The week where everything breaks

Monday, August 24

Mara attended her first day of Pre-K today. We think she's likes the class, but she still misses her old teachers.

Tuesday, August 25

We bought our washer and dryer shortly after we moved to DFW in 2000, and the washer finally decided to give out on the first cycle of a load of clothes last night. So, tonight, we went out and bought a new set that will arrive Saturday.

Wednesday, August 26

I've been craving comfort foods lately, so tonight we had pot roast for dinner. It was very yummy.

Thursday, August 27

Something didn't feel right when I backed out of the driveway to take Mara to school, so I decided to stop in the alleyway and check the car. My rear driver-side tire was flat. After roadside assistance came to put the donut on my car, I took Mara to school and then went to get the tire fixed. We were lucky it happened this way because I found out the steel belt was actually separating from my other rear tire. Since we had the road hazard warranty on it, I was able to get both of my tires replaced for only $33.50 (the price difference for the tires since they didn't have the one we had in stock plus warranties for the new tires).

Friday, August 28

We ate at one of our favorite Chinese food restaurants tonight with my family. Mara and Lani dug right into the food.

Saturday, August 29

This morning, I took Mara to Wal-Mart to participate in a Lego event while John stayed at home to wait on our new washer and dryer. Mara got to build a crab out of Legos at Wal-Mart. It was a little complicated, but I think she had a lot of fun. As for our washer and dryer, we bought a stackable unit so we could actually have some room to move around and make better use of the laundry closet.

Sunday, August 30

After church and lunch, we ran by Sam's Club to pick up a few items we needed. Even though they're a little big for it now, Mara and Lani had a lot of fun riding around in the cart together. Those two are becoming pretty inseparable, and Mara is constantly asking when Lani can come over and spend some time at our house.

11-week appointment

I was a little nervous heading into my 11-week appointment today because I started spotting some last night, but everything went well.

John came because we didn't know if I would have another ultrasound or not – especially with the spotting. My doctor checked and didn't see any more blood, and she wasn't too concerned since it was old (brown) blood anyway. Then, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat through the doppler. At first, she could only find mine, but she finally pinpointed the baby who had a heartbeat in the 160s. Because she heard the heartbeat and I wasn't actively bleeding, we didn't get an ultrasound, but it was good enough to just hear the heartbeat.

Now I just have to wait until my next appointment on September 18 (John's birthday). That will be a big one for us since I will be almost 15 weeks, and that's when we found out we lost the first pregnancy last year.

Eventful week

Monday, August 17

Mara got a dolphin necklace in her stocking last Christmas, but she has only worn it a couple of times. Last night, she decided she wanted to wear it, so she wore it to bed and then to school today.

Tuesday, August 18

Mara played in her wading pool again tonight. Maybe next year we'll buy a slightly larger pool where she can actually swim in it.

Wednesday, August 19

John was going to pick up someone for work today when a girl rear-ended his car. Luckily it's still drivable, but it's kind of irritating that we now have to deal with insurance and get it fixed. Hopefully insurance will cover the full cost of the repairs and not just total John's car since it is a 2000.

Thursday, August 20

We finally got the notice that Mara's going to be moving up to the 5-year-old/Pre-K class starting next week (the same day public schools start). It's kind of bittersweet because we really like the teachers in her current class, but her new class will help her be more prepared for going to kindergarten next year.

Friday, August 21

Today was Mara's last day in the 4-year-old class. When the teachers asked her what she would miss most about the class, she said, "Ms. Soraya." However, she refused to have a picture taken with her. Instead we got a picture of her with Ms. Niecy.

Saturday, August 22

Today was my brother Rob's 40th birthday, so we went to his house to celebrate. He received a lot of gag gifts, including biker gear and earrings. Ben also got to show off his cast. He broke his arm playing football earlier this week.

Sunday, August 23

We went to church with my family today and then tried a Mexican food restaurant in Plano that's been around for a while, but we didn't know it existed. It was a good place, and Mara and Lani had a lot of fun playing together.

More summer fun

Monday, August 10

Instead of watching a show on the TV, Mara opted to watch something on her DVD player tonight.

Tuesday, August 11

Even though Halloween is still a couple of months away, Mara insisted on watching her Mickey Mouse Halloween DVD tonight. She pulls this DVD out and watches it every once in a while throughout the year.

Wednesday, August 12

Summertime means it's time for Popsicles, and Mara enjoyed one after dinner tonight.

Thursday, August 13

Mara worked on her cutting today using her Wonder Pets activity pad. She did a good job cutting close to the lines, and then she pasted the items where they should be all by herself.

Friday, August 14

We went out with Shari and David tonight and had a good time with them. Mara and Allie loved playing together as always.

Saturday, August 15

We picked up a new Wii game today and then went to Mike & Myra's to go swimming. It was the first time Mara had been swimming since she finished her lessons, and she was excited to show off what she learned. She also had a lot of fun playing with her cousins in the pool.

Sunday, August 16

We went to watch Mikey play in a championship game today for the summer league he plays in. His team lost and finished in second place, but it is a big improvement from the fourth-place ranking that they had entering the tournament.

Still exhausted

Is it bad that I'm ready to go to bed at 9 pm if I'm not already asleep on the couch? I'm well over 9 weeks now, and I am still having a hard time staying awake in the evenings. At least my morning/all-day sickness has subsided, and now I only feel like I'm going to be sick when I think of certain things, like barbecue or my fish oil/DHA pills that I'm supposed to be taking. I think it's a good that I'm still having these various symptoms, though.

First week of August

Yeah, I couldn't think of a better title for this week's post, but here are our pictures. :)

Monday, August 3

Mara loves to play Hi Ho Cheerios, so we played tonight as a family. It's nice to be able to all play games together now.

Tuesday, August 4

Puck really likes our new TV setup because he likes to lay right in front of the TV. We think it's because that spot is right in front of the air conditioning vent.

Wednesday, August 5

Tonight, Mara wanted to "chat" on our DSes. Usually we just scribble back and forth, but tonight, Mara was working on writing her first and last name as well.

Thursday, August 6

We found a Wonder Pets activity book on clearance at Toys R Us, and Mara has been having a lot of fun coloring in it. She's gotten a lot better at it recently and does a good job of staying in the lines.

Friday, August 7

There is a squirrel outside my work that has an unusual tail. It's smooth more like a cat's rather than poofy like a squirrel's.

Saturday, August 8

We met my friend Kristy and her 3-year-old son, Ryan, at the mall today so the kids could play together and we could catch up. Then, we celebrated my sister, Diane's birthday. It was also the last time we'll see Robert for a while since he's going to basic this next week.

Sunday, August 9

Mara has been asking for a pair of Sketchers shoes for a while, and we finally broke down and got her a pair today. She loves them already. As soon as we put them on her to see if they fit, we knew we would have a hard time getting them off of her again. Then, we went to see G-Force since Mara's been asking to see it for a while. Later, we watched Mikey and Lani play some hockey at the StarsCenter.

A Day at the Circus

We've wanted to go to the circus for the past few years but never made time for it, and this year Mara kept asking if we could go. Since John had today off, we decided to finally buy tickets and go. It had been ages since John or I had been to the circus, and we had a fun time. I think Mara expected there to be more animals in the show because she tended to get bored when it was more of the acrobatics. She says her favorite parts were when the clown girl was dancing and anytime the elephants were out.