Pillowcase Hair

Diana has naturally wavy hair (she got that from Matt)and I have played with it every now and then on a special occasion - curling it with a curling iron or trying to straighten it with my straightener. But Miss D doesn't like to stand still and I am always afraid that I am going to burn her. She loves the look of her hair after it's curled or straightened (what princess wouldn't?).
My awesome hairdresser, Kim, suggested that I try pillowcase curls. She explained what it was and I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do it. A couple weeks later, I looked it up on the internet and was positive that I couldn't do it. It was worth the try though and I told Diana that it was a "Hair craft" and she got all excited.
So, pillowcase hair requires the parent to cut up an old pillowcase into strips and tie them into the child's hair. I put some mousse into D's nearly dried hair after bathtime and the "hair craft" began.
Here are the before pics right before Diana went to bed. Oh, pillowcase hair requires the pillowcase strips to stay in overnight to assure maximum curlage.



It's actually very simple. I used the instructions found here. Some of the strips fell out at night, but it's no big deal. I plan to get some more practice both on myself and Diana. She didn't complain about the pillowcase strips in her hair at night. She was mostly bummed when they fell out.



I forgot to take an after picture. Mostly because Diana woke up at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and asked me to take them out because she wanted to see the curls. It was a little too early for me (yes, even me) to operate the camera. Trust me though, the hair was extremely curly. It was like I had used an extremely small curling iron on it. I had no idea that this hair craft would work as well as it did. I saved all the pillowcase strips and will definitely do this again!

Book Worm

It's a good thing we own a lot of books. Diana is going through a phase now where she just can't be read to enough. You know how you are supposed to read to your child at least 15 minutes a day? Well, I surpass that by about an hour. I know that's probably going to change when I go back to work (although I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't change), but right now, I can't read to Diana enough.
This is a good thing for Amy too because while it's hard to read to a baby that's asleep most of the day, when I read to Diana, I am holding Amy most of the time so Amy hears the words.
Diana gets home from school and wants to be read to. She especially likes her Miss Spider and Her Sunny Patch Friends books right now. There are 25 of them and they came in a big box. I think Aunt Barbara got them for D a couple years ago. Well, turns out, there is a cartoon on television so I have been recording it for Diana in the morning and she watches it in the afternoon when she gets home. In addition to reading the Miss Spider books, she is working her way through the Now I'm Reading books that Gramma V got her. She is on book 4 or 5 now. I lost count. We go back and review the previous books to keep all the words fresh in her memory and I can't believe how well she does even though she hasn't read one in a couple weeks. I think she's a reader now.
Tonight, I read one of her Disney Princess stories to her and saw so many words that she knows. She can probably read that whole story to me now. When we are driving, I find myself looking for signs that have words on them that she is familiar with.
We have read to Diana since she was a baby and it's truly paid off now! It's such a great accomplishment for all of us!
BY the way, I mentioned to Diana's doctor that she was very close to reading and he thought that was great. I told him that we are prepping her for Stanford so I hope this means good things. He pointed out that many Nobel Prize winners come from schools other than Ivy League schools or Stanford. Whatever. I'm not trying to win her a Nobel Prize, I just want her to go to Stanford!

It's that time of year

Diana, Amy and I attended our first fall festival of the season on Saturday - the art, wine and chocoloate festival in Suisun. I really enjoy this one because one of my favorite local bands - Inner Soul - was playing and it's right on the waterfront. We packed a picnic, a blanket and had a really good time. Diana got to play in one of the jumphouses, tried some Russian chocolate (I have the wrapper, Dad, remind me to have you translate) and even purchased some jewelry (a plastic pink bracelet).
We have a lot of festivals planned in the area in the coming months and I am really looking forward to taking the girls out on the weekend and enjoying some of the culture that our area has to offer.
Here are some pictures of Diana at the Suisun festival:

"This is so much fun, Mommy!"

Movin' On Up

About 10 years ago, my dad bought my sister and me this cool alarm clock from Sharper Image for Christmas. It's a CD player and also has soothing sounds and a radio. You can wake up to any of them and you can unplug it and take it with you anywhere. It's pretty neat. And the fact that I have had it for 10 years speaks volumes about the quality of product that Sharper Image offers...even though I am pretty sure they are out of business now.
Amy and I moved upstairs yesterday. Yes, I said, "and I." It's been too hot for her to sleep upstairs in our room so I have been sleeping downstairs with her for the past month and a half. The temperature in Vacaville has gone down quite a bit which is great because my body aches and I was glad to get somewhat of a good night's sleep last night. We put Amy down at around 8 p.m. and though I felt horrible, I went back downstairs to have some husband time with Matt. Not long after she was down, she started fussing and then crying. I went up to see if she was OK and she had escaped her swaddle. I re-swaddled her, gave her the Soothie and glanced over at my nightstand. I pushed "Soothing Sounds" (which plays ocean waves) on my alarm clock and it took all of two minutes for the little one to fall right asleep. We kept it on for another couple hours before she ate but will definitely use it again. The white noise was very helpful in getting her to sleep.
Hat's off to Grandpa D for that one!

Swaddling back on

Amy is being swaddled again. As I was doing a massive cleaning of the house yesterday (both upstairs and down) she woke up from her nap after only 30 minutes, but then napped perfectly on me for two hours during 90210. Well, not that I mind cuddling with my favorite little 2-month old, but this can't become a habit. Diana took naps on me all the time when she was a baby and I never, and I mean never, got anything done around the house.
Matt fed Amy last night and she was still wide awake. We took turns getting her back to sleep and when she finally closed her eyes, I put her back in her bassinette and after 30 minutes, she woke up screaming. Well, she was up all day playing with me so I thought for sure she would sleep well during the night. Matt walked her around the house and put her back down in the bassinette...30 minutes later, more screaming. Forget it, I said. So, I swaddled the little one, rocked her on the Boppy a little and put her to bed. Four hours later, she woke up. This morning, she's still sleeping and even cooing a little in her sleep. Thank goodness! Who was that crazy mom that said swaddling was overrated?

Another weigh-in

Amy had her two-month well check today and yes, she is well!
She weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 22 inches long. She's healthy and happy. She also had to get shots and this was the first time that I had to go at it alone. With Diana, Matt was there to hold her down and I just sat across the room and looked away but today I had to hold Amy while the meanie vaccination man poked my kid's chubby little legs. He didn't even offer her a sticker! He suggested I go to the pharmacy and buy some infant Tylenol and give it to her when we got home so she doesn't get a fever. I did...that went over real well. Poor thing had this thick red syrup all over her face. She feels fine, ate lunch well and is now fast asleep.
Meanwhile, this weekend we got the first look at Au Bob and Uncle Chris' new house. Very exciting stuff and Diana found herself a new playground. She cried when it was time to leave. I don't know that she's going to have this much fun in the house once the newlyweds get furniture in the house.
Here's a picture of her reading a book that Gramma V bought her.

Comcast Rocks

Last weekend, Comcast installed a new feature -- caller ID on the television. If your television is on and the phone rings, a little screen pops up on the television to tell you who it is. This is great because even though I am on the Do Not Call list, I still get 10 calls a day from telemarketers and survey companies. Comcast is promoting this feature as good for men who don't want to be interrupted during ballgames, but this is a great feature for moms who don't want to be interrupted during the day when they are feeding their newborn. I like to have the television on all the time - to watch, yes. But for background noise. With Matt gone a lot of nights during basketball season, it blocks out the neighborhood noises and wind which sometime freaks me out. So during the day, the television is on - usually with some re-run of Golden Girls or Beverly Hills, 90210.
Comcast's new feature gives me just one more reason to have the television on all the time.
I can sit in the chair, feeding Amy or rocking her back to sleep and see who called. If it is a telemarketer, I don't have to worry about checking the voice mail later. if it's a family member, I will either get up and answer it, check the voice mail later or call them back when my hands are free. We don't have that many family members who call at home right now anyway, but the feature is great and it's just another reason that I love Comcast!

The Last Seven Days

Upon talking to my father in law last night, I realized there's been a lot going on that I haven't written about. So, here goes:

Me: I ran two miles last week on the treadmill. One mile at a time and at a very slow 15-minute pace. Matt insisted that I take it easy so I did. It was a very slow jog but I was sweating and my heart rate was up so that's good. It's kinda nice to be able to run at any hour of the night (I run while Matt is feeding Amy at around 9 p.m.). I always tell myself that once Amy eats in the morning, I am going to go back to bed for a little bit but that never happens. I get hungry then find a million things that can make my day a more productive one. I am also doing some abs, but not 400. I made that mistake once. Just 50-100 crunches a day. Baby steps!

Diana: She is working her way through Hop on Pop. She has memorized the book but when we read it out of order, she still reads the words right so I know there is some reading going on. When we read other books, I ask her to read the words she knows and she does a great job. I am so proud of her! We also did a craft project. We cut out words that she knows from old magazines and glued them on some blank pages and created her "Diana Book." Diana's constant reminders to me to sign her up for ballet and soccer finally sank in and she will be starting those again in October.

Amy: Where do I start with this one? We aren't swaddling her anymore, for starters. She was fighting it every step of the way and it wasn't worth the restless nights. So we put her in feetsie PJs and cover her with a somewhat heavy blanket and she's getting much better sleep. Her home health nurse came for the final visit last week and weighed Amy at 7 lbs. 3 oz. It was a great visit. Then, on Monday, we went to the pediatrician where she was seen by her regular pediatrician (Diana's pedi, who we love!). Amy weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs. 10 oz. The doctor said we can stop giving her the vitamins and iron drops, which was great because they made her spit up more. We can also switch to regular formula soon and not give her the preemie formula she's been on. It's very exciting!

Matt: Daddy has been very busy with football games, meetings and practice but he still makes time to color, take trips to the park and pay us all lots of attention.

We are one happy family and adjusting to our new routines quite well!

Need a laugh? Look no further

I had to make a trip to the grocery store today - not just for one or two things, for a big shop. I was gonna be there a while. Matt suggested that Amy would be fine if I just kept her in the car seat and put the car seat in the shopping cart. I have seen people do this before and I am not a big fan. It seems like it's not very secure in there. I thought about bringing the Snugli baby carrier, but thought "The husband is usually right, I will give it a try." Plus, I wasn't totally sure that Amy would fit in the Snugli yet. I hadn't had a chance to test her out in it yet.
So, off I went to the grocery store. Once there, Amy and I walked in (with her in the car seat) and I attempted to fit her car seat in the shopping cart. Now, keep in mind that I tend to talk to myself...a lot. I am standing in the lobby at Raley's trying to fit the car seat in the cart and it's just not working. It's way too wobbly. I am narrating this outloud as all this is happening. After a couple minutes, I decide that this is not going to happen.
"Amy, we are going back home to get the Snugli," I tell my one-month-old.
I go back out to the car, put Amy in and drive home. (Luckily, we only live across the street.)
Once home, I get Amy out of the car, place her (in her car seat) in the foyer, run upstairs to get the Snugli and attempt to put it together. There are ties, buckles and padding all over this thing. It's about 11:30 in the morning, I have the front door open and it's starting to get hot. I am breaking out into a sweat trying to put this Snugli back together. It's comedy. If I was on hidden camera, I am sure to have gotten thousands of hits on YouTube. (Keep in mind, that I am still talking to myself.)
After about five minutes, I finally figure it out and I have it tightened everywhere it's supposed to be tightened.
"I am not taking this thing off and putting it back together in the Raley's parking lot," I tell myself.
So, I grab my child and we get back into the car - with the Snugli attached to my chest.
We get to Raley's and life is good because I can do some worry-free shopping! It was hilarious, but well worth every laugh!
Thank you Snugli!

(Child) Labor Day

Diana knows the meaning of hard work. Well, as much as a four-year-old can know what it means. She loves to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed, no matter who needs help. Grandpa D took full advantage of her services on Labor Day, the day we Americans get to take off from work to celebrate work.

Goodbye cute clothes

For a couple weeks now, my closet has been exploding everytime I open it. Maternity clothes fly off hangers and off the shelves in the closet. OK, I get it, you want out! I must admit that I really don't need to wear them anymore. I was weighed at my six-week checkup the other day and am just eight pounds heavier than when I first found out I was pregnant. Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, I have been telling myself for weeks now that one of the things on my to-do list was to get rid of the awesome maternity clothes that I have and re-organize my closet - giving my regular clothes their hangers back.
I did it today. I got an extra large Space Bag and put them all away. I also just sent an email to every woman in my email address book asking if they knew what I could do with these clothes. I don't want to donate them to Goodwill because I don't know that they will do anything with them. Does Goodwill have a maternity section? I was only pregnant for 7 1/2 months so the clothes weren't even worn that much. And I have to dress nice for work so they are really nice clothes.
I am excited to get back to my normal clothes (even though I won't wear them until I get back to work).
During my pregnancy I threw away all the sale postcards I got from New York and Company - didn't need them, right? Well, they are still coming...as are the emails. I hate New York and Company now. I want to shop there oh so badly, but can't. I have to wait till I start working again. Luckily, they don't really have anything that jumps out at me, but the offers of free shipping are really hard to pass up. I have good will power though!
If anyone knows what I can do with these maternity clothes, please advise!

Grow, Amy, Grow!

Amy's home health nurse came by this afternoon to check up on the little one - well, turns out Amy is not such a little one anymore. The biggest thing we like about the home health nurse (besides being very encouraging and offering great tips and advice) is that she weighs Amy. Otherwise, we would have to wait until doctor appointments to find out how much she's growing. Amy's home health nurse is a woman in her 50s and she's super nice. She genuinely cares about Amy and our family so when the scale read what it did today, she was thrilled just as much as I was. That was something that wouldn't happen at the doctor appointment with a nurse there.
Anyway, on to the good news. The last time Amy was weighed by this nurse, Amy was just home from the hospital and weighed 4 lbs 5 oz. Two days later, she had a doctor appointment and weighed 4 lbs 8 oz.
Today, she weighed 6 lbs 5 oz! So exciting. I called Matt right away and he couldn't believe it. I texted my mom and she called me immediately and was thrilled. The girl is growing so fast!
To put it all in perspective, remember that Amy was born almost six weeks ago and was just 2 lbs 15 oz. Technically, she is still supposed to be in my tummy for one more week. It's just amazing and truly a blessing that we have such a (ahem, TWO) healthy girls under our roof!

Fun Family Farm Days

Sunday gave Diana and me a chance to get out of the house and do something together. Luckily, Suisun Valley was hosting its annual Fun Family Farm Days. This is something we all usually do as a family, but we decided to make it a girls outing this year. We try to visit a different place every year when we do the farm days - last year we did the Clay Station out at Mankas Corner and Diana made a craft, we have also gone around to several of the stands. This year, I heard The Hipwaders (a local band that sings children's songs) were going to be at Erickson Ranch so we ventured out there...great decision! They had a U-pick flower garden, had lots of fresh fruit and a great atmosphere.
Even though it was really windy when we got out there, Diana had a great time picking flowers with Gramma V and listening to The Hipwaders in the patio. I even bought one of The Hipwaders CD's so we can listen to it in the car.
After Erickson Ranch, we had lunch at Valley Cafe and then went to Larry's Produce to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Now, this is something that Matt usually does as it's right on the way home from Solano. It tends to be a little busy out there and he has a method when he goes there. As for me, I have never gone there by myself and with me still adjusting to large crowds of people, it was a nightmare. I grabbed a few things (not nearly everything we needed) and got outta there in a jif. Matt can go back and attack that place later in the week. I'n done!


Amy update: Amy did a great job at physical therapy on Friday. The physical therapist did a series of tests on her to see where she's at developmentally and she passed with flying colors. She also asked me if Amy makes eye contact with us and responds to our voices, etc. We will go back in six weeks for another exam. It was one of the more fun appointments we have had. She will go to physical therapy until she can walk, the PT lady said, but if she's advancing along at six months, we won't have to go anymore. The physical therapist also said that Amy will be considered a preemie until she's three - very interesting. I really like her physical therapist. She's a young lady (OK, she's probably in her late 20s, early 30s) which is quite different than the other doctors Amy's been seeing.
Amy will most likely see her home health nurse this week so I will post a weight update when we get it.

Ang update: I tried to start getting back into some sort of shape this week. Silly me. I got the fit ball out and did some ab exercises. OW! I think I did about 400 and three days later I will still hurting. What kind of nonsense is that? I have a doctor appointment this week as well and I am going to ask him what is the matter with me. Granted, I realize that it's going to take some time to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I have to be able to at least do some ab exercises. It's been way too hot to walk - even on the treadmill in the garage - so I am weeks away from doing any cardio. My sister asked me to be part of a relay for the California International Marathon. We'll see, I told her.

Running? Oi vay!

Hop on Pop

We chose to enroll Diana in KinderCare because of the curriculm. It's never been just daycare to us. They teach a lot and she's involved in a great Phonics program on the side at the school that has taught her a ton about her letters. She's come a long way, including being able to spell and write her name as well as Mommy, Daddy and Amy. She's always asking us how to spell something and she writes it really well.
My big task right now is teaching Diana how to read. I know, she's only 4 and a long ways from kindergarten, but why not? We are working out of Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss right now because my mom said that's how I learned to read. She's pretty much got the book memorized so I never know if she's reading the words or just remembering them. It's all the same though, right? She knows all her letter sounds, which she's learned at KinderCare so that's half the battle. I really want her to be able to read long before she goes to kindergarten so better to start now than later!

It's Never Too Soon for Tummy Time

When Diana was one week old, she came home from the hospital and Matt immediately had her on the ground doing tummy time. It was an exercise she took part in frequently.
Well, since Amy was in the hospital for three weeks, she got a little behind on her tummy time. But have no fear, Mommy won't let her get too far behind!
Here is Amy's first session of Tummy Time. She has been doing it at least once a day for ten minutes at a time. She's doing really well and doesn't seem to get frustrated very easily - that's my girl!
She has her first physical therapy appointment next Friday and I think it consists of her doing some tummy time as part of the evaluation so I want to make sure she is ready to impress!

Patriotic Songs

While it was very hard to leave Amy in the hospital three weeks ago as she continued to grow and learn how to eat from a bottle, I was glad to get home and get back to the routine that I've been used to for the past two years.
During the last month of my pregnancy, it became increasingly harder to give Diana a bath so Matt took over those duties. I still read and sang to Diana afterward but being able to do the whole nighttime routine once I recovered fully from my c-section was quite a thrill!
Lately we have added some new songs to our nighttime singing routine - America the Beautiful (we sang this one before but now it's every night) and The Star Spangled Banner. Diana does a great job with both of these songs and I was very impressed to hear her sing both songs in their entirety last night when Matt took over nighttime duties as I fed Amy. (Yes, Amy is home now).
I do hope that Diana continues to embrace both these songs, understand their meaning and have a deep love for everything this wonderful country offers us!

So proud of my girls

Matt and I are very lucky to have such great daughters. Last week, I got to see Diana in her ballet/tap class for just the second time. I took her the first day and then was placed on bed rest so Matt or Gramma V took her. They also took her when I was in the hospital. Her improvement was amazing but the best thing is how well she pays attention to her teacher. The class is 45 minutes - 30 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap. It can be a little long for some 4 and 5 year olds, but I am amazed at Diana's ability to stay focused and do what the teacher tells her. The ballet experience has been really great for her - she's gaining so much confidence and really developing tremendous balance. I was filled with pride watching her last week. Her last class is on Tuesday but I am definitely going to sign her up again (and I am sure she will make sure that I do!)
Meanwhile, Miss Amy is making strides of her own. She's up to 3 lbs. 10 oz. and will be moved to Vallejo Kaiser on Friday morning. That's right, she's being evicted from The Creek. The doctors are increasing her feedings to a bottle every feeding (up from every other feeding). She's making such great progress and I am so excited for her growth. I can't wait till she can come home and our awesome family can be under one roof!

Who's that guy?

I have been visiting Amy in the hospital every weekday since I left the hospital last Wednesday. My mom (the angel) has been driving me up to Walnut Creek and back. It's been nice to have the bonding time with my daughter. She's graduated to a bottle so I have been able to feed her. Today, she did great with the bottle for me so I left there a very happy Momma. My mom is busy at work this week so I had a new chauffer - Matt! Because he had basketball camp last week, he hasn't seen Amy in over a week. Amy was definitely interested in the new, male voice that was talking to her this morning when we went down to visit. She opened her eyes a ton more than normal (she loves to sleep) and was trying to figure out who the person with the short hair was sitting with us when we were cuddling. It was pretty funny.
I talked to one of the doctors/nurses about two hours ago about Amy and she was telling me what great progress Amy is making there. She told me that she is ready to be transferred to Vallejo whenever we give the OK. I told her that we would like to keep her in The Creek for as long as we can till she comes home. I don't want to have to get used to a whole new set of doctors and nurses, especially if Amy is only going to be in the hospital for a little while longer (which is what one NP has told us). Amy is eating really good and once she becomes more consistent with her feedings, she will be able to come home. Here is the first picture of our new little girl sitting with Matt this morning. She's 11 days old!

Dedicated to the Ones I Love

I have never taken my family for granted. I have a great support system around me and am very lucky to live close to all my family and friends. This was never more evident than last week when my second daughter decided she was ready to come into the world. Since it was a week ago and I really don't want to blog about the details of her being born (since I have recapped it so much over the last week), I will just send a shout out to everyone in my family for being great.
My husband, of course, is the most awesome. By my side during the c-section and then at home with Diana, making sure that she had normalcy in her life over the past week. He took her to school and soccer and made sure that she knew she wasn't forgotten or out of our minds when Amy came. He's a rock. He had basketball camp this week and with me staying with Amy in the hospital all the way in Walnut Creek, he was basically a single dad for a few days. He was tired, I'm sure, but didn't show it. I can never repay him for being so awesome.
My mom, dad and sister provided overwhelming amounts of love and support over the past week. They drove me to the hospital at 4 a.m. (mom) and then drove to visit without even a second thought throughout the weekend (all three). There's not a greater family in the world and I love them all so much.
I have to also give a shout out to my BIL who got to knock fists with his new niece. I'm sure in no time he will have her turned upside down and laughing hysterically just like he does with Miss Diana.
I was also overwhelmed by the support sent out by my co-workers. Four years ago, when Diana was born, I got lots of support from work types. But now I work with all women and I have gotten flowers, text messages, phone calls and lots of prayers sent my way from moms who know what we as a family are going through. I am truly blessed.
I am truly a very lucky Momma. Not only do I have two great daughters who continue to surprise me every day, I have the greatest family and friends in the world.
I am back at home now, but visiting Amy every day in Walnut Creek. She's doing wonderfully! Like I said, she continues to surprise me every day and is eating like a horse - or a Borchert! :)

Oops..Suprise!

I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby until the day the baby arrived. I don't like taking advantage of modern technology, I love surprises and it's just more fun to find out when the baby actually comes. There's really nothing you can do to prepare if you know the sex in advance. OK, so you go out and buy girl clothes (all pink) or boy clothes (all sports and dinosaurs). But then later on, you find out that the baby doesn't fit into any of them because they are either a) too small; b) too big. We didn't find out what Diana was when she was born and it was the best surprise ever.
Matt wanted to find out from Day one with this baby. I was vehemently opposed and since he was unable to come to the ultrasounds, it was my decision. A couple weeks ago, my perinatologist breathed a sigh of relief when I told her just before she placed the monitor on my belly that we didn't want to know the sex.
"Oh, you have to tell me these things!" We both laughed.
One week, and I'm sure thousands of patients later, she forgot.
As she was looking at the ultrasound, she casually said "She's asleep."
HUH? WHAT?
"Uh, what did you say?" I asked.
"Oh my gosh, you didn't want to know did you?" she said as she looked over at me with a look of horror on her face.
"It's a girl?" I nearly screamed.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
"Oh my god, I can't believe we are having another girl!"
Tears start streaming down my face and I look over at Matt (hmmm, ironic that he made it to this appointment) and he's crying too.
"That's OK," he said. "In the back of her mind, she really wanted to know."
Well, no I didn't, but I did need a big smile and a nice surprise after all I have been through in the last two weeks (well, after all that WE have been through in the last two weeks) and this was definitely a good surprise.
So, a girl. More pink and purple and princesses. So exciting!
The first person we told was Diana and she and Gramma V went back to Babies R Us and purchased about five pink outfits for the baby and a pink and purple butterfly lamp for the room. No, the room is not pink and purple butterfly theme (far from it actually) but Diana just HAD to have it. Diana and her sister also have matching Big Sister, Little Sister t-shirts.
Geez, I hope my doctor was right.

Diana's Four-Year Checkup

Getting out of the house is a rarity these days so I was really excited to take Diana to her four-year check up on Tuesday. Gramma V came with us because Camp Gramma V started Tuesday and Diana is spending three days in Fairfield with her.
This appointment was the big one before she starts kindergarten. Matt and I have been talking about what kindergarten Diana is going to be enrolled in next year and we have to get that process started because it's likely she will need an inter-district transfer to have her go to school in Fairfield closer to where we both work.
Diana did great at the usual checkup stuff - weight, height, etc. Then, she had to get her blood pressure checked. She was a little skeptical at first but the medical assistant said that it would be like a grizzly bear hug on her arm. Diana thought that was hilarious. I told her it was just like when I have been taking my blood pressure at home and that eased her mind a ton. She put the little cuff on her arm and her expression immediately changed. She did great though.
Next, she had to have a vision test. The medical assistant put the "E" slide up on the board and gave Diana a cardboard E. She had Diana practice a little and asked her what way the Es were pointing. Again, Diana did great. Then it was time to put a little Band-Aid patch on her eye on do the test with one eye. Diana wasn't having it. There was nothing I could say to make it happen either. We decided to try later. next was the audio test.
Diana has to do all these tests to get into kindergarten and I explained that to her. She stepped into the booth in the audio room, seemed excited about it actually, but wasn't thrilled about putting on the headphones circa 1952. We had to pass on that one as well.
we proceeded to the exam room where I once again explained to Diana that she couldn't get into kindergarten unless she did those tests. I know she knew what I was talking about because lately everytime she sees the number 5, she says "when i am 5, I get to go to kindergarten!"
The rest of the appointment went well. We love her doctor and were pleased to find out that the new baby will get to go to him as well. He's very hard to book an appointment with these days so I was glad to hear we wouldn't have to get another pediatrician.
Diana is doing really well. At the end of the appointment, the doctor asked us if Diana knew MOST of her colors and shapes. Uh, MOST? Yeah, doc. She knows MOST of her colors...and then some! He laughed at my sarcasm and retorted that she was ready for kindergarten. I said no, we aren't gonna be like that.
Diana had to get three shots. This was hard because I couldn't pin her down to get the shots and Gramma V had never had to do that before. Gramma V is pretty strong, but I felt bad because I don't think she realized how strong Diana is when a needle is being thrust into her leg. Diana (and Gramma V) both survived.
I can't believe Diana is going to start kindergarten in a little over a year. It's crazy to think about it. I am going to drop her off at a school with 11 year olds? That doesn't seem right! I have some time to get over it, I guess.
Time flies.

My new BFF

I guess I am obligated by the title of the blog to keep family and friends updated on the status of our entire family...not just Matt and Diana. Therefore, this will be a post about my new best friend, our couch.
I was placed on moderate bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. My numbers (blood pressure and urinalysis) were really good over the weekend in rest mode so the doctor decided to keep me here...on the couch. Granted, I have to work. I love my job. But I love living and I love my family more so this was the right move. Some of my friends don't seem to understand that bed rest, even the moderate type that I am on, means that no, I can't go to work. I have to sit here and rest as much as possible. About the only time I can leave the house is to go grocery shopping and take Diana to one of her many activities this summer (she started swimming on Monday and will start soccer on Saturday).
Bed rest is not fun, but necessary. So the couch and I will bond over the next two months until the baby is ready to come. I went to the doctor on Monday and have an appointment with a perinatologist on Friday. I think they are going to want to do another ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing OK. Fine, do what you have to do, I say. The baby is moving well so I am not too concerned. Honestly, I would rather have overconcerned doctors and overprotective doctors than have doctors who say "eh, you're fine, just take it easy."
I truly believe that all this is going to make us stronger as a family. And that's never a bad thing, right? There are a lot of people out there who are a lot sicker than I am.
The night after my appointment, I had a hard time sleeping so I came down to watch SportsCenter at 2 a.m. There was a story of a 6-year-old kid who had cancer, but it was being treated successfully with chemo, etc. He had a wish to practice with the Dallas Cowboys (Matt's favorite team). I thought, "you know, this kid is going through a lot more than I am and he's 6!" I fell asleep a short time later.
I am monitoring my bp and doing urinalysis at home and all has been good for the most part. I am reading "The Associate" by John Grisham (so good!) and if anyone has any good books they want to pass on, please do. I can get through a book quick style these days!

Time of Her (our) Life

Diana made her first trip to AT&T Park on Friday night for her first Giants game. I am not going to leave out a single detail because that's what I usually do and this experience deserves all the space the internet will allow.
We took the ferry from Vallejo to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We arrived at the building at about 4 p.m. and had lunch at Taylor's, this awesome little diner. Matt had been planning this trip for a few weeks now, doing a lot of research on how to get to the park from the Ferry Building without using the mode of transportation that we would normally use - our legs.
It turns out that the Muni station that could take us to the park was quite a walk from the Ferry Building. By the time we would have gotten to the station, we would be halfway to the ballpark. So, we just started walking - very slowly, as we had two hours until the start of the game.
(Also, in an act of rebellion, I wasn't supposed to even go to the game. I was placed on modified bed rest for the weekend on Wednesday afternoon at my doctor appt. I didn't go to work on Thursday and didn't do much of anything Friday morning before we left.)
Anyway, I am so glad that we walked. Diana had a great time walking downtown ("Look at the big buildings, Mommy!") and I got some exercise. The weather was perfect as we were walking...about 68 degrees or so.
There was a small park right next to the ballpark so we stopped there for a couple minutes and let Diana run around and play. She had a great time. We proceeded to the ballpark after that and Diana was in awe! I can only imagine how big the place looked in her eyes.
After our long walk, I was sequestered to my seat for the rest of the night. We found our seats and Diana got to watch a little batting practice. Matt took her to the Coke slide, the Build a Bear workshop store and the Fan Lot where she got to hit a few balls and run around the bases of this little makeshift field they have out in left field. Apparently, she had a blast and nearly brought Matt to tears!
When the game started, the Giants dominated from the start. Pablo Sandoval (our favorite player now because Papa John bought Diana a panda bear for her birthday and we named him Pablo because Pablo Sandoval is named Baby Panda or something) hit a home run in the first inning and the crowd went absolutely berzerk. It scared the bee jeezus out of Diana and she started crying. She was OK a minute later and danced the rest of the night whenever music played. She was in heaven and really, Matt and I were too. Who would have imagined that a 4-year-old would sit as still as she was the whole time, never complain once, never cry that she wanted to leave and just go with the flow?
Diana continues to amaze us. The game got out of hand fast...the Giants went up 13-0 right away and the Astros never came close to threatening to score. It was fun! Matt got the chance to take Diana back up to the Fan Lot and went down the Coke slide a few more times. He even let her pick out her own baseball hat...pink with a magenta "SF" on it...and the best part...it has a fairy on it. Seriously? Pink, magenta AND a fairy? That hat has Diana's name all over it! She wore it the rest of the night!
In the top of the eighth inning, after Diana and I returned from the bathroom, we made our way around the ballpark to where the ferry would pick us up after the fireworks show. Now, keep in mind that Diana has never seen fireworks. Matt and I usually fall asleep before they go off and we don't like big crowds anyway so we have stayed away from all that for the past seven or so years. But this was a great chance for Diana to see them for the first time. Across the bay, while we were waiting for the Giants' fireworks to start, there were some fireworks (green and gold). We couldn't hear them, but Diana could see them. She loved them!
Then, the lights went off in McCovey Cove and the fireworks started blasting overhead...very loud. The tears and screaming started. It only lasted a couple minutes and once she realized all the pretty colors (magenta, especially)she liked them. If you ask her now what her favorite part of the night was, she will tell you it was the fireworks. Go figure.
By the time we got on the ferry, it was nearly 11 p.m. and Diana was still going strong. She didn't need to be held, was still dancing around with a big ole smile on her face. It was three hours past her bedtime and she only took a 45 minute nap earlier in the day because of all the excitement of going to the game.
We got on the ferry finally and headed out. And that's when Diana crashed out...like a light. She crawled up in my lap and fell asleep. She stayed asleep for the most part until we got home at 12:30 a.m. and stayed in bed this morning till 9.
It was quite a night. Matt and I were beaming with pride. It was so great and something the three of us will never forget.

A new chapter

We all go through different stages in our lives. We’re one person when we are in high school; college usually brings out another person and then adult life usually changes us a couple more times.
I have been through many stages in my life – from a girl in high school who was a total jock to someone who slowly realized throughout college that basketball wasn’t the end all be all.
Becoming a mother changed me completely – for the good, of course. I never knew that I could love someone so much yet go through so many emotions on so many different levels every day.
A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a party for someone who I have known for a very long time. She was a very influential person in my life and someone who was even more obsessed with basketball as I was.
Recently, she decided to become a mother. She can’t have kids herself so she and her significant other are having a baby boy thanks to a surrogate.
After seeing her at this party, I noticed a huge change in her attitude. I hadn’t seen her in a couple years because our schedules conflicted and we just couldn’t get together. In that time, she’s become a totally different person who is thrilled with this new direction in her life.
She was always a career-focused woman, though having kids was something she always wanted. Now that it’s happening, she’s beaming with excitement – more than she ever did even after the best basketball game.
It was fun to just sit back at this party and watch her practically float around the room, mingling with friends and family. For the first time in the 15 years that I have known her, I looked at her as a friend – not a mentor.
I am supremely happy for my friend as she ventures into this new chapter in her life and know that she is going to cherish and enjoy every minute with her son.

Father's Day

Father's Day always falls during the U.S. Open golf tournament. So Matt pretty much requests that we stay out of his way. No, those aren't his words, but Diana and I do our best to keep things quiet around the house so Matt can cheer for Tiger Woods very loudly during the day.
We gave Matt his present on Saturday (we were very excited), went to a baby shower and went swimming and played the rest of the weekend. Matt had quite an extensive dinner menu that he wanted and it required three trips to the store because I kept a)forgetting something; b) inviting people over the house and c)running out of supplies.
For Father's Day, Diana and I got Matt a 9-burger slider maker. It's from Cost Plus so you can go online and check it out. It's awesome and makes great little burgers (especially for little Diana fingers) but it's a bee-atch (excuse the harsh language) to clean up. Matt actually injured himself cleaning it for the third time in one night. (Totally not kidding).
It was a great Father's Day that I got to celebrate with my dad and my wonderful husband. We even got to eat outside in the backyard and watch Diana score many a soccer goal around Grandpa D! Good times!

The return to scrapbooking

Yes, you read right. I have returned to scrapbooking. In all the reorganization of the office/scrapbooking area/baby's room, I realized that I have a TON of really good scrapbooking stuff. Lots of tools, lots of product. It's all gone unused for the better part of 2 years. Sad, really.
And though I know I will be one of those moms who scrapbooks the heck out of her first kid and not the second, I am going to do my darndest to make this second kid a scrapbook for its first year of life.
I took more than 100 pictures of our family trip to Carlsbad and I figured, heck, why not make a scrapbook for Diana for her birthday? In the last year or so, a couple local scrapbooking stores have closed. Sad, really. So, I grabbed my coupon from Joann Fabric and headed to the store for some supplies. I realize now how those local scrapbooking places have gone out of business. The craft stores have taken over the scrapbook market! They have absolutely everything. Crazy. I decided not to go to Michaels because a)they didn't have a coupon that weekend; b) it's always swamped in there and you wait in line forever; c)I wanted to avoid the Martha Stewart scrapbooking collection.
When I got all my products and album (I decided to make an 8x8 album for D)I sat down immediately during naptime one day and got a ton done. I still have the touch and finished it in three sittings. It's awesome and she actually opened it tonight. Matt looked at the finished product the other night and said "This is great! She's gonna wanna sleep with it ya know?" Well, thanks for the ego boost, but that wasn't quite her reaction. While she did love it and carefully flipped through each page, it wasn't the choice to bring to bed.
I hope she shows it off to family that comes over and remembers our great trip to San Diego for a long time to come!

Hide N Seek

We play games with Diana all the time - Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Connect 4 (sorta). They're fun and she's good at strategy for the most part (she gets that from Matt).
All of a sudden on Sunday (after an hour of swimming) she decided she wanted to play Hide N Seek. Well, first of all, I didn't even know she knew how to play Hide N Seek; Second, I was a little tired from swimming/playing all morning, etc. It was 15 minutes until nap time and I was getting into chill out mode. When I told Diana that maybe we could play another day, she threw herself into the fetal position on the ground and started crying. Whoa! Whoa! I didn't realize it was going to cause all that drama. Again, I didn't even know she knew how to play.
She went over and asked Matt if he wanted to play and he said sure. All right, if this is a family game, I am up for it.
I am so glad I gave in to the tantrum! Have you ever played Hide N Seek with a four-year-old for the first time? OMG! Oh the giggling that ensues!
I counted and Diana and Matt hid. We played several times so I am not going to recap the entire game. But for the first few times that I was "it", Diana either proceeded to tell me where she was going to hide or giggled the entire time she was hiding and then while she was in her hiding place. Matt and I just laughed hysterically.
While she counted and I hid, it took her all of two minutes to look for me and then she gave up and asked Matt for help. He helped at first, but what good is that going to do. I hid in a different spot each time, with each hiding spot getting more difficult as the game wore on. The last hiding spot was in her bathtub and I just couldn't keep my laughter in as I heard her run up and down the stairs and around the upstairs frantically searching for me. She yelled down to Matt and he yelled back some places where I might be. It was so hard not to just bust up laughing at her poor little lost self. She eventually found me and we laughed.
The very last time before naptime, I was "it". I counted to 20, heard her little feet pitter patter into the foyer and run up the stairs and into her bathtub. I "searched" all around the house yelling "Diana, where are you?" She didn't answer as she had previously in the game and I didn't hear so much as a squeak come out of her mouth. (she was getting pretty good at this game).
I finally checked her bathtub and there she was, peeking around the shower curtain. We laughed.
Hide N Seek is going to be a new weekend ritual at the Borchert house!

It's a Mickey Birthday Party

Though you can't tell from these pictures, we had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party for Miss D today. Her actual birthday isn't for 10 more days, but we are busy the next two weekends with other things so this was the date it had to be.
What a great party! We had a good mix of family, friends, different ages of kids and of course, simple food. Matt barbecued hot dogs (because of the Hot Dog dance in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and Mac and Cheese (because mice love cheese). We also had cake and ice cream and some small activities. It was really nice and a beautiful day in Vacaville for a party. A little breezy, but that's so unusual for this time of year so it was refreshing...especially for a pregnant lady.
Diana had a lot of fun playing with Uncle Chris, Adrienne, Au Bob, and Samantha and Cailin. There were others in attendance and we loved that they came by to share Diana's big party.



I printed off some coloring pages from Disney.com and we created an art wall (just like would be at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) for everyone to hang up their awesome art work!

27 weeks

I can't believe I only have three months to go in this pregnancy. The first thing people ask me when they notice that yes, I am pregnant and not just fat is "When is your due date?" When I tell them September...they say, "Oh, you are going to be pregnant all summer!" No! Really? It's not like I hadn't thought of that. While we did plan to get pregnant, sometimes the weather is not the first thing on your mind when you are in baby-making mode....well, at least not with me. I have a much cuter wardrobe this pregnancy than I did when I was pregnant with Diana and I think a lot of that is due to me being pregnant in a warmer season. I will drink more water, stay cool and put my hair in a ponytail a lot. I will deal, just like a lot of women do. No biggie!
So far, I am feeling great! Everyone tells me I look good and I am very proud that I have only put on a pound a week since I found out I was pregnant. I am still walking on the treadmill (on an incline) 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes and eating relatively good. I do have some not so great for me food cravings every now and then, but I still haven't been to Taco Bell (the Devil) and a little ice cream never really hurt a pregnant lady, right?
The biggest issue I have now is the growing belly and doing my every day activities without much of a core. It's harder for me to give Diana a bath at night, harder for me to stretch after walking, very uncomfortable to sleep on nights when I don't work out and sometimes hard to find a comfortable position to sit in on my chair in the living room. I am figuring it out though.
Oh and the baby kicks a lot at night. Around 9:30 p.m. it tells me to go to bed and then gives me a nice baby massage on my belly as I try to fall asleep. It also wakes me up in the morning with another belly massage. Thanks, kid!
My feet are starting to swell a little too. I am not too worried yet about a recurrance of pre-eclampsia (which I had with Diana) because my blood pressure has been real good (even on the low side) at my doctor appts and the swelling is normal (so says the book) for someone who is sitting at a desk all day.
I tried to go for a walk inside my office the other day to get some blood circulating in my feet and get some exercise. I walked down to the mailroom on the first floor and then back up three flights of stairs to deliver a thank you card to one of the VPs up there. I was out of breath when I got to her office. It was real embarassing. I said "I swear, I am not out of shape!" I don't think she believed me. I went back to my office on the second floor and caught my breath.
I feel real bad when I get home though and I just want to put my feet up and Diana is used to me playing with her or doing chores around the house. We have been sitting still a lot lately and coloring in her coloring books so hopefully she can stick with that activity for the next three months.
She also invented a game that requires me to watch called "The Jumping Pillow Game" where she takes all the pillows from the couches, sets them up around the living room, runs around and touches each one with her feet and then vaults herself into our big chair. I am sitting on the couch during this game with my feet up and as long as I critique her jumps, she's happy. Piece of cake!
I hope I am not jinxing the odds of me finishing this pregnancy on a healthy note, but I am very proud of my progress so far and excited to deliver this baby without the help of drugs or surgery.
Keep me in your thoughts!

Legoland...in photos

As promised, here are (some) photos from the trip. I am going to post all the photos to my SmugMug later tonight. It took me over an hour and a half to go through all these and crop, etc. in Photoshop and now we have two grad parties to go to.

Here are some of my faves:

Diana getting ready to take her first airplane ride:



Diana chowing down on a chocolate covered strawberry at the Badillas house:




Matt showing Diana how awesome water slides are. It didn't work, she wasn't convinced and decided to stick with the kiddie park instead. But this had me in hysterical laughter for days!




Until she got the bravery to ride the roller coaster, this horse ride was her favorite. This was taken at the end of Day One. Can you see how tired my poor daughter is?



And a photo that proves I need to show Matt how to use my camera:




Photos have been posted to my SmugMug, check them out here. Hope you enjoy!

Legoland!

I am going to post pictures this weekend, I promise! But Diana had quite an exciting time this week on our family vacation to Carlsbad. Her first airplane ride, three days in a hotel, visiting the Borchert-Badilla clan in SoCal, two days at Legoland...it was all a great time. There were many more firsts along the way, but they require photos to go along with them so stay tuned. Just know that we all had a great time and in about three months, we will have another adventure! :)

Don't judge a house by its pests

Ever since Matt brought home about 50 cardboard boxes from Solano last year (OK, it wasn't 50, but it was a lot)due to him having to clean out his storage facilities, we have seen some not-so-friendly cockroaches out by our garbage cans and sometimes in our garage. Matt brought a lot of the boxes back to school in the last 6-9 months and we are Solano box free now. But, the cockroaches are still around. They must have laid eggs or something. I haven't seen a lot, but one is enough for me. I feel like I am living in the ghetto or something. It was the last straw this morning when I brought the newspapers in to our room to read with my breakfast and upon opening it, was greeted by a crawling cockroach. Matt jumped so high that if he jumped any higher, he would've gone straight out of the roof.
Once I got rid of the little creep (the cockroach, not Matt), it was back to normal, but Matt wasn't quite himself. We have our regular pest company coming out on Monday to further survey the situation but something has to be done this weekend.
Matt took Diana to school later that morning, went to work, ran some errands and headed back home. He had set out some cockroach traps earlier in the morning and when he returned home in the afternoon, the traps caught two roaches. Argh...they still exist.
He texted me and said that our weekend project would be re-organizing the garage, getting rid of all the cardboard boxes that we have and putting their contents in plastic storage bins. Great. That's exactly what I want to do when I am 25 weeks pregnant and three days away from my first vacation in more than a year and a half.
It's gotta be done though. I said that I would go to Target after work and get the storage bins. They wouldn't all fit in my car though so I needed backup.
Who could I call? Dad. Yes...Chris? Sure. He gets off work the same time as me, is coming through Fairfield anyway and can meet me at Target in no time. My wonderful brother in law agreed.
I called him later to tell him that I think we can storage bins cheaper at Wal-Mart and to meet me there instead. After a huge sigh (which I completely understood) he agreed.
We found storage bins in no time...and they even had wheels! Score! We each grabbed five and rolled on out. And boy were we loud. Wal-Mart is a busy place, but of course everyone is so focused on getting what they have to get, it's not a loud place at 4:45 on a Friday. We made a huge commotion with those stupid rollie bins. Then, to add insult to injury, my brother in law decides to start skipping through Wal-Mart to attract even more attention to ourselves. As I grabbed my stomach to prevent the urine from leaving my bladder because I was laughing so hard, I looked around and realized that, oddly enough, no one was staring at us. Was this normal Wal-Mart behavior? I guess so. I moved on to the checkout line, paid and we left. I was then stopped abruptly by the woman at the exit who asked to see my receipt. Do so many pregnant women try to steal 10 storage bins? Seriously lady. Chris proceeds to yell "Make a run for it!" Oh, thanks, that's helpful. She gives me the all clear and we head to the car where Chris again skips to the car, well ahead of me.
I am sure I will post this weekend with an update as to how the re-organizing of the garage is going. It's quite an adventure around our house lately.
Stay tuned!

Voila!

As the Little Einsteins would say: Mission Completion!
Even though I know that maybe deep down inside, Matt can see 100 things still that need to be worked on. It took a lot of urging on Matt's part for me to get rid of a lot of things, re-organize things and really become an adult and start cleaning up but we got it done.
As the Wonder Pets would say: What's gonna work? Team work!

So, here are photos from the finished project which is now the baby's room/office/scrapbooking room. I seriously think it would've been easier to buy a new house and just start all over again. Se la vi!



This is the closet. Diana's dresser now becomes the baby's dresser and we moved it into the closet because that's the only place it fits. Matt said that if we have a boy, someday this office will strictly become his room because Diana and a boy are not going to share a room. I agree, which makes the downstairs area a lot more cluttered.

Princesses Attack

The princesses have attacked Diana's room. Well, in a matter of speaking, at least. Diana got a big girl bed today. I just checked on her five minutes ago and she is still napping in it...hasn't fallen out yet.
Thanks to Gramma V and Grampa D for putting it together, although Gramma V insists that there was nothing to put together. Then why, Gramma V, did it take over an hour and a half and why did Grampa D have to go over to his house to get his electric drill because Matt's wasn't working right? Hmmmmm...?
Anyway, Diana is set until she leaves for Stanford in 14 years. This is the forever bed.
It was quite an adventure putting it together. I had nothing to do with it. It was all Gramma V and Grampa D. They even kicked Matt out of the room after a while and he did some other chores around the house.
Some of the highlights: While bringing the biggest box inside, poor Grampa D got his feet caught underneath him and he fell into the bush in our front yard.
When the box finally made its way upstairs and into Diana's room, Matt opened it and there was a cockroach inside. Sheer panic ensued, Raid was brought upstairs and we got rid of the nasty creature quickly. All order was then restored.
I did my wifely duties and ran out to Subway to get sandwiches for the clan who were very appreciative after a tough morning of work. Here are some images of the new bed:





Gramma V also hooked Diana up with a new trash can, new area rug, new hamper...you get the idea.



Gramma V had to try out the new bed. I admit I am looking forward to sitting in the bed tonight to read books before bed time. No more floor for me! Yay!

Swim Lessons

Diana's first week of swim lessons was awesome!
She was always very eager to get in the water, not one tear was shed and we think she's the next Natalie Coughlin. OK, just kidding about that part.
The class is a little more advanced for her level, but that's OK. I would rather have her challenged than doing something that's too easy. They are using a kickboard, learning to swim freestyle and even spend the last five minutes of class jumping in the water. For some reason, Diana felt the need to hold her teacher's hands when she jumped in. I was shocked by this because she NEVER does this at our pool here at Dream Street. She's always done it by herself. Hopefully this week she get a little more brave and trust that her teacher will, in fact, catch her.
She really loves it and even remembered her teacher's name all week, which is a miracle for Diana. We are looking forward to week 2 of swimming this and seeing how much more improvement she can make.

This is Diana learning to float on her back. She doesn't like water in her eyes, so her eyes are always closed the tightest they can be.



She was really good at using the kickboard and made very big splashes.



After she jumped in the water, she looked at her fingers and said "Mommy, I got prunes!" The other moms thought it was adorable!

Long distance Mother's Day

My mom went to Washington, D.C. for vacation so she spent Mother's Day jaunting around our nation's capital. Good for her, I say! I talked to her yesterday and she was having the time of her life.
Meanwhile, I was online tracking the status of some flowers I ordered on Thursday from ftd.com that were supposed to be delivered to her hotel on Saturday. FTD didn't let me have them delivered on Sunday even though their website advertised differently. That's OK...Saturday is even better, I thought. She can have a two-day Mother's Day. By Saturday night, they still hadn't been delivered and my order status said they were going to be delivered on Monday. Huh? What? Monday? That's not going to work. I paid a lot of money in shipping to have them delivered speedy so she would get them on Saturday. Not happy with FTD at this point. I consulted my husband and sister who said I should definitely call FTD and see what was going on.
I checked the tracking number on Sunday, even though I knew they wouldn't be delivered and I knew my mom was still flowerless. So, first thing when I got to work on Monday, I called the customer service number. Their on-hold messages made excuse after excuse as to why I was going to be on hold for so long and why they wouldn't be able to do this and why they wouldn't be able to do that. Geez. OK already! I get it, you're lame!
After 22 minutes of being on hold, a woman finally got on the line and I told her my predicament. She asked me if I would like to cancel my order. Uh, no. I told her I wanted some sort of reimbursement for the shipping since you guys didn't deliver when you said you would. She said because of the high volume of orders placed on the holiday...blah blah. Basically, they didn't realize they would be so busy on Mother's Day. LAME!
She offered a 20 percent discount on the shipping which would be credited back to my credit card. Sweet deal, I guess. I would rather my mom just get her awesome flowers at her awesome hotel on her awesome vacation. She will get them today...hopefully. If she checks out of that hotel before the flowers get there though....I am going to be one mad pregnant lady!
UPDATED (3:15 p.m. PT)...Flowers delivered, Mom very surprised and happy. And there were more flowers in the vase than were ordered so I guess FTD came through.
UPDATED (11:25 a.m. 5/13/09)...Mom decided to tell me that when she got her flowers, four of them were wilted. The next morning, three of them were wilted. I called FTD and got a full refund for the flowers. Never using FTD again!

Beaming with pride

Moms are always beaming with pride about their kid(s). I am no exception to that rule. This has been a busy/hectic/crazy week. Matt stayed home for two and a half days with a really bad cold that turned into pink eye (sorry, Matt), Diana started a new sports class on Monday, she got evaluated in a new class at KinderCare and had a dentist appointment this morning. Lots going on.
The sports class (I will post a picture later) was OK. It's called Tiny Tots Olympics and they rotate the sport they play every week. Because of a scheduling gaffe by me, she will only take part in this class three times instead of five, because she has swimming lessons next week and the week after. Oops.
The first week of Olympics was basketball. Score! Something she's familiar with. She grabbed a basketball and must have shot 25 shots before the class started. At one point, she made four in a row and had a smile on her face the entire time. It was awesome. She did the stretching exercises and the up and back run to loosen her little muscles perfectly. Then the drills started...
Passing was good. Diana and I passed the ball back and forth and she had some great bounce passes. Then...dribbling. Let's just say that my daughter wants to be the shooter and not the point guard. We will leave it at that.
Diana visited the Preschool B class this week to get evaluated by the teacher to see if she's ready for the move to the bigger class. Since she was fifth on the list to get moved over to the class, according to age, they had to see if she was academically ready for the challenge of the new class. To make a long story short, she passed with flying colors. The "homework packet" starts next week and we couldn't be more thrilled! This is a huge step for Miss D and us and we are so excited about all that she is going to be learning and experiencing in her new environment. I feel like kindergarten is right around the corner.
The dentist this morning was awesome as well. Six months ago, she was crying, screaming and refusing at every turn. Today, she sat in the chair (with me, of course) and opened her mouth to let them look at and count her teeth. She didn't let them clean her teeth yet, but the dentist and hygenist both said that was fine. Her teeth looked great and they can tell she takes good care of them. She even got to wear these colorful sunglasses while sitting in the chair to protect her eyes from the light. How come I can't wear those?
Upon leaving, Diana asked if she could have some stickers. Well, of course! The hygenist took her over and gave her four Barbie stickers, a new pink toothbrush, a picture of her teeth to take to share day tomorrow and some other things. All in a cute little bag with teeth on it. She was beyond THRILLED and PROUD!
I was beaming with pride. I can't believe how fast she's growing up. I don't know how my mom is dealing with me becoming a mom again...I am her little one, for crying out loud! :)

THE project...no pic though

I have been working diligently on the office/baby room. I have thrown stuff away, re-organized spaces and made a very large garage sale pile. I am motivating myself by remembering the show "Clean Sweep" on TLC which I watched religiously while I was on maternity leave with Diana. I love that show! I don't have any pictures to share tonight because I have been working on taking over the Solano blog for Matt and exercising. My brother in law and father in law (no relation) are pressuring me to put a photo of the room on the blog because I don't think they believe I have been working on it. Trust me, I have. I sucked it up and put all my purses in a storage bin. It's just waiting to be moved down to the garage (which Matt has to do because it's too heavy).
A few Christmases ago my dad gave me a series of four black and white pictures of him and my mom at a masters swim meet three years before I was born. I have always been in love with those photos and I had Matt put it up in the house this weekend. Now, I can see it every day and it's not sitting in the closet collecting dust anymore. There's just a couple more things to get out of the closet and we (I) will be close to done. Diana's new bed has been ordered by Gramma V so the pressure is really on now. Diana reminded me tonight that we have to bring the changing table up from the garage. You think she's excited? yeah!
I will get a picture up soon. I promise!

Hey kiddo!

I have been looking forward to today's ultrasound for quite a while. The only other one I had was when I first found out I was pregnant at 9 weeks and that came as a shock because the baby wasn't so much of a pea as it is when most people find out they are pregnant.
So, Diana and Gramma V came with me to Sacramento today for the Baby Show. I had to go to Sacramento because I requested genetics counseling because of the medication I take for epilepsy. I did that with Diana too but went to Oakland for the ultrasound. Nothing against Oak-town, but Sacramento is much more convenient.
Anyway, the Baby Show went well and we got lots of pictures to take home. Diana was a little freaked out I think because she wasn't too conversational (she was also very tired from being up the previous night with a little sicky tummy). But she told Au Bob later that "we got to see the baby on the TVs" so that was encouraging.
The doctor said the baby looked really good and we don't have anything to worry about as far as genetic defects. Not that it mattered and not that I was worried, but it's good to hear.
The best part of the appointment was the ultrasound tech, the doctor and the genetics counselor saying that it was easy to get great images because I am so thin! OMG! If I am glowing for the next 20 weeks, that's why! THIN? I have never been called that in my life. So awesome.
Here are a couple pics of Baby Borchert...Enjoy!
Here's the baby "blowing a bubble." It's the embilical cord, but they were going to take a copy of the picture and put it in their wall of fame. Cool, huh?


Here's the baby looking at its big feet saying "Whoa!"

Valuable Reading

When I went to pick up a copy of a book that I ordered earlier this week at Borders, I noticed a Newsweek magazine that I just HAD to have. The cover story was about finding a cure for epilepsy. I picked it up and as I waited in line, read a few paragraphs. Very interesting reading. Later in the afternoon, after Diana went down for a nap, I read the entire thing - an editorial, an article about a neurologist in New York and some of his patients and a senior advisor for President Obama whose daughter had suffered with epilepsy for more than 20 years.
All enlightening. If you don't know much about epilepsy, I highly recommend picking up this week's copy of Newsweek magazine and taking the 10 minutes to read the three articles in it. It's got some very staggering figures about the number of Americans who struggle with this disease, and the many people who even die from it. I was especially encouraged by the editorial which stated that while many people know someone with cancer and jump out to help that cause (which is great) by donating money, walking in a walk, etc., the signs of an average person with epilepsy aren't as apparent so we don't run out to donate money to find a cure for epilepsy because we don't think it's that common of a disease.
If you don't think you know someone with epilepsy and are thinking that this is a random post...it's not. You DO know someone with epilepsy...me!
I am not asking you to donate money or log on to one of the many "find a cure for epilepsy websites." I just want to make sure everyone is informed about epilepsy and understand what it's all about. 10 minutes, read the articles. I promise it will open your eyes!

THE project

It's coming along. This picture is not indicative of how the room is coming along. It's a mess I know. This was about a week ago and I didn't want to leave out any steps because I promised to give a blow-by-blow. Plus, I saw my brother-in-law for the first time in forever last weekend and he politely reminded me that I hadn't put up a recent picture of THE project. He walked into the room and said, "Whoa! What happened in here?" He was expecting a disaster and it wasn't that bad.
The photo below is the room as of today. Mostly, I just have some cleaning up to do and then we can start bringing in the changing table and moving some other things around. You can't see the closet from these pictures, but I did some work on that as well. We, er, I am going to have quite a garage sale in June.

Easter Weekend 2009

What a great weekend! It was a time to remember a loved one who is no longer with us, spend some valuable time with those we may not see every day and celebrate a fun holiday.
The weekend started on Saturday morning with Matt and Diana coloring Easter eggs. Matt may not be the craftiest guy but he sure does take a lot of pride in being the one in our family that colors Easter eggs with Diana, decorates and bakes cookies, carves the pumpkins, etc. I love it and I definitely don't mind being behind the camera to capture all the father-daughter moments!
After the Easter eggs, we headed up to the local Dream Street park to take part in the annual Easter egg hunt. The community leaders put thousands of goodie-filled eggs all around the park for the kiddos to grab. Diana was a star this year. She was ready to go and did a fantastic job looking in every nook and cranny for the eggs. After that, Gramma V, Grandpa D, Diana and I headed into Sausalito to catch the ferry boat into the city. It's an Easter tradition for three years now to take the ferry to San Francisco, have lunch and remember Nanny. It was a great time. I must say that I had the best hamburger I have ever had at Neptune's at Pier 39. I know I am pregnant and all, and that may sway my decision-making a bit, but holy cow (pun intended) it was great!
We got home late Saturday and recovered from the busy day with a quiet rest of the evening. (for those wondering where Matt was...The Masters was on this weekend and he didn't remove himself from the couch).
On Sunday, Diana woke up to find the Easter bunny left her quite a few goodies in her Easter basket. She was most excited about all the plastic eggs he left her and about the candy (that she can't eat). It's very colorful though. She later discovered her love for jelly beans. :)
The family came over for a great breakfast cooked by Matt, Diana hunted eggs in the backyard and we played around the house the rest of the day. We had quite a lot of fun playing with Diana's new bubble collection that we used up in all of an hour. It was awesome weather, but we came back inside and did some projects around the house.
We were most excited to get a visit from Uncle Chris, who stopped by when he got off work early. We haven't seen Uncle Chris in a really long time and it was great to have him around again. Things haven't changed...he still cracked jokes, turned Diana upside down and hung her from her ankles and made himself right at home. We wouldn't want it any other way.
In the baby world: The baby has been having parties in my belly over the last week. It's been a lot of fun. The baby definitely likes its space because it moves around the most when I bend over at my belly when I am on the computer at work or something. I have an ultrasound next week (where I will NOT be finding out the sex of the baby) and have a regular checkup tomorrow. I have been really tired so not working out as much, but when I do have energy I try to hop on and do a run-walk for at least 30 minutes. It's not easy, but I know it'll be worth it in the end.
Check out pictures from the weekend here.

Leader of the Pack

It's been interesting to observe Diana at KinderCare lately. There are definitely girl groups and boy groups. I don't see a whole lot of girls playing with the boys and vice versa. The girls play in the home living area and the boys are usually doing their own thing off somewhere else in class. This is definitely not something set up by the teacher, but very interesting to me.
Diana has developed friendships with all the girls in her class. Where it used to be just one girl has now turned in to a friendship with about three or four other girls. One day when I went to pick her up, all the girls yelled out to Diana that her mommy was here. "Thanks, girls," I said. Sometimes they go get her jacket for her and another day they gathered up her Cabbage Patch doll which she brought for Share Day and all the clothes that were strewn across the room. Very helpful, I thought.
Over the last week, the friendships seem to have grown and blossomed a bit more. The other day, every girl in Diana's class gave her a HUGE hug before we left and some even kissed her (so gross, I know). Diana, normally shy before and unwilling to say goodbye to any of her friends, returned the hug and even waved through the door when we left.
Matt and I talked a couple nights later and he said that he watched her for about five minutes the next day (not knowing about the departure hugs that occurred). He was amazed at how much of a social butterfly Diana is in her class with the other girls. She showed them her homework and they talked about their outfits, he said, to one another.
He thinks she's the leader of the group, but I think that she plays with everyone fairly and treats everyone the same instead of getting into clicks and the sort. At least I hope so.
It's very fun though to see her open up and socialize and have these little friends. We have no idea who these girls are, where they live, who their parents are, but Matt thinks it would be a good idea to invite them to Diana's birthday party in June.
I see where he's coming from, and Diana has said that she wants to invite them all, but again...I have never met their parents. Who am I to invite strangers into the house? I don't expect them to bring a present for my kid who they don't even know. Diana talks about her friends at home, but do the other girls talk about Diana? Do the other parents know of this "Diana"?