Turtle Bay & The adventure to AZ

Saturday we enjoyed brunch at the Kaneohe Pancake House with Stephen & Kaci prior to driving up to North Shore to check out Kuilima Cove on the Turtle Bay Resort grounds. Despite it being a Saturday and a resort it wasn't as packed as we expected, we easily found parking and wandered down to the beach. The water clarity wasn't the best but we did see lots of different fish and some strikingly bright yellow & purple coral heads! After our snorkeling we soaked up some sun, enjoyed the cool breeze, and the boys hit up the beach bar.

Once we hit our "sun limit" (and the umbrella could no longer combat the wind) we packed up our beach gear and walked the resort grounds. The pool is nice and the wedding chapel is adorable! We decided to sit down at Ola's Restarant on the beach for dinner. Mistake #1- we didn't look at the menu... The average dish was $40 a person! We let the waiter bring us water and give us his menu run-down but Quinn pulled him aside, handed him a few $ and told him we regretfully couldn't stay. We drove towards home and stopped at Seven Brother's for dinner, yummy burgers and a fraction of the cost! We all ate for less than the $40 one entree would have cost at Ola's. Lesson learned= Turtle Bay is beautifully but ridiculously overpriced.

Sunday was a relaxing day full of church, old school Mario Brother's, and laundry in prep of my trip. Unfortunately I can't seem to kick the "trip anxiety," I had a FULL blown panic attack that night despite the fact my flight wasn't until 10:00pm Monday! So, Monday was unfortunately a "recovery day" along with the errands, work projects, and the packing I had previously planned. I was so glad when Quinn got home from work and we were able to enjoy a couple stress-free hours together before we ate a healthy  (aka- only thing that sounded semi-ok on my nervous stomach) dinner at Wendy's on the way to the airport.

Check-in was a breeze, same with security. Even changing my seat went smoothly (I had a window, explained my need for the aisle & ended up right in front of the bathroom). I wish whatever mis-firing that occurs in my brain causing anxiety/panic attacks could remember the good things that happen like this! *sigh* The flight was surprisingly fast! I slept, drank water/ate a small snack, got up to stretch, and used the bathroom (repeated 3 times) and we were landing roughly 40min early! I am praying we have favorable winds on the way home as well, seeing as I will be 7mo pregnant at that point!

Tuesday was a complete throw-away jet-lag day, I slept on & off, never leaving the house. We had family dinner and the day was done... Today was more of the same, but I did venture out to the nail salon with Lex  after she got off work and stopped by the Dollar Store for cards/wrapping supplies. Now, I am ready to meet up with friends and enjoy the limited time I have in AZ!

**my midwife chose to let me go on the trip, postponing the 3hr glucose test until my return. If I can't fast for 12hrs, I will be given a glucose monitor to prick my finger with for 1wk and use those results instead.

Furniture, Tropical Storm Wali, and 25wks (glucose fail)

We officially have nursery furniture! It's still in boxes, but we have it, and we got the entire set (crib, mini dresser, changing table +pad, toddler rail, and glider +ottoman) for $100 less than it should have been thanks to an unforeseen "Blowout Baby Weekend Sale" and an awesome friend who forfeit her discount scratch card so we could use it specifically for this purpose. We also got a $120 Sea Skipper Ergo carrier for only $75... I love it:

We still need to purchase a mattress and a potentially a bassinet (hoping to borrow - or we may purchase a pack n' play mini crib since it will be beneficial on trips), but other than that... I think we're done with baby's room in regards to furniture and decor (I already have picture frames and shelves that I'm planning on painting) along with some cute and simple wall art and storage baskets. We were also gifted a really cool tree lamp from our friends Jen & Ted when they moved. The last big purchases will be the car seat & stroller(s).


Saturday night Tropical Storm Wali rolled in around 11pm for us and lasted until roughly 6am. I took some video prior to going to sleep (so around midnight), but was woken up at 2:45am by extremely loud wind and rain pounding on our bedroom window accompanied by huge booms of thunder and lightning that lit up the entire room even with the blinds and curtains shut. This lasted until nearly 5:30am when I finally drifted back to sleep.

On our way to church we saw at least 3 downed trees, one thankfully fell the opposite way, if it had fallen towards the street a very nice Ford Explorer would have a tree on the hood. Thankfully for us round two of the storm went north of our island and we didn't get anything else other than a few sprinkles here and there and disgusting 99% humidity.

I hit 25wks on Sunday and went in for my glucose test on Monday in preparation for my upcoming trip. I thankfully got to drink the clear liquid (no extra food dyes!) however it still tasted gross... what I would liken to flat sprite, although I'm not entirely sure since I haven't really had soda in 16yrs. It made me feel a bit dizzy and once I got home I promptly passed out on the couch for an hour long nap! I thought I was safe since I didn't receive a phone call yesterday, unfortunately my midwife called this afternoon and my levels were 145 (highest allowed is 135) so now I have to take the 3hr test to find out if I have gestational diabetes. This one involves fasting for 12hrs prior and no eating until the test is completed, I'm going to be so shaky. *sigh* Right about now I am wishing I had just waited until after my trip, instead of being "proactive." Please pray I pass this one, I really don't want an extreme diet change, glucose test strips and potential insulin shots, I already feel stressed and unprepared for baby without adding any of that! Once again I feel like my body is failing me...

I had planned on taking my 3hr test in tomorrow morning (Thurs) since I work all morning on Fridays,  the labs are all closed on the weekends and I fly out Monday. But I had a complete and utter meltdown this evening... I also realized the past 2-3 days I have been eating like crap due to not being prepared when I am out and about... which can severely skew the results, and the biggest one- I am stressed out. I'm worried about friends, worried about my upcoming trip, worried about baby, worried about not seeing Quinn for a significant amount of time, worried that we haven't done any of the pregnancy classes yet, worried about being a mom, on and on... I also can't sleep, just for my 1hr test I tossed and turned and pulled my typical "panic" scenarios. So, Quinn and I decided that I am going to talk to the midwives at my appointment tomorrow afternoon, and if they say I have to get the test done prior to my trip, then Monday morning it will be and I'll figure what to do from there.

Anyway... here are weeks 23-25! Belly is definitely getting more and more round the further we get. Oh and Littlest is SUPER active, loves moving around, my favorite thing lately is when Quinn lays his head on my tummy to talk to baby and he gets a swift kick in the face! I can't help but laugh every time!

Independence Celebration, Lunch Dates, & 8yrs?!

Fourth of July weekend was pretty low-key, and I'm glad we chose not to go to one of the base concerts/firework shows. I would have been outside all day long and outside food/drinks were not permitted so we would have spent a ton on water and snacks just for me! Instead we went to Kailua Beach in the morning until early afternoon, we managed to get a parking spot relatively close to the boat-ramp and walked the short distance to the beach. Evidently some people had camped overnight to ensure their spot on the beach! There were tents, grills, etc. Pretty crazy. We soaked up some sun, ate snacks, and floated around on our pool floaties from the sandbar trip. We grabbed some "patriotic shave ice" from Muddy Waters Cafe on the way home. I had Blue Vanilla, Lychee, and Summer Strawberry - delicious! We all took showers, rested, I decorated the cookies I had baked the night before and prepped the house for the BBQ. After everyone had eaten we walked down to Ft. Hase beach to set-up our chairs to view the fireworks from Kailua bay, then we ended the night back at our house making s'mores.

Last week I got to hang out with Taylor, it had been far too long, considering she only lives on the other side of the island! We met at the Whole Foods Cafe, enjoyed catching up, then decided to walk down to Island Yogurt for a cool sweet treat on a warm summer day. While we were there we realized little Adair and I were wearing the same shorts! She's 1yr old and I was nearly 6mo pregnant, so we had a good laugh and made sure to snap a photo. Both of us only have a year left on island, so I hope we get more opportunities to meet up!

Finally at the end of last week, Quinn hit his 8yr mark in the Marine Corps. I  picked up his uniforms from the tailor shop after his new service stripes had been put on... it was pretty crazy to think about... A little over 7yrs ago my cousin introduced me to a goofy 19yr old version of him, we "dated" living on opposite sides of the country, almost 5yrs ago I promised to stand by his side in front of our family and friends, we've lived in 3 homes in 2 states, gone thru 2 deployments and multiple training separations, and later this year we will enter parenthood together. It's quite amazing to see how God has and continues to guide and shape our life together.

Good news, "Goodbye," and 22wks!

Last Wednesday afternoon one of my midwives (Sarah) called me to address my concerns with the diagnosis the ultrasound tech had given me. She was extremely annoyed that the tech hadn't consulted with her or our on-site physician (Dr. Hill), and diagnosed me on her own. She told me not to worry and that we would discuss everything in depth when I met with her at the Centering Session the following day.

After Thursday's session I walked out of the hospital carrying this note:

Which means...
I can once again do low-impact cardio, swimming, light weights, yoga, and... I am cleared for my trip to AZ!!! As you can read, my diagnosis remains the same, low-lying placenta, so I am asking for your continual prayers for absolutely no bleeding (if this occurs, all of the above goes out the window).

This past weekend we spent with Billy & Adrien the majority of the time since it was their last weekend on island, lots of meals, BBQs, and a night around the fire roasting s'mores. We also helped Ted & Jen pack up their house (they are downsizing to help pay off her nursing school loans). Quinn has been super busy and stressed at work, so not too many "fun" activities to report on, hopefully this 4th of July weekend will bring some good adventures!

Billy and Adrien left today... it is really weird. Part of me still thinks they just left on vacation to visit family and will be back in a month, but this time that will not be the case.

Some may think 3yrs is too short for a friendship as deep as ours to blossom - but most don't live in a world that requires moving often, extreme flexibility, and an uncanny ability to dive into new situations head first. We've been through the best & the worst together, coming out better for it... I cannot wait to see photos and hear about their new adventures... of course plan a trip to visit as well!

 Finally, the "bump-date" ...my belly seemed to EXPLODE at 21wks. I have noticed that I am small and compact in the morning then by the time I crawl into bed at night I am swollen 2x the size I was when I woke up.

 I've been feeling baby inside since 20wks, right around my centering session (so last Thursday) I started feeling little kicks on the outside. Then Sunday morning as I was laying in bed, Quinn had just taken his hand off my belly feeling the kicks, when we saw a "wave" of movement... surreal!