National Geographic Ninja Punches

Without clothes on, I look like I belong in a National Geographic ad.  Sure, having some waist defining dresses and chest clenching bras can hold in the tidbits a little here and there...but for real...throw me in the jungle and I'd fit right in.

One thing is for certain---I don't think anyone's ever prepared to understand what it feels like to be pregnant until you actually go through it. It's my body, but obviously one that I've never known. WEIRD things happening people!!

And let's go ahead and talk about this kicking baby. She moves in-cess-antly. It's actually an insane feeling especially when you've got waves of movement and jabs right and left coming from the inside. The best way to describe it is it feels like you've got a bad case of the farts---except it never comes. (Gross...I know. How un-lady-like of me, but we're all human, right?) Like your stomach churns and gurgles.....and that's about it. It's unpredictable and you wonder what the heesh is going on in there. Not to mention, my beloved sleep routine seems like it has now become a thing of the past. If it's not being woken up by all these ninja punches, it's the excruciating-midnight-wake-me-up-fiery-charlie-horse-leg-cramps I'm getting in BOTH my legs throughout the evening. Or maybe it's the cotton mouth-but-I-dont-want-to-drink-too-much-water-or-I'll-be-peeing-the-entire-night that has been causing this restlessness.

Whatever it is, it's not anything you'd anticipate until you've gone through this whole life changing experience. I keep trying to get Daniel in on this so he can feel as connected as possible to baby Morgan, and he's certainly felt a few major kicks here and there---but most of the time it's just me who's feeling all of the squirmyness from the inside.

I've officially outworn my jeans. I tried to wear them as long as possible, and I managed to sneak away with a couple hair bands holding back the buttons...until my Santouka ramen lunch the other day at Mitsuwa. The hairband literally SNAPPED and broke off WHILE I was eating my noodles. It was a pretty major realization for me---seriously! I couldn't get away with it any longer, so I've finally ordered a few pair of mom jeans maternity pants. (Sigh.) I refuse to get rid of any pre-preggo pants, because I WILL fit in those again soon......sooooooon.

Our house project has been delayed (major grin) since the architect's main structural engineer has gone AWOL. Not the greatest news you should be relaying to a six month pregnant, homeless wife, but it is what it is. We'll just have to roll with it. Daniel went to town this past weekend and took it upon himself to go ahead and start demoing within reason. Our good friends, Danny and Jordan, and my sister's fiancee, Kevin, also volunteered their manly services to help wreck some things. One weekend and a large dumpster later...we've moved the needle a smidge! THANKS GUYS!!

Pre-demo. Of course, Daniel couldn't help himself and didn't wait for me to take pics before ripping out a couple cabinets to the left. I forced him to stop so I could at least snap a few before going to town.

Hey, laminate!

The smell of ripping out cabinets from the 1950's? Slapworthy.

Like whoa.

Let's break ish.

I've gotta admit---I was sort of a champ, also. My lazy butt managed to rip out a number of door frames and most of the baseboard. For someone who typically hates manual labor---go me! In all seriousness, though, the boys did a pretty fancy job mauling all the cabinets. Great job, men! 

With that, I leave you with my 5.5 month preggo pic. I'm not one for selfies ever...but the difference between 4 to 5 months has been pretty astonishing. SO, here she is:

Lovely lady bunp.

Which, by the way, she's been kickin' this whole time I've been blogging, so I'm going to get off my bum and walk her back to sleep. Hope you're all enjoying this gorgeous weather and beautiful summer. Until next time, au revoir!

Gun Registration & My FUBA

So where can Daniel and I register for a gun at?

Considering we BOTH had separate dreams of having a boy...having a girl has thrown us for a complete curveball. (And by dreams, we mean they were more like 'NIGHT VISIONS' and not exactly passionate desires to have a boy, by any means.)

In no way does this photo indicate we are not more than thrilled we're having a little mini-me, btw. More so, just an expression of ayudameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! What do we do with a little girl??? She's going to be so fragile..so delicate. Eeeeek.

In fact, we weren't even coming up with girl names, because we were entirely certain it was going to be a boy. So imagine our surprise when the ultrasound specialist (who also had an inkling it was going to be a boy) told us, "It's a girl! See the two little lines?"

.....(apparently, also known as a "hamburger" versus a "turtle"---signs on the ultrasound)....

Help. 


We've got a name nailed down, so if there's one thing we're keeping a secret until this little girl arrives..it's that. So the cats outta' the bag. Baby in T minus 5 months, and Daniel and I are super excited and cannot wait!


Now---if we can just figure out this house remodeling thing. We're still awaiting the final sketches since we discovered it would be relatively easy to take down the large wall blocking off the kitchen from the family room, and it also turns out the chimney isn't supporting anything at all---thus, away it goes! We've decided to completely rearrange everything from our initial plans. Since opening up the floorplan to an even greater great room, we've basically started over and are waiting to hear from our architect on the final arrangement. Daniel and I also figured since we'll be under so much construction and demo work already, we might as well re-landscape at this point. I almost tripped on our driveway twice last week getting out of my car, so part of this includes jackhammering all the existing concrete and starting fresh with that, too.

Honestly, the whole process sounds painful...and we haven't even started yet.

If Daniel gets the green light on everything this week, he's going to go to town by self demo-ing the kitchen and doors. I cannot tell you HOW giddy he was about being able to tell met his. Boys! Hehe.

In other news, we're planning one final 'babymoon' vacation since we're in our 2nd trimester, and supposedly, this is the best time to go while preggers. (I'm supposed to be feeling my best right now, which for the most part, I am.) We were originally considering an all inclusive resort somewhere in Mexico, but after doing a little more googling, I'm going to see if somewhere else in the states sounds fun! (Chicago...Miami...New Orleans?) Chicago is topping my list so far with all of their fun outdoor movies, festivals, summer-fun things. We'll be planning and probably booking it tonight. Keep y'all posted!

Oh, and lastly---I've had people ask for a baby bump picture. Honestly, it's a pretty sad bump and I've been currently referencing it as my "FUBA" versus a "bump".

FUBA is also known as my "fat-upper-belly-area".

So, ask and you shall receive. Now featuring, Christine's 4 Month FUBA!

Sad, isn't it? I'm sort of in a funky middle ground where it's not large enough to look pregnant but no longer small enough for me to suck it in gracefully. FUBA it is. I guess I should embrace my size for now. I mean..not sure how long I'll be able to manage feeling like a beached whale.

Until next time, au revoir!

A New House for Captain Morgan

Ahoy, matey! How's it going, friends?

Daniel and I would like to apologize for the lack of posts. It's been the most insane year of our lives. (By the way, how the heck is it almost May?? Mind blown.)

The past two months have been filled with absolute chaos. First of all, we sold Daniel's house (aka his swanky bachelor pad in the rolling hills of Aliso Viejo). We were going to try leasing it out for another year but received an offer we couldn't refuse. Thus, we were left with a predicament. (Not a bad one, but a predicament, nonetheless.)

What to do with this newly discovered equity...(tap fingers)...

We decided to roll over the funds and buy a house that we found in the same neighborhood as one of our best friends. It was a 'for sale by owner', and I was able to transact both sides of the deal with all my gathered real estate skillZzzZz---naturally.

Though this house is perfect for us in the long term (huge corner lot home, single level, with 3 bedrooms/2 baths), it's a 1950's, original condition property that needs a TON of work.

I'm still trying to figure out what decade the salmon and baby blue color combo was in style...or if ever?

HUGE front yard, so we're adding on a master suite, converting it into a 4 bed/3 bathroom home. (Finally get my walk in closet. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The original family room---wall to the left of the fireplace is the first thing to be knocked down.

The original kitchen. The oven is an original 50's GE stainless steel in tip top condition. Unfortunately, it's just not going to work for us, so we'll have to find it a better home!

The backyard with the sweet jacuzzi tub. If you're lucky, this beast is staying. ha! Really, though, Daniel's gonna have a field day re-designing this space. Forget the man cave when you have this much backyard to mess around with!

We just finished gutting and remodeling our little home on the Eastside of Costa Mesa (my 'bachelorette pad' that we settled into after getting married).

We touched every single inch of our townhome. (Flooring throughout, new kitchen, took down walls, re-landscaped the whole yard, all new windows...I mean to the nines!) Very satisfied with everything we had accomplished there this last year---we are now faced with this monstrosity of a project for this other house we intend on moving into! Of course, everything that this new "old" house requires (at least to satisfy our current wants and needs) doesn't come cheap, so we've also put our Eastside townhome on the market and are in escrow, set to close within a couple of weeks. (Not gonna lie, I think both of us cried a little bit inside after all the blood, sweat and tears we poured into making it our home.)

Actually, now come to think of it---I still can't believe what we've just signed up for, and I'm pretty sure Daniel was scheming to take on this massive remodel regardless of what his pregnant wife was thinking.









Wait, WHAT. Come again?

Yeah, you heard me. We're pregnant with a little captain on board. (Yak yak yak. Git it? Captain Morgan? Eh? EH?Yak yak yak!)

Hey, little champ!

 
So there's also that! Daniel said I could announce it on my blog, since he butchered the baby announcement with our families. Haha! Okay, in all seriousness, though. We're preggers and that's just bonkers as far as I'm concerned. On top of expecting, we will be gutting, remodeling, adding another master wing to this new house that we've gotten on the other side of town. We've been working with an architect, and our estimated time frame to complete this will be right up until the ETA of our little captain---due in October 2014! (Thankfully, I'm blessed with the greatest in-laws in the universe who have graciously allowed us to occupy their home in the interim so we won't have to live through a construction zone again like the first time around!)

We received the architectural site renderings today and are STOKED with the results so far. BEST. ARCHITECT. EVER.
 

 We can't, can't wait. AHHHHH!!!!


AHHHH!!!!


It looks so amazing, and these are just sketches for cryin' out loud! We're going to meet with the architect again to finalize the drawings, and then off to the city they go for permits. We're going for a more contemporary 'colonial' feel this time to the exterior, and we intend on tearing down walls, widening hallways, opening up the floorplan, all the fun shenanigans!

What can be more exciting than this?? We get a new house customized to our preferences just in time for our little bun in the oven. I feel elated, blessed, and am so thankful for everything God has in store for us.

Alright, you've officially been updated. Peace out folks!