Category — All About Christine

Well we’ve been trying to keep our minds off the ‘waiting’ but with Christine beginning some signs of ‘false’ labor, its been pretty tough. It took her a little bit of time to realize that the ’spasms’ she was having in her ab area wasn’t coincidental and that the rest of the women who are having a baby commonly refer to them as “contractions!” All teasing aside, she’s still doing great and we are just now hoping that this full moon doesn’t trigger little Boo to make an early appearance…at least that is what our doctor has asked given that she has left for a weeks vacation! So we had a little talk with Boo and asked him, if its ok with him, that we would be ok with waiting until after next Saturday. Time will tell but we’ll welcome him when ever he’s ready!

In an effort to kill some time, I’ve put together a video of the flip that my parents and I completed back in Akron. All work, with the exception of a few odd jobs and a few windows being installed, were done by myself and/or family (No – Christine didn’t do any ‘manual’ labor; ’silent’ partners don’t get their hands dirty!) All work is completed and its officially on the market and now its waiting for its new owner. This was an unbelievable experience – filled with lessons that can be applied to not only real estate but also life! I owe a huge thank you to my parents for without them this never would have come together.

So if you are interested in seeing the before and after, click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D1j2Z7LsWE

or check the video below:

We’ve done just about everything we need to do to welcome our little guy to the world. Dan has successfully put the strollers, pac’n play, and crib together (at least twice). The car seats are installed. I have officially stopped working, thanks
to the wonderful laws of California. Today we checked
off a final item, picking the pediatrician. The nursery is ready and each day
brings us closer together waiting with anticipation. The only one not ready, is
Belle, our cat

It’s hard to believe that just a short eight months ago, I bawled in fear after watching the birth scene in “Knocked Up”, or complained that my belly wasn’t “pregnant enough”. The journey that Dan and I have embarked upon has been a true learning experience for us both. We have had to examine our true selves, identify where we are going and figure out how to achieve our goals. We aren’t at the end of our journey, in fact, it has really just begun. We’re about to become parents….for life! We talk during our morning and evening walks about what kind of parents we want to be, how we hope he likes baseball, but we’ll be enthusiastic if he decides to play water polo (it’s really big out here!). We talk about hypothetical situations where we can test our parenting skills. And who doesn’t look at other parents and say “we would handle that completely different”? Yes, we are in final stages of preparation to start our next journey.

Best of all, we’re pretty calm. I’ve never done this before, but I feel so well prepared by our family and friends stories, birth class, doctor advice, and prenatal yoga mamas that when I had my first false labor pain, I got just as excited as Christmas Eve! Every time I touch my stomach, Dan asks if it’s time and looks a little sad when I say that his new buddy isn’t ready yet. So I know that when it is time, we’ll be super excited and very ready.

Strollers – check. Car seats – check. Earthquake – check.

Well, that was our first experience with the shear power of the planet Earth! We are both fine and it appears as though the city is already back to normal.

I was at a Starbucks (also known as my satellite office) on a conference call. (Which reminds me, I probably should call those people back and apologize for my ‘What the #$%* is that?’ comment – but I found out that the guy was also in Los Angeles because he goes ‘I’ll have to call you back – we are having an earthquake!’ Good to know that my rep is actually local!) Christine was in her office in downtown and her first thought was that the guy on the other side of the wall was jumping up and down. She’s doing fine and is a little annoyed that she needed to walk down 20 flights of stairs to get out of the building.

Honestly, by the time you really figure out what is going on, its over. And then you know that your going to have some aftershocks – as of right now, we ‘reportedly’ had 27 of them but they are very small. I think Christine would agree that the most amazing thing is just watching how quickly the people go back to their normal lives ~ its truly remarkable. Everyone checks on those around them and do some integrity checks and then back to life. Its very calming actually.

So everything is slowing down and I’m working on getting Christine home right now but wanted you all to know that we are fine. Check this experience off our list and while unnerving, I would still rather have this experience than sleet and slush for 4 months!

Well, Christine and I started our Sunday much like any other Sunday; a walk along the ocean on our way to the 3rd Street Promenade to sit and have some coffee and a muffin. After which, we decided that we should really go check out the area Catholic church as we have yet to join a parish. So we walked on over to the 9:30 mass at St. Monica’s – we were fairly sure that this was the parish that we wanted to be a part of given that it was the one that has the Catholic school. (Still deciding – and we have a lot of time to consider – on whether jr will be attending a Catholic school but at least we know that their will be a slew of other families affiliated with this church.)

The inside is very simple – soft, warm colors that are very inviting. The first thing that I noticed was that there were a lot of people here and EARLY! Completely different from the parish that we were married at back in Chicago. Before the processional, the cantor asked for all the visitors to the parish to stand and as they did, the remaining parish clapped for them. What? Cheering for them because they went to church on vacation ~ I had to smile. The next thing was that I thought I heard a guitar in the back ground. I slowly leaned over to Christine and said, ‘Something tells me that this isn’t going to be a traditional mass.’ Anyone who knows my feelings on this topic is well aware that I’m a ‘by the book’ type of Catholic mass. (I like to be able to read along to be sure that they aren’t skipping any words or putting their own spin on it.)

And then the celebration began – seriously, the celebration – it was like a freaking party just started. Drums playing, a tambourine going off, lots of swaying from the ‘audience’ and belting out the entrance hymn, an electric bass guitar playing. I was stunned – and as I leaned over to whisper to my wife, I had to grab her hand to get her to pay attention to me as she’s partying it up with everyone else! What just happened here – here’s a picture – can someone please show me where any of the disciples are playing an electric guitar? Does someone see Peter jamming out on the drums? And I don’t see any tambourine either – do you?

And then we get to the homily – the portion on the mass where the priest explains how the gospel applies to you and in your life today. And as he’s delivering it, I recognized that its actually really good. He’s message is spot on – and deep, like one of those messages that makes you really appreciate what you have and how you want to share it with everyone.

The mass moves on and everyone is really having a good time and I can tell that I’m being tested. We look over – yup, there is Arnold (The Governator) and Maria Shriver with their family. So the entire community is here and its ok for traditionalists like the Governator to enjoy and I start to realize that this is that test – Am I concerned with the packaging so much that I miss the message? Can the medium in which information is delivered change and can I accept that to really get what is important? These are those questions that really drive me crazy as it was much easier when Sunday mornings consisted of trying to remember which bar you have to go to to pick up your credit card and close your tab!

I recognize that being a father is the greatest gift that I’ve ever been given. I’ll be tested – for sure. But I’m reminded today that its the message that matters and that listening and open-mindedness are the only ways for me to grow. And its that growth that will allow me the best opportunity to provide a loving environment for my family.

But where is the guilt? You can’t leave a Catholic mass and not feel guilty – isn’t that in the rules somewhere? So with that, I decided I needed my fix and called my mother!

(Just kidding – I actually talked to my mother before I went to mass

Would you tell someone that they are too fat? Then why do people think it is alright to tell a pregnant woman how large she is? Over the past two weeks I have been told by complete strangers “Wow, you’re huge!”, “Are you having twins?”, “Are you sure you’re not due earlier?”, “Is the baby normal size?”, and my favorite “Looks like you’re going to pop tomorrow!”. These people have been at the airport, farmers market, or even just walking down the street. My responses have been nice so far, but I’m thinking that I should tell people that I’m not even pregnant.

If you’re reading this, you know that the due date is two months away. And yes, I’m going to get bigger. The doctor says that my belly is exactly where it should be at this stage, I’m just short.

My theory is that if you can’t walk up to a stranger on the street and tell them that they’re fat, then you shouldn’t tell anyone, pregnant or not, that they are big.

(Note: this posting was a ranting on strangers, my family and friends
have been very supportive. And when they call me big, it’s usually
because I am much bigger than the last time they saw me )