12.26.14 - Paper Game!

We played the Paper Game a lot during this trip. And it mostly ended up like this:

There were several times when I laughed so hard I felt like I was pulling stomach muscles and had to try to hold myself still. Such an easy way to have a great time.

12.25.14 - Christmas Day!

I woke up earlier than everyone except Mom, which I seem to usually do when visiting home. I hung out with her one-on-one for awhile. She made everyone eggs, bacon, and buttered bread and set out a bowl of clementines. It kind of reminded me of the breakfast in Little Women ("Isn't butter divinity??")

Grandma and her mini-me.

Neil, Ellen, and Everett got up one by one and we all started helping with the list Mom had printed of cleaning to get done before the party. It was pretty easy with so much help. Neil and I had a rousing conversation about one of the best movies ever, Warrior, while I was cleaning the kitchen and he was cleaning the living room. We got everything done with an hour to spare before people started coming over. It was a relatively stress-free set up. 

The festive red-and-green couple.

Most of Mom's family ended up coming over. There was a brief moment of panic (secretly, just for Everett and me) when Grandma didn't bring cheesy potatoes, but it turned out Uncle Mark had it covered. Whew. And Mike & Laura brought their pasta house salad, which I love. So much good food. 

Mistletoe kisses with the kiddies.

Zoey and Damien play as a team with the elliptical.

I chatted with people in the living room and basement for awhile, but eventually I settled in the living room to play 5 Crowns with Everett, Ellen, and Mom (I think). After a couple rounds we dealt Uncle Mark in, and later Mom wanted to play with Zoey so Linda took Mom's place. It was a great game--Ellen and Mark were neck-and-neck for most of it, and Mark was pretty into it, which we appreciate. Everett was losing terribly the entire time, but he was a good sport about it, and it made it funny every time I read the scores in order because he was always so far behind. 

Neil can't take all the excitement.

Playing or at least watching 5 Crowns.

Not long before the game ended, we were surprised by a visit from not only our cousin Suzanne, but also our cousins Andy and Angela and their spouses. I went in the basement and talked with them for awhile, and it was really enjoyable.

Throughout the day people remarked on Clara, insisted I look fabulous, and asked if they could touch my belly. Strange to think next time I see most of them I'll have a baby in hand.

Finally got Everett & Ellen to really smile by taking a pic behind my huge stomach.

Everyone wants to hold the baby.

I know Jack got to Skype with his family, and I did get to talk to him for a bit that night, though we were both kind of tired. Overall it was a pretty nice day.

12.24.14 - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a little quieter this year than previous years. Denny and the kids were at Mel's and Jack is out of town, so it was just the 5 siblings and Mom. It was kind of nice though - simple and peaceful. 

Mom made pot roast for dinner and all of us (except Julie, who wasn't over yet) ate in the kitchen. We tried to light the Advent wreath with hilariously failed results, and Ellen made a big deal about getting to blow out the two lit candles at the end (an homage to when we were kids and really cared about who got to blow out which candles). 

Both while Mom was cooking and after dinner Ellen kept bugging Everett to wrap the gifts they'd gotten Mom, and they started joking about how he needed to do some "rapping" and making a hand gesture like record scratching and laughing every time. Bunch of dorks.

Once Julie came over we lined up to do our gift exchange with Mom videotaping, but before we could count to three Everett was...pretending to eat his gift I think? For some reason?...and I reached over quickly and poked him in the mouth! That was hilarious.

Victory.

Then we finally counted to three and switched. :)

Neil had me and got me gift cards to Starbucks and Panera. I had Julie and got her stuff to make soy Chai lattes at home, plus a Groupon gift card for a date night with Denny. Julie got Everett cash but presented it in a very elaborate and colorful box filled with boxes she made. Everett got Ellen and gave her a special hand lotion she loves plus a Starbucks gift card. Ellen had Neil and got him a switch blade, which he has been playing with ever since.

After we exchanged we had Mom open her gifts and we (relatively quickly) opened the rest of our own. Mom got me a bunch of craft stuff, which is awesome, including an entire set of sewing supplies for the sewing machine Jack intends to set up in our living room. Now I just have to learn how to sew. :-P I made Mom some DVDs with as many Zoey home videos as I could fit on them. Mom also got Julie like 6 or 7 boxes of contact solution but wrapped each box separately. I think it's sweet how much Mom likes wrapping gifts, plus she's really good at it.

Then we quickly got ready to go and drove the ridiculously short distance to All Saints. I rode in Julie's car, partially because she has auto start and her car was already kind of warm.

Julie waiting outside the church for Mom & the other sibs.

As we walked inside, I remembered why I like going to midnight mass still, after all these years. The church was dimly lit with Christmas lights all over the altar and in some trees around the front. The balcony choir was in the middle of singing one of my favorite Christmas hymns, O Holy Night. And I really get something out of the familiarity of going back to All Saints. The murals and stained glass and statues have been the same since I was a child, and in a way it's like coming home to go to mass there again.

Christmas decor at All Saints.

Unfortunately I never took a much-needed nap before we went to mass, so I was getting sleepy before the service even started. By the time the service was over I felt like I was barely on my feet. I'm still glad we stayed to get a sibling photo though:

12.23.14 - Picasso's & G&G's

I borrowed Everett's car and picked up Julie from Mel's house. I saw Zoey briefly, and when she saw my purse she asked me for "dum" (gum). I don't have any--she must associate gum with purses because of Ja-Ma. She didn't seem to believe me so I let her look suspiciously in my purse, haha.

Then it was a short drive to Main Street on a not-too-chilly day to have a soy Chai latte (Julie) and a Mona Snicker mocha (me) while sitting at the bar and watching people out the window.

The mocha, with the foam leaf and some whipped cream!

We don't get a chance to visit one-on-one much, both because we live in different states and, nowadays, because she has two kids that keep her pretty busy. It was nice to just sit and talk, mostly about families and marriage, since we increasingly share the two as major issues in our lives.

Julie is so happy to be at Picasso's! And back in St. Charles.

I love that Julie and I have made Picasso's a tradition. It's such an enjoyable coffee house with coffee-themed remakes of famous works of art and a cozy atmosphere and delicious food. Plus Main Street in general is pretty cute and it was nice to get to see at least a bit of it. But mostly I'm glad we have a tradition that allows us to get some one-on-one time.

After dropping Julie back off, I stopped by Mom's for a quick bite and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for another one-on-one (or two-on-one?) visit. The last two years I've visited with them for close to 5 hours, which I've really enjoyed, but this year I had other stuff I needed to try to get done so I only ("only") stayed for 3 hours. It was still really nice. 

We just sat in the front room--I got to sit in their new, incredibly comfy TV chair complete with cup holders--and we chatted the whole time. At one point Clara was moving and Grandma got to feel her kick 3-4 times! That was delightful. I also notice I love telling them and other people stories about Jack either being funny or sweet and supportive. And I love when I can really make someone laugh, especially someone who doesn't normally laugh a lot (Mom doesn't count--she's so easy. :-P)

12.22.14 - My siblings crack me up!

12.21.14 - Cancun trip

Jill was right. The ocean was really beautiful. These different shades of blues, and sometimes purples, got darker and darker as the ocean got deeper. Near sunset the clouds were also shades of purple. One of my favorite parts of the first few days was just going and sitting near the water and listening to the waves. One day Jill and I just stood in the surf and talked for a long time, and it was so pleasant. Some nights after Rocket fell asleep I’d sit on our room’s balcony and listen to and watch the waves at night.

Rocket in front of the colorful ocean.

I loved that the air wasn’t too hot; it was just warmly comfortable. And the water was also comfortable—not too cold for swimming. It was a little humid the last day or so we were there, which made me realize all the more how nice it had been the rest of the week.

I also loved how there were hardly any other guests at the hotel for most of our stay. In a full week I probably only shared the elevator 4-5 times. We got our pick of seats by the pool and on the beach, and usually even by the hot tub.

Our cleaning lady added nice little touches like putting a photograph I’d left out in a little stand or putting the roses we got from one dinner in a water bottle. Oh, and they always gave us new water bottles. Plenty of water.

The shower was really nice too. Great pressure, great heat.  A lot of hotel showers have weak water pressure which, with my hair, can be frustrating. This shower felt wonderful. Plus I brought my own ample shampoo and conditioner since I had to check a bag anyway. That helps.

Oh, and it was great having a big, soft, California King-sized bed to myself every night. Tons of space. A pillow on either side to hold. I slept like a rock. That was nice.

It was good spending so much time with Rocket. Sure, sometimes he’s a little contradictory or whiny, but not terribly and he correct quickly. He’s generally a good and obedient kid, and pretty cute. I liked the little routines we established. We’d brush our teeth at the same time, and I could see him watching how I brushed mine and trying to imitate. He would brush his a lot longer if I was brushing mine simultaneously, apparently so we could spit together. He quickly learned to jump down from the bathroom counter on his own, and after a few days he learned how to slowly let himself down while turning around so he landed facing the counter. And every night he’d climb into his (slightly too small) crib and throw the small pillows out of it and over my laptop on the big bed. And we’d talk about how silly it was that the cleaning lady kept putting them back.

Bathrobe buddies.

I’m continually impressed with his ability to self-entertain. Pretty much if he had any one of his toy planes, helicopters, or boats—or even if he had some other small object he could “shoot” like a gun—he was set. He’d just take the toy or object all over the place and pretend to shoot, explode, or crash things, and he could do this for quite a while, easily 20 minutes at a time. That made watching him pretty easy too.

Explosion sounds.

He continually ran ahead of me to the elevators to call for them. Then we’d guess which of the two elevators would show up first. He also liked to press the buttons inside—he could only reach the lobby- and pool-level buttons on his own; sometimes I held him up to hit level 5 (our floor), but I got over that. He also started hitting the close door button, sometimes in a hurry to hit it before the doors closed fully on their own. Some of the cuter moments were when we were going from our hotel room to the pool, and he’d be standing in the elevator in just his swim trunks and goggles (already on and ready to go) holding his inner tube, all set. I wish I’d gotten a picture of that!

I also showed him how to use our room key and he would run ahead and open our hotel room too. He enjoyed it, and it made things ever so slightly easier for me too.

He loved the beach (even though he seemed to forget that fact each morning). I showed him how to draw near the surf and then watch the water wash his drawings away. He drew a lot of R’s (sometimes they’d just be P’s before the water hit) and “race tracks” (vaguely circle-shaped drawings) and even some trumpets, for some reason. Sometimes he’d look for seashells. The first few days he just threw them back into the ocean, but then he wanted to save some to eventually give to Sola. One of the first days there were some older kids digging a fairly deep hole at the beach, and Rocket loved that. After they left he climbed down in it, even though he couldn’t get back out on his own. Jill helped Rocket dig his own hole (much smaller) and he seemed to enjoy standing in that too.

Rocket knew how to adjust the beach chairs’ heights, and would happily adjust any one of ours if we asked. When we were on the beach we had 4 chairs, one for each of us, but since Rocket never sat in his anyway he would stand behind it continually adjusting the height while saying it was a simulator (he’s apparently been on a simulator on an aircraft carrier in San Diego). Of course while he messed with it he made a lot more shooting sounds.

Yesterday Rocket and I spent a good 20 or 30 minutes in our hotel room playing “server”—Rocket was the server and he kept bringing me “menus” and different kinds of “food” until I insisted I was full. Then he’d pretend to sleep, softly say “cock-a-doodle-doo” and we’d both “get up” and he’d start over with breakfast foods.  Even though I didn’t order it, he’d also bring me a corn dog. And tons of Diet Coke. It was pretty cute.

12.13.14 - Hot chocolate potluck!

Today I had a bunch of friends over to play Tichu, make Christmas cards, and have a hot chocolate potluck. They came over early enough that Jack got to play a few rounds of Tichu before work, and they were still here when he had his meal break, so he came home and played a little more.

Meanwhile we had reindeer cookies and all sorts of treats to put in our hot chocolate. I used a candy cane to stir my whipped cream and marshmallows into the hot chocolate, and the candy cane added a delicious minty hint.

Some of the hot chocolate potluck supplies. Plus Tichu.

I don't have enough time to make Christmas cards for everyone this year. Rather than make only one or two Christmas cards and try to pick who to give them to, I just didn't make any and made a paper wreath instead. But I didn't take a picture of it. Here are the Christmas cards other guests made.

They had an unofficial pop-up card contest and talked a lot of trash. It was pretty funny. In the end I think Rachel (far right) won, but they were all pretty good cards. It was a  nice mini-Christmas party before I left the next day for traveling the rest of the month.

12.11.14 - To my own health! And rain.

I don't think I mentioned this on the blog before, but in early October we found out that I had a complication in my pregnancy called a "full previa." You can google that if you want details, but the bottom line is if a previa doesn't resolve itself, it makes natural labor incredibly dangerous for mom and baby. And before labor it also makes things like lifting heavy objects, running, and a list of other activities dangerous for mom (and thus baby).

On top of all that, I found out (far too late) at my monthly checkup Tuesday morning that this condition means I shouldn't be traveling to Mexico--a trip I'd planned with Dad and Jill and Rocket months ago. A trip with nonrefundable plane tickets. A trip Rocket especially had been looking forward to. I spent much of the rest of the day trying to figure out what to do about it, and I had pretty much settled on watching Rocket in Colorado instead. Sad, but better safe than sorry.

I had an ultrasound scheduled to follow up on my previa condition, but the appointment wasn't until past the deadline to cancel our hotels, so the information wouldn't do much good. Dad suggested I see if I can move the appointment up, so the next morning (Wednesday - yesterday) I called radiology as soon as they opened and guess what? Someone had cancelled and they had an opening that morning!

So I went to get an ultrasound (side note: it's great to see Clara however unclearly) and lo and behold, my previa has resolved itself! This means many good things! Yes, it means it's safe to travel to Mexico, and I'm glad for that. More importantly it means Clara (and I) are generally safer for the rest of the pregnancy, and that my list of restricted activities is lifted. It's a huge relief.

So partly to celebrate, and partly to have one more date before we're apart the rest of the month, Jack and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner last night. Even though it was peak dinner time, there was no wait. I suspect that's because everyone was anticipating this big winter storm (in our area winter still means rain, not snow) coming in last night and lasting til tomorrow. So we had a lovely, unrushed, uncrowded dinner.

I don't know what face this is, but he had a good time too!

And the storm did hit, sometime in the middle of the night. I enjoyed waking up and hearing all the rain and wind and being warm in my bed. And I'm enjoying the same today while I sit in my cozy living room. I had already gotten groceries and other errands out of the way specifically so that I don't even have to leave the apartment today, and so far that's working out fine. :)

12.5.14 - December Happy

First of all, this is the time of year when I'm most grateful to live in California. Last summer was too brutal for my taste--many days that tipped over 100F--but the winter is so mild. It was snowing the morning we left CO, but here it's been in the low 60s with breezes and still lots of colorful leaves. It's also been raining a lot, which is hugely refreshing as California is still in a drought. I wouldn't mind if it "felt" more like Christmas time, but I also don't mind that I can walk around outside without even a jacket half the time and feel perfectly comfortable! I never have to scrape ice off of my car, shovel snow anywhere, or find something to cover my face so it doesn't hurt in outdoor air. I'm grateful for that.

Second, Jack and I finally went on a date night. Normally we try to go once a week, but in November we only went once the whole month. Our schedules are very busy and tend not to line up, which is the biggest problem, but sometimes even when we do both have time we are just too exhausted to go. So I was glad we finally went on Wednesday night.

We used a Groupon at a Thai place downtown. We don't normally pick Thai--in fact we even considered going to the Old Spaghetti Factory instead--but the Thai place was worth it! I got some kind of red curry eggplant chicken dish, and we split mango rice for dessert. Since it was a week night the place wasn't too busy, and we sat on the same side of the table as each other (facing the front door and away from the lone TV) and just took our time and relaxed. It was great. I'm trying to especially appreciate date nights now because I know they will only be more rare when Clara is born.

After we got home, Jack took down the (now too heavy for me) box of Christmas decorations and put up some lights and set up our little tree. While he did that, I strung a bunch of Christmas cards on red ribbon and then we hung those across our living room window. I love the way they look!

I also put up my homemade Christmas song lyric decorations. I made these about two years ago in the back of a classroom while bored, and looking back I think they were a great use of my time, haha.

Left-to-right: Baby Please Come Home, O Holy Night, and Carol of the Bells

Yesterday morning, before going into lab, I took some time and put our ornaments on the tree. They are almost entirely Jack's ornaments really--his family has a tradition of getting an ornament for each kid every year, and when Jack moved to CA his mom gave him a box of a bunch of his. I like them--I prefer Christmas trees with a hodge podge of homemade ornaments to Christmas trees with all coordinated orbs. Plus, as the years have gone on, the family has given us some joint ornaments!

I have to get up a couple times a night now, sometimes because I am too hungry to sleep. When I go to the kitchen to get a snack, it's so nice to see the glow of the Christmas lights. :)

12.1.14 - Thanksgiving trip

I'm sitting at the Denver airport waiting for my late flight to leave for home. I was out here for a week and had a great time.

I'm so glad Jack got to spend at least part of it with us. While he was here we had a karaoke night (specially arranged at the local pub by Dad and Jill so that Jack could join us), we played Tichu, and Jack and I got to share in babysitting my nephew Malcolm. And of course we ate tons of food, especially pie.

Rick rolling the whole bar.

Some of the pie.

I was bummed Jack had to leave early but the rest of the trip was still great. Neil and Everett went with us to take Jack to the airport (a 1.5 hour drive each way, roughly). It was good visiting time. After Jack was gone I think the highlights included all the time I spent babysitting Malcolm while Julie worked with Denny on their move, and the paper game Jill, Ellen, Everett, Neil, and I played one night. We must've played 5 or 6 rounds and my stomach was actually sore from laughing so hard.

Actually, the cutest is when he smiles at you
while he's trying to eat, but I didn't get a pic
of that.

Paper game reactions.

One evening I also went to church with Dad and Rocket, just to see what their church is like. It was alright, but mostly I was happy to get out of the house for awhile and have a chance to talk a bit with Dad one-on-one to and from church. It was also interesting to see how little Rocket (4 years old) responded to the service. He did a pretty good job being quiet but of course he had no idea what was going on.

I kept trying to give Ellen a chance to feel Clara kick, but Clara didn't cooperate. At one point she did kick Malcolm while I was holding him, but I'm pretty sure he didn't notice at all. That is their first interaction, I guess.

This morning I rode with Jill to the airport to drop Neil off, and it was good visiting both there and back. I believe that's the only chance I got all week to spend any one-on-one time with Jill, but that was nice. Hours later Dad took Julie, Malcolm, Ellen, Everett, and me to the airport. We stopped for Chipotle on the way. Ellen's flight was first and she left quickly. Julie, Malcolm, Everett, and I hung out on the upper floor of the airport for an hour or so until their flight left. I got to hold Malcolm in standing position in front of the glass barrier so he could watch all the people walking below us to their gates. He was interested in that for a long time. He got drool from his hands all over the glass, just at baby height. Sorry about that, cleaning people. But it was pretty cute.

Making sure Malcolm is buckled in for the ride to the airport.