Babysitting and Bad Words

I was honored to babysit Kayla today while Tash and Jeremy went to see a movie. She is the cutest thing ever! Such a good girl for auntie Maile! She really made me excited for my own munchkin, except when I really had to pee while she was still awake and I wasn't sure where to put her so she would be safe. I opted to hold it until she was fast asleep! =) She slept so quietly and peacefully that I had to check to make sure she was still breathing. (Yeah, a bit paranoid!)

Now it is back to reality....the reality that the semester is almost over and I am about to have a F***ING breakdown!!!! I have so much to do and I don't even know where to start. I honestly don't know how I will get it all done and sleep and work and do all those basic things that humans need to do to survive, like eat! Group projects need to go to hell. It's hard enough for me to motivate myself to get things done, let alone having to deal with other burnt out students who could care less right now. Stupid master's project, stupid papers, stupid reflective journals, stupid group projects, stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!! Pthhhhhhh. Is it May yet? I know I bitch to everyone saying "Life is about choices" and yes, I made the choice to go to school, but this is just ridiculous. Stick a frickin' fork in me, Mama Lui is D-O-N-E!!!! >=p

I love Thanksgiving!

It was another successful Thanksgiving in the Lui household with enough food to feed a small army! Two days of preparing food and all the eating was over in a few short hours. I wouldn't trade this day for any other in the world. And I didn't even cry, which was a miracle in itself! It was the first time seeing my parents and brothers since the news of Lil Lui. It made it seem even that much more real! No one is convinced that I really look all that pregnant, but can tell I am bigger than I was pre-baby. My lil' one is now the size of an avocado. Go guacamole! =) Sleeping on my back is no longer an option, which sucks since this is the position I seem to be in every single time I wake up in the middle of the night. I am really not a huge fan of sleeping on my side, but I guess I have 24 more weeks to learn to love it! I am still feeling fabulous with no complaints right now. I still have more zits than I did when I was 13, but I suppose I will live. =) Here are a few photos from Thanksgiving. Thank you to all of my family for making the trip down here (with the award going to my dad for the 5.5 turned into 11 hour drive! Gotta love Thanksgiving traffic!) Lil Lui sure felt the love under our roof!

The Lui Clan:minus Papa Lui who was in China. Me, Larry, Jon, Vincent, Mom, Alice (Kenny's girlfriend,  the other female representing!), and Kenny

Me and the grandmas-to-be

The Wojciechowski Clan: Lil Bro Michael, Dad, my mom Filomena, Big Bro Gary, and Me (Willie is one of the dogs)

The Cuadrado Clan: Rai, Me, and my mom Joanne

Me and my Mom. There was a lot of belly rubbing going on this week! =)

Lil Lui's first Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad =)

Another new baby in my life!

Now that many of my friends are having babies and I am actually pregnant, I am overcome with joy when their child makes their way into the world. Paula had little Ian in August, Tash had Kayla in September, and Khalielah just had little Mahalia this past Monday! I can't imagine the joy of holding your baby after waiting so long to meet them. *tear* My next friend to have a baby will be Kelly in February, so just as I start to get a grip on my emotions, it will be time to cry all over again and welcome another playmate for Lil Lui into the world. This whole "baby process" is truly amazing to me and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to experience it all. 25 more weeks to go and I get to meet my son/daughter. By the way, not so sure as to what my instincts are saying about the sex of this child. I was feeling boy, but have been having girl dreams lately, so now I'm not sure at all! I guess I'll get to find out soon enough!

Week 15

I wish my books would stop comparing Lil Lui to some sort of food....especially this close to Thanksgiving! Knowing my baby is "now the size of an apple" makes eating apple pie a bit less appealing! =) I am super excited for Thanksgiving and seeing all of my family. Lil Lui has been treating mommy very well. I have definitely had more spurts of energy. I was definitely not prepared for all of the body changes, primarily the boob changes. I won't go into detail but over the past few days I have had uncontrollable boob itch and cried coming out of the shower last night after catching a glimpse of my "new rack" in the mirror. Every part of me is getting bigger. Larry reminded me that there is a baby in my belly and that the stork would not be delivering our child. =) Oh, this must be why my body is morphing rapidly into this unrecognizable form. Here are the latest pics. Thank goodness the sports bra smashes down the twins. I feel like I am growing wider and less outwards. The sides of my belly are hard as a rock and definitely more full than they were a few weeks ago!

Second Trimester and the Vegas Experience

Thank you Dave, Hilary, and Larry for a fabulous weekend!!!!!!

I'm waiting in the airport for my flight to return home to San Diego and must admit that I am completely over doing a paper for SDSU and would instead prefer to share my fabulous Vegas weekend! I'm tired and a bit grumpy right now, but I had so much fun. We stayed in a beautiful room on the 31st floor of the Wynn, with a view of the strip and the golf course. The bathroom was amazing and I was sad to leave behind the huge tub that provided some relaxing bubble baths.

Food continues to make me very very happy. We had two fabulous dinners; one at Restaurant Charlie and one at Bradley Ogden. The food, the service, and the company were more than I could ever ask for! If I have not gained at least 10 pounds this weekend, I will be very surprised. ; ) We saw Cirque du Soleil's "Love" (aka Beatles goodness!). It was amazing and I was even more envious of the acrobatic skills since I am less graceful and limber these days.

Gambling was kept to a minimum. Hilary introduced me to "Mr. Cashman" which made absolutely no sense to me, but kept me entertained at least! =) Plus, the smell of cigarettes and cigars is less than appealing to me these days so I spent little time in the casino. It also amazes me how less amusing drunk people are when I have to refrain from the ever-flowing cocktails. Go water! Because of all the water intake, Lil Lui encouraged me to visit almost every bathroom in every casino we were in. Really, this whole peeing thing is starting to be REALLY annoying. After asking other mothers if this fabulous pregnancy symptom would get better, the response I get is, "Yeah, it'll get better....in 6 more months." 

*sigh* 6 more months and there will be a baby in my house. This is still so surreal to me! Time seems to be vanishing quickly, as does the ability to fit in my clothes. This is a sad transition to me but well worth it to make room for our son or daughter! I am staying up later these days (double digit hours baby!) so perhaps this is a sign that my energy will return in leaps and bounds!

Vegas Baby!

To celebrate the end of my first trimester, Larry and I are off to Las Vegas to get hammered! =p Not so much, but we are off to enjoy our last trip before we are parents! I will let you know how it goes! 

Maternity Pants and Shout Outs

Not as ugly as I expected...thanks to the GAP and Old Navy (shout out to Tash for that suggestion!). Thank goodness these stores understand the fact that some pregnant women have long legs. Now, in order for the pants to be long enough, I don't have to sag them down so the crotch is at my knees. =) Yay. My other great purchase...bra back extenders.Who knew that your back would get wider for crying out loud? Unfortunately I have a wide back to begin with so to get a back big enough, I would have to be a D cup. Wishful thinking, but not there. These $1.50 purchases can add up to 2.5 inches to your bra. Thanks for the super tip Paula! I sure love that many of my friends just had babies or are about to, so I can get the 4-1-1 on all the good stuff. Let's think good thoughts for my dear friend Khalielah, to whom I owe the idea of this website. Her precious little girl is due in just 10 more days!

Week 13

I awoke at 3 am with an almost uncontrollable craving for BBQ Boiled Tofu from Tofu House on Convoy....extra spicy. Good thing they weren't open. However, I made sure to leave Larry a note on his wallet before I left for work that this is what I MUST have for dinner and boy, did it taste good! Yummy yummy yummy. Spicy food has been making me happy. And oranges. Not much of a change in the tummy in my opinion, but here are the week 13 pics...the start of trimester 2. I am actually getting some energy back. Hooray!

Good News Tuesday

I had my 12 week appointment today. I got to HEAR Lil' Lui's heartbeat today, which was an incredibly exciting experience. It was about 150 beats per minute. Doc says everything looks good. I have gained 3.5 pounds (even though it feels like 10!), my blood pressure is good and all of my blood work from the last appointment came back great. Apparently I am still pregnant and not just getting chunky! =) My next appointment is in a month. They will do the AFP test (test for Down's syndrome) and then I can schedule my 2nd trimester ultrasound. This is the one, where if out child is cooperative, we can tell if there is a rudder or not (this was my dad's exact terminology!) If I can schedule this before Christmas, I would really like that. I have a feeling, though, that if I rush it, my child will not cooperate and show the goods, so we will find out soon enough. I can't believe three months have gone by already! My family has been on my mind a lot lately. I am happy to report everyone is in good health. I am happy to end my Tuesday with a big smile.

A hormonal woman's heaven

Are you serious....there's REALLY a place in San Diego that you can go to and throw crap at the wall and break it? For a nominal fee, Sarah's Smash Shack lets you get out all that frustration. Really, you get to throw stuff. Perhaps this would be a healthier choice and I wouldn't regret breaking things. I thought about throwing that laptop again while working on ANOTHER paper today! Check out the website!

http://www.smashshack.com/Home_Page.html

Bored of doing homework

I've been bombarded with thoughts on what the sex of Lil Lui will be. Here's your chance to vote!