Santa Barbara Saturday

Grandma Pat, Paprika, and I spent the day visiting various parks in Santa Barbara. We went to three parks, and all were kind of a bust! They were really crowded with older kids, so we decided to come home and enjoy the backyard here. Lazy days are good!



Paprika has been rapidly tearing Grandma Pat's house apart, but Pat doesn't seem to mind! Paprika has taken all the placemats and made them into "blankies" for her dolls. Her toys are strewn everywhere. She has raided all the cabinets and emptied them. Paprika is having great fun with it all- staying in a new place is a great adventure, and so of course, she wants to explore every nook and cranny.



So, we're settling in, making ourselves at home, and hoping that we remain good enough house guests that Grandma Pat doesn't throw us out on our ears anytime soon! ;-)

Santa Barbara!

Mr. Mustard starts his short-term gig today (Saturday), and wouldn't you know it, it is in Santa Barbara. He's finishing up a movie he started working on over a year ago...and they're editing it at the director's house up here. Mr. Mustard has access to a personal chef while he's on the job. Sounds pretty awesome to me!



So, we packed up Friday morning and caravaned up to Santa Barbara. Let me tell you, that's JUST what I wanted to be doing at 36 weeks pregnant! Grrrrr. But, we made it. Luckily, Mr. Mustard's college buddy, Tim, is able to house-sit for us while we're gone. That makes things a lot easier on us while we're away.



I am now 36 weeks! Woo-hoo! That's just:

1 week until full-term (37 weeks)
2-3 weeks until likely induction (38-39 weeks)
4 weeks until my official due date (40 weeks)

The baby is very noticeable now at all times! To quote my BFF, Ann, it feels like the baby is under a very thin blanket, and that blanket is my stomach!

Mr. Mustard is very ready for me to be finished being pregnant. Very ready. I have to admit, I am much more emotional and more moody this time. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited to meet this baby and I am so in love. At the same time, I have anxiety that I've never had before and each day is very hard emotionally. It's a very different pregnancy than any of the ones I've had previously!

For example, the other day when we were at the indoor playground, I bumped my head really hard (ouch!) and Mr. Mustard started laughing hysterically. I had a magazine in my hand and started beating him with it...which of course made him laugh even harder...which made me hit him even harder! I'm so glad he thought it was hilarious because I was a little out of my mind! I don't usually go around beating people with magazines!

Let's just say, I'm a little on edge, and I fully realize that... ;-)



While we're staying up in Santa Barbara, I will be going back to Los Angeles for my doctor's appointments. I am not supposed to be travelling, but I am not quite sure what the alternative is. And Santa Barbara is only 3 hours away from our hospital...and they do have a really wonderful, state-of-the art hospital here, if we need to go somewhere quickly.

In the meantime, Paprika is having a grand old time up here being doted on by her mommy, daddy, and Grandma Pat! She is one lucky little lady!

Social Butterflies!

Wednesday night I got to meet up with Devon for a girls' coffee night. It was so great catching up! I brought my camera, but didn't take any pictures! Booo! Mr. Mustard stayed home and watched Paprika (a rare treat!) and I got to just hang with Dev and chat the night away. We stayed so late we shut down Starbucks! Good times!



Thursday we had a family night over at Bret and Michelle's house. We all had a great time hanging out! Mr. Mustard and Bret have known each other since college, and they had lots of catching up to do. Michelle and I always have lots to talk about when we get together. And, Paprika loved playing with their three year old son, Brandon, of course!





Brandon and Paprika had lots of fun playing with toys, and with sand out in the backyard. At the end of the night, Brandon and Paprika gave each other big hugs goodbye. Thanks for having us over, Bret and Michelle! :-)

Downtime!

Our day at the Auto Museum and indoor playground really wore me out! It seems to be a little pattern we've got going here. We go out and do lots of fun stuff as a family one day, and then the next two days I'm too sore to move!

So, I stayed behind yesterday while Mr. Mustard took Paprika out on her adventures. In the morning he took her to the park, and in the afternoon to the Children's Museum. I really wanted to go with them, but I knew I needed to rest more than anything.

I really miss being able to run after Paprika, and to be able to fully engage with her and play with her. She is starting to rely more on Mr. Mustard for things, and that's a big shift: I've always been pretty much her everything, so my ego is getting bruised when she goes to daddy for help now. But I'll get over it!



Mr. Mustard starts a new short-term job on Saturday- it goes through mid-June. I know I need to take advantage of him being home now! I'm going to miss our long, lazy days having him at home!

The down-time has been nice. I've been able to start working on a screenplay I've had in my head for awhile now. Not sure where that will go, but it's fun to work on projects that I never get a chance to otherwise!

Petersen Auto Museum

Yesterday we made a trek into downtown Los Angeles to go to the Petersen Automotive Museum. We had actually planned on going to the La Brea Tar Pits for the day, but when we showed up to the Tar Pits museum, there were a gazillion yellow school busses parked outside. We looked through the gates and saw a giant herd of rabid middle schoolers running around the outside of the museum, and we knew that going there was a very bad idea. So, quick change of plans, we ended up at the Auto Museum...somewhere Mr. Mustard has wanted to go forever, but we've never made the trip before today.

They had lots of exhibits of cars from the late 1800s, early 1900s, extremely rare cars, super modern cars, alternative fuel cars, and everything in between.



While we were there, Mr. Mustard taught Paprika a bit about thermodynamics, aerodynamics, and lots of other pre-school subjects. By the end of the day, Paprika was explaining to other museum patrons about how the wings on the back of racecars keep the cars down, as opposed to making them fly. As she said, "because cars are supposed to stay on the ground, and airplanes are supposed to fly."



The museum is pretty huge, and Paprika loved it all. She especially loved the Hot Wheels room, which has all the diecasts of the tiny toy cars. I liked seeing the Batmobile and cars from other famous movies. There is a whole wing associated to movie cars- it is LA, afterall!



On the way home, we stopped at the indoor playground and let Paprika have fun in the bouncy castle and play with the toys and kids there. She had a great time! We are exhausted, but we all had a great day!

Memorial Day!

Memorial Day for us this year was very laid back and good! Mr. Mustard took Paprika to the park in the morning and in the evening. And in between, he set up the "baby's room" (which is really just a space in our bedroom!)

Paprika and I had fun playing on the front patio with her water toys. Here I am trying out my new 50mm lens, getting some profile shots.



I forgot to mention something in the post the other day about the $400K house with the bee's nest. Not only did they want $400K for the house, but they wanted it all in cash. Can you imagine, if you had $400K just lying around (like I know I do- ha ha), spending it on a house with mold in the walls and a giant bee's nest in one of the bedrooms? And when I say giant bee's nest, I mean giant! The floor was covered with dead bees and the rest of the room was swarming with thousands of bees. Dontcha think they should have taken care of that before the open house?!

In other news, I am pretty sure I broke my toe on Sunday night! It's painful, but it's not like I'm walking too much anyway right now, so I'm just icing it and keeping it elevated.

Mr. Mustard has been having great times with Paprika, but refuses to take the camera with him when they go out together. Something about "living in the moment" and "remembering it" - well, I'm all for that, but I need pictures, too! ;-)

Train Day!

Yesterday we started out the day by having a picnic at the park in Pasadena, let Paprika play on the jungle gym, and then we headed over to Travel Town (the train museum) to check out the trains.

Yea! Trains!:



I don't know why some days are more exhausting for me than others, but yesterday was wayyyy tiring. I tried to keep up with Mr. Mustard and Paprika, but after a few minutes, I had to sit down. I found a shaded bench and sat there for about two hours while they raced about the park. There were no electric wheelchairs to rent at this place! ;-)

Inside one of the train cars:



We've been keeping a low profile and trying to avoid the Memorial Day crowds, and so far we've been pretty successful. Paprika has really been enjoying having Mr. Mustard at home, and she is definitely getting out to see more than she would if I were by myself. I'm at the point where I just can't keep up!

Amazing to think that we have just 3 1/2 weeks, 5 weeks at the most, until I'll be giving birth! I am definitely in count-down mode and can't wait to meet the newest addition to our family!

Mr. Mustard and Paprika ride the train:

Wild Adventures!

We had such a packed day! This morning, we hit the Going Out of Business Sale at Right Start, where we bought the baby's crib bedding. You know how I cannot pass up a good deal...and it was $51 marked down from $200!

Then we brought home pastries from the pastry shop...Mr. Mustard did car maintenance, and then we headed to an Open House across town to have a look, see.

We were warned that the house was a "fixer"- and oh my, was it ever! Thankfully, Paprika fell asleep on the car ride over, and Mr. Mustard and I took turns going inside to look at it while Paprika was sleeping soundly in the backseat.



It was the scariest house Mr. Mustard and I have ever been inside. With every step, it felt like the house was going to slide down the side of the mountain it was perched on. There was black mold in most of the walls. The ceiling had rotted out. The carpet was molding. The house had no appliances or fixtures. There was a giant bee's nest in the downstairs bedroom. Everything in the house was rotting. The lot was tiny, and was basically a little square on the side of a very steep patch of dirt. And they were asking $400K for it! Garrrrrrr!

After that, we drove around to some neighborhoods we're interested in and did drive-bys at houses for sale. We went into the backyards of a few of them after we had determined that they were empty. Trespassing is always fun!

Then we headed to this awesome park by the beach, a park we have loved since Mr. Mustard and I started dating. It is amazing how at all points in our relationship, we have gravitated to this park. We love it! Paprika has been here many times, too. Not as much as we'd like, though! Hopefully we'll be moving closer to it soon! We shall see.

Me pregnant at 35 weeks:









Then we had dinner at La Salsa by the beach, another one of our faves. After that, we hit the beach for an hour or two before sunset. We went to one of our favorite beaches, a bird sanctuary right on the water.



Paprika surprised us both by running right up to the water and practically diving in! She used to detest the sand and be so scared of the water. Not anymore! Mr. Mustard had to hold her back because otherwise she would have run into the water at full speed.

As it was, she ended up soaked, and we all ended up laughing. Everytime we'd pull her out of the water, she'd run right back and say, "I'll try again!" She had so much fun and it was well worth the soaking!

Memorial Day What?

No one in our house knew it was Memorial Day weekend until about an hour ago! I am soooooooo glad we decided not to go to Vegas this weekend. Can you imagine?!

I guess the fact that Mr. Mustard has worked on every major holiday for the past five years would be the main reason we had no idea.

Everyone on Facebook and elsewhere has been yammering on about their Memorial Day weekend plans, and I kept thinking, "Isn't that a little premature? Memorial Day is another week away!"

Well, turns out I was wrong...and Mr. Mustard, too. So now I'm really glad we've decided to stay home this weekend and not venture off to Vegas or Santa Barbara. It's going to be a zoo!

Mr. Mustard is downstairs washing the car with Paprika right now. Paprika is having a GREAT time! Mr. Mustard might be a little bit frustrated...maybe...because Paprika keeps trying to wash the car herself and is un-doing his work as he goes! Uh-oh!

Here are a few snapshots I just took of them:

Getting Ready - 34 Weeks 6 Days

Now that Mr. Mustard isn't working, we have a little time to breathe, plan, and relax. I realized yesterday that I have bought only frivilous, non-essential, or fun items for the new baby, but nothing really that the baby needs.

So, even though I know I said I wasn't going to buy a carseat til after the baby came home, yesterday I did! Actually, I bought two! I bought an extra one for Paprika, since Paprika will be starting preschool in July and Mr. Mustard will (hopefully) be driving her to school in his car, and I will pick her up (so she will need two carseats). Yup, Paprika will be in morning pre-school this summer for three hours/day. I think she's gonna love it- at least I hope so!

Paprika has all of a sudden had a tremendous emotional growth spurt. She is a little kid now! It's breaking my heart! She wakes up early, gets out of bed, and reads books before I can go into her room to get her. Yesterday, I woke up and she was downstairs playing with her blocks. I put the babygate up last night so she can't go downstairs without coming to get me first. I'm guessing it will be about three more days before she learns how to unlatch the baby gate. ;-)

Back to the baby. We are still stuck on a middle name. So hard! But the first name is pretty much locked. The baby is very strong, and many times I feel like someone is going to bust out of my stomach. I have never felt such strong kicks and movement...not even with Paprika! This baby is something else!

I am continually nauseous...just like I was in the first trimester! I am throwing up often, and that's something I never expected to continue this far along! I am getting so anxious for the birth- ready for it- but also know that the baby needs to stay in awhile longer to get a little bigger and for lung development. I'm at the point now where I can feel and distinguish the baby's feet, hands, head, etc. from the outside of my stomach. I can put a hand in one spot and know it's a foot...or in another spot and know it's the head. Pretty cool!

In other news, we've decided to put house-hunting on the back-burner. We're fairly convinced that housing prices will continue to fall, or at the very least aren't going to go up in the next year. So...we are going to try to make it work in our townhouse for now. We're still casually house shopping, so if something comes along that is perfect, we'll go for it. We just don't want to buy a so-so house now when we could possibly get an even better house this winter for the same price.

I am not too excited about staying in our townhouse- we are bursting at the seams! And the lack of a backyard and play space really bothers me. But, we are taking this weekend to do some massive cleaning and de-cluttering, so that we can make room for the baby to come home, and our house can feel more zen-like! Maybe then the lack of space/yard won't be so bothersome!

Unexpected Vacation!

As you know, Tuesday was the last day of Dancing With The Stars. Wednesday, Mr. Mustard was supposed to start working on the show The Doctors again, but they called Tuesday afternoon and said they didn't need him because they are going to start showing re-runs!

So, now Mr. Mustard is off work. It's weird to go from never seeing your husband because he is working 80-100 hours/week, to seeing him all the time!

It a little scary to be operating with no paycheck and no job (with a baby due in one month). But, on the flip-side, it's also pretty cool to get to spend some QT (quality time) together.

Someone sure is happy about all this:



Today Mr. Mustard and Paprika spent some very fun time together at the big indoor playground. We'll see how long this trend lasts. Right now it would be hard for Mr. Mustard to find a job because he wants to be available during the birth...and it would be hard to find a job and say "hey, I want a couple weeks off right away to stay home with our new baby."

So, we'll just enjoy it and go with it! We wanted to schedule a trip to Vegas for the next few days, but I think that might be kinda crazy seeing as it's 105 degrees there and I'm 34 weeks pregnant!

Dancing With The Stars Wrap Party!

Had such a busy day yesterday! Mr. Mustard's mom came over in the early afternoon to watch Paprika. She brought lunch from Whole Foods, and we had a great time chatting before I had to run off to my doc appointment. I am so thankful she was able to watch Paprika yesterday: it gave me some freedom, and Paprika got to have some more quality time with her grandma! Thank you, Pat!!!

I got to the doc's office in Beverly Hills five minutes before my 2:30 appointment, and ended up waiting about two hours before I was seen. Yes, two hours. When I finally got in to see him, it was a quick weight check, blood pressure check, and a quick check of the baby's heart on the doppler (all of which I can do at home)...and then a "see ya in two weeks!" Literally, my appointment lasted no more than three minutes. I was ticked!

I did get to talk to him about the induction, and it turns out he is going to be out of town June 20-25th...and I am due on June 27th! So either we will induce before he leaves, or we'll hope that the baby waits til he gets back from his trip...because I really want him to deliver our baby! We were hoping for a June 20-21st induction (Summer Solstice), but it looks like that's not going to happen. C'est la vie!

So, after that appointment, I drove over to the Lot to watch the Dancing With The Stars Season Finale and then go to the wrap party with Mr. Mustard. It was really fun watching the show from behind the scenes with the producers, and then of course, the party was a blast! We got lots of pictures, but I think posting them on my blog might violate some kind of non-disclosure agreement Mr. Mustard has with the network, so I'm gonna refrain. The pic above was from a booth set up at the party!

We had a great time! I loved seeing all the people Mr. Mustard works with and meeting some new ones, too. There were loads of celebs there (mostly affiliated with the show), and that is always fun.

I remarked to Mr. Mustard that at last season's wrap party (in November), I was pregnant with this baby then, too. I was 9 weeks 3 days at that party, and at this party, I was 34 weeks 3 days! So, I couldn't drink at either party! Seems like I am a pretty sure bet for a designated driver! ;-)


***Edited to add:

Yesterday (May 19th) was also the 7 year anniversary of the day Mr. Mustard proposed to me! I keep track of all that kind of stuff, but I don't think it was on Mr. Mustard's mind! ;-) I'm glad that we got to spend the night out on the town together, having fun!