Well friends, operation “get pregnant, stay pregnant, make it to the end without bed rest, pre-term labor and no NICU stay” is underway.
Cycle day 1. I start estrogen patches aka birth control. I didn’t know that birth control patches existed but then again why would I? They look like this.
$100 damn dollars for these things, with insurance. BLAH! However, applying these lil babies sure as hell beats sticking needles into my stomach twice a a day. HOLLA!!
I put 2 of them on and change them every 84 hours. My next appointment is Wednesday when they do whatever they do to see if they are working too well or not well enough.
Shane and I both have to take a 5 day antibiotic to make sure we are healthy as a whistle come transfer day. Probably should go get the flu-shot too, although I have been saying that for 5 years now.
I had the best weekend, ab fab! Kristi came out late Friday night to celebrate her birthday with yours truly. She brought along her brother in-law or in her words , “a play date for Shane.”
Saturday morning we hit the bay for some paddle boarding. The weather wasn’t the greatest but it turned out to be just fine meaning it didn’t rain, and we weren’t shivering. The only concern I had once we were on our boards was that we were surrounded and I really mean surrounded by jelly fish. Big ones, small ones, gazillions of them. I really didn’t want to go swimming with them, at all! Luckily mission accomplished, we stayed dry.
We followed up the SUP morning with cake and champagne. I made a coconut cake for the birthday girl but I I half-assed it using a Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix and doctoring it up. The frosting was coconut cream cheese, there really isn’t anything better.
I apologize for any regurgitated pictures. If you are following me on Instagram you have seen some of these. I try not to do this very often but this weekend was so busy that you’re just going to have to deal and accept my apology 🙂
After K’s nap we took the trolley downtown to grab lunch and people watch the crazies at Comic Con. Next year or one year soon we will get tickets and really check the whole thing out. (AKA meet True Blood stars) I could have stayed down there all day and night…next time.
We ate lunch at Hodad’s because A). we haven’t been to the downtown location yet. B). anything remotely close to the convention center was packed and C.) it’s Hodad’s, if you haven’t gone you should.
After lunch we headed to a little tasting room and enjoyed the scenery and some wine. Kaili was such a trooper , happily went along with everything we did, and none of the costumes scared her…bonus!
We ended the night with pizza, more wine and some hot tub converstions. Such a great day.
Get that pizza! Picture courtesy of Kristi Kowalski
The next morning we hit the beach for some breakfast. Kaili wasn’t in tears when I dragged her down to the ocean, things are looking up.
After a fun filled weekend with good friends, good wine and good food it’s back to reality. We headed out to Ramona for some local wine tasting, 6 wineries, some really good wine, some not so much and all with a toddler. She loved all the horses, the open space and the last winery had a very friendly dog named Pooya.
collecting corks at Chuparosa vineyardsHard to keep shoes on this galWide open spaces. Chuparosa’s tasting room is outside. Best wines of the day!Spunky young guyGrand opening of Hacienda De Las RosasHIghland Hills Winery
Knock knock. Kohill WineryPooya the friendliest dog in townWine straight from the barrel and it was so good. Our 2nd favorite winery of the day.Kiah and Kaili Best shot of the day courtesy of Kristi Kowalski
We finally made it out of Walla Walla and back to San Diego, obviously. The flights were fine, Kaili was antsy but all in all it wasn’t too bad. When we landed in Seattle we had just enough time for a quick diaper change and then we walked straight on to our next flight.
Mount Rainier
Kaili crashed once we got home, Shane and Wags watched football and I went to the store to pick up all our NYE wine party necessities. Our Washington wine shipment didn’t come in time for our party so I ended up having to pick up wine from BevMo, lame!
Helping Mommy clean
The pairing party went great, but I don’t have any proof since I didn’t take any pictures, sorry. Hey, I am not even unpacked from my trip yet, what do you want from me?
Pairing Menu
Beef Satay with Peanut sauce paired with Reisling
Poached snapper paired with Pinot Grigio
Smoked mozzarella pasta salad paired with Pinot Noir
Swiss cheese fondue paired with Merlot
Meatballs paired with Cabernet Sauvignon
Smoked BBQ ribs paired with Syrah
Port Brownies paired with Port
Port Brownies
Kaili took her doll on a walk, had dinner and was in bed by 6:20. We didn’t hear from her again until 7:00 am the next morning. Happy New Year!
Kaili was cranky as we drove to the Walla Walla airport early Friday morning, can’t blame the girl, we woke her up at 5 am. When we got to the check in counter to check our bags, our flight was about to board. Great thing about small airports I guess. The bad thing, I was hoping Kaili could get some energy out before we hopped on the plane, no such luck. Of course once we were all settled on the plane, we were told the flight would be delayed due to the fog, so we sat with an impatient toddler on our laps. About 30 minutes later we were taxiing down the runway, and then we stopped. The fog was back and we weren’t going anywhere. 15 minutes later we headed back to the gate, deplaned and our flight was cancelled.”Welcome to Walla Walla”, the smug flight attendant announced, I’m sure she thought she was being cute, but in the freezing cold, in the early morning with a toddler whom you woke up, that shit isn’t funny!
The next flight we could get on was Sunday morning, same flight, same early morning wake up for K-bear…can’t wait! No really, I can’t wait to go HOME!
We took advantage of having one more Saturday in WA. A lot of the small wineries are closed during the week, along with everything on Main street. We were able to hit a few that we missed and I was impressed with all of them.
We saw horses and dogs, oh my.
sweet galGolden -Doodle Relic Winery dog
The winery dog at Relic was a hyper pup, and a big one at that. Kaili really wanted to play but she wasn’t quite big enough to hold her own. I was a little more lenient with Kaili and the pup than Grandpa G.
Fingers crossed the weather cooperates for our flight tomorrow. I have a NYE party to plan, oh and a Seahawks game to watch, and grocery shopping, some cleaning to do, laundry, and wine to drink, you know the important stuff.
Sunday we spent some time with Shane’s step-brother and family. It was a short visit but we always have a good time with them. All three of their kiddos were great with Kaili and she loved them right back.
K Bear and Andrew’s self portraitWhat’s the best kind of work? Teamwork!
We got out of the house for a few minutes to show the kids the Reindeer at Klickers. Santa must not need the extra help this year.
At the end of the day we all gathered around the TV to watch Seattle send a message to the Niners, the house was a’rockin.
Cousins
Christmas eve and Christmas day were spent in pajamas. Presents were opened, food and wine were consumed and we got to play in the snow, well for a little while
Kaili waiting patiently for Uncle to open her doll.Kaili, Grandma and Great Gramndma
Santa came
someone found the chocolateYou can’t see it, but it’s snowing.
Today is Shane’s birthday and we are going to hit Main St. for some wine tasting and window shopping. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas
I got my nails done….Oh and I had the most delicious caramels ever.
I don’t care if you don’t like maple, or bacon or salt…you will LOVE these things. Stop being so picky!
We spent a good part of Saturday tasting wines out at the airport.
Hat…check! ready for wine tastingRinging the bell for good luck at Walla Walla Vintners…without the hat.Sip and sit….good girl!Buddy the Terrior
Notice how my daughter will wear her hat inside where it’s warm but not outside in the cold…just like her daddy {who wore shorts all day}.We took Grandma Jo to the Brik { a local restaurant} for her birthday dinner. Eh…. we wont be back there! After dinner Kaili helped Grandma Jo open her presents, I swear this child is attached to her hip!
Grandma’s birthday
Fun times with family planned for Sunday, snow is in the forecast and so is a Sherry cake, the best holiday dessert EVER!
I have been waiting to write anything because, well nothing has really happened. That’s the life here during the winter in Walla Walla.
We left John Wayne airport early Monday morning. Kaili was a champ throughout the 2 1/2 hour flight, although it seemed a lot longer to me. We had a small layover in the Sea/Tac airport where we had a little lunch and Kaili met an elf and Santa.
Tuesday morning I hit the local YMCA to get some exercise , the weather is SO COLD and the equipment is outdated but the little old ladies playing cards and drinking coffee in the lobby remind you that you are in a small town and then it’s all good. We ran a few boring errands, hit 3 Rivers Winery to ship some wine home and then called it a day. See, not very exciting.
Wednesday morning we took Kaili to meet her Great Grandma and then proceeded on to some wineries.
L’Ecole
L’Ecole is a long time favorite. It’s an old school house and has some pretty tasty wines.
Just a few more wineries before bringing home dinner.
Found one of my favorite blogs cookbooks in the Woodward winery tasting room
Hassleback #8
Kaili found a nice doggy to keep her company while we tasted some really big red wines at Skylight Cellars.
The last tasting room we hit was in downtown Walla Walla. Yes there is a downtown, it’s not big but it’s promising. Charles Smith winery was quiet, had the urban loft vibe and put out some great wines….oh and there labels were nice.
We ended the day with Ice-Burg, a local hamburger joint that puts out great food, well pretty good food.
A quick video with grandma and a kiss goodnight. Until tomorrow!
We ended our trip with a couple of days in Solvang. We stopped at a few wineries on our way in. Phantom Rivers, Firestone, Lincourt, Blackjack and one more but the name escapes me.
Our last day was spent wine tasting in Solvang, buying goodies {spicy mustard and spicy chocolate} and then we ended the day in Los Olivos for dinner. Next time we head up there I would like to stay in Los Olivos. Maybe that will be a good anniversary gift. 😉
spicy chocolate. Yum!Getting the girl some exercise.playing with uncle Brian at Solvang park
The tasting rooms with toys are the best. Not sure who is having more fun…
Sunday we packed everything up and headed out to Foley winery for a taste. Good stuff but overly priced. We continued down the coast to Summerland winery and a Thai lunch in Carpinteria.
Kaili and I left Shane in Ventura and headed home. Now it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Is it really next week?
Saturday we headed out to Bates Nut Farm to do the pumpkin patch thing. Kaili wore her Seahawks cheerleader costume and actually kept her hair in pigtails for me.
I took her into the petting zoo. When I was a little older than Kaili, my parents took me to a petting zoo where I was attacked my a goat for the food I was holding, luckily I survived. Kaili almost had a similar experience when she nearly got head butted by a greedy goat. Fun was had by all.
Kaili roamed around the pumpkin patch and got a kick out the pumpkins that were twice her size. We let her pick out one pumpkin and then we hit the road. We had wine tasting to do.
Kaili has become a pro in the toddler -wine -taster- side kick role. She loves meeting new people and checking out new places, which is good because we are heading to Paso Robles for a wine-vacation next week.We hit up Vineyards winery where we sat on the patio, sipped wine and listened to music. Then we went to Vesper winery where we sat on the patio and sipped wine. Do you see a pattern here?
Vesper Winery
entertaining herself
I guess next up is carving the pumpkins, that is why we got one right? Oh and the pumpkin seeds, I think that is my favorite part.
The Art of Thyming 