I came home today from Waco, TX, where I was with Hector for a few days while filming at a prison for Seasons of Gray. It was a lot of fun being on set with him. I have learned one thing: Those people love Hector. I kept hearing the most wonderful things about him. "What a great young man your husband is," "Hector sure does have a great attitude and keeps the mood light on set," "Hector has a wonderful personality and a loving heart." I am so proud. :)
Hector is still in Waco until Friday. Filming is long and hard.. seriously. I thought, yea, they just get the actors there, have them memorize their lines, turn on the camera and film. Just like that. Boy, was I wrong! We got there at 7:30 in the morning, filming didn't start until after 10. NO joke. I left at 12 pm and they still had not got the shot the director wanted... Yet, they'd been filming the same scene for nearly 2 hours. They have to set up props, sound equipment, sound barriers, lighting, electricity, get the actors through makeup and wardrobe, have stand-ins test for lighting, shadows, sound, etc... It's a huge, well... production..
So, needless to say, I have a much better understanding of the looonnng hours Hector has been putting into this movie. Do I like it? No. But I get it. :) And after this week? ONLY ONE MORE WEEK! Hallelujah! Praise God!
Oh, and the cast and crew? They're great. I made some new friends there. I can't wait to see this movie, having been behind the scenes some, and knowing all the blood, sweat and tears that made this film.
I had to come back to work tonight and tomorrow night. Then this weekend, Hector and I have some serious packing to do for Tuesday. Hector packed up most of the kitchen before we left for Waco, he's such a sweetheart. And I bought big tubs to pack clothes in. I sort of just remembered today that I need to set up some electricity at the new place.. eeek.. So I called and cancelled ours today, and am in the process of finding something cheaper than Reliant for the new place. I'm using powertochoose.com to find our new company. You just plug in your zip code and it lists all the providers for the area and compares their best rates. Has anyone ever used it before? I wish Hector was here to help me decide.. sometimes I don't feel equipped to make decisions like this! :)
Well, I'll keep you posted on the packing.. Fun, Fun!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thumb-sucking
What a magnificent, wonderful, joyous day! Our appointment was at 9 am today -- we arrived at 9:00:59, I'm sure... I hate being late! But there was traffic! At 8:40?!? Get to work people! :) haha
ANYWAYS... They called us back at about 9:15.. and let me tell you, the anticipation was BUILDING!! We were about to see our baby! About the only solid proof of pregnancy I get, since I don't get sick!
I specifically told Hector to take pictures of me while the tech was doing the sonogram, but, all he got were these:
And here we are, kicking our feet and waving our other hand! Have you ever seen anything quite so amazing?? I haven't. I can't say that I've ever been this happy! Just look at that cute belly and adorable profile! It was so cute to see the baby wiggle away when the tech would poke and prod a little to get him/her to move a bit. Ahhhhhhhhhhh....
Then we had our appointment with Dr. Rosenbaum. She used her Doppler again and this time we heard the heartbeat! What a sweet, sweet sound! She counted again and came up with 150 bpm, also. My blood pressure is good, at 100/70. At my first appointment it was 124/70. Today I weighed 144.2 lbs, up 2 whole pounds since my first appointment. I am quite proud that I didn't gain like 10 pounds in the first trimester.. because that leads to large for gestational age (LGA) babies, and I'd rather not push one of those out.. thank you. Also, gaining too much weight too fast increases your risk of getting gestational diabetes.
So, our next appointment is August 9th. We'll be 17 weeks, 3 days. Dr. Rosenbaum didn't want to do the anatomy scan that day, so she said we'd do it the following week so we'd be 18 weeks and some days. It will be right before my birthday! That will be the best birthday present EVER! We just can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl (guy* or girl, says Preston), so we can start planning! We've been really lax on the naming game, and I think we'll really buckle down once we know the gender. And we're excited to pick out bedding and clothes!
Gahh, today was wonderful.. =) I've gotta finish up some laundry and take a nap, so I can function at work tonight!
ANYWAYS... They called us back at about 9:15.. and let me tell you, the anticipation was BUILDING!! We were about to see our baby! About the only solid proof of pregnancy I get, since I don't get sick!
I specifically told Hector to take pictures of me while the tech was doing the sonogram, but, all he got were these:
Ummm.. that's not me, Hector!
I digress.. We were there for the nucchal translucency test, which is where they take some measurement behind the baby's neck which screens for risk of Down's syndrome and a few other chromosomal abnormalities. Anyways, the baby needs to be pretty horizontal and stretched out to get this measurement, but our Little Bambino was curled up in a tight nook at the bottom of my uterus, like this:
He or she was very comfy in that little ball!
We saw the heart beating again, the rate today was 150 beats per minute. Baby is about 7 cm long, which is right on, for it's developmental stage. By the way we were 13 weeks, 3 days for this sonogram. Can you believe how much bigger we are now??!?!?
Bambino was moving all over the place! The tech had to invert the table, which means I was tilted waaaay backwards, with my feet towards the ceiling to try and get the baby to stretch into just the right position. Here, the baby must've heard me and Daddy because he/she waved at us and then sucked their thumb! I wanted to CRY when I saw those 5 fingers fan out like that! How sweet!!
Then we had our appointment with Dr. Rosenbaum. She used her Doppler again and this time we heard the heartbeat! What a sweet, sweet sound! She counted again and came up with 150 bpm, also. My blood pressure is good, at 100/70. At my first appointment it was 124/70. Today I weighed 144.2 lbs, up 2 whole pounds since my first appointment. I am quite proud that I didn't gain like 10 pounds in the first trimester.. because that leads to large for gestational age (LGA) babies, and I'd rather not push one of those out.. thank you. Also, gaining too much weight too fast increases your risk of getting gestational diabetes.
So, our next appointment is August 9th. We'll be 17 weeks, 3 days. Dr. Rosenbaum didn't want to do the anatomy scan that day, so she said we'd do it the following week so we'd be 18 weeks and some days. It will be right before my birthday! That will be the best birthday present EVER! We just can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl (guy* or girl, says Preston), so we can start planning! We've been really lax on the naming game, and I think we'll really buckle down once we know the gender. And we're excited to pick out bedding and clothes!
Gahh, today was wonderful.. =) I've gotta finish up some laundry and take a nap, so I can function at work tonight!
300
On Saturday night, we went bowling with our community group at 300 in Addison. It was so fun!
The guys, minus Cory (who was at another wedding!)
Callie just bowled and Preston is about to.
The Brannen's are home! Callie getting some much needed Maggie time!
We're practicing :) She's so alert and interested now!
Sallie, Callie and Jackie
Me and Hector, having fun bowling!
Preston resorted to "granny bowling"
Girls' final scores...Jackie wins! I never broke 100.. :(
Guys' final scores... Tyler won! Notice Preston's score... ;)
The night ended at the Ray's apartment.. The Cole's had to leave because Sallie had to work the next morning. We're all very jealous of David and Callie's tans... all of us except my Hector :)
Man! Bowling sure was fun! And I'd heard of but never been to 300. It's a little pricey, but it was a really fun place for a group to go to. And, BONUS, it wasn't smokey and dingy like the bowling alley back home!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Easy soup? Yes, Please!!
I found this amazing recipe for Broccoli cheese soup in Taste of Home magazine.
Makes 8 healthy servings/6 good servings :) Please note, if your stove is too hot, and you stop stirring for even a second the milk will, I repeat, WILL scorch. How do I know? Batch #1 is how I know. :)
Ingredients:
2 cans reduced-fat, reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3 cups fat-free milk
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can sliced new potatoes, drained
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
yes, I used two cans of potatoes... sue me.. and I used one large, rather than two small cans of soup
In a large saucepan, combine the soup, milk, parsley, garlic powder and pepper. Stir in broccoli and potatoes; heat through. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Serve with warm cornbread and you will impress your friends and win your man's heart...again. :)
Wait...Another baby!?!?!?
Yesterday we got the news that my cousin Jordan and her husband Roland are pregnant with Baby #1!!!! They're due March 8th, I believe, like 2 months after us! I'm so THRILLED, because I wanted our baby to have a cousin near the same age. You see, Amy and Jerusha were about the same age. Josh and Jordan were about the same. Chris and me are like a month apart. Then Amy and Jerusha's kiddos are about the same ages! Now it's our turn! And I'm closest to Jordan..so, perfecto!
Roland and Jordan Rios
They were married a year before us in Hawaii! They just celebrated 2 years! I can't tell you how excited I am for these two.. They're going to be great parents! And family gatherings just got 2x more fun!
I love you guys!!!!!!
!!SPOILER ALERT!! Long venting post!
It has accidentally been a while since I last blogged... nearly two weeks! Perhaps it's because I haven't done much but work.. Seriously, I worked 60 hours last week.
But, we haven't been up to much. Hector still leaves me here every morning by like 7:30 and I don't see him again until after 6. It's really boring here. I. can. not. wait. to. move. It's really a huge struggle for me, this movie he's helping with. It's volunteer, all day, every day and that's not at all what I had in mind, when he signed up for this. It is the whole summer. They are 2.5 weeks into 6 weeks of filming. Possibly 7 weeks, they joke.Well, that's not funny. It's just hard that there is something so big in his life that I am not a part of. Selfish? Yea, maybe. But he talks about the actors and crew incessantly, and I just don't know these people. He barely has time to call me and has to keep his phone off. I just keep thinking.. I'm pregnant, what if (God forbid) there is any type of emergency? He wouldn't know until after the fact! Again, selfish.. I KNOW. I want to change, I do! Because I know this movie is going to be a great witness to the world... hopefully reaching audiences who wouldn't normally hear about Jesus. And I'm so proud of Hector for being such an important part of this huge production. Lord, just grant me patience and understanding..please!? One of my friend's moms used to say (when talking about your relationship with your husband..boyfriend..etc) "Just remember, always be a blessing to him." And I'm failing miserably in this department, with this film. I probably make him feel guilty for doing anything. Hector is his own person also, and he deserves to do something that makes him happy. And this truly does. So, if you remember, say a little prayer for me--that I would be happy for him, understanding of the demands on him and supportive of his dreams. Oh, and a little less selfish! :)
Our one year anniversary is FAST approaching!! July 25th! I got to thinking, we need to do something together. We didn't go on a honeymoon after our wedding and now we have a baby on the way. This will be our last anniversary alone for the rest of our lives. But we're OK with that. ;) The big day falls on a Sunday, two and a half weeks from today. We've decided to stay at Holly Lake Ranch in a condo for a couple nights. It's a really nice lake resort.. small but serene. My Aunt and Uncle live out there and are helping us get our reservations sorted out. By this Friday, our plans should be final. We will go on Friday evening and stay until Sunday. On Saturday, I'm planning a day trip to Jefferson, Tx. We can shop, go site-seeing and have a nice dinner there. I'm very excited about our little getaway. We haven't ever gone anywhere together, alone. It will be such a nice little vacation to spend with each other. I'll have to figure out how to get our cake over there in one piece.. :) Hector has been wanting to eat it since about March. YOU try fighting off a hungry man from a perfectly good cake sitting in the freezer!
And when we get back, it'll be time to move! Right smack in the middle of my 60 hour week.. poor planning, I know. We were excited when we set that date and didn't think to look at my schedule. Oh, and I have a serious case of House Fever. It literally pains me to think that we are getting another apartment. I'm sick and tired to death of paying rent and coming out with NOTHING. I've been watching House Hunters and Property Virgins a lot lately and have even found houses in Plano that we LOVE. Somebody please talk me down from this, because it would be pretty hard (however wonderful for our things, our future and our BABY) for us to get a house right now. But I'm telling you right now, I won't like you when you tell me and I won't agree with your reasoning. ;)
Health and baby, you ask? Welllll.. :) I'll start with health (which means headaches). I am currently 16 days post my last Tylenol fix. Did you hear me?!? The girl who took Excedrin every day for the last decade, up until that day in May when we found out we were pregnant, when I switched to the aspirin-free Tylenol. The neurologist said my headaches are from medication over-use.. believe that?? I suppose my blood level of acetaminophen just drops to sub-therapeutic levels overnight and I experience rebound headache pain. Are you telling me I caused this? Sir, I just don't like living with headaches! Regardless, I'm trying to be healthier for me and baby, so I nixed the Tylenol habit. I still get headaches, but I think they are from sleep deprivation now, since I simply cannot sleep at night when I'm off anymore. And they are less frequent. Hopefully we're on the right track now. We'll see.
Little Bambino(a?!) is doing fine, as far as I can tell. :) I'm so excited, we have our next sonogram in 5 days, on Monday. It is the sonogram to screen for risk of Down syndrome. But we just want a glimpse of our little one! Confession: I threw up last Tuesday. :( I can't decide if it was baby or the food I made that did the trick, but either way, I lost it. A single, isolated event of vomiting? I'll take it! In two days I'll be 13 full weeks! That means, HELLO 2nd Trimester! EEEK, time is flying a little bit! Baby is the size of a peach right now (3 inches long) and, from what I read, can hear our voices! So Hector has been talking to him/her lately! Mainly telling him/her to make me be nicer to him by giving me a little kick when he/she hears me being sassy (Hector's word..) to him. Umm, can you say hormones? I cried yesterday when watching Look Who's Talking Too, the part at the end where Mikey is apologizing to Julie for being a jealous big brother. Seriously? Sheeeesh..
But, we haven't been up to much. Hector still leaves me here every morning by like 7:30 and I don't see him again until after 6. It's really boring here. I. can. not. wait. to. move. It's really a huge struggle for me, this movie he's helping with. It's volunteer, all day, every day and that's not at all what I had in mind, when he signed up for this. It is the whole summer. They are 2.5 weeks into 6 weeks of filming. Possibly 7 weeks, they joke.Well, that's not funny. It's just hard that there is something so big in his life that I am not a part of. Selfish? Yea, maybe. But he talks about the actors and crew incessantly, and I just don't know these people. He barely has time to call me and has to keep his phone off. I just keep thinking.. I'm pregnant, what if (God forbid) there is any type of emergency? He wouldn't know until after the fact! Again, selfish.. I KNOW. I want to change, I do! Because I know this movie is going to be a great witness to the world... hopefully reaching audiences who wouldn't normally hear about Jesus. And I'm so proud of Hector for being such an important part of this huge production. Lord, just grant me patience and understanding..please!? One of my friend's moms used to say (when talking about your relationship with your husband..boyfriend..etc) "Just remember, always be a blessing to him." And I'm failing miserably in this department, with this film. I probably make him feel guilty for doing anything. Hector is his own person also, and he deserves to do something that makes him happy. And this truly does. So, if you remember, say a little prayer for me--that I would be happy for him, understanding of the demands on him and supportive of his dreams. Oh, and a little less selfish! :)
Our one year anniversary is FAST approaching!! July 25th! I got to thinking, we need to do something together. We didn't go on a honeymoon after our wedding and now we have a baby on the way. This will be our last anniversary alone for the rest of our lives. But we're OK with that. ;) The big day falls on a Sunday, two and a half weeks from today. We've decided to stay at Holly Lake Ranch in a condo for a couple nights. It's a really nice lake resort.. small but serene. My Aunt and Uncle live out there and are helping us get our reservations sorted out. By this Friday, our plans should be final. We will go on Friday evening and stay until Sunday. On Saturday, I'm planning a day trip to Jefferson, Tx. We can shop, go site-seeing and have a nice dinner there. I'm very excited about our little getaway. We haven't ever gone anywhere together, alone. It will be such a nice little vacation to spend with each other. I'll have to figure out how to get our cake over there in one piece.. :) Hector has been wanting to eat it since about March. YOU try fighting off a hungry man from a perfectly good cake sitting in the freezer!
And when we get back, it'll be time to move! Right smack in the middle of my 60 hour week.. poor planning, I know. We were excited when we set that date and didn't think to look at my schedule. Oh, and I have a serious case of House Fever. It literally pains me to think that we are getting another apartment. I'm sick and tired to death of paying rent and coming out with NOTHING. I've been watching House Hunters and Property Virgins a lot lately and have even found houses in Plano that we LOVE. Somebody please talk me down from this, because it would be pretty hard (however wonderful for our things, our future and our BABY) for us to get a house right now. But I'm telling you right now, I won't like you when you tell me and I won't agree with your reasoning. ;)
Health and baby, you ask? Welllll.. :) I'll start with health (which means headaches). I am currently 16 days post my last Tylenol fix. Did you hear me?!? The girl who took Excedrin every day for the last decade, up until that day in May when we found out we were pregnant, when I switched to the aspirin-free Tylenol. The neurologist said my headaches are from medication over-use.. believe that?? I suppose my blood level of acetaminophen just drops to sub-therapeutic levels overnight and I experience rebound headache pain. Are you telling me I caused this? Sir, I just don't like living with headaches! Regardless, I'm trying to be healthier for me and baby, so I nixed the Tylenol habit. I still get headaches, but I think they are from sleep deprivation now, since I simply cannot sleep at night when I'm off anymore. And they are less frequent. Hopefully we're on the right track now. We'll see.
Little Bambino(a?!) is doing fine, as far as I can tell. :) I'm so excited, we have our next sonogram in 5 days, on Monday. It is the sonogram to screen for risk of Down syndrome. But we just want a glimpse of our little one! Confession: I threw up last Tuesday. :( I can't decide if it was baby or the food I made that did the trick, but either way, I lost it. A single, isolated event of vomiting? I'll take it! In two days I'll be 13 full weeks! That means, HELLO 2nd Trimester! EEEK, time is flying a little bit! Baby is the size of a peach right now (3 inches long) and, from what I read, can hear our voices! So Hector has been talking to him/her lately! Mainly telling him/her to make me be nicer to him by giving me a little kick when he/she hears me being sassy (Hector's word..) to him. Umm, can you say hormones? I cried yesterday when watching Look Who's Talking Too, the part at the end where Mikey is apologizing to Julie for being a jealous big brother. Seriously? Sheeeesh..
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