“It’s Hard Out Here at the Pump”
Of course, playing off Three Six Mafia’s Oscar winning song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” 🙂
Not to be confused with the occupational safety people, rather Osha the Thai restaurant in SF. S surprised me 6 days early with a “welcome to your 30s” dinner with friends last night.
Why a week early? Why in the middle of the week? Where are we going? What do I wear? He gave satisfactory answers, but still, I was a bit suspicious. We entered the restaurant, I was behind S as he gave his name to the hostess (quietly, I might add)…and she responded, within my earshot, “oh, so you’re here for the birthday party.” I could tell S was ready to smack her one. By then, the gig was up…I just needed to figure out who waiting for me at the table. ;o)
People that I haven’t seen in over a year were there as well as people I had seen just a few days ago. Our friends J & D made the trek to the city, despite their Passover diet restrictions. Plus, D was pretty excited to have found baby sitters for her two boys! Our friend Kristen was there, she had to draw straws with her husband to find out who go and enjoy a dinner out in SF and who was going to stay home with their 18-month old son, Tyler.
The food was delicious – plenty of tofu, curry, pineapple fried rice and garlic chicken to go around. My mom had brought in the birthday cake – one of my all time favorites – Strawberry Mousse Cake from Schubert’s (other favorites being the Swedish Princess Cake and Just Desserts’ Mocha Cake). And if you weren’t there, well, you just missed out on the party favors! I’ll sum it up like this: me, at the age 12-13, Glamour Shots and cookies. S told me later that he wanted to order the rice krispy treats, but went ahead with the cookies. (As you may recall, I had put one of S’ childhood photos on a cookie for his 3-0…so I had it coming.)
The majority of my gifts were of the chocolate kind – which isn’t bad. Especially when it’s Scharffenberger chocolate! I did get a baby-related gift, which I’m pretty excited about and S even liked it too (since it’s “messenger” style and not something too too girly like this)! He said that he could see himself sporting it around. Apparently, Jennifer Garner and Britney Spears have the same!
Age is a state of mind…and according to one of those online quizzes, I took recently, mine is still 17, so I’ve got a ways to go!
(Photos from the soiree to be posted later.)
I was pretty excited to hear that a DayOne center opened near my office in Palo Alto. There aren’t very many baby stores around…well except for Target and Carter’s…but Day One, a perinatal center, is/was offering prenatal fitness classes. So, last Friday I got Dr. G to sign the release form (she thought it was excellent! idea – she really recommended the DayOne center & it’s classes) and I attended my first prenatal fitness class yesterday. Since the center is SO new, I was the only person there – a personal training session for $15? Not too bad if you ask me. As much as I love yoga and benefits of, I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough if I’m not more “activeâ€. Most of the exercises were done while I was seated on one of those bouncy exercise balls (to keep my core engaged, believe me the core was engaged since I was just ready to roll of this thing): lots of leg strengthening, arms, shoulders, back, butt, hips. I felt good during the workout – I was actually utilizing muscles I probably hadn’t used in a while.
Today, I don’t feel so good. I can barely walk because my quadriceps and gluteus maximus are SO sore! Combine that with my sciatica issues, I really am walking around like a 90-year old woman!
I promised myself that I’d go to this class every week, but maybe I should alternate weeks with the bellydancing class they offer. Pregnant women, bellydancing? Yah, probably not as sexy / seductive as bellydancing usually is, according to S.
So, last night, I took my cousin’s advice and took Lucie on a long walk. (The long walk was to ease my sciatica.)
So we pass a house, where there is usually a tabby cat (of sorts) lying on the front landing. We walked by and Lucie got close to the landing to check it out. She started to whine, so I pulled her back and we kept walking. The cat, started to follow us!!! Yes, it followed us! Next thing I know, this bully of a cat is ready to pounce and swat Lucie! Its back was arched, its paws ready for action, the whole enchilada! Lucie starts to bark, then I pull her in (she was on the retractable leash)…the cat still follows us! As we cross the street, the cat is sitting at the corner, just watching us walk away! Scary!
…meaning, that there was SO much food, SO much, at my family’s Easter spread, we Sylvain had to skip dinner. I, of course, just can’t help it, I’m eating for two, non? 🙂 In addition to the honey baked ham, there was an “egg shaped” meatloaf, curry-chutney chicken salad, sausage-egg casserole, baby artichoke risotto, chicken katsu, spinach salad, pita chips and hummus and for dessert: mango cake, krispy kreme bread pudding (yum! without the rum in the rum sauce), and homemade strawberry ice cream…and whatever chocolate treats were in everyone’s easter “basket”. (Feel stuffed yet?) Get togethers like these I am very thankful for our dishwasher…and tupperware. (We had run out of ziploc bags – gasp!)
More than halfway there…
Not by a lot, but we’re past the halfway mark. Friday was my latest prenatal check-up and everything is going well. Heard peanut’s heartbeat, and Dr. G even heard peanut move – yup, still no feeling on my part. Like, I have said, it’s going to have to be super obvious for me to distinguish peanut’s movements. The pains in my back aren’t what I thought it was…I’ve already got sciatica issues. It’s quite debilitating: it’s hurts to walk, to stand, to sit, to lie down even…guess I need to increase the yoga sessions. Also, I’ve noticed that my ankles are chubby. Not to the point of cankles, but they’re not as skinny as they used to be. Sigh.
Great Friday
…was a holiday for me. So after our prenatal appointment, S & I met my mom at the bank to have my name changed on the safe deposit box, then we stopped briefly for coffee and pastries at Peet’s. We took my mom back to work, then S & I drove downtown, picked up Niki’s wedding dress, ran a few errands at Sur La Table and Diptyque and headed back home.
Since the fields are still muddy, I took Lucie to the basketball courts for some ball time. (S actually did work Friday.) There, we ran into an old schoolmate of Lucie’s…a black lab, named Jackpot. They were in the same puppy kindergarten class years ago and now we come to find out that they’re in the neighborhood too!
After lunch, S & I met with an architect to discuss the kitchen remodel, a project which has since been postponed. Then I went to get a mani/pedi and grocery shop for the weekend.
As S mentioned, we saw a great movie Friday night with Amanda and Nate, ate dinner and then ventured to Mitchell’s for some ice cream (double yum!).
Saturday was more errands (including a fabulous facial in the Castro), baking (Lemon Meringue tart is now my Everest that I WILL conquer one of these days), prepping for Sunday (which included a warm Krispy Kreme donut), and picking up a F-R-E-E pack n’ play from my cousin (who says I’m huge, by the way! – it must run in the family, because she was, ahem “carrying large” as well when she was pregnant).
…is to leave work early on Friday (which I did). Even if it’s raining (which it was). When I got home, S & I snacked, packed and left to meet Brad & Lisa for our Tahoe weekend getaway! We attempted to leave the city around 4-4.30p and anyone who knows what Friday traffic is like on a rainy day – knows how silly that is. But hey, what can you do? And we weren’t in a tremendous rush. After a potty stop in Sacto for Lucie and dinner at Ikeda’s in Auburn, we finally made it to the cabin around 10.30-45p. Not too bad considering the weather conditions, no?
Of course, when we get there, Lucie is SO jazzed that there is snow outside, she starts whining to go outside. S takes her outside for a few, they come back, more whining. Ugh. We finally coax her to sleep around 1am.
After about 6h of sleep, the precious princess Lucie decides that it’s time to wake up. Ugh squared. We’re the first ones up (big surprise!) and after I feed her breakfast, take her outside. She curiously sniffs every rock, pine cone, tree, bush while making her way through the snow. We go back and she patiently waits at the sliding glass door for her next outing.
Lisa makes us all a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes and (yum!) bacon. S heads out to Mt. Rose with Brad and Lisa for a day of snowboarding and skiing. After I get settled and ready, Lucie and I head to the Lake with Rachael and Tucker for some swim time. Halfway down the trail, I let Lucie off leash and she bolts for the water. No fear, this one. Because of the previous night’s storm, the waves were a bit choppy, but that didn’t stop her from retrieving her toy from the COLD waters of Lake Tahoe. Doggy heaven. We make our way back to the cabin and towel off the dogs. Lucie then gets the special hair dryer treatment, which she didn’t appreciate too much.
The rest of my afternoon can be summed up like this: ate (grilled cheese and tomato soup), slept, read (On the Road by Jack Kerouac), and watched TV (remake of The Parent Trap, the History Channel and History of the World, part 1). Fabulous! Lucie was SO tired from the swim that morning she slept all afternoon – even more Fabulous!
Lisa prepped dinner for all us…cheese fondue! After dinner, Lisa and JP headed to the CalNeva casino, the rest of us stayed behind to play poker.
Lucie was up early again Sunday morning – see a pattern here? After S took her out for a walk, we all got ready and headed to the Log Cabin for a late breakfast. I can see why it was voted one of Tahoe’s best breakfast spots. Yum! We made a stop at the pet store across the road before we headed back. JP, Rachael and Tucker headed back home, and Brad, Lisa, S and I took Lucie to the Lake for one more winter swim. The walk back was quite an event – Brad & Lisa stumbled up on a climbing wall (a big rock with holds bolted in) and then we came across a boy walking his two dog, rather the two big shaggy dogs were taking him for a walk. Literally. S whisked Lucie away before a doggy altercation could occur, and the rest of us stayed behind to try and help the poor kid, who said he had everything under control (as he said this one of the dogs pulled free, dragging his leash behind him). Nice.
We packed, we chatted, we watched Lisa prep for her money-wind tunnel-booth contest (hilarious!) and we headed home. S drove us over the snowy summit and I drove most of the way home (Auburn to the Fairfield-Vallejo border). Nice to get away, but nicer to be home.
Living vicariously
So, as I was stuffing my face with cheese fondue and playing poker in Tahoe, my friend Genevieve was volunteering at GLAAD awards in LA. She escorted Melissa Etheridge around and got to meet Nick, Santino, Tim and Andrae from Season 2 of Project Runway! How exciting! She gave me the scoop on who’s cool and who’s not. Even more exciting is that she got to meet Trent, who pens our most fave celebrity blog (scroll down and she’s the cutie in the mod top), take a picture with him (which got posted on his site) and got a shout out from him!!! How cool is that? (Kellybean deep dark secret #7 – I’m a celebrity gossip junkie!)
A good night’s sleep is what I need. It’s been a while. A loooooong while. Now that the belly is getting bigger, finding a comfortable position to sleep in is getting more difficult. I can rule out sleeping on my tummy – for obvious reasons – and sleeping on one’s back is not recommended. I’ve been trying to sleep on my left side, as recommended for optimal blood flow to the kidneys, etc., and I even bought a boppy cuddle pillow specially made for mommies-to-be. Nope, still can’t sleep through the night. I feel a bit claustrophobic when I sleep on my left side because S is usually in the middle of the bed and right in my face (or his arm is on my face, he actually and unintentionally hit me one night, but I digress).
In other news, I’m at 20 weeks now, so we’re halfway there! I broke down and started to shop for newborn clothes and I’ve asked my mom to help with her first “grandma” task – adjusting the bumper in the bassinet (on loan) so that it’s secure and not flailing about.
I’ve also made up my mind about the car seat-stroller situation (buy an infant seat and stroller frame for now and register for the “bigger” stroller and car seat), but waiting for S’ input before we make a decision or buy anything.
We’re also “looking” at cars…again. Something that will accomodate a car seat, stroller and an 75-80 lb. adorable yellow lab. We’re trying to avoid trading in an SUV for another SUV so we’ve looked online at the Volvo V70, XC70, (doesn’t it just reek of “soccer mom“?) and the Subaru Outback. We did look at the XC 90 and the new Rav4…we joke around that we’re going to end up with this monster.