Spring Break 2012: Part One

Akiko, once again, had a whole week off school this last week. This time it was for spring break. We decided to take a long overdue trip down to southern California to visit Joseph's grandpa, auntie, and cousin in Long Beach.

We left Monday morning after I came back from getting our tire patched. We found a screw and a slow leak in one of our tires as we were coming home from church the day before. I'm glad we found it then and not Monday or have our tire pop on us as we were on the road. I'm also grateful that it was a quick and inexpensive fix and I was able to get it done super early in the morning.

Anyway, we got down to Long Beach just in time to have dinner with the family. With all the more frequent stops we have to make when traveling with smaller children, we very luckily missed the worst of L.A.'s horrendous rush hour.

The next morning, we took the kids to Knott's Berry Farm. Even though we were staying at a hotel just down the street from Disneyland, I did not want to drop the big bucks to go there where I wouldn't be able to do much of anything while being this pregnant. Knott's Berry is only 15 minutes away and costs half as much to get in and is just as much fun.

My dance studio performed there (and also at Disneyland on a different day) when I was 15 or 16. We were there on an overcast weekday. There was hardly anyone at the park that day, so our troupe pretty much had the run of the place. It was tons of fun.

Joseph had never been there before, but took my word that we I would have a lot more fun going there than the more popular, and therefore more crowded, Disneyland. I'm so glad we went. It was not crowded at all and there were hardly any lines for the rides. It was also a beautiful sunny day, but not hot at all.

Right when we got in, we bumped into Snoopy. My kids don't know the Peanuts characters, but they will someday. Oh, and there's my pregnant belly!

This next series of pictures was the first ride for Akiko and Moses. I just want to show them because Moses' face is funny.

The first one is anticipation before the ride begins:

The next one, Moses shows terror as the ride makes its first drop:

And I'm really sorry it's blurry and dark, but, you know, cameras can be fickle sometimes.

The last shot is nearing the end of the ride and Moses decided it really was fun:

It turns out that my 60th percentile daughter was just tall enough for almost all the rides at the park. Joseph took off with her to ride the big coasters. I hung out at Camp Snoopy with the boys.

Most of the rides we just sent Moses on. I'm glad he's old and confident enough to get in line and ride by himself. Most of the kiddie rides are pretty tame. Moses discovered the coaster, though, which is a bit wilder and he loved it so much he ended up riding it 7(!) times throughout the course of the day. The ride was set up in a way that there was no way I could get a shot of him on it at all.

Akiko had so much fun on the big coasters. Her favorites were Montezooma's Revenge and the Jaguar, but her very favorite was the Perilous Plunge, which features a 115 ft. water drenching drop.

Not my picture. Got it from Google.

While Moses really loved the kiddie coaster, his very favorite ride was the Log Flume, which he had to ride with Joseph, but they went on it 4 or 5 times. The very last time, which happened to be the very last ride of the day as the park was closing, Asher also joined them on the flume.

Joseph couldn't help buying the picture for this one. Can you blame him?

We had a ton of fun at Knott's Berry. It was the perfect kind of day to go. Our friend Krysta, who also lives in SoCal, joined us later in the afternoon and took Akiko on a bunch of rides so that Joseph could take Moses on the rides where he needed to be accompanied by an adult. It worked out great.

I thought that, with all the running around that he was doing, Asher would end up like this for most of the afternoon:

Yeah, that lasted only about 20 minutes. He was so wired the rest of the day. We couldn't get him to sleep until nearly 11pm.

Moses on the other hand, conked out in the car on the way back to the hotel:

We got back to the hotel around 7pm. He stayed asleep until about 8am the next morning, with one minor interruption where Joseph woke him up enough to go to the bathroom.

I'm going to leave the post here and just inundate you with cute pictures from here on out and talk about the aquarium in a later post.

My cute kids posing for me while we waited for Joseph to park the car.

Such a beautiful girl. I love her so much.

Pure handsomeness and sweetness all in one package.

I love these kids!!

I love these boys, too! Asher is 95% Daddy's boy, 5% Mommy's boy.

Asher liked some of the thrill rides, too.

If Asher weren't moving so fast towards me, he wouldn't be so blurry, but he still just looks so cute in this picture.

And this is Asher's "posing for the camera" face.

Favorite mode of transportation.

Cannot get enough of this sweet, sweet child.

I can't believe how big this one is getting. Big coasters already?!

Three of my favorite people on the planet.

Akiko really wanted to take a picture of Joseph and me.

At lunch, Asher kept trying to get up on the table. He was finally content to just put his feet on it instead.

These two are just a couple of peas in a pod.

The kids really wanted a picture as Pink's hotdogs as we left the park. I've never had a famous Pink's. Asher had to pose as the mommy hotdog, as I did not trust him with my camera.

What a great day this was. I'm so glad we went.

Celebrate!!

I have two subjects to talk about today that have caused us reason to rejoice, though the two are unrelated to each other.

First, I'd like to talk about how Akiko's birthday went:

She did not have a birthday party this year, for reasons we will not go into (my kids, though I love them, are not perfect and we'll leave it at that). But we did try to make her day as special as possible.

We started the day out with a special pancake breakfast, where I asked Joseph to make the pancakes spell out her name:

The kids got such a kick out of that, it may end up becoming a birthday tradition for us. Moses loved eating "Akiko" pancakes.

After she left for school, I got started decorating her birthday cake. I got it done just in time for the boys and me to go to the school and surprise Akiko at lunch. I think it's nice that our school allows parents to join their kids for lunch if they'd like.

Her school lunches are way better than the lunches I had in elementary. It makes me feel better knowing that she's got a good and healthy selection.

Anyway, Akiko was so pleased to see us there. Her teacher had Akiko pass out the birthday treats that we brought:

I got this idea from Pinterest. Akiko painted all the clothespins, so each one was unique. The kids in her class thought they were so cute. Most of the kids in her class made a point to come up to me and thank me for the treats. I thought that was the sweetest thing ever.

We stayed for lunch recess. Moses and Asher were a huge hit. I let Asher out of the stroller and he was immediately swamped by about a dozen girls who were fawning all over him. He felt a little overwhelmed and ran back to the stroller and stayed there most of the time.

Moses had a lot of fun running around with Akiko and her friends. He was really upset when the recess bell rang. They only had 20 minutes to play. When we picked up Akiko from school later that day, we stayed after for about half an hour, even though it was threatening rain, and let him play on the playground some more.

I didn't take my camera to the school, but it was probably better that way because there was no way I would have been able to take pictures anyway. It was kind of crazy.

After school, Akiko just had fun playing with her brothers and watching movies (after homework was done, of course). She got several calls from her grandparents and relatives. She couldn't believe that people "just keep calling me."

Later that evening, Joseph took an early train home and we headed over to Round Table Pizza for a birthday dinner. I told Akiko that I could either make her whatever she wanted for dinner or we could go out to a restaurant of her choice. I'm glad she chose the latter. The last two years she's requested time consuming gyoza. I really don't think I could have pulled that off this year.

We went home to cake and ice cream. I had asked Akiko what kind of cake she wanted: chocolate with vanilla frosting and decorated with flowers. She was expecting a store bought cake. I gave her this instead:

She couldn't believe I made it. Akiko and Moses kept telling me that it looks just like the cakes they make on Cake Boss. I felt very flattered. My cake decorating skills are nowhere near the caliber of cake art produced at Carlo's Bakery. I was proud of the cake, nonetheless. And it was really tasty, too. And yes, I can eat cake with diabetes. It just has to be a really tiny slice.

I'd like to put our video up of Akiko blowing out her candles, but the file is too big and it won't upload. We put trick candles on her cake this year. It was hilarious. Her confused face was priceless. Asher was also really helpful blowing out the candles with pinpoint accuracy. I can't wait for his birthday in a couple months. It's probably better that I can't post the video anyway, because now I won't have to worry about paying royalties for singing the Happy Birthday song.

Akiko opened her presents afterwards and loved them all. Then it was time for bed. It was a really busy day for me, and I overextended myself, but I'm glad I was able to make it a special day for her even though she was still bummed she isn't having a party. Akiko said she had the "most amazing day ever."

We had her best friend over for a playdate after school the next day. I let the girls have a slice of cake for their after school snack and they both just pretended that they were having a private birthday party with just the two of them. Then I took all the kids over to her friend's house, so I could go to a doctor appointment, and her friend gave Akiko her birthday present that she had bought about a month earlier in anticipation of Akiko's birthday. How cute is that? I don't feel as bad about the no party thing anymore since the playdate ended up being sufficient enough.

My next cause for celebration is that the couch is now 100% done. Finished. Out of my hair and no longer nagging me.

I love the pattern of the pillow covers. I wish I'd got the blue color in the same pattern though. Our house is so brown.

I'm really pleased with the overall look. And if I get tired of the pillows, the covers are so easy to make and it's such an inexpensive way to change things up that I'm not terribly concerned about it right now.

There was a pattern that I liked more, but it was much lighter and the conservative mom of nearly three rambunctious boys said, I think this darker brown color will be better for now.

I'm thinking of adding a few smaller throw pillows into the mix, too, but for now, I'm done. This was truly an exhausting project and it really tested me. I am so pleased with the outcome though and it was a lot easier than I had anticipated. Would you like to know the approximate cost?

Item	Amount	Cost	Subtotal
Main fabric	12 yards	$3 per yard	$36.00
Pillow fabric	4 yards	$9 per yard	$36.00
Pillows	5	$15.00	$75.00
Zippers	5	$2.80	$14.00
Upholstery thread	3 spools	$2.40	$7.20
Grand Total			$168.20

Not bad, eh?

All I have to say is: I am awesome!!

This next week, I will relax and spend time with my family for spring break. Then I've got a whole lotta stuff to still get ready for this baby. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone.

Less than a month left? Usually the last month drags on as I wait around for the baby to come, but with all I feel I still have to do it's going to go by in the blink of an eye. I'm so excited to meet this little guy. And not be pregnant anymore.

I saw his chubby little face for a moment a couple days ago. He's so cute! My doctor did an ultrasound to check how big he is. He will probably be my biggest baby, but he's still in the normal range, thank heavens. He's already measuring 20 inches long! Tall baby! But still, so far, so good. Not too fat. Whew!

Lucky Number 7

Seven years ago today, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby I had ever laid my eyes upon.

I'm so proud to be her mother. The last seven years have been full of adventure.

She was sealed to us when she was eight weeks old. We became an eternal family.

 We got to live with her favorite Auntie Hannah for a while on Maui.

Moses was born when we lived at Grandpa Fred's house back in Utah.

She discovered her passion for painting and drawing.

We went to Disneyland and got to meet Minnie and many other characters.

She was so cute in her dance class.

After we moved to California, she became a big sister a second time when Asher was born.

 She started kindergarten.

We've gone on lots of fun adventures in the Bay Area.

She keeps growing more and more beautiful, inside and out.

Happy 7th Birthday Akiko!!

We are so proud of you!

Old Made New

The slipcover is done!! Take that pessimistic Kristen. (I'm kidding, Kristen. I love you!)

This is huge. The biggest, most intimidating project I have ever taken on. I'm not much of a sewer. Is that spelled correctly? Or is "sewer" one of those words where it has two very different definitions and pronunciations? Maybe I'll use the words seamstress or tailor instead.

Anyway, I learned the basics from my mom when I was in junior high and high school. We made my first prom dress when I was sixteen. She did most of the work, but I learned a lot.

Not the best picture of the dress, but it still fit me for Halloween 2009, about 12 years after we made it. And yes, I also made the kids' extremely last minute costumes.

Most of my sewing skills come in the form of repairing rips and tears. I'm always grateful when they're simply a seam that has come apart. I'm really good at sewing straight stitches and the like. I'm not sure if I've ever actually finished a project that required a pattern. In fact, I can think of one sitting in my craft closet right now, sadly waiting on the day when I may get around to finishing it.

Well, the slipcover and the cushion covers were not only a very large project, but a much more complicated undertaking than anything I had ever taken on before. I did it though and I did a pretty good job on it. Would you finally like to see pictures?

I'm still kind of in shock that it turned out so well. And even more in shock that it actually fits on the couch. And even more pleased that it looks so good. And even more pleased that I was able to do it so inexpensively (a lot less, in fact, than my original estimate).

The couch project is not done. I've got new pillows for it that I need to find fabric for and get covers made for those, so my couch is still mismatched since we're still using the flopsy, dirty, original pillows. Those shouldn't take long, though, once I make a fabric decision.

My confidence as a seamstress has skyrocketed. I've done a lot of things on this project that I've never done before. I was really overwhelmed and intimidated at first and kept procrastinating getting it started, even researching upholstery fabrics and prices to see if it was even worth my time and money.

The biggest thing I've learned, especially about myself, is that you can't look at something new and intimidating and say to yourself, "That looks way too hard. I'm not even going to try." If you want to do something, learn something new, you just have to go do it. Learn how to do it. Study. Take the time. Try it out. You may find that it's not the thing for you, or else you'll find out that you had a hidden talent. This applies to any aspect of life: arts and crafts, parenthood, relationships, public speaking, flying a plane, science, etc.

I have a lot of failed craft projects in my closet that are sitting unfinished for one reason or another. I also have a lot of projects that were finished and didn't turn out how I wanted. As time has gone by and as I've kept practicing and learning new techniques and finding out what works and what doesn't I've gotten better. I mean, how many light bulb prototypes did Edison go through before he found the one that worked? Thank heavens he never gave up, right?

I don't feel like I can take on the world or anything now. But I do know that if I want to do something, accomplish something new and overwhelming, if you will, the only thing I can do is try. Probably fail a few times along the way, but eventually come out on top and succeed.

I really hope that I can take this lesson that I've learned about myself and instill it deeply into my children as well. It's frustrating for me when they're learning something new and they can get so hard on themselves when it doesn't work out. I keep having to tell them that new things take a lot of hard work and practice before you get the hang of it. Someday they'll get it.

"Just keep swimming."

Garth Algar and the Suck and Cut

Wayne's World is one of my favorite movies. There are so many great gems of funny quotes and antics in there. But this post isn't about the movie.

Earlier in the week, I had a ton of stuff to do. Mostly cleaning. Nothing gets you motivated to clean your house like when you're expecting a guest. My mom came out for a day to spend time with Akiko for her birthday, which is next week.

Anyway, usually once we get Akiko off to school, I plop down and check my email and Blogger and Facebook. Can I tell you what a bad idea that is? I even did it again this very morning. Baaaad Mama (<-- to be said in a llama voice).

Well, like I said, with all the stuff I felt I needed to do and get done, I did the unthinkable... for me. I turned off my computer. Not only did I turn it off, though, I unplugged it completely, wrapped the cord around it, and set it on a high shelf.

It was an action that was completely impulsive. Not planned at all. I just really felt, in that singular moment, that I really needed to do that. Acting immediately on a spiritual prompting, if you will.

I'll be the first to admit: I'm a Facebook junkie. I will check that stinkin' site several times a day. It bugs me that I do that. There's hardly anything of worth that gets posted on there on a regular basis. A lot of stuff that my "friends" post is re-posted fodder. Some of it can be quite offensive. I try to ignore and delete those posts.

What I do like about Facebook is that I can keep up with family and friends that actually have something valuable to share, like pregnancy, birth, engagement, wedding, etc. announcements. This is especially useful for keeping track of Joseph's ginormous extended family. I also find it useful as a forum when you need the advice from your friends or need someone to commiserate with you when you're, say, potty training your child, for example.

On the other hand, a good 75-80% of the crap that people post on there is junk. And if I were a sports fan, like, if I were really into the Super Bowl, for instance, I would have to avoid Facebook like the plague.

I checked in after the General Conference sessions last week and was really surprised by how many people were posting and tweeting during the sessions. I sort of get it, but at the same time I was like, Why would you do that? I know that these social media sites can be used as a way to spread the Gospel, but to me it's like sitting in sacrament meeting or stake conference and texting or tweeting about what that speaker is talking about. Can't it wait for just a little while?

I better stop ranting and get to the point. That day I turned off my computer and put it away was one of the most productive, good mood days I've had in a really long time. I got so much stuff done. I spent time and played with my boys when I needed a break from all the cleaning and organizing. It was a great day.

There was a really great article in the Ensign last February (<-- please take the time to read it) about limiting the use of our computers and smart phones. At first when I read it, it just made me feel guilty and I got a little upset when Joseph was like, "Hey, did you see this article? It really applies to you." But, I kept coming back to it and thinking about applying those changes in my life.

I have this really cute friend from high school named Lynette. She's an extremely busy homeschooling mom to five darling children. She was also an admitted Facebook addict. She was one of the few people whose statuses I looked forward to reading because they often involved the hilarious antics of her household. She posted things several times a day.

One day, a few weeks ago, she announced that she was quitting Facebook, as in deleting her account entirely. It was a huge shock. She blogged about her reasons why, and they were entirely sound. I'm really proud of her. I wish I had that kind of willpower. That's a hard thing to do because I knew how she felt.

I can't quite bring myself to outright delete my account. I haven't even gotten around to deleting my MySpace account, you know, the one that I haven't logged into for, um... it's been a long, long, long time. I don't even remember the last time I did.

On the other hand, as suggested in that great Ensign article, I pledge to have a few days every week where I'm simply going to put my computer away. I still get email and I can still IM with Joseph on my phone, so I won't be completely unplugged, but this computer is just too much of a distraction.

So, what does this post have to do with Garth Algar and the Suck and Cut?

"Turn it off, Man! Turn it off! It's sucking my will to live!!"

The Need to Write Something

What to write? What to write? It's been a while since I blogged, and I've been meaning to for the last little while, but there have been other things higher on my priority list. So, now that I'm here, I've drawn a blank. Figures, right?

So, what has been going on? Nesting is still in full force and I've been able to tackle a few projects that have been bugging me for a while. I've been organizing and cleaning and planning things out, but there's still a lot to do before the baby comes (5 weeks!).

I'm still working on the couch. Both the seat cushions are done and the slipcover is 90% finished. I just need to put on the skirt ruffles on the bottom. That won't take long and I'm thinking of taking care of that later this afternoon. Still trying to find fabric for the new pillows, but I'm narrowing down my options. Turns out Ikea sells some really cute, durable, washable fabrics that are really inexpensive, so I think I'll be going back there for the pillow fabric.

I did the math yesterday on the couch project. It surprised me. My total came to less than $200. That's for all the fabric (12 yds. for the couch and 4 yds. for the pillow covers), 5 pillows, 5 zippers, and 3 spools of upholstery thread. The slipcover was surprisingly easy to put together and it looks really good. I totally surprised and impressed myself. I'll post pictures, sans new pillows, once I get the skirt done.

I keep saying I'll talk about the diabetes, but I haven't, so now I will. Here's what I learned that I hadn't been able to find out from online research. For a person to develop Type 2 diabetes, there has to both be genetic and environmental factors involved. It's on both sides of my family (though, oddly, not through a direct relative like a parent or sibling), so I'm already inclined to develop it. For gestational to manifest, it's just genetic and just chance. I might be able to prevent it with my next pregnancy, but the chances are slim.

I can still prevent developing Type 2 later in life so long as I take care of myself, i.e. exercise and eat right. There's a chance that I just happened to develop Type 2 during the pregnancy and it won't go away after I give birth, but statistically, that doesn't happen very often (I do personally know someone this happened to though).

So basically, what's going on is my body is not producing enough insulin to digest the sugars that I ingest. The extra sugar goes straight to the baby, who produces his own insulin. Of course, if I ingest too much sugar for myself and the baby to handle, all the extra sugar that the baby's insulin doesn't take care of gets stored in his body as fat. That's how GD babies can get so large. Wanna see a really scary picture?

The baby on the left is a normal 6.5 lbs and the baby on the right was a whopping 19 lbs.!! Yikes!! These babies are a day old and were born on the same day. They remind me of a newborn Moses (on the left) and the giant baby from Spirited Away (on the right).

So, how do I manage? Well, I have to count carbs. The nutritionist gave me a chart that tells me how big a serving of something is and how many carbs are in that serving. I have to eat every 2-4 hours, three meals and three small snacks, per day. I have a carb limit for each meal and snack (30 carbs per snack and breakfast, 45 per lunch and dinner). I have to do a finger prick first thing in the morning and after every meal (4 times a day) to monitor my blood sugar levels. If the sugar levels are below a certain number, it doesn't affect the baby.

Some days are great and all my numbers are low. Some days are not so great. Sometimes, it's just me overestimating and it's my fault my levels are high. Sometimes, I try really hard and thought I did well and my numbers are still high. Those numbers can get me down and I can get hard on myself.

So far, my nutritionist feels that there is no need to put me on insulin (another needle, *shudder*). I'm having trouble keeping my fasting levels under the recommended number (which is not something I can really control, unlike the meal levels, which I can). There's still a chance I'll have to go on insulin, which could lead to an early induction, but only time will tell on that one.

The nice thing about having to diet like this is that so far I've only gained 27 lbs. this pregnancy. I'd gained between 47 and 49 lbs. with the other three kids. I should only gain a total of 35 lbs. max at the end of this one. That's nice to hear. I'm still afraid that the baby will get too big and we'll have to do a c-section, but I'm hoping the baby will be a normal enough size that we won't have to resort to that. C-sections scare me.

I'm carrying this baby really small, like I carried Akiko. People don't believe me when I say I'm nearly 8 months pregnant. Especially when I'm standing next to someone who is due the same time as me, like one of Akiko's friend's mom. I'm kind of hoping that the fact that I'm carrying small means the baby isn't ginormous.

I just want this labor to go smoothly. Labor was a breeze with Akiko and Moses. Asher's was harder, longer, and at the end, much scarier. His heart rate dropped drastically right at the end, the doctor called in the NICU nurse and came thisclose to doing an emergency c-section. I was able to push him out finally, at the last moment. His cord had wrapped around his neck really tight, which doesn't surprise me because he was the most active baby I'd carried in utero. Boy, that kid was a close call. We waited a long time and went through a lot of heart break before bringing him into the world.

I have no idea what to expect this time around. All the pregnancies have been so different. So were the deliveries. The kids themselves are all so unique, in both personality and looks. What does this little guy have in store for us? And what will the next one be like?

For the record, I only want to try one more time to have another girl. Unless Heavenly Father has other plans for us, of course. Pregnancy really takes its toll on a girl, especially the older she gets. I do love my kids though. They're a huge blessing in my life and I don't know what I'd do without them.