I always knew I had the best parents in the world

These past two weeks have been a definite learning experience as I start my journey as a mom. One important lesson I've learned during this time is I have the best parents in the world. My dad has made it over to see Inara every day since we've been home and my mom has been over every day except one. Now some people may look at this as my parents being overinvolved or annoying. I totally disagree. Instead, I like that Shawn describes them as being "addicted." Who doesn't want their parents to be addicted to their grandchild? I love the fact that my mom and dad are so willing to help out in any way. For instance, today, my dad brought over a head of lettuce and bacon (he does make the best bacon), so we could have BLTs for lunch. They are both always doing those little extra somethings for Shawn and I as we try to make our way through this new journey of parenthood. And it's been greatly appreciated. For instance, last night Inara slept horribly, which means Shawn and I were sleep deprived today. In comes mom and dad to help out so we can get a few things done around the house and also take much needed naps. Everyone keeps telling me that napping is so important right now, so having my parents here to help out has been golden. Also, it's just so awesome seeing my dad with Inara. He totally loves to hold her. I love hearing him talk to her too. It's so cute! Yes, Pop, I said it's cute. Sorry to ruin your manly image. But today, for example, he was rocking her and telling her to let those burps go. (She was having a very bad tummy ache type day and my dad totally helped her. Good job, Pop.) Who would have ever imagined my dad talking to a baby in such a way? I loved every minute of it. I loved my parents before Inara came, but now I love them in a whole new way. They are the best!!!

Our 2nd visit to the pediatrician

Last Friday Inara had an appointment with Dr. Kaplan. At her weigh in, she came up at 5 pounds 14 ounces. She had another doctor visit today and she weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce. Dr. Kaplan said she's obviously eating well and getting milk from me since she gained a few ounces in the past week. Yay Inara! A funny thing about Dr. Kaplan is he was my pediatrician when I was a kid. He's definitely aged a bit but still a totally cool doc. Shawn and I love him because he's so straight forward and answers all our questions before we even ask them. He makes us laugh because he always tells us to STOP THINKING. He says the biggest mistake new parents make is trying to figure babies out, which is impossible since there is no rhyme or reason to what they do, especially this early on. He must really know me because he always tells me the days of being organized and on a schedule are a thing of the past at least for now. Boy, do I realize this more and more each day. Although, Inara has been really good the past couple nights sleeping for longer time spans. Last night I actually slept for almost 4 hours straight. That's a novelty these past 2 weeks. But every night is a new adventure and we never know what to expect from the little one. It's all good though because she is just too cute to be mad at for a silly reason like losing sleep.

New pictures

Shawn posted some new pics of Inara at www.shawnandmarisa.com since some people have been asking to see new ones already. Also, Aunt Jeri wanted to know why there weren't any of my dad and Inara. There are pics of the two of them now that he's started holding her. Actually, he holds her every day now. I knew he would once we got her home.

Happy 1 Week Birthday Inara Grace

Wow! I can't believe a week has gone by already. There is simply too much to write about, since I haven't written in awhile, but I'll keep it brief since it might be close to feeding time again. Last Friday was a whirlwind starting at 1:30am when I first started thinking I might be going into labor. By 10:30 am, I was checking into the hospital because my water had indeed broke and I was officially in labor. Unfortunately, baby girl was ready for delivery but I wasn't. She had progressed down fairly quickly before my cervix was ready for her. What this meant was I would dialate to a number then stay there for a few hours. I remember being at 4 centimeters for 3 hours and not progressing. Then I'd get to a 5 and stay there for a few hours. This went on until 11pm. My doctor said this happened because baby dropped and was putting pressure on the cervix which caused it to swell and then not progress. Like I said baby was ready but I wasn't. I ended up having a C-section and baby Inara arrived at 12:58 am on Saturday, Sept 15. Because she was under a bit of stress from Friday, her temp was unstable the first day so they kept her in the nursery to observe her more closely. Her temp finally stabilized by late Sunday and she stayed in the room with us from then on. We finally left the hospital on Tues. I had decided I wanted to stay that extra day to get some help with her and because I was still feeling quite a bit of pain from the surgery.

Once home, life has been unpredictable for the most part. The first night she was fussy and didn't want to sleep. The second night she had an upset tummy and cried for a few hours straight. The following night she was perfect and let mommy and daddy sleep for chunks of time. Like I said, life has been upredictable. One thing we can count on though is she loves to sleep during the day. We could have a ton of visitors passing her around during the day and the kid will sleep right through all the commotion. Maybe at night it's too quiet for her after a full day of noise so she feels out of sorts and starts crying. Who knows. As our pediatrician Dr. Kaplan said, we must stop thinking when it comes to baby and just roll with it. So true.

A few cute habits we've already seen in Inara. One, she hates to be swaddled, or at least to have her arms tied down. She must have her hands free because she loves to have her hands at her face when she sleeps. Funny thing is that was the way she was in womb because in the ultrasounds she had her hands up at her face too. The second habit which I could have also predicted is the girl loves to kick. Her legs are always moving. She kicks so much that last night she actually kicked her pj bottoms off. So again, we have to be careful with the way we swaddle her because she has to have some kicking room for her legs. Otherwise, she gets pissed. And I mean pissed. Another habit that we are so proud of is the girl is gassy. She has some killer farts. Actually, she farted on Pop, my dad, and nearly knocked him out with her stench. It was pretty hilarious actually. I thought for sure he was going to start gagging and have to run to the bathroom. Poor Pop. For only a week old, baby girl has already started to change so much. She is starting to grow into her own being and develop her personality. I just can't wait to see what she does next. So yes, I've become one of those crazy parents that just sits there and stares at her baby. I just don't want to miss anything she does. I love her so much and simply can't get enough of her, even at 2 o'clock in the morning when she's poopy and cranky. That's what motherhood is all about, right?

To see more pictures, frequently check out http://www.shawnandmarisa.com/. Shawn is trying to be good about posting pictures every couple of days. From there, you can also see Thane and Kristi's photo albums and the pictures they took in the waiting room Friday night. It seemed to be a good ol party with all the friends and family waiting around for Inara to arrive. We are so truly blessed by amazing family and friends and can't tell everyone enough how much we love them. Thank you to everyone for all the emails, calls, cards, and gifts. Inara has definitely come into this world surrounded by love. Thank you so very much!!

The best part of being pregnant

Last night during our walk Shawn asked me what has been the best part of being pregnant. Without much hesitation, I responded, "feeling baby move and kick." Now, true this can be one of the more difficult or dare I say painful parts of pregnancy in that some times I feel like baby girl is trying to kick out my right side. But in all honestly, it is truly amazing getting to feel my little one moving about. It reminds me every time how awesome it is to be a mother, to give life to another human being. I don't know if there are enough words to explain how amazing it is to feel the baby move. Yes, it can be frightening when you see a huge arm or leg extend from your belly. But you must look at the bigger picture and realize what a miracle motherhood really is. I feel bad for men in that they can't even begin to fathom the incredible feeling us women get to experience. Yes, the past few weeks may have been rough at times, but I am so honored and consider myself truly blessed to call myself a mom. Hopefully, I can keep this all in the forefront of my mind once I go into labor and the real fun begins.

The latest baby news

Actually, there's not much to report today, unfortunately. My doctor visit was short and uneventful. Baby has moved down but that's about it. My body is not ready for labor, so inducing this week is out of the question. My doctor wants me to continue walking and doing squats but we just have to wait for nature for the rest of it. I have another visit scheduled for Monday at which time she'll do another ultrasound and check my cervix and determine if I can be induced some time next week. The one good news from today's visit was that I have not gained any weight the past two weeks. Although, it feels like I've got a butterball turkey strapped to my stomach lately. Overall, my weigh-ins put me at gaining 22 pounds. We'll just go with what the doc says even though I think it's A LOT more than that.

How Shawn is becoming a nester

One of my favorite things about pregnancy these past two months has been watching Shawn nesting. He hates when I say that about him, but it's becoming so true. It's not a bad thing to nest either. He obviously cares about getting the house ready for baby and has taken an interest in getting the nursery ready for her, so I think it's a great thing. He's always checking on the progress in the nursery and has taken initiative putting things together, sometimes at 11 o'clock at night. Last night he even wanted to get the bassinet ready by tying the bumper on properly. It's been so adorable watching him play in the baby's room. Today he drove the CRV to work so he can ask Thane to take a look at the car seat to make sure he put it in correctly since big brother obviously has some experience with these things. Kristi always said that having a baby will make me love Shawn even more. She couldn't have been more correct. I just can't wait to see Shawn hold Inara for the first time. My money is on him crying when he sees her for the first time.

This doesn't mean that Shawn can't still be a big turkey at times. It actually hit him last night that this past weekend could very well have been our last quiet weekend before baby arrives, obviously depending on how my doctor appointment goes tomorrow and when she wants to induce me. But when the realization set in, Shawn got a little worried and the smart ass that he is actually ran out the front door. Oh how he loves to tease me. He's so funny. (When I told Thane, he said he completely understood Shawn's reaction. What a good support big brother is.) I'm just glad that Shawn finally showed some nervousness since I've been feeling it for at least the past week. Inara could be here in less than 2 weeks and that's a bit of a shocker, not that I don't want to see her obviously. But it's hard to believe that I'm now 38 weeks. It feels like just two months ago we found out I was pregnant. Time has flown so fast that I don't know if I'm ready for the whirlwind we're about to go through. But can you ever really be 100% prepared?

If you're bored, take the movie quiz

To waste some time take the How Much Do You Know About Movies Made in the Past 25 Years quiz http://www.filmcritic.com/movie-quiz/index.html. I scored an 85%. Some of the movies I've never seen, such as Mean Girls, and that's a good thing. Ha ha.

I'm so proud of my brother

I have to give a huge shout out to my brother Michael today. Last night, Michael did his first Arbonne presentation on his own (I was there to watch and for moral support of course) and he did so awesome!!! It's never easy speaking in front of people the first time, and I know he was nervous, which makes me laugh considering how many times Michael has been on stage, but I do understand this is on a different level. Anyways, as I sat there listening to Michael tell his Why for doing the Arbonne business last night, I totally got choked up and felt so honored to be working with my little brother to help him achieve his dreams. I have 100% confidence in him and know that he will be able to achieve more than he could ever imagine now that he has started taking control of his life. He's been abused for so long in the retail world that it's about time he finds something that will allow him to be paid what he really deserves, and I don't just mean paid in a check but the spiritual and emotional rewards are far greater in this industry than any other. I know I have grown more as a person since I started my Arbonne business than I did the 7 years I taught and I can't wait for Michael to experience this as well. I couldn't be prouder. I love you, Mikey!

Tim Gunn beats the pants off Stacey and Clinton

I love watching TLC's What Not to Wear. Stacey and Clinton always have such great advice on clothes. However, I have a new favorite. I've watched Tim Gunn on the past two seasons of Project Runway and even had the opportunity to meet him at this year's Festival of Books. His new show on Bravo started this week and I'm already in love. He is less hurtful with his comments compared to Stacey and Clinton, but he's honest and tells it like it is. He also offers great advice and suggestions. I just read an Entertainment Weekly article on him where he said the biggest fashion mistake people make is sizing. Really who knows what size the pants are, but they can definitely tell when they are proper fitting and when they're not. That's so true! On last night's premiere episode the woman who was getting schooled on fashion went to see a life stylist (never heard of such a thing). Anyways, he taught her a great mantra: I cannot control the way I am perceived. I can only control the way I am presented. I love this because I think people spend way too much time caring what others think of them and not enough time on putting their best foot forward and looking good and feeling good for themselves first. Find inner confidence and other's perceptions of you will follow. Check out Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on Bravo.

Some crazy things I've read about today on Pop Candy's blog

There are some weird people out there. First off, there's a Hello Kitty wedding posted on You Tube. Yes, a Hello Kitty themed wedding I said. It's kind of scary to be honest. The groom's corsage is a HK face. Yikes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfQ5I2FEFZo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fgigglesugar%2Ecom%2F546232

Then, I read about geek cakes. This story isn't as scary but still it proves that people are just odd. I think my girlfriends would have a hard time with their wedding cakes being computer game consoles or controllers. Here's the link http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/09/bake_me_a_geeky_cake.php.

On a more serious note, the brothers Wachowski, known for the Matrix series and V for Vendetta, are no more in that Larry has undergone gender reassignment surgery and is now known as Lana Wachowski.

And lastly, I've come to realize that People magazine's most beautiful person Drew Barrymore is a bit of a hooch lately. She's jumped from Scrubs' Zach Braff to director Spike Jonze and is now linked to the Mac guy Justin Long all in one summer. Gertie gets around.

That's all for my pop culture update of the week.

Oh my goodness...oh my goodness

I think I am officially hating life right now. When will this heat wave end? My number one piece of advice to all my girlfriends now is to never have a baby during the summer. Being pregnant in the heat is by far the worse part of my pregnancy. Health-wise I've had a pretty easy go this first time around and have considered myself pretty lucky actually. I've only gained about 26/27 pounds, no stretch marks, no real back pain, had minor morning sickness the first trimester. Overall, it's been a great 9 months. However, since the heat wave, my feet have swollen up so bad, I've had a headache for the past two days, I've sweaty, and just uncomfy overall. Bras are my nemesis as are all shoes and now that I think about it clothes in general really suck too. This has not been fun for me lately. But I've been trying to be good and not complain too much because honestly what good is complaining when there is nothing I or anyone else can do about it. For the past few nights, Shawn and I haven't been able to get to bed before 11pm because it's too miserably hot in the apartment to sleep. I've been super restless, which doesn't bode well with everyone's advice to sleep as much as I can now because I won't be able to once baby comes. I've been trying to do some Arbonne work here and there and other little projects around the house before baby arrives, but it's so bloody hot, I can't function in the sweat shop. Today, I was excited to go to the Chamber of Commerce luncheon because I knew I'd be in the A/C for at least 90 minutes. Tomorrow I'm planning on going to hang out at Barnes and Noble to do work. Yes, I'm going to be one of those annoying customers that I used to hate when I worked there. But tough cookies. This pregnant girl needs a break. Actually, the best solution I've found is hanging out in the pool at my parents' house. The only problem is after chilling in the water for about 3 hours yesterday I ended up with a killer headache because I obviously took in too much sun. Can't a girl get a break? Well enough ranting and raving. I'm now going to lock myself in my bedroom and turn the window A/C unit on to get a little reprieve for the next hour before I have to leave for the Arbonne meeting tonight. I can't believe I'm looking forward to driving to Murrieta tonight simply because that means I'll be in an air conditioned car for a couple of hours. That's so sad. But it makes me realize more and more that I would take Colorado winters over California summers any day of the week.