Ready and Waiting




We are just kind of waiting around for Amelia to decide it's time to meet us. My deadline to go into labor on my own is Wednesday, at this point. I have been getting acupuncture, taking vigorous, determined walks, and doing other unmentionable things to try to get things going. But there is only so much we can do. The funny thing is that it could literally be any moment, we just don't know!
Jeff's mom, Amy, has been here since Wed. night, and it has been wonderful to have her. She has been spoiling us with cooking and cleaning and we've been having some fun outings. So at least the waiting is enjoyable. Yesterday Lisa came over, so she Amy and I all watched a movie and ate snacks on our bed in the air conditioned room. Fun! My mom and dad arrive on Monday. Maybe internally that's what I'm really waiting for...
As far as statistics go, I am dilated one cm., 50% effaced, and Amelia's head is "engaged" in the pelvis. And I am starving all the time, but very energetic. So we shall wait and see. You will soon be looking at pictures of the little wonder!

Garden Update

Strawberries are my favorite, and next time I will plant many, many more so we can pick more than two at a time.


We will have quite a variety of tomatoes in a while. In fact, we probably have about 20 different plants growing. If you are local, you know where to come get them soon!



Broccoli, left to its own devices.

This is my favorite section right now. It looks like a jungle, then underneath...

A favorite.
I love these flowers-- Fuschia. They are so vibrant, exotic and, well, sexy. I have a basket of them hanging outside our front door, and I pause every time I pass by to admire them.

The Getaway.
Jeff and I planned a trip last weekend to spend some time together relaxing before Amelia comes. Below is my really lame attempt at documenting the fun.





That was in the car on the way to Long Beach. Yes, we went to Long Beach for a vacation! I didn't want to have to drive long, but wanted to be near the coast. We stayed a couple of nights at a B&B that we would never recommend to any of you. But highlights were: not having to cook, not being able to clean or work on the "to do" list, and spending lots of time together. And reading magazines. And watching TV at night. I was so relieved to be home. our bedroom is so much more relaxing than the room we had, it felt like heaven to not be overstimulated by busy wallpaper and walls covered with a mishmash of framed pictures and assorted tchotchky (Is that how you spell it?) in an already very small and crowded room. Anyway, we love our apartment and another bonus of going away was being really thankful to be home!
On another note, we stayed up really late last night installing an AC unit in our bedroom. It was almost 100 degrees yesterday, and we are both pretty uncomfortable. We are taking walks every evening to coax Amelia into position for takeoff.

A fun first (with better pictures now!)

I decided to try making a patchwork blanket for Amelia. I was surprised by how fun and easy it actually was. I embroidered several squares while waiting for things (doctors, airplane flights, etc.,) and then the rest probably took 4-5 hours. The back is a really soft flannel and velveteen ribbon.





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A little closer than we thought.

So I got a bit of a shock at my OB appointment today. I found out that I had been given an incorrect due date by the first OB I'd seen in Pasadena so long ago. Somehow, when I had talked to my current doctor about it, we'd never used calendar dates, but weeks. I thought I was due July 3rd. Then he said he wanted my pregnancy to go 39 weeks, and that he expected the need for me to be induced, so have Mom come out by week 38. In my mind, week 39 was the 26th of June. This was great news, and pretty exciting. Mom and Dad bought tickets for the 19th, so they wouldn't miss anything. I am planning on using accupuncture to get labor started before anyone wants to induce. My accupuncturist said to get an "induce by" date so we could get started in time to avoid that. Imagine my shock when he said that date would be the 20th of June! I kept saying, "What? Are you sure? What happened? Are you sure? So how far along AM I, anyway?" I think he was pretty amused. I am really excited to meet Amelia sooner than expected. That's in 3 1/2 weeks. Wow! It's crazy how much of a difference a week makes at this point. I think it's also because so many people from far away are involved, so logistical planning has been a huge factor. But it will all work out just right. It's amazing to think that a month from now, our little one will have already arrived and will be here to be adored.

Let's Talk About... Food!

I don't know why I don't write more about food, since that is one of my favorite things in life. Anyway, I feel it is my moral obligation to let you all know about Trader Joe's Carne Asada. If you live near a TJ's, you already know you are incredibly fortunate and eat better than most people in the world. I need to give Joy credit for telling me about their pre-marinated carne asada. In the past few months, this has been a weekly dinner for Jeff and me. It is a flank steak, so it takes about eight minutes to cook. Grill some onions and bell peppers (I make a pouch of tinfoil with oregano, salt, pepper and- scandalously- a little bacon fat,) heat some black beans with lime juice, and then slice an avocado, and you are in for one of the best, quickest meals of your life. With a little more work and much more reward, you can enjoy this with sliced grapefruit and cold sangria. If you haven't tried, it yet, get to a TJ's this week and get some! I think most readers are enjoying some beautiful weather right now, so it is perfect for an evening of leisurely eating outdoors.

In- Utero Antics

I never expected to feel like I knew so much about our baby before she was born, but she has made her presence distinct. I started feeling her move at about 14 weeks, and have known that she was a pretty active little thing ever since. Something else I noticed was that if I poked my finger into my belly where she was, I often would get a little flick right back at my finger. So she's responsive, I thought. On Wednesday, I had my first of a series of bi-weekly appointments for non-stress testing that will continue until the end of the pregnancy. Basically, they strap two belts onto my stomach, one with a heart monitor for Amelia and one that monitors uterine contractions. Then I just lay there for about 20 minutes and they track her heart rate for that amount of time. Her HR is usually about 150 BPM. I don't know how, but she very quickly figured out that the monitors were there, and that she didn't like it! She started kicking (or hitting?) the monitors, directly, over and over again. Her HR was in the 180s for most of the time, and you could see the monitors bouncing up and down. You could hear her heartbeat, but then also all of the blows to the monitor were really loud. My doctor came in wondering what all the commotion was and left very amused, but pleased that she is so strong and active. Then she sent the nurse in to see, too. I almost felt kind of embarassed by my child's behavior! The doctor looked at me, shaking her head, and said, "I'm sorry, Ariana, but you have a very strong-willed child." And?... What do I say to that? I can't wait to meet her, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous! I know I need to write this down for us to all look back on.

Should we have named her Imelda?

Not even born yet, and she already has more shoes than her Momma. We won't even talk about clothes!

Presenting... MISTER MULLINS!
Now that I have made a photographic appearance on my blog, it's time to bring Jeff forward as well. Yesterday was his open house at school, and it was a special treat to see him dashing off to catch the bus to work in a suit. So handsome!


Here he is with some of his kids' artwork. This is the primary form of learning/ discovery they use in thier classroom. It's really fun to see similar patterns in each child's work as they use different mediums.


The "Letter People" are also star performers in the educational adventure. Rumor has it that Jeff might be starting his own blog one of these days, talking about his delightful work with people with disabilities. His nickname with the nieces and nephews is Marchy, so some possible titles are along the lines of Marchy's Kids, or, my favorite, Marchy Madness. I can't wait.

Jeff had a long day at work yesterday, staying until mid-evening. He called and asked if we could do something to celebrate.
"Celebrate what?"
"You know, Thursday..."
I'm such a pushover. I ran to TJ's for party food before picking him up: baguette, mozarella balls, roasted veggie bruschetta, marinated artichoke hearts (my favorite) and the addictive Rittersport dark chocolate with hazelnuts. And wine. We had a party. It WAS Thursday, after all!

I am taking advantage of a day or so with a camera.... Documented here is the delight of picking flowers from our own garden spaces to bring inside-- I can't get over how fun and satisfying it is! I feel a little bit bad because I like the flower vendor at the farmer's market so much. I often go buy stuff from the same people each week, just to keep up relationship and to say hello. I love it when they expect to see me and ask where I was when I miss a Friday morning trip. So I'll probably keep buying flowers anyway... such a sucker for a friendly smile!

OK, I give in... Here is a profile, as of today, just about 8 months along. I have a couple of months left to expand.



I was laughing the other day when I found a side shot I did about 4 months ago. I looked tiny, but I remember thinking, "Wow, I look SO pregnant! I can't believe I'm going to get much bigger than that..." Looking in the mirror is always an adventure these days!


I just amended the post to add the photo I was talking about...

Checking in...
Well, I guess it's time to post again-- I know the disappointing feeling of seeing the same last entry every time you go to someone's blog. So I'll give a brief listing of local news.
1. Amelia is checking in at about three pounds, or three jars of peanut butter. We were surprised by how substantial that feels in your hands. Apparently, that is just right for 30 weeks.
2. We are going up to Portland tomorrow until Saturday, to celebrate Jeff's sister's daughter's (also called our niece) birthday. We will also spend a day with Joy and Chris and kids. This will be the last trip out of here for a little while, and we are looking forward to spending time with family.
3. The weather is really warming up, it's 82 degrees right now. I am trying to finish up the gardening tasks on my mental list before it gets too hot (and while I can still stand back up from sitting on the ground!)
4. Jeff is on spring break, and we have enjoyed being together all day working on projects and eating meals outside.
5. I have a rather nasty cold, but it did get me breakfast in bed yesterday! (More points for spring break...)
I'd like to say that I am really enjoying being able to read everyone elses' news and see pictures of what is going on in your heads, homes and yards!

So this is the Springtime Flower Post. I have been experiencing tremendous satisfaction lately with all of the flowers showing their appreciation for the time I have spent with them. We have one bed that is looking really great, making the ones I haven't gotten to yet look pretty awful. So I try not to look at those ones. Ranunculus are my favorite flower, and they have been producing way more flowers than I ever expected (especially since I expected them to die!) The nasturtium that H. Shack planted long ago have come back to life and have lots of flowers, same story on the roses-- they are gorgeous! Neighbor M and I are planning on planting lots of lavender and rosemary in the very front, right now there is just one of each. All of this rain has made the gardening easy. It is a lot of fun. Have I mentioned that our amazing landlord reimburses us for anything we spend on the yard? I keep thinking I must be dreaming!

Gardening...




For the first time ever, I have lots of space for gardening. I took advantage of having a camera for the day, and next I will post some pictures of our flowers! These first pictures are of a salad garden. There are a few different kinds of greens in here, and they sprouted from seeds really quickly. This doesn't really do it justice, since the plants were severely shorn the other night for salad for four. It is so wonderful to go outside with the scissors and pick fresh salad greens!

We are also growing broccoli, tomatoes and strawberries. The broccoli is taking off fast and will be ready soon. I need to plant some more so we can keep enjoying it in the summer! In this phase of being a new gardener, I am just completely surprised that the plants are still alive and growing. It's a lot of fun!

Coming along...
So I borrowed a camera to show you how Amelia's room is coming!


The big projects the last few days have been painting, sewing curtains and going to Chinatown to buy some cute parasols.


These curtains ended up being a much more involved project than I had intended, but I have to admit that I think they're really cute...


Jeff's grandma gave him a couple of really sweet insect watercolors she had made for Christmas that are perfect for this little room.


It's weird to see litle girl clothes hanging up like this, ready to go. This is where I could use some help: The closet is really deep on either side, and I am not sure how to store things like clothes, diapers, etc., so it looks cute, tidy and accessible. Any ideas?

What about the paint?

I am currently obsessed with putting together a space for Amelia. Her "room" will be in the walk-in closet in our bedroom. I just moved my closet stuff into Jeff's, in the other room. I'm excited because I have a fabric I picked out to kind of be the palette for the colors, and now I feel like I can't rest until I get it done! So I have been researching and trying to buy paint today. I have come across many opinions on painting while pregnant and what paints are appropriate for children. On the one end, I could buy a paint with no VOCs that is odorless, used in hospital rooms and such. They only sell it by the gallon, and it is $40 per gallon! Someone said to just look for low-odor latex paint, and one source I called recommended something he'll be using for his baby's room. Also only sold by the gallon, for $32 each. Then I called a Home Depot and they said ALL Behr paints qualify, and are sold by the quart and are of course much cheaper. The guy at Uptown Paint said they can't even sell me anything dangerous, most paints are low-odor latex. I am just more susceptible to being irritated by the smell since I'm pregnant, but that it's not actually dangerous at all. What should I do? Is this really a big deal? I know most people in my generation were exposed to lots of stuff while their moms remodeled houses with lead paint during pregnancy, and it seems like we're just fine! Should I just be practical, or purist? Tell me what you think (but try to hurry!)

Here she is! These two are the most baby-looking (versus alien-looking) ones we have. I love the way she is posing with her little arms and hands by her face!


We don't know if she has a widow's peak or if that is her fontanel. We'll have to wait to find out. Isn't she cute?
Thanks to Meg for scanning and showing me how to post these.

And the winner of the genetic lottery is....
So, I finally got an ultrasound this week (at six months,) and we now know who it is that's been flipping around in my belly so enthusiastically. It is Amelia Marie Mullins! She is named after both Grandmas, Amy and (Luanne) Marie. The doctor said it was beyond a doubt, a girl, she passed by there a few times. I had the ultrasound in the Perinatal center, so they used the 3D/ 4D technology rather than the basic outline sonogram. That was really fun. At first, she had both feet up resting on her forehead, then later she was posing with her hands framing her little face. They printed out some really cute pictures for us. I would love to post them, but we don't have a working digital camera or scanner right now. Maybe I will get the local big brother to help? Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, she is extremely active. The Dr. turned the monitor at one point to show me how Amelia was hanging on to her umbilical cord with both hands and waving it around playfully. It's amazing what you can see these days-- a fun time to be pregnant! We are really enjoying thinking about the baby by name, and will be transitioning into preparing for her arrival more actively now.

By the way....
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