My Birthday at work!

This is the conference room that I have been camping in with Michael. This is Michael...hard at work.

Ok, so maybe turning 31 wasn't SO bad. I came to work, and some of my employees had decorated the conference room for me. They also bought me flowers (2 sets, although only one is showing) and a big bag of relaxation items. In fact, now that I think about most people got me gifts that are geared at relaxing...do I look too stressed?
This is one of the sets of flowers - very pretty. I put them in the car seat (Caiden was with Dave) to protect them on the way home.

My mom came and brought me cake in the morning, and so we all filled up on sugar at like 10:30am, and then the team bought me cupcakes and sang a very spirited rendition of Happy Birthday which actually embarrassed me and made me blush. I know. I am really not one for a lot of attention. I kind of like to blend in.

As you can see the cake was good...it's already half eaten at this point. Thank you mom :)

Overall, I was very touched and felt blessed. Thank you guys :)

Kiya Update - Still a Girl!

Sorry I have not posted lately. I have been in a mood where I don't want to DO anything. Of course, this means that I have cleaned the house, and started pruning the outside, but trust me...I didn't want to do anything.

I officially now can't sleep as I get kicked throughout the night. Caiden has become morning boy which normally means about 2 minutes before my alarm clock goes off he very cutely sticks his face in mine and says in the sweetest, most adorable voice "it's wake up time? Can I cuddle?". I never knew how important two minutes were to me. I usually resist the urge not to moan 5 more minutes, and try with all my might not to roll over away from him (for fear of hurting his feelings). He is just so sweet and cute.

On Friday, Dave, Caiden and I hiked it to the doctor. We had a more intensive ultrasound where they looked at Kiya's heart (made sure the ventricles were working properly), looked at her kidneys, bladder, brain, took measurements...confirmed that we are definitely STILL having a girl!

She is measuring average, but a bit larger than Caiden was. I believe that she said that she is currently 14 ounces, or did she say 12. I can't remember. Anyway, I gained quite a bit of weight along with Kiya...I'm having a bit of a hard time with that. I believe I have gained about 10lbs total so far, but I can't be sure as I avoid the scale at all cost. I don't really want to make it more of an issue than it needs to be. I think that it has to do with me not doing my S factor classes anymore, and to be honest I haven't replaced it with ANY kind of exercise. It had been so hot that walking to the mailbox was out of the question, so I have opted for the easier approach...just sit.

The good news is that the Placenta Previa is now gone, so I am once again a good candidate for a natural (yes, ladies...all natural, no epidural, needles, anything intrusive) childbirth again. I am so happy about that...I was really dreading a medical birth, including a possible c-section (yikes). Well, it looks like all that is behind me now, or at least I hope so. :)

Caiden's First Earthquake

Caiden experienced his first earthquake today. It was quite funny actually because he ran up to Dave and asked him why he was stomping on the house to make it move. Hey, I'm just thankful he didn't ask me that :)

Dave explained that that was an earthquake. Of course Caiden asked Why as that is the stage that he is in right now. Dave asked Caiden if he was scared, and he said no. He thought it was fun. Dave said that's because he is too niave to be scared.

I guess the earthquake was centered in Lake Elisnore, which is right down the way from us. It was a 4.7. Hopefully we don't have any aftershocks that we can feel...I'm not the biggest fan of earthquakes...especially when they are SO close to my house.

Hmm, maybe I should invest in some earthquake insurance.

A Black Thumb That YEARNS To Be Green

I have a black thumb. I kill any kind of plant that I buy and put at my house. Only the strong survive, and frankly I haven't found anything strong enough to handle me.

The kinds of plants that I think would be able to survive my particular kind of love are like cactus or something ugly and horrible. You see, I don't intentionally try to kill the plants. I do try to take care of them, but I end up over watering, or under watering, or they get some kind of fungus. SOMETHING always goes wrong. The problem? I actually like pretty plants and flowers. I just get discouraged when I kill them. It's disheartening.

Ok, so here's the story. I have been wanting to have potted plant outside of our door, but for obvious reasons have procrastinated in getting one. Well, THIS time would be different. THIS time I brought reinforcements...in the form of my friend Katie. Katie KNOWS how to plant. Things survive at her house and dare I say they even flourish. Katie is the one who told me what to buy to make my grass green. It worked!! I didn't kill that, so I thought this would be a good idea.

We journeyed out to Home Depot and went the plant section. We scour home depot's garden center for a pot that is just right - and by just right I mean reasonably priced (because I'm cheap)and cute (because I care). We FINALLY found one...half the battle won...now we need to find the plants.

Of course all of the plants I pick would not work for me, but we finally settle on Rosemary (which apparently smells really good - but I had a cold so I couldn't smell it); and these things that look like daisies, but the garden expert ASSURED me that they are NOT daisies.
This is my Rosemary Plant. You know I was told I can actually cook with this as well.

Well, I ask stupid questions about plant care which I swear were about to make the person laugh, but hey I kill things, I need the answers. I ask questions like. "Ok, so I buy the plants...now what do I do?" This boggles the garden expert. I then ask if they will pot the plants for me, so I don't have to worry about that part of the care process. She says yes and we move on.

I try to explain how I am a murderer, and then she understands. She said you buy this kind of plant mix and then you water it. HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!! That is where I kill things - HOW MUCH do you water.

Her answer: That depends. Well, really? How does that help me. She tells me all of these factors "wind, heat, etc...". Whatever. I see where this is going and I feel badly for the plants that I am about to purchase. Her only advice. "Keep the receipt in case you kill them because you can bring them back".

I then go to the person who is going to pot my plant, however they inform me that they cannot help me because the pot I purchased does not have plugs. Plugs? Why does a pot need plugs? No one told me I needed to look for a cute, inexpensive pot with plugs. They then tell me that I need to drill holes in the bottom of the plant. At this time, Katie mentions something getting mesh or something. Now I am thoroughly confused and wishing that I didn't start this whole darn project.

We buy the pot and plant and go to my sister's house again. I ask her for a drill. She clearly sees the frustration on my face and expertly starts drilling holes in the bottom of the pot. Stephanie starts to pot my plant, but Katie tries to teach me. She tells me to caress the plant's roots...good thing she said that I was going to crush them apart. I thought they needed that, now I know differently.
Steph expertly drills holes for water
And begins to plant
I know it looks like Steph is doing it ALL, but I swear I am trying to be useful
This is me being useful
I'm sure she is fixing my attempt at being useful, hence the turned back so she doesn't hurt my feelings

Anyway, I try to make myself useful and help. As you can see from the pictures I look thoroughly confused and frankly I look a little like I'm in pain. Not sure what that is about.

Me trying to be useful again. Notice the confused look on my face
I still look confused and a little pained
Furrowed brow intact
Still trying to figure it out
This is the point that I realize Katie is taking pictures, so I smile
Caiden reviews our work and approves!

Eventually the plant gets potted, and Katie drives home with me to water the plant (she stayed the night too) and make sure that it has the best chance of survival.
A reward for a job well done!

I have to say I hate to take a picture of it right now. It looks a little sad. Katie said it probably is in shock...as I would be if she yanked me from my home and shoved me into a new place. I hope she's right. I just don't know what I'll do if this plant doesn't survive. :(

A Visit To The Naffin Twins

Last Saturday or Sunday, I can't remember which I went to see my sister and the twins. Katie joined Caiden and I for the latest adventures.



Both Lindsay and Kyle love their swings. They are getting so big. They are now nearly 4 months old and about 13 lbs.

Cabo San Lucas

What can I say about Cabo San Lucas. It was by far my favorite place...not just because the weather wasn't so humid or hot, but because the water was actually BLUE! There were a lot of very pretty sights to see...the problem is getting close enough to the sights to see them. This required the use of a water taxi.

The tender we were on
Dave and I on the tender

Since Dave, Wendy, Pam and Jake went snorkling, Jeff and I thought we would take the kids to play at the beach. Sounds like an easy request eh? I thought it would take a few hours and then we would be back on the ship hanging out and waiting for the rest of the crew to get back on board.

Dave on the catamaran
Jake and Pam - Jake never behaves in a picture :)
The twins
isn't that pretty?

BOY WAS I WRONG. First we had to tender across to the shore. They dump you at a market place and force you to pay a water taxi to go to the beach. You can't go straight to the beach though, you have to take a 45 minute tour first -which to be honest I didn't mind because we got to see sea lions, and actual fish (glass bottom boat) and lover's beach, and amazing views. Not to mention various caves and caverns.

The birds
seals or sea lions - I can't remember which
some kind of cavern
Lover's Beach

I would LOVE to go exploring in here. I wonder what I would find?

Jeff and I finally decide to break down and take a water taxi. All was good until the drop off point. They basically wanted us to swim to shore. Did I tell you that we had Caiden and Micah and a stroller? We told them in no uncertain terms that we would not be swimming to shore with the kids. The boat taxi starts to leave. I assure him that we DO want to go to the beach (like we paid him), but we don't want to swim to shore. He seemed less than thrilled and we eventually worked out a system so that Jeff would jump out first, I would hand kids to him and then jump out myself.


Our unhelpful, grumpy water taxi man
Jeff and the boys
Caiden on the water taxi
Caiden and I on the water taxi
Glass Bottom Boat

All was well now... we are at the beach where merchants come and sell you their merchandise. I think I must have said "No thank you" non-stop. Finally I broke down and bought a necklace and Caiden a turtle whistle. We played on the beach and in the sand. It was so beautiful but still very hot.
Caiden and I - notice the rough waters behind us
Micah takes off at a run!
Thoughtful moments

Caiden gets some energy
He LOVES the water

I spelled Mama and Caiden in the sand
There were MANY people selling things

The adventure REALLY came when it was time to go back to the ship. Our boat taxi came back like he promised (which to be honest, really surprised me). He didn't stop all that close to shore, but Jeff and I were prepared with a system. I would climb on the boat first, take Caiden, Micah and then the stroller. Jeff would get in on his own. The problem with our plan was that the ocean was quite choppy. I got in (course I am all wet), I get Caiden (who is JUST as slippery) tell him to hold on and turn to get Micah. *I cannot impress upon you the speed at which we had to do this or the next wave would come in and you would be swimming to get to the boat* That's when I hear a loud smack and some screaming and crying. I turn to look, and Caiden is face down crying. Not once does the boat taxi man try to move and help. In fact, he looks more annoyed than anything. I try to run to Caiden, while holding Micah and making sure Jeff gets in. Once Jeff gets in I hand Micah over and run for Caiden. He was SO scared and he did not stop crying until we got to shore, got to the tender to take us back to the ship and then landed on the ship - which was a long journey. I refused to let him go to sleep until someone looked at him for fear of a concussion - he already had a large bruise forming on one side of his face. Poor little man...he just whimpered the whole time.
Caiden's bruise

An interesting note is that we saw A LOT of armed guards around. We had to go through security to get back across to where the tender was to board the ship.
Big Guns
Men you DON'T mess with


Other than that, Cabo was beautiful. I just wouldn't go out on another boat taxi with kids...it was WAY too scary.