Cary and Char Plus One! http://caryandchar.com/ Family updates from the Lobo Sorianos! en Copyright 2008 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:54:00 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2ysb5-20051201 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Changes I am up after eating 2 bowls of maple and brown sugar oatmeal. I don't know what it is about oatmeal but I love it. Isabella is passed out :-). She had her bath today, and for reasons unbeknowst but by God, baths just make people (and babies) happy. I could pass out after a bath. Glad to see that it is nature and nurture at its finest. I am staring going back to work in the ojos. It's almost one month countdown until I return. I'm not looking forward to it. I just love being at home because I love watching Isabella, even when she's pouting (yes, she pouts, sheesh). I realize tho, in a perfect world, if I didn't have the debt I have now, I'd be staying at home with the best of them. However, I do owe tons, and it's not credit cards. That's pretty manageable. It's the going to school on loans for my undergrad, master's and doctorate. I remember a few years ago (has it been that long) that I often debated going through school. The tradeoffs were plenty: a house, a family, travelling, etc. People were off living their lives while I was perpetually studying, hanging out in libraries, being a geek about town. I don't regret it one bit, because I believe that things were meant to happen when they are going to happen. Isabella wouldn't be my Isabella if I did things earlier. Cary wouldn't be Husbandido. I have a high school classmate who just sent her daughter to USF as a freshman. She had her when she graduated. Wow. I guess, when all is said and done, my life is forever changed. For the better. I might have to figure out an hour in advance if I want to do a Target run, but that's all good. There are many other changes pervasive in this recalibration: in particular financials and prioritizing even the little things. Sure, I stink, I haven't had a decent hair cut in a few months, but you know what? Isabella is happy, fat, and everything I hoped she would be. My next issue to tackle? Christmas cards. God, I'm terrified. Do we take those cute photo cards every single one of my friends have been doing? Do I go back to making my own cards? Do I suck it up and go to Target and buy the super size box of cards? Screw it, I won't be making cards. Who am I kidding. Off to Target I go! Oh, and another thing: I am so into baking right now. I don't know why. Pumpkin cupcakes and pound cakes...tomorrow cinnamon bundt cake. Whee! Char http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/changes.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/changes.html Married People Stuff Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:54:00 -0800 Here are some pictures for you! Cary created an album on Picasa...feel free to come back and visit. We'll be adding pictures as we take them!

bella

 

Thanks,

Char/Cary

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/here_are_some_pictures_for_you_1.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/here_are_some_pictures_for_you_1.html Isabella Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:13:02 -0800 Well Baby is Well! Yesterday I took Isabella to her 2 month well baby check up at Kaiser. As usual, my overthinkingness got us to the appointment a few minutes late...which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but our pediatrician has run late before. She apparently is one of those doctors who spends a lot of time with her patients, even listening to the parents, I mean, what gives? How inconsiderate to take your time with people! Seriously, I'm more used to the in and out five minute appointments with doctors these days, so it's nice to be able to spend some quality time with a doctor. Here's the tale of the tape: Isabella is now 11 lbs, 2 oz. Seriously? She gained four pounds in the last six weeks. You go, breastmilk. She's now 22 3/4 inches, and her nugget is 38 cm around. She's doing well per all of her measurements. She is making all her targets, so we're happy. She had her shots too, and that's never a pleasant experience, right? Strangely enough, shots and the like never really freaked me out, so hopefully she'll get that from me. In the injection area of the pediatrician's office, the kids were howling bloody murder, having to be held down. I saw a boy, must have been at least seven, being forcibly restrained by his mom. Poor thing. A quick pinch and it's done. But with Isabella, it was three shot and downing some nasty liquids. I had to hold her in my lap while the nurse did the work. It was fast, but boy did she let me have a good scream. Strangely enough, after a bit of fuss, she passed out. Until the car ride home where she worked out her lungs. I think it's when we're moving, she's good, but in stop and go, she just doesn't like it. Just like her pops. Funny, huh? Anyways, I'm trying to figure out if I should just up load a picture here and there in the site or just put it in picasa or something so people would have to check it...I'm more inclined to do the former, but I hardly ever get to sit down and do work on the computer these days. So this is it for now :-) More updates to follow. Char She's cooing, trying to laugh (I should capture some video for you), and can have interesting conversations with you. She hates the car seat, but will have to learn to like it, I suppose, if we are to go out and about! http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/well_baby_is_well.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/well_baby_is_well.html Isabella Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:22:51 -0800 Good News! Her Pics Are Here! If you are craving pics, here you go! http://gallery.amazestudios.com/children BTW, if you need a photog (cause you're flossy like that) Gary's the best! Tell him Isabella sent you! Char http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/good_news_her_pics_are_here.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/good_news_her_pics_are_here.html Isabella Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:06:27 -0800 Um, Yah I have all the announcements...just need to put them together. It's been hard to do stuff one handed, but Cary's been good about helping me in the evenings and weekends. They should be in the mail in about a week or so.

I can't promise to send one to everyone...but I'll do my best. It's mostly family and godparents at this point, so my apologies to her fans all across the world.

Anyways, back to being a mom. :-) I'm trying to get Cary on here so you can get his perspective on fatherhood, but the Patriots are playing right now, so you know how that goes.

Char

PS: Isabella's pictures aren't on Amaze Studio's website yet, but there are more on Facebook!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158448&l=3eb43&id=813605146

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/um_yah.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/11/um_yah.html Isabella Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:14:16 -0800 Outside I went out today...to Target (hell yah), and to make it even more awesome, I drove. I haven't driven a car since we went to the hospital for Isabella. seriously. http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/outside.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/outside.html Isabella Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:25:35 -0800 I Figured It Out Taking care of a newborn is sort of like getting a puzzle without directions on how to solve it. *slapping forehead* Char http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/i_figured_it_out.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/i_figured_it_out.html Isabella Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:24:34 -0800 A Gift “Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." -Barbara Kingsolver



Isabella

Meet Isabella. Special thanks to Gary at Amaze Studios for his amazing (heh) work. BTW: there are more pictures of her there...:-)

Char

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/a_gift.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/a_gift.html Isabella Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:22:34 -0800 Things Get Better, Things Get Worse I am starting to find downtimes here and there for me to take care of myself. A ten minute nap here. A few minutes to check email there. It all works out in little ways. I'm still up at night for some godawful reason, not just to feed Isabella, which is not a big deal. But I'm up because...she's in my space! Good lord. Cary and I are crashing on a double sized futon mat, and he gets his alloted space (big cause dude has big shoulders), and Isabella gets her space (and it's not that much but she does require at least a foot so she can flail about), and I get the leftover space, which often has me up against the coffee table. Nice!

Here's a conversation we had Sunday morning:

Cary:: "She slept all night?"

Me: "No, but YOU did."

I tried waking him up so he can scoot over so I don't have to spoon with the coffee table leg, but it didn't work.

Thankfully I got to hop in the shower today. I know, it sounds gross, but I have to make sure someone has her and that she's been fed so I can duck away for a good long take me away Shower. So wonderful. And then there's Cary who is stuck with Isabella and ready to hand her over to me, fresh out of the shower and just barely refreshed. Okay, so much for that.

Okay...someone's heard me typing away and now requires my assistance. BTW, the milk truck is now the milk supertanker thanks to some lactation tea. Wow.

Char

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/things_get_better_things_get_w.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/things_get_better_things_get_w.html Isabella Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:20:58 -0800 Hungry Like the Wolf I haven't been getting a ton of sleep lately. There are good nights and some bad nights, honestly, but last night was dramafied. Up and down all night, feeding, despairing, and trying to figure out how to decode what's going on with Isabella.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my new life, and I'm honestly asking myself what the hell would I want to go back to work for...but the truth is, I need to work to support my family, and that's that. But I'd love to be able to spend more time and watch her grow and change.

I got my glider today; I heard the doorbell ring, but in my half awakened state, I attributed it to a dream and didn't realize it was really someone at our door. Cary put it together and now we're able to actually sit next to each other and watch TV. I know, that's how mundane our world is. Speaking of which, I need to get laundry...brb...

Anyways, it's been nice with my parents around. They're really helpful. I just take a deep breath and be thankful. Be thankful. Be thankful. We tried going out the other day, but that was a huge fiasco...she got antsy and started crying while we were trying to get groceries. I went to a bathroom to feed her, and Cary went to another bathroom (he didn't follow me), to wait for me, and there we were, waiting for each other at separate bathrooms. Cute. Oh and my phone didn't work. Fresh!

It's made me shy about taking her out only because I don't want her to get super fussy while we're looking like terrible parents. Anyways, back to the laundry, back to catching some Zs when I can. Check out the pictures on FB if you have the gumption to...but I'll be posting some here soon too.

Oh and those announcements?

I'm workin' on em. '

Not really.

Char

PS: Hippo feet are gone, can fit into pre-prego clothes now, and legs/feet look strangely bonier. Go figure. W00t.

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/hungry_like_the_wolf.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/10/hungry_like_the_wolf.html Isabella Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:17:43 -0800 11 Days In... I am sitting at a desk, ear half-cocked to my right listening to the television, as well as listening to see if Isabella iis going to stir after having passed her onto Cary. My arms are cramped, but that's not a bad thing, I rationalize. I have, after all, just fed her and lulled her to sleep as only a mother can, I suppose.

So much has happened over the last few days, and I wish now in retrospect that I had updated you earlier. I wanted to walk you through the harrowing few hours of labor, the moments when I didn't have a drop of drugs in my system, sure I was going to break the bed's anti-roll off arms because it hurt that bad. I wanted to tell you about how determined I was to push even though I was stuck at 9cm for the longest time. I will, but not tonight.

People have been asking me what it's like...what it's like to have her finally, how recovery has been going, and here's my response: Even though I'm sleep deprived, and at times have snapped at Cary, I can't compare this feeling with anything I've ever had before. She's amazing, she's hilarious, she has a head of hair that makes me laugh, and she's all that we ever hoped she would be. Recovery has been hard, but I can stand up normally now, I can walk without feeling like I'm going to fall over. My feet are better fit to be on hippos as opposed to humans, but that too will pass.

Luckily my folks are here to help out, and that's been amazing. There's been a steady flow of visitors, especially on the weekend, and it throws me off a bit because I like to nap here and there when she's asleep. I've been fielding phone calls and emails here and there, but I'm more likely to update facebook just because it's easier. And I can't afford to miss anything these days.

Cary has been amazing, and like I told my cousins when we brought Isabella home: don't go out and just get pregnant with any schmuck. I don't know I could have come this far without someone I trust to be by my side at my worst, when my pain was the most unbearable, when I was the most vulnerable and tested. If you can't trust someone to be with you during those times, then just don't do it. I don't know how some women do it, but they do, and I feel sorry for those that don't have a partner to walk them through the fire.

I've been passing my days watching movies, mastering the art of falling asleep while seated, and breastfeeding half asleep. That's life. I don't think I'd trade it for anything.

I do, however, miss my bed. It's been almost two weeks since I've slept in it, only because when Isabella feels like singing for her supper, we know the next door neighbors can hear us, and we kept them up the first night. We have been sleeping on a futon on the floor in our living room. Believe it or not, it works for us.

Big thanks for my friends who came over...I really appreciated the time we spent together, and to my family. Okay, well that's my update for now...I might bust out a gabcast for you just because that might be easier than finding time to sit and blog for ya.

At any rate, off to my new gig. Motherhood. Peace!

Char

]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/11_days_in.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/11_days_in.html Isabella Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:13:59 -0800 Introducing... Ms. Isabella arrived at 0405 on 9/13! I really would love to go into more detail but life is what it is and I can't find the time to update right now. Don't worry, it'll be here sooner rather than later. Thx! Char http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/introducing.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/introducing.html Isabella Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:10:58 -0800 Contractions? Last night, around 1AM, I woke up with some crazy owies in my lower belly area, and in a state of being half awake, I tried to reposition myself in bed to no avail. So I decided to do what normal people do. Get up and walk around. Stumble around is a better descriptor, to be honest, and that helped a lot. Until I went back to bed and it happened again. Repeat the tour de living room. And back into bed. And then back to walking around. Good news is that it went away, bad news is that it went away, meaning we were no closer to labor than we were when we went to bed. At around 2:45 I decided to do some reading to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Cary, snoring away, was oblivious to what was going on, and if I woke him up, it would most likely mean he'd freak out and say "do we need to go?" God. I credit his knowledge of biology or lack thereof to be limited to whatever he sees on House. Fresh. I wound up going back to sleep after reading, and after the "contraptions" (you can blame that on Cary too) went away. I'll probably need to catch up on some sleep later on today. Which isn't a bad thing. Char http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/contractions.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/09/contractions.html Isabella Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:09:21 -0800 Joe and Gina Get Married
]]> http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/04/joe_and_gina_get_married.html http://caryandchar.com/blog/2008/04/joe_and_gina_get_married.html Married People Stuff Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:28:43 -0800 DSCN0661.JPG

 

Cary and I went to the Ukulele Festival @ Yerba Buena Gardens today. This lovely pic is of Cary and Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele talent. Come to think of it, talent is an understatement. Once I figure out how to compress the video, I'll post it here.

Jake was a really nice guy (Cary got to talk to him for a bit). Jake really took his time with meeting everyone when he got there. I'm really impressed with him, artistically and personally. A great day in SF in the sun! 

Char 

 

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