Browse Category: family

Long Weekend

Brother and Joy came up to visit this past weekend and I took Friday off to enjoy the time with them.  They arrived on Thursday afternoon and I got off work in time to drive back to SF, pick up their luggage, drive home, and walk to Hog Island for HH with them.

On the walk home, there was a really pretty sunset and the sky was pink and orange.  The weather was really pleasant and it remained warm through the night…so unusual.

On Friday, we got up early and went for a short run to Chinatown.  We stopped for breakfast at Washington Bakery and had some porridge and fried dough.  Yum.

Later that day, we drove to Sausalito to check out a cute novelty shop and grabbed a quick bit to eat before heading over to the Walt Disney Family Museum.

The last stop was Humphrey Slocombe.  I was bummed that I couldn’t get a scoop of Secret Breakfast but I got to try Fluffernutter, whcih really tasted like an Abbazabba!

On Saturday, I had hula rehearsal in the morning so Brother and Joy wandered Japan Town and had brunch on Fillmore.  Afterward, we headed home and walked to lunch with Jes and Koa.  It was so warm and sunny outside. Later that night, we drove down to Redwood City for lobster rolls and clam chowder at Old Port Lobster Shack before driving down to Shoreline for the Journey concert.

It was super crowded on the lawn but we somehow found Dot and the Masayas and hung out at the top where there was an extra bar and plenty of room to spread out.  We stayed until the end and watched them perform their most famous songs.

It was a fun long weekend with Brother and Joy.  I guess it’ll hold me over until Christmas.

Here are the photos from this weekend.

Kumquat

OK…we gave in.  This past summer, we decided it was time for us to grow up.  So, in July we started trying and whadda ya know…it worked the first time around!  So…I’m pleased to announce that I’m PREGNANT!!! Whoa. This is a major milestone, people!

Yep, it’s true.  Crazy, huh?!  Jes happened to be out of town at a conference when I got the home pregnancy results but because since we both had just gotten new iPhones, I was able to use FaceTime to show and tell him the good news.  He was still a little groggy in bed when I called (yeah, it was really early in the morning) and when I showed him the stick, he looked a little confused at first and then he had a little smirk on his face once he was able to read the screen.  I guess we both weren’t expecting it to happen right away but I guess all the planets were aligned and it was our turn to be parents!

We were both in shock for the first month.  We were acting as if this was totally unplanned.  I got some blood work done to confirm the pregnancy but it still didn’t feel real.  When we called our parents, they were also surprised.  I used FaceTime to tell my parents and my mom was like, “I was just talking to my friend about you and I had told her you weren’t going to have kids!”  When my dad heard the news, he looked at me through the phone and said, “YOU?!” When we called Jes’ parents, they were so excited.  Jes’ dad said “FINALLY!  I’ve been WAITING!”

It wasn’t until I went to see the doctor around Week 7 that it all kinda sunk in for us.  That was when I had my early OB ultrasound.  Jes came along and we both got to see for ourselves that there was a creature growing inside me.

Here’s a picture of the embryo.  Click on the image to get a better view.  It already had limbs and a beating heart.  Baby measured at 8.34 mm and the heart rate was 133 bpm (normal).  The doctor was nice enough to record all the images and video and handed us a USB drive to take home.  Awesome!

Here’s a video of the heart beating.  It’s a little hard to see but it’s still pretty amazing. Here’s a link to the actual video.

I’ve had two prenatal check-ups so far and everything seems to be going well so far.  I haven’t had much nausea except for when I’m really hungry.  There was only one time last week when I was in New York that I threw up.  It was weird.  I had just smelled a hard-boiled egg that Jason was eating and felt a little ill.  Moments later, I was bolting for the toilet and threw up all the fruit I had eaten that morning.  Otherwise, the only major symptoms I’ve had are fatigue and a craving for salt and bubbles.  I also can’t eat as much in one sitting and in the last 3 months, I’ve only gained about 1 pound.

At my last prenatal appointment this past Wednesday (10/5), I heard the fetus’ heartbeat through a Doppler Ultrasound. The HR was 160 bpm this time. It was probably because it was moving around a lot. There was a fluttering sound on the Doppler and the doctor said it was kumquat kicking! THAT’S SO NEATO!!

This afternoon, we went in for my 12-week ultrasound and it was pretty cool.  When the image initially came up, I saw it rubbing its eyes like I tend to do all day long.  Heh heh.  Kumquat also bounced around during the test and had its hands to its mouth/face.  That makes the OT in me VERY happy. It’s also 63.11 mm (2.48 inches) long from head to booty.

We also got a 3D image of Kumquat and you can see both arms and the folded legs.  It has Jes’ belly already.  Heh heh.

So there you have it, folks! I’m putting my wine glass in the cabinet for a while…*sigh*. I’m due in mid-April (around 4/15/12) and I’m now in my 12th week.

P.S. Kumquat is Jes’ nickname for the baby. A few weeks ago, one of the websites I’ve been reading said it was the size of a kumquat and the name stuck. He’s secretly hoping that it’s a girl who’s sweet on the outside but a little sour on the inside. Typical.

Day 2 in NYC

On Thursday, Jason had no class because of the Jewish holiday so he took us to Eataly for lunch.  It’s a huge indoor market dedicated to Italian cuisine.  It’s divided into different “food groups” like pasta, fish, meat, cheese, veggies, bread, desserts, and cured meat.  It was like being in a candy store!!  Each area had a restaurant/eatery and we chose the pasta/pizza one and it was tasty!  Makes me wish we had one of these near our home.

I loved the display of handmade fresh pasta and of the pre-cut cheeses that were packaged like slices of cake.

After we did a little bit of shopping in SoHo, it was time for dinner at Ippudo.  It’s ranked as Jes’ #4 Ramen Place and it had a 2-hour wait.  Sheesh.  Jia met up with us and after putting our name down on the list, we walked over to a French bakery for a pre-dinner snack.  We finally got seated around 9 pm and enjoyed some tasty pork buns and then a big bowl of ramen.  The air conditioning vent above our table was leaking little drops of water so they comped us two desserts at the end of the meal.  Sweet!

NYC for my Bday

On Tuesday night, Jes and I took a red-eye to JFK and we celebrated my 36th birthday in the Big Apple.  Jason had to go to class and Jia had work so Jes and I went exploring and found the halal cart that we went to 2 years ago.

It was just as delicious as we remembered with the cream sauce AND the extra-spicy sauce.  Mmm…

In the afternoon, we stopped at Jia’s office to get our eyes checked and I got a pair of new birthday sunglasses!  Woohoo!

Afterward, we got some ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.  I love this place.

For dinner, we took the train to Brooklyn for a delicious steak dinner at Peter Luger.  We ordered the bacon with tomato and onion along with Steak for Two.  It was a huge slab of meat and enough for the 4 of us since we also ordered two baked potatoes.

For dessert, I was treated to a key lime pie, shlag (the whipped cream), and their famous gold coin chocolates.

I was happy happy happy on my birthday.

Jesse’s 36th Birthday

This year for Jes’ birthday, we were actually in town.  In the past, we’ve taken our annual trip out of the country during the Labor Day weekend.  Last year, Jes spent his birthday in Paris, France.  The year before, we were in Florence, Italy.  And the year before, we were coming back from Belize!  What a lucky guy.

Well, this year I threw him a birthday party with all his friends over the weekend and then took him out for a nice dinner on the night of his actual birthday.  On Sunday evening (9/4), we threw a party at our house.  We had food everywhere – including the coffeetable where Koa sat and stared at the food all afternoon.

We had a house filled with people and the Scotch was flowing all night.

The Suminos even came and I got to pull out my old GameBoys to help entertain them.  When I took them out, Brandon and Cole asked, “What’s GameBoy?”  Sheesh.  Once I showed them how it worked, they were hooked.

Victor had a good time coaching them on the finer points of wrestling.  I guess he enjoyed watching them play as he used to with his own little brother. The boys had fun but Marie wasn’t happy.  Victor…the trouble-maker.

Jes made a prime rib roast and we sliced it up for some tasty prime rib sandwiches on Acme rolls.  Everyone ate it up along with all the appetizers and sides that we had out all night.  It was nice to actually have no leftovers at the end of the night.

Jes also got a yummy Coldstone ice cream cake compliments of the Masayas and then some cupcakes that the Fernandos brought too.

On Tuesday, his actual birthday, we had dinner at Benu.  It’s a relatively new restaurant that is run by a James Beard Award winning chef who worked at The French Laundry back when Thomas Keller was still working in the kitchen there.  They have a $180 tasting menu that was very intriguing but we didn’t have the stomach for it this time.  It included 19 different items on that menu!

So, we opted for a few dishes off the a la carte menu that was equally satisfying and didn’t give you the roll-me-out-the-door feeling afterward.  Everything was made so perfectly and the presentation was whimsical and pretty.  The food was all very good and there were combinations that I hadn’t had before.  The dish above is a chicken porridge with thousand-year quail egg.  It was savory and delicious.

We also had abalone, foie gras, lobster, beef, and a very unique dessert made with chocolate ganache, peanut pudding, and miso sorbet.  At the end of the night, they served a box of fancy chocolates that were also very rich and flavorful.

Here are photos from all his birthday celebrations.

Ranee’s Baby Shower

On Sunday (9/4), I went to a baby shower for Ranee.  My cousin, Ishya, helped throw it together along with Ranee’s family and friends.  The party was at Temescal Park, which is a pretty big park with a lake nearby.

Ranee and her husband Jaime are expecting a baby girl in December and everyone is very excited for them.

It was also really nice to see Ishya and Billy who are expecting twins – a boy and a girl in December too.  We didn’t get to stay very long but I’m glad I got to see everyone.

Here are the rest of the photos.