tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114972012008-05-07T11:44:13.848-07:00JulieBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-48194082988362293152008-05-03T22:05:00.000-07:002008-05-03T23:33:14.172-07:00

Happy Birthday, Angelina! On Monday night we brought home the newest member of the family. I may be a little biased but I think she's one of the three most adorable babies ever. :) So far she mostly eats and sleeps but she's very aware of everything going on around her. Julie's been amazing, taking care of her day and night. She's going to be home with Angie for four months before returning to

Kevintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-24386522548078667472008-04-25T13:53:00.000-07:002008-04-26T16:47:27.954-07:00

Because we couldn't go to the Coachella Music Festival this year, the regrettably human and therefore illogically petty part of my brain wants to believe it has already jumped the shark. So why am I sitting here anxiously waiting for the live webcast to start? Earlier today I was on ROFLCon watching this session's live webcast. The online chatters who were watching the discussion with me were

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-89804922743130220782008-04-24T22:03:00.000-07:002008-04-24T22:56:25.197-07:00

Today I read about this violent hate crime against an Asian guy in nearby San Dimas. Kevin and I lived there for about a year before the kids were born. It was a very homogeneous place. Aside from the employees at the one single decent Chinese fast food place in town, I rarely saw another Asian face. There was a passable coffee house where we hung out along with the other college kids, but the

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-17469934585737075612008-04-20T14:51:00.000-07:002008-04-24T22:57:12.787-07:00

Last week a skinny envelope arrived from the life insurance company. I ripped it open and speed-read the letter approving me for coverage. Phew! This ends several months of bureaucracy that began late last year when I first mailed in my application. At one point they even sent a phlebotomist *to my house*! It felt like such a strange invasion of privacy. I even asked if I could drive to a lab

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-78176626625026424952008-04-19T11:50:00.000-07:002008-04-19T22:44:19.171-07:00

I can't sneeze. The baby won't let me. I can do the AH-, but instead of finishing with -CHOO, I just wince painfully. Even blowing my nose is difficult because of the abdominal muscles required. I've never experienced this before because both Alex and Ana were born in winter. Something to keep in mind for all of you future moms who suffer from spring-summer-fall allergies like I do. Yesterday

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-19367844494063818832008-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:002008-04-19T00:00:18.240-07:00

To Do List: 1. Pack for hospital, including admittance paperwork. 2. Finish remodeling the nursery and move all furniture back in. 3. Wash and put away all 0-3 month baby clothes. 4. Buy car seat and two bases. 5. Early bird registration for Alex's after school care and Ana's preschool. 6. Bring home all work stuff I'll need during my leave. 7. Miscellaneous other work projects. Things we

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-64280500156316075162008-04-15T22:04:00.000-07:002008-04-19T22:47:49.790-07:00

The nursery currently looks like this. No flooring yet. At my doctor's appointment yesterday, I was told it's still going to be a little while. I guess the baby is waiting for Daddy to install the flooring in her room. Meanwhile, here are some seeds that I'm sprouting in my kitchen window: bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and corn. They're all growing like crazy, especially the

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-91978407712180220342008-04-10T23:59:00.000-07:002008-04-15T22:47:10.797-07:00

Nursery: 60% finished, with stripes, chair rail, and flooring left to go. Me: +25 lbs at 37.5 weeks, with 2.5 weeks left to go. Work: just gimme 3 uninterrupted days and I'll be able to finish everything up.

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-17124470127573223412008-04-07T21:06:00.000-07:002008-04-09T17:35:41.320-07:00

Saturday Kevin, Alex, Ana, and I had a family meeting to discuss which night we were going to unplug as part of the 52 Nights Unplugged Project. The idea is no electronic entertainment -- no video games, no movies, no Internet -- one evening a week for a whole year. After much deliberation we chose Sunday, and so last night was going to be Unplugged Night #1. Well folks, it didn't happen. What

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-32063853958010931342008-04-04T18:54:00.000-07:002008-04-04T22:41:23.369-07:00

Kevin has owned his new car for less than 2 weeks, and it's already been washed twice, once by the dealership on the day he bought it, and once by him last weekend. Now he's outside washing it again. I'm glad he likes his car :) I'm at 36.5 weeks. Only 3.5 weeks to go, unless the baby decides to come early. Yesterday I had another ultrasound. We learned that she is already 6.5 or 7 lbs.

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-65135273642790242432008-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:20:56.535-07:00

Last week, Ana discovered during her nightly peek at the aquarium that the fish had died of a disgusting white fuzz that enveloped their entire bodies. Kevin looked it up and learned that it was a fungal infection that took over the gills, i.e. they had been suffocated to death. I left the room and asked Kevin to scoop out the bodies because my stomach couldn't handle it. In comparison, the kids

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-63506503185389597772008-03-27T22:58:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:26:04.635-07:00

When I started talking about getting a 'sporty' car a few years back, I saw it as the final realization of a dream that started when I was about fifteen. My first two car choices were driven primarily by a severe income shortage. The 70' VW Beetle that was given to me with only 220,000 gentle miles on it and the '93 Civic VX hatchback which was the first car I actually bought. These days when I

Kevintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-54980817239047221502008-03-25T17:45:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:23:23.924-07:00

Today I got a call from Alex's school. He had an allergic reaction to freshly mowed grass and was waiting in the nurse's office. When I picked him up, his eyes were still puffy, poor thing. I asked how I would go about keeping a bottle of Children's Benadryl at school in case this happens again, and they gave me a form for his doctor to sign. Alex inherited allergies from both of us. We react to

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-70140884663062312282008-03-19T23:59:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:28:47.443-07:00

Monday morning, while I was still struggling to get out of bed, Kevin went to the kids' room. By the time I finally got up, they were already out of pajamas and in their school clothes. Kevin pointed out that he had dressed them both in green. "That's nice," I said absent-mindedly. Meanwhile I dressed myself in blue. It wasn't until I got to work that I realized it was St. Patrick's Day. Duh.

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-48565775838127691272008-03-16T21:54:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:24:53.595-07:00

Busy Saturday. Enjoyed dim sum with my parents and sister's family, then ran a ton of errands, including a stop at Petsmart, where the kids bought some snails and fish. Meanwhile, I picked up literature on Petsmart's doggy day camp. Daisy is a friendly enough dog, but she doesn't socialize with other dogs much. Even though we count several dog owners among our friends, we rarely see each other

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-16003831198639485832008-03-14T22:37:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:25:28.790-07:00

Yesterday morning, on the drive to daycare... Ana: Mommy, can you still call me Ana when I'm big? Me: Of course, sweetie. Ana: Can I still play Littlest Pet Shop when I'm big? Me: You can play with Littlest Pet Shop for as long as you like. Ana: *beams* When I got to work, I had to write a report on what I've been doing for the past 2 months at the request of a higher up, with time

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-76115958483487425222008-03-13T21:46:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:26:33.045-07:00

Yesterday I finally opened The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and ended up inhaling it in one sitting. It was a fun read. The reason I was home wasn't so fun though. I woke up feeling awful, tried to drive to work, almost passed out on the way there, and barely got myself home before blacking out on the sofa. I didn't wake up until 2pm!!! 3 days of sleeplessness + horrid back

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-59354998798229413832008-03-11T21:38:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:26:59.841-07:00

Today I submitted my leave of absence paperwork. I'm taking off the tail end of April, plus all of May, June, July, and August. This by far will be the longest period I've ever been off work. Meanwhile, Kevin is remodeling the nursery. He's ripping out the carpet, installing wood floors, removing the popcorn ceiling, painting the walls two tone, installing a chair rail, and putting in new light

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-23032221190951563832008-03-09T16:29:00.000-07:002008-04-03T18:30:36.165-07:00

Friday I took the kids to the doctor for their annual checkup. Alex was lucky because he didn't have to get any shots, but Ana had to get a TB test in order to register for preschool in the fall. The doctor also offered to give her the three boosters that she'll need for kindergarten, but seeing as she was already starting to look agitated during the vision test, I figured I'd do all of us a

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-6744243520531060232008-03-06T22:00:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:28:29.197-07:00

Last night was Alex's last piano lesson. During the last 15 minutes he and his classmates performed a mini recital for the parents. It was adorable. I asked Alex if he wanted to sign up for another round of classes, and he said sure. That picture up there is among the first I've taken since Ana's birthday party. I haven't been in a picture taking mood lately. In fact, I haven't been in a mood

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-64384977014889727752008-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:33:16.695-07:00

Like many kids, Alex used to assume that a baby comes out of a mother's belly button. Why kids think that, I don't know, but everytime he's brought it up, we've corrected him. "No, the baby comes out of the birth canal." A couple of days ago the topic came up again. So I showed Alex a cross-section of a baby being pushed out of the birth canal in the book, What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-66283309104344235662008-03-02T21:12:00.001-08:002008-04-03T18:29:47.738-07:00

At age 4 Ana is all but completely potty trained. She wears her big girl underwear proudly and goes to the bathroom without prompting. Most mornings her Pull-Ups are completely dry, but she needs a little extra encouragement to get to 100 percent, so we're introducing a game we first created back when Alex was her age. Here are the rules: every morning Ana wakes up, if her Pull-Ups are dry, she

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-78394534981830597862008-03-01T18:09:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:32:53.147-07:00

Even though Alex gets his school picture taken in October and we receive his portraits only a couple of months later, every year it takes forever for the class portrait to get delivered. This year we finally got it on Friday. I've been pondering it curiously ever since. There are 17 kids shown. Alex says there are actually 19 kids in his class, one having enrolled later in the year, so I think

Julietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-90963730408425341272008-02-28T22:01:00.001-08:002008-04-03T18:34:53.390-07:00

Today all the news outlets were running silly little summaries of a new Pew Center report called One in 100 that addresses the prison population in the US. The report itself is well worth a read as it's very well written and there are excellent graphics and charts throughout. The (currently popular) outrage over civil rights abuses in China is put in some context by the knowledge that there are

Kevintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497201.post-48691404899796279542008-02-26T23:59:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:35:27.209-07:00

A while back I tagged Rita with a meme called "7 weird/random things about yourself." Instead of answering that meme, she recently turned it into a new one called "7 weird/random things about your significant other" and tagged both me and Kevin. After struggling with it for a solid week I gave up for two really good reasons: 1) Kevin and I have been together too long for me to think anything he

Julie