I'm not being induced...yet anyways

I have somewhat of an update on baby's arrival. At yesterday's doctor appointment, I had another ultrasound and found out baby is definitely on the big side. The shocker is that Inara is really long already. I'm glad about that because I'd hate for her to be short like me, but it's just funny to me that I'm going to have a tall baby when I'm known as the runt of the family. She is measuring in about two weeks ahead of schedule. (Of course my daughter is already advanced. Ha ha.) She's about 6 pounds 10 ounces now. In the last four weeks of pregnancy, babies can gain upwards of 2 pounds, so we're definitely looking at a big girl. So here is what my doctor wants me to do. I have to walk after every meal to help push baby down and thin my cervix. My next appointment is September 11 at which point she will check to see if my cervix has thinned enough to induce me within the next 7 to 10 days from that point. So it looks like baby will be here before the 30th, which is fine by me given how uncomfy I have been the last two weeks. Actually, I'd be fine with her coming even a few days earlier than that, but I have to wait until at least my 38th week doc says. I'll keep everyone posted as events unfold.

The Most Awesome Movie Props

On Pop Candy's blog she lists her top 10 movie props, which is a pretty interesting topic, at least one I haven't seen a bazillion times on other websites. Here is her list condensed. (I deleted her comments/explanations.)


10. The crystal ball, Labyrinth.
9. Steve Martin's paddle game, The Jerk.
8. The umbrella gun, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
7. The orb, Sleeper.
6. The rug, The Big Lebowski.
5. Andie's dress, Pretty in Pink.
4. Indy's hat, the Indiana Jones franchise.
3. Lloyd Dobler's coat, Say Anything ... .
2. Harold's banjo, Harold and Maude.
1. Darth Vader's light saber, the Star Wars franchise.


So of course, this list got me thinking of the most awesome movie props that I would love to have. Here's what I've come up with so far in no particular order:

-James Dean's red jacket from Rebel Without a Cause
-The suitcase from Pulp Fiction
-One-eyed Willie's map from Goonies
-The memory device that the crew finds that reveals the secret to Miranda from Serenity
-King Arthur's sword Excalibur from Excalibur
-Andy's rock hammer from Shawshank Redemption (or the tin he buries under the tree out of a Robert Frost poem)
-The DeLorean from Back to the Future
-Penny Lane's jacket and sunglasses from Almost Famous
-Definitely a light saber but I think I'd take Luke's rather than Darth's
-Indy's hat would be pretty cool too

What props would you like from movie history?

I'm 34!

Last week was a crazy one, particularly because I turned 34. I'm officially in my mid-30s now. Thursday ended up being a fairly relaxing day with Shawn and I going to see The Bourne Ultimatum, which I highly recommend. It's one of my favorites for the summer. We then had dinner with the fam at Lazy Dog, one of our favorite restaurants. Sunday we celebrated with friends at Lucky Strike Bowling. Thank you to everyone for coming out and for the bday gifts. I'm so lucky to have such awesome friends. As for how I did bowling, who knew being pregnant would actually help my score? The first game I even beat Thane and Shawn! Nana and Paka would be so proud of me. Baby seemed to enjoy bowling as well since she wasn't kicking or squirming much while I was playing. Maybe this is a sign she'll follow in the Tomaselli footsteps and enjoy bowling too. Last week was spent working Arbonne and also prepping the nursery. Mom came over last Wed and washed the baby clothes, bedding, etc. Inara's clothes are all folded and put away awaiting her arrival. I even picked out which outfit she'll wear home from the hospital. Shawn hung a few things on the wall to help me spruce up the room a bit more. I need to print a few pictures for the frames I'm putting in there. I decided to decorate by putting up pics of family and friends. Last week I also met with the owner of a house cleaning service because Shawn and I decided we're going to hire someone to come in and totally clean up the apartment before baby arrives. This way the place is all dusted, vacuumed, windows cleaned, etc. particularly her bedroom so Inara gets to come home to a sparkly room. Tomorrow is my next doctor visit and ultrasound. This may be a big visit because the doctor will be measuring Inara and determining if she wants to induce me two weeks early like she had mentioned at the last doctor visit. I'll be sure to update everyone on the doctor's decision tomorrow. Thanks again for all the birthday wishes and gifts. I love you guys!

I hope life will imitate my dreams

Last night I had a labor dream and it was wonderful. It was the easiest delivery ever! I remember saying in my dream, "It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would." And it all happened so fast that poor Shawn didn't even make it to the hospital in time. But I made it through the delivery all by myself, which was a shocker for me, and without an epidural because it happened so fast. The best part, though, was seeing Inara in my dream. I just can't wait to see what she looks like! In the dream, she had dark hair and a big round, chubby face. Huh? Wonder where she got those features? She was really long and had skinny legs and arms. She was the most precious looking baby in the world. Only 5 more weeks to go! Hooray!

PJ news of sorts

I'm so excited I can't stand it. Eddie Vedder did the soundtrack for Sean Penn's upcoming film Into the Wild. The soundtrack comes out Sept. 18th. Here's a link to hear a track. Oh happy days!!!
http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/20/eddie-vedder-ventures-into-the-wild/

The return of sappy girl

Yes, sappy emotional girl returned this weekend but for good reason. Saturday my cousin Kim got married. It has been such a great year for Kim: she graduated from college, she became a registered nurse, and she is now married. I can't believe that my little cousin is married, but I couldn't be happier for her. Her husband Danny is an awesome guy and I'm so looking forward to him becoming a part of our family. The ceremony was so beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop and a ivy and rose altar. She looked amazing in her wedding dress and so skinny too. I could tell she and Danny were happy up there saying their vows. And that's when sappy emotional girl returned. I totally started crying during the ceremony; of course, it was tears of happiness, but still more tears from this hormonal pregnant girl. Plus, part of me really wished our grandparents were there for our weddings. I really miss Nana and Paka and wanted more than anything to have them here for my wedding and felt the same while watching Kim say her vows. I know they were there with us in spirit though. One great thing about Kim's wedding is so many of our family members were there to help her celebrate. It's events like this that make me so sad that I don't get to see everyone more often. Sunday morning the family all got together for brunch before everyone headed their separate directions. Again, sappy emotional girl returned. Saying good-bye to my aunt Dayna and cousins Christina and Jenni was so hard. I totally started crying. I love them all so much and miss them more than they can imagine. I adore my Tomaselli family but wish more than anything that we all got together more often. It sucks that it's been 5 years since I last saw Christina and 3 years since I saw Jenni. That really is sad. I should be doing more to get the cousins together and vow from this point forward to be the ringleader of family reunions. Especially as we all get older and start our families, we really must make every attempt to stay connected. I know that's what Nana would want for us anyways. So to all my family, especially my cousins, I want you to know how much I love you all and promise to be better at staying in touch and getting everyone together more often. Family is too important to not make more time for them. I love you guys!

Am I really turning 34?

It's hard for me to believe that my 34th birthday is in one week. I'm officially in my mid-30's. That sounds so weird to say. It's not that I'm having a difficult time with aging. It's more so hard to believe how fast the first 34 years have been. I'm turning 34, been married for 3 years, and am expecting my first baby. Wow. It's weird because many times I feel like I was just in high school, so the fact that all this has happened seems odd to me. People have been asking what I'm doing to celebrate my last birthday without baby. Hopefully, being a total bum all day long. Shawn is taking the day off work and so far I know we are going to the movies. Relaxing in an air conditioned movie theater sounds perfect right about now. I'm guessing we'll probably do dinner with the fam that night too. That Sunday evening I'm hanging out with friends at Lucky Strike Bowling. I won two free games for up to 16 people, so I suggested that we redeem that so people aren't out a bunch of money. I know lately our friends have spent a lot of money with all the weddings and bachelor parties this year, as well as our baby shower, so I figured we could all use a free night of bowling. As for what I want for my birthday, another popular question, my best suggestions are stuff for Inara because mommy really doesn't need anything. The only thing I can think of that I want is a gift card for Motherhood Maternity so I can get a couple nursing bras. Also, if people want to make a contribution to Inara's cord blood registry (link in a previous blog), then that would be perfect. Otherwise, at this point in my life, I'm all about my daughter. Besides, I have everything I could possible want or need. A relaxing day and hanging with friends is all I could ask for for my birthday.

Although, Pop says I'm more Barney Rubble

Yes, it's official. I am experiencing the worst case of swollen feet that I now have cankles. Who knew swollen feet could actually be a bit painful? My once cute feet now look like they belong on Fred Flinstone, or as my dad says I'm more like Barney. I figure the heat has to be having an effect on my tootsies as well. Yes, I know that this means I am supposed to be elevating them, but it's honestly hard to stay off my feet for long periods of time. This girl's got things to do, places to go, people to see, Arbonne orders to deliver. Given, some of this stuff such as grocery shopping could be put off for a later date, but I hate not being active as well. Kristi scolded me last night and said this is when I need to start asking people for help, but that is so hard for me to do because I hate bothering people and I know everyone has busy schedules just like me. However, I did recruit my mom today to help out with some stuff, so let's hope we can make progress on the 'ol to do list.

Corporate censoring or a mere accident?

Some of you may have already heard about the fight between Pearl Jam and AT&T. In case you haven't, it is publicly known that AT&T edited out a few lyrics from one of PJ's performances at Lollapalooza. Of course, they are claiming it was accidental. During their song Daughter, which PJ often extends into other songs, this time Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, the AT&T broadcast cut out the lyrics "George Bush, leave this world alone. George Bush find yourself another home." Funny that the two lyrics accidentally edited out are politically-based. Coincidence? I find that hard to believe and am very disturbed by such incidents of censorship and infringements on an artist's right to free speech. Given, there is no such thing as complete free speech, as I often taught my students, but for a musician, particularly one as politically outspoken as Pearl Jam is, to be "edited" in such a way is inexcusable and treading on sketchy territory for if such acts of censoring are allowed one must ask where is the line drawn. The link below is to PJ's website and their statement about the issue. I think they say it best here: "This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media." Many of you know my views on the media and their unbelievable powers. The media has more control over what we think and do than even our own government and knowing what the media presents to us, I fear for what our future holds. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you the rant...for now.
http://pearljam.com/news/index.php?what=News#196

Oh how I hate being an emotional girl

I have been so proud of myself the first 32 weeks of my pregnancy because I haven't been the stereotypical hormonal crying pregnant woman. But last week was a doozy, especially this past weekend. This morning hasn't been too bad...yet. I don't know if I've cried this much in the past five years, let alone in one week. And for those of you that know me, you know just how much I despise being an emotional girl. These next 6 weeks better go by fast if I'm going to have to deal with the tears. Plus, it makes it really hard to work when I'm in a pissy mood. Oh how I'm hating these hormones.

Thank you everyone for the best baby shower

Thank you to everyone for making our baby shower so awesome. Shawn and I had the best time. I know planning showers is no easy task, so thank you to all the hostesses/hosts and to all our friends and family who made it out. You guys make us feel so loved and special. I can't tell you how much it meant to us. I also can't wait for all of you to meet our daughter. Inara is so lucky to have such an amazing family. Thank you to the girls who came up with some awesome shower ideas: a diaper cake (we now how enough diapers for baby Inara to last us the first couple months), custom-made onesies (I just hope the heffer can wear them...haha), and the quilt squares (I can't wait to see the finished product. Thank you to Nina for sewing all the quilt squares together and to everyone who decorated a square. This is honestly the most prized gift we could have imagined. I can't wait to show it off to everyone.). Also, a special shout out to the amazing Auntie Nina for making my dress for the shower. You rock! (And yes, she takes special orders, especially right now since she's out of work.) Lastly, a special thank you to Cami who travelled from Maryland. It meant the world to have all my best friends there with me to celebrate. I love all of you so much!!! I will be sure to have Shawn post our pictures on http://www.shawnandmarisa.com/ soon and I'm sure you will be able to see more pictures at Jason's site and Thane and Kristi's site soon as well. Michael posted a couple pics this morning on his blog already. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We love you all!!!

Thank God It's Almost Friday

What a week. Monday night I tortured Shawn by enrolling us in a breastfeeding class. Actually, it was torture for me too because most of the class was repetitive and the teacher wasn't very organized in my opinion. A lot of what she presented I already learned in my prenatal nutrition class at OCC. I guess it was at least a good refresher for me because I am determined to breastfeed Inara because it truly is better for the baby. The scary thing is the class is two Mondays, so I'm curious what the heck we'll cover next week that couldn't have been condensed to make one class. I'm thinking I should let Shawn off the hook for next week and just torture myself. He was a real trooper though and actually admitted that he learned a couple of new things. Ahhh, what a good dad.

Tuesday we had a doctor appointment and had an ultrasound. Unfortunately, we didn't get the best news. Dr. Chu said the words no pregnant woman wants to hear: "Oh. It looks like your baby's got a big head!" Noooooo! She was also surprised by my sudden weight gain the past three weeks and suggested I be careful these next 6 weeks because we don't want baby to grow too fast. During the ultrasound, she measured Inara's legs and abdomen and said she looks to be really long, which shocked me because I'm the midget of the family. Doc then said something that made me really sad: she called baby girl chunky. Seriously, for a woman who is afraid of the whole labor process, I didn't want to hear that I'm having a heffer. How will I ever survive a natural labor? Medication anyone?

Tuesday night we then had a meeting with an insurance rep. Yes, Shawn and I are organizers, so we've been talking about getting life insurance just to be on the safe side. It never hurts to be prepared. I had met the rep, Jeremy, through Chamber of Commerce, and he's super informative and a really nice guy. We actually ended up talking for over 2 hours, but it wasn't all about insurance. We chatted about golf and a lot of other things too. He's just one of those guys that we felt like we were instant friends with.

Then the real horror story began. I am starting to have a really hard time sleeping lately. First off, I can't get comfy. Also, I get really hot at night. Then, for some wonderful reason, Inara just loves to practice her karate kicks around the time I'm trying to get to sleep, which then makes me have to get up to pee every hour. So not fun. Tuesday night I ended up having to get up and walk around and do some stretches to relax. I finally made it back to bed around 1am. Let's just say I was really tired once that sun started coming through the window and was not a happy camper.

Wednesday was a busy errand and work day. I did have fun, however, when Michael came over for some Arbonne training. I am so excited that Michael is doing the business with me now. And I am so proud of everything he's already done actually. He's already started talking to friends about doing the business, he's hosting parties, and he's even eager to learn as much as possible about the products and biz. Thursday night he even went with me to a Chamber of Commerce mixer and did awesome talking to people for his first time out. I know how nervous I was when I attended my first event and he seemed cool as a cat tonight. He makes me so proud. I love my brother so much!

Today was also a good day because I got to take some time off to spend with my girlfriends Elizabeth, Sierra, and Cami, who's in town for a week. Yesterday was Cami's birthday, so the four of us celebrated today and had lunch at this Tea Garden cafe in Fullerton. We had to wear big, funny hats and boas, although I passed on the boas because I was already too hot. Lunch was tasty, but spending time with the girls was the best part of the day. I've been so busy lately with work and baby stuff, so it was awesome to relax and catch up with friends.

Tomorrow is another packed day with a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, delivering orders, calling several prospects from tonight who are interested in learning more about Arbonne, taking my old car to Pop to touch up the pinstriping because we're going to CarMax this weekend to get a quote, doing an Arbonne training with Michael and his team in the evening, and so on and so on. I'm definitely looking forward to Kristi "kidnapping" me and taking me for a mani/pedi in the afternoon. I've gotta look cute for the baby shower on Saturday afterall.

(One funny side note: Elizabeth asked why I'm so busy right now, especially since I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant. Yes, some woman may be of the mindset that at this stage of their pregnancy they should be laying on the couch and relaxing. Not this girl. Life's too short to not make the most of every day, 7 1/2 months pregnant or not. Besides, I'm already planning come September 15th I will be restricting myself to the house on my two week early baby watch, so now is the time to get up and go!)

Banking baby's cord blood

After much consideration, Shawn and I decided we want to bank our baby's cord blood. Kind of like insurance, we just thought it made sense to be prepared in case of any emergencies that arise later in life. You can never be too prepared in my opinion. We're going with the bank Cord Blood Registry, which is the one our doctor has worked with the most. If you are looking for an idea of what to give us or Inara, you may always make a donation to our blood banking. Here is the link to the registry where you can also learn more about cord blood banking.
https://www.cbrclients.com/GiftRegistry/GiftRegistryHome.aspx

How I cheated on my husband (well kind of)

I had another weird dream last night where I ended up kissing a guy that was not Shawn. I am so sorry, honey. The whole dream took place in a cabin with a bunch of our friends there, including Brian Sachs and Jeff and Bree Tape, which is weird in itself because we don't really take many trips with these guys. Anyways, the other guy that was in my dream that I ended up kissing was Peter Petrelli (Milo Vertimiglia or however you spell his last name) from the TV show Heroes. At least this time I got to kiss a cool guy and not a freak like Robert Downey Jr. Anyways, I know why he was in my dream: before bed I had heard the Fergie song that Milo is in the video for. But I must ask why do our brains remember such odd things as a song we heard before bed and integrate them into our dreams? The other bad part about the dream is Brian's girlfriend ended up breaking up with him at the cabin and he was totally crying and I, of all people, was the shoulder he was crying on. I guess it goes to show that even though Brian Sachs can drive me crazy I still really care about him. Ahhh.

What a great weekend

This past weekend was a busy but fun one. Saturday was our Super Childbirth/Lamaze Class from 9 to 5. Shawn even agreed that we covered a lot of ground and learned a lot in just that short bit of time. Of course, we watched several videos. The one about C-Sections I could have done without because it was a bit too icky for me to watch. Besides, I'm going into labor thinking everything is going to be good and I won't need a C-S. Unfortunately, it is a scary odd to hear that 1 in 4 women will have one. Yikes. We practiced different positions to help ease labor pains and Shawn learned a couple massages he can do to help me out as well. Of course, we practiced breathing techniques, and we learned about focal point and visualization techniques. I really liked the visualization because I could see how I can use it to occupy my mind on something else. For me, I visualized our trip to Wisconsin last year and how awesome it was at the cabin we stayed at. I'm definitely planning on using that one. The other informative part of the class was learning about the types of "meds" I can get. The more and more I learn about it, the less I want to get an epidural. I just hate the possible side effects and the riskiness of it all. I'll just have to wait and see once I get into the hospital to gauge how tough I really am. One fun part about our class was seeing the different sizes of women there. One woman next to us was actually due in a week and she was super tiny. Another woman was due at the end of August and she was definitely twice as big as me if not more. It's just so funny to see the differences in body types and how every woman carries her baby differently. I was so proud of Shawn because he never fell asleep during the 8 hours, while I did notice at least 3 other dads nodding out. Way to go, honey!

After class, we hurried over to my parents' house for Michael's Arbonne launch party. We had a great turn out and even had Amme and Chris Weilert there to do part of the presentation. I was so thrilled to have them there to support Michael. I can tell that several of his friends are now considering how to get their businesses started, which is awesome. He had some good sales that night as well. Yay Mikey!

Shawn and I decided to sleep in on Sunday, which ended up being around 8:45. It felt sooo good to sleep so late. Once we got going though, Sunday ended up a busy day. We went for a walk and got breakfast. Then we both came home and started working. I then had an Arbonne party at 2, while Shawn stayed home to get some projects done. It was a small party but ended up being successful with me booking another party from it and getting two wholesale buyers. Yay me! By the time I got back from my party, Shawn was still working and looked tired already. We went to Black Angus for dinner. Thanks Kim for the gift cert. It was a nice treat! At dinner, I told Shawn the chaos in the house, especially in the nursery, was really getting to me, making me antsy. He said, "You know we're going to have chaos for the next 18 years right?" Funny guy. Poor Inara. Don't listen to daddy calling you chaos. It's hard to believe with all that we've done so far we still have a ton more to do. I have no idea where we're going to get the time to do it, but we're working our butts off to get it all done. Actually, Shawn's doing all the hard manual work, while I take on the easy tasks of cleaning up after him. Ha ha. After dinner, we thought we were going to relax, but we both ended up doing some more work for awhile. It looks like Shawn may already have a buyer for the TV he's selling, and he just listed it on Craig's List yesterday. Hooray! Finally, around 7:30 we relaxed and watched a movie. It's now Monday morning and we're already back to work mode. Oh the life of a parent, right?

What's new

I can't believe it's already Friday. This has been a good week. Barb & Ed, Thane & Kristi, Tom & Sandy, Shawn & I all went over to my parents' Wednesday night for a fish feast. My dad made my favorite fried fish with his special sauce along with BBQ'd salmon and cabrilla. So yummy! It was awesome! It was great to get to hang out with all the parentals. I'm so lucky that my parents, Shawn's parents, and Kristi's parents all get along so well. There was lots of laughter and joking around, which is always a good sign at the Tomaselli house. Yesterday ended up being a lazy day for me. Monday and Tuesday nights were kind of restless for me, so come Wednesday night I was exhausted. I slept great, which only meant I was groggy all day Thursday. I'm sure the heat didn't help me out either. Pregnant girl has to take a day off once in awhile though, especially since this weekend will be a busy one. I did have an Arbonne party last night, so I had to work for a few hours, but nothing super strenous of course. Today I've got errands and some prepping to do for this weekend. Tomorrow Shawn and I have our Super Saturday Childbirth Class from 9 to 5. Keep my fingers crossed he doesn't fall asleep during the class. We all know how much Shawn loves "school." Then Saturday night Michael launches his Arbonne business with a party at mom and pop's. We're so excited because our upline ENVP Amme Weilert will be there to help my brother launch his business. With her busy schedule, we know how hard it is to get her, so we're so jazzed she'll be there. Sunday I have another Arbonne party in the afternoon. Like I said, good thing I took Thursday off to rest up with my busy weekend ahead. Well, off to get my day started. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend.