30 weeks

Well, it has finally arrived.... the last part of my third trimester. I never thought I'd even make it this far (as this pregnancy has seemed to have been lasting an eternity). But here I am: 30 weeks pregnant and getting rather excited for the last several weeks.

Highlights thus far:

--Sometime between 14-16 weeks, I believe, feeling Pula kick for the first time.

--5 months, no more morning (or rather all day) sickness. Food and I are friends again. Yay!

--6 months finding out our Pula was a HEALTHY boy. And reserving the right to name him. I know it's killing some of you not to know, don't worry only 10 more weeks, give or take a few days.

--7 months Tyler feels not little, but STRONG kicks from Pula. It's becoming more real to him.

--8 months... well, we're just getting started on that one, but hopefully it will go rather well.

Oh. I had one of those third trimester experiences where I felt a sudden urge to punch some idiot in the face while grocery shopping.

Just so you know, fellow men who are reading this blog, it is not considered polite to comment on how an expecting mother looks as if "she's going to have her baby in 30 seconds".... because if she's NOT going to have that baby in 30 seconds (or even 3 months-- thanks for the reminder, buddy) you have clearly insulted her indirectly by making her feel a.)that she's so plump and fat she MUST be having the baby right there in the grocery store or b.)that she can leave said grocery store to go home and feel depressed that she has MONTHS more to go instead of just mere seconds. 

Any way you want to look at it, you've done her no favor by making that thoughtless comment. Instead of saying something like: "You look tired" or "You look like you're about to pop!" or "Wow, would you look at that belly!" just shut your trap, smile at her and say: "Wow miss, you look great."

Isn't odd how being pregnant has this weird effect on the people around you? It seems that pregnancy brings out the strongest of emotions-- in OTHER people (pregnant women too of course, but that's to be expected, isn't it?) Complete strangers feel the need to make comments about your body, give you advice, and if you're REAL lucky they proceed to touch you-- mostly your protruding belly, of course, but still isn't the idea of me doing those things to a complete stranger (lets say, even a MAN) absurd?

Could you simply imagine me saying to some fat gentleman: "Wow, sir, it looks as if your belly's about to pop!" or even better... "Gee you sure did outgrow that shirt about three sizes ago!" Yes. Perhaps those comments might be tolerated from a 3 year old kid, but for ME an adult WOMAN to say that to another adult?? Surely, I would at least receive some dirty looks if not a piece of their mind.

And yet I've received those kind of remarks from men. It would be ludicrous to even think about saying those things to someone, yet everyone feels the need to say something to pregnant women.

Why is that?

I know that there are many people who relish in the experience of pregnancy, men and women alike. Witnessing a pregnant woman is like getting a glimpse of the miracle that in the process.... 

However I would like to make a small request to all those well-meaning strangers out there. You can smile at me, you can ask if I would like your help, you can ask if I would like to sit down, but please.... for the love of Pete don't comment on how big, huge, large, round, stretched, gigantic, enormous or how 'out there' my belly is.

Because while you may think it's clever small talk, what you're really doing is egging on an uncomfortable pregnant lady who's carrying a great amount of extra weight and reminding her that the only thing that's going to "pop" in the grocery store is your mouth when she socks it to ya.

All kidding aside (not necessarily about those strangers making seemingly "harmless" comments, but about me wishing I had to nerve to give it back to them) I DID hear that phrase about "having a baby in the next 30 seconds". I sort of did a double take and looked at him like: 'Uh and how would you like me to respond to that without getting all mean and ugly?' Instead I politely said, "No, I have three more months to go, thank you for reminding me" and walked away.

I'm just glad that one of my dearest school friends mother works at Winco as a cashier and upon going over to say hello to her she said to me: "Oh my gosh Kati. You are so tiny, is that all the bigger you are?"

Talk about a 180* from the last comment I got. It was the perfect thing to say to a huge, waddling, uncomfortable, pregnant lady. Thank you Janet Kays for recovering my faith in the human society and their ability to say the right thing at the right time. You lifted my spirits. You know how to make a preggo lady blush. ;)  

Everyday life.

My boys think they are pretty funny. They decided that while I was getting the house cleaned up (I always try to pick up the house before Tyler gets home, because who want come home to a big mess after a stressful day at work?) they would get cozy in MY bed. They were laughing and thought they had fooled me into thinking they were somewhere else.

 B thought me telling him to get off my bed was hilarious and gave me this face:

 It's happened again. I'm in a cooking dinner slump. One particular night I decided to get creative and we had fried potatoes, scrambled eggs with green onions, parmesean cheese, and sweet italian sausage, with a side of kiwis and frsh blueberries. As far as last minute dinners go it was pretty yummy.

 My homeboys.... :)

Jimmer Fever! lol

Tyler had the opportunity to watch the Blazers v. King game. My dad treated himself, my youngest brother Karter and Tyler to some great seats about 14 rows from the bench. Tyler loved it. He wanted to try and get a picture with Jimmer, but was unsuccessful. Although the Kings lost, Tyler still said it was fun. And of course he got his free Chalupah after! :) The pictures are ones Tyler took, since I wasn't there, clearly we know who's better equipped with my camera.

An exciting new start.

Almost two weeks ago my mom told me that my sister and her husband were going to come up for a weekend "visit" in which, Gil-- her husband-- was going to have a job interview. It was exciting to think of the possibility of them moving up here, as they have lived in California for the past several years.

Well, they came up, Gil had his interview.... and within 72 hours he was given a job offer, accepted it, they found a place to live in NE Portland and are making plans to move up by mid February.

It's amazing how things turned out. It reminds me so much of situation when moving from Boise to Portland. It was a time in our life when things were kind of looking down, but through faith and hard work we were able to get through those difficult times. Now, here we are...living in Portland and loving it. The opportunities that have been presented to us never cease to amaze us at how far we've come. We have been tremendously blessed.  

 While at my parents house for the weekend Tyler and I went on a little lunch date to the newly opened Jimmy Johns near their house. We have heard great things about the place and decided to give it a try.

Sadly, I was a little disappointed. It is not that I thought it was horrible; the place was extremely clean, the staff was friendly, and our food arrived promptly after we ordered--- it's just that I didn't find myself loving it as much as I do Quiznos.

Sorry Jimmy John lovers. :(

 The boys had a blast while cousin Lexi was in town. They all ran around Grammie and Grandpa's house til they were so worn out at night. Grammie also let B and Lexi bug help her make brownies. It's pretty clear on what their jobs were.... (to eat-- the batter, that it.)

 And eat they did. Doing a great job of it and enjoying every second helping Grammie out. :)

 They also had a great time in the "theater room" (which is a fancy term for the walk in closet in the kids' room downstairs that Grammie has collected all the classic Disney VHS movies for them to watch. She has QUITE the collection, too!) I thought it was cute that they were all snuggled up on the floor watching movies together.  

I think it's fair to say that we are excited for the Toolson Robledo family to move this way! We hope many more great things will be in store for them here. :)



Nothing is more fun than Bubbles in the bathtub...

My boys SURE do love taking their baths! They have the most fun when I let them put all their water toys in the tub and then  they proceed to squirt each other and squeal... It is something that makes even me, laugh.

Surprised....

There are moments as a mother where my children surprise me. Sometimes it's by something they say, or something they do.

The other night I was quite surprised when I went in to check on Braxton and found not one little boy in his bed, but two. I was a little shocked to say the least-- seeing as how they spend the moajority of the day fighting-- to find them snuggled in bed together.

 It was a sweet moment for sure, as I'm well aware that teenage boys won't find it so endearing to sleep together in a twin bed.

 So for now, I'm recording it and tucking it away in my most treasured memories....

Blazers v. Clippers

Tyler was able to score some tickets to the Blazers/ Clippers game for a great price from a discount he receives through work. We decided it would be fun to treat my youngest brother, Karter, and my dad to going with us.

 Although the seats were a little higher up, we still had an enjoyable time. I had a hard time trying to zoom in (which my camera does well), but not being able to use my flash. Thus some of the pictures are a little blurry, but you get the idea.

 The players lining up for the national anthem.

 My favorite part, aside from watching the actual game) was getting to see the cheerleaders (something you don't get to watch on TV). I love being at an actual game-- hearing the crowd roaring to life, watching the dancers and cheerleaders, feeling the vibrations from the speakers and the arena, seeing two people get chosen from the crowd for silly free throw shooting games, observing people become incredibly outrageous over a bad call, I love the atmosphere, the music, and most of all I love that I get to be there with my husband. Watching him light up, feeling his hands get sweaty when the score is close, seeing him smile because he's happy to be watching something he loves, and best of all getting a couple of kisses. :)

 What more can I say, except for that we had a wonderful time, the Blazers won (whoo hoo!), we had great company, awesome food, and left the game with our free Chalupahs! :) Ha ha, we got a good laugh about that since the tickets we paid for and the overpriced food more than paid for those Chalupahs we got when they scored over 100 points, but it was still fun.

After herding out of the arena, somewhat cattle style, we had the most entertaining part of watching people cram onto the trams. We were lucky enough to be able to get on one later that wasn't so full.

Thanks for an awesome night of fun babe!

A gift from Great Grandma Rena

The boys got little suit jackets from their great grandma Rena for Christmas. They look so handsome in them. I tried to get a shot of them in their suits, but as you can tell from the pictures below it was after church and they were a little grouchy and ready for naps.

 Then I attempted to get a shot of the boys together with Tyler since they looked so cute, but as you can tell, B wasn't having it.

Thank you Grandma Rena, the jackets are so wonderful. :)