Woohoo!! I'm famous!!

Haha, Just Kidding! My sister-in-law just let me know that my Shades of Summer scrapbook page made it onto Elizabeth Kartchner's blog!!
Last summer she mailed out 10 boxes around the U.S. with a pair of yellow sunglasses and instructions on what to do next inside. Apparently my group's box was the only one that made it back to her after it had been sent to all of the assigned recipients.
I remember how much I looked forward to receiving that box on my doorstep, so I'm glad that everyone followed through and got all of our pages back to her.
http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/2009/06/sos-season-2.html

Rest in Peace, Grandpa

Grandpa & I, circa 1984

After a long 84 years here on earth, my grandfather passed away on Wednesday, June 10th.

He definitely had a great & memorable life. He was married to his sweetheart for 62 loving years, had to children, 3 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren (including Ashley). He was fully aware that Ashley would be born in August and I think he was trying hang on just to see her be born and grow up. Now he can look down from heaven and see her anytime he'd like.

After learning that he had been admitted to the hospital on Monday night, I drove down to San Diego on Tuesday afternoon. Due to a leak in his feeding tube that was tapping into this stomach, he had developed a massive infection in his abdomen area. Because of his age and condition (suffering a stroke about 3 months before), the doctors were unsure about even administering antibiotics to him. He definitely would not be able to survive another surgery to try and remove any of the toxins.
When I arrived to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, my grandma, mom and uncle were already in his room. I walked in and my grandpa opened his eyes. He looked at me and said, "I love you". My grandma asked him if he knew who I was and he quietly said, "She's one of my sweethearts." After his stroke he sometimes had a hard time recalling peoples' names, but definitely knew who they were and that they were important to him. Those were the last words he said to me. We left the hospital that evening and headed back to my grandma's house.
The next day (Wednesday), we headed back to the hospital after we at breakfast. By then, my dad and great-aunt had joined us at the hospital. My brother had left Arizona around 9:00am and was making the 7+ hour trip to San Diego. My grandparents' pastor had spoken to the family earlier in the week and encouraged everyone to tell him that you loved him, tell him that we will all be okay and take care of each other and it's okay and he can let go.
I think it was one of the most heart wrenching ordeals I had ever been through. I went through plenty of kleenex, that's for sure. To see my grandma go up to his bedside and look into his eyes, tell him she loved him, and that it was okay to let go...that just got me all worked up. You could see the deep, unending love in both of their eyes and just feel the love and power between them. I couldn't imagine having to do that.
We had been at the hospital for a few hours and lunch time started to roll around. We were hesitant about leaving, but my grandma kept telling us that we needed to eat. She and my great-aunt said together in the room where my grandpa was. Reluctantly, my mom, dad, uncle and I headed to the hospital cafeteria. We had just barely sat down and began to eat when my great-aunt comes rushing in and tell us to pack up our stuff and come back to the room. He was nearing his last breaths. She darted back to the room and we began to pack up our food and head back. By the time we reached his room, we were probably about 20 seconds too late and the nurse was confirming the lack of heart beat.
It was a very tough thing to have happen. Cuong called shortly after he had passed and I could barely compose myself to tell him what was going on. A little while later, Cuong met us at the hospital.

He will most definitely be missed. He was the type of grandpa who had unending stories to tell. I don't think I had heard very many of them twice. He would tell us about his days serving in the Army in WWII, in the Philippines and in New Guinea. About the native people they would come across, the wild animals they would have for dinner, the gigantic snakes in the trees, the beautiful orchids that were covering the waterfalls, etc. He had so many experiences and so much knowledge to share.
Things won't be the same without him, but I know he is in a much better place now. He can look down on all of us and we'll know he's always there. He'll be there in the thunder (bowling a strike!), in the gentle breeze and in the refreshing rain.

Hummingbird Nest

Just like last year, we have another hummingbird nest in one of the trees in our backyard. We started seeing the nest a few weeks ago, and now it's definitely apparent that some babies will be in there. The mother is VERY territorial. We'll just be watering or walking around in the backyard, and she'll try to swoop down on us or hover above us.

I had to take this photo from about 10 feet away. Thank goodness for our camera's zoom! Hopefully we'll be able to get a shot of the babies soon.

Gestational Diabetes Test

Last Thursday morning I headed to the lab to take my 1-hour gestational diabetes test. Before you went, you weren't supposed to drink anything except for the glucose drink they gave you. It tasted like flat, extra syrupy orange soda. Not horrible, but not something I would want to drink very often.
My blood had to be drawn an hour after I finished the drink. I felt fine after the test, but just like my stomach had a huge sugar overload. I didn't want anything sweet to eat or drink the rest of the day.
Turns out, my blood sugar level came out at 135 and they don't want to see anything higher than 130. So since it was higher than their maximum level, I had to go for the 3-hour test.

I had to fast for 12 hours prior to going into the lab. So I had to stop eating on Monday night at 8pm (which is hard for a pregnant chick!). We got to the lab on Tuesday morning around 8am and I got my blood drawn so they could see my "fasting" blood sugar level. Then the lady who drew my blood gave me another one of those orange drinks that I had to down in front of her. Then I had to come back in an hour to get my blood drawn again. When all was said and done, I had 4 holes in my arms!
I got an email from Kaiser yesterday afternoon and it looks like all of my levels came out below their maximum levels. Yay!!! Now I need to try to avoid my cravings for sweets and try to eat a healthy diet.

4D Ultrasound

Last Thursday, May 28th, we had an appointment at a 4D Ultrasound Center in Anaheim Hills. We weren't totally sure what to expect, but we were very pleased with the results.

We headed in to the "Ultrasound Theater" which had a comfy bed for me and a plush couch for Cuong. There was a huge 42"+ screen on the wall which allowed us to easily see what was going on during the ultrasound.

The girl who did the ultrasound was SO nice!! She said that she had been doing these ultrasounds for a few years and had seen tons of babies. We were happy to hear that she thought the "conditions" for the ultrasound were great. She said there was plenty of amniotic fluid which allowed her to see Ashley more clearly and there was plenty of room for her to move around.

The tech confirmed the sex for us and then continued on to show us our little girl inside the womb. It was really amazing!!

Here are a few of the images she captured. We got to see her stretching, moving around, and opening her mouth:

I was tagged!!

What is your current obsession? After today it will be getting the room ready for the baby! We're hopefully going to confirm the sex today!! Yay!!

What is your weirdest obsession? I get random urges to majorly clean. I don't know where that comes from! haha

What are you wearing today? Jeans and a black shirt and used to hide my tummy. Now I can't really hide it.

What's for dinner? Most likely Zito's Pizza. Mmmmmm. My parents are coming over and I don't think my dad can come into the city of Orange without having Zito's. He's addicted. hehe

What would you eat for your last meal? I had some toast and chocolate soy milk this morning after my Gestational Diabetes test this morning. I get the results on Monday. I really hope they come out okay! I would HATE to have to do the 3 hour test!

What's the last thing you bought? Some groceries at Target

What are you listening to right now? Nothing, just the hum of the laptop.

What is your favorite ice-cream flavour? I think my all time favorite it Mint Chocolate Chip. But I love Rocky Road and any combination of chocolate & peanut butter.

What do you think of the person who tagged you? She's wonderful!! Best sister-in-law I could ask for! I'm excited that she'll be an Auntie and be able to see her niece more often than she sees her nephews.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? Shoot, I agree with Connie! Why not Hawaii??

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? I would love to go to a tropical island and lay on the beach (minus a preggo belly!)

Which language do you want to learn? I wish Vietnamese was easier to learn!

What's your favorite quote (for now)? "God won't give you more than you can handle"

What is your favorite colour? I like blues, greens & pinks

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? Jeans and comfy shirts

What is your dream job? Stay at home mom and maybe making some money on the side doing something I enjoy.

What's your favourite magazine? I always get so excited when my scrapbook magazines come in the mail and I also like Real Simple mag.

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? If someone conveniently gave me $100 right now, I'd use it to buy a gift for someone. Otherwise, I'd probably just go shopping for some clothes that I can wear during summer.

Favorite designer? I generally don't buy anything "designer"....so that's a tough question. I'm trying to think if I have anything "designer" in my closet! haha

Do you admire any one's style? I admire bits and pieces of a few people's styles, but I don't know if I'd be able to pull it off.

Describe your personal style? Simple, Comfortable, semi-cute. haha

What are you going to do after this? Take a shower

What are your favourite movies? Any comedy, romantic-comedy, etc.

What's your favourite fruit? Green apples, asian pears, plums, pineapple, kiwi, mango

What inspires you? In life - lots of people; for creativity - blogs, etsy.com, scrapbook mags

What is on the walls in your bedroom? We have a mirror on the wall and a painting of a flower

Your favorite book ?Of all time? I like Nicholas Sparks books.

Do you collect something ? Does hording scrapbooking supplies count?!?


The rules :
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag three other people.
No pressure but if any of you or anyone else would like to take part please do! Just post a link in the comments so I can come read your answers. Have a fun day!!!

Tomas Drew Mendoza is here!

Congratulations to our friends Paul & Yolanda!!

After a long, hard 14 hour labor, Tomas Drew Mendoza was born:

3:57 in the afternoon

Monday May 25 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange. (On his actual due date!)

6lbs 14oz and 20 inches long

We had a chance to visit Yolanda & Paul at the hospital last night and saw Tomas when he was only about 3 1/2 hours old! Yolanda will be in the hopsital for another day or two and then she'll be discharged to go home.

We can't wait to see little Tomas as he grows!