I’m kind of bored and putting off writing ‘Thank You’ notes, so I wandered over to Lauren’s blog:
1. My absolute favorite movie(s) of all time is/are ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, ’Finding Nemo’ and ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s', but I could REALLY go on with this list.
2. My favorite movie as a child was ‘The Princess Bride’, ‘Beauty & the Beast’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. My mom had to watch these OVER AND OVER. 
3. The best movie quote ever is Jeez. It’s not the best, but it’s the first one that occurs to me: “It’s like, people only do things because they get paid; and that’s just really sad.” – Garth, ‘Wayne’s World’
4. My favorite actress(es) is/are Cate Blanchett, Audrey Hepburn, Emma Thompson My favorite actor(s) is/are Hugh Laurie, Ralph Fiennes, Morgan Freeman
5. The movie I could watch over and over is ’The Birdcage’, ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Wayne’s World’, ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’… Pretty much any of my favorite movies can be watched many, many times.
6. My favorite movie genre is I don’t know! Netflix recommends ‘Cerebral Dramas’, ‘Witty Comedies’ ‘Critically Acclaimed Feel-Good Animation’ and ‘Emotional Dramas with a Strong Female Lead’. I don’t like horror movies or dumb comedies, rarely like rom-coms. I’d say the list of movie genres I don’t like is bigger than that of what I do enjoy.
7. A movie I’d like to watch this weekend is Well, that’s a tough one. There’s nothing in theatres that I’d like to see, and the only movie I have from Netflix right now is ‘Cherie’, which is definitely not a Tim-friendly movie.
How far along? 35 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: +18.5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? Just the one
Sleep: The giant pillow I bought has helped the quality, but now I’m waking up with contractions and pain, so the quantity hasn’t changed
Best moment this week: It’s been a very up-and-down week, but my baby shower last Saturday was great!
Movement: He’s not twisting around anymore, but the kicks in my rib are just as strong and frequent
Food cravings: Avocados, navel oranges and Starbucks’ Caramel Light Frappucinnos, no whipped cream.
Gender: boy
Labor Signs: Well, I had another appointment with my OB-GYN office yesterday. Here are the updates: My cervix is thinning, but hasn’t opened yet. Marco’s head is not engaged yet, but he is dropping a little more. The contractions are stronger than ever, and hurt most of the time. I am probably in pain 80% of the day, either because of the contractions or the “ice-pick pain” in my cervix, but there’s nothing I can do about it – Tylenol is the strongest thing they can give me, and it does nothing. Anyway, next week they want me to stop taking the Procardia and Terbutaline, and let my contractions move me forward. My doctor thinks it would be better to deliver by 38 weeks, instead of going the full 40.
Belly Button in or out? It’s kind of IN, almost flat.
What I miss: My clothes and Advil.
What I am looking forward to: Finishing the organizing of Marco’s room. All his clothes are washed and put away, we just need the glider and his crib sheets (both should be arriving next week).
Weekly Wisdom: Everyone says that Palmer’s lotion is pointless, but let me tell you: I am almost 36 weeks and have ZERO stretch marks on either my stomach or butt, and only ONE stretch mark on my breast. I’ve used the lotion every day since I was 8 weeks pregnant, sometimes twice a day (morning and evening). I’m just saying, don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it.
Milestones: Marco is the size that he’ll be when he’s born; he’ll just weigh another pound or so more.
I finally got to talk to my mom today, and she is feeling much better and will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning! PHEW! I didn’t get all the dirty details yet (she was just about to eat dinner — mmm hospital food, LOL), but she’s doing better and that’s all I needed to hear.
Thanks to everyone for the notes, emails and texts. 
The kind words were very much appreciated.
I think I must have stepped on a crack in the sidewalk, spilled salt, opened an umbrella in the house AND passed a black cat, because the past 24 hours have been the worst!!
I had fierce contractions last night, and taking the Procardia didn’t help. I then tried the Terbutaline, but 2 hours later, they still hadn’t slowed down or decreased in intensity. I didn’t want to go to the hospital, so I decided to lie down in bed, and took an Ambien to help me fall asleep.
While we were reading, Tim startled me just as I was placing an orange-flavored LifeSaver into my mouth, and I swallowed it whole. It got stuck in my throat, and hurt like HELL. I could breathe and talk, but it was STUCK. Tim tried to thump my back in between my blades (he was just a tad freaked out), and I tried coughing it up, drinking water and eating a grape. I was panicking and finally, Tim had the idea to make me some hot tea to melt the candy down so I could actually swallow. It worked like a charm. My throat feels bruised whenever I eat something, but other than that I am fine.
However, in the midst of this, Tim ran right into the side of the couch and banged his knee so hard that he was bleeding. It was already starting to welt, so I played nurse (not the naughty kind, more’s the pity!) and cleaned, bandaged and iced his wound. His knee wasn’t swollen today, but it is very red and will leave a mark for awhile.
BUT WAIT! There’s more.
At 6:30am, I received a phone call from my little sister. She was hysterical and I couldn’t understand ANYTHING she was saying, except the words, “Mom’s not breathing!” Eventually, I found out that mom had gone to the hospital last night for a severe migraine, and the stupid nursing staff at the hospital overdosed her on one of the medications. The medication caused a seizure while she slept and her heart stopped – LUCKILY only for a few minutes before my sister found her. 
Apparently she was ice cold, stiff and blue. My poor sister! I can’t imagine finding my mom that way. An ambulance came, and finally my mom threw up and was breathing again. Tim drove me down to San Jose to see my mom (this time at a different hospital – THANK GOODNESS!).
This experience has soured my outlook on the medical system in San Jose, because it took 3 hours before a doctor came to see her, even though we asked about 7 times, and a total of 6 hours before they gave my mom any medication for the pain she was in! It has, however, made me extremely grateful for the amazing staff at St Helena Hospital; they are much more efficient.
My baby shower was last Saturday, but I don’t have any pictures from it just yet; I will post them when I do. Everyone was so generous, and I enjoyed the day immensely! Love and hugs to Micaela, Adrienne, Monica (‘other mom’!) and my Mama for planning and executing the shower! xoxoxo
I do, however, have a picture of Marco’s pirate booty:
OMG, stuff. Every one of those boxes and bags are filled with items for Marco. He’s a lucky boy.
The adorable onesies that the guests painted for Marco The box in the upper-right corner is filled with books! Each guest brought Marco a book, so we can build up his collection.
Today is Stabler’s 2nd birthday!! Happy birthday to my adorable, cuddly, sweet cat. I love you!!
Stabler’s birthday tuna and his present – catnip treats!
For me!?
Thanks, Mom!
1. One song that always takes me back to my youth is ’California Love’ by 2Pac and Dr. Dre! It reminds me of middle school, and pretty much any song by MxPx reminds me of high school LOL
2. My first concert ever was apparently Grateful Dead, but I was too little to remember it.
3. If I could create my dream music festival I’d want these bands to be there: Jimmy Eat World, The Beatles (hey it’s my dream, I’d bring back John and George!), Thrice (for Timmy), The Pierces (I’ve never seen them live!), Common, and Iron & Wine (always sold out before I can get tickets!).
4. The best make-out/”boot knocking” song ever is I’ve never really had music to make out too, at least not on purpose. However, no matter how many times I hear ‘Crash’ by Dave Matthews Band, I can’t ever THINK of anything other than getting busy. Same goes for ‘Let’s Get It On’ by Marvin Gaye – but that song is just classic.
5. The best concert I’ve ever been to was Jimmy Eat World at BFD in 2002, because I got to meet the band – OMG! But, Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday in 2005 was pretty great too.
6. A memorable musical moment for me was listening to my Grandpa play his steel guitar when I was about 5 or 6. Whenever I’d go over to my grandparent’s house I’d sit in this huge rocking chair in his music room, and he’d play a Hank Williams song.
7. The song on my iPod that’s getting the most play these days is hmm…I just downloaded ‘Beds Are Burning’ by Midnight Oil, so that’s been on a heavy rotation. I miss the 80′s – well, some of it.
Today’s Topic: How I Met My Husband!
Tim and his twin sister, Kate, grew up mostly in San Jose, until sometime around 1997 when their family moved to Morgan Hill.
I grew up mainly in the San Mateo area, until relocating with my mom and sister back to San Jose in 1998. We lived just down the street from my grandparent’s house, where my mom grew up. Coincidentally, this same neighborhood is where Tim’s mom grew up. Our families attended Branham High School together. Tim’s grandparents lived across the street from me.
Tim was very into music, and so were his friends. There were many incarnations but eventually the band Know You’re Waking came to be. Tim played the bass.
In February 2003, I attended a show for 4 local bands, and one of them happened to be Know You’re Waking. One of my favorite bands, Olympic Year, were also on the lineup. During their set, I was helping out a friend’s merch table, and sitting right next to me was Tim, the very cute bass player from KYW. He was eliciting emails for the band’s update list. I wanted to talk to him, so I said something along the lines of “I love that song” when there was a break in the music. When this elicited no response, I became slightly embarassed that I was coming off too flirty or something. I decided to try again anyway, and said “Hi, I’m Michelle.” and stuck my hand out for a shake. This adorable boy opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. No sound. I immediately turned back around, completely red in the face. I figured he must have a girlfriend and probably didn’t want me to bug him (later I would learn he was exceedingly shy – once we became friends I called him ‘the guppy’). A few minutes later, I heard someone kind of mumble something during a lull in the music, and it was definitely aimed in my direction. I turned around and Tim said “I’m Tim. Did you hear my band play at all?”
The night ended with my email address on KYW’s email list, and a slightly awkward goodbye hug at the door of the venue.
I waited for an email, but didn’t hear anything until a month later, when I ran into Tim at another Olympic Year show. He was standing in front of me, turned around, saw me, and his face broke into the huge smile. He pulled me in for a hug and I just about died, I was so excited. The next day I received an email from him, and from there the emails flew back and forth until one day, I had a problem with my computer. Tim just happened to be a computer whiz, so I asked if he would help. The next day he was at my house, and though I’d ended up fixing my computer myself, he stayed for several hours. We became very close friends and talked everyday over IM, and hung out twice a week, every week. To eachother, it was always “We’re just friends!” But secretly, we had humongous crushes on each other.
In May of that year, we finally admitted that we wanted more, and we had our first date. We went to Erik’s Deli Cafe for some sandwiches and then to GolfLand. Typical San Jose date.
Tim and I were basically inseparable for the rest of the year, and by December of 2003, we were engaged.
July 2003
September 2004
We were married May 21, 2005
XOXOXOXOXO
If you know me at all, you know that ‘window’ shopping is something I am NOT a fan of. What’s the fun of looking at things that I can’t actually have!? It’s very frustrating.
That being said, while I am pregnant, I must stick to this fruitless venture until I am back to my ‘fighting’ figure. I rifled through ModCloth.com and found some pieces that I would love to wear once I get my body back:
‘Watermelon Fizz’
So adorable!
‘My Roaring Twenties’
Yes, I love fringe details on my dresses.
‘Bow Business’
I love the shoulder detail!
