First Ukiah Visit in 9 Months

A few weekends ago John and I headed north to visit some friends. John’s travels ended in the East Bay to visit his college buddy Nory, his wife Jessie, and their super cute baby Kiera. I on the other hand traveled two more hours north to Ukiah to visit my friend Rebekkah. If you recall, I mentioned how she and her family moved to Atlanta this past summer. This was their first trip back to CA, so of course I had to make the trip!

The youngest Steinbuck, Addison, had her birthday on the day I drove up. Do you all remember when I was able to be there for her birth? I will never forget that day! It’s hard to believe that it was 2 years ago. Sydney, the oldest Steinbuck will be turning 5 in a few weeks so of course I had to bring them both birthday presents.Thanks to my friend Molly, I have recently become obsessed with Nerd Rope and have been trying to convert everyone in my path to become a lover of the Rope like I am. Hence the reason the kids found them in their gift bags.Come to find out, Addison is a lover of all candy, which is awesome. Syd on the other hand thought the nerds were a bit too sour. Bummer! Maybe I will try it again when she turns 7. I’m not giving up that easy.

One huge change that I noticed since I saw the girls in November was that Addison is talking like a wild woman…but I cannot understand a word she says! Ok…I take that back. I can understand like 2, but for the most part I am clueless. She will say something…I ask her to repeat it…she repeats it…and I still have no idea what she is saying! It was really frustrating. I know my mom told me when I was younger my sister had to translate for her all the time. At least Rebekkah knows what she is saying.

Sydney was lucky enough to have a birthday party with her friends in Ukiah at a local place called Jumperz. You would not believe how much the kids love that place! It’s crack for 5 year olds!

My visit seemed really short but I am very thankful that I got to see the Steinbucks since I’m not sure when I will get to see them again. Maybe Thanksgiving 2010? One can hope!

10 Things

I totally thought I was back in the blog of things, but apparently I’m not. I was so motivated for what…a week? Yeah I know that’s pathetic, but a thing called life kept bringing me down, and when that happens I have no desire to write.

Since this is my first post in over a week, (minus The Hangover post), I’ll entertain you by giving you 10 tid-bits of what’s been going on.

1. I will be starting (another) new job in a week! Crazy right? I feel really bad leaving my current work place because I was hired on to help out a friend, and I was only there for 2 months. Not the best employee I know, but this new job is with a local company who produces eye wear. What is exciting is that I will be designing for the product (packaging/displays), and it includes web work! I feel so blessed to have landed this job, as I really didn’t think I had a chance. (I had interviewed there twice before). Another plus is the company is pretty big and everyone I met seemed really nice. One downer is that I won’t start accruing PTO for 3 months. I know I don’t necessarily need time off since I just had 10 months, but I still like to know that if I need to I can take a day. It also means that I probably won’t be able to make it out to Georgia this year which stinks. Georgia you say? Why would I want to go to Georgia? That brings me to #2…

2. My best friend, Rebekkah, and her family are moving to Georgia in two weeks for two years! It shouldn’t affect our relationship that much since we currently live 5.5 hours away from each other. However it will definitely make it harder to have a weekend visit with her. I am so excited for her and her family to have this once in a lifetime experience. They found an AWESOME rental house in Atlanta and I really can’t wait to visit. A few weekends we headed up north for one last visit. Here are a few photos:

3. I recently went and saw an orthopedist about my Achilles (since it’s been injured for 9 months now). After looking at my MRI he basically didn’t have any new revelations for me. He was concerned that I didn’t know what has caused the injury since I’m so young. He told me to continue to stretch it and ice, and if it was still bad in 3 months to go back and see him. He also told me of this new treatment where they take some of your blood, put it in a centrifuge and then re-inject it in the injury. Hopefully there will be some place that local that could do that for me. I’m getting desperate! One good thing that came from the visit is that he had me go get a nighttime sling. This sling allows my Achilles to stay stretched while I sleep. So far I think it is helping. Both mornings when I woke up it wasn’t that sore. Hopefully this will be the trick. Isn’t it stylish?

4. John and I have also joined a semi-private training group at a local gym. Let me just say that I’ve never done anything like this before AND I cannot believe I’m paying for it. John and I were SO sore for the first two weeks it was horrible! It’s gotten a little better but I dread it every time we go. Seriously…the warm up is sometimes harder than the workout! I blame it on the planks…front, left side, right side, and reverse. How can there be so many different ways to torture oneself? On a positive note, our work outs are customized for our injures…(John’s back, and my Achilles and shoulder). For me it’s totally trial and error in seeing what exercises I can do. For example…last night I was to do 30 30’s for 30 minutes. (30 seconds really fast on the elliptical and then 30 seconds at a normal pace for 30 minutes.) Let me just say that I was SO tired after this, but my Achilles felt fine…until I got home. It started to get sore right before I went to bed and in the middle of the night I was in so much pain I could barely put any weight on it. Luckily by morning it was better but still not back to normal. This was the first time where I had no warning that the exercise I was doing was hurting my foot. It’s extremely frustrating to not be 100% healthy and being so limited in what I can do. I would love to do some aerobic activity. Oh well…hopefully it will get better.

5. I just finished my last book club selection which means the group will be getting together in a few weeks to pick our next round. Exciting!

6. My friend Steph had her second child last month, a girl named Sydney. I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t even had time to meet her. I definitely wasn’t prepared at how much my life was going to change once I went back to work. I think I’ve only gone to the grocery store 2 times in the last 2 months and I think the only meal I cooked was over the 4th of July when my parents were visiting. It makes me sad that I don’t have time to cook anymore or do any of the other crafty things I used to do. I’m hoping that my mind will (sooner than later) forget what it was like to be a house wife.

7. In wedding news…my sister-in-law hired the photographer who took the anniversary photos of John and I last year. I am SO excited! I love being able to give referrals to people who I think do great work. I was worried that I would never find him a client(s) since most of my friends have gotten hitched, but I lucked out! I might have to strategically park the mini in the background so it can make it in a few shots. Speaking of the Mini…

8. Looks like our customized plate MINIBOO is taken! I know!! I can’t even believe I have to think of other options when we’ve been planning on that pate for years! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Please let me know if you have any good ideas. We would prefer to have the word ‘mini’ in it somewhere. I’ve seen two good ones around town. They were ‘MINUTE S’ and ‘SLO BRIT’. Both pretty clever. Mine needs to be better though!

9. We are heading up to the bay area this weekend for a baby shower and I can’t wait! I know it will be lots of fun. We are also going to get to meet up with some friends of ours who just moved to San Jose so I’m excited to see them as well.

10. Also in a few weeks we will be headed back up to the bay area to see my neck doctor for a post opp ultra sound. I got some blood work done a few months ago and there were still signs of thyroid cells in my blood. I guess before the surgery it was 3.8 and now it’s a 1.7. It is good that it is lower, but it should be undetectable. So hopefully the doctor will find out where they are hiding, although I’m not sure if that will mean I will have to go under the knife again. However if she can’t find them that probably means waiting for another ultra sound. Or maybe if she can’t find them I’ll have to have more blood work done and maybe they won’t be there anymore! Wishful thinking right? Here’s an updated photo of my scar. I was taking them every week, but I fizzed out after the first few months. I really wanted to show the progression of the healing. Oh well.

An Unexpected Co-pilot

This past Sunday morning I went out to my car to get something out of the back seat. I noticed on the floor of the passenger there were a bunch of small pieces of Kleenex. They looked like they were spilled out of something. I asked John if he had been in my car and if he had made the mess. He said no, so I was like 'whatever.' MISTAKE NUMBER ONE. Now don't you think I should have been a little bit more curious how a bunch of shredded Kleenex wound up in my car? I wasn't. I just ignored it. I seriously can't believe myself sometimes.

Later on in the afternoon after John and I cleaned out the garage I went to my trunk to put some stuff in it for Goodwill. I remember I still had a few items left in it from my trip that I needed to clean out. I first saw some brown fuzzy fabric intertwined in my jumper cables. That is weird, I thought since I didn't remember seeing that before.

Then I lean over to take out a Ziploc plastic bag that contained some uncooked dough. (I was given some 'friendship' bread on my trip. You make the bread after 21 days and then make new bags of dough to your friends...or something like that). As I pick up the bag I noticed it had leaked in my trunk. Dang it! I purposely used two zip lock bags to avoid it leaking. That worked real great. Then I notice that there was a hole in the bags like something had CHEWED through them!

John comes by asses the scene and announces that it looks like I've got a mouse in my car. SAY WHAT? I instantly opened all the doors and started searching for the little sucker. I made John look under my seats as I did not want to see the guy eye to eye and of course we didn't have any luck finding him.

The next morning I had John go check my car to see if he saw any new developments. I waited in the house as I still in my towel after showering, (standing discreetly by the window so the neighbors couldn't get a peep show).

John noticed a bit more stuffing under the passenger seat and the noticed that the floor mat underneath it had a big curved in it and was not laying flat. He moved the mat, saw more stuffing and even the little dude's butt and tail! After I heard he was still alive, I ran into my room and got dressed as fast as I could.

Once I got out to the crime scene I moved the passengers side seat forward and it uncovered a HUGE nest made out of some sort of stuffing, (I'm assuming from my car seat), and a ton of Kleenex. It was about a foot long, which fit perfectly under the curved floor mat. I couldn't not believe it! I was so mortified!! So mortified in fact that I didn't even run and get my camera.

I left all of my car doors open in hoping that the little guy wanted to go home to nature. However I had to leave in a half hour, and I did NOT want to drive my car! I was so worried that the little guy might decided to crawl over my foot or up my leg while I was driving. Or I'd look over to my right and see the little fella sitting in my purse just enjoying the ride. Fortunately neither happened.

I picked up two different kinds of traps and that night. The first kind we used had these little black plastic covers that would somewhat cover up the carnage. We place a nice helping of peanut butter on them and placed one near the passenger seat and one in the trunk.

I awoke this morning like a kid on Christmas! I could not wait to see if we caught that little bugger. I tip toed over to the car and slowly looked into the window afraid to see some gore, and I saw NOTHING! In fact I saw TWO CLEAN traps with NO peanut butter! I could not believe it! I was so mad! The rodent totally out smarted us. He probably couldn't believe that someone was nice enought to set out a peanut butter buffet for his enjoyment.

Before John went to work I had him set the old fashioned traps, (which were the other kind we bought.) I was out in the field all day with John today checking out houses and when we came back the traps were still in place...BUT the peanut butter was still there. I'm really hoping the trespasser is nocturnal and hopefully he will get his tonight. Granted I would love it if he would just escape and run free...away from our house that is.

So where did this guy come from you ask? Well I think he must have hitched a ride when I was at Rebekkah's in Ukiah. She lives around a lot of foliage and she even told me that she often finds dead mice in her dog's water bowl. What kills me is that he has been living in my car at least since LAST Thursday! We are going on 6 days and it could even be longer! Did he enjoy traveling with me for 7+ hours? Did he think he was Ralph S. Mouse on the adventure of a lifetime?
I will definitely keep you posted, but let me tell you that there better be a death in my car tomorrow morning! I'm tired of being stranded in my own home!

Nanny on Duty

This past week I headed up north to visit Rebekkah and her family. Even though I've been so busy, with God knows what, I knew I had to take the trip while I had the time. Had I waited I could just see me not being able to go and visit if I got a job or something.

It was a pretty mellow three days in Ukiah. I tried to help out Rebekkah as much as I could as she really has her hands full with two little ones. She still seemed pretty exhausted so I'm not sure how much I helped out.

I did get to play a lot with Sydney. She is almost 3.5 years old and it's such a cute age! I can totally carry on complete conversations with her, which I don't think I was able to during our last visit. We had lots of fun together.

Also one morning while Sydney was at preschool I got to spend some quality time with Addison. She is getting cuter and cuter, and I got to see more of her personality. She is such a happy and EASY baby! Granted I did not change any diapers, but even with that she is still easy!

Having a camp out in the Barbie tent.

Having a picnic...the first one of two.

Timer photos!!

Rebekkah and Addison hanging out in at the lake while Sydney fed the ducks.

Addison is such a good sport!

Bath Time!

The Blender is BACK!

This past holiday weekend The Steinbucks came down for the annual Grundbuck Reunion! We had so much fun, and I think it was their best visit yet. So hard to believe right? I guess when you throw one more Steinbuck in the mix it increases the fun-o-meter.

On Saturday John and Adam went to the Avila Beer Fest, while Rebekkah, the girls and I went to the beach. Here is a before photo of the dudes:

Before we parted ways we went to The Custom House for breakfast, and on our way back to the car, John and I saw the Blazin' Blenders VW bug. We both looked at each other with sad eyes, as we are still sad they closed down in SLO about 3-4 years ago. We loved going downtown on Saturday mornings and going to House of Bread first to get a baked treat, and then over to the blender to get a smoothie. We had totally burned ourselves out on Jamba Juice, and their different combinations were a refreshing change. We even became somewhat regulars, which surprised me since we only really went there once a week. However every Saturday the owner would be working, and I'm sure it helped that I got the same smoothie almost every week. When it closed down we were totally devastated. Knowing that I'd never have a Cherry Breeze or Yogi Berry again was SO sad.

So when we walked by the bug I looked up to see a new shop. What was it? I couldn't really tell…it kind of looked like a smoothie/ice cream place. WAIT A SEC!!! Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Was I hallucinating? As I entered the shop I started to hear angels singing and everything got really bright. I then saw the familiar owners face and asked her if this was a Blazing Blender, and she said 'Yes, we just opened today.' I just stood there stunned with my mouth hanging open. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, and I didn't know what to say! Finally my brain contacted my mouth and had me ask, 'Do you have Cherry Breeze?' 'Yup,' she said 'we have the entire original menu.' Of course I just stood there stunned again! I'm sure the owner thought my intelligence level greatly decreased over the last 4 years, or maybe I had been in some sort of accident. She did recognize John and I, which totally shocked me, but how could she not recognize the #1 Cherry Breeze fan? I mean seriously!

I told her we'd come back later to get a smoothie, which we did about 4 hours later. The LONGEST 4 hours EVER! Just kidding. They actually flew by as Rebekkah and I had a nice time hanging at the beach despite the semi cold weather. Sydney had the best time EVER as she entertained herself for 4 straight hours. That kid and sand is like Angelina Jolie and kids!

The after photo.
(Yes, that is John’s tasting glass in his mini pocket.)

The dudes met up with us after their drunken feast, I mean fest, and I got to head over and get a Cherry Breeze. By then the husband of the owner was there, and I once again got to share my delight in them opening up their new shop, and getting to have a breeze again. John of course was very 'happy' shall we say, and I was a bit worried that he would start rambling to them and embarrass me, which he did by mentioning that I would probably blog about them opening up their store! Dang him! Why does he have to give away all my secrets? I don't want to be known as the crazy blogger stalker chick! I mean I know I am, but I try not to blab that info all over town. Well I guess I don’t have to worry about that, because John takes care of it for me. What a sucka.

Anyway…the smoothie was SO GOOD! I can't even tell you how good it was to have it again. I foresee a new weekend tradition for John and I to bike ride out to Avila every weekend to get one. (That is if I owned a bike…hopefully the EBay Gods will answer my prayers soon and help John win one for me).

Yesterday I came across the following article on sanluisopispo.com. Let me just say that I am really glad the culprit’s name was neither John nor Adam, and that we had left Avila by 3pm!!

Naked man jumps on cars in Avila Beach

A naked man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of trying to have sex with a taxi cab in Avila Beach, authorities said.

Cody Eugene Williams, 27, of El Dorado Hills, was found about 6:15 p.m. on First Street wearing only his birthday suit and simulating intercourse on the windshield of the cab, according to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s officials.

The cabbie was still inside the taxi, investigators said.

Williams, reportedly intoxicated, also jumped on at least three other cars and broke a windshield, sheriff's officials said.

Williams was booked at County Jail on suspicion of vandalism, indecent exposure and committing a lewd act.

North for the Weekend

This past weekend we took a trip up north to visit Rebekkah and the rest of the Steinbeck family. We had a great time, but it seemed way too short! Adam and John spent the majority of the time working on tiling their shower.

Here is John working on the tile that goes around the knob of the shower. It was quite tedious.

John really enjoyed wearing Adam's 'Indiana Jones' hat...so much that he had to get one of his own!
I got recruited into cutting these small triangles for the cool pattern they put in. Rebekkah said I totally look like a hip pottery shop worker. I think she's right! I normally don't look so glamorous on our tile jobs.

Here is the dude's hard work! Doesn't it look great?

John wound up getting a hold of the camera, and took this beauty of a video. Please note that I'm not posting this because of me...but because of the baby!



Rebekkah and I mainly just hung out and took care of the kiddos. It was great getting to see them again, and Addison is getting so big! She is just starting to smile which is so exciting!

I learned that she is a very particular sleeper, AKA she only likes to sleep on her mom! Poor Rebekkah has the hardest time getting anything done when she can only set Addison down for maybe 5-10 minutes max. I was lucky enough to have her zonk out while I was holding her on Saturday night, which enabled Rebekkah to make dinner. I love it when my job is to just hold the baby. I totally got the easy job.

Here Rebekkah is showing us her multitasking abilities.

I also got to play with Syd in her pebble garden, (sand box with pebbles instead of sand). I actually don't have any funny stories from the weekend, which I know is totally unacceptable, but I guess that is what happens when you spend it with a normal family!

Here is a cute video of Addison when she got the hiccups (make sure to watch the belly!):

We did find some time to set up a photo shoot, which is always tradition. This has to be one of my favorite photos. She looks SO cute here! Or totally skeptical of this homemade setup.

Here Addison is wearing a homemade hat and booties. My mom made the hat, so this photo is for you!
Sleeping Beauty

This is one of my faves of the mother daughter photo shoot. Like how they are color coordinated?

I think Addison knows she's in trouble with that look!

38 Weeks

This past weekend we headed up to Ukiah to visit Rebekkah and her family one last time before Lil’ S’more makes his/hers debut. It was a total mellow weekend, but we make time to get pampered.

Here is Sydney getting her first pedicure:

The end results:

We also spent sometime playing dress up in Syd’s room:

The dudes were also working on the back room while we were playing. We decided to go check the progress. Here is a funny video of John teasing Syd:

I also researched funny onesie sayings and made some iron on transfers for the baby.

In addition to the onesies, I was also able to finish the baby blanket for Lil’ S’more and the mini version for Sydney’s new baby doll.

Here are the finished products:

A detail of the photo squares: (I wanted to include photos that would somewhat chronicle the 9 months before the baby was born).

The image on the left is what I put on the back of the big blanket, and the image on the right is what I put on the back of Syd's blanket:

I was pretty happy with how the printable fabric turned out. I didn’t rinse it after I printed it, so I’m hoping if it ever gets washed the ink won’t run or fade. When Rebekkah opened the big blanket she got excited, which got Syd excited and she started asking if it was for her, so I had to quickly remind her that the smaller blanket was for her. Let me tell you that that kid is getting smarter! She was happy to inform me that her blanket did not have gray on it, or photos. What a stinker! I’m definitely going to have be more on my game when giving this kid stuff!

UPDATE
So I recevied the following email from Rebekkah today with the following photos...(I'm telling ya that kid is getting too smart!).

So, I think Sydney LOVES the new gear you provided. I could barely get the onesies out of the crib before she jumped in to COVER up with "My Blanket from AMBER!!!" I told her that this big one is for the baby in my belly and that the other one with her picture on it is for her baby NEWY. She said, NO MAMA!! Amber made this for me, see....my picture is on here 2 times!! I was cracking up. Here she is playing peek-a-boo with HER blanket!!