first adventure in austin: the library!

we've spent the last two days moving in 

and now its time to start exploring...

the first thing i looked up? the library!

i loved all the free children's programming at our local SF library so was hoping to find similar classes here in austin. i definitely found it! yay! also, i am on the search for new mom friends in the area so hoping to find mrs. right at one of these classes. oh, i guess Scarlett needs to meet some new friends too.

here is a schedule i put together of the central austin libraries and their weekly children's programming. books and babies is 0-18months and toddler storytime is 18mo-3 years. both include stories, songs, fingerplay and activities. excited! (the spanish classes are for me; necesito practicar!)

austin library children's schedule

twin oaks branch - bouldin, 5th and Annie
books and babies, mondays 2pm
toddler storytime, fridays 10:15am

faulk central - downtown, 8th & guadalupe
pratiquemos espanol, saturdays 11am-12:15pm
que me cuentas, wednesdays 6-7:30pm
all ages storytime, sundays 1pm

howson branch - enfield/tarrytown, exposition and bowman
toddler storytime, wesnesdays 10:15am

yarborough - closest to our neighborhood, hancock and burnet
books and babies, wednesdays 2pm
toddler storytime, thursdays 10:15am

i'll report back on how the classes go

come meet us there if you live in the 'hood!

where have we been?

a lot is happening in our neck of the woods...

but just where our neck of the woods is these days

 is the major question!

we are currently without an address until mid next week when we can move into our new apartment in AUSTIN! we are becoming texans y'all!

but before we could officially move (which we still haven't done yet), we had some holiday travel to attend to. during the past two weeks, this is where we've been and what we've been up to:

• packed up and moved out of our apartment in san francisco
• shipped all our possesions (minus a few suitcases) and our car to austin. (the disaster stories acciated with this process are a nightmare and may or may not be shared in another post. too enraging to relive! but i digress...)
• flew to chicago. early morning flight and we all slept. pretty smooth 4.5 hour flight. phew!
• rented a car, drove to grand rapids, michigan and spent the night visiting my aunt's family and my two little cousins
• drove to windsor, canada to spend a three nights with david's brother's family meeting our new neice Clara for the first time and playing with our nephew Sam
• drove back to chicago and spent one night downtown for annual cousin's christmas "uncle santa" tradition
• drove to northbrook, il, the town where i grew up and where most of my family lives, and spent four nights hanging with my fam, the sibs, my cousins and seeing some of my best friends too
• had christmas eve and christmas day celebrations with family
• flew to austin the day after christmas. scarlett screamed for 2.5 hours of the 3 hours flight. we were that family.
• then we waited 2.5 hours for a policeman so we could file our car stolen because the shippers would not release our car due to a dispute unrelated to us with the booking company! argh! ridic!
• drove to llano, texas where david's parents live
• i spent two nights in llano laying on the couch reading on my new kindle
• wednesday morning i drove to austin to have appointments with two potential OBs
• then i flew back to san francisco, leaving Scarlett and david with his parents, so that i could return to work
• i've been working the past three days in the PICU and will work again tomorrow. (that's four 12s in a row, nurses!!) yikers!
• meanwhile, sad news that one of david's best friend's father passed away, so david flew to cincinnati yesterday to be at the funeral while Scarlett stayed with pop and nana sue in llano. he will return tonight (hopefully, just got a text that he may miss connection due to delays)
• then i fly back to austin monday, which is way too long to not see Scarlett!! 
• david starts his new job on tuesday
• we can move into our apartment on tuesday, but the movers won't arrive with our stuff until thrusday or friday
• then one day after that i might release a huge exhale and be grateful its all over.
• but we are still not done yet. january weekends are already full with visitng davids grandparents, me returning again to SF for work and david traveling to conferences.
• maybe in february i can exhale?

wow! i hope you're tired reading this because i am tired just remembering it all. but our holiday travels were completely worth it. We got to see my large fun crazy dysfunctional but amazing extended family and celebrate a very wonderful christmas. in fact, one of the best christmases i can remember in recent years! I haven't been able to take that much work off around the holidays in 5 years, so i am very thankful to have had that time with everyone.

thank you to all of our wonerful hosts: aunt maureen, uncle john, stephen, cynthia, uncle eddie, aunt tara, uncle chuck, mom, nana sue, pop, kate and margy! and lots of love to my siblings, cousins and wonderful family and friends!!

why am i returning to SF to work, you ask? three words: maternity leave pay! i'll be flying back to work part time until i start maternity leave. because i remain a california employee, i will receive califronia maternity leave benefits. phew, thank goodness! obviously if i quit i would get nothing. even if i started a new job in austin, i'd only be working for a month and a half before going out on leave and thus would not get maternity benefits. not ideal right now, but i'll be thankful when i don't have to start a new job six weeks after baby2 is born. delayed gratification i keep repeating. delayed gratification...

oh, forgot to mention: Scarlett was sick this entire travel time with a fever high of 103.3, continuous congestion and runny nose, terrible sounding cough and just altogether a sad little puppy. i guess that's what happens when you travel to cold weather climates and surround your 18 month old who has never been very sick before with a million little cousins! david was sick too. boo. i somehow remained unscathed from any viral infections, thankfully, but am experiencing shortness of breath, weakness, near fainting and racing hearbeat from pregnancy related anemia. awesome.

ok, ok, ok, i'm done now. my apologies for being mia the past few weeks, but as you can tell, there has been a lot going on!

i'm exctied to start blogging from and about Austin. i've been looking up a lot of kid friendly activities that i can't wait to try and share with you all. check back soon!

hope you had a fantastic christmas and holiday season as well!

and happy happy happy new year!

photo cred to auntie K

and thats auntie gracie creepin' in the background! ha!

love you both, kisses!

Non-stop action

been traveling since last saturday.

three different cities so far and non stop holiday celebrations with cousins.

all equals one extremely tired chica!

thanks to daddydave for the photo. perfect capture.

santa's coming! santa's coming!

i'm really excited to be Santa this year. last year Scarlett was pretty oblivious, and this year of course she still doesn't know what Santa or Christmas means, BUT she LOVES playing with toys! and i am super excited about giving her awesome presents this year and even more thrilled to play with the new toys with her. and i feel like i can't stop picking out awesome things that i know she'll love. i can't help myself!

here are a couple things i've purchased Santa's elves have made already...

pacific play tents very hungry caterpillar tent and tunnel

image via

bought from theminisocial at half price

smart gear balance bike

image via

bought from zulily at half price

new houndstooth toms

new toms purchased today, yay!

not the leopard print ones i was lusting after, 

but i'm very excited about this large houndstooth pattern

image via

purchased at one of my favorite stores, sports basement

Scarlett's favorite game: running in circles!

Scarlett has discovered that if all the doors are open, she can go from her bedroom into the living room then into the bathroom  and back into her bedroom, which is also connected to the bathroom. A perfect circle for a 17 month old to run around and around for HOURS!

c'mon, moms, any activity that lasts longer than 10 minutes seems like hours, right? well, this activity really has lasted hours before. it's her favorite!

but what could possibly be even more fun than walking around in circles? oh, i'll tell you. being chased around in circles. and then having mamma sneak around the other way and surprise you! her laughter was insane; she was squealing and giggling in delight having the best.time.ever!

a few times she fell because she was so excited

but i'm ok mamma! so much fun!

it was just a coincidence that Scarlett was wearing her "little miss giggles" shirt the day i decided to take pictures of our regular evening routine. (and please indulge a proud happy mamma who is posting too many pictures of the same exact thing. i told you this activity lasted hours!)

POP!

there's a baby in there! 

hello, elastic waistband pants! 

it's nice to see you again. oh, how i've missed you!

gap maternity skinny cords 

ah, so comfortable. 

now i'm on the hunt for the perfect maternity jeans...any suggestions? 

Honesty corner: nanny probs

just fired my nanny via email. eek! does that make me a terrible person? (probably)

honesty corner: I was too chicken to call her or talk to her in person.

(oh, and ps: this nanny was not my sister. that'd just be awkward. it was someone else)

Inevitable nap time while driving

Of course, blocks away from home, all I hear is silence. I start to say "Scarlett are you asleep?" as I turn around and see this:

three product make-up routine for the busy mamma

since there is barely time to brush my teeth in the morning with Scarlett running around, putting on make-up has become a seriously low priority. but then i'd catch some glimpses of myself in the windows or bathroom mirrors and be horrified by my lackluster pale complexion mixed with red spots and tired eyes. blah! so now i've recently stepped it up a notch by putting on a little makeup in the morning.  i've dwindled down my make-up routine to using only three products for time efficiency. it is so fast and easy, plus makes me look (and feel) about a thousand times better (slash not like a zombie mom) that it's worth the 30 seconds it take to apply! and i seriously don't feel like i need to use anything else. it lasts all day too! when david comes home after i've had a full and exhausting day with Scarlett, he still says i look pretty, so that's good enough for me! try it, you'll like it!

3 product make-up routine:

1. You Rebel Tinted Moisturizer by Benefit

image via

provides three steps in one: great tinted coverage, good moisturizer that isn't greasy, and SPF 15! how could you ask for more? available in regular and lite shades. if i'm really in a hurry this is all i'll put on. it covers redness, pimples and dark eye circles easily and evenly. it's expensive though. i normally wouldn't pay $30 for a moisturizer, but i tried my friend meghann's and it was truly amazing. i forked over the dough and have not been disappointed. in fact, i LOVE it!

2. Colossal Volume Express Mascara by Maybelline

image via

seriously triples your lashes in volume and length. make my eyes stand out, incredible difference with and without it. sometimes i like to put it on one eye first for a second and can't believe the difference. doesn't smudge, lasts all day. available in regular and waterproof. i've tried both and prefer the regular. and it's really inexpensive, available at your local drugstore. bonus!

3. Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip and Cheek Stain by Benefit

image via

i used to be very skeptical of this product. it comes in a nail polish bottle but i put it on my face? i just didn't quite get it. but now i'm a convert and i'm obsessed. two little dabs on each cheek, rub in on cheek bones and upwards with finger tip like you would apply blush. it's the perfect color, it stays all day long, does not come off on your cell phone or clothes, and adds the perfect little bit of cherry apple brightness to your cheeks that sleep-deprived mammas need (desperately). you can put some on your lips too for a little color. just make sure you wash your hands immediately after because it will leave a stain on your finger tips. it comes in posietint (poppy color) and chachatint (mango color) as well. I've tried those shades too but prefer the original rose tint the best, seems the most natural i think, and smells like delicious roses. again, this is more expensive than i usually like to spend on makeup, but a teeny tiny bit goes a long way so it seems like this bottle will last me forever!

well, i hope you try these and find them as great and easy as i do! i just love that it's only three steps. if you have any other quick beauty tips for the busy mamma, leave a comment and let me know. I need all the help i can get!

fun with photobooth

peek-a-boo Scarlett

mamma hugs Scarlett

chunkster laughing scarlett

chipmunk cheeks hooray Scarlett

conjoined Scarlett twins

alien Scarlett

this was a fun way to waste 20 minutes! 

i was laughing so hard at her reactions to herself. 

which one is your favorite?

jimmy kimmel live you tube halloween candy challenge

this is hysterical!! 

parents telling their kids they ate all their halloween candy. 

kind of a sick joke, but i sure got a kick out of it. 

Happy Halloween!

the itsy bitsy Scarlett spider!

its a fitting costume bc it's her favorite songs these days and she loves doing the motions

i'm not quite sure why the spider wears a top hat, 

but she's obsessed with the hat and doesn't like taking it off!

enjoy your halloween! 

what are you and your babes dressing up as this year?

honesty corner: joys of pregnancy

verbatim from two nights ago

me: david, i had a serious low point pregnancy moment this afternoon.
david: what happened?
me: i was throwing up and then i peed my pants mid-barf
david: ha! did you sh*t your pants too?
me: no.
david: well, you can go even lower then.

thanks for the sympathy and emotional support hubs! i guess he has a point, but here is a glimpse of what this pregnancy has been like so far.

and yes, this is how i am blognouncing my second pregnancy; with a peeing in my pants while vomiting vignette. oh, the joys of pregnancy and what it does to our bodies. while i did have morning all-day-every-day sickness with Scarlett, the incontinent bladder is new with this one. yay!

i'm 15 weeks so far, and though the horrible-feels-like-a-forever-hangover-feeling has subsided a tad bit, the nausea and vomitting remain with full force. whereas with Scarlett i literally could not eat a thing, the good news with this pregnancy is that I'm hungry all the time. the bad news, though, is that i'm hungry for heavy cravings of BLTs, sour cream and onion potato chips and mcdonalds chicken nuggets. when i try to eat actual foods of sustunance and nutrition, it's bathroom city.

my apologies for sparse blog updates and pictures, but i've pretty much been sleeping as much as possible the last three months, ya know, just growing a new human inside. but also seriously neglecting all other domestic and personal duties. whoops! sorry husband and Scarlett and friends and family! ugh! this first trimester has been so depressing. i'm ready to feel better!

i'm really counting on this "energy spurt in the second trimester" to come any.day.now as i'm completely in need of a happy hormone surge and these vomitting/peeing episodes to be over.and.done.with!

to close on a positive pregnancy note, here's a pic of the new baby due to arrive late march/early april.