True Story, Non-Fiction

"Kiki Wow!!"

The other day, Mariko sent me a text message that read: "Bumper Sticker: Midwives help people out"...Immediately, I started cracking up! You see, we do that occasionally- find things that would be hilarious to each other and report them via text. We used to just drive all around San Diego, hang out hungover in our shared bedroom (bunkbeds!) or sit in class @ SDSU and laugh about the most random things. Seeing as how we live in 2 separate states now, we have to share laughs usually by text!


It was a funny thing though when I received this "bumper sticker" text from her. Yes, the actual saying was funny, but not only that. Since Ace heard me chuckle out loud, I decided to tell him the content of the text. He stared at me blankly..."Okay...that went right over my head!" he said with a smile. Then I got to remembering just why Mariko and I are friends (sisters, and practically commonlaw married in the state of CA) anyway.

Mariko gets it. My humor that is. Or rather, we share the exact same type of humor and appreciate the silliness of life in general. Sure, sure, Ace and I laugh together a lot and share a good sense of humor too (you have to when you are married and have a child!), but in a different way. Whenever I get these texts from Mariko, or send one to her, I always remember the times we'd laugh so hard we'd cry.

Meeting Mariko for the first time in the rental office of the Hardy Ave. Apartments my freshman year of college at SDSU, I didn't know we'd become fast friends. We were on the surface, very different individuals. My first thoughts of her were that she was a "free spirit-type from Santa Cruz" and a brainy intellectual at the same time. Me on the other hand, I was the super girly-girl, needing freedom from her parents, who had to try really hard at getting good grades in school. The first 2 years, we got along great! But it wasn't until we had to share a room (and bunkbeds) for the next 3 years of our college lives that we'd realize we were two peas in a pod!

Over those last 3 years of college, so many memories were made. Lots of them, thankfully were captured on film for future preservation. I remember chuckling at all the crazy outfits we'd see while sitting out on the Campanile walkway @ SDSU. "Cool outfit" or "So Euro!" is what we'd say about all the guys with long shaggy hair wearing clear sunglasses and acid washed, ripped jeans. Or we'd laugh at the crazy amount of men at school who wore flip flops or "mandals" or "mank-tops" the male version of the tank top. We'd pass time in Linguistics 420 by starting a "stick-man war" in our notebooks. I'd start by drawing a stick-man shooting a gun at her and she'd continue by drawing one back at me. By the end of class, we'd have a full fledged stick man battle on our notes instead of breaking down sentences grammatically! Man, I don't know sometimes how we passed classes together!

As many people's college memories go, many of ours were created out of crazy nights at parties, bars, etc. I remember hanging out with the Sigma Alpha Mu's (Sammies!) and playing "Edward forty-hands" with Mickey's 40's (which actually was just Mariko and I drinking our fave malt beverage at our leisure). The random house parties where we'd go to the bathroom together, not for fun, but to steal the toilet paper to take home! That toga party!...All those crazy Halloween outfits ("Da Linguistiks" rap duo and SWAT team were by far the best!)...and Halloween foot! Once we turned 21, we ventured out to the Pacific Beach bar scene...many nights were spent riding our beach cruisers to the bars-Tavern, Typhoon, PB Bar&Grill, Moondoggies, Oh my! and then a Robertacos carne asada burrito at 2am for the drunken bike ride home. Then movies in our bunk beds hungover the next morning! How about the pitchers of beer at Monty's (the bar ON CAMPUS) before class or the several pitchers after finals!

Who could forget our many car adventures! Short trips or errands would turn into strange but laughable events. Carpooling to SDSU for class and stuck in traffic during the holiday season and singing Christmas carols (our own special versions). Our Spring Break Bonanza road trip (SBB 2003) with stops including Pyramid Lake, Huntington Beach, and finally ending in Santa Cruz (we squeezed 2 beach cruisers in Mariko's Altima...practiced taking apart and putting together our bikes for weeks!). Our Vegas trip...where so many quotes were developed and never forgotten: "good god man, give me some of that sweetness!" not to mention much talk about shocks and clamps!

There are so many more memories that even as I'm ending this, I'm thinking...wait! I need to include that! Like riding to Jamba when it was raining ash, or drinking a "bladder of wine" during a Diego Roots show and just cracking up at everyone's red stained shirts, Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo that was always hiding in the most inconvenient of places, Philandering Phil, "you got me-again! with the ghiradelli taped to the toilet lid, the potato tour w/a sidecar of sausage, and the tricycle ride down Garnet during PB block party. Seriously. I wish sometimes that people would understand just half of what we were laughing about all the time! I could go on forever...but I'll end with a quote from a friendship book Mariko gave me for my 25th birthday:

"There is a curious fact about friendship that we have always known but rarely acknowledge: By understanding others, we also come closer to understanding ourselves."

-Friends to the End: The True Value of Friendship, by Bradley Trevor Greive

Boys Will Be Boys

Isn't it amazing how fast children grow?

Our Acey started out his life as a teeny-tiny 6lb. 12 oz. helpless newborn that needed Ace and I for everything.

As the months passed, he got bigger, and began accomplishing each and every milestone that first parents anticipate. As I was catching up in filling out Acey's memory book, I reminisce about some of his "firsts":

First time sleeping through the night: 4 months old

First time he rolled over: 5 months old

First time he sat up: 6 months

First time he crawled: 8 months

First word: "dada"

First steps: 13 months

We've now hit the 1 year mark, and looking back at his first year of life, he's been a busy guy!

Now, Ace and I just laugh at all the new things he does each day. Just a couple weeks ago, we were noticing just how much this little guy understands. He may not be very verbal just yet, but boy, does he know what we're talking about! Ace and I were amazed at all the simple directions he can follow, like "Bring mommy your cup," or "take off your socks," and even finding something we tell him to find. He's long been identifying objects in books (thanks to mommy being a teacher--he's got an early love of them!), but its just neat to be able to say, "Where is your milk?" and he will go get his cup. Heck, he even knows some baby signs! He'll put his fingers together for "more" and hold his hands up and turn them for "all gone". He's such a smart guy!

Aside from all the "mental" achievements, the physical tasks Acey accomplishes each day make Ace and I look at each other in disbelief! After just a moment of watching either me or daddy do something, he immediately copies us. One morning (shortly after mastering walking) he just started walking backwards!! We were astounded! He still doesn't get that you have to look where you're going (thus-lots of falls). Besides walking backwards, Acey likes to spin around in circles (he thinks it's hilarious!), stand up on his tippy-toes, do what we call the "crazy dance" (which looks like jogging in place!). While at the park, he likes to climb up the slide and attempt to walk down the steps on the jungle gym.

When people say little boys are dirty, they aren't kidding! I really don't know how Acey gets as dirty as he does, to the point of changing clothes twice, three times a day, and a mandatory bath before bed! He'll put any rock, crumb, random piece of something he finds on the floor or ground in his mouth. Acey rubs jelly from his breakfast toast in his hair. He fingerpaints with ketchup during lunch. He enjoys trying to eat the soap bubbles in the bath! Ah, boys!

The best things are all of the above and then some. He is one of the most loving 1 year olds I know. He'll grab your face and give you a big, wet, movie star kiss, or he'll gently pat your back during a hug. He'll share his milk or binky with his "mono" (his favorite stuffed monkey) and "give him a bath" with a dry washcloth. He'll feed you a soggy Cheerio right out of his bowl and touch your face lovingly when you put him to sleep.

He's going to have a lot of things to teach baby boy #2 and he'll be such a great big brother!!

OH BOY!

Still the queen of my castle...

At least that's how Mariko put it...and I kinda like it that way!

Adrian and I are adding another boy to our "team" (he thinks we are on our way to starting our own baseball/soccer team!) and we couldn't be more excited/nervous/scared/_________ (you fill in any other feeling having to do with having another baby).

It was crazy how fast today came and how anxious we both were to see what we were having. I couldn't sleep all night, and when the morning came, it seemed like an eternity until my appointment at noon. Not only that, not sure if many people know this (if you haven't had an ultrasound done) but they like to torture pregnant ladies by making them drink a humongous glass of water an hour prior to the exam and you cannot go to the bathroom until after the 30-45 minute procedure!!!!!!!! Pardon my forthcoming-ness, but my bladder was going to explode right there on the exam table! This should be a pleasant experience, as the U/S technician begins by squeezing that weird jelly all over your belly then rubbing it around until they get good views of every single organ, cute profile of baby's face, 9 photos of the baby's spine and kidneys all from different angles, baby's arms and legs...however, you have to pee so bad that you are just wanting them to hurry up, find the little one's rear end, and let the cat out of the bag....girl or boy??

We definitely saw boy parts! Adrian was not in the least surprised, however, I was due to the fact I was almost convinced this one was a girl since my pregnancy has been so different than the first. I left the doctor's office quite relieved because of the feeling of being prepared this time, knowing what to expect in raising another little boy. Adrian I have to say, looked kinda sweaty and nervous...ha! just kidding babe...love you!! No, he really did look nervous though. I think it made it all the more real now than ever! On top of that, I'm sure he felt that we really are going to have our hands full with not one, but two rambunxious (spelling?) little boys.

What an adventure it will be!

Happy Father's Day!

Ace's second Father's Day!

This morning, Ace's present was waiting for him when he walked in the door from work (he gets off at 6am). I decided to get him a new casual watch for work since the one he has now is slowly dying. I got a great deal on a new G Shock similar to his old one. Needless to say, he was surprised, and he loved it! Along with the usual card from me and card from Acey, I cooked a great dinner and dessert for us tonight before he left for work again.

I tried a yummy new recipe I got from Parenting magazine (thus, it was super easy, and I had majority of the ingredients in my pantry or fridge!). Baked pasta w/summer vegetables- it was a hit w/ the lil guy and the big guy! I grilled some shrimp along side for me and big Ace. I love cooking. My proudest moments are seeing my 2 guys eating happily =) Room for dessert? Always. I made a trifle out of angel food cake, strawberry jello, fresh berries, and cool whip. Yum. Me and my prego self will be finishing off the rest of the angel food cake tonight!

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad."

I love my dad. My dad and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but what teenager living under their parent's roof really does? He was the voice of reason. I remember when I was younger the bike rides on the back of his bike- he'd put me in my seat first then he'd get on- which was scary for me, but he always reassured me I'd be okay. I remember him playing Candyland with me and teaching me how to play monopoly- then playing for hours! I don't know many dads who buy their 16 year old daughters a Mitsubishi Eclipse sportscar as their first car-but he did. Then he replaced it with a brand new Jetta years later when I totalled it my 2nd year away at college. He's done a lot of things for me in my life that I cannot repay him for, but I am ever so grateful for him and blessed to have him as my dad!

Ace is an amazing dad and husband. I respect and admire him for what he does for our family. When we found out we were having our first child, it was decided right then and there that I was going to be a stay at home mom and he'd work full time to support us. We knew it was going to take a lot of sacrifice on our part to live off one income- we weren't even sure exactly what kind of financial toll it would take on us. However, he knew how much I'd wanted to stay home to take care of our kids, and he allowed me to live out that dream. Any time we were having money troubles, and I questioned the decision we'd made for me to stay home, he'd back me 100% saying that he wouldn't have it any other way. He would take 2 jobs if he had to. Although his current job is secure and great for right now, he's always looking for a better one in hopes of settling down closer to family and giving us a better life. So is life perfect with him? We have our good days and our bad days. We've been married for a year and together almost 10...and we're still working on it. Yes of course I love him unconditionally. But even more importantly, I respect him. I'm blessed in the fact he calls me his wife.

The 2 Aces

I thought it would be good to share a little bit about who my 2 Aces are.

There's Big Ace...that's short for Adrian...he's my husband, my love, my best friend. We've been together since high school! We've stuck it out through long distances...I went to college in San Diego, he-in Arizona then in Colorado. In total, that was 5 years of being apart, but after I graduated, I made the best decision of my life to move to Colorado to live with him! I got a fabulous job teaching 4th grade, he was finishing up school. We had a cute little townhouse...life was good! Fast forward about 3 years...we are happily married now and starting our own family! He's working now for the State of Colorado, but has bigger dreams of moving on to work for the federal government. We'll see soon where that will take us! He's a wonderful husband and father. I couldn't ask for anything more. More about him later in my Father's Day post.

Then there's our Little Ace...That's short for Adrian too! We couldn't have picked a better name for him because he's the spitting image of his daddy! He even has some of him dad's mannerisms! He has added so much joy to our lives. Each day, there's something new with him! He's got his "big boy" attitude now, which means he wants to try to do everything himself- from walking to feeding to messing with all the electronics in the house! He was born 2 days after my birthday, a late present to me- 4 weeks early! He was small, but I just knew he'd catch up! Boy, was I right! He's such a solid guy...looks tough just like daddy! He's learning to share his feelings through language...what language right now, we're not sure. He's got his own words and sounds for just about anything! He is picky about the actual words he does say...he personally enjoys saying, mom, yogurt, pancake, fish, shoe, and Oh!...

I could go on about my 2 Aces for days! I love watching them together- playing, rough-housing, stuff that dads and sons do. Don't get me wrong, there are the days I want to scream and pull my hair out, but I wouldn't be a normal wife/mom if I didn't have those times. However, the good always outweighs the bad and God has truly blessed me with an amazing family!

Our little, but growing, family!

Our family...



There's me Jeni, and my 2 Aces...Adrian is Big Ace and Adrian C. is Little Ace (or Acey as we all like to call him). I will introduce them further in following posts. There's also one more little one on the way! HE or SHE will come into this world on or around Novemer 9, 2009.



Currently, I am 20 weeks into pregnancy number two! Now that I'm past all the nausea, loss of appetite, and extreme sluggishness, I'm enjoying being prego all over again. That's right, I said it...I enjoy being pregnant. Yep, I'm one of those girls. Aside from the aches and pains, weight gain, stretch marks, etc., etc., I really do like pregnancy. It's one of those things I appreciate in being a woman and it really is fun to think of another human being growing inside you. That being said, although this is pregnancy number two, it's been a lot different this time around than the first!



When you are pregnant for the first time, you read about everything having to do with pregnancy, babies, labor and delivery...the whole deal. You know 'what to expect' and when to expect it! You photograph every stage of your growing belly and indulge in each one of your cravings (buffalo wings 3 days a week! any kind of fruit-sprinkled with salt! -those were a few of mine). You jump at the chance to buy your first maternity outfit and you spend hours upon hours at Babies R Us or in the baby section of any store oogling at all the clothes and cool baby gadgets you definitely will need. You pour over baby name dictionaries compiling lists of girl names and boy names. Ah, then there's nesting...the affectionate term for going baby crazy the last few months and preparing every possible thing for the new arrival!



To describe my pregnancy number 2 so far...take all the above and throw it out the window! I like to call it, "taking the relaxed approach." All right, so what if I'm 20 weeks in and have no name picked out (we have yet to find out the sex...coming soon June 24th!), have yet to crack open the pregnancy books (I just figure any symptom I'm feeling must be due to being prego!), haven't taken a single picture of my belly (my belly button looks like the end of a hot dog...who wants to document that!?), and haven't even begun to think about acquiring more "things" for baby #2.



Call me crazy, but I've just been preoccupied with lots of other things. Namely, my 1 year old who demands majority -if not all- of my attention every day. Not only that, duties as a wife (who stays at home while her husband works nights and sleeps during the day) can keep me very busy too. Add to that just the thought of having 2 children under the age of 2 and believe me, you have no time to do all that fun stuff!



Ah, 2 under 2...many parents or parents to be voluntarily choose to avoid this particular family configuration. Adrian and I, however, nervous as we may be, are excited for the challenge. We've always wanted our children to be close in age. Adrian has 4 other siblings-all relatively close in age. I, on the other hand have only one brother who is 8 years younger. I never really "grew up" with him...rather I grew up while he was little and moved out of the house at the beginning of his formative years. I like how siblings close in age have comraderie and a bond that is unlike any friendship. We want our children to be close and take care of one another and have each other to rely on.



So, yes, we'll have to deal with having kids in diapers at the same time, jealousy issues, scheduling conflicts, etc., etc. but bring it on! We're ready for it, and couldn't be happier...

Me? Blog? Never...

Never say never, I guess!

This is what happens when your husband's at work, your baby is sleeping (early bedtime!) and you've got some free time on your hands! I have always balked at the idea of blogging (ask Mariko...who blogs??!!) simply because-why on earth would I want to write about my life and who on earth would want to read about it? Well, sheer boredom and free time will drive you to do just about anything! I figure, hey, I like to write, and I've got some family and friends (far, far away in California) out there who like to know what we're up to here in Colorado- so why not? I'll give it a try.

This blog is to share with you the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of being a full time wife and mommy of a 1 year old and another little one on the way! Hopefully you will enjoy reading about Big Ace's (that's the husband) job aspirations, Little Ace's (the 1 year old baby boy) new accomplishments and experiences, and the daily joys I experience as a wife and mom.