Just Like Livin' In Paradise

The reason for the prolonged blogging break is that Paprika and I have been staying up in Santa Barbara for the past week...and my, oh my, it is wonderful up here. I have been having a really hard time up in Pasadena. Paprika needs to get out and run, and living in a small townhouse is just not working for us anymore. Not when I'm 8 months pregnant and have a hard time running after her. We are staying at my mother-in-law's house...which is a stone's throw from the beach and the mountains. Pat has a wonderful fenced-in backyard, and Paprika is having the time of her life playing and running. She is happy as a clam.

The best part is that I can lay down and put my feet up, and Paprika can run outdoors whenever she wants and play, play, play. Mr. Mustard has been working a lot, so our time with him in Pasadena is super limited anyway and pretty much all of the childcare falls on me. Which is fine normally, but not right now. Since being up here, my pre-eclampsia symptoms have been reduced greatly. I am much less stressed. Being inside in our small space was really stressing me out because Paprika was going stir-crazy!

Mr. Mustard visited us up in Santa Barbara on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and it was great. It was the first time he's had a day off in over two months (he usually works nights on Wed/Thurs. editing another TV show)...so we've actually seen him even more than normal. Best of both worlds!



The downsides to being up in Santa Barbara? (Are there any?) My cell phone doesn't get any reception and email is almost non-existent because the internet is sloooow. And that's if the internet works at all! That also makes blogging up here tough. My DSLR camera won't connect to the computer. Even if it could connect to the computer, I don't have my BFF (Best Friend Forever), Photoshop, up here to work on my pictures before I upload them. That's my dirty little secret- Photoshop- and I can't live without it. All of these pics are from our old Point and Shoot camera- without the help of Photoshop...I am such a perfectionist about my photos that when we get back to Pasadena, I'm probably gonna photoshop these and re-post them. LOL!

Even so, being cut off from technology isn't necessarily such a bad thing. It gives me a lot more time to relax, and unwind, and spend purposeful time with Paprika.



Since we've been up here- we have been on lots of great adventures and have also spent lots of time in the backyard, just hanging out and exploring here. The pics are on my other camera (which won't upload here), so photographic proof will have to wait.

We've petted sharks, sea cucumbers, and starfish. We've fed giraffes. We've seen pelicans up close. We've chased flocks of seagulls. We've been to the pier. We've been to the beach pretty much every day. We've ridden a train...three times! We've been to parks. And we've done lots of relaxing. Or, at least I have! I am feeling much better than I was.



We are into the homestretch of my pregnancy. Yea! I am regularly going back to Los Angeles for visits with my doctor. Tomorrow (Saturday), I will be 32 weeks pregnant. Pregnancy this time is still pretty scary and we grow more and more in love with this baby every single day. We have a name picked out (we're not sharing til after the birth), and the baby is very very real to us. It's already May, and I deliver in June. Each day feels like an eternity, and we are praying that everything turns out a-okay this time. We have already welcomed this baby into our hearts and we will be devastated if something happens. So, we count the days, I continue to go to the doctor, use my doppler, do a lot of praying, and in the meantime try to soak up these last few weeks I have of one-on-one time with Paprika.



So, if I'm not updating the blog as much, it's because things are good and we're busy getting our house in order (literally and metaphorically) before the baby arrives. I already have a dear friend standing by who has offered to update my blog when I go into labor so you can bet that this blog will be updated with all the breaking news when the time comes!