Totally and Completely Homesick

*This has been edited recently*

There you have it. I'm in this weird space where I'm really missing home. Of course I miss the family and friends that are there, but lately I miss something else. I miss the land- the redwood trees, hills, ocean, fog, vineyards, etc. It's a strange longing that I'm feeling; sort of like missing someone you love. I'm having a hard time with it because we are coming home in March, but I feel myself wishing I could just come there alone for a short time sooner. Probably because it's not something that can happen, I want it even more. I realize that I'm also sad about the fact that Maddie and Gracie will never know my home as theirs. They are being raised on a totally different coast; their home is Virginia. Don't get me wrong. There are times where I see beauty here and I think that I'm lucky to live in such a nice part of the country-but again, it's not where I'm from and truly the beauty of Sonoma County is hard to compete with. I miss other aspects of home too. I miss the laid back style of people-both in how their attitudes are as well as the way they dress. I miss really great food and local wine. About twice a year I feel this way. This time is quite strong and I'm trying to just let it go. My reality is Virginia-not California and thinking about all the things I miss and wish for will not make them so. Like I said, I'm in a strange place and I'm not sure where to go...

The Artiste

My Girls

Ready to go places!

Giving Tuck

a little kiss :)

WTF?!?

So, Gabe's car was stolen last night. It's crazy, I know. We've been having some serious prob's in our neighborhood with people breaking into cars (mine included on 10/29) and going through stuff. Usually the perp (caught some cop lingo today) enters the cars without leaving a mark. Then, on Thursday night our neighbor had her car broken into (literally, her window was smashed) and they stole her GPS. This morning, at 4:45am, Grace woke for a bottle. As I was feeding her, I thought to myself that I should look out the front window to see if I could catch any high crime in action. I noticed one of our neighbor's cars had their interior light on and I was trying really hard to see if anything was going on. Then I realized that the only reason I could see her car so clearly was because Gabe's car was totally missing! I felt like I wasn't thinking right, or quite awake, so I went upstairs and asked Gabe where he parked his car. In a very sleepy, froggy voice he said "in my spot" to which I replied, "it's definitely not there." So, the cops came and put an APB out for the missing X5. Gabe got a rental car and went to work assuring me that his car was well off to Baltimore to be put on a ship to China. {This really confused me at the time and still does- why does China want our BMW? Gabe wasn't in a frame of mind to sort that out for me and I think I'll just let it go} So, a few hours later, I get a call from the cop asking if it's an SUV or sedan. Then I get a call from another cop asking if we have any other children, "any teenagers who have keys to the car?" Teenagers!?! This guy met me in my pajama's holding one baby and feeding a 2 year old raisin toast. How old does he think we are and that would be quite an age gap between Maddie and our teenage felon. Finally a call came that said they found our car. Actually the previous owner had installed LoJack on it and so they located it that way (makes you want one for yourself?) It was found just a couple miles from our home, in a nice residential neighborhood and nothing was wrong with it. No forced entry, no wreckage, nothing. They did take all of Gabe's CD's (Phish, anyone?) and his AA chips (not of any monetary value, but definitely some major emotional value). So, that sucks, but that's really the worst of it. Oh, one more thing. Gabe has kept his spare car key in his glove box for a long time (not a great idea) and that is one other thing the perp took. So, while we do have the car back, we promptly drove it to the dealer and are having the locks changed. It was a long day, with a happy ending. We also purchased The Club so as to deter any more crimes from happening to our cars. Happy Monday :)

They're back :)

Just a quick post to say that Gabe and Maddie are back safe and sound. And, I could be crazy, but it seems like Maddie aged and got many new words in just a few short days!

Missing them

So, Gabe and Maddie have been gone for 37 and a half hours (but whose counting). They took off for a dog show in Maryland and it's just been me, Grace and the dogs holding down the fort. It's been pretty quiet (which was nice yesterday and seemed a bit lonelier today). I've talked on the phone with Gabe several times and it sounds like Maddie is having a blast with just her daddy, Grammy and Auntie all to her self. Grace has started something new this weekend. She's come to the realization that we have dogs and she seems particularly attuned to Tuck. He's been sitting at the foot of her baby bouncer chair and she just looks at him and talks and talks. Because he stays put for such a long period of time, I'm sort of convinced they are speaking their own special language. Either that or he's waiting to lick the baby puke off her chin :0 Anyways, it's been a nice weekend, but I'll be glad to have Gabe and Maddie back. With all the free time I've had the past 37 hours, I joined facebook and have been getting a kick out of that. That's all there is to report tonight. Hope your weekend is well.
Here's a second video I took of Grace the other day. Just now getting around to posting.

Video of Grace 11/6/08

:35 seconds is my favorite part! Enjoy :)

What a feeling!

I have to say that never in my life have I been this emotional about a presidential election. To be totally honest, I never cared as much as I have this time around. I'm so moved by the fact that my daughters are alive in a time where history was made. As I watched all of the news networks last night, I felt unsure for a while. Sort of like disbelief. Then, as the numbers kept rising for Obama, I started to just feel joy. I felt like my vote counted for something. I felt a sense of total hope but mostly I felt moved. When I went to vote yesterday, I had tears in my eyes, which really caught me off guard. I think I welled up because I was so proud to be voting for Barack, but also because I was truly fearful of the other side winning. I am one of those people who is fed up with the way things have been for the past 8 years and I couldn't bare the thought of 4 more of the same. I heard something on TV this morning from a McCain supporter. She said that even though she didn't vote for Barack, she is getting in the line to support him now because that's what you do as an American; you support your President. That idea to support your President no matter what has been tough for many of us currently, but it's nice to see a light at the end of that tunnel. 1-20-09 :) {76 Days away}

Halloween & Lizzy Visits

Lizzy meets Grace for the first time, Maddie just got into her costume, "Trick-or-Treat!", Walking through the neighborhood, LadyBug, Lizzy & Gracie sharing a laugh, Daddy & Maddie, "Choose 1 piece," Lizzy, Tucker, and Grace snuggling.

Here are the pic's from our weekend. Maddie loved trick-or-treating! She didn't eat any candy, but she loved the idea of ringing people's doorbells and getting something from them to put in her bucket. It was so great to have Lizzy here too. We had so much fun just hanging out-doing the sister thing. She loved meeting Grace and Tucker was very happy to see her too :) My friend, Raina, was also in town this weekend visiting her sister-in-law and so she came over to visit on Saturday. We had a blast just talking and hanging out. I told her I haven't laughed that much in a long time! What a good feeling it is to be with friends who have known you since you were 10 years old. To be honest, having both my sister and Raina here visiting from home, just made me miss CA. I remembered what I always tell myself and that is that Virginia is nice, but it's definitely not home. I wonder if that feeling will dull with time. It's been 4 years and not so much :) This week should be interesting. Tonight Gabe is going to Monday night football with his sister Patrice and won't be home til really late. Then, tomorrow we (Barack the) vote! Yeah!!! I'm ready to vote and stop seeing all of the political commercials :) Then, on Friday at the crack of dawn, Gabe and Maddie are leaving for the weekend. They're heading to Maryland with Sandy and Patrice to go to a dog show. Gabe is showing a lot of dogs, but dog showing is usually just a few hours out of the day, so they have a lot planned to take Maddie to. They are going to a petting zoo that Gabe went to as a child, probably the ocean, the arcade, etc. She's going to have a blast and hopefully remember what it feels like to be the only child again! Grace, the dogs and I will hold down the fort and just relax. So, that's what our week looks like. Hope yours will be great!

Friday

Well, Lizzy gets here in a few hours and we are pretty excited around here. It's been a week of cold weather (it even snowed in Maryland) and getting ready to have Liz here. Tonight Maddie is going to Dog School with her Grammy to watch the Doggy Halloween Costume party :) I think she'll get a kick out of it and hopefully it gets her in the mood to wear her Lady Bug costume tomorrow. When it arrived in the mail, I asked her to try it on, she said "no" and I pretty much wrestled her into it so that I could check if it fit. It fits really well so I have my fingers crossed that she'll wear it gladly tomorrow night. Gabe said "good luck making her wear the hat part." (It's the antennas)

The only other news around here is that my car got broken into 2 nights ago :( Whoever did it, didn't break anything; they must know what they're doing because there was no sign of how they got in. They basically went through my glove box and put all the stuff on the ground in my car (they left the tampons alone :). They went through my garbage thing in there and pretty much everything else, but nothing was missing so I consider myself lucky. I was saying to Gabe that it figures the night both of our kids actually sleep through the night without waking up, is the night someone breaks into my car right in front of our house. Normally, we're up at least 2 times a night but on that particular night even our 7 week old slept in until 6:30am!!! She's such a good baby and Maddie has been sleeping pretty well again too. So, tomorrow we'll trick-or-treat and then just hang out on Saturday. Hope you have a good weekend and Happy Halloween!

Weekend

It was a really great weekend for us! Gabe surprised me last week by telling me that months ago he had planned a one night get away for us. We were gone for a little less than 24 hours and in that time we drove to Richmond, I went to the spa for some pampering, we went out to a fabulous dinner and went to an amazing concert. We saw the Trey Anastasio Band (lead guy from Phish) play and I'm even surprised to say this, but I really enjoyed myself. We ran into an old friend there and had a blast-Sober. It was pretty special to be in one of Gabe's old environments and to watch him have such a blast as a sober person. Great memories. Grace went and stayed with her Grammy and Poppi and Maddie stayed here at home with her Auntie Patrice. Both girls did really well and we were so thankful for the small break. It brought us back with a renewed energy for them :) Today we took Maddie and Gracie to get some pumpkins for Halloween. Lizzy gets here this week to visit and to trick-or-treat with Maddie, so we thought we needed to be festive. After driving for a few hours to Richmond and back, Gabe and I weren't interested in driving any more to go get pumpkins. So, we went to this really cute church that had pumpkins for sale. Maddie loved it and Grace slept through it (what else is new?:) Enjoy the pic's!

Hospital

Saturday was a nightmare! Actually, it all started Friday evening when I watched as Maddie's breathing became worse and worse and her breathing more labored and rapid. I started to Neb her, but it wasn't helping. I called the dr. in the middle of the night and debated taking her to the ER, but figured I could just take her to the pediatrician in a few hours. So, I waited, all the while freaking out (mostly in my head) about Maddie's breathing and the fact that she could barely take in air. We went to the pediatrician at 9am and by the time they'd tried 3 different breathing treatments and a course of oral steroids, they sent us to the hospital. They said she could be better monitored there and could get a chest x-ray. So, Gabe stayed with Grace at home and I took Maddie to the pediatric ER in Fairfax. There they gave her several breathing treatments, monitored her oxygen levels, tested her for the virus RSV (which it turns out is what she has) and did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. After 6 hours, we were allowed to go home and she had started breathing much better, but not normal in any way. She was seen again yesterday to make sure she was on the mend, and she is, but she can only talk a little before she starts coughing horribly and we are still doing Neb treatments every 4 hours for the next 2 days. It was a long, tough weekend, but we are doing better. Grace seems to be stuffed up now and not sleeping as comfortably as she has been, but hopefully her lungs will stay strong and not be affected how Maddie's were. Today we are laying low and trying to just get better. Hope your weekend was less eventful :)

Update

Maddie & Aibha playing in the park together
10-10-08
I'm sorry that I can't blog as much right now. Being a mom to a newborn and a 2 year old takes a serious amount of attention-and that's how blogging gets put on the back burner. I have lots to write about, just not lots of time. I'm sure as Grace gets a bit older, it may be easier to find time to blog. A quick update is that we are doing well. Maddie had her 2 year old check up today and we all got our flu shots; not Gracie-she's too young this year. We went and had pancakes after because Maddie was so brave (and we were starving :) Maddie and I just got back from playing at the park with Aibha, Siobhan and Aisling. We may not see them again until January!!! They are off to Ireland on Wednesday for a looooooooong time and we are definitely going to miss them. I've been seeing how fast weeks go by (Grace will be 6 weeks already on Monday!), and hopefully that's the case with our friends being gone. January will be here before we know it :) I need to mention here that I just had a long break from typing this post (dinner, Target run, babies to bed, etc.) and realized that Siobhan has already posted a comment similar to what I've blogged above :) So, it'll just be me and the girls for a few months without our little friends. Hopefully busy and not too lonely. Can't wait to hear about the flight with 2 little ones; it'll prep me for March :)

Quick Post

Just wanted to say that both girls are napping right now at the same time and so it seems I should blog and then go catch up on all the Project Runway's that I have TIVO'd :) It was a busy, awesome, at times stressful, memorable weekend and I have LOTS of pic's to post... hopefully I can get to that tonight. Hope your weekend was wonderful too.

Maddie's Birthday Celebration Part 1

Here's a link to see the pictures from Maddie's birthday celebration tonight at her Grandparent's house. We had a blast and by the end she was saying "more presents please?" Very cute :)
Click here to see the pictures.

Madeline's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Madeline Elisabeth!

Wow! I cannot believe she's 2 today... I was up with Grace at 4:30am and I thought to myself that 2 years ago and 2 hours before, Maddie had been born and my whole life changed. She's been such a blessing to me; there are barely words to describe my complete adoration for her. She's a loving, kind, funny little girl and without her I'd be totally different. I love the independence she's gained in the past 2 years, not to mention the amount of words :) She's a beautiful girl on the inside and out and that is ALL I ever wished for when I wished for her.

More Pictures...

Go Redskins!

Funny Face

Tired Mommy & baby

Tired Daddy & baby

Maddie today before we left for school :)

Just wanted to say that we're doing really well. Maddie is loving going to school and Grace is allowing us to get just enough sleep at night. We sleep in shifts, but at least we sleep! We are in planning mode for Maddie's 2nd birthday which is here next week! And we are getting ready for the girls' dedication ceremony which is next weekend. Lots to celebrate around the Mejias house :) I'm trying to take it easier than I have been; my midwife told me to yesterday. It seems that even though I feel great, I've been doing a bit too much too soon and I need to slow down. Hard to do with a newborn and a 2 year old, but I'm trying. Thank God I have a helpful hubby :) Speaking of Gabe, I'm so proud of him and really in awe. Today he celebrates 6 months sober!!! Actually, we celebrate 6 months. We've come to learn it's a family thing and I think we've done/are doing a lot of hard work. Gabe's sobriety is a miracle and to be able to see an actual miracle is a true blessing. It's a great day all around.

Pictures

Exhausted :)

Maddie wearing the new dress Nonnie made for her!

Grammy, Maddie & Gracie

Maddie helps Gracie with her first bath

Nonnie & Gracie

I said the other day that I would post some new pic's and shockingly, I never got around to it. I have a feeling that may become my catch phrase for a few months! The days are passing quickly, but the nights seem loooong-probably because I'm so tired. But, we're doing well. Gracie had her 2 week appointment yesterday and she's doing well. She's in the 50th percentile for length, and 25th for weight. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. yesterday, so she's gained just about a pound since birth! Maddie is still doing well at preschool. Yesterday when I dropped her off, she walked right into her classroom and said "bye-bye Mommy" without any tears. She's so independent and if I remember correctly, that's something I blogged about a long time ago-wanting her to be independent and be okay. Pretty fun to watch. "The Office" is back on tonight (so excited :)- Now it feels like Fall...

One Long Day

Well, I'm still alive! I knew that having 2 kids would cut into my blogging time, but I guess I had no idea how much :) Let's see. My mom left this morning and I think I've cried about a dozen times since. There's just something about having your mom around. I think that it means more to me because she lives so far away; I don't take her for granted. She was here for two and half weeks and what a blessing that was. Seriously-don't know how I would have done it without all of that help. So today is a bittersweet day. It's the day that I become the mom of 2 little girls and I have to balance my time, energy and love-and I have to figure out how to do that on my own. Gabe's a huge help (probably more so than a lot of husbands) but I'm the stay at home mom and so ultimately it comes down to me and the two of them.
Maddie is doing well. She loves her baby sister and gives her kisses on the head all the time. She's a little less patient with me and spends a large majority of her day saying "Moooommmmmmmmmmmy" and "Where'd nigh-nigh go?" So, me and her blanket are her two favorite comfort items at the moment. She's more needy than usual, but that's to be expected. With the amount (or lack there of) sleep I'm getting, it's hard to be as patient as I normally am with her. But, I'm trying. She's doing really well at preschool and her teachers tell me they love her; and really, that's all I wanted. I wanted the teachers to love her and care about her and I can tell that they really do. What a good feeling! Grace is doing well too, although she seems to have already caught her first cold. With Maddie starting preschool that same week that I had Grace, we were all bound to come into contact with some new germs. I have a weird lingering cough, Maddie has been sleeping/not sleeping at weird times, and Grace has mucus in her nose and throat. Nothing like a Saturday morning at the pediatricians office! So, that's what Grace and I did today. It's funny, but even the second time around, I still get freaked out about some things. A sick newborn is hard to not get freaked out about. Gabe is much more calm about all this. Thank God for him! So, hopefully tonight will bring more sleep than last night-for ALL of us! I have more pic's to post and will do so hopefully tomorrow. They change so fast...

*Please excuse my ramblings but I'm blogging on only 3 hours of sleep*

Gracie is here!!!

A quick post to say that we had Gracie on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 9:36pm. She is a healthy, beautiful baby girl and aside from being tired, we are all doing well. Enjoy these pic's of her and her big sister Maddie :)
Click on this link to see the full web album of pictures: Grace