July 30, 2009

Jovi Adalynn Melara was born Thursday, July 30, 2009. Both her and I are home and doing well.

Jovi

More pictures here

 

Miracle

Me 4 weeks ago at 36 weeks pregnant.

I was admitted to the hospital on this day in 1987 with Aplastic Anemia and my parents were told I wouldn't survive the night. Almost exactly 22 years later, whenever Jovi decides I guess, I get to produce a miracle of my own, instead of be one this time :)

Jovi is expected to make her debut any day now and Juan and I, and several others, can't wait to meet her!

This pregnancy has flown by. I have to say staying busy all throughout this pregnancy worked like a charm. Today is my first day of maternity leave and I have no idea what to do with myself! Throughout the past 9 months I graduated from UVU with my associates degree in art and visual communications, we organized and de-cluttered the entire house, we gutted the yard, fixed the sprinklers, planted new grass, and completely remodeled the nursery. We're so glad to have it all done. It really was a crazy and tiring 9 months for both Juan and I to say the least.

So, now we are ready for a brand new adventure! I'm anxious, nervous, and excited for the days ahead and look forward to having the pregnancy behind me and motherhood ahead of me!

Jovi Melara coming July 22

So, it's a girl! So much for woman's intuition and needle tests ha. She'll definitely be a tom boy with all the boy stuff I have bought though. I think most will still work, there may be a few choice garments or items that are just undeniably for a boy though. Juan is excited, he's been talking about his future little girl before we ever got married so he was thrilled when the doctor went "I think it's a boy, no that was the cord, it's DEFINITELY a girl." I laughed because I have bins of boy stuff and Juan started to glow with excitement. I would have doubted it if I didn't see her in all her glory for myself.

She's definitely ours too! The silly girl was reclining in the womb with her hands behind her head and her legs folded. I had to get up and do a dance and poke at her so we could figure out if she was a girl or a boy. Juan says she was just being a lady! I think she's just stubborn like her mom :)

Consider Yourself One of the Family...

So Juan and I are going to be expanding our family once again this July. July 2007 we adopted Arrow, March 2008 we adopted Rogue and now this July we'll be adding a human kid to the mix, no adopting this time though.

So, I'm 14 weeks along this Wednesday and I'm still sick as a dog despite being past my 1st trimester. Once the sun goes down I'm in bed because I generally have night sickness. Despite being ill I will hopefully pass this semester in school, all 15 un-fun credits to finally earn my associates degree about 3 months before the kid arrives.

Juan is finally moved into our bedroom, we needed to replace our dresser with a wardrobe since we have such tiny closets in this home we had to buy one for his clothes. Now at least the closet in what will be the nursery is empty and ready for the baby. We have a lot more to do in the next 6 months. It is all very overwhelming.

So, how long have we known? Well, we were trying but I was sure we had not conceived. I had cramps and felt terrible but aunt flow never made her visit. I took 2 pregnancy tests, one of the early predictors about 2 days before but it was negative then another one on the first day of my missed period still negative. I was bummed but then the next day I was like hmmm....Aunt Flow? So, what the heck I took another Clear Blue Easy test since I had it. It had an hour glass forever. Pregnant? Wait, what? What do I do now? I called my best friend and she told me to take another test so I did...Pregnant. That was a CRAZY moment. Even though I had been trying I was sure I wasn't pregnant and I was in total shock. About 2 hours later I showed up at Juan's work with pink and blue balloons, a yellow congrats balloon, and a present attached with rattles, an "I love Daddy onsie," a Star Wars onsie, and a Marvel Comics baby shirt. He was in shock too. The entire office knew in 30 minutes flat, it's a small office and news travels fast.

Since then I've told family. I surprised my mom on Thanksgiving which was a riot, she had no idea because last she heard the tests were negative. Longest 2 weeks of my life ever waiting to tell her. We've had 2 doctors visits and we got to hear the heartbeat which was just amazing. I've also shrunk most everywhere aside the belly and the boobs. So far pregnancy has been a great diet. Despite how much I want to eat I can't and nothing ever sounds good. So maybe not a diet so much as portion control to the extreme. I make sure I get enough for the kid but splurging is not an option. I also have a hard time with chocolate...Never thought I'd ever say no to chocolate. Oh and I chopped off my hair. It was the longest I've ever had it and now it's at my shoulders again, which is fine with me honestly. I think it looks better and it doesn't get insanely tangled anymore. I use a lot less shampoo too.

So, that's that. Life is crazy and will continue to get more so. I look forward to being a mom and hope to somehow prevent the kid from growing up too fast. I want a baby for awhile because I'm afraid of what Juan and I might produce. I have a feeling this kid will have a serious mind of it's own. Also, our bet is on a boy. I'm in a lot of trouble if it's a girl. It will be a tom boy for sure. I have been buying stuff for awhile, way before I became pregnant, 95% of it much more appropriate for a boy. So we shall see! We'll know in March for sure, well not for sure, but we do get an ultrasound to find out. I guess we'll know for sure in July :)

An Aura of Foreboding

So we're back from the happiest place on earth. Life has been relentless and stressful ever since too. Our trip to Disneyland really was a blast though. Lots of good food, good company, tons of fun, and plenty of pictures and souvenirs. Now we're fat, broke and depressed.


On a not so exciting but exciting for me note, I am finally working from home! After I go to school in the morning I come home and go into our office and work right from my own home. Aside from missing out on the social aspect of work I am psyched! I can wear whatever I want or nothing at all, I don't have to drive in the snow on the freeway in rush hour traffic, and I'M AT HOME!!! A downfall is the part time pay cut has taken a major toll on our finances. Juan did get a raise though so that has helped a lot. We hope he'll get another evaluation in February when sales pick up at his work. If life works out how we have planned it I will not be going back to work full time anytime soon. Once I get my pathetic associates degree I've gone to school for nine years for we'd like to make some other drastic changes around this joint. So Juan will remain my beloved bread winner.

On a health note mine has decided to go a bit bonkers. I was put on some medication over the summer and gained quite a bit of weight which I HATE!!!! Now I'm off all meds aside from the armour thyroid and I hope so much I can lose the weight. However, in the meantime I feel like a walking blimp regardless of what I may really look like. I went to the doc to make sure all was well aside from the weight and all tests came back normal. So it must just all be in my brain now. What I wouldn't give for a personal chef and a personal trainer. My will power to eat well and my desire to exercise are definitely lacking despite how much I want to lose the weight. I will give myself a break though because September and October have been full of all kinds of craziness. Maybe now that I have gained a bit of a routine with my new schedule I can add in an exercise plan. Also I did eat chicken and broccoli for dinner so I am trying.

On a mental note school has been great for me! I feel my wit and creativity coming back. I'm really glad I have the opportunity to go back to school full time for a couple of semesters. I've always been such a good student I'm really surprised I've struggled so much with getting a degree. I'll be happy even if it's just an associates. I was so afraid to get into debt when I was younger I paid for just a few classes at a time and now 9 years later and 5 schools later I still don't have a degree and I got into debt for school anyway. Hindsight is 20/20. However, if I would have stayed at IU or CSU I would have never moved to Utah and my life would be entirely different. So everything happens for a reason and some day it will all just be a funny story I tell my grandkids so they will finish school and get a degree the first 4 years they're out of high school.


If you're interested there are many more pictures from our trip and other shenanigans on our website.

R.I.P. Tilty and PeePee

We will miss your sweet little spirits in our home :(

Husband Tag

I'm bored and what better to do when I'm bored then fill out a survey.

1. What is his name? Juan Roberto Melara

2. Who eats more? Me for sure!

3. Who said “I love you” first? I did, as we were breaking up for the 3rd and "final" time. He said nothing or OK. It was awkward and horrible and the first time I had said those words to a significant other but I had to have closure ha.

4. Who is taller? I am, by at least an inch.

5. Who is smarter? Probably him. We seem to be equally intelligent but he probably has me beat in more nerdy areas.

6. Who is more sensitive? This one is a toss up. It really depends on the situation.

7. Who does the laundry? Me. My favorite is "So,are we doing the laundry this weekend?" He says this to avoid making me angry by telling me the laundry needs to be done but not necessarily implying that it's my job I think ha.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

9. Who pays the bills? I do. I'm way to0 anal to let him do it. But our bills get paid on time so it works.

10. Who cooks more? Um...I guess me because he normally doesn't cook at all. I rarely cook actual meals though.

11. Who is more stubborn? Hmmm. This one really depends on the situation too.

12. Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong? Yeah, toss up again. I hate confrontation and usually bend.

13. Who has more siblings? He does, he's the middle of 5 and I just have a younger brother.

14. Who wears the pants in the family? Both. In some situations I do but in others he does. My daddy taught me well :)

15. What do you like to do together? We love to go out to eat, watch movies, play with our dogs, play video games, and have sex of course ha.

16. Who eats more sweets? Juan does, he's my junk food junkie. I normally fall prey to the abundance of sweets too though.

17. Guilty pleasures? Going out for a good steak!

18. How did you meet? We met through his roommates and my classmates. It's a long story and it's on our website if you're interested. There's a link to it on our other blog.

19. Who proposed? He did, in front of my family. He even asked my dad's permission which is very brave ha.

20. What is his best feature? His hands, his lips, and his eyes

21. What is his best quality? He's my best friend, he's got a great sense of humor, and he's a geek which is awesome!