Gavin's Birth Story

It was a typical Monday. Mike was off to work, Ethan was off to school.. I stayed home with every intention to relax but somehow "relaxing" only made me more anxious. I had watched every show on DVR, trolled craigslist for baby gear, did a few loads of laundry, even finished painting the mural in Gavin's nursery. I went to Target that morning, got some Chinese food for lunch, Walgreens that afternoon to buy snacks for Mike (for whenever I go into labor). It was becoming quite apparent how exhausting it is just waiting to go into labor. Gavin wasn't due for another week, but I did convince my doctor to push my induction to Wednesday morning. 2 more days, I kept thinking... 2 more days...

So you can imagine my surprise that Monday night... we had just finished watching the latest episode of House. I felt like crap, as usual, but wasn't having any contractions. And then... the uneventful event happened. My water broke. No... I didn't stain the couch. I didn't pee all over the carpet either. But it broke alright... it was around 9:30pm. I yelled for Mike, and after calling my sister to tell her "this is NOT a drill" and a few minutes of last minute packing and Mike nervously looking for a "rope" to tie off the umbilical cord in case we don't make it all the way to the hospital... we were off.

By the time we got to the hospital, my family was already there. They wheeled me off to Labor and Delivery and I got comfortable in that horrid hospital gown pretty quickly. Slowly, my pain rating climbed from a 2 to a 4 to a 6. It sucked, but it was manageable. My mom said if I was still texting, that it couldn't be THAT bad.

I told the nurses the first chance I got that I wanted the epidural, but for some reason or the other, they couldn't give it to me right away. I had to get my blood drawn, they said. I don't know what the hell was going on at 10pm that it took them forever to draw my blood and get it to the lab.

Within 2 hours, the contractions have gotten so bad that I found myself yelling in pain -- something I didn't remember doing when I gave birth to Ethan. For what it's worth, Mike talked me through breathing through the contractions. I found a spot on the ceiling to focus on and held on to the siderail because I didn't By the time they drew my blood, the lab got the results, and the anesthesiologist got to the room, I was already 9 cm dilated. I was ready to push. I remember the anesthesiologist talking to the nurse, telling her it was too late for me to get it. I just kept thinking.. holy shit, this hurts.

No, no, no. Unacceptable. I don't remember if I spat out profanity, I don't think I did.... I just remember saying "please" a lot. I could've cursed them out politely, I suppose. Mainly, I begged for them not to let me go through it without drugs. Sure, people do it all the time. But I wasn't about to if I could help it. Mike kept saying "you can do this, I know you can". No offense, hun, but I hate you right about now.

They ended up administering the epidural after much begging. By then I was already ready to push. The anesthesiologist told me he can't sit me up because I was in too much pain, so he'll have to do it with me laying down - which apparently takes his difficulty level up a notch. I promised to stay still through the contractions, which is A LOT harder than it sounds. He stuck my back and waited inbetween the peaks. It took maybe 20 minutes for me to feel it, but it was too late..... It was go time. I don't remember much anymore after that.

Next thing you know, he was in my arms. He was finally here.... there's no feeling like the first time you see that baby. He was perfect. But my favorite part of it all was introducing Ethan to his baby brother.

Ethan, meet Gavin. Gavin, meet Ethan.

Gavin, meet the world.

Sometimes, First Place is just Better!

Didn't seem all that long ago that we're bribing Ethan to ditch his training wheels. Why am I ever surprised anyway? This kid has far excelled in everything he does!

Still, when we entered him into his first bike race, we knew we had a lot of work to do as far as teaching him good sportsmanship.

"It's not always all about winning."

"Always do your best and have fun."

We try to focus on making sure he has fun, above all else. But really, kids know the difference between winning and losing, regardless of whether or not there's a scorekeeper or medals or trophies. I've learned that ranking achievement is something they pick up on their own, and as parents, the best we could do is try to help them not be discouraged whenever they do end up on the losing end. I am a firm believer that sometimes, it's in losing that we learn the biggest lesson, and failing is what propels the greatest to succeed.

As my Tito Jess would say, "Try and try until you succeed!" :)


In Ethan's eyes, of course, things are much simpler than that. Competition is competition. And at 4 years old, he's pretty convinced that you're not a winner unless you cross the line first.

So he did just that this weekend!

This is Ethan BEAMING after he won. His excitement was priceless!

Proudly showing off his medal

Family support is very important to us and there sure is no shortage of that when it comes to cheering on Ethan!

Ethan's biggest cheerleaders!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOT: Ethan telling the baby all about him winning the race!

London-Bound with Baby News

It started with a dream. Just a dream. I dont really even remember what I dreamt about but it prompted me to take a test and sure enough! 3 for 3 and the doc confirmed. Can't tell yet how far along I am until the ultrasound. I kept it from Mike for 2 days, thinking about some special way to tell him on the way to London. The scene from the Wedding Singer kept playing over and over in my head. I hoped I could find a flight attendant cool enough to make the announcement on the intercom....

But I saw a perfect moment last night. Just me and Mike on the couch. Nothing fancy. He gave me the biggest hug and we both couldnt wait to tell Ethan. His reaction was priceless!! He couldn't stop jumping on the couch!

"I made a wish to have a baby brother, and it came true!" he said. And he's right. For months, he's been praying for a baby more than he does for any toy. I can't wait til he actually meets her! ;) We got a while before we find out still....

Well we're on our way to London. I am happily and gittyly imprisoned on my Droid, but I'll prob need to wait til we get back to write more. This keyboard is so darn difficult to write a novel with. Gotta love technology.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Brentwood Grand Prix

I haven't posted much of Mike's past few races... actually, I haven't posted much of anything lately. We've gone to a wedding, the circus, the waterpark, Ethan's summer school shananigans, Mike's ongoing races and all the other life responsibilities that happen inbetween... I've got tons of photos I want to share, so many things I want to write about, nuances to bitch about, but every time I start, I get bogged down with writer's block. I even downloaded a blogger app on my phone, and still I can't find the juices to write any one-liners!

In the famous words of my little Ethan........... Barnacles!

But I have to try.

And I suppose now's a better time than ever to break the spell because I want to share about Mike and Ethan's race at Brentwood last Sunday.

Mike's cycling season this year is winding down. With Tour de France over with and with only a handful of races left on the calendar, Mike has really vamped up his training and have even finished 12th in Ontario last month.

Sunday's race started out strong, he stayed out front for the most part, while half of the races started peeling off one by one. It was harder this time to separate Mike from the "peloton" (main pack) because of his spankin' new jersey -- IDIOT me, who took charge of packing the overnight bag, somehow LEFT out his jersey at home. So we had to dash (literally breaking the law) the night before to get to the nearest Performance Bike before they closed so he could buy a new jersey. $150 worh of legit-looking Fuji jersey to match his Fuji bike later, I was out of the doghouse and he was a happy camper.

But I digress....

5 laps before the end of the race, Mike was apparently involved in a crash (his first of the season) and lost a minute so he fell back. I'm glad the officials didn't decide to pull him off that close to the end... but you could see the disappointment in his face when he fnally crossed the finish line 38th out of 70. If it weren't for the wreck, I can honestly say he could've finished top 10. He had started out so strong, and could've easily stayed towards the front if he hadn't gotten caught in the accident. I always hear about stories of people crashing and breaking their collar bones and needing surgeries done, so I constantly worry about him when he's racing with 50 other guys and they ride so close to each other going 30 mph. So I'm just glad he was ok!


And then it was Ethan's turn.

Ethan's First Consent Form

Mike had to do some convincing, but eventually, I suppose I knew (despite all the mommy-worries) that Ethan would handle himself just fine against the 8 year olds (he was in the boys 5-8 category). I did all I could do. I brought his elbow and knee pads, which he refused to wear after seeing no one else had them on. I made sure he was comfortable. I had bandaids in my purse. I strategically placed Mike, Sissy, my mom and my dad in increments from start to finish so we could all keep tabs on him. I was a worry-wart.

But Ethan, on the contrary, was ecstatic. It was his first race WITHOUT training wheels... and he wanted to be JUST LIKE DADDY. He just learned to ride on two wheels weeks ago, and we tried to practice as much as we could. You could tell he was a little scared, but I was tearfully impressed by how he tried to be strong. He wanted to be one with the big boys. You couldn't even tell he was the youngest one there (by 6 months at least). He did ask not be up front because he still wasn't 100% with the take-off. I gave him a kiss and he looked up at me with those "I can do it mom!" looks and I couldn't be more proud!!!! With that, I ran to wait for him at the finish line..... but of course, as luck would have it, there were some privileged parents who got to stay on the course to take pictures of their kids and run with their kids. So I didn't really get any great shots of Ethan crossing the line, but I did meet him towards the end, and surprisingly, he was just proud of himself as we were despite not finishing first.

My proud baby!

This will definitely not be his last!!


Of course, my sister, my mom and my dad all came out to support Mike and Ethan so it was a family affair. My mom even got Ethan his first racing jersey! A little foreshadowing maybe? UCLA is a great school that Ethan can go to for free :)


More pics!

Who Needs an Abacus When You Got Jenga!

I'm not exactly sure when Ethan decided that he loves Math (clearly not MY strong suite), but it's amazing, at 4, how strong his arithmetic skills are. It's about the only subject he's almost always interested in.

Last night, after working with him on writing his full name, I promised I would let him play on "dot com disney" (he likes to play the games on playhousedisney.com) if he would practice writing his numbers. Sure enough, by the time he got to 4, he had already lost interest despite the "reward". He eventually finished it and I thought he would be done with lessons for the rest of the night when Mike strolled in with a challenge.

He wrote this on Ethan's paper:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 =

5 + 6 =

7 + 5 =


"I will give you 5 extra minutes on the computer for every problem you solve," he said.

Ethan was surely up for the challenge. And although he could do the math with his fingers, I figured it'd be more fun for him to use the jenga blocks as a manipulative. This fancy term, manipulative, simply means using items with your child as visual aids of the mathematic concepts you are trying to teach.

Too easy....... :)


I ♥ seeing him feel accomplished!

The Three Musketeers

Five on Fridays: Birthday Recap

Mike's birthday this year was a hoot. You know what they say.... when the cat's away, the mice will play...

1. All-you-can-eat SUSHI! We did what we do best when it comes to dinner.

Roro's birthday is only 2 days from Mike's, so we've always tried to celebrate their birthdays together every year.








2. Golf by the beach. Yes, that's how much I love Mike. I bought me a set of Lady Cougar clubs at a yard sale for $5 (scoooore!) and finally went golfing with Mike -- Roro and Sissy in tow -- for 9 holes by the beach.

It was actually pretty fun!







3. The Happiest Place on Earth would be happier without the lines. Went to Dland on Sunday with Jojo and Jacob on Sunday. Now, Disneyland without Ethan is little bittersweet. On one hand, we could ride the rollercoasters and all the rides Ethan wouldn't be caught dead in, but on the other hand, he would've loved the World of Color water show. Too bad our passes are blocked for the rest of the summer!









4. A nice upgrade. Mike's birthday present probably tops it all. I say if you spend that much money on a bike, it better pedal itself to 1st place. But Mike says it's still up to him to pedal fast, although having a much lighter bike would help him be that much faster.







5. Of course, Ethan missed all the celebration this year because he's having way more fun in Ohio with Grandma and Poppi. We've just (reluctantly) approved a petition to extend his 2-week vacation by a couple of extra days. Gah!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Mr. Super Dad and Husband....
Happy Birthday to you!


Twenty seven years ago today, one of the most amazing women I’ve ever known gave birth to the most wonderful man I have ever known.

To her I say: Thanks for raising such a wonderful, caring, sensitive, and strong man. Thanks for teaching him what’s right and what’s wrong. Thanks for showing him that love and affection are wonderful things to have and to give in life.

To him I say: Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you with all my heart. Ethan and I are so lucky to have you in our lives. You are our rock. We are so very proud of everything you have accomplished, and we are here to support with everything else you got stored up your sleeves.

We Will Miss You, Oliver

Today, we didn't just lose a friend. We lost a family.

I am Truly Blessed

A coworker shared something funny with me on Monday. Her son told her that Mother's Day is just an arbitrary holiday. Something that was cooked up, probably the same people over at Hallmark who supposedly cooked up Sweetest Day, with nothing more than the sole intent of generating sales.

Arbitrary or not..... commercialized even..... I love Mother's Day. My sentiments, of course, have changed since I became a mom myself, but I loved it even before I was blessed to join the club.

Mother's day, to me, is another time when we take stock of how we have been blessed in life.

I am blessed to have a beautiful relationship with my mom, who is always there for me no matter what. She raised me, taught me to be an individual, and made me who I am today. She taught me to be strong, to be brave, to be aggressive with my dreams, to be respectful, to be loving, to be grounded. She has sacrificed so much and have raised three strong-willed children.

My mother-in-law, who's become my second mom and despite having to deal with my crazy antics, have found herself attached to me and treats me like her own and has welcomed me into her family in every way. But because she lives thousands of miles away (she thinks I'm the devil for stealing her son away), I don't get to express my appreciation enough, but I hope she knows that I appreciate everything she's ever done for me and my family.

This weekend, I spent my time spending it with the people I love. It started with a semi-surprise breakfast in bed from Mike and Ethan, and then went shopping then to lunch with my mom, sister and brother (dad had to work). Nothing extravagant, just the company of the people I care most about.

Grrrr... the only pic we got with mom... and she decides to blink!

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. ~Honoré de Balzac

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along. ~Margaret Culkin Banning

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep

Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What’s that suppose to mean? In my heart it don’t mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother’s love endures through all. ~Washington Irving

There’s nothing like a mama-hug. ~Terri Guillemets

Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not. ~James Joyce

It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

My mom is literally a part of me. You can’t say that about many people except relatives, and organ donors. ~Carrie Latet

A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done. ~Author Unknown

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

The phrase “working mother” is redundant. ~Jane Sellman


A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

Happy Mother's Day!

Under the Vegas Sun

Weather forecast today is nice and comfortable with a little breeze at 75 degrees. It's a BEAUTIFUL day outside but I'm stuck indoors with the AC blasting and a stunning view of a concrete wall outside my window.

What I need is some sun.......... get some colors in these pale legs!

I did get a little bit of a tan last weekend when we all went to Vegas for a few days. Thanks to my mom's high-stakes "playing" habits (she will not admit she's a gambler), she can pretty much get comped rooms any time she wants. So north bound we went, and 4 hours later, we were in Paris........

I could only wish the real one is that drivable.

So we did a little bit of sightseeing -- checked out the new Aria hotel and the City Center that's not quite done with the construction. Spent a few hours at Circus Circus. Saw the Lion King Musical. Hung out at the pool with a margarita while sulking in the tragedy of not having a bathing suit that fit. No gambling for me, but Mike did manage to lose $60 on a poker table in 10 minutes (see why I don't like gambling?). But the highlight of the weekend was the buffet of all buffets......

Free rooms and all we could possibly eat in 24 hours for $30 in 5 different hotels. You had me at buffet. :)