summer...waiting for the ice cream truck

remember those great memories of the ice cream truck rollin through your neighborhood and the anticipation of what you were going to get...along with the stress of wondering if you could get to your money in time?  i do!  and now jake will, too. the ice cream man rolls down our street daily (at some very strong urging of my husband who asked told him to make sure he comes down our street every day and go slow as he gets to our house).  so here's how it plays out.  1) jake hears the ice cream truck tune (that hasn't changed in my 40 years). 2) he screams " daddy, daddy, the ice cream truck" over and over until matt jumps up from whatever he's doing. 3) jake runs over to grab his ice cream money (loose change, that matt makes sure is filled up regularly, in a little bank that my dad gave him). 4)he runs to out the front door with matt behind him and up to the truck. "hi ice cream man", he says so loud our neighbors must think he's heading for a diabetic diagnosis. 5)jake and matt stand there for a good 3-5 minutes trying to pick what he's going to get, even though the choices haven't changed...ever. 6)he gets his ice cream, says thank you and "bye ice cream man, see you "y"ater."  it is so fun to watch...both of them actually.  these are the times i just fall more in love with my husband.

this is what we call "summer hair"

summer..."legoland"

well not really legoland but that's what jake kept calling this water park.  my friend ruth lives in a fancy community in ladera ranch and this water park for young kids is in their "backyard" and free to residents.  she had us over twice this summer and jake LOVED it.  it was the best of both of his favorite worlds...water and a playground.  he spent hours running around (more about the running later), dumping water on himself, pretending to swim and saying hi to any kid who would look his way.  he's the friendliest, most outgoing boy who gets so excited about life and i love that so much about him.  following rules...not so much.  the lifeguard kept telling him to stop running, as did mommy (from my lounge chair) but he kept on.  i guess (translation...i wasn't paying attention) he ran into another kid and they both fell down so she gave jake a time out.  he had to sit out of the water for 5 minutes.  torture for me him.  we were the brownest ones in the park so i was on the verge of being one of those "why did you only have my kid sit out?" moms but remembered what i tell my students at school..."just because you're the only one who got caught, doesn't mean you get off the hook when you still did something wrong."  

note to self, mom.

summer...adventure city

matt's sister theresa gave jake adventure city tickets for xmas last year and we finally took him...with month-old sophie in tow.

we were supposed to take him for his birthday (see february mom-meltdown) but now i'm glad we waited so he was older.  it really is an amusement park for little kids. besides the 95 degree heat, we jake had a blast.  here's the funny thing, most of the time he just wanted to run around the park to explore all of the different sights.  he did ride a few rides like the firetruck ride (many times), the train and the merry go round  but there were a bunch more he wasn't interested in (could have been the fact that one of the first rides matt took him on was the hot air balloon ride that went way too high and way too fast). he loved the arcade and the thomas the train area.  they had a petting zoo and jake's been to many and always loves being around the animals but for some reason he was scared this time and matt had to hold him.

not wanting to get off the ride

summer 2012

this has been the longest time i've ever had off.  since i had sophie early, my maternity leave, combined with summer vacation, gave me 3 1/2 months at home with the kids.  it was an amazing summer.  i loved being home (most of the time) and loved spending so much time with jake.  we were always out doing something and i think i eased the blow of bringing someone else into the picture. i had still have a bunch of mommy guilt feeling he was getting less attention and the less energetic mommy model but...

  he i loved waking up in the mornings with us just laying in bed watching tv. then it was usually time to pull out the double jogging stroller and head out for a run jog.  he loves being in the stroller and discovering what's around him.  our new game is "what do you see?"  i started it with him a few months ago and now he actually starts it by saying, "mommy, what do you see?" 

the next few posts will be all about summer 2012.

Introducing...

SOPHIE SOSEFINA IAMALEVA 

born may 11, 2012 at 1:02 pm

4lbs. 8 oz. 18 inches

the daughter i've always dreamed of arrived by emergency c-section, 4 1/2 weeks before her due date.  she was small but perfect in every way.  thankfully, she didn't have to go the NICU  and didn't need help with breathing or eating.  that's my girl!  strong, healthy and on her own schedule. her birth story is definitely a story to tell, so i will.

i was 35 1/2 weeks and going to one of my 2x week monitoring appointments.  back story...at about 28 weeks, i wasn't gaining much weight and my belly was measuring small every week.  i went for an ultrasound and got bad news that she was measuring small. no real reason why but it happens and there's nothing i did wrong or can do to change it.  he didn't know who he was talking to.  i went home, had a good cry with matt, quit working out the next day and starting eating everything in sight, all while doing major research on why this might be happening and what i could do to help her grow (again, nothing).  4 weeks later i was back to check on her and miraculously, she was measuring right on track.  the doctor gave me the choice to still continue the monitoring and of course i chose to do it.  so on may 10th i had a routine appointment before work.  after he checked me, i was standing at the desk to make my next appointment when i felt like i wet my pants.  well, skip to the fun part...my water completely broke in the doctor's office.  everyone was in shock, especially me.  the dr. told me to drive straight to the hospital and have matt meet me there.  "are you sure i can't go home first and oh, i don't know, change, pack a bag, figure out daycare for jake???!!"  no, he said...go straight there.  So in type a fashion, i drove home, talking screaming on the phone to matt the whole way there all while my water was still breaking.

my mom and mita met me at home and matt was ready panicking as soon as i pulled up. we passed jake off to mita as i was uncontrollably sobbing about leaving him and feeling i didn't prepare him enough for what was happening (again, type a) and jumped in the car with my mom and headed to the hospital.  btw...at the signal on cherry and del amo is where we decided her name.  i know, so special, but hey we thought we had 5 more weeks.  jake wasn't named until 2 weeks before his birth...we wanted it to be equal.

we check in at the hospital and i've just soaked the 3rd pair of sweats.  fast forward a bit and i get into a room where we'll be for the next 24 hours waiting for her (all while my mom and matt torture me by eating in N out and jacks while i nibble on sugar free jello and cranberry juice).  no big contractions come by that night so they induce me.  next morning..still nothing.  i'm thinking at this point, why did she break my water if she still wants to chill in there for a bit?  well, answer is on its way.  at about 10am, after a long night sleeping in hospital chairs, matt decides to go home, get jake and bring him back to see me.  when jake comes, i can't hold my emotions.  all of a sudden, i'm not wanting him to share the limelight and i'm feeling like i wasn't ready for my "just me and him" time to be up.  i was completely irrational and hysterical.  my poor son just wanted some of my cranberry juice and to play with the hospital bed buttons.

so in "what happens to type a people when they try to control things" fashion, matt goes to take jake home and he's not gone but 30 minutes and i start bleeding...badly!  dr. is called, he checks me and in his cool as a cucumber voice, he says to the nurse, "i don't like this".  um, excuse me, what did you say?  hey, i'm over here...what was that?  he comes to my bedside, holds my hand and gently says, "we need to do a c-section...(pause) and we need to do it now."  um...my mind is reeling, i'm panicking, my mom is crying and MATT IS GONE!  WTH?!?!  dr. doesn't wait for my response and calls over the intercom, "CODE GREEN".  The next 5 minutes is something out of an ER reality show and i feel like i'm watching it happen to me from across the room.  6-7 nurses rush in and the rest is a blur.  "take your jewelry off", "put this cap on", "sign her", "drink this" "call down to the blood bank for her blood type". they're talking amongst each other in a hurried tone and i'm freaking the FU@K out.  i look at my mom who's frantically calling matt to rush back to the hospital all while trying to stay calm for me but i see the tears in her eyes.  this isn't what she wanted for me..for sophie.  this is a far cry from jake's smooth birth where we were all laughing and telling jokes for 12 hours in between contractions.

within 5 minutes, they're wheeling me to the OR by myself.  my mom stayed behind to wait for matt and i'm scared as hell that he's not going to make it in time.  i remember crying and telling the nurses as we're rolling down the hallway "please don't let me die, i have a 2 year old at home who needs me" (cue dramatics).

the next thing i know, i'm drugged up, feeling like i'm going in and out of consciousness and matt rushes through the doors and gasps.  ya see...they had already cut me open and the partition they put up so i can't see, was on the opposite side of where he came in.  sorry babe.  he's still a bit traumatized by my intestines on the table.  for as emotionally strong as matt is, the look that i saw in his eyes when i was going in and out, told me more than any "i love yous" he's ever uttered.  he was genuinely scared that he was going to lose me.  he kept tapping me to make sure i stayed with him all while trying to feel the joy of what was about to happen.  he's holding my hand while he watches them try to get her out (the partition that's successfully blocking my view was a little short for a 6'5" Samoan). i feel the tugging and pulling.  

i'm trying to stay with it.  

finally, we hear the cry.  she's here.       

recommitted

yes, i'm back. for that one of you that reads about my kids, i'm back.  its been too long since i've shared a funny/loving story about my family but my life has changed dramatically.  a little over 3 months ago, i had a daughter.  but more on that amazing blessing later.  i almost gave up blogging. as much as i love writing, sharing memories and just hearing myself "talk", i just couldn't find the time to sit down and commit.  and i won't even blame it on her because i have so much to share and every new memory that's made, i think about posting it on here.  it's just that i found myself longing for so much "me" time after she got here that i just couldn't sit down and commit.  any time i had a free 20 minutes (usually in 5 minute increments), i wanted to do other things like surf the web, say hey to peeps on facebook, watch my DVRd shows that are always trumped by cartoons OR my all-time favorite nighttime leisure activity...read my fashion magazines in bed with a bowl of ice cream.  so blogging has taken the backseat.  until now.  i am recommitted (thanks in part to a little birdie named autumn who continues to remind me with her blog why i started this in the first place) to posting snippets of my kids (yes, plural) so they, and i, have memories in print. 

okay, i'll admit it...i was wrong...about ALOT of things!  i always say that i was the best parent before i had children.  for someone like myself who is not judgmental or in people's business much, i sure had a lot of silent opinions about people's parenting...or lack of, especially when it came to snotty noses. "they must not be taking care of their kids if their noses are always running", says the mind of a non-parent. 

pause to take foot out of my mouth.

jake has had a runny nose now for 5 months.  yea, there were a few instances where it cleared up but only for a few days and then it was back.  i have done internet searches, doctor visits, experienced-parenting consultations, blog discussions, etc.  you name it and i can't figure out why that cute Marks nose won't clear up.  at one point i thought i figured it out...ALLERGIES!  he's got it coming from both sides of his DNA.  matt and his dad have them.  my dad and brother have them.  allergist appointment made.  skin test scheduled.  results...negative.  no allergies.  pediatrician says "you might just have one of those kids where their nose constantly runs and eventually he'll grow out of it."  carma's a bitch!