his pillow, to his bed, to his rug, and tried putting his head under our bed (of course that wasn't successful). All you heard was a loud thump. I tried comforting him as much as possible, but I don't think I was successful. My poor baby began crying. He broke my heart. Dan stayed home with him just to make sure he would be okay. Louie was crying with him, too. Dan gave him the Claritin and the antibiotic and that knocked him out. At least, he got some sleep.

Today, I had an appointment with my doctor. Everything is fine and I even lost 1/2 a pound. To be honest, I haven't been very hungry lately. I also get full faster. Anyway, now I'm down to going every two weeks to the doctor. Tomorrow, I enter my 32nd week (8 months)! Time is really going rather fast. I could have the baby in as little as 5 to 6 weeks. Wow! I can't wait to meet him.

Well, there you have it. Keep wishing my pooch a fast recovery. I hate seeing him like this. I don't want him to suffer anymore.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Poor Louie!

My poor pooch! We had to take him to the vet this morning. After spending practically three hours and $300, we found out that he has skin allergies that lead to an infection. Poor baby has been chewing his back area and tail. We bathed him yesterday to see if it would alleviate the problem, but this morning his back was completely wet with his saliva.

He has to take Claritin/Benadryl, antiobiotics, and bathe with a medicated shampoo and conditioner for the next few weeks. Of course, he has to sport the Elizabethan Collar that I know makes him miserable. He keeps on bumping into things.

Once in a while, he'll start crying. I imagine since he can't scratch where it itches that it must be driving him mad. I hope the meds make him feel better fast. At least he's been sleeping, which he actually hasn't done much of lately. I'm sure the allergy medicine will help out in that department.

He has to go back in two weeks to make sure the infection has gone away. We do have to give him a cleaning because he has tartar (he has doggy breath), but that will have to wait a bit. If we do it in two weeks, it will be an additional $200. I'm not one to be cheep, but spending an additional $500 in a month is a bit too much. We'll probably wait until next month for that.

Please keep Louie on your mind and send many well wishes his way. He needs to feel better fast!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

New Family Member!

Last night at around 8 pm, Dan's cousin, Estrella, had an emergency C-section. Everything went well and we welcome Cal David Gonzalez. He weighs 6 lbs. and 15 ounces and measures 19 1/2 inches. Mom and baby are doing well. Baby Cal is absolutely beautiful.

We went to see them at the hospital today and snapped some pictures.

Baby Cal:















Mom and Baby:















Dad and baby:















Dan practicing:















Now, all we have to do is wait for William to be born and the two cousins will have plenty of photos together!

Harry Potter

I love Harry Potter! I have sat down and read this series for hours. When I was growing up, there was nothing like this out there. I've always been the one to read books that have to deal with mystery, witches, vampires, and etc. You get the picture. I LOVE IT! When I first got my hands on Harry Potter, I was a bit envious for not having this while growing up. I would have devoured each and every single book and bought everything that had to do with it.

I purposely waited to read the sixth book up until this past week. I actually finished reading it yesterday. Dan and I saw the Order of the Phoenix about two weeks ago. So, this epic is fresh in my mind. I get so into the book that if I wanted to (or had the time), I could read it in a day. Mind you these books have anywhere from 600 to 800 something pages.

I didn't pre-order my seventh book. I figured I'd get it when I get it, but the kid in me set in yesterday. Many bookstores were opening up at midnight to release it. I told Dan that I wanted to go. Now, I wasn't going to camp out either like I saw people do at the Toys "R" Us in Times Square do, but I wanted my hands on it.

It was around 11 pm and I was falling asleep. I seriously doubted that I would go, but then I began thinking. This is the last book in a series I've been reading for years and when would be the next time that I could just get up and go to an event like this? We got up and went to the nearest Barnes & Nobles. Of course the line was huge. Cops were threatening to shut the place down because everyone was crowding the entrance. Teenagers were dressed up as witches and wizards. Those that bought the book got cheered when leaving the store. It was just a lot of fun.

I had found out that this particular bookstore had 20,000 copies of the book. I knew if I waited patiently, I would get my hands on it. Then my tiredness set in. I had only been standing on line for about half an hour. Going back home was sounding very sweet, but then I remembered something. About two weeks ago, I stood in line for 2 1/2 hours to watch the press release of the movie Superbad, which you should go and see when it comes out. If I could hold out for that, I could do the same for Harry Potter.

Luckily, we found out that the Path Mark in the complex was also selling the book. I figured it would be more expensive than at B&N. It turned out that if you spent $25 on groceries and had the Path Mark card, you would get the book for $17. That's two dollars cheaper than at B&N where you had to be a member to receive it at that price. Since we needed to buy some groceries anyway, Dan told me to get off the line and drive over. There was no wait, either. So, I got my book!!

I read about a good 25 pages before I could barely keep my eyes open. Now, the trick is to pace myself. I don't want to devour this last book so quickly, but I know myself. It'll probably happen anyway.

Monday, July 16, 2007

I've Been Tagged

By Sal!

Here are the rules:

First the housekeeping. The rules of this meme are:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Here we go:

1. I'm the girliest tomboy I've ever met. I love make-up, having my hair done, looking good, and shopping. I also love getting down and dirty playing sports, rough housing, and kicking boys' asses.

2. I truly believe we create our own reality.

3. Stupid people use to annoy me, now I just ignore them.

4. I cry at almost every movie, even if there's really no need for it.

5. When I was fourteen, I was able to bench press 100 lbs. and maxed 150 lbs.

6. I have always (and still do) want to become a cop.

7. If I hadn't found my true love, I probably would have become an archaeologist and traveled the world excavating sites.

8. If I hadn't been such an angry teenager, I would have gotten straight A's. I guess I got over my anger in college because I graduated with honors.

And, you're all tagged!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Eating

Now that it's super hot, I hate eating. In the mornings, I'm always hungry and that's when I do most of my eating. Once I get home from work, I'm fine with a bowl of cereal or a chocolate shake. I have to food shop this weekend and I will buy some salad mix so that at least I get my veggies in. It's just too damn hot to cook or eat. Luckily for me, Dan doesn't bitch much about food. As long as he eats something, he's fine.

We're bad about cooking, too. I took out ground beef to make picadillo (Cuban), but we ended up out and about for a few days and I had to throw it out (like I'm rich or something). I think my best bet is buying plenty of salad mix, add some spinach, craisins, and maybe chicken, and we'll have ourselves a healthy dinner. Tonight, I might make fried eggs with white rice (maybe). I need the protein and I did already have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. If I only had the energy to get my ass to McDonald's or some place similar to that, I would have a shake. What I do miss are those wheat shakes my mother-in-law would make for me in Miami. I so need to buy wheat puffed cereal (it's easy to make: wheat puffed cereal, milk, sugar, and ice). They are nutritious and delicious!

Normally, I wouldn't care about what or how much I was eating, but we know that little Will needs to get fed. He definitely lets me know when he's hungry and I abide by his rules. I just hope I'm eating enough. Well, I'm gaining weight (18 lbs). I can't be doing that bad. I do make sure to drink plenty of milk. My servings have also gotten bigger. So, I shouldn't worry so much about it. I think if I get the apartment cool enough, I'll make the rice and eggs (and I'll add a bit of corn--yum). See you later!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

I Know it's Summer and All

But does it have to feel like I live in Miami? I'm surprised I made it to work and back home without collapsing. It's a perfect day to be in the water!! Unfortunately, my vacation won't come until I give birth (and that won't be a vacation). We had no choice but to leave the air conditioner on all day for the dog. Poor baby! I was worried all day about him. I'm afraid there will be another blackout and he'll roast.

I can't wait for autumn. It's my favorite season! That's when I get into hiking, exercising, crocheting, and knitting. Of course this year we'll have an added bonus! At least we'll be able to take the baby out since the weather will be nice and crisp. Ahhhhh......

For now, I'll hibernate in my apartment and daydream.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Ramblings

What should I do about my lack of sleep? I've been up since about 4:00am. Of course, I'll probably crash in about an hour or so and wake up late. At least I wasn't the only one with sleeping problems. Dan was up all night, too. He finally fell asleep around 20 minutes ago.

I do spend a lot of time thinking about the baby. Maybe I'm driving myself crazy. I'm so anxious to meet him that I probably can't relax because of it. When I do manage to fall asleep, I dream about him. The last dream I had about him, I was changing his clothes constantly. He looked so cute in all the outfits I put him in.

How long should I work for? I'm working in an office where the stress levels are minimal. If I stay until the end of August, I'll be 37 1/2 weeks. Is that pushing it? I probably should be asking my doctor about this (I will on my next visit). Am I going to regret not taking any time for myself before the baby is born? Or will I be so miserable by then that it won't matter? Better yet, what if I go into labor at work? I am in the middle of Times Square. Well, I'll worry about this next month. There's nothing I could do about this now, anyway.

I need to get into the water. I've been dying to go to a pool or a lake for the longest time. The last time I was in any water was Memorial day week of last year that Dan and I were in Miami. I've been asking Dan to take me to a pool, but I don't think he understands how much I need it. I feel bad being a pain about this, but I just want to float in the water and relax. If he doesn't take me soon, I will go nuts. It's going to be 96 degrees today. I should be at some pool somewhere.

That is all for my ramblings. Nothing else is really going on. I'm taking it day by day trying to enjoy as much of my pregnancy as possible. So far, I've been able to tolerate the heat, which is a blessing. As long as I'm able to, I see the end of my pregnancy being fine. I'll keep you posted!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

How Was Your Fourth?

Mine was uneventful. I lounged all day. I couldn't help it. The day was very gloomy and rainy. Dan and I hung out in bed watching tv. We didn't even muster the energy to watch the fireworks later on that night. It also kind of sucks that we have to go back to work today. Oh well, I'll be on maternity leave soon enough.

Other than that, there hasn't been much going on with me. I've gained another five pounds (in three weeks), which I'm not happy about. My hunger has become more and more as the days go by. I try to watch what I eat, but it's difficult when I'm all of a sudden smacked with hunger. I found out that the next time they do a sonogram will be on my 37th week. I won't get to see the baby until then. Who knows, I might be in labor by then! Well that's it! Chat with you soon!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Hectic but Fun

This past week has been filled with touring Manhattan. My mother-in-law was up from Florida for a conference. She stayed right in Times Square. Since we work right smack in Times Square, right after work we would head over to her hotel and take her out. I haven't walked as much as I did this past week as I have in a long time. Let me tell you, it tired me out. There was one night that I thought I would have to crash in her room. I had to rest for about half an hour in order to muster any energy to walk the remainder five blocks to the train. Even though I was wiped out, we had a great time. We took her everywhere from Union Square to Central Park, which included a horse carriage ride. She enjoyed every bit of it. Dan and I also had a great time. Our week didn't end with rest, either.

Yesterday, we had a baby shower to go to that turned into an all day event. Dan's cousin is six weeks ahead of me and we were celebrating. The shower was a lot of fun. She received plenty of gifts, which we were all excited about. After the shower, we hung out with the family and spent the evening and night chatting away.

Today, I decided to vegetate. With the exception of having to food shop, I spent the day relaxing. I'm just beat! I took a nice afternoon nap, which probably lasted a few hours (I have no idea how much I slept). It was nice to just sit and do pretty much nothing.

By the way, I was asked by Melissa to show pregnancy pictures. I made Dan snap of picture of me this morning. This Tuesday, I will be seven months pregnant! I can't believe that soon enough I'll be able to physically meet my son.

Well, here it is:

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day!

I hope all you dads have a wonderful and relaxing day!! I made Dan a very big breakfast, which he enjoyed very much. I also did not nag him about going out (I usually try to hurry him up so that we could leave early). We grabbed a bit for dinner and watched Fantastic Four. Now we're home and he's watching the game.

He did get the best father's day gift ever (very cool for the first father's day). Right after we stepped out of the place we were eating at, I spotted Bernie Williams! I turned to Dan and pointed him out. At first, he didn't believe me, but then he got a good look at him. We were heading his way and Dan got to shake his hand!! Bernie Williams is Dan's favorite baseball player of all time. How cool was that? It's always very nice when stars are pleasant. He even said "hi" to me.

So, I think the day turned out to be very nice for Dan. I hope all you dad's have a great day!!

Saturday, June 16, 2007

14 Hours

That's what I slept last night. We got home around 6:30 and I laid down to read a book. After maybe 10 pages, I was sleepy enough to take a nap. Yeah, Dan got me out of bed close to 11 pm. I stayed up for about half an hour and went back to sleep. It's now 8 am and I'm up (but not for long). I think after this post, I'm going to lay back down. I was really hungry (since I didn't have dinner last night) and got up to eat. Besides, Will was kicking me to do so.

I didn't realize how exhausted I was! It's for the best because today will be a long day. We're finishing our registry (at least try), going into Brooklyn, and then going into Queens for a going away party. It will absolutely be a long day and I'm not sure how long I'll last. I might as well take advantage now before the baby is born. I won't be able to hang out at bars for going away parties with a baby hanging off me.

Alright, I'm going back to bed. Talk to you soon!!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

More Random Things

My job is going well. I actually like it and don't mind going into work everyday. The pay sucks and it's temporary, but I'm having fun while I'm there. This kind of office job I could do. It also helps tremendously that Dan works right next to me. I know, some of you would hate to work with your spouse, but I love it. I have a great time with him. I love being able to have lunch with him. Best of all, we get along great. I'll surely miss it.

I'm done tutoring. My student did very well and I have no doubt that he will excel in first grade. His parents were also very pleased with the amount of work I put in. They even got me a gift for the baby! They are a very sweet family. I presented my student with a certificate after we were done with his test. He was so happy! He ran and showed it off to his parents. What a sweet kid! I'm going to miss all of his turtle stories.

I'm still utterly exhausted. Last night was my first night off from tutoring and I spent it cleaning. There's still a lot left to do, but I have to take it easy. With the air conditioning not working at work and being just plain tired, I had such a hard time staying awake. If I could have gone home, I would have. Let's see what I get done today.

That's about it for now. I have more stuff going through my mind, but I just can't get it together. So, until next time.

Friday, June 08, 2007

What's Your New York Age?

I got this off of one of Dan's friends, Cody. We all did it at work (well, except for me because I was too busy).



My New York age is 27

This New York age puts you-generally speaking-into the young category. That's what you were hoping for, right? Run and tell your friends. Then get drunk (as usual). Then sleep it off. Then pop an Adderall. Then come back and consider experimenting with a more mature type of New York life (just once in a while). Have you ever been to the Village Vanguard or the Living Theatre? Eaten at Elaine's? Taken a date to Michael Feinstein? Before you laugh, check 'em out and see what old-school NYC experiences you can add to the new.

Does your age reflect how you're living? Let us know.

What's your New York age? Take the Time Out New York quiz and find out!