San Diego Zoo!

Mark and I had a wonderful time in San Diego!!!  We haven't had many vacations together since we've been married and we figure we better cram them all in now before we have a baby.  We were able to go to San Diego because Mark had work down there Monday and Tuesday so we made a mini vaca out of it and headed down on Saturday morning.  Our first stop?  The San Diego Zoo!

Mark and I have never been to the zoo together and I LOVE going to the zoo.  The San Diego Zoo is so famous so we were really excited to go!  We got to the zoo around noon and were able to see pretty much everything before the zoo closed at 6.

Our first stop...the flamingo's!

I've seen flamingo's before but for some reason I never thought about how amazing they are.  These are naturally PINK animals that relax by standing on one foot!  Crazy!  Look at how they sleep with their head tucked away into their feathers, along with their other foot.  I've been having trouble getting comfortable lately while sleeping...maybe I should try that position.

Next, we saw the cute monkeys!  They are always my favorite!

Livin' the good life

Rafiki!

This little guy was so cute and animated!  People were throwing him berries and he was like 10 cappucino's alert and ready, haha.  He was so fast and would catch them and eat them and be ready for the next in 2 seconds.  Adorable.

We saw some pretty ugly creatures too...

My very favorite animals were the gorillas!!!  We stayed and watched them for like 20 minutes.  They are so humanlike, it's crazy!  The gorillas were the celebrities of the zoo.

When the daddy came out, there were audible oooh's and aaah's from the crowd.  He was massive and so intimidating.  He walked out like a model on a runway and hit all his spots to poise for pictures.  Then he just sat and surveyed the crowd.

When the mama first came out her little baby was wrapped around her foot as she walked.  Precious!!!  I didn't get a picture of that because I was just in love, staring.  But then she pulled him off her foot and threw him on her back.

How precious is that???

Then we stopped by the orangutans and I got pretty attached to them too.  Maybe because our hair was the same color...

Mama feeding her baby

That little baby was go, go, go!  She never stopped moving.  The mom stayed under that blanket and would throw it off every 5 minutes or so to see where her baby went and then would go back inside, haha.  Parenting from the couch at its finest.

There was a 30-45 minute wait for the giant panda's but we figured we had nothing better to do so...

Then we went to the Arctic to see the polar bears!  They were so big and beautiful.

The most majestic creature in the park was the jaguar.  True perfection right there.

She is so gorgeous!

We got bored while waiting for the elephants to come out and play...

Hahaha this kills me!

This little cutie was smiling at us as she ate :)

Some people were feeding the camels but we decided we did not want to risk getting spit on.

Timon!

And finally, we saw the beautiful giraffe's!

The tallest giraffe (alpha male?) kept trying to get leaves off a branch about 3 inches above his head.  He was sticking his black tongue out as far as he could and trying to wrap it around the branch. Some people passed by and said, "Look, he's still trying to get those leaves," and he was trying for about 20 minutes while we were standing there so I'm guessing he had been trying for at least an hour.  Well, right before we left, he got them!!!  Then after he bit them off the branch went flying back up, haha!  But he figured out how to get them faster after that.  I was so proud of our little giraffe!

That's him, in the corner, and those leaves above his head were his goal!

The other giraffe's were just fine eating the food provided for them

So that was our day at the zoo!  I hadn't been in so long and the whole day I was just in awe of all these beautiful, unique creatures.  They are all so different but absolutely perfect in their own way.

Next, we headed to our hotel and there was a Benihana next door!  My favorite!  These are the only pictures I took because as the food got yummier, I stopped taking pictures and started eating, ha.

Best soup ever!

Their dressing is to die for

Our chef was so funny!

Well, that was Day 1.  Day 2 soon to come!

Mother's Day Weekend

Mark and I had a mini vaca in Palos Verdes last weekend, visiting his mom for Mother's Day. On Saturday morning we drove down and stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way! I hadn't been there in over 5 years so it was well deserved. Those things melt in your mouth! YUM!

When we got to PV, Mark fixed Remi's oven while I helped Chip shell pistachios in preparation for Mother's Day dinner on Sunday. Then Mark and I went to TJ Maxx, my favorite place ever (along with Marshall's)! I could spend hours in that store (and did)! They have the cutest selection of notebooks with adorable sayings and cute colors! I get one like every time I go. This time I got one for my princess party company I'm starting (have I even mentioned that at all?) and another one that's going to be my pregnancy notebook where I write down info from doctor's appointments and any questions that come up, along with weekly updates on my pregnancy!  Aren't they beautiful? Guess which is which.

Then we went to Wal-Mart, a must any time we come to PV since for some reason Wal-Mart doesn't seem to exist anywhere else in southern California! We had to replace our tack board for the kitchen that broke and so we upgraded with a stainless steel magnetic dry-erase board! We also got a scale so I can track my weight during pregnancy.

After that, we went on a walk along the cliffs at sunset and it was breathtaking!!! I was literally blown away by the beauty.

We actually took some selfies which we never remember to do and it's pretty much always just the two of us so we never get pictures together! I think we are getting better at it, what do you think?

Life is pretty amazing right now. Nothing too exciting happening just yet but so many wonderful things in our future to look forward to. And the best part is I get to do it all with this guy.

On Sunday all the siblings came over and we made Remi dinner!  On the menu...

Grilled Salmon

Fresh Chilean Sea Bass

Beef Tenderloin

Couscous w/ toasted pine nuts

Kale Salad w/ dried cranberries & pistachios

Steamed Asparagus & String Beans

Fresh fruit

Raspberry Crustata

My plate

All in all, a great, relaxing weekend. We have a ton of fun stuff to look forward to this month so I will actually have stuff to blog about!  And this weekend we're going to...SAN DIEGOOOOO!!!  I am SOOOOO excited!  We are going to the famous San Diego Zoo!!!  And lots of other little adventures await us, can't wait, can't wait!!!

Adventures in Target

So today I took my first pregnancy test.  In a Target restroom.  Say what?!  I was like 85% sure I was pregnant and decided I absolutely could NOT wait until my physical tomorrow to find out.  So as soon as I woke up, I quickly got halfway ready (did not pee), packed bags with the rest of my makeup and breakfast (I didn't want to waste a second doing anything that wasn't absolutely necessary) and headed to Target.  I beelined for the tests, paid for it, and proceeded to the restroom to do my first morning urine (I was so proud of myself for holding it all the way there).

I'm still 5 days away from my period so I took an early result pregnancy test.  If you haven't already guessed since the title of this wasn't I'M PREGNANT, the test was a negative. :(  I was actually really surprised!  I had a list of Pro's in my phone for being pregnant this fast and another list of Pro's for not being pregnant yet.  Haha, so either way was a win-win and I wouldn't feel too bad.  The majority of the pro's for not being pregnant had to do with more time.  More time to get ready for baby, more time to read pregnancy books, more time to start eating better, more time to exercise more regularly, time to get a six-pack (I've heard having a six-pack makes delivery easier and your stomach doesn't get as big and it bounces back easier, not sure if it's true but makes sense right?) and basically just more time with just me and the hubby!  So, it's okay if I'm not pregnant yet.  We have all the time in the world (well, not ALL the time but a lot of time).

Another thing, a part of me isn't sure I believe I'm not pregnant!  I feel like I may not have enough Hcg in my body yet to read in a test but there are some pretty big early signs of pregnancy that I have been experiencing.  First of all, I've been taking my BBT for the past couple of months in order to help us conceive faster.  This helps me to know when I'm ovulating.  It also helps you to know if you're pregnant!  When you're pregnant, your temperature does not dip before your period but rises and remains elevated during your pregnancy.  Well, my temperature has been kind of all over the place the past few months but never higher than 98.4.  Average for me is like 98.0  A lot of times I'm 97.8!  Well, the past few days my temperature has been 98.9!!!  Two days in a row!!!  And my period is due this week so this is not normal!

Another sign (might be TMI for some of you) has been a change in my BM's.  I normally don't go to the bathroom very often (at least I don't notice if I do) but I have been having a BM after every meal!  It's not like diarrhea but it's like I can't digest anything.  This may have something to do with the prenatal vitamins or the extra supplements I'm taking though.

Another sign: ACNE!  I have been having the weirdest kind of acne, like little tiny baby acne on my cheeks that you can't see but I can feel.  Baby acne for a baby in my tummy?  Who knows??  :)

Another sign: Bloating.  I have been feeling bloated more than usual lately.  And I don't really have an appetite most of the time because of it.  Although I haven't gotten morning sickness, I think it's still too early for that and also, I may be lucky and not ever have it because lots of women in my family never did.

Another sign: Cramping!  Especially the past few days.  It's almost like mittelschmerz (the ovulation cramping) but I am nowhere near ovulating since my period is due soon.  It's only on my right side though and has been pretty painful.

So, those are all the major signs.  I haven't had some other big signs though...tender breasts/nipples, spotting, nausea... So I guess only time will tell!

So after I found out I wasn't pregnant, I was a little glum, obviously.  I headed to my car to finish getting ready before work.  As I was sitting there with the windows rolled down, a wasp flew into my car!  I immediately opened the door and it flew down to my feet.  I ran out of my car screaming (no one even noticed!) and went to the other side where I proceeded to just stare the wasp away.  When that didn't work I began throwing things at it.  It didn't budge.  I called Mark at work and asked him for advice.  Finally, the man who had parked next to me was coming to his car.  I had just screamed after throwing a kleenex box at the wasp when he said, "Excuse me" because my car door was blocking him from getting in his car.  I turned around and said, "Sorry, there's a wasp in my car!"  He  just stared at me blankly for a few seconds and then said, "Really?" and I said, "Yes, I've been trying to get it out."  He walked over to the other side of my car and attempted to shoo it out with the kleenex box I had thrown at it.  That didn't work (I tell you, he had dug himself into the carpet!) he took a piece of paper and picked up the wasp with it and then shooed it away.  I thanked him and said, "I don't think I ever would have left!"  Hahaha and he goes, "Best of luck to you!" Hahahahaa probably thinking I'll need some luck in my life if I can't even kill a wasp.

And by the way, the man came to rescue me just after I had said a silent prayer. :)  So Target was an eventful place today people.  Let's hope my next Target run isn't nearly as exhilarating.

A Camping We Will Go!

This past weekend Mark and I went camping with his sister Esther and her husband Jacob. We have been trying to do this trip for months and it almost didn't happen, on account of my crazy unpredictable princess schedule, but at the last minute we were able to go. It felt good to get away from the city, although the drive up there was not pleasant for me. I get carsick pretty easily and this was like a straight hour of nothing but sharp winding back and forth all the way up the mountain. No fun! On both the trip up and the trip down I had such a terrible headache and my stomach felt like it was rising into my throat with each turn. So I don't know that I would want to go again anytime soon (especially if I'm going to be prone to morning sickness in the coming months!) Once we got there though it was so nice! Nothing like fresh mountain air when you live in the second largest city in the U.S.

We got there pretty late so the boys quickly set up camp and we went right down to business...s'mores and hot cocoa :)

So funny story. Jacob's dad lent us the tents and when Jacob picked them up, his dad had them all ready to go. His dad said they were excellent tents and so of course Jacob trusted him. This is Jacob setting up his and Esther's tent:

Everything looks normal right? Well, that tent is actually a children's tent! It was about 5 feet across on either side. I don't know how they both fit in there but somehow they made it work. Meanwhile, Mark and I took like 5 pictures of ourselves in our pitch black tent and after this one we were both finally blind from 7 second long series of flashes, haha.

I slept okay I suppose for camping. Mark was sweet and gave me the better mattress pad that felt like an air mattress while he's lying practically on cement. He fell asleep first though (surprise, surprise) but I actually fell asleep fairly quickly. We all woke up around 9 and Mark started breakfast. He made delicious breakfast burritos with egg, chorizo, cheese, salsa and sour cream. Yum.

After breakfast we packed up camp and set off to go "bouldering". This is something Esther and Jacob do all the time. They are pretty athletic and outdoorsy. I didn't really know what bouldering was but let me tell you, I am NOT good at it! Bouldering is basically searching for large series of rocks to climb, specifically ones that appear super dangerous and tall and like a death wish. Ha, see exhibit A:

Jacob was up there in...oh, 5 seconds?

This was actually the mildest of all of them (and the only one I actually almost made it to the top)

Forever keeping me from falling :)

Not a bad view

I tried to remain calm as my husband proceeded to jump to the top of this rock with certain death  below.

Luckily he made it!

My favorite parts of bouldering were whenever we were between boulders, walking on firm straight ground...

My hiking buddy

On the hike we saw lots of lizards. I asked Mark to take a picture of one and he proceeded to take like 10 pictures each getting closer and closer to the lizard until he was literally all up in his face! I was pretty terrified for him.

The greatest feeling ever was when we finally made it back to the road!

Haha, because bouldering is not only climbing up boulders but steadily climbing a mountain in order to get to the boulders. Several times on our way down I was worried for my life. I had a princess party to get to later in the day so that was my big motivation to make it home alive. I could not let a sweet little girl down on her birthday!

We had a pretty great time though and I have decided camping with my love is pretty high up there on favorite things to do!

The Waiting Game

Well, Mark and I officially started TTC this month and we are currently in the two week waiting period. It's weird that I could be two weeks pregnant! Well, not really two weeks but since doctors count the weeks from the first day of your last menstrual  period, by the time I find out I will be 4 weeks already! I'm not expecting to be pregnant already but a weird part of me feels like I am. We actually weren't originally going to start trying until June but when I asked my mom how long it took her to get pregnant with me and she told me "Not very long, like 6 months," I decided we better start early! I wanted to have a Christmas baby but Mark wants to wait until at least January so he can change our insurance then so April was the earliest we could start. It's hard because I'm such a planner and believe it or not, I already have a timeline going that I'm constantly adding to with everything I need to do each month of pregnancy, according to what things should be done in each trimester. Not knowing when the first month will be makes planning pretty impossible. I am such a planner!

To pass the time we have been doing fun things like having my Aunt Michelle and cousin Jenna stay with us for a few days while Jenna attended the College Television Awards out here for an Emmy winning short she directed! Impressive, right?

Look how professional she looks!

While Jenna was out here she also had an interview at Nickelodeon (nbd) and all went well so we are hoping she is offered a job and will be back out here for good soon! We are trying to recruit as many people as possible since we may be here for a long time.

After they headed back to Sacramento, Mark and I found a carnival on the way home which was so weird because we drew a stick from our Date Night jar that said "Go to a carnival". So we did.

Honestly though I hate carnivals! Weird right? But I do. Something about them is eerie to me with all the chaos...kids running around, tons of random noises and sounds along with loud circus music playing, screaming coming from the big rides. It's creepy! And somehow they make me feel even more alone while surrounded by tons of people.

So after we left early, we headed to the grocery store and spent $27 on ice-cream and toppings! Hahaha. Then we went home, had banana splits and watched "What Lies Beneath," one of my all time favorite scary movies! My kind of night.

I have been pretty irregular with blogging but I plan to document every week of my pregnancy complete with weekly bump pictures. Get excited.

Exciting Updates!

Today my sister left after a two week stay in LA with her fave sis! I regret to say I do not have a single picture of her stay with us! Why?? I have no idea! We didn't do anything that exciting this time around so whenever we were out doing anything I never brought a camera. She came out for The Maine (and a few other bands?) concert tour and so she stayed with us on her off nights. I sure can't wait until she moves to Arizona and can come see us all the time! I'm still going to get to see her 3 more times this year!! We are going on a family vaca to Florida in July and we are going home for Christmas and....my brother's wedding in August!!! Yup, that's right, Sean is engaged!!!

To this beautiful girl...

Doesn't she look so happy?! I officially have a sister-in-law! (Well my first one on MY side of the fam!) can't wait to get to know her!

So in other news....we are OFFICIALLY going to start trying to have a baby!!! I really hope it doesn't take 6 months because I am soooo anxious for little baby Rawlings to arrive. I am dreading the wait and I am sure once I'm pregnant, I'll be waiting on pins and needles the entire 9 months. I really need to learn patience (especially since I'm having kids, but my patience with kids is actually really good, it's just events that drive me crazy) so anyway I hope the wait is also FUN!

I am in pretty good shape right now. I've started running 3 days a week and doing cardio barre or Pilates the other two days. Also lots of walking. I plan on being a super fit pregnant girl! :)

Well that's about it for us Rawlings. Off to practice being a mommy!