Many Many Updates!

The first huge update I have is that Ann had her baby on Tuesday, May 5th! Also, known as "Cinco de Mayo!" His name is Aiden and he was 6 pounds 14 oz. at birth and 20 inches long. I don't have any pictures to post yet, but I am sure he is just gorgeous! When Ann was reminded that the 5th of May is "Cinco de Mayo"- she said, "So...does Cinco de Mayo always happen on the 5th of May every year or just this year?" Blame it on her blonde-ness, pregnancy, or the fact that she took French in high school!

I can't wait to meet him and see some pictures of beautiful Aiden! Congratulations Ann, Len, and big brothers Benjamin and Cameron!

The second big update is that Mr. Mustard's mom's neighborhood in Santa Barbara has been evacuated due to the Jesusita Fire. I am so glad that Paprika and I left Santa Barbara on Monday night. The fire started just hours after we left, and has been gaining strength ever since.

Paprika and I had been staying at Pat's house by ourselves, as she was on vacation in Maine while we were there. We took over for Pat's house sitter, and that's mainly the reason why I decided we needed to come back to LA: because Paprika and I were alone in the house all week and as I started to feel worse and worse, I knew we needed to be around other people in case I needed to go to the hospital or something like that.

Pat flew in from Maine last night. It was my plan for Paprika and I to drive up to Santa Barbara today to stay with her this week since Mr. Mustard is working a lot, and I would love to have some help watching Paprika. And, her big backyard is really relaxing for Paprika and I both, since we live in a condo here in LA with no backyard.

Well, Pat flew in from Maine at 10:30pm last night, went home, and found that her entire neighborhood was being evacuated at 11 pm. She had the chance to grab a few things and head to a motel. She is headed down to see us today, and we will figure out things from here.

Needless to say, Paprika and I are not headed back to Santa Barbara today...and neither is anyone else! Please pray for the fire victims, and that the fire doesn't spread any farther than it already has. Mr. Mustard's childhood home is in the red zone, and it would be devastating to Pat, Mr. Mustard, and his sister to lose their house. Having been through a terrible fire, myself, I know the emotional impact that such a loss brings. I hope for some happy updates soon.

Here are a few articles on the fire:

From CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/08/western.wildfires/index.html

The Santa Barbara Independent has the most up-to-date information:

http://www.independent.com/

Back In Los Angeles...

Paprika and I drove back to LA last night. I started feeling absolutely miserable on Sunday night and it continued to get worse on Monday. Awful pain. Terrible, stabbing pains like a knife ripping through my midsection. Swollen feet. Headaches. Could barely walk...or move. Couldn't sleep because every time I rolled over, I would wake up from the pain. So, I decided it was a good idea to get in the car and come home, where we could be close to Mr. Mustard, the hospital, and Dr. K.

The pains are pretty normal, round ligament pain...but just in case, we decided it was better to be close. Santa Barbara is two hours away in good traffic, and in bad traffic it can be 5 or 6!

So, we're here now. I have my doc appointment Thursday, so I will definitely be asking Dr. K about all these symptoms. I think my body is just very tired from being pregnant for so long, especially since there was only a two month break between my last pregnancy and this one. Here are a few highlights from our week in Santa Barbara:

Paprika and I on our first day at the Zoo, feeding the Giraffes:



Paprika Petting a Shark on Our First Trip to the Marine Museum:



Putting On A Puppet Show:



Family Photo on Our Second Trip to the Zoo (when Mr. Mustard was visiting):



On The Zoo's Choo-Choo Train (We Rode It Three Times!):



Paprika Back At The House, Playing Piano:



Paprika, Snuggling On The Couch:



Trip To One of Many Parks:



And Another Park:



First Time By Herself On "The Big Girl Swings" (I was sooo proud!):

Trip To The Wharf

First thing this morning, I called my dad to wish him a Happy Birthday! Happy 56th Birthday, Dad!!! Love you and wish I could be in Indiana celebrating with you!

Then, I took Paprika back to the Wharf, and back to the Marine Museum. We went earlier this week, and if left such an impression that she has been asking to go back ever since. So, what the heck, we did!



Paprika especially loves the touch tanks, where you can interact with sea stars, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, and in one of the tanks, you can also touch sting rays and sharks!



The jellyfish are one of my faves. We looked at these for a long time. Aren't they beautiful?



Paprika especially loved looking at the hatching sharks. These are sacs with baby sharks inside...it's pretty amazing to watch them swim inside their sacs still attached to the placenta. Eventually, they bite their way out. When we were here on Thursday, someone brought in a fresh sac that had washed up on the shore and we got to learn all about how they grow and hatch.



Next, we went and had lunch on the wharf at a little seafood shack overlooking the ocean. It was kinda beautiful out there today. ;-)



Then we had a nice walk on the wharf, and Paprika showed her dolly all around since Paprika knows the place so well. She had to make sure dolly was strapped into the stroller, and made sure to point out all the birds, boats, and "pirate ships" along the way. FYI, according to Paprika, the cruise ships parked out at sea are "giant pirate ships." Good to know!

One Of Those Days...

Even though things are easier up in Santa Barbara, some days are still rough.

My friends have told me for the past year about how their kids climb out of their cribs, and I always wondered why Paprika didn't. Well, now I know why. Her crib in Pasadena is basically an impenetrable fort and I don't think a 5 year old could climb out of it. Pre-pregnancy, I laid in it a few times with Paprika and I had a hard time getting out of it.

Well, the crib up here in Santa Barbara is a "normal" crib. And it takes Paprika about 2 seconds to climb out of it. So, I set up a twin bed in her room for her to sleep in, but she isn't having that. Oh no. Last night I started putting her to bed at 10pm (a normal bedtime for her), and she walked into the living room 3 minutes later. I tried to get her to sleep in the twin bed, and even offered to sleep with her in the twin bed, but that didn't work either.

Our night ended with her falling asleep on the couch at 2:30 am. I waited to make sure she was really asleep, and carried her into her room at 3:30am. By 5:15am, she was awake and out of the crib.

Needless to say, she was so tired and cranky today. I've never heard of a child who can function on so little sleep. She can go days without sleeping...but of course, she is very hard to handle when she gets like that. If she had it her way, she would stay up all night and sleep all day. No matter what I do, no matter what tricks I employ, that's how she is. Up all night...sleep all day. Since birth. Since I was pregnant with her.

So, I'm at a loss for what to do. She won't sleep in a "big girl bed" and she won't stay in the crib. She wants to party all night long, and I am dang tired. She took a little nap this afternoon, and now at 1am, I am still unable to get her to stay in bed and go to sleep for the night. Why can't she just go to sleep at a decent hour like every other kid on the planet? I just don't get it...

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!