The Revelations of Today's Doctor's Appointment...

This morning, Tony and I had a routine visit with my OB-GYN, Dr Yang. At the advice of the ultrasound technician and our perinatologist, we are moving up my due date. Dr Yang is doing so hesitantly because he did an ultrasound at our first visit and he feels that there is no way I was further along than 7-8 weeks. Well, on 12/7 Dr Catanzarite, my perinatal specialist says that according to the bone density tests that the baby was weighing approximately 3 pounds and they can't blame me for what I eat because at that point, I had only gained a total of 8 pounds. So today, Dr Yang told Tony and I that he is moving the due date up but not to panic about it because he's going to let me go as long 10-14 days over before he would induce. This makes my new due date February 22nd (it was 3/13). OK, now I'm starting to panic as my father in law still hasn't bought our crib, I need Tony to get a few days off so we can get the baby's room put together, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know that's only 3 weeks earlier, but I had everything timed out and my anal retentive nature isn't handling this well.

Meanwhile, I was able to sweet talk the lady at the hospital in charge of scheduling classes to fit us into the child birth education classes and me into the breast feeding class as well for January. Whew! Ok, that's one thing off my list.

Ultrasound Photos from week 26

These were taken at the perinatologist's office on 12/7. They are supposed to be face shots but this child would not hold still long enough to get a clear picture. I think that is a San Nicolas trait. From this appointment, all looks pretty good but we are going to have monthly visits with him and our regular ob-gyn to keep an eye on things. Although they look very similar, they are 2 different shots.

Ultrasound Photos from week 23

We apologize now for these taking so long to get up. These are from my Doctor's appointment on 11/21 (the day before Thanksgiving). The photo on top is a special 4D image they threw in there for us without charge. I think it was supposed to be a teaser for us to come back and get more done. As cool as they are, the thought of lying flat on my back with the back pain I already have isn't that enticing. Meanwhile, the new scanner I got for Christmas is hooked up and ready to roll so I'm catching up on everything.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm having more ultrasounds than the average pregnant woman. There are some reasons behind this that Tony and I wanted to keep private until we were ready to share them. In October, I mentioned that there was some slight dilation of the kidneys and it was nothing to worry about. Well as of this particular appointment, its become something to KINDA worry about. The dilation has not reduced, nor has it increased but we are seeing a perinatologist with San Diego Children's Hospital to keep a closer eye on things. Tony and I have done our research on this medical condition ( called fetal hydronephrosis) and on our doctor. We are blessed to be working the best perinatal specialists in Southern California...and even more blessed they have a Murietta office! From our medical research, we have found that this is nothing to panic about (so if you feel the need to panic, please refrain from doing so in front of Tony, myself or our parents as we kept this quiet just for that purpose). This is something that doctors are seeing in 5-10% of pregnancies these days due to the advancement in technology- they are able to pick things up on an ultrasound that they were not able to do even 5 years ago. In most cases of this situation, it corrects itself by birth or shortly after. Worst case scenario, they will have to perform a minor surgery to open the baby's ureters to allow the fluid to drain more efficiently. Although that sounds like a traumatic experience for both parents and baby, I've had a dear friend who has had to deal with her newborn daughter having open heart surgery and in comparison, this is nowhere near what she and her husband had to deal with. Another friend of mine happened to mention to me that her son had the same issue and when they did the tests a few days after his birth, all was well. To be honest, we feel very optimistic about everything and we are at peace with everything and are putting it in God's hands.

My mom still hasn't told my dad anything about this as with the loss of their first grandchild last year, he's been a little nutty about my pregnancy because he can't handle the heartbreak again. So let's just not bring this up to him if we can help it. He already has heart problems, no need to exacerbate them. On the same note, we have not mentioned this to Tony's father either in order to control the level of panic around us.

Meanwhile, with the possibility of the baby needing surgery, we have been advised not to have many visitors to the hospital and to limit it to immediate family( yes, Jenn and Shannen, you are considered family) and under no circumstances are we to have children under 16 years old visit within the first 2 weeks post-natal for obvious reasons. We are going to follow the doctors' advice on this and the hospital will be given explicit instructions to enforce this. Oh yeah, no cameras in the delivery room. Period. That has more to do with your health than mine. :)

A Blessed Christmas Season

Christmas was so wonderful this year, probably because I was off work and truly had the time to enjoy it. Also because of Tony's work schedule, it stretches out over a few days so it doesn't seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. Last weekend we were in Big Bear and then we had a few days in between and then celebrate the actual day of. Christmas Eve, I made Tony and I a batch of homemade spaghetti and meatballs from scratch and the next morning we got up and opened our gifts to each other and attended Christmas Mass before he had to leave to go to work. The mass was beautiful and we are blessed with a great group of priests that always deliver a poignant message in their homilies. Luckily, they made a huge turkey dinner for all the guys on base so Tony didn't miss out on a good hot Christmas meal. I spent the day w/ the Galyean family (my friend Jennifer's family) so I got to see them and of course, Jenn and Dan and Gabriel (our Godson). That would be Gabriel in the above pictures. Jenn made us tamales again this year and Tony is already staking his claim on those for tonight!

I spoke with my Grandma Bev that lives in Portland and they got Christmas snow! Apparentally they were just big, fat snowflakes. I called Belinda next and she said all she could do is stare out the window at the snow all day. It usually doesn't snow in Christmas there. They do get their fair share of snow but it doesn't stick to the ground very long.

My cousin Kalynn got engaged. I'm really excited for her and she is so happy she can barely contain herself. She just called me and asked me to be her maid of honor and I'm so excited. She'll be getting married over the summer so I told my parents they have to go too so we can all take turns with the baby. I guess that's the motivation I'll need to get Weight Watchers rolling for me once the baby is about 6 weeks old.

Tony and I are hoping to connect with his family this coming weekend when he has a few days off. Its tough with his schedule and I know he misses his family.

One of my gifts yesterday was a new all in one printer/scanner/etc so once I get that hooked up, I will post ultrasound photos and all the updates on the baby. There's alot to update so I intend to have that going in the next 24 hours or so. Hopefully sooner.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love Christmas, especially when we get to go to the mountains and there is a blanket of snow on the ground. We went up to my parents for an "early Christmas" since Tony will be working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We got to spend 3 days in Big Bear and just have fun with the family and play in the snow with the dogs. On Saturday night, Mom made an awesome prime rib dinner and afterwards we opened gifts. Since Tony will be working Christmas Day, I'm going to have a quiet day with the Galyean family out in the Dido. Luckily with Tony's schedule, we will still be able to go to church together and have a Christmas morning together. We have so much to be thankful for this year, so many blessings have bestowed us as we celebrate the birth of Christ and relish in the true meaning of the season.

PartyLite Christmas Clearance and Open House

As many of you know, at least those of you who are local- my PartyLite leaders and I were trying to clear out some old product so we did a week long open house. I took some pictures to show all the work we did on displays to give people an idea of what we had to offer and as a reminder for myself when we do this next year. We are moving the product to Moreno Valley for another open house on Tuesday. Then I am happy to say I am done for the year!

I Eat My Turkey and I Take a Nap

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is already behind us? Where has 2007 gone? Honestly, so many changes have been happening and this year is just blowing past me. Anyways, Thanksgiving was nice. Tony had to work on Thursday, so I joined his family in San Diego for dinner at his sister's house. It was nice to see everyone and all the kids. On Friday, we packed up the truck and headed to Big Bear for some time with my side of the family. We took our dining room table for my brother and my parents gave us their beautiful oak table. We were going to get a new one but my parents offered me their's since it doesn't work in their cabin and I love it! Tony is going to put it together tonight, I'm so excited. Its been in storage for 2 years so I have some work to do with it but I'll get it polished and pretty tomorrow morning. We did some shopping in the villiage and just had some quiet family time. Its freezing up there but no snow. They haven't had any precipitation up there in a long time. Let's hope they get snow before the fire season dredges on too far. Meanwhile, above is a giant picture of me. I had no idea how large I was until I saw this. Back to black for me!

Road Trippin'

This last weekend, Tony and I were blessed to take part in Gabriel Michael's baptism as his Godparents. This is a holy vocation that Tony and I take very seriously and are proud to do it. Gabriel is the son of our dear friends Jenn and Danny Castro. We hauled our happy butts to Arizona for the occasion and had a wonderful time. It was a whirl wind of a weekend but good times were had. Lessons learned from this trip are when you are pregnant, don't wear high heels to church (especially when you are Catholic because we stand alot) and also to bring a couple of extra pillows to help support your back. I don't know why it didn't occur to me bring a few but sleeping was an issue for me. The baptism was great, their priest Father Richard, gave a wonderful service and is a friend of Danny's with a great sense of humor. Gabriel did better through the service than most of us expected. When Father Richard asked if we reject Satan and evil, Gabriel just started laughing hysterically. He's too young to understand but the irony of the situation did not go unnoticed! I posted pics above. Jenn will email the formal portraits of him in his white satin tuxedo and I will post that at a later date. I couldn't get him to hold still long enough to get a shot of him on Saturday.

There's something happening here....

So I finally felt the baby move early Saturday morning. I would have blogged about this sooner except I've had my mom staying with me for a few days so I have been pretty busy. It felt like a ripple going through my abdomen and I'm noticing it with the ingestion of orange juice, spicy food and coffee. Once I imbibe on one of those, about 5-10 minutes later this kid goes nuts. Kinda cool and it makes it all seem real.

Meanwhile, Mom and I have picked out the baby furniture. We ordered the dresser and changing table. Tony's dad is helping us out with the crib so we are going to wait and get that for a few days so he can be there. We went with a beautiful cherry wood and I love it!

Happy Halloween a deux

Our Godson, Gabriel, dressed up as Chesty the Bulldog (Marine Corps mascot).

It's Halloween

No big shock to anyone that this is my least favorite holiday, but at the same time, I want the neighbor kids to think I'm cool so I usually give out the most expensive candy and live via candlelight. Above is my little display. Tony carved the pumpkins, in case you are wondering, that is a lightening bolt on the pumpkin on the right. Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday!

Latest Ultrasound....

We went to see Dr Yang today and had an extensive ultrasound, which was pretty cool because they put everything on a big screen TV so you can see what's going on with the baby on the jumbotron. It took about 45 minutes and we got to see everything from the heart, internal organs, brain and spinal cord. We are also 99.9% positive that all 10 fingers and toes will be accounted for. We are still insisting on not finding out the sex of the baby as we would like to be surprised- especially for our first one. All the heart chambers and valves are accounted for and brain function is normal. One of the kidneys is "slightly dilated" which apparently is nothing to worry about because it is most likely a developmental issue that will correct itself. However, until it does, I'll be getting an ultrasound every 4-6 weeks just to keep an eye on it. Dr Yang insists it is nothing to worry about and as far as all the tests are showing, the kidneys are functioning normally. When it comes to my anatomy, my placenta and cervix look great. After the loss of our nephew last year, those things are very important to us. Meanwhile, baby is moving around and flailing his/her arms a lot. There was also a point where we were pretty sure he/she was giving us the finger- that would be the Palmer side coming out in him. I'm still not feeling any movement, or I'm not aware that's what I'm feeling. That should be changing soon!

Back in the Hood

Tony and I went to Bate's Nut Farm today because we had to run a few errands in VC and he'd never been (to the farm, he's been dragged to VC a million times for family stuff). We took advantage of the Pumpkin Patch because that is the only thing that is fall-like in SoCal right now. We are having what is called an Indian Summer...which means its hotter than you know what right now. Next week its supposed to reach 100 degrees again. Hay Dios Mio! Anyways, it was amazing how popular the place has become. I wanted to go on a weekday to avoid chaos and there must have been close to 1000 people there. At least a dozen school buses were there for field trips. Other than that, its the same. You can walk into the General Store and it still smells the same and all the yummy goods are still for sale. We bought a ton of stuff, including pumpkins.

On Being Knocked Up....

I've had a lot of emails lately asking for more info on how the pregnancy is going and for more updates on that. There isn't much to update at this point. I'm at 18 wks and 2 days as of today. I'm still not feeling any movement, but probably won't for a few more weeks. I feel more like myself as the morning sickness is mostly gone. If something grosses me out, I will hurl but other than that, its entirely manageable. I do have back pain that doesn't affect me unless I lie down or sit for too long. Nights can be tough but I'm sleeping with an army of pillows. Jenn Castro's aunt does hypnotherapy and specializes in pre-natal care so I'm thinking of calling her to see if she can help with the pain. As miserable as the pain is, I'd take it over the first trimester any day! Everyone wants to see pics of me pregnant. I only have one and it was about 6 weeks ago and I think I am more bloated that anything in that pic, but I do have a little pooch. My next appt is 10/23 and we'll have an ultrasound done but we are still holding firm to not finding out the baby's sex.

Home Sweet Home

Tony made it home Wednesday afternoon from his training mission. He was tired, ready to eat anything other than MRE's and chewed up by mosquitoes, but otherwise fine. He was able to take leave on Thursday and he decided to go to Big Bear because he missed Bandit...the Palmer Family dog. I visited with my mother while Tony and the dog went for walks and car rides. Mom is doing well, always decorating the house and she has done a great job with it. Dad had to work some OT so we only got to see him for about an hour before we left. Mikey is working as a painter these days, which is hard on him with his disability but he's hanging in there and he seems to be really happy about his job. We didn't get to see him because Amber didn't feel well. Tony thought he had to report today but they sent him home after 2 hours and are giving him another day off. It was nice to have him home early again. We had a nice dinner and went for a 4 mile walk. Its just nice to have brisk, fall weather. Makes us look forward to the holidays.

Burn Baby Burn

I had my kickstart PartyLite show on Saturday and it was a huge success! I was able to buy my kit and score a ton of free product that I can use at shows as well as decor for my home. Special thanks to my mom and Katrina for their HUGE orders and to my cousin Susie for not only placing a substantial order, but for getting orders from her co-workers also. I had a great outpouring of support from friends and family and it was nice to catch up with everyone who made it out. It was the first time we've really had anyone over since we moved and started decorating. Sandy Jensen said I'm a good housekeeper, just like my mom. I'm embarrassed to say I find that to be very complimentary.

An FYI for those of you slackers who didn't make it to the party- my mom will most likely be hosting a show at my house on 11/3. We're still confirming that date but mark your calendars. I can take orders at anytime, I know several of you have asked. If you want Halloween stuff, we need to get your orders processed this week to get them in time. For autumn/Christmas ordering, I would suggest getting in your orders by early November.

I have several shows booked already so I would like to thank everyone who volunteered to host a show. Keep in mind, if you don't want to throw a party but would like to take advantage of hostess specials, you can throw a book party. That means you take the catalog to work or church, etc with you and collect orders. Anything over $250 makes you eligible for hostess credit. Susie displayed one of my ultrasound pics as motivation to collect orders from her co-workers. She's the bomb!

Several of you out of towners have emailed/called and requested catalogs. I need to get more so I can mail them out but you can order anytime. Hoping to get those in the next few weeks and I will get them in the mail immediately as I have a list ready.

An update on Tony. He flew out last Thursday night. I've had a few messages from him that indicate its hot, he's not getting to sleep and he sounds like he's in a terrible mood. There's an indication he will return home this week sometime.

Hasta la Vista

Soooo...we've had to say goodbye to the Padres' 2007 season. What a way to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! We aren't even going to talk about the Chargers right now. As far I'm concerned, there is no football this season. Needless to say, their is some mourning going in our house right now.

We've had lots of calls and emails to wish us a happy anniversary and we both wish to thank everyone for that. We celebrated over the weekend since Tony's work schedule is kinda weird. We got new bedroom furniture and went to dinner and a movie. We saw The Kingdom and I highly recommend it!

All of that being said, Tony is heading off on a training assignment. He was supposed to leave tomorrow morning but now he may not leave until Friday. Who knows, he may leave Thursday. Its hard to say. Gotta love the military. I'm not sure when he'll back, most likely in a week or so.

Starting a Blog....

Hello everyone and welcome to our family blog. I was inspired by my friend Christy who started a blog here since she and her hubby relocated to Kentucky and thought this was a great way to keep friends and family up to date on how we are doing. It also saves me from doing mass emails to everyone as this is much easier and people can check it when they have time. I know I get a ton of emails daily from friends and relatives asking how we are doing and sometimes I just don't have the chance to get them answered regularly.



As for what we are up to- We are celebrating our 2 year anniversary on Monday, October 1st. I can't believe it has been 2 years already, then again we will be together 6 years total next week as well. Tony leaves next week on a training assignment with his reserve unit. I don't know much other than that and he'll be gone a week or two. Since he's going to be gone, I thought that would be a great time to Kickstart my Party Lite business. I'm working with a great group of women and enjoy the entrepeneurship and the empowerment it gives women. Corporate America was stealing my soul and I don't want to work for anyone else ever again if I can help it.



We went to the doctor for a prenatal appointment on Wednesday 9/26 and everything is going well. I'm 16 weeks along at this point and I feel pretty good. The morning sickness has gone away for the most part and other than the backpain, I feel fantastic. I'm sure not working has a lot to do with it. No ultrasound this time but the baby was cooperating so we could hear the heartbeat through the Doppler radar thingy. I have lost 5 pounds in the last 4 weeks but they measured my belly/uterus and baby is growing, probably sucking up all my nutrients. I'm eating well- I just get full easily so I try to make sure I eat 5 or 6 times a day. When I go back next month, it will be a 2.5 hour appointment as we will do a more extensive ultrasound and meet again with the doctor. We told the dr again that we want to be surprised about the sex of the baby, not in a hurry to find out.