Isaiah's Magic Kingdom!

Thanks Celeste!
(Don't forget to press pause or stop on the music player on the right!)

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Britney Spears

So I provided my baby with the worst misfortune, or maybe he did it to himself. Either way, he now shares a birthday with Britney Spears. Poor Isaiah. All joking aside, I am so in love with our new baby boy. He is beautiful and perfect and he's ours!

Motherhood is fun! Breast-feeding is not. It hurts so much that I cry sometimes, but I am determined. I don't care that I feel like I am being tortured; I just want my baby to eat. Luckily, Ziggy is a good latcher, so I hope things will get easier. No more details!

Isaiah had quite an eventful head start into this world. My due date was on December 19. We were procrastinating like crazy, thinking that this baby would be on time, if not later. The nursery was not completed, we didn't have my suitcase packed, and all the baby laundry I wanted to do were in piles on the floor.

Last Monday, December 1, at about 5:00 am, I felt what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions, or the false alarm kind. I breathed through them as Anthony went to take his shower. I kept thinking, "How can I deal with this pain for the rest of the week or until the 19th?" So as Anthony's shower finished, the pain had gotten worse.

Let's backtrack and tell you what Anthony had going on this week. It would have been his busiest right before Christmas, with play rehearsals (he was co-directing the school Christmas play), class presentations, and parent-teacher conferences the rest of the week.

Knowing that, I asked him, "How much would you hate me if we had the baby this week?" I can't remember his answer, but it wasn't a very positive response. No one should take that as Anthony not looking forward to finally meeting his son, but more of his overwhelming responsibility to teaching and to me.

So he left for work, and I promised to call if anything was wrong. I had a doctor's appointment to check if my gestational diabetes affected the baby's size or development in any way. This was with a specialist, so it wasn't my regular ob/gyn. I went through the motions of getting ready, pausing every few minutes to ride out the contractions that weren't lessening, and hurried to pick up my mom, who was going with me.

I made my way to the left turn lane. All of a sudden, I felt a bump behind me as someone rear-ended me. To make a longer story short, I don't think the car accident alone induced my labor, but I think it contributed to raising my blood pressure and making me have the baby sooner. The doctor referred me back to the hospital for monitoring, and they in turn admitted me, telling me that I was going to have this baby within the next day or so. All I kept thinking was, my bag wasn't packed. I hated the thought of sending Anthony home with a list of things to bring. I wanted new slippers for my hospital stay. I wanted time to pick the baby's going-home outfit. I wanted to make a check list of everything I needed and more. My travelling instinct of bringing more than needed was on overdrive and I was pissed that I didn't have more time to prepare.

And yes, I had the epidural. Yes, I took painkillers. I'm a wuss, I know. I was in labor for 28 hours. I think my biggest fear was that the pain was going to get worse. Also, I was kind of trying to ride it out as much as possible, since my regular ob/gyn would not be in until the morning.

It all worked out in the end. I managed to be in labor for the whole day and night, my water broke right after the nurses announced that my doctor was on her way, and the epidural was wearing off. The delivery literally took like 10 minutes max, and was the LEAST painful part of my ordeal.

So here's to Isaiah Henry Paraiso Valtier. He was born on December 2, 2008 at 7:57 am. He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 17 1/2 inches in length. He was born beautiful and healthy. I know we keep saying this, but I mean it with all my heart when I say I truly believe we are blessed to have our healthy son, no matter how early he came, no matter how unprepared we were. It could easily have been another story, with the diabetes affecting his development and in turn, his introduction into this world. But he's our amazing little dude and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our already blessed life.

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Say Hello to Isaiah Henry Paraiso Valtier A.K.A. "Ziggy"

On Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 7:57am Isaiah was brought into this world and into our lives. God has blessed Annie and me with a beautiful baby boy and we are now enjoying every minute of parenthood. It’s not easy and the sleepless nights have been long, but looking into his eyes reminds us how wonderful and lucky we are to have a healthy son. We can't wait for everyone to meet him.



Isaiah was brought into our lives with an interesting story that only Annie can re-tell. Story time will come when she can break away from Ziggy. Or rather, when Ziggy can break away from her!

The Christmas season is upon us and we are truly blessed with this gift from God.
Hope the holiday season is treating everyone well.

God Bless,

Anthony and Annie

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Where did the time go??????

Where to begin? Sorry it's been so long since we've blogged, but we've been so busy lately!

Our Friends, The Termites
Back in September, we had some rain and then hot weather. With that came the best gift ever! Another swarm of termites that took over the second bedroom! Our building is about 18 years old, and we've had about three incidents of termites invading that room. Yech. So with the baby in mind, I generated a strongly worded email to our HOA to get this whole building fumigated. We had to move out and move into Hotel Paraiso for three days. The circus was in town, or that's what it looked like as we drove by our building during the fumigation. It was fun living with my parents and brother again, as they accomodated so much. Although it was insanely hot that weekend, and I couldn't sleep comfortably to save my life, it reminded Anthony and I that we always have a place to stay in time of need, whether it be with my family or with his family. We are lucky.

Annie the Klutz
If anyone knows me, they know that Annie does not equal graceful. Even before the pregnancy, I am always knocking things over or tripping over nothing. I wish I could blame it on me being pregnant but it just wouldn't be true. With the pregnancy, I'm even worse. On the first night we came back to our house, our little condo was still unliveable. Our eyes stung from the fumes and we could still smell whatever they used to fumigate. So, even after airing out the place for a few hours, we still thought it was unsafe to breath in all the fumes. As we made our way back to the parking lot, I saw Anthony trying to unload some things from the car. I walked down a short set of stairs (4 steps, to be exact) to try to help him, but ended up tripping on the last step. I twisted my ankle and grabbed for the railing and kinda swung around and sat on my butt. But I was in pain. And then I called for Anthony, who missed the whole thing because his back was still turned to me. I think I scared him and I was scared myself. I thought I might have hurt the baby somehow. Luckily, I didn't feel any pain anywhere near the baby, but it was still scary. I cried, he cried. I think it was just a mix of stress that we couldn't sleep in our own house and the scare I just gave us. My ankle is still tender to this day and I keep forgetting and continue to land on it and make it sore again. Thanks to my sis-in-law, Rosie, I try to do some exercises to help the pain and swelling, which helps a lot.

Frodo Annie Baggins and Her Hobbit Feet
I have to say I love my salt. I've always been more of a savory and salty girl versus craving sweets and desserts. Even though I've been trying to stay off the salt (please forget my lemon-salt stint a few months ago), my feet are tellling me I'm not doing enough. Anthony hasn't really made any negative comments about my changing body, but when it comes to my swollen feet, all of his courtesy goes out the window. He has made a lot of Lord of the Rings comments, which I do not appreciate, but must admit that it is true. I had been resigned to wearing flip-flops everywhere I go: work, church, nice places, etc. I'd show pictures but I'd rather not.

Baby Shower(s)
Lots of baby showers! Anthony and I didn't realize we knew so many people! We had a total of 4 baby showers, one with family and close friends, one "surprise" one with my current co-workers, one "surprise" one with Anthony's 5th grade class, and one with my old co-workers. The biggest one was organized by my sister and our families (with the help of Oscar and Leana), and while it was hectic and crazy, it was a great day with my favorite baby shower games and lots of food. All in all, we got so many great gifts and the greatest gift of all: the realization that we are blessed with the love and support of so many people.

Mi Familia
The biggest surprise of all was the arrival of my cousins and families from far away. My cousin Frances made the trip out from Chicago to sunny Arizona and then to California for the shower to represent my Chi-town family! It was great to see her and happy that she could share the great weather and party with us. My biggest regret was that we couldn't show her around LA and Hollywood, which I know she would have loved. But there will always be another time! My cousins and aunt and uncle from Arizona also came. It made me happy that they made the trip just for us. My aunt, who is my mom's sister, was a huge help in cooking and setting up the favors. Another nice surprise was my Lola Elma, who I hadn't seen in forever, and surprised me at the party. It was wonderful to see my grandfather's sister, and nice to know that she wanted to wish us and the baby the best!

Spring Awakening--Again!
Ever since seeing the play in San Diego, we had been looking forward to seeing it again once they came to LA. The cast was again amazing and we had a nice night, just the two of us. It is becoming one of our favorites as far as musicals go. Maybe we can squeeze in another performance before the baby comes????

Lamaze Classes
For five weeks, our Saturdays had been taken over by Lamaze classes. My only experience with the classes were what I saw on TV, with preggo lady sitting on a mat, closing her eyes and breathing, and the husband/support person sitting behind her, breathing with her. Nope, that's not what we got. We had a retired nurse with knee replacement surgery who drew stick figures on the board of what we "should" do once the time comes and read out of a book most of the time. Yes, I had some mat time, but it was just for me to lay down and relax while we discussed different scenarios of being in different places (grocery stores, a mall, a friend's houses) and going into labor.

Next blog will come in the next day or so. We have to talk about my maternity leave, getstational diabetes, monitoring twice a week and the baby room! Hopefully I can post some pictures soon. My waist is now 44 inches and as uncomfortable as I am, I know I will be sad to not be pregnant anymore. But within in the next three weeks, the Ziggy will arrive and Anthony and I will be officially parents!

Love you all. Hope you are still reading this even after we haven't updated in so long!

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Updating soon!

Just a quick note to apologize for not updating the blog in such a long time. We have been so busy and hectic...but we have lots to report: termites, sprained ankles and hobbit feet, baby shower, family visiting, Spring Awakening again (yay), prepping the baby room, Lamaze class, and so much more! We love you all and hope you keep reading our blog as we continue to figure out all of the baby stuff as we go along!

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Blessed

God has a plan for us all and we are definitley not in charge. Recent weeks have not been so kind to the Valtier's and those close to them. Another test? Were we not showing enough apprectiation and feeling blessed for what we have? Not sure, but if this was the case, it worked. Our eyes are open. Our ears are listening. Our hearts are full of love.

A personal loss for some dear friends of ours came with such shock and a great feeling of sadness. The loss of a baby, and testicular cancer plaugued St. George's sister school in Chino, St. Margaret Mary's. The loss of my grandfather, whom I regret not being closer to. A train crash that just as easily could have been a train Annie was on. Although all of these directly affected us in some way or another, God seemed to leave us alone.

The power of prayer. Our love and devotion to our Mother Mary. We firmly believe our faith guided us and pulled us through this difficult time. It didn't come without guilt though. Annie and I can't help but feel guilty for how our pregnancy has turned out thus far. At the same time, we've realized how blessed we are and simply need to embrace it. We are not in charge. God has a plan for us all and right now this is where we are supposed to be.

This past Saturday Annie and I were given a gift that truly opened our eyes. Our
3D/4D ultrasound was amazing! Joy and love filled our hearts when we got our first opportunity to see our little boy. "Ziggy" is truly a gift from God and is our beautiful baby boy. Annie's nose? My lips? You decide.

No name yet, but for now we're just enjoying pictures and video of our baby "Ziggy"

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Master of the Universe

I received word late Sunday evening (9/7/08) that I passed my comprehensive exam and I now officially have my masters in Educational Counseling! Words can’t describe the feeling. This blog entry won’t do it justice, but I’ll try.

I’ve been lucky enough these past three years to be given all the love and support from my wife, my family, and my friends, that I would ever need. It goes without saying that I would not be here today with a Masters degree if it weren’t for these wonderful people in my life.

Although everyone played a role in my achievement, my biggest gratitude goes out to my wife. Annie has been there for me through thick and thin. Our Catholic faith is strong and I truly believe God worked through her to help me achieve my goal. It wasn’t ceive my degree just as I’m ready to receive my baby boy. I’m hopeful that a better life lies ahead for the Valtier’s #3. I can’t say when it will happen but I do know it’s in the cards. We’ve waited our turn for our big break. Our time is here.

Life without school will be new and exciting, but I’ve learned to never rule out furthering my education. Six years ago I didn’t think I would get out of Mt. SAC. I was on academic probation twice in my five year career there and I was sure I would get kicked out or drop out. Luckily I passed and moved on to CSUSB. Finally school meant something to me and I received my Bachelors in two years. I was certain I was done and getting my Masters was last on my list. A year later I found myself applying for grad school and this would begin a long three year program. Dropping out when times got tough was on my mind quite a few times. Being a first year grad student, getting married that year, and being a first year teacher was no easy task, but Annie pushed and cheered me on.

Ti-na-na would not let me drop out and she practically dragged me across the stage to receive my degree. My friendship with Tina has grown tremendously these past three years and she will forever be in my thoughts. A great friend indeed!
I will miss school in a weird way, but I’m done for now. I’m exhausted and for once I want to enjoy just being a husband and soon-to-be daddy! Annie deserves my love and time more than anyone else for the sacrafices she had to go through while I was in school.



More relieved it’s over than anything else, The counselor in me just wants to move on and now be a source of inspiration for my past, current, and future students in my counseling profession.

Bye bye!

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The summer is over...back to work

I long for the first days of summer when I would wake up to drive Annie to the train station and then come back home and go back to sleep. Wake up again between 10-11. Eat, shower, and then play on the internet until Annie calls me to tell me she's on her way home.

Midway through the summer I was given an opportunity to complete my filedwork at Sequoia middle school in Fontana. Although I hated having to get up again at 5am I was very appreciative to be working at a school with such an awesome program and reputation. At the same time, with the help from Ti-na-na, I kicked my studying for the comps into high gear.

Fieldwork ended just in time for my back to school meetings at St. George. It was also around this time I wondered where my summer break went. Plans to visit old friends went nowhere. Still, I had the big comp exam staring in my face.

To take my mind off things, Annie and I took off to San Diego to see Spring Awakening! Amazing show! I can't stop listening to the cast recording. Best part of our mini trip was spending down time with my best friend. We have fun together.


Back to work. Enjoyed seeing the St. George family. Comp Exam day came and drained the hell out of me. Didn't feel as confident as I wanted to feel coming out of that exhausting 4 hour test but I do believe I passed. Said results won't come back for two weeks. One week has come and gone. The wait continues.

School started and I'm looking most forward to teaching and not juggling school at the same time. More time for my students. More time for Annie. More time for our baby. Class is great. Good kids. Fun. Off to a great start.

I miss the olympics though!

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24 weeks

I haven't had too many symptoms, and everybody says that I'm lucky! I feel lucky. All I really get is heartburn, hip pain late at night, and the moody blues.

I think this is what concerns me the most are the bouts of sadness that come and go in seconds. It took me a long time to figure out what makes me sad, but I think Anthony and I figured out what it is. I am not adjusting to change very well. I know I can handle taking care of a newborn and being a mom..it's not that I regret anything (I definitely don't-we've wanted the baby for so long now!)...it's more that my life is changing. The strong voice inside me says that it's changing for the better, but the little whiny voice is what is taking over my feelings. This is now my family, and there is a new life that Anthony and I have created. It's just a wierd feeling that is hard to put into words. But the feeling goes away pretty fast, and I keep reading that this is normal, so I won't worry. I'd say 95% of the time, I am in a fabulous mood! I'm having the best pregnancy anyone could ask for, I seriously am. Very blessed.

So what else is new? Anthony and I went on a nice weekend getaway to the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego to see the musical, Spring Awakening. We have been so freakin' excited about seeing this play since we found out it is touring on the West Coast. Anthony heard about it a while ago, and we've been listening to the soundtrack for a while now. People are comparing it to Rent, which drew us in, but it's really nothing like it. There's lots going on, like teenage pregnancy and suicide, all sent in Germany in the 1900's. We had great seats, with no one in front of me (I can never see). I loved it and loved the songs and can't wait to see it again!

Our hotel was about 1 minute walking distance to the theater, and 5-10 minutes walking distance to everything else: a mall, a Longs Drugs, restaurants, a Church-everything we needed! After the play, we had dinner at our favorite Spanish tapas restaurant (no Sangria for Annie *sniff sniff*), and for some reason, got the same table we had the last time we were in San Diego! It was a great night and a great weekend of relaxing, watching the Olympics, eating, and just enjoying each other's company.

Speaking of the Olympics, we are going through withdrawls still. Anthony is a huge fan of the Olympics and I just love to have something to watch for 24 hours straight. Now, we have nothing to watch. The Hills are back on, but it's beginning to piss me off (I hate She-Pratt and Lo) and other than that, TV is just not the same.

Anthony took the biggest test of his life yesterday-his cumulative exam for his whole Educational Counseling program that gets him his credentials-and even though he says he's not confident that he aced it, I know he did well because he put in a lot of time studying and reading. He'll get his results in a few weeks. He also goes back to work for the new school year at St. George beginning the day after Labor Day. I'm brief because I'm hoping Anthony will elaborate on his accomplishments and the goings-on in his life in his own entry!

The baby is kicking up a storm. He reacts to Anthony's voice by kicking or moving towards the sound of his voice, as indicated by my baby heart monitor and me feeling him moving around. He seems to be active in the early afternoon, early evening (when I'm on the train going home...I know Ziggy will love train rides), and then again at midnight. I can't wait to schedule the 3D/4D ultrasound because I am anxious to have a glimpse of what he looks like! We'll be taking a tour of the Maternity wing next week, and starting Lamaze classes soon after. The baby shower is in the planning stages; looks like we'll be having the party in October. Lots going on in the next couple of months and I'm so excited!

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Ziggy Stardust is a boy!

Whenever someone would ask me what I want to have, I would reply that I want both for different reasons. I want a girl who I can hold and love as my little princess. I’m a sucker for adorable baby girls. However, I want a boy for one reason only…to carry on the Valtier name!

Being that my brother, Mike and sis-in-law, Kerri, are just about done having kids of their own, I knew it was up to me to have the boy in the family. My sister, Rosie may have a boy one day but if everything goes the way things are shaping up, Rosie will be a Martin and no longer a Valtier.

It was never a “macho” male thing for me to have a boy. I’ve been attacked by people who really don’t know me at all and think I only want a boy to fulfill my life and give me a sense of “machismo” pride. I simply wanted a boy to honor my dad and my family. I want my boy to grow up being proud of his last name and remember all the other great Valtier men before him, including my dad, his “papa”. Valtier isn’t the most common last name out there and in the most serious scenario the Valtier name could die out if future generations aren’t brought into this world.

Annie and I are so blessed just to have a healthy baby. Gender was never a concern for us. I believe if it’s God’s will, he will give us our baby girl next time. This way our daughter could have an older brother to protect her!

Listening to our baby boy at night has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I feel more connected to our baby now knowing the sex. Our boy moves around like crazy and makes weird noises on the heart monitor when I speak into Annie’s tummy.



Annie continues to make a beautiful pregnant wife. She glows more and more everyday and I can’t help but want to do everything there is to make her life a little easier. She’s amazing and I know our son will look at her the same way. Suddenly I see a great relationship building between our son and his mom. Much like my relationship with my “super” mom and DJ’s with his mom.

Time to pick a name!

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We found out!

Today I had my third ultrasound and we were hoping that we would find out the sex of the baby. I kept hearing advice to drink juice right before the ultrasound , and that makes the baby turn in the right position to see their private partisans enough to guess the gender.

Well, the baby was turned in the right position and we found out and we are so thrilled! But now we are faced with the task of telling everyone. We have been able to tell my mom and dad and Anthony's mom and dad, but we don't know how we should tell everyone else. My main thing is to be able to tell our loved ones in person rather than as a text message or a Myspace headline, which all seems so impersonal. Another reason is that we're already getting a kick out of asking people to guess just based on the ultrasound pics, which are always blurry and unrecognizable.

First up, my mom. Since my doctor is close to the hospital where my mom works, we stopped by and she was the first one to know. It made me feel proud and excited when I felt my mom shaking as she hugged me after she found out.

Next, Anthony's parents, which is also on the way home. We again had them guess, and they both guessed correctly. Anthony's dad is always up for a challenge, so he really got into looking at all the pics carefully. Anthony's mom said her heart was beating so hard, and when we confirmed the news, the tears came! That made us happy. Hugs all around.

Last for the day were my dad and brother. My dad was just like Anthony's dad, looking carefully at each picture. DJ was less patient, just scratching his head and telling us to hurry up already and just tell them. When we told them, my dad was wiping his face...I said, "Dad, are you crying?" and he said, "No. I'm just happy." And then he gave Anthony one of those cool guy handshakes and slapped my cheek as always, his sign of affection.

So next up, I need to call my sister, because who knows when I'll see her in person again, since she lives far away. I don't want everyone to know and not her! After that, we see the rest of the Valtier clan and we'll tell all of them at the same time. And whenever we see Oscar and Leana in person, they are next up, too!

So please keep praying for a healthy baby and for Anthony and I, that we will become good parents.

Now we can plan the room colors and a name for our baby Ziggy! Yay!!!!!

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Live Mega Doppler 7000 HD

As I've stated before, I've been kinda neurotic about wanting the worst pregnancy symptoms; any sign that the baby continues to be healthy and growing. And for the past few weeks, I've been feeling lots of movement and that gives me the peace of mind that I need. At work, man, our baby goes to town, kicking me and moving around like it's redecorating. At home, from 7:00 PM on until 12:30 am-ish, that baby is already warning us that he/she will be entertaining us late into the evening/early morning.

But there are days when I DON'T feel any movement, and I understand that it may be because the baby is sleeping or just not at a place where I can feel it moving. If any of you have seen the ultrasound, though, you will see that this baby does not sit still.

Needless to say, I remain neurotic and try to find new ways to ease my worries. So I came across the perfect solution: a fetal doppler!

This is the same device that doctors use to hear the baby's heartbeat. It's pretty much a microphone and speakers, but it's the best thing ever to us! We have been renting one for the past month and will continue to rent it until a) I can physically see and feel kicking and b) my mom decides she will not fund this anymore, although she finds it very necessary for us to keep it through the whole term and has offered to pay for the remaining months. Like mother, like daughter, she is as obsessive about this as I am.

The first few days we rented it, we brought it over for the families to hear. It didn't work so well at the Valtier house, and as the minutes passed, the fam lost interest. But I hope to bring it over again soon so they can hear how strong our little Ziggy's heartbeat is! Emily, our youngest niece, seems to be most fascinated by her Auntie Annie being pregnant and I want her to be able to hear it. Then we went over to the Paraiso household, and lucky for us, Ziggy was ready to entertain! The heart beat loud and strong.

So you can't give Anthony and I a new toy for long until we abuse it and find other uses for it. Aside from turning off the lights at night and listening to our baby's heartbeat in the dark, we also use it to check if Anthony's alive and if I'm alive. We have yet to put it on Bennie, but that will be our next activity for sure!

So every day, our baby continues to grow and I am comforted by the fact that I am able to hear he/she whenever I want to. I love that Anthony amuses me and wants me to have everything I need so I can feel comfortable that we have a healthy pregnancy. And I love our new tradition of listening to our baby before we go to sleep. :)

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Cramp of the Century

I am always proud to brag about my high tolerance for pain. I'm usually the one to tell people to "suck it up" or "it doesn't sound that bad". But this morning when I woke up, I had the world's worst leg cramp. I'd never had leg cramps before being pregnant, so I wonder why I get them so frequently now. But this morning was the worst. It was my usual routine: after Anthony gets out of the shower, he wakes me up so I can take my shower. I cry for a little bit (I absolutely hate waking up early in the morning), then realize that I can stall no longer, so I stretch and get up. But this time, the cramp from demon-land stopped me. It was like someone was pulling my leg muscle with all their strength and as the seconds went by, the pain worsened. I started sweating and tears started forming. Anthony tried to help by stretching my foot and massaging my calf, but nothing was working. Finally it went away, but with the pain subsiding came a realization:

If I can't even survive a leg cramp, how the hell am I going to go through labor pains?

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I feel the earth move under my feet. I feel the sky tumbling down.

Never has Carole King's song ring more true than it did today!

An earthquake rumbled across the Southern California today registering 5.4 on the Richter scale. The shaker was centered in Chino hills, about 20 miles from Rancho Cucamonga. Although it wasn't the biggest rocker in history, Kate Hutton (seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California) dreams about days like these.

Annie was at work in Universal and felt the tremble of her building hard enough for her to wonder if she should get under her desk or not. She didn't, but if needed, she was prepared. Sure the emergency disaster team was nowhere to be found until one man made a quick walk through to ask if everyone was ok. Sure people in her building were getting conflicting reports whether to evacuate or not. Rest assure, Universal Studios is on top of things. On a side note, Ziggy rode out his/her first seismic activity without any worries :)

I was enjoying my day interning at Sequoia Middle school in Fontana and felt the earth thrust beneath my feat with such force and intensity. We all looked at each other for confirmation that what we felt was indeed an earthquake. All agreed it was and continued our task to pull schedules for students. Some old teacher in the office had to make his joke loud enough for all to hear. "Well this is a great way to start this school year with a bang!" I did not laugh.

All families have been accounted for and everyone seems to be ok! Word has it that Bennie heard the rattle of bottles and instinctively ran to his safe zone...under the computer desk.

The slip in plate tectonics appeared to have hit some places far worse than others. As one eyewitness described on the news, "It was anarchy in the office." Not sure what he meant by that, but it sounds scary!

The aftermath of such a catastrophic event is always the toughest part. I came home to a substantial amount of damage. It's amazing they didn't condemn the building. I think my pictures speak for themselves.

Ok maybe this last picture wasn't caused by the earthquake. Truth be told, the babies room is still under construction. However, now I can blame the mess on the devastating rupture of the fault.

Notice the vast array of words and phrases I've used to describe today's earthquake. All taken from the over dramatic news reports for the day.

Just another day in California. It may take weeks, it may take years, but we will overcome! The clean up begins!

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Fieldwork begins!

So I just finished my first week of fieldwork at Sequoia Middle School in Fontana and I must say I had a blast. At times it was a little boring stuffing folders for their AB1802 students who are in danger of not passing, but the training on their computer system was well worth it. I got to do my first scheduling for some students and learned more about Zangle. Everyone complains about the new computer system, but I like it. Looking forward to next week when school starts.

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Happy Birthday Annie!

Today is Annie's birthday and I just want to wish her a day filled with love and happiness. Although today is her actual birthday, today marks the end of her birthweek. Lots of fun and relaxation was had.

I'll fill you in on the details later but just know the quote to this weekend's activities was..."Annie's worth it!"

I love you Annie! Happy birthday.

**Update**

We headed off to Indian Wells this past weekend to enjoy a stay of relaxation and pampering at the Miramonte resort and spa. Annie's proud of herself because she got such a great deal on the room. Nevermind the insane price it was for our massage. Actually I'm happy Annie got one! She was treated to a maternity massage which was much needed on her part. I on the other hand could have done away with my massage from Kerry...my male masseuse!

Although it was very hot and humid outside we did venture out to try some of Palm Springs finest restaurants. First stop, "The Nest". Billed as a french cuisine restaurant, this place was anything but french. More Italian then anything else. It's safe to assume we were the youngest people in that place. Average age of their guests had to be 50...maybe 60. Food, not so great! Although Annie did enjoy the bean soup which came in a cool looking kettle(Something easy for their elderly guests to eat)The piano lounge singer added interesting entertainment for the night. Those people know how to shake a leg!

Saw Mama Mia that night at the local cineplex. I was quite impressed with their outdoor shopping complex called "The River" Nice river flowing throughout the complex. Movie theater was crowded with teenagers. I guess they have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.

We went back to "The River" the next night and ate at some sushi place that was less than thrilling. Of course, when you've had the best at "Kens", it's hard to like anything else. Saw a cool BBQ place I wouldn't mind going back to visit and eat at. Called "Babes" Annie was not amused.

We continued Annie's birthday extravaganza back home with a Mass for her. Went out eat with the fams at "BJ's". One would think this would bring Annie's birthday to a close...nope! Ate came over in the evening and of course we had to celebrate with her, so the family headed off to the "Melting Pot" Love their cheese and chocolate fondue! Mind you, we had reservations for 6:30pm and we did not leave until 10:30pm! It takes a long time to eat fondue.

Regardless of how much I tease about the extended birthday celebration and the cost of this entire weekend, in the end, I guess "Annie's worth it!"

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Happy second heart Birthday!

Today my dad turns 2! Today marks the second anniversary of my dad's life saving heart transplant. Today marks another year I am grateful my dad is still around and better than ever.

It still feels like yesterday when Annie and I received an early morning wake up call that my dad was on his way to UCLA to receive his new heart. I can still remember clearly my dad being wheeled down the hallway after we said our goodbyes. I can remember the countless prayers Annie and I said in the waiting room. I can recall the gift from God and Our Lady of Mount Carmel when the doctor came out and said everything went just fine.

So many countless memories I still have and many more to look forward to. One being this December, the day I see my dad hold my child in his arms.

Happy Birthday Dad. We love you!

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Baby "Ziggy's" Debut!

Baby "Ziggy" is very frustrated with his/her living space!

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The Art of Racing in the Rain

So I've taken up some summer reading. Actually is happened by mistake but I'm glad it did. You see here I am in Starbucks with Andrew buying a tall mocha frap, and while I wait for my drink to arrive in my hands I see a book on display. So naturally with nothing else to do but wait, I pick it up. Now I'm not usually a reader but I do like to read when given the right book.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is one of those books! For any dog lover, this book is for you. A philosopher and man's best friend, this book is narrated by Enzo, a Labrador retriever who is obsessed with opposable thumbs and race car driving. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes the reader back through his life and recalls his ups and downs.

One can't help but read this book and look at your dog a whole new way. You begin to wonder what your dog is thinking inside his/her head.

As Annie and I get closer to the arrival of our baby, we often think how Bennie is going to react. Her parents tell us that Bennie will not be allowed in the house when the baby is inside. However, we want Bennie to love our baby and we want Bennie to be a part of his/her life. granted we would never leave Bennie alone with our baby but we definitely want our baby to grow up with Bennie. Nevermind the fact my dog ran away when I was born and my family still teases me about the loss of Fritos to this day.

This brings me to a part in the book where I'm given hope that Bennie will love our baby. So Enzo's owner, Denny, just came back from a race (He's a race car driver) but he missed the birth of his daughter, Zoe. Hanging out with friends for a celebration, Denny isn't all that into celebrating given the fact he knows he did wrong by not being there for the birth of his daughter.

"I don't care about that," Denny said. "I should have been there."

"She came early. You can't know what's going to happen before it happens."

"Yes, I can," Denny said. "If I'm any good, I can."

"Anyway," Mike said, lifting his beer bottle, "to Zoe."

"To Zoe, " Denny echoed.

To Zoe, I said to myself. Whom I will always protect.

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Regarding the Idiot I Unfortunately Work With

So I told my team at work about my news finally, even though I am not showing all that much yet. But I thought it best to tell my core team, but I also knew that someone would take this information and use it for his own personal conversation starter.

There's an idiot I work with and of course, he's got no life of his own, so he must resort to telling other co-workers my good news. If anyone knows anything about announcing baby news, it is that it should come from the one who is having the baby. I was going to post the email thread I sent telling him to knock it off, but I may get in trouble if I repeat verbatim, so let's just leave the story as he replied twice to apologize because he didn't mean any harm.

Of course he didn't mean any harm. He just does what he wants every day, doesn't think about his actions before he sends out stupid emails or makes his stupid comments, and doesn't get disciplined properly for inappropriate behavior. And when he's disciplined, he turns it into a joke, like it's everyone else's problem that he's a piece of crap. I just don't get how someone can be that unprofessional and unknowledgeable that all of us have to constantly spoon-feed him instructions on how to behave in a workplace. And why he is still employed with this company.

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I Make Good Panannies

So as I sit down for lunch, I realize that I make a smokin’ Panini sandwich, or as Anthony and I call them, Panannies. I feel bad because despite my love for cooking, I don’t get to do much of it at home. But when I do get to cook, I love seeing Anthony enjoy his food. And the Panannie gets him every time! I can’t wait to spend more time at home in a couple of months, so I can cook more and also to get used to our new little family.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant. My nausea has gone away (I only had it for like 2 weeks). Today in particular, I don’t have very many symptoms. Although I feel blessed and grateful that I don’t have more symptoms, it doesn’t ease my worries. I love feeling all of the side effects; it assures me. I have a doctor’s appointment at the end of the week, so I can’t wait to talk to her about what I’m feeling.

I am loving lemon and salt together. Instead of the primitive way of shaking some salt on a lemon wedge, I have now mastered art of making a lemon and salt “soup” in a saucer, bowl, or anything that has a bowl-like function. The ratio is usually 70 % lemon juice to 30% salt (I love salt; always have, always will). I proceed to sip with a spoon. That is my craving for the moment, and I cannot get enough of it. I ate 6 lemon wedges worth in an hour one day, and as a result, I had a bad leg cramp that night. I need to stop.

Poor Anthony is beginning take a beating. If I say I’m hot, he offers to turn down the air conditioner. I say no, I’ll get too cold. If he offers the fan, I say no, I hate the way it blows my hair in my face. If I say my hips are aching, he offers to massage them. I say no, because it’s in my bones, and his massage won’t do any good. I have trouble getting into the truck, out of cars in general, into bed, up the stairs, and walking far distances.

As a personal rule, I hate summer, even though my birthday is in the summer. I hate how stifling hot it is, how it seems as if you can’t breathe because it’s all hot air. I hate how it makes you sweat and feel uncomfortable, even though you could be wearing the lightest of clothing. I hate that we use so much of energy indoors just to keep things cool and comfortable; all I can think about is how our fossil fuels are diminishing and no one cares. I hate when I hear of stupid owners who leave their poor dogs in their cars in 110 degree heat. How can you forget about a living being inside of your car? Now, I’m not sure if all of these comments are amplified by my condition, but either way, I never look forward to the summer.

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36 inches

Measured Annie's tummy yesterday. 36 inches to be exact. Picture will come soon.

So I'm on break now. Last week was eventful. I finished off the school year with my class and I miss them dearly. I also walked this past Saturday to receive my fake Masters in Educational Counseling. Need to finish up in the summer with my big comp exam scheduled for August 27th. Should be studying right now.

While Annie slaves away at work I'm here at the house staring at the computer screen or t.v. screen. Like I said I should use this time to study. I begin my last fieldwork at the end of July. Between now and then I plan to clear out the computer/junk room and make room for Ziggy. Should be fun. I like to decorate believe it or not.

ok off to browse the internet...I mean study.

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Annie the Nauseous and Juror #9

Awww, Anthony' s post made me smile. We are excited and Anthony has been the greatest pregnant husband so far! If anyone else ever wants to have a baby with him, trust me, he'll take care of you! Anthony is the best baby daddy.

Yes, it seems as if ever since the two grandpas began to announce the news, I have finally been getting all the great symptoms that I thought for the first three months I wouldn't get. I have had some major nausea, when I wake up in the morning, or from a nap, or right before I go to sleep. I have been ralphing on and off, depending on how well I was able to stave off the urge to purge. Milk seems to help a lot. Eating slow and not rushing around helps, too. I no longer sleep throughout the night; I am interrupted by at least 4 trips to the bathroom during the night. I also am uncomfortable beyond belief when I sleep. My legs ache, my back aches and I have an anxious feeling that prevents me from relaxing enough to close my eyes. Of course, Anthony sleeps right through all of this.

But you know what? I love every minute of it. All of these yucky feelings really help me confirm that there really is a baby on the way and I'm totally fine with whatever this pregnancy throws at me. BRING IT ON.

So for the last two weeks, I have been Juror #9, fulfilling my civil duty. I actually wanted to be picked because I was interested in the process of it all. I served on a criminal trial, with a UPS guy who had a bunch of DVD players and recorders in his house, presumably delivered, but somehow ended up in his house. Definitely guilty, you say? Nope, I was one of the majority who found him not guilty. I don't want to get into it here, but there were just too many missing pieces of evidence that were never provided. I couldn't, with a good conscience, aid in convicting someone when I felt that the other party was keeping information from me. So we ended with a mistrial, and I'm proud of that. The jury all had strong feelings and we stuck to them.

Next up, we run the Mud Run this weekend! By we, I mean, Anthony, DJ, and Virgil, my cousin. Virgil is running in my place because I signed up for it early and then got knocked up later, so no more mud run for me. Oh well.

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The word is out...We are expecting!

Slowly the word is getting out via proud Lolo and proud Papa.
We are in fact expecting our first child this December (Christmas baby!). Annie is now about three months pregnant and we are so very blessed and super excited. We thank those of you who have sent your congrats and well wishes. We now ask for everyone's prayers. We believe the power of prayer will bring this baby into a healthy life.

Couple of things to add. Annie is finally feeling pregnant and by that I mean she is finally feeling nauseous and she's tossed it a couple of times. POOR ANNIE! We received our first clothing item in the form of "onesies". So cute! Thank you Susie and Manny. With our gift we've decided we want our theme to be organic. Annie and I, as most of you know, are very environmentally conscience...or try to be at least. Our "onesies" is made out of organic material and we just thought that was so awesome. My new summer project awaits me. This summer I will tackle getting our second bedroom together for the baby. I feel like I just got it organized with our junk and now I need to move all of it. Should be lots of fun!

Lastly, it feels really good to finally be telling everyone. I was super happy to share the news with the school staff. I loved being able to share the news with my class. Slowly I'm enjoying telling all our friends (I'll eventually get around to all).

That's it for now. We read the other day that our baby is the size of a plum. I like plums. Next week it will be the size of a peach. I'm glad they're comparing my baby to fruit.

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2 years later!

Finally, I figured out how to get back on this damn blog! I'm back!

So let's see. What's been going on? We are still at our humble little condo. We are always wishing and hoping and praying for a bigger house, but we always come to the conclusion that it's just not in the cards right now. We spent last weekend cleaning the house and it's sad how proud we are of that fact. I actually cleaned our patio and our bbq in anticipation of going outside more often. We swear our upstairs neighbors run a meth lab.

I'm still working at Universal. I love all the perks and my benefits are really good, so I guess I can't complain. I won't waste any energy or negative thoughts on co-workers who obviously don't know what they're doing yet, are still employed. But I just did. I hate stupid people and I hate people who are suck ups.

Happy anniversary to the A-Team! It's been two years! I have to be honest; it hasn't been easy. But what's great is that Anthony and I both know we really are made for each other. Circumstances have been rough, but aside from a few big arguments, we don't really fight or hate each other. We really are a team and if we don't like our current situation, we just leave it up to God and just pray a little bit more. And we make a lot of jokes. I know that's the annoying thing about us; that may be why we don't have many friends. No matter what, there' s nothing I love more than hanging out with Mr. V; it could be when we travel or just at home in our jams watching The Hills.

We spent our anniversary at Coachella again. I must say, though, we are getting old. We were really bothered by the smoke and the late nights this time around. But we're troopers and we vow to stick with it every year, contrary to the disapproving remarks of the parental units. It's our tradition! Nothing beats looking up at the desert stars as we listen to live music. For our anniversary day, we had a very crappy dinner at a gay bar in Palm Springs, not because we were at a gay bar, but because the food was almost government grade. I'm a terrible critic, so I take that into consideration, and I think I've turned Anthony into one, but this food was really bad. Nonetheless, we had a very relaxing six days away from everyone and everything, which was something we needed for a while now.

So what's next? Start a family? Yes? Stay tuned for that.

For the near future, I am looking forward to Anthony and DJ both graduating with their Masters this year. I look forward to getting acquainted to life with Ziggy, my new family friend.

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