5 Years!

Five years ago I started this blog. I was 17 weeks pregnant with Paprika and all I kept thinking was how I wish I'd started writing a blog sooner because I was soooo far along with her. Ha!

Here's my little trip down Memory Lane:



March 2006 - I was pregnant for the first time, and in my last semester of law school. Being pregnant in law school was tough. I threw up the whole pregnancy and often had to leave class halfway through to throw up.

Paprika's Ultrasound, about 22 weeks along:




May 2006 - Graduated from Berkeley Law 6 months pregnant. That summer I studied for the California Bar on my own (no prep class, which everyone thought was nuts).



July 2006- Took the Bar Exam 9 months pregnant, during the hottest week of the year, and the air conditioning was broken in our exam room all three days. It was about 110 degrees in our room. Survived the exam without going into labor, although I did strip down to almost my underwear during the exam because the room was so darn hot. To be fair, just about everyone in the exam room was taking off their clothes because of the heat- they just weren't 9 months pregnant! :-)

August 2006- Paprika was born! Mr. Mustard won his second Emmy for The Amazing Race when she was just 2 days old. Talk about whirlwind.

Paprika, One Hour Old:



November 2006- Bar Exam Results are released. I find out that I passed and got a model answer (it's an honor). Guess I didn't need that prep course after all. ;-)

Paprika makes the announcement on my blog:




March 2007- We moved out of our tiny one bedroom apartment in Beverlywood and back into our townhouse in Pasadena (we had been renting it out for two years). We hold a yard sale at our old apartment the weekend before move-out day. We sleep through our alarm clock and experience a hoard of angry early-birds knocking down at our front door! We set up on the front lawn of our complex while buyers pick through our stuff. Ha!



Summer of 2007- Lots of trips to Chicago while Mr. Mustard works on Oprah's Big Give. We live at the Omni on Michigan Avenue and I think, "I could get used to this!" ;-)

Eating at Gino's Pizza East in Chicago, summer of 2007:



January 2008- I get pregnant for the second time but miscarry soon afterwards.

February 2008- Pregnant again. This time it's identical twins. Huge Surprise!



I spend the first half of 2008 throwing up, gaining weight, and loving every second of being pregnant with twin daughters.



July 2008- Vivian and Annemarie are stillborn after 18 hours of labor due to Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Worst day of my life...without question.



September 2008- To alleviate my depression and grief, I get season passes to Disneyland and start taking Paprika almost weekly. It ends up being a tradition we love!

First trip to Disneyland:



Seeing Mickey walk down Main Street:



Vivian and Annemarie's brick- right outside the entrance to Disneyland:




October 2008- I become pregnant with Ginger. The world begins to get a whole lot brighter for us.




June 2009- Ginger enters the world at 8 pounds 11 ounces. One of the happiest days of my life- right up there with my wedding day, Paprika's birth, and the day we found out we were having twins.





February 2010- We decide to put our townhouse on the market. I stage it and we get an offer the first day! After our buyer backs out (after stringing us along for three months), we end up not selling and decide instead to rent it out.



March 2010- We move to the beach! Both girls have their own room and we have a big backyard. After living in Los Angeles for over 10 years, I start to feel like this is home.





Summer 2010- We get settled in our new neighborhood. Paprika starts preschool, we make friends, and Ginger has her first birthday! We visit Indiana and Maine on vacation in between Mr. Mustard working on seasons of Dancing With The Stars and The Amazing Race.

Ginger's First Birthday Party:



Hiking in Maine:



Fall 2010- My family experiences some hard times, as my stepdad's cancer returns, my 21 year old cousin Steven tragically dies in a car accident, and my grandpa passes away from a recently diagnosed, very aggressive cancer.

Steven:



We go back to Indiana for Steven's funeral, and then two months later for my grandpa's.

Me & My Grandpa:



They are both greatly missed.



December 2010- We decide to stop trying to conceive another baby after about a year of trying. We decide it's too stressful and I worry that I am missing my life by being focused on something I can't control. We decide to be content with the family we have.



January 2011- I decide to get back on the fitness wagon, and over the course of the next two months I lose 15 pounds by cutting out soda, chocolate, and working out on my ellpitical. Life is good!



And as for the next 5 years? Time will tell! I am excited to see where life takes us!