Bucket List Revised

Oh HAI! It's been a great long while since I have graced this blog's presence. I guess having a second child and a full time job does that to a person. But honestly I miss sitting down here a re-capping all the events of our lives as they happen. Especially since we have loads of things we want to do with our little ones. Letting them see the world and experience all the wonderful things in life. h


So here we go, with re-vamping the bucket list....and re-adding in things that we have done as a family. I will try and re-cap things that we did last year as well to re-cap the past year that I missed. We did a couple of fun things last year, but honestly we just focused on being a family of four. now that Addison is almost a year and a half I think that re-capping the last 18 months is important. So I will try and do my best to do that as well. But without further ado, here's the old bucket list and we will be sure to add to it as we go!

Sailing

Attend a country concert (Chris Cagle 2010)

Attend a Rock Concert (Trapt, 

Surf/Boogie Board (numerous times)

Attend a Broadway Musical (Ragtime, Chicago, The Lion King, Stomp, Mamma Mia)

Attend a Broadway Musical on Broadway

Attend a sporting event (NBA 12', NFL, NHL, MLB 09' 10')

Be in two place at once (Nevada/Arizona Border)

Earn my degree (AA 2004 Moorpark CC, BS 2007 Cal State Northridge)

Earn a Master's Degree
Eat at Club 33

Hiking

Universal City Walk (13')

Saddle Ranch (13')
Ride a Mechanical Bull (13')

William S. Hart Museum

La Brea Tarpits

Experience a White Christmas (15')

Fall in Love (Darin Christopher Kimball)

Get married (2007 Wood Ranch Country Club)

Go Horseback riding (05' Tahoe, 09' 10' Florida, I have been many times)

Zip Lining (13')

Go on a cruise (07' Caribbean & 08' Mexico)

So Snorkeling (07' Honeymoon in Jamaica)

See the Magic Castle

L.A. Live (12')

Grauman's Chinese Theater

Attend a TV Show Taping

Renaissance Fair (April-May)

Wine Tasting

Catalina Island (13')
California State Capitol (12')

Indoor Skydiving
Crystal Cathedral

Lucky Strike Bowling

Monterey Bay Aquarium

**Morro Bay (I went when I was a kid and so did D)

Hearst Castle

**Grand Canyon (I went when I was a kid)

Hot Air Balloon flight (Not likely cause I am CHICKEN!)

Snowboarding/Skiing

Have a family (14' Emma Jean)

Learn to drive a manual transmission (D taught me in 04')

Get a Tattoo (13')
Go Scuba Diving

Learn to wakeboard

Griffith Park Observatory
Gene Autry Museum

Attend a drag race (13')
Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Sign

Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Descanso Gardens

Rodeo Drive

Ride a offroad motorcycle (08' and many other times)

**Ride a street bike (with my dad)

Paintball
Pick fruit in an orchard

• Apples (10')
• Cherries (12')

Olvera Street via the Metrolink (03')

Lake Tahoe (02')
Camping (03')
Getty Museum (05' 13')
L.A. County Fair (09')

Play in the snow

Ride on a Subway

Ride on a Train
Attend a drag race (13')

See Britney Spears in concert (I went in 10')

See the Statue of Liberty

Swim with Dolphins

Swim with Turtles

Swim with Sharks

Take a cross country road trip
Make a piece of furniture
Adopt a pet (Our little Shelbydoo!)
Camp in the wilderness (Many, many times!)
Keep a journal (2dkimballroad.blogspot.com!)
Be cheered by a crowd  (Dance performer and worked at Disneyland)

Visit Walt Disney World (08')

Participate in a Beauty Pageant (09')

Own a home (15')

Visit all 50 States: (The ones with the years are when D and I visited together)

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona (11')
• Arkansas
• California (Born and Raised)
• Colorado (04')
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida (07')
• Georgia
• Hawaii (04')
• Idaho
• Illinois 
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada (03')
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon 
• Pennsylvania 
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah (04')
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Visit a new country: (The ones with the years are when D and I visited together)

• France
• Italy
• Canada
• Australia
• Greece
• New Zealand
• Brazil
• Sweden
• Amsterdam
• Iceland
• Greenland
• Egypt
• Thailand
• Mexico 08'
• Bahamas 07'
• Jamaica  07'
• England
• Germany
• India
• Japan 
• South Africa
• Russia
• Swizerland
• Spain
• Scotland
• Ireland 
• Wales

Welcome Addison Rae - Birth Story

Wow! I can't believe that it's been almost four months since Addison came into our lives. It's been a whirlwind so far and I feel horribly that I haven't had a chance to update you all on how she made her way into the world!

When in my last post you read about her arrival, but no details. Well here I am to fill you in! I had elevated blood pressure from 33 weeks and up and was just waiting for the inevitable. Luckily my doctor gave me the go ahead to start my leave and to fully prep for her arrival. He wanted to deliver her at 36w7d and I just wasn't prepared. I went through my last week of pregnancy preparing for her arrival. Washing and putting away clothes. Installing the car seat, cleaning the house, and most importantly spending time with Emma and relishing our last days as a family of three.

Sunday night came and I packed three bags. One for Emma as she would be staying with my in-laws, because I knew my mom would be with me, one for Addison and one for myself. I made sure to have my nursing pillow and just tried to stay calm. I knew in my mind that I was going to be induced the next day.

The next morning I awoke and took a shower to prep myself for the inevitable. I had hopes that having a week off of work would drop my blood pressure and we could keep her cooking a little longer, but I wanted to be prepared just in case. #shavealltheparts. My mom and I loaded everything into the car, plus Emma and off we went.

When I arrived at the doctors office, we did the standard pee, weight and blood pressure. Of course the bp was still elevated. Not as high, but still higher than he wanted. I got into the room and the non-stress test machine was in the room and I knew. I was having an induction that day. The doctor came in and said "are we ready to have a baby today?" I responded with "are we going to do that today?" He told me yes and that we would be and it's important to make sure everyone is healthy. He told me that I would receive the same medications as I had with Emma because I responded to them so well last time. Checked me, I was 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced already. So my body was preparing for a delivery already. He told me to head over to the hospital, but that I could have lunch first. We left the office, I called the hubby and my M.I.L. to let them know what was happening and so that Darin could be ready to come. He had already packed a bag and just needed to shower and he would be on his way.

My mom, Emma and I headed to get brunch and it was SWAMPED. I guess that's what happens when you give birth the week of Thanksgiving. We ate our fill and I snuggled with my big girl before we took her to my in-laws to meet Darin. I relished my big girl, snuggled her and gave her loads of kisses. Once we were finally on our way to the hospital I got nervous. Even if you have done it once or a dozen times, you still get nervous. I get right into my room, set up our insurance and get put on Pitocin. I was surprised by this and the nurse told me that because I was already past 3cm dilated that Cytotec wasn't an option for me and that we would just use the drip. Once settled into the bed it was 2pm and the meds were flowing. We chatted and joked with the nurses. Talked about music and funny things and about 4pm my contractions were getting strong and regular. My nurse told me that she wasn't going to give me any more doses because I was already contracting good enough to warrant it. At 4:45 my doctor showed up to check on me because he was scheduled for a C-section at 5. He said he would return at 6 to break my water because of how fast I was progressing and said his goodbyes. 5:30 rolls around and during mid conversation my water breaks naturally......and the contractions get STRONG!

They are close together and really intense. I look at Darin and ask "how long do I torture myself before I ask for the epidural?" A couple minutes later the nurse comes in and I state my potential epidural desires. She tells me that the anesthesiologist is on the floor so it would be really fast. I look at her and say "then lets get him in here!" She puts a bag of fluids up and pages him to my room. Once there he preps my back and Darin prepares to watch the insertion of the needle. I get the numbing shot and all of a sudden feel sick. The nurse grabs a bag and out comes what's left of my lunch. Once the epidural is in and I start to feel better, my father-in-law comes in. He's checking on us and then takes Darin to get dinner. Things are progressing well. I roll to my side and try to rest with my mom by my side. I rest for a bit and then my husbands siblings arrive to check on me. They had brought their son in as well so I had a distraction. While they were in, I started to feel pain in my right side so the next time the nurse came in I told her that I was uncomfortable, and she had noticed the alarms on my babies monitor going off and the baby was behaving strange. She asked family to leave to check me. Apparently it was go time. I was fully dilated at 8pm. An hour and a half post epidural. CRAZY.

Darin finally made it back from getting dinner and was shocked that I was ready. The room was a buzz and the doctor was being called in. During this my mother-in-law brought over Emma so we could give her smooches and told her she would be a big sissy soon! At 8:30 it was time to push. I spent about 15 minutes pushing and the room was silent. I mean just the heart rate monitor was making noise......well and me. Lol. I looked at Darin and asked him to put on music because it was far too quiet in there. He put on the country station and I hummed in between pushes. I kept pushing hard and they were telling me that I was making progress but that she wasn't moving down. "A Pretty Little Girl" came on the radio and I had tears streaming down my face. I just wanted her to be here. Once the song was over, because it would have been so poetic if she would have been born during that song, I looked at the nurse and said "she's face up isn't she?" Nobody would answer my question. I knew full well that she was face up and pushed and pushed for 30 minutes before she finally adjusted, tearing me in the process, and I was able to push her into the world. She came out pretty purple with a huge side cone, but she was here. Darin cut the cord and they took her to the warmer for weight. She was born at 9:31pm on November 21st. 6lbs 1oz and 19.25" long. Pure perfection.

 

Once she cleared her tests they placed her on my chest and Darin sent the texts out announcing her arrival. Shortly after the family made it's way in to meet our newest member. First in came my mother in law with Emma. She jumped into the bed with me and looked at Addison! "It's a baby!" she exclaimed. Then Addison began crying and Emma started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to her. Addison immediately stopped crying and relaxed with her sister by her side. It was by far the most special moment of my life! We are blessed with our family of four and our newest member. Addison Rae.

 



Baby #2 Bumpdate: 38 Weeks

What's baby up to this week? She arrived!!! Introducing Addison Rae. Born 11/21/16 at 9:31pm 6lbs 11ozs and 19-1/4". More on that in a later post!

What's been going on with mom? Well this was the week that little miss came to the world. As you remember last week I had high blood pressure so I was to monitor myself. Well the bp stayed high but not over cautiously. I was to do a 24 hour urine panel also which was joyous. Then on Wednesday I lost my mucous plug. Which didn't happen with Emma, so we were a little lost. Panic struck we pulled all the stuff out. Washed all the things and packed bags. I rushed finished my registry for the sprinkle and spent time with Emma as much as I could.

Symptoms: Exhaustion, heartburn, acne, emotional, hip cramps, braxton hicks and swelling; fingers, ankles and feet, loss of mucous and stressed!!

Yummy/Icky: nothing. Not hungry at all.

Clothing: Maternity, pajama pants and leggings. Anything to stay comfortable.

Movement: lots of rolling and pushing. No kicking. Same as usual.

Belly Button In/Out: Pretty flat. Best

Moment this Week: Spending time with Emma.

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 37 Weeks

What's baby up to this week? She is the size of a bunch of Swiss chard (I mean seriously now! sometimes these veggies are just ridiculous!), measuring over 19" long and weighs 6 1/3 pounds. We are what is called "Early Term" now. Spending the next two weeks in my womb allows for her brain and lungs to fully mature. Everything was great at my doctors appointment and she is still head down with a heartbeat in the 140s per her usual. We actually had two ultrasounds in week 36. Our second one was done by our neighbor, who specializes in high risk and 1st trimester screenings. It was unbelievable the things we could see with his high tech equipment. Completely jaw dropping. See below some of the images. Based on his measurements though he thinks she's staying put until July 11th.

What's been going on with mom? We had my 36 week ultrasound with the good tech and we FINALLY got to see lil ones face! She looks exactly like her sister! I was so happy to see her face. Then at my next appointment with my doctor the high bp came back to haunt me. 145/88. My doctor comes in and sees the stress on my face. He asks if I'm ready to have a baby and I burst into tears. NO! I haven't gone off work yet and I haven't prepped for her arrival and I'm most importantly I haven't spent any time with my big girl Emma. He was so great about it. Said we would monitor me by taking daily bp tests at home and I would have to do a 24 hour urine screen. Then he hooked me up to a fetal monitor to check on baby, who's hr was perfect! Thank goodness. He told me to take the week and prep. If I see any hr over 140/90 again to call him. He checked my cervix and I was between a 2-3 and 25% effaced.

Symptoms: Exhaustion, heartburn, acne, emotional, hip cramps, braxton hicks and swelling; fingers, ankles and feet!

Yummy/Icky: nothing. Not hungry at all.

Clothing: Maternity......my mom had to fix a pair of my jeans because I had worn a hole into the panel. At home it's nothing but pajama pants and leggings. Anything to stay comfortable.

Movement: lots of rolling and pushing. No kicking. Same as usual.

Belly Button In/Out: Pretty flat.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing her beautiful face in that ultrasound.

Looking forward to: Spending time with Emma and getting prepped for baby's arrival. 

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 36 Weeks

What's baby up to this week? She is the size of a head of romaine lettuce, measuring 18.5" long and weighs almost 6 pounds. She's packing on the pounds, about an ounce a day. She's shedding the downy hair as well as the vernix caseosa. She will swallow these substances, along with other secretions, and they form a tar like substance called meconium, which she will pass in her first bowel movements. I had a doctors appointment with a cervical check and he confirmed that she was head down.

What's been going on with mom? I have been worrying about my blood pressure since my last appointment, so I have been monitoring it with an at home bp cuff that my mom loaned me. Things are staying somewhat normal, which was confirmed at the doctors as well. He also confirmed, which is apparently normal after having a child before, that I am 1cm dilated....but my cervix is long. I'm starting to get really bored at work......too many days left before leave! I am also STILL SICK. It's just lingering. Make it go away!!

Symptoms: Exhaustion, heartburn, acne, emotional, hip cramps, braxton hicks and swelling; fingers, ankles and feet! Same this time as last time, except the heartburn is totally indigestion!!

Yummy/Icky: Ice cream was back on the menu, as were cookies. Damn Halloween made my sweet tooth come back.

Clothing: Long sweaters and maternity....same outfits on rotate. PJs at home.....anything to be comfy.

Movement: Same as last week. Very funny to know when she's gonna wiggle. She also loves to push her little tushy on my left rib....and either she bruised my ribs or I coughed them sore. Starting to get the lightening crotch as well as she gets her head down there.

Belly Button In/Out: Belly divot.

Best Moment this Week: Finally getting the rest of the office stuff out of baby's room....time to finish.

Looking forward to: The ultrasound next week and seeing my baby girls face! With the normal "good" tech this time. I just want a good photo!!!!!

Week 36 with Emma

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 35 Weeks

What's baby up to this week? She is the size of a honeydew melon, measuring over 18" long and weighs around 5 1/4 pounds. Her kidney's are fully developed and her liver can process waste products. Her basic physical development is now mostly complete and all there's left to do is put on some weight. That's a relief to hear! 

What's been going on with mom? I had a prenatal massage on Sunday and it was oh so glorious. When she said it was over, I was very sad. She could have continued for another hour and I would have been a happy camper. I also came down with ANOTHER cold. Ugh. I'm sick and tired of being sick!! I cannot sleep because I either wake in a coughing fit or because I'm snoring and wake myself up. So nice!

Symptoms: Aside from being sick.....just tired and crampy. I have aches and pains ALL THE TIME

Yummy/Icky: Nothing. Eating because I have to.....not because anything sounds good.

Clothing: Can I live in my pjs yet? Although those don't really fit anymore either!

Movement: I can pinpoint when she is going to move during the day. She also kicks a lot when I sit cross legged on the floor or bed. She must feel squished. Lol. But honestly standing and doing things gets tiring, so sit I must.

Belly Button In/Out: Flat unless I lie down, then it divots a little

Best Moment this Week: The massage was HANDS down my favorite moment. But watching little Emma go trick or treating in her butterfly costume was a pretty close second. She caught on really quickly that if she said trick or treat, people gave her candy. Lol.

Looking forward to: Maternity leave so I can get some rest and some time with little Emma. I'm really missing my energy and want to recoup some so we can have some one on one time.

If your interested: 35 weeks with Emma

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 34 Weeks

What's baby up to this week? She is the size of a cantaloupe, measuring almost 18" long and weighs around 4 3/4 pounds. Fat layers, which help to regulate her temperature after birth, are filling her out and making her rounder. The central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.

What's been going on with mom? Another stressful week at work prepping for a home show. I seemed to be the only one who cared, but I just decided that my tolerance threshold for the project was going to be capped. I can't take anymore stress and need to focus on keeping my blood pressure down. My mom loaned me her blood pressure cuff, so I have been trying to keep an eye on things.

Symptoms: Exhaustion, heartburn, CRAZY ACNE, and just all over aches and pains. The Braxton hicks seemed to slow down lately and I haven't seen or heard much from them. Getting up to pee every night at 2am is just fun!

Yummy/Icky: Chocolate......looking forward to Halloween and getting some of Emma's loot!

Clothing: All maternity....I'm just trying to be comfortable. NOT WORKING.

Movement: Lots of rolling and stretching. She loves to push on this one tiny spot on my abdomen and it hurts. Starting to feel more pressure....ahem....down there.

Belly Button In/Out: Teeny tiny, almost to the flat point!

Wedding Rings On/Off: Off for the remainder of this program.

Best Moment this Week: My aunt came into town and we spent some time with her. It's fun watching Emma play with new people.

Looking forward to: Halloween! I failed and had to buy Emma a store bought costume, but I still think she's going to be adorable!

Week 34 with Emma