We Have Concrete!

There wasn't a ton of progress made on Day 5, and I didn't get any pictures, so you'll have to take my word on that. They filled in the trench and got all the drainage in place, but still didn't finish all the concrete forms or the rebar.

Which meant that early on Day 6 (around 6:30am), there were fifteen workmen in our backyard, trying to get everything ready before the concrete showed up at 9am. They added a layer of compacted sub-base (the hard-packed stuff under the concrete) and finished the forms and rebar for the right patio and the right side walkway.

Then the concrete truck showed up and deposited its load into a big hopper in front of our house. This was connected to a high-pressure hose that they snaked all the way around the house. They started on the left side and worked their way across the back patios and down the right side of the house, so they weren't "painting themselves into a corner."

To begin, it just looked like a lake of mud in the backyard, but they quickly created the score lines and detailing to give each patio some definition. This picture shows how they would measure out the distance between the score lines, then snap a string across the patio to mark where each one should go. Then another guy came by and actually cut the grooves with a sharper tool on a long pole. Finally, they came out on their hands and knees, using special knee pads that held them from knee to toe and distributed their weight across a large surface. They touched up all the smooth surfaces and carefully carved the edges.

When it was done, they left it to dry. It will take a few days for us to be able to walk on it without worry, and it will dry quite a bit lighter than the color in these pictures. We think it looks great, though, and we can't wait to be able to use our beautiful new patios.

On Day 7, they just came and removed the forms around the concrete. On Monday they'll lay the irrigation for the lawn and planters, and then the sod will go in that afternoon or early on Tuesday. Planting and touch-ups will continue for a couple of days, so we should be done by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

I took a lot of pictures during this portion of the job, mainly because I found the concrete process fascinating, and they were doing such a great job turning a river of mud into a great patio. I've posted some of the pictures on our photo site, along with descriptions of what was happening. If you're at all curious how all of this gets done, take a look.

Willow the brat

I promised J that I would pull my fair share of blogging, so here's my first entry on the new blog.

As most of you know, Willow has been a part of our lives for a little over six years now. Those of you who know her might have the opinion (albeit incorrect) that she is a bit, well, spoiled.

So maybe she sleeps under the covers with us every night. And, yes, her grandpa made her a ramp so that she can get up on the bed. I guess it is a bit unusual that we have to take her with us when we go away for the weekend- she doesn't really do the whole kennel thing.

Unfortunately, she seems to be taking the whole spoiled dog thing to a whole new extreme. Ever since we brought her home from her last surgery she has been a whiny, pain in the butt. She will sit on the floor, stare at us, and whine pitifully, nonstop. For awhile, we thought she was hungry, even though we were feeding her three times a day. She was devouring everything we put in front of her.

We think we might have figured out the issue last night and J put the theory to the test today. Apparently, Willow is only happy when she assumes this position on the couch.


I was sitting on the couch in the living room when we finally discovered the cause behind the whining. She kept coming in and crying at my feet. Since I had just fed her, I figured she wasn't hungry. It wasn't until I got up, found the white blanket that we use on our other couch, put her next to me on the living room couch, and allowed her to burrow under the blanket that she left me alone and went to sleep.

She did the same thing to J this morning. She whined at him until he grabbed the magic white blanket from the couch and let her sit next to him underneath it. I don't know what we did to encourage this behavior, but apparently Willow is only happy when she has her blankie to sleep under.

Fortunately, she hasn't gone completely princess yet. Here she is sunbathing in the dirt amongst the weeds before we started construction on the back yard.


As I type right now she is curled up next to me fully engulfed in the white blanket. I guess it could be worse!?!?

Baby Update

D's now at 28.5 weeks (out of 40) and everything's still on track. Almost two weeks ago we had our 27 week ultrasound, as a last minute check to make sure all the pieces we saw at 18 weeks are still there. Here's one of the ultrasound photos:

This might not be a surprise to many of you, but this baby is big. Chiquita was officially at 26 weeks, 6 days gestation, but she measured out at 28 weeks, 4 days on the ultrasound. That's almost two full weeks larger than "standard." She weighed in around 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and will continue to grow at about a half-pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy. So you don't have to do the math, that puts her around 9 pounds at full term, even if her growth tapers off in the last couple weeks.

We confirmed the gender, the presence of a diaphragm, and all the other basics. The one thing that was at all out of the ordinary was the amniotic fluid around the baby, which is measuring just at the high end of normal. Sometimes this can indicate gestational diabetes, especially with a big baby, but D was screened for that last week and passed with flying colors. That means it's likely nothing, since it was just barely remarkable and there usually ends up being no discernible cause. She'll get measured again in two weeks, and hopefully everything will be within parameters.

Chiquita's been moving around and kicking quite a bit recently, especially when D's trying to rest after a long day of work. I've felt several good kicks and a lot of movement....it's all fun but it doesn't help D with her already-sore muscles. Hopefully she'll be able to relax when school is over (in just over a week). Even though softball is done, D still hasn't been home before 5 or 6 in a long time. She has too many other commitments (and fun stuff) to take care of before coming home. A baby shower at school, a softball banquet, several meetings with next year's newspaper staff, a couple of doctor's appointments, and more....they're conspiring to keep her tired and worn out until the school year ends. Fortunately, she's still happy and healthy.

Backyard Day 4

Day 4 (Monday) brought a few changes, though many of them are not obvious. They laid rebar for the concrete patio on the left side of the house, as well as the walkway to the other side of the yard. They also put in a French drain behind the wall and completed a few more concrete forms. I've added a few new pictures to the photo blog.

Unfortunately there was no work on Tuesday because we had to wait for the city inspector to come out and approve a buried electrical conduit. That went well and the landscapers will continue working on Wednesday for a planned concrete pour on Thursday. Today we had someone from the local nursery come by the house to visualize the size and location of our planters, in order to give us recommendations on plants that might work in the space. We've picked out the majority of our plants and will have the landscapers plant them next week before they finish. Though everything will be small to start, the plants should all grow into their respective spots in the next six months to a year.

We also have to pick our concrete color tomorrow. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pick the color that will take up 1100 square feet of our yard (that's as big as our entire condo!) from two-inch pieces of paper on a concrete color sample chart? The colors are numerous and though there are a wide variety, there are also some with only subtle differences. Telling the difference between the Omaha Tan and the Sequoia Sand, and then visually projecting it onto the entire patio area, ties my mind in knots. D is better at that sort of visualization...I can picture the shapes and sizes, she can picture the colors. For a glimpse into what the choice is like, take a look at the Davis Colors website. We have to choose from these options....just about anything in the "Subtle" or "Standard" sections.

We'll see how everything looks when it's done, which could be as early as the middle of next week. We've already purchased patio furniture and a standalone gazebo that are ready to spruce up the yard, and we'll have about ten people staying with us within a week of finishing the work....just in time!

Backyard Renovations

We've been having work done on our backyard for a few days now, and there's really been some great progress. I've taken pictures at the end of each day, and I'll be adding to an album of the best shots. The whole album is available here, but I've also thrown a few pictures in to give you a good idea of the work being done.

Day 0- Before the work started, we had a large slope at the back of the yard (pictured here), a good-sized area of dirt between the slope and the house, a cut-out side patio (also dirt), and two narrow walkways down either side of the house. The only greenery was the ground cover on the slope (provided by the builders), and the soil is rocky and full of clay.

Day 1- The first day was mainly focused on excavation of the lower portion of the slope, plus a little bit of digging for trenches.

Day 2- The second day saw the wall footings poured and two layers of brick placed, as well as significantly more excavation and insertion of drainage.

Day 3- The wall was completed on the third day, and forms were placed for planters and concrete patios. The general shapes of the patios and walkways are now visible, and the ground is being prepared for concrete.

Here's the album with pictures from all different angles:

From Backyard

My Cousins are Awesome!

I posted a couple of months ago about my cousin Vinnie, who was participating in a triathlon at the time, and is now graduating from UCLA. It made me realize that I don't post often enough about my awesome extended family, especially my cousins. I'm so proud of all of them, and lucky to have them!

Unfortunately, I don't get to see any of them as much as I'd like, but here are just a couple bits I've pieced together from Facebook postings, graduation invitations, and random emails. Vinnie's graduating from UCLA in two weeks. Vanessa is finishing up a year abroad in Rome, then returning for her senior year at Berkeley. Michael just graduated from CSUN and is at Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico. Matthew just graduated from CSU Fresno and will be pursuing a career in professional golf. Ryan is starting his senior year at Santa Clara University. Alec was accepted to the film schools at Loyola Marymount University and NYU, and will be attending LMU in the fall. Jim is graduating this summer and headed to college in the fall. Matty is rocking his high school academics, and will be taking part in a medical summer program at UCLA this year. Samantha is starting on the Varsity Softball team as a freshman, and is following in her brother's academic footsteps.

And those are just the ones near/in higher education that I've heard about in the last few weeks. The last time I saw Valentina, I tried to answer a question on her math homework and failed miserably. Hayley tends to excel at everything she ever attempts. Jordan and Taylor are getting cuter by the day.

Most recently, we went to an SDSU Aztecs softball game. Jessica starts at second base for them, and this was the first opportunity we'd had to see her play. The game was against BYU, who had the best record in their division. It was an important game to win, and it didn't start off well.

By the bottom of the seventh inning, SDSU was down 4-0. It had been a rough start for Jessica as well, and wasn't looking like a happy night.

Then, one out from losing the game, Jessica was driven in from third for SDSU's first run. Two plays later, the game was tied at 4-4 and going to extra innings. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Jessica was up to bat with a runner on third. I'll let the video speak for itself.

Welcome to Ryan Road

Welcome to the new blog.  You'll notice that all of the posts from the old site are still here for posterity, but all new entries will be here alone.  We'll never forget Andrew, and he'll be mentioned here from time to time, but the focus of our lives has obviously evolved in the last two years, and we thought our blog should reflect that.

Here we go.....

Pregnancy/Willow Update

Today marks Week 24 (out of 40). There's not much news at this point, but no news is good news. D's last couple of doctor visits have been uneventful (there wasn't even an ultrasound at the last one). But, I thought I'd take the opportunity to take a couple of pictures.

Willow hates to have her picture taken....she runs away any time I point the camera at her. Even when D picks her up, she starts to wriggle and try to get away.

Here's a close-up of Willow's new scar. They took the stitches out last week and it's healing pretty well. Hopefully, in time, it'll be a memory like her other two scars (from her spay and her back surgery). She's pretty much back to 100%, though we had a little scare with an allergic reaction last week.

And here's mommy herself. Tummies always pop a little earlier with subsequent pregnancies, but she still hasn't gained any weight since she got pregnant.

Eleven Kids is Too Many

A couple of weeks ago, D and I took eleven of her students to Phoenix for a National High School Journalism Convention.  It was four days (Thursday-Sunday) of sessions about everything from layout to Student Press Law to writing good headlines to font and color choices.  There are also some great keynote speeches, this year from Aaron Brown (former CNN anchor) and Mary Beth Tinker (primary figure in student press law).  Thousands of students come every year, and this is the second year D has brought some of hers to the event....last year's convention was in Anaheim.  It's an opportunity for the younger writers and editors (no seniors) to prepare for next year's newspaper class, gather some great ideas, and sharpen their skills.

Last year, there were only seven or eight kids, and it was a simple drive up the 5 freeway to Anaheim....this year, we had to wrangle eleven kids all the way to Phoenix.  Carlsbad-->carpool to airport parking-->shuttle to the airport-->Southwest flight to Phoenix-->bus to the transit station-->light rail to downtown-->walk to the hotel.  They were all very well-behaved and we got several compliments from the flight crew, other passengers, and people in the airport.  Still, it made me realize that some people have eleven kids, and I cannot imagine how they do it....it was like herding cats at times.

Once we were there, we kept to the area around the hotel and didn't venture out more than a couple of blocks for dinners.  For the most part, journalism students tend to be more mature than the average high schooler, so they are actually pretty entertaining to hang out with.  It didn't even make me feel that old....I can somehow still relate to 14-17 year-olds.  All in all, it was a very fun extended weekend, though I was trapped in the hotel room working most of the time (even on Saturday and Sunday).  D's already trying to figure out how to get a bunch of students to Portland (Oregon) next spring, while also managing an eight-month-old baby.

And now for the EXCITING PART!  The convention is geared toward the advisors just as much as it is toward the students.  There are sessions for advisors on many of the same subjects, as well as advisor-specific topics.  In addition, this conference is one of the few times per year that JEA (the Journalism Education Association) offers their certification program.  There are stringent requirements for advisors that include years of teaching and either continuing education credits or a rigorous written exam.  This year D took the test, and we just found out yesterday that she passed!  She is now officially a Certified Journalism Educator, accredited by the most prominent organization in the industry.  I'm all kinds of proud and excited for her, as she really enjoys teaching journalism and this is a great recognition of her skill.

Happy Birthday Willow!

Today is Willow's sixth birthday.  She was born on Easter Sunday, 2003, and she's been a wonderful part of our family ever since.  Unfortunately, she also likes to be the center of attention, and sometimes her medical issues can overshadow anything else that's going on.  So here's an update.


Almost a month ago, on the day we found out that the baby is a girl, we came home and Willow was limping.  It was hard to tell what was going on exactly, but we'd already been through the trauma of one back surgery, and we knew that the earlier she was looked at, the better.  We took her into the vet and they examined her, but she was back to almost-normal by the time we got there.  The vet couldn't see any obvious signs of anything, so we couldn't tell whether it was arthritis, a sprain/strain, or a new back problem.  She said that an X-ray likely wouldn't show any back problems very clearly, so we took her home and hoped she got better.  For a few days after that, we noticed her limping every now and then, and we kept her confined to a small area in the living room (and gave her some anti-inflammatories).


About two weeks later, it was time for us to head Down South for D's Spring Break (more on that to come), but we wanted to make sure she had assistance nearby if she needed it.  We boarded her at the vet for five days, and there were no reports of any problems when we got home.  That night and into the next day, however, we noticed that she was going to the bathroom quite a bit.  It got progressively worse, until she was going every ten or fifteen minutes.  At some point she gave up trying to go in her litter box and went right in front of us, which is her way of saying that something isn't feeling right.  We noticed that there was blood in her urine, and suspected a bladder infection.


We took her back to the vet and they gave her an ultrasound and an X-ray.  The X-ray confirmed what the doctor suspected from the ultrasound....she had bladder stones.  Bladder stones are similar to what can occur in human kidneys/bladders/etc, and are often triggered by a pH imbalance caused by a local infection.  They are literal stones made of various minerals, and the precise chemical makeup of the stone can point to a course of preventative action...some require a special diet, while others won't come back as long as there isn't another infection.  However, the initial course of treatment for both types of stones is surgery to remove them.


We were headed to Phoenix the next day (more to come on that as well), so I left her at the vet's overnight.  The next morning, she had surgery to remove her two stones.  They sent one to a lab in Minnesota for analysis, and saved the other one as a souvenir for us.  They stitched her back up and kept an eye on her for the next 24 hours or so, but she did fabulously through the whole thing.  She was okay with the anesthesia, she did well in recovery, and the vet staff that watched her over the next few days had nothing but wonderful things to say about her.  She was boarded through the weekend, and we picked her up last night.


She's on a long course of antibiotics for the infection, but of course they take time to work.  She was going to the bathroom pretty frequently last night, and the vet said it could be up to a week until she's back to normal.  That said, there was no blood in her urine and she seems to be feeling a lot better in general.  We're hoping that the limping we saw a month ago was simply discomfort from the two huge stones rattling around in her bladder.  I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must feel, and I wouldn't blame her for limping all over the place.


So, the end result (so far) is that Willow's doing well, she's very excited that we're home and not going anywhere for a while, and she's patiently waiting for the antibiotics to kick in so she can get back to 100%.  Hopefully this is our fair share of dog drama for a couple of years, as surgery/anesthesia/boarding/medication is NOT a cheap prospect, and pet insurance doesn't cover this type of major procedure.  I believe we've spent more on Willow's medical problems than we spent on the multi-million dollar care that Andrew received during five months in the NICU....isn't that ridiculous?


Anyway.....happy birthday to Willow....may she live a long, full, less-expensive-than-she-has-been-recently life.

Sorting

D is sitting on the floor in the living room, going through all of the clothes and accessories that we got for Andrew.  They've been sitting in plastic tubs in the room we've picked as the nursery.  She's sorting out the ones that could still be appropriate for a girl and the other ones that might be a little gender-specific.  We'll pack all that up and save it for baby #3.

There's a lot of beige, yellow, and green stuff that we can still use, but D is worried about putting a baby in blue before she's old enough to be distinguishable as a girl.  Of course that doesn't mean she needs an entirely pink wardrobe.  We kept out the "I Love Bugs" shirt and the vine-climbing monkey outfit, but we put away the "Future Quarterback" shirt, at least until they create the WNFL.

Almost all of our big, nice blankets, especially the handmade heirlooms, are very blue.  We'll still use them when we're around the house, but they could be confusing in public.  We have very few normal, cotton, swaddling blankets, and I know we're going to need more burp cloths as well.....that's advice we've gotten from every parent we've ever met.  However, we've got plenty of socks.  They are darn cute, too.  We're also thoroughly covered in the classic book department; I love that our families know all the coolest books!

CDH Awareness Day

Yesterday (March 31) was CDH Awareness Day.  Consider yourselves aware.

Amendment

An update to the last post:

1. I'm adding "Diva" and "Drama Queen" to the list....thanks to Jen for the tip. I'm sure there will be others as we run across them, and I'm already hearing grumbling from people who are looking for these outfits just to spite me. :)
2. I don't really have a problem with "Angel." It's mostly with "Daddy's Little Angel." Though she certainly will be my little angel/brat/mild-mannered-superhero-in-disguise, her clothing shouldn't be designed to compliment me.
3. Also added to the list after perusing some clothing sites: "Born to Shop," "Heartbreaker," "I Make Boys Cry," and "Does my butt look big in this diaper?"
4. Willow seems to be feeling better. I still think something's wrong, but it's definitely not as pronounced as it was, and I'm willing to hope/believe it's something less serious than another back injury. We're still keeping her confined to the living room and taking anti-inflammatories, so hopefully she'll be back at 100% soon.

Homer No More

Well, it looks like we're going to have to come up with a better nickname, because IT'S A GIRL!!! We had our appointment this morning, and everything looks great. We were able to clearly see a diaphragm, a well-formed heart, a solid palate, the appropriate brain formation, and all the necessary limbs. The tech was also positive on the gender, though mistakes have happened before.

To celebrate our healthy little girl, we took an impromptu trip to Babies 'R' Us, where we bought a cute little outfit and added just a couple of things to our registry. We have to take an inventory of what we have left over from Andrew and figure out how much of that stuff is non-gender-specific enough to work for a girl.

Of course, having a girl brings up a whole host of new issues that I haven't had to deal with to this point....I was already avoiding the risque outfits in the store. I know that sounds strange, but why do they make see-through blouses for 3-month olds? A girl will also require some new ground rules, so here's my first attempt:

• No shirts/outfits that say "Princess," "Angel," or "Flirt," even when used in conjunction with "Daddy's little..." or "Mommy's little..."
• Please no Disney princess stuff yet....she'll have plenty of time to destroy her self-image and construct a skewed view of romance and relationships when she's older
• Girls can wear colors other than pink....be creative

That said, we're very excited and have shed our share of tears today....thank you all for caring and we'll keep you updated on her progress.

PS- We somehow find it difficult to go through a whole day with only good news. When we got back to the house after the appointment, Willow was walking with a terrible limp. We took her to the vet and got her checked out, but they were unable to ascertain exactly what was wrong. Of course Willow was acting a bit better when we got there, but the vet was still able to see the limp. She responded well to all of the tests for range of motion, hip/shoulder/tendon issues, etc., and they don't think a cervical X-ray will be able to show much of anything. The options for what's wrong at this point include soft tissue damage (a sprain or strain in a muscle), an arthritis-related deficit, or a new problem with her back (this time in her cervical/neck area). We obviously hope the last one isn't the case, but we'll be keeping a close eye on her. We got some anti-inflammatories and will be keeping Willow inactive for the next seven days. She's currently in a pen in our living room, whining at us to get out....hopefully our concern for her condition will outweigh our sympathy for her pouting.

My Cousin Vinnie

No, it's not just a movie any more. My cousin Vinnie is at UCLA and recently raced in the 2009 UCSD Tritonman Triathlon. It was only his second triathlon, but he had a great race and managed to beat his previous time by a full minute. Here are a series of videos I took during the race.

There are eight that will play in a row:

1. The mass start of all the collegiate men.
2. The first few guys coming out of the water.
3. Vinnie coming out of the water and headed for the bike.
4. Vinnie running his bike out to the course to start the ride.
5. Vinnie riding by after his first of three laps.
6. Vinnie coming in for the bike-to-run transition.
7. Vinnie heading out on the run.
8. Vinnie coming across the finish line

Is It Wednesday Yet?

The ultrasound is tomorrow, and we are both nervous and excited.  We have two doctor's appointments and two meetings with landscapers, so it'll be a busy day.  I'll definitely post tomorrow night, though, to let everyone know about the gender.  Can't wait!

Update

A quick post with the latest on the baby....

Everything's going well so far. We've had one more ultrasound since my last post, and Homer still looks good, though he doesn't seem to like being poked in the head with an ultrasound wand. Here's the picture from that checkup:

This is the first picture we've gotten that's head-on, and it makes the baby look a bit like a Klingon (or an alien). It's perfectly normal....nothing to worry about.

We go in next week (on Wednesday) for our 18-week ultrasound. This is known as the "anatomy" checkup, because almost all of the basics should be developing and can be seen in the scan. They'll be able to check for the major organs and limbs, including the diaphragm. Though we're being cautious with everything about this pregnancy, obviously CDH is foremost in our minds, and we're looking forward to seeing the lungs, heart, and digestive tract where they're supposed to be. There's also a good chance we'll be able to determine the gender, so check back here next Thursday for the news. For those of you that are uncomfortable calling a potential girl Homer, how does Casita ("little house" in Spanish) sound?

On a sad note, my Yia-Yia's best friend passed away last Friday. She was much too young and the circumstances were really unfortunate...she was in the hospital for a broken ankle and deteriorated quickly and unexpectedly. She was always incredibly loving and supportive of her friends and family, and I include myself among the latter. She was asking about D and the baby up to the day she passed away, and we're all going to miss her terribly.

Our Little Tidbit

I mentioned there was a fun tidbit coming along.....here it is!

 

 

I assume that these are somewhat self-explanatory, but here are the details:

• D is currently 12 weeks pregnant, which puts the due date at August 22
• It's too early to know the gender, but so far it seems to be healthy and on-track
• D has been feeling tired and nauseous (mostly at night), but hasn't had any major medical issues
• The timing of this pregnancy was unexpected....though very, very welcome
• We've been slow to publicize our news, as it's still early and we've learned from past experience that anything can happen....we're still being very cautious and trying not to get too excited
• The next step is an anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks, in late March
• We will be finding out the gender, and we will be telling people
• We will not be telling anyone the name (not that we've decided anything), so don't ask

I've code-named this baby Homer, as we intend to actually bring this one home with us.  I'll probably also default to male pronouns (to go with the name).  However, I can guarantee that won't be the final choice, and I can only hope that the baby doesn't develop a complex if it happens to be a girl.

That's it for now.  I'll provide updates along the way....thanks for reading!

PS- Let me know in the comments if you need an interpretation of either of the sonogram pictures.

Upstairs

I went around and took the rest of the house pictures today. These cover the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. Here's a preview:

The pictures have been added at the end of the gallery, so if you've already seen the downstairs, just start in the middle.

More fun tidbits coming soon.

Long-Awaited Pictures

I finally posted some pictures of the house, with all of our stuff in it. I took a bunch of shots this weekend, but still only got to the downstairs, so I'm going to do this in two parts. Here's a link to the first set.

There are captions, but they're mostly self-explanatory. Here's one to get you started:

PS- Keep checking the blog this week. I'll have more pictures and some other fun tidbits.