Call Me Impatient...

Well... today marks the day that I'm officially at 40 weeks into my pregnancy and tomorrow is technically my estimated due date (June 28).  Let's just say that at this point in time, I've reached the end of my rope and am ready for this baby to pop out already!

Just a few days ago, David mentioned that given all that I've/we've been through for the past 9 months, he's surprised that I haven't lost it as much to my hormones and stress.  Well, I think he jinxed himself! It's no secret that pregnancy hasn't been my favorite thing but I think yesterday my patience had officially run its course.  Please... no more pain, puking, swelling, icing, hand braces, elevating, countless medications, bloating, dizziness, and everything else I've left out. Don't get me wrong... despite this list of undesirable pregnancy symptoms, I am truly thankful that we've been blessed with a healthy baby.  I feel guilty complaining when I think about all those who have struggled with having a baby and for those that have had an even worse pregnancy experience.  But, this is me just being honest and this could potentially be one of my last opportunities to be selfish and self-centered in my thinking. (Or at least one would hope!)

Anyway, short of mixing a castor oil and OJ potion, I feel like I've tried a good number of things to naturally induce labor.  I've tried eating spicy food (which I hate and cannot stand), bouncing on a yoga ball, doing squats, taking long walks, eating pineapple, membrane stripping (TMI?!), getting a pedicure, and a pre-natal massage where I literally begged the masseuse to get all the necessary pregnancy-inducing pressure points.  But alas, this chick is still huge, uncomfortable, and pregnant! Admittedly, I was extremely close to purchasing the castor oil yesterday afternoon to the point where I was sitting in the Fred Meyer parking lot. Before going in, I did a little more Googling and because of the mixed reviews decided not to risk it.  I have the worst luck with "tried and true" old wives tales so better to not mess with the baby when he isn't ready.

David and I are pretty convinced that tomorrow will pass without experiencing the miracle of childbirth but who knows...?!  On Monday, we have an appointment with my doctor to get an ultrasound and do a non-stress test to come up with a plan to be induced later in the week. So, unless Sebastian decides he's ready to come out on his own, I will be induced on the 4th of July.

I just finished watching the last episode of "Don't be Tardy" (yes, I know, TV at its finest!) and I again felt guilty for wanting to rush this experience.  In this particular episode, they were celebrating Brielle's 16th birthday and Kim was in tears thinking about how fast the time had passed.  I'm sure I'll be that way once Sebastian is born.  I know I'm that way for each and every one of Pookie's birthdays! Thanks for letting me complain... I hope what they say is true and once he's here I'll miraculously forget about any misery experienced for 9 whole months.  Practicing patience has never been something I've been good at and I suppose this situation isn't any different!  C'mon baby, we're ready to meet you!  :)

One final thought... something that made me feel a little better this morning was coming across a new Jack Johnson video/song.  I love Jack Johnson and have seen him live multiple times... in California, Washington, and even Hawaii!  He's my absolute fav and his songs, especially his old school ones, always cheer me up!  In case you need a pick-me-up, here's a link to his latest video.  If nothing else, you can catch glimpses of beautiful Hawaii (which I am missing right about now!)

Lucky #7

Yesterday (June 26) was little Miss Pookie's 7th birthday!  Even though David and I don't really like to celebrate our own birthdays, we (I) like to celebrate hers because she is so very special to us. (Although I'm pretty sure she probably doesn't really care or realize this day is any different from the others... with the exception of maybe getting a couple more extra treats and belly rubs!)  ;)  

We love her so, so very much and is such a huge part of our family... happy birthday to our favorite girl!  :) 

What girl doesn't love a personalized sign & some festive garland on her birthday?!

Celebrating with her BFF, Bella!

Pook looks like a giant compared to her lil' buddy!

Pook with some of her new birthday loot!

Really, the only thing she wants is a treat in her most prized possession... her Kong!

Pooped after all that celebrating... time for a nap in her sun room (aka the nursery)!

Don't judge me... I realize I am that crazy dog lady!  ;) 

Project Parenthood - Part III

Here is Part III of the Project Parenthood series at EastLake... 

Just another recap of items 1-5 of what kids need from caring adults.  This weekend we covered a couple doozies...items 6 and 7: 

1. Strong belief there is a high value in being a parent
2. On-going affection
3. Use encouraging words
4. Don't forget about having serious fun
5. Consistent presence
6. Delicate discipline - Discipline is about guidance, not punishment (love and discipline go hand in hand). When disciplining your child, be cautious and delicate. Be wise and think through all situations. Be fair in your approach to disciplining and make sure that the consequence is connected to the offense and is clearly communicated. 
7. Activate responsibility - A sense of responsibility is developed within each child so assign age-appropriate chores and allow consequences by not always bailing your kids out all the time. Consequences will build self-esteem and will teach kids that they have power and control in their lives. 

This week's lesson really piqued my interest for some reason.  My little handout was plastered with a ton of notes!  One thing that David has been set on is ensuring that our kids do not ever feel/act like they're entitled to everything and also understand the value of working hard for what you want.  I can definitely rally behind that!  I'm curious to see which one of us will be the "disciplinarian" of the family.  The verdict changes daily depending on the topic.  For me, I think I'll struggle with refraining from bailing out my kid all the time but I guess we'll see!  There are so many ways to go about disciplining and activating responsibility within your child so perhaps that's why I was so interested in this topic.  You could mess up in so many ways with these two items!  I suppose as parents we'll just have to learn and adjust along the way... luckily, we have a little bit of time to go before we really have to focus on these!  ;) 

Here's the link to the talk if you want to listen for yourself: http://eastlakecc.com/services/ 

Father's Day 2013

This post is late and out of order but I just wanted to capture our last Father's Day without Baby Ko in the house!  :)  

In truth, this Father's Day wasn't anything out of the ordinary.  Like always, we split our time between our families - a Korean lunch with the Kos and Filipino dinner with the Fabunans.  At the Kos, we feasted on a mix of traditional Korean food that David's mom prepared.  Family time with the Kos is like day and night from my own family - it has taken each of us a while to adjust to the differences (and I think we're still adjusting!).  Where the Ko boys aren't the most talkative thus more quieter/quicker meals, my family definitely yaps it up most of the time. I guess we just have a lot to say!  ;)  Anyway, following lunch, David and Charlie helped to rearrange their parent's living room in order to make room for a recliner and then we just went home to digest before the next meal with my family.  

At my parent's house, we switched over to traditional Filipino food.  Since my dad was working that night, he unfortunately didn't really celebrate his day with us for very long.  We did, however, get a chance to hear about some recent situations at work and if you know my dad, his stories were definitely loud, animated, and probably slightly embellished.  ;)  

Despite a pretty uneventful Father's Day, it was nice for us to spend some time with our dads - even if for just a short amount of time.  Our dads are very different from one another but one things for sure... they definitely work hard for their families!  And for that, we are truly grateful.  It will be very interesting to see them as grandpas!  I'm not sure what they'd prefer to be called when Sebastian comes... for my dad, it's either "Lolo" or "Grampy" (which is what Pookie calls him) and for David's dad, it will most likely be "Hallaboogi" (um...I'm pretty sure that's wrong but whatever the Korean word for grandpa is).  If Sebastian's like me and has trouble pronouncing it, I think it'd be cool to call him "Holla Ko".  Whatcha think?!  :) 

Of course, we didn't really take any pictures from Father's day so I'll leave you with some of David and his gal, Pookie (he's gonna kill me).  More than anything, I am SO, SO excited to see David as a (human) daddy.  I realize I'm sounding like a broken record at this point but I just can't wait to see him hold Sebastian for the first time.  Gets me all teary just thinking about it - literally (yeah, yeah, I know the hormones have something to do with it too).  He is such a great husband and is so adorable with Pookie.  He prides himself in being a "baby whisperer" so hopefully he'll have the magic touch when it comes to his own child!  I think I would be so very screwed without David as my partner - in truth, I honestly feel parenting will come more naturally to him than it will to me.  That's okay though... I'm sure I'll have no choice but to catch up!  Pookie and I sure are lucky girls and Sebastian will be one lucky fella!

Seriously, how cute is that?!

I swear, I did not doctor up this photo - this really happened!

This one is actually from Father's Day weekend! Twin Sleepers!  :)

Weekly Bump: Week 39

Weekly Bump: Week 38

Weekly Bump: Week 37

Weekly Bump: Week 36

Weekly Bump: Week 35

Project Parenthood - Part II

Here is another installation of what we learned at EastLake on Sunday... 

As a reminder, I've included the first two things (of a list of 10) that kids need from caring adults.  This weekend we covered items 3-5: 

1. Strong belief there is a high value in being a parent
2. On-going affection
3. Use encouraging words - when you see something your child is doing, phrase it positively and try to focus on things beyond just performance (ex: I love you, I believe in you, and highlight when the 5 C's are exhibited - no matter what age)
4. Don't forget about having serious fun - we need to remember to laugh, play, and dance on a regular basis! Despite our busy schedules, we need to lighten up and actually schedule fun.  
5. Consistent presence - The idea of presence is a challenge to our priorities and selfishness.  We can't forget that parenting is synonymous with sacrifice!  Your very presence is a sign of caring and connectedness. Focus, face them, and give feedback! Be a reflective listener. 

I think the part that stood out to me the most this week was #5.  I'm going to be honest and say that I truly SUCK at #5. As I listened to the pastor talk about what it means to be consistently present, I could feel the guilt build up inside. I'm actually surprised I didn't get a few hard nudges from David as he spoke!  My lack of presence was definitely more apparent when I was working, but I know it happens from time to time when I am focused on something - whether it be something on the TV, online, or just a random thought I'm fixated on at that particular moment in time. 

I guess its not enough to physically be present but to actually BE present as well!  I don't hear this as often anymore but after all those long days at work, I'd come home after David had already been home for HOURS and he'd try to talk to me.  Unfortunately, my mind would often be somewhere in the office still and he would have to yell at me to "BE PRESENT"!  Literally.  I feel bad that I was/am that way.  That's one of the things I hope to change when I go back to work after my maternity leave.  While on this medical leave I've realized that while being so obsessed with work and my career I've missed a lot of family time, some potentially meaningful conversations, and even just random, silly, fun times with David and sweet Pookie.  That's not to say that I don't/won't care about my career when it's time to go back but I will definitely put my family first.  This is how I was raised and thinking back, has made all the difference in my relationship with my parents and how I want to be as a wife and mother moving forward. 

By the way, great news!  I just learned that EastLake actually posts their past services on their website!  In case you're not getting enough from my Cliff's Notes version and are interested in listening to the message, you can go here. 

Project Nursery: One Parent's Vision & Another Parent's Execution

The inevitable nursery project...I was pretty determined, with the gentle nudging from the preggo, of course, to get an early jump on what is to be baby Sebastian's room.  What else was a guy to do while his wife was suffering from cooking the little guy?  It would've been in poor form to just leave and abandon her and I couldn't really help her feel much better so I thought I should make myself useful.  Where to begin?  I had my own visions of a locker room/sports themed nursery but that got shot down real quick.  I must say, in the end, we make a pretty good team.  (Sebastian, if you're reading this - your mother is quite the visionary while your father, as you'll quickly begin to learn, is the rational one which more often than not means that he's right).

PHASE I - OPERATION PAINT IN MY A$$

Mission 1: Protect Carpet & Tape All Edges

Mission 2: Paint Room From Floor to Ceiling White & Then Paint 3 Walls Light Gray

Mission 3: Draw Lines Per Scale on 8.5x11 Template (Version 3.0) & Tape Lines

Mission 4: Paint Per Template (Version 3.0), Let Dry (6 beers later), & Remove Tape

• Note: If you ever plan on doing an elaborate paint project, DO NOT use the blue tape and splurge on the frog one! Took forever to touch up that damn wall!

Daylight View

PHASE II - OPERATION BROKEN WALLET

• In this phase of Project Nursery, the wife was (thankfully) starting to feel better so A LOT of shopping/purchasing was done. Are all these things even necessary?!

As you can see, Pookie LOVES this room and thinks its hers! Hence, in addition to "Sebastian's Nursery" it is also known as "Pookie's Sun Room"!  :)

Doesn't look too bad for a couple of wannabe interior designers, right? Hopefully Baby Ko will enjoy the room as much as we do!  :)  

Project Parenthood - Part I

Well, we officially have 2 weeks and 3 days left until baby Sebastian's estimated due date!  He can literally pop out any day now!  SO crazy, exciting, scary, and overwhelming all at the same time.  Most of all, I think we're excited and curious for what lies ahead.  Over the course of the past 8.5 months and even before we got pregnant, we've talked about the type of parents we hoped to be for our baby. Some components of the "ideal" parent stem from our own personal experiences growing up - a mix of what not to do and what we absolutely must do, while others come from things we've read about along the way (I am currently obsessed with reading mommy/parenting blogs), what we hear from our friends who have kids, and ever the couch potatoes, what we've seen on TV or in movies.  ;) 

I realize there isn't a perfect definition of what it means to be a parent and the absolute right way to do things... and to be honest, that part makes me nervous!  I like to know what I'm getting myself into no matter the situation - and I definitely don't have the security of knowing what it will be like when we bring our baby into this world.  Regardless of this uncertainty, I know that we will take this responsibility seriously.  I'm sure there will be many, many bumps along the way but I'm confident we'll figure it out together.  The good news is that we're relatively on the same page in terms of how we think our parenting style will/should be.  

Yesterday, we went to church where they started a new series called "Project Parenthood".  The timing couldn't have been more perfect for us; especially as our lives are about to drastically change!  David and I aren't the most religious people and are far from being regular church goers but what I really liked about this series is how practical it is - whether you're religious or not.  Anyway, I thought I'd briefly share what was covered yesterday and will probably continue to post what I've learned throughout the series (assuming we're able to attend given Sebastian's pending arrival). 

Begin with the End in Mind: At the end of the day, we want to teach our kids to exhibit/live the following C's -

• Confidence
• Character (having a moral compass)
• Convictions
• Compassion
• Competence (the potential to make some kind of difference in the world)

What parent wouldn't be happy if their child ended up with these characteristics with their guidance, right?!  Good news is... even though David and I were raised very differently, I'd like to think both sets of parents were successful in teaching us these C's.  

10 Things Kids Need from Caring Adults: (Note - we were only able to cover the first 2 this time around)

1. Strong belief there is a high value in being a parent - we need to take this role seriously and should be a major focus in our lives
2. On-going affection - we need to show our children and each other affection, we need to pour it on so that it is a regular and natural thing

#2 really struck a chord with me.  In truth, I'm not the most openly affectionate person and I really hate PDA.  It's so strange how affectionate I can be with Pookie but sometimes have issues doing so with actual people.  I'm hoping that won't be the case when Sebastian comes.  I will definitely have to be  more aware and intentional when it comes to #2 - not just with the baby but with all other relationships.  

In case you're interested, more to come next week...  :) 

Success in the Kitchen...Finally!

Since I've had a rough time with my pregnancy and have had so many issues, my doctor decided to put me on medical leave since the middle of March.  As a result, I definitely have had A LOT of free time on my hands!  At first it was really difficult for me to stop working as I'm the type of person that is always checking my phone to answer emails and calls no matter the day or time.  In fact, the day I was placed on leave I worked until about 3:00 AM the next morning to ensure that I got as much work done as possible so that I didn't have to burden my co-workers too much (I even took calls during our honeymoon and I am still taking calls here and there even though I've been gone for about 3 months now).  

Anyway, after about a couple weeks, I needed something else to occupy my time and attention.  Sadly for the hubs, I am not even close to being domesticated. I'm completely lost in the kitchen (he is the chef in our house), I hate to clean (even though I can't stand a messy house), and during my working days, I was typically too tired or stressed to even worry about stuff having to do with the household.  Yeah, in a nutshell, I basically suck.  So when this leave came about, I decided I needed to spend more time trying to do things that weren't so natural to me.  ;) 

To start, I became an organizing maniac - so many things had been neglected in our house so this took a while to tackle - the fridge, freezer, pantry, nursery, etc. Organizing the mess that we called our closet took me a good part of a work day - that's how bad it was!  After I ran out of things to organize, I decided to take David's not-so-subtle hints and spend some time in the kitchen.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you will find that I tend to pin things that are either super easy or some type of dessert.  Since I'm literally a disaster in the kitchen (think: cutting vegetables with bread knives, my refusal to touch meat, etc.) I made an arbitrary goal of taking on 3 desserts before attempting to make an actual meal.  Note that the caveat being it had to be 3 successful desserts.  Needless to say, it has taken me quite a while to get to that desired level of success.  It is seriously so depressing to find a recipe you're excited about, spend all this money on the ingredients, take the time to follow the recipe to a T, only to end up with a piece of crap!  Story of my life!  

Getting to the actual point of this post... this last weekend, I was finally able to produce something edible!  Woo hoo!  :)  Instead of forcing it down and later supplementing the meal with something better, David ate what I made and even had seconds! (WHAT?!)  Granted, what I made was super easy compared to what other people make (I am seriously SO jealous of people that can whip up anything in the kitchen with ease) but it was definitely a nice feeling.  Here are the recipes that lead to my eventual "success" in the kitchen: 

DESSERTS

• Key Lime Meltaway Shortbread: Fail
• Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies: Fail
• Peanut Butter & Nutella Cookies: Fail
• Lightened-up Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting: Not the best, but edible
• No Bake Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars: So, so
• Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread: Success
• Buttermilk Brownies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese: Success
• NY Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Winner: Success (I made this last Friday and David has officially dubbed them as his favorite ever cookie I've made - I suppose this isn't hard to achieve given my history!  The batch is almost gone!  Yay!)

As for my attempt at a "meal"... Layne had recently blogged about a delicious BLT Chopped Salad she made and so I decided to give it a try on Saturday.  I was a little intimidated by the number of ingredients but I decided to go for it.  I even used a real knife to cut everything up as opposed to my usual bread knife.  ;)  Although it came out looking a little soggy, it was still delicious!  I'm sure I'll be making it again sometime soon.  Seriously, give it a try... if I can do it, anyone can!  :) 

I'll be out of the office through the balance of my pregnancy and maternity leave so that means I have until October to improve my culinary skills.  That's enough time to add a few more successful dishes under my belt, right?!  Wish me luck (gonna need it)!  :) 

My Name Is...

SEBASTIAN

• Origin: Greece
• Meaning: Revered (profound respect and admiration)
• Potential Nicknames: Seabass (his daddy's favorite), Sebby, Sebs, Bash, Bass
• Some random site describe people with the name Sebastian as the following (probably a bunch of crap but just fun to include): 
• People with this name have a deep inner need for quiet, and a desire to understand and analyze the world they live in, and to learn the deeper truths.
• People with this name tend to be passionate, compassionate, intuitive, romantic, and to have magnetic personalities. They are usually humanitarian, broadminded, and generous, and tend to follow professions where they can serve humanity. Because they are so affectionate and giving, they may be imposed on.  They are romantic and easily fall in love, but may be easily hurt and are sometimes quick-tempered. 

I think most people know by now that we've decided to name Baby Ko "Sebastian".  More specifically, his full name will be Sebastian Fabunan Ko.  Ever the traditionalist, David didn't want anything to do with a hyphenated last name, so we (I) decided that we'd keep the Fabunan name alive by making that Baby Ko's middle name.  Not only did this make things super easy for us by not having to come up with yet another name, but it was also keeping with the Filipino tradition of honoring one's mother by using their maiden name as the middle name.  This is what we've done for Pookie (Pookie Fabunan Ko), Sebastian, and will be the case for any other future Ko keikis.  :) 

The quest to find the perfect first name took a little more time.  Two things I love - being prepared for whatever comes my way (as best I can) and making lists (as well as checking things off said lists).  Anyway, for years I have kept a list of names I've liked for both boys and girls so that when the time came, I'd be prepared!  I have about 13 names for boys and 12 names for girls.  As soon as we found out we were pregnant, I busted out the list and rattled them off to the hubs.  Turned out, even with my fine selection, there wasn't a lot of agreement for either gender!  And it would be over my dead body that we would ever choose David, Jr. or any other variation of a "_leen" name (my mom's name is Arleen - I was either gonna be Darleen, Charleen, Marleen, or Abigail - wild card from my mom).

As I mentioned in a previous post, we were able to find out the gender of our baby well ahead of the normal time which allowed us to focus on boy names.  Sebastian just happened to be the name that we both agreed on and as a bonus, David's parents could pronounce it as well!  Should we be blessed with another child in the future, we are equipped with an agreed upon name for a boy and there is a girl's name that I absolutely adore (still working on getting him to come around for this one).  I'll just keep those to myself for now!  :)