Jordan's Birth Story: While They Are Both Sleeping...

Jordan Dennis Phillips
Born April 30, 2011 at 2:31 PM
6 lbs 15 oz
20 inches

I'm lying in my hospital bed, still sore from giving birth earlier today at 2:31 PM, listening to the clockwork of the IV as it spews oxytocin into my bloodstream and the laughing conversation from the nurses working outside of my door. To my left is the laptop, our cellphones, our cameras, a half empty Lay's bag of chips, a small cup of apple juice, a small 2 fl oz of Medela soothing sore nipple cream, wax water cups and some concoction drink in a big thermos my mom and aunt brought me to help my breast milk develop. In front of me, sits a small body, heaving slowly up and down, covered with a baby blue and pink beanie, swaddled in a white bundle with thin pink and blue stripes sitting inside a clear hospital encasement, tilted so I can see him from my bed.

Every now and then, a little peep comes out of him, as if saying something, but not really. Not crying, not wimpering, just a soft reminder that he is there, and just may be working on his first official poop. And everytime a sound comes from this soft bundle of joy lying at the foot of my bed, an automatic response from the man sleeping on my right joins with, "Hey buddy, what's going on?" or "Yeah Jordan?" Both are asleep, but the murmuring from my newborn son continues as he stretches here and there, moves his head a little as he dreams of his time in the womb or of that sweet first poop and similarly, like father, like son, Andy's responses are not far behind as he is taking a nap until the next feeding.

I think back to the day's events. I remember how I woke up in the hospital at 4 AM so some tall white coat man with thick rimmed black glasses could take my blood sample. Without my glasses or contacts on, I initially thought, what if it's like that movie Unknown, and he is here to put poison into my IV which I can dimly recall was the most painful part of my time at the hospital so far. I also remember the nurse's broken English as she instructed Andy and I to fill out a ton of release forms and sign away any foreseeable rights to litigation and lighten the burden of any form of liability on the hospital's part. This was as we struggled to stay awake as it was already 2 AM at the time.

Earlier that night, we had decided a trip to hospital would be the safe thing to do since I had been having painless contractions for the last 4 hours occurring anywhere from every 5 to 9 minutes. We knew we might be turned away but we didn't want to take our chances. My heart rate was higher than normal, the doctor had said I was 3 cm, 80% effaced and 1 plus station on Thursday, so if anything, getting turned away would reassure us. So off we went to the hospital, calm and composed, ready to get turned away.

The nurse who checked me, politely questioned why we had decided to come to the hospital if I had not been having any painful contractions. I told her of my doctor's appointments stats from Thursday and that I had been having consistent contractions for the last 4 hours. She put a baby heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor on my stomach, strapped with elastic bands (and put on WAY too tight) and began to chart my progress. Andy and I sat there, eagerly looking at the chart as it printed away, noticing all my so called "contractions" were showing up as mere squiggles of pretty static waves. Every now and then, I would get a larger contraction, but for the most part, the "contractions" I had been feeling were just small bumps of quiet noise. The nurse came back and measured my cervix, telling me my cervix was 5 cm dilated, I was still 80% effaced and the baby was quite high, -1 station. Oops, guess I heard the doc wrong on Thursday. She then told me I was having what she would call irritability but no real contractions besides the three or four she saw.

She then called the doctor on call for my doctor (who was away at a Girl Scout camp this weekend and told me if I had the baby this weekend, she'd be out) but advised me that she thought I would probably just go home. Fingers crossed - Andy and I did not want to stay at the hospital if we did not have to, we just wanted to be safe. We hadn't even called anyone in our family for fear of another false alarm (we though after 30 minutes of 5 minute apart contractions on Thursday night that we were on our way in that night!) The doctor called back and hearing I was 5 cm, 80% effaced, wanted us to stay over night and see where we landed in the morning. Andy and I both sighed, guess we were staying... guess we were being safe, but we still kinda secretly hoped it was not time yet and we could go home to sleep comfortably after the morning check up.

When I awoke this morning my nurse, Terri, measured me and told us I was definitely not 5 cm dilated anymore. Did I shrink? Was that possible? She then told us I was now 7 cm dilated and still about 80% effaced with the baby in -1 position still. But I hadn't felt anything painful! I had somehow managed to get to 7 cm, ready for active labor, and had not felt anything besides a tightening in the stomach which I, for all intense purposes, had thought was the baby kicking me!
The nurse said they called this "silent labor" and my irritability over time had somehow gotten me to 7 cm.

Shortly after, Nurse Terri and Doctor Chang came in to tell me they were going to give me pitocin to increase my contractions. They started the pitocin and still the contractions felt like cramps, and I was still feeling okay. Then Doctor Chang came in and told me they were going to strip my membranes, break the water bag, and really get things going. *gulp

At this point, I was 8 cm dilated and then, it started around 10 AM. Painful labor. Contractions that I needed to pause for, execute the breathing exercises Andy and I had learned during labor and birth class, change positions, the whole nine yards. I knew an epidural was an option, but part of me thought, I had no pain up until 8 cm, maybe I can make it to 10 cm. I likened the pain to really difficult diarrhea that is strained in your lower abdomen as your struggle, only times 5! I mean, it was bad, but not that bad, and it was only for a mere 60 seconds before you got through it and were okay again. Andy told me, it's like p90x, you can do anything for 90 seconds! Invigorated with more determination, I plowed through the next hour with minimal hardship. Andy and I were watching Tangled on his computer and soon after, I had him pause the movie while I worked through the contractions. He breathed with me, told me it hurt his throat to breathe this way, at which point I glared at him and thought of the Friends episode where Ross comments on how much this hurts (he hit his head or something) and Rachel just glares at him.

I shoved Andy away when he tried to touch me to help soothe my pain. Other times, I asked him to massage my back. He slow danced with me, cradled me while I moaned in pain and helped me move positions. Some contractions, I held onto the rails of the bed for dear life as if holding on tighter would make the pain diminish. I looked at the clock thinking, am I there yet? We prayed quietly for assistance, comfort and strength while I prayed about whether an epidural was the right next step. I asked Nurse Terri how long she thought I would be until 10 cm and delivery. She told me a cm was normally an hour. At 11 AM, I was still in pain, only it had gotten worse.

Epidural.... my long lost friend, is it too late? Through my mind, ran the cost benefit analysis of how much more benefit I would have gotten (it's expensive folks) if I had decided earlier... but then the fear of having scoliosis and not being able to move after also dawned upon me. The fear of not being able to fully push because the epidural was too strong also frightened me. The - PAIN - suddenly overcame all logical thought and the next time Nurse Terri came by, I told her I would take an epidural please.

It took about 25 minutes to get set up, during which time I had about a million contractions all equally miserable and painstakingly long (okay a minute, but it felt LONGER!). They came in at 11:30 and I was 9 cm... man, only 1 more cm to go, but if this would take an hour or more, that was enough for me to have the epidural. The hardest part was sitting tight as an excruciating contraction went through my body, for fear of messing up my spine if I moved while the anesthesiologist was setting everything up on my back. The "burning" and "sting" he described was nothing compared to the IV from the night before (yes, most painful still) or the labor contractions I had been feeling.

I was never planning for an all natural birth though I had strongly considered it, and though I give much credit to those who can do it naturally, there is nothing wrong with an epidural for those who want it! I just figured since I had been so blessed with no pain up until 7 cm, maybe I should try my luck for the remaining 3 cm by going naturally like my mom, mother in law and aunts had all done (times were different but none of them really had time).

It took 4 contractions for the epidural to take its course. From then on, I felt pressure but no pain. Andy and I continued watching Tangled (we had stopped it earlier when the pain was too much and I couldn't stand it) and I thought, I'd love to go to sleep now... maybe baby will come later so I can sleep blissfully until then.

Gravity helped him slowly move lower and then... it was time. I was to start pushing at 12:45 PM. Only, though I could feel my legs and even move them, my butt was numb. And I was supposed to push as if I was pooping but where was my butt?!

I pushed for a total of an hour and forty five minutes, never positive if I was really pushing or if the praises from the nurse, doctor and Andy were just to motivate me to continue trying. I just continued pushing, always in groups of three, always exhausted from what I think was pushing, but was not certain due to the overall numbness I felt. And then, it happened. His heart rate dropped and I could tell everyone in the room was frightened and everyone paused to look at the monitors (which I could not see from where I lay) and waited. I knew I had to push harder to get him out but I just couldn't physically manage it. Why was it so hard? I was an expert pooper and have been very accustomed to constipation and the effort it takes to truly push a big poop out! Ugh.

I kept hearing his head was near - they could see the hair - yet every set of pushes was not enough. I prayed silently for help, for the courage and strength to continue pushing and for Jordan to be okay. Towards my last push, his heart rate plunged down again. This time I tilted my head and could see it was around 75. The doctor then said she was going to use the vacuum and at this precise moment - is when I completely freaked out.

Andy had told me about a vacuum delivery he had witnessed during his rotation and the risks associated with it. And so, I lay there, looked to him for advice, but his face was white with fear. He knew exactly what the risks were and he was scared for the baby and he could not hide it. They told me I had to push as hard as I humanly could as they used the vacuum and all I could think of was if the baby would be okay. What if his heart stopped completely because I was a sucky pusher? Stupid epidural!

And then... I pushed and they vacuumed and out he came. He was born at precisely 2:31 PM. Slimy, bloody, wrinkly and perfectly all mine (and Andy's). They lay him on me as he cried and all I could think of was, is he okay? Andy looked relieved but I was still scared. They took him away to clean and check and I sat there shaking in disbelief that my 37 and 6 days of being pregnant had just ended, that my stomach was more like I was 5 months pregnant and that there was a crying baby in the room that was no longer a moving motion inside of me.

They told us his cord was very short, which made his heart rate decrease everytime I tried pushing him and it pulled on the cord. I felt a bit relieved that it wasn't my sucky pushing that led to his lowered heart rate but moreover, I was just relieved that he had made it out with the vacuum. We took pictures, videos, called family, called friends, and later, Jordan had his first take at some colostrum and as he gorged on me, all I could think was, wow. Wow. WOW. And also, when will I feel the doctor sewing me up down there? (yeah - they cut me and I ripped). I looked down at him adoringly, still unsure of all the emotions whirling inside of me. What just happened? Did I really just give birth?

As I sit here staring at my baby and my husband while they are both sleeping, I know that it wasn't just a dream (nightmare for some parts). Andy and I normally pray a lot. Today, we prayed a lot for Jordan. And a lot for me. And a lot for the family. We are a family now. And I am here to capture all of that while they are both sleeping. While they are BOTH sleeping. I shall join them soon...

And Then...There Was His Room...

I told myself over and over that I wouldn't dedicate too much time to a baby room. I longed instead for an exercise room. Ultimately, the baby won't notice the symmetry, the colors, or the effort put in. Ultimately, daddy and mommy were quite happy with the little DIY projects that make up his room. Ultimately, there's now a baby room in our house.


The first wall across from the crib (super anal me and earthquake zone California) has from L-R, a cheap DIY ABC print I made from internet seeking, matting on scrapbook papers, and using a cut out from cute baby shower cards (which I never know what to do with after!). In the middle, is a photo of daddy and mommy looking towards the LA Temple the day they got sealed and made it possible for lil Jordan to be born in the covenant. Right is a super cute placeholder that my crafty buddy Paige (who is a professional scrapbooker whomI idolize as her creativity and work is seriously amazing and breathtaking!) made with cute wording about the day he was born, how much he weighed, how cute and cuddly and super he is, etc. It's an adorable print! Center bottom is a currently empty shadow box I have yet to fully be inspired and go forth making and below are the name blocks that were a gift from my friend Allison as part of the baby shower decorations.

Below sits my old opaque purple trashcan (from my hs days!) sprayed painted in lime green along with the DIY shelf Andy built from scratch and three fabric bins I got from our Target gift cards from my good buddy Drea. The empty chalkboards will eventually be glue gunned to the bins and read books, toys, and shoes (or whatever else I think of storing down there).

This is wall #1 and Andy is planning on building two matching shelves that go 5 up on each side which will be used for more books, baby toiletries, toys, etc.

Wall #2 remains the same except we traded up and got two recent magazine covers of Jimmer into the mix. We are also taking Lebron out for Mike Vicks, a great football player for a great team who has repented for his past doings (which aren't that bad compared to some other athletes!).
On the third wall, I took some trinket boxes my mom got at TjMaxx (because they were so darn cute, not cuz she knew what purpose they served at all...), glued some ribbon and buttons to cover the ribbon and glue meeting and hung up above the diaper changing table. I wanted to use my cheap discounted lantern stars bought for our wedding deco which was never used, but the neon bright pink was hard to spraypaint over and it just came out ugly. I'm adding some Asian paper stars as soon as I get around to it.... just a chain of stars here and there.

Below the trinket boxes sits the diaper changing pad cover that yours truly sewed (it's a disaster underneath but looks pretty good on top!), the diaper champ from my coworker buddy Elizabeth and the beautiful very closely matching cherry (but from different dealers) changing table and crib from my mum.
Above it, I made this flag pennant that says "I Am a Child of God." We left the little photos of Jesus we had on the wall, only I, in my quest for symmetry, put one on each side of the crib. Hehe. Some things never change.

And that's it! Pretty simple and to the point, also very cheap which is my favorite part.

Sooner Than We Expected!

Our due date is May 15th and we were both hoping to make it until then. I am still very comfortable though my back hurts every now and then (a simple adjustments takes care of it) and it has become increasingly harder to sit and get up. Still, I don't feel like I am ready for the baby to come out and I am not wishing for him to just get out! I am quietly enjoying maternity leave, the free time, the flexibility to go and do as I please and the checklist of things to do that is shortening with each passing day.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the doc told me my cervix is 3 cm dilated - but stretchy and she'd almost say 4 cm, 80% effaced and something about how far the baby's head is - 1 plus station. I know the goal is to get to 10 cm, but as for everything else, I was quite lost and just asked her if we'd make it until next Friday (Andy's last shelf exam for the last third year rotation, coincidentally, obgyn). She said it was unlikely but that you never really knew. She then advised me she'd be out of town for a girl scout camp this weekend, so to try to have it after she's back and by the way, pack your hospital bag. She said the latter three times - so I'm guessing she thinks it could be any day now!.

I wasn't phased by the news, except one small adjustment I made was avoiding the gym after my appointment. I really like the endorphin rush, but I've heard rumors about girls who get on the elliptical to encourage the baby to come as well as those who go on walks to get the baby going. No way Jose! To the extent I could control it by not working out, I was on board to do exactly that.

After running some more errands in Old Town and dropping by JoAnn's for some ribbon to finalize my flag pennant for the baby's room, I came home, eager to finish his room. Currently, the only outstanding item is a shadow box frame that I had planned to put cute sayings and spaces for photos - but that can wait (maybe this afternoon). As for everything else - the room is just about ready (we just washed the crib sheet and bumper so it'll be so fresh and so clean clean for when he comes home). It's pretty empty in there so far but I'm very excited that my disdain for a nursery has turned into a fun DIY project that I quite enjoy (plus I'm one of the main characters who will appreciate as I'm sitting there breastfeeding).

So it looks like Baby Phillips might come sooner than we think! The really funny thing is apparently I am unaware of contractions as I'm having them. We spent the majority of last night with Andy educating me on when I had a contraction by feeling my stomach harden. I told him this is what my stomach always feels like because of my abs of steel. He was not amused. We sat there and timed the contractions for 30 minutes, noting they were 5 minutes apart and about 1 minute in length. Uh-oh. We quickly finished what we needed to - I finished the baby's room stuff, took a shower, put all my craft stuff away, Andy helped me pin some stuff up in the baby's room, finished his studying for his practical exam this morning, we packed our hospital bags, put the carseat by the door, cleaned up the house, made some phone calls to family and geared up in case baby decided to come!

An hour later, Andy gave me some water and asked if I was dehydrated from the day. Come to think of it - I hadn't been drinking that much water from my nalgene, which I normally consume 2.5 bottles of in a day. So I quickly drank some water, we watched some TV and continued timing the contractions. They had slowed down to random spurts of 10 and 15 minutes, so we calmed down and got ready for bed.

Throughout the night, all I could think about were the contractions I kept getting and how to tell if I was having them. There hasn't been any pain so far, just a strengthening in my stomach. The worst pain was yesterday morning when I woke up with a calf cramp in my left leg which I can still feel in spite of stretching it and massaging it every moment I get. Oh well.

Today, I'm off to the Fashion District with my mom in the morning to scope out some cheap discounted baby gear. Then, I'll be back by lunch and continue working through the checklist and timing my contractions in order to log 'em down (the latter is not a fun process).

Only time will tell if Baby Phillips is coming this weekend. If he does, maybe Andy will get to deliver him! If he does come before Andy's test, he may still be able to take it (fatigued yet better than waiting until next year!).

It's all happening... sooner than we expected! But we are still thankful and hopeful for everything to turn out well and we can't wait!

Declaration of Food I Love!

People often ask me what weird stuff I've been craving since being pregnant, has it been pickles and ice cream? Sorry to break it to you folks, but that was appetizing even before I became pregnant. I mean, I wouldn't go as far as to say I'd dip the pickle in my ice cream, but they sound great together. And I do really like dipping my fries into my ice cream....

You see, I, my friends, have always liked different things ... even before I was pregnant. I can't remember ever not liking pickles and ice cream - until I got pregnant! I could not stand the smell or even fathom the taste of ice cream during my first trimester and though I craved a pickle once or twice, after buying a whole jar during Thanksgiving and diving in three or four times, the high price of $3-4/jar was enough to send me away from wanting to purchase anymore pickles. In its place, I wanted different ethnic food (one day it was Korean, the next it was Japanese, then Mexican, Thai, Taiwanese, Cantonese, etc.), boba, tons of fruit, tomatoes, celery, and Mother's Helpers circus animals and iced oatmeal cookies (not sure why). Then, as of most recently, it has been a cobb salad (hold the cheese please), a veggie sandwich, meat, meat and more meat! carrot cake and pound cake. Of everything, the only thing I am missing is Sara Lee pound cake and I fully intend on fulfilling that craving before the baby comes (if only Sara Lee would go on sale!)

I also really like uncooked mushrooms with ketchup. I'm not sure why - but it's really good to me and I can get full off of just that. Funny thing is, I'm only realizing this now. You see, upon first getting pregnant, I thought my obsession with a Ritz cracker topped with a slice of cheese and ketchup was part of my abnormal pregnancy craving. However, now, about 2 1/2 weeks away from the baby's due date, I am still indulging in Ritz crackers, now topped with egg salad and ketchup and I am eating baby carrots with hummus, Cafe Rio dressing, peanut butter AND nutella. Is that normal? Am I normal? I'm not sure, but it tastes sooo good.

I guess who really cares. I declare - that these are things I love! I love ketchup! I love veggies! I love fruit popsicles! I love Ritz crackers with something and ketchup! All these food items are so scrumptious to me that they often make my pregnant self dance with joy while I eat it at our kitchen countertop - fearless of what people may think because I, my friends, LOVE it!

So the lesson learned is... not to be afraid of boldly declaring what you love - even if people will think you're weird. Hehe.

Another thing I love? Whip cream. Can eat tons of it.... TONS. Can literally sit and just eat it out of a cool whip package or with the spray pumps. And I'm not ashamed to admit it! I love it!!!!

The Easter Tender Mercies

Two years ago on Easter, I met Andy for the first time and never would I have imagined that I'd be spending the rest of my Easters with him. At the time I had just begun my investigation of the Church and though I had every intention of getting baptized, I was adamant about learning about the Church history, ensuring I had a solid testimony, and asking many, many questions. One of my favorite questions was always to ask those who grew up in the Church if they had ever fallen away, had doubts, etc. And when I asked this Andy fellow that same question, his response was short, annoyed and in my eyes, a bit obnoxious and basically a big fat no. Perhaps it was both of our strong personalities, perhaps it was his height, perhaps it was my Asian ethnicity - either way, we became friends and eventually started dating two months after I was baptized.... but I digress.

A year ago on Easter, Andy's parents, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, cousins, aunt and uncle came to visit. Though we were not married yet, it was fun to celebrate with many of his family and it was the first time his parents would meet my parents. Dun dun dun!!!!

So thus far, my Easters with the Church in my life have all been memorable and quite drastic from my days looking for a big hat and cute Spring dress to sport to a champagne brunch.

Today was my third Easter after finding the Church and my second Easter as a member. What I learned was - there are a LOT of hyper kids at Church (Easter basket goodies - can be worse than Halloween!) on Easter, a lot of wonderful musical numbers remembering our Savior and big hats - wait, scratch that last one... I only saw one hat at Church and it was worn by a little girl.

Though we did not celebrate with adorable Easter baskets or egg hunts, we had been scripture studying the New Testament as it relates to Jesus's death and resurrection all last week, and I had been wanting to cook an elaborate Easter meal. We instead opted to have Easter with some friends who also did not family nearby and I still got to make some dishes I had hoped to. You see, for a long time now, I have had two cravings that have not yet been appeased. They are carrot cake and Sara Lee pound cake. Today, I fulfilled the carrot cake craving because what could be a more fitting dessert for Easter than a carrot cake? And as for the pound cake, it's just so expensive - I'm waiting for it to go on sale.

For those who know me, you may be aware of the fact that I am only slowly learning how to cook (my mom told me not to make any effort learning until I was married since I'd be doing it for the rest of my life then...). Recipe by recipe, I am learning the ingredients, what aisle to purchase them from, and cooking terms that are foreign to an amateur like myself.

So OF COURSE, when my Paul Deen carrot cake recipe called for 3 cups of grated carrot - I did what any amateur would do. First I peeled the carrots, next I cut off the two ends, and then I started to grate 'em on my cheese grater. This is quite hard. I wonder if this is why carrot cake can be so expensive! I wonder if there's an easier way. Hmmm.. I bet youtube will know! Ahh, the internet. The joy of learning at your fingertips within mere seconds. I quickly typed in "how to grate carrots" into the search tab on YouTube and less than a minute into the video, was instructed to use a food processor. ....

W. O. W.

DUH!

Good thing I had a Vitamix, the amazing blender that can also be used as a food processor! Too bad it didn't end there. My recipe called for three 9" cake pans, of which I only had one. Each bake time would be 40 minutes, so at 2:30 PM with dinner set to start at 5:30 PM, I was caught in a dilemma. Andy convinced me to cook one part of it in my small loaf pan which made sense at the time. I'd have two layers and a tiny side loaf for fun. Baking proceeded while Andy got some of the baby's room wall deco up (pictures to come in next posts sometime). At 4:45 PM, someone rang our doorbell. The maintenance guy was dropping us a visit to politely inform us that due to flooding two floors below us, our water was to be shut down soon for an undetermined time. And by the way, dinner with friends was scheduled to be at our house since our dining table was large and in charge.

Luckily, after texting our friends that our large dining table meant nothing in light of the lack of water, we found out that one couple had JUST received a free larger dining table last night! What are the chances?!

So we decided to move the Easter celebration to their place and hence, I came up with the following two lists...

THINGS YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT H20 IN THE HOUSE:

1. Flush the toilet (after you use your one golden ticket flush from the stored water in the tank)
2. Wash your hands (good thing I just bought a huge bottle of hand sanitizer for when visitors come to see the Baby!)
3. Clear the dishes
4. Have people over for Easter dinner
5. Take a shower
6. Brush your teeth
   

THINGS YOU CAN DO WITHOUT H2O IN THE HOUSE:

1. Finish baking your second layer of carrot cake
2. Use the Foreman Grill to finish the chicken for the Caesar salad
3. Pack up all the remaining food items not yet put together for transport to friend's house
4. Leave an unpleasant but poignant message to the Management Company about what an inconveniently frustrating situation we have once again been put into (this is not the first time we got last minute notification of our water shutting down due to flooding downstairs by the same people who play loud obnoxious music, smoke tons of weed, and BBQ way too often so that the grimy aroma of charred food floats onto our third floor balcony and into our living room too consistently)
5. Enjoy a hearty Easter dinner (cooked ham, funeral potatoes, chicken salad, homemade sweet potato rolls, deviled eggs, carrot cake) with friends
6. Remember the Savior
   

with Chinese subtitles


in English


Looking back on the night, I realized the tender mercy of Heavenly Father - the juxtaposition of all the events such that we did not have the ability to have people over, but only yesterday, a free and large table was inherited by our friends who could have us over. I'm sure either way, we would have all enjoyed our dinner somewhere, even if we did not have seats or a place setting - but it was nice to have it.

This also is not our first incident of water shutdown so luckily, our slow water storage accumulated over the last month, has given us the luxury of brushing our teeth and even showering with the water we have put aside.

This Easter, I will remember that he suffered so we could be. And as frustrating as not having water is, it is nothing compared to the suffering that Jesus went through so we could be here and endure the frustration of no water on Easter Sunday right before dinner.

Oh and as for my first homemade cake from scratch ever - somehow Andy convinced me to use the two cake pan layers at the bottom and the loaf pan layer on the top... so my cake ended up looking like this.





The presentation: C for catastrophe
The taste: A for awesome!!!!

Our Adventure with the Rainbow Deluxe Carwash

Yesterday, after lunch with my mom and brother in my hometown of Arcadia (often termed Arcasia because of the more than 50% of Asians who dominate the city), my brother and I decided to get carwashes for our extremely disgustingly dirty cars. The last time I got a car wash was in December from my last car maintenance, and I don't think they even vacuumed my inside so the car was not in good shape. Now we knew our usual go to place was, as of late, not that great. They did a quick job, but usually left some stains, missed some spots, etc. So off we went to the place my mom had mentioned being way better than our usual spot.

When we first got there, I noticed business was slow but with all the nearby street construction, it made sense. I pulled in first and wanted the deluxe rainbow wash, originally $10 - but for today's special - was cut in half! The savings were unbelievable! I looked back to find my brother pulling in back of me and I yelled, "I'm getting the deluxe one - it's only $5 today!" but apparently he didn't hear my entire statement and he responded with, "You're doing the cheapest one?" which was also slashed down to $3 that day. "No!" I exclaimed, "it's on sale! I'm doing the most expensive one for $5!" Confused, he stepped out of his car and came closer so he could hear me correctly. I explained to him the cost savings we were getting and what a lucky day it was for us! He was stoked as well. "Sweet!" he said. So with that, I paid.

I didn't notice it was weird that I was paying before the carwash. Normally, you pay while the car is going through the conveyer belt after you have dropped it off at the vacuum center. Oh well. Without a thought, I got back into my car and would pull the car to whatever drop off station was necessary. Only there wasn't a drop off. I was directed straight into the car wash and in that moment, it hit me. Epiphany! This is like one of those old school carwashes that my dad used to take us through. I quickly turned off my radio (it's habit, I know my antennae is not one that extends), rolled up all my windows, and shifted into neutral, getting ready for the exciting ride through the carwash.

Let me tell you - this one was unlike any other I've ever been in. First of all, the soap is RAINBOW colored! A swirl of beautiful red, green, blue, purple, yellow puffed onto my car and I oohed and aaahed as I took in all the colors mixing together in a declaration of beauty on my car. Then, like many things in life, it was taken away with the big bad bands of rubber that came to put the soap to work. Within seconds, the soap bubbles were gone and all I could see was black. The car continued on its way and the next thing I knew, I was watching the powerful dryer zap away the little bits of water struggling for their lives on my car windshield. They hung on tightly but without avail as the omnipotent air demanded them to depart.

In that moment, I looked at the carpet inside my car which was infested with dirt, leaves, and crumbs of whatever Andy and I had eaten in the car since December. Ewwww. Man, how I wished I could at least have a chance to vacuum the insides, that was a part of the carwash I was looking forward to! But wait! Behold - as I looked onward to the exit of the carwash, I saw people.... ordinary non-uniformed laymen (and women) using a small suction cup thingie majiggie that was attached to a huge hose.

Oh my. I pulled into an empty spot that was adjacent to another empty spot and motioned for my brother's car to come over when he exited. There, we spent the next hour, vacuuming every inch of our car mats, insides, throwing away trash accumulated over time, and laughed at the possibility of what if our mom showed up here expecting a normal carwash without self service? We worked side by side, each commenting on the disgusting state of our cars - mine adorned with an assortment of crumbs and covered with hair which by the way, did not get sucked up by the all powerful vacuum. So with my hands, I plucked every single bunch of hair attached to the carpet of my car. It was probably enough to make a short wig. My brother's car had old Starbucks cups, old red velvet cupcake wrappers, some stuff we were unable to identify and I concluded were chicken bones, and old magazines leftover from when I used to drive his car. We worked hard, never complained and my brother (who is normally labeled as quite indifferent about cleaning up) commented, "It's kind of nice to do it yourself so you can get all the details right." Wow, I was shocked. And then, another shocking statement came thereafter with, "You know, it'd probably be a lot easier if we kept our cars cleaner consistently instead of a one time clean up every now and then like this."

That was my precise conclusion about toilet cleaning a while back (my toilet story), but why had I not thought of it when it came to cars?! An hour later, exhausted but feeling good about our efforts and successfully cleaner (not clean, just cleaner) cars, we left for the very fobby Chinese tea station with free wi-fi where we would aim to work for an hour together. Mainly, I needed my brother to show me how to use the new macbook pro I just purchased (it's so odd going from a PC to a Mac and I'm still slowly adjusting and feel the need to learn more shortcuts so I'm more efficient).

What an adventure we had with the rainbow deluxe carwash! It reminded me about the value of work and how rewarding it is. We felt good when we left, like we had accomplished a lot! And for $5 and an hour later, we felt great! I also enjoyed the time spent with my brother. When our time together overlapped with me living in the back house, our time spent together consisted of VH1's best of the 80's, 90's, reality trash on MTV, etc. But with my demanding work hours, his busy school schedule and extracurricular activities, we didn't see each other much and that time has only decreased since he got back from New York, I got married, and am now having a baby. So it was indeed nice to have the adventure we did together.

A Week of Maternity Leave...Almost Over!

How did time go so fast? Next thing you know, I'll be with baby, he'll be walking, then talking, then he'll be a teen, then off to college, going on his mission, getting married - I can hardly believe how fast time goes by! I'll be a grandmother in no time!

This week has been full of many adventures! Lunch and boba with family (cousins, brother, mother), errand running at Target and Costco, paperwork at home, laundry, dishes, baby prep, car stuff and many phone calls. Oh yeah, and freak out moments galore. Hehe. I am getting more and more emotional, after watching a ParentsTV video about how to give your baby a bath, I got teary eyed. Ha!

Tomorrow, I'm returning back to my hometown for some lunch, shopping, and hanging out with my mum and brother. I don't think my brother's too excited about being an Uncle, at least he doesn't seem it thus far. Maybe it's the age difference, but hopefully one look at the baby, and he will melt!

On the downside, one disappointing thing about maternity leave so far is that Andy got sick. So what little free time we have together, he is resting and recuperating. But we're still treasuring the moments we have together and excited for our life to soon morph into baby life!