Ok, So I'm a bit of a tv junkie. Do you blame me? There are just way too many cool shows out there! I just wanted to list all of my current DV-R'd favorites and see if anyone is paying attention. I'm getting upset because some of my shows are overlapping and this hasn't happened before!! And of course these shows aren't being shown online. So I have to actually CHOOSE between them. It's terrible! Well at least I don't watch SOAPS anymore!! WHEW! If you happen to watch any of these, let me know so we can chat about it on Facebook, my link is above...

1. Smallville -(after a few seasons hiatus, I think I came back at a great time!)
   
2. Heroes
3. Fringe
4. LOST
   
5. CSI-Las Vegas - (final season, I miss Gil, Sara & Warrick)
   
6. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (can't wait for Terminator:Salvation)
   
7. Battlestar Galactica - (final season, so sad)
8. ER - (final season, too many finales!)
9. The Office
10. Survivor:Tocantins
11. The Mentalist
12. Hell's Kitchen
13. Ghost Whisperer
14. Medium
15. The Bachelor (Jason Mesnick)
16. America's Next Top Model
17. The Amazing Race
    
18. Top Chef
19. The Biggest Loser: Couples (my first season, I'm hooked...which isn't hard to do)
20. American Idol (I hate starting this!)
21. America's Best Dance Crew
22. So You Think You Can Dance (Still the best talent contest out there!)
23. Tool Academy (why!?)
24. The Hills
25. The City (Whitney Port, Mtv)
26. Project Runway
27. Real Housewives of O.C.
28. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (I cry all the time)
29. True Beauty

Today was my 2nd schedule prenatal dr. appt. Besides waiting in the room for about a half an hour and it was pouring rain outside, the appt went pleasantly smooth. I am 16 weeks 4 days today. The nurse asked if I wanted to have an Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) blood test. AFP is a substance made in the liver of an unborn baby (fetus). The amount of AFP in the blood of a pregnant woman can help see whether the baby may have such problems as spina bifida and anencephaly. Which I did end up doing across the street at the lab. Won't know results till the next appt in 5 weeks.
I had my weight checked and gained 2.5 lbs since my last month's appointment. That's good. I'm definitely on the right path and not gaining too much or too little weight. My blood pressure is good too. My Dr. (Dr. Andersen) came in and used the fetal doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat. That was my first time to hear it and it was nice and strong! I was surprised at how quickly the Dr. stopped. In my past pregnancies they would listen for a while and at least track the heart rate. Which I've heard you can use to see if you are having a girl or boy. Over 140 beats per min is a girl and under 140 is a boy. I couldn't tell this time. BUT, exciting news. My Dr. gave me a referral form to have my ultrasound test done sometime in the next 4 weeks! So I called after my appointment and scheduled it for March 6, 2009 - 2 days before my birthday! Hey, if it's a boy that would be a really COOL birthday present for me!! But overall I'm just hoping for a perfectly formed healthy baby! So that's pretty much all that happened today. Oh I did go by In-N-Out and have some lunch, thanks to my Cousin Ferdie for the Christmas gift card!! Hamburger, fries and chocolate shake. Dang, I hope not to weigh too much at my next appt. haha.

I decided to fill this out because I loved reading what everyone else wrote and started thinking if could I even think of 25 things interesting about me. I wanted to challenge myself but bare in mind I put things in here that you might not know about me. So although there's no mention of my husband and kids, they are above all the rest the most important to me besides the Lord God!!! So...here goes...

1. Even after the Challenger explosion I wanted to become an astronaut. Then I got lazy.
2. I love cutting my own hair (as well as my girl's hair) and doing my own nails. People tell me to go to cosmo school, but do I want to do that on OTHER people?
3. I've been embarrassed that I wear a size 9 shoe, but then again, I AM taller than most of my filipino friends!
4. I planned my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy by reading a book and charting my basal body temp and body fluids. TMI? Well within 1 & 2 months we were successful!! Yup #4 was a surprise!
5. When I was YOUNG and DUMB, I was arrested. I did NOT go to jail though.
6. I have 3 tattoos. One I had partially lasered off cuz it had my ex's initials. And that hurt worse than getting the tattoo. I have a huge dragon on my lower back, a heart with a rose on my shoulder and Andrew's name over my heart.
7. When Andrew and I were going out for only 1 year, I got his name tattooed on me for our year anniversary! Bold!? Well we're still together after almost 15 years!
8. Growing up I was into to roller skating, then skateboarding and tried bmx bikes. Total tom-boy!
9. I first strapped on a snowboard when I was 14, back in 1988 in Alaska. I really, REALLY wish I stuck to that.
10. From grades k-12, I went to 12 different schools!! Dad's in the navy.
11. My worse injuries growing up were, spraining my wrist from roller skating and sprained my ankle jumping off a sand dune at the beach.
    
12. I'm competitive. That's how I got my dog...beating Andrew 3 times in a Crash Bandicoot race on Playstation.
13. I was "born-again" on June 29, 2008. That's the anniversary of when Andrew and I met. Talk about special days!
14. I have a "thing" for tiny objects, little mini things- like those tents they have in the camping section of Target are just so DARN CUTE TO ME!!!
15. I had a hard, messed up life growing up and I'm just so thankful to God for how blessed I am today and how far I've come!
16. My favorite childhood actor of all time was River Phoenix. I was crushed at 18 when I found out he died. Such a waste of a beautiful life!
17. I'm in LOVE with Sci-fi shows/movies. Especially anything with time travel. I really wish they would bring back Journeyman. It was the best new show of the year!!!
18. My favorite and most interesting place I've lived was Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Island chain. Only 20 miles from the country of Russia!
19. In '97 I was a vegetarian for about a year, cuz I was an advocate for saving the Earth and animals. Then I got prego and kept being told by family to start eating meat again. It was gross, but I love me a good prime rib now! Just don't get me thinking about how it got on my plate...it's very sad to think about!
20. I love the last bite of an ice cream cone and the first bite of a carne asada burrito. Everything in between is just O.K.
21. On a whim with some friends after the infamous races in SD, we drove to Vegas in the middle of the night, stayed for an hour and drove right back cuz my friend had to work! I wasn't even old enough to gamble and the car had no heat so we froze all the way there and back.
    
22. At one point in my life, i owned about 13 rats, 13 mice, 2 cats, 12 kittens, a salt-water aquarium with a Puffer fish and Lion fish, a 10 gal full of feeder goldfish for the lion and puffer, a snake that ate goldfish too and a golden retriever/rottweiler puppy ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I think there was more, but I can't remember.
23. In Hawaii, we rented a pontoon boat. Onboard were Andrew's parents, my mom, Jas and Jules. I went fishing and CAUGHT THE BOAT! The fishing line melted around the propeller of the boat and Andrew had to use a knife and snorkel to cut it free. It was hard to do but it was life or death. The waves were bringing us towards a huge rocky shoreline!! To this day our parents refuse to ride another little boat again.
    
24. Me and my best friend Cheryl were the only ones to go neck deep in the Colorado River on our 11 mile (easy) river raft tour. The water is a constant 50 degrees and felt like knives! I think I was dared and couldn't say no!!
    
25. I am happy with the Lord. This is the first real time I've really had a relationship with Him and actually realize what it's all about. I know I don't know everything, but I do know what I should be doing and what I have to do. And since accepting Christ in my life, it's been such an awesome adventure. Ah. I won't do it justice here, but I pray that everyone has this feeling sometime in their lives!
    

So I don't know what's going on with my 2nd oldest lately. She's constantly complaining of something hurting, whether it's her stomach, her throat or her leg(s). Which is why I brought her to the dr. today. And of course the dr. said pretty much nothing was wrong. She's walking and not limping and didn't complain of any major pain during stretches. It started Tue night and it was her left leg yet today it "hopped" over to her right?! Go figure! I don't want to be that mom that thinks this...but I DID think it..."could she be a hypochondriac?" I pray to God she isn't, but the last 3 times I had to take her out of school for these mysterious random illnesses! So if anyone else has gone thru this please let me know. I just looked it up online and it mentioned something about growth spurt. So maybe that's all there is and nothing more to be concerned about. That's my prayer anyways!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
In a way yes. We got married in Nov. and stopped taking the pill. Hoping to conceive after maybe a year, it happened 3 months later!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Very surprised and shocked and nervous and excited all at the same time!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No way!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
just turned 24

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
I was "late" so I took a test at 6am and then jumped into bed with andrew crying, tears of joy, and had to have him look at it cuz my head was spinning. I just wanted to make sure!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Besides Andrew, our parents. We had given them presents with baby bibs that said "I love Grandma" or Grandpa. They started screaming for joy!! That was a fun day.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Definitely. I need to PLAN ahead!

9. DUE DATE?
Dec. 4, 1998

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yes...that always the worst part!

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
I craved anything I think. I know I didn't crave meat!

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
probably Andew

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Female

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
yes, I wanted a boy first and then girls so they would have an older brother to take care of them.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
25

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
2!! My Family & Friends & Andrew's Family.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew about both.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
not really. I did have to have pitocin to induce labor cuz nothing was happening after my water broke.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
UCSD, San Diego

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
after the pitocin, about 8 hrs.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Andrew. My water broke at noon and we didn't leave for the hospital till about 6pm.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Andrew and my mom.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
I had an epidural

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
7lb, 3ozs

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
December 13, 1998. 10 days overdue

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Jasmine Razelle - Jasmine was in a bible name book and Razelle is a play off Andrew's friend Ray who passed away. The guys vowed to name their first born after him.

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
10 years old

Well, I thought I would make this blog to keep a diary of my pregnancy...but I realize, now being in my 2nd trimester, there's not much to update on a daily basis. So I'll just blog away whatever comes to mind...so speaking of pregnancy, How about I tell you how I found out I am pregnant!

It is a rather funny story actually, a little detailed and a little graphic for my man readers too...But let me start by saying that it was a complete surprise! I have prided myself on my ability to plan and organize pretty much everything that goes on in my life. Especially when it came to the conception of my children. Granted Jasmine was a surprise as well, but it was more of a "whatever happens, happens" plan. Not sure when I got it, but I got this book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It pretty much tells you what you need to know about a woman's cycle. That's where Natural Family Planning comes in. A plan to prevent OR conceive a pregnancy. I've pretty much been doing that for the past 11 years now. Julia and Jaclyn were conceived after 1 & 2 months of trying on the NFP. And all the times in between were planned to prevent it. I had always thought I might have another child after Jaclyn. But the past year or two, we were pretty content with the way our lives were. So in my mind (keyword MY) I was done...Well, lo and behold, sometime at the end of Oct. to my shock...this plan failed. "What?!" "How did this happen?!" "I'm always so GOOD at planning things!!" Those were just some of the thoughts that went thru my head. Which brings me to how I found out...
See I always keep track of my monthly "visitor". I like to know when things are most likely to happen and that helps with the NFP method. I'm always regular, so when I became ONE day late...I had that gut feeling that something was up. Of course there was still that chance that stress could've delayed it...that's what I was hoping for anyways...so from that point till the next 2 days all I could think about was where my period was!! lol. So on Thu. Nov 20, it was a half day. On the way home I dropped by CVS and got a test. Came out positive!
The next night our friend's May and Nelson took us out to dinner to celebrate Andrew's new job and she asked me if I got my "visitor" yet and I told her I'm prego. She was supposed to start the same time as me! Well, i joked that it would be funny if she was prego too. So we went to Walmart after dinner and she found out she was in the Walmart bathroom! HAHA. Talk about God's plans, not our own! haha So here we are, 16 weeks along. I'm finally able to enjoy life again. The first month I was a mess. So I'm glad to start feeling like my old self again. At my first dr's appt. they did an ultrasound and that was the moment I fully accepted this beautiful, amazing GIFT from God! I thank God for this blessing and pray everyday for guidance, encouragement and esp. a smooth pregnancy and delivery!!