San Diego Vacation

Back in January 2013, Brian and I took our last little trip before the babies get here to sunny San Diego, CA.  I was being honored by the American Physical Therapy Association for passing my sports certified specialist exam back in 2012.  We decided to spend a long weekend there and do some touristy things as well.  Our first stop... the San Diego Zoo.

 

 

 

Video of one of the orangutans rolling wherever she goes.

 

The next day we went whale watching.  It was Brian's first time and we were lucky enough to see a handful of whales and lots of dolphin.

This mega-yacht is one of the largest in the world.

We rode on the Adventure Hornblower for our whale watching tour.  The weather was beautiful but a little chilly.

We also saw lots of seals on buoys and just swimming in the water.

Our Friends, Michael and Michelle.

After whale watching, we ate lunch at The Fish Market and then strolled through Seaport Village on our way back to the hotel.  We stayed at the Marriott Marquis and Marina.

Brian was picked by a street performer to help out with getting on a unicycle.

The next day we went to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier.

That night was the physical therapy ceremony and the next day we headed home.  It was nice to get away for at least a long weekend before I was unable to travel anymore.  We had beautiful weather and great friends to share it with.
 



Bump Day: Week 29

How far along? 29 Weeks... We are happier with every day.

Sleep? Solid 2 hours here, solid 2 hours there.

Maternity Clothes? Pajama pants and XL t-shirts.

Stretch Marks? Unfortunately, yes :(   2 small ones.

Best Moment this week? Celebrating my hubby's 30th birthday.  He didn't get a huge bash but we did the best we could with the circumstances.
 

Miss Anything? My independence.

Movement? Yep, twisting and turning all the time.

Size of the Babies? Three Butternut Squashes! 

Food Cravings? Just eating what I can.

Morning Sickness? Nope.

Gender? Three girls.

Bed Rest? Hospital bed rest for 6 weeks, total bed rest 8 weeks.

Limitations?  Guess who has been upgraded to a walker... Yes, me.  Just for the 5 steps to the bathroom since my center of gravity has changed and I have low back and pelvis pain.

Labor Signs? Still pretty stable.

Weight Gain? 38 lbs.

Pregnancy Symptoms?  Runny nose.  And getting more uncomfortable every day.

Belly Button In or Out? Slightly out.

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off but should still fit.  Not much swelling here.

Mood?  Tired, but positive.

Looking Forward To?  Girls night on Friday!  Since I can't go out, they are coming to see me.  So excited to hang out with the girls.

What Brian is Saying:  He shared this link to a blog about the negativities you receive during pregnancy and said, "I really like the message here. We have been blessed, three times over."
 

Bump Photo:

 

Maternity Pictures... Bed rest style

I've always been excited about getting professional maternity pictures... like the ones you see on Pinterest and in magazines.  I did have a maternity session scheduled but bed rest took priority over those pictures in a meadow with the perfect lighting of my babies bump that I had imagined.  I since decided that I didn't have to give up on taking these pictures just because I was in bed at a hospital all day.  So I made a few calls and set up for my secretly talented (one arm in a sling) sista-in-law to take some maternity pics.  With the help of Brian and my little brother, Beau... I believe the photo shoot was a tremendous success.  More than a few of these could be framers.

 

 

 



I'm so happy with these pictures.  I'm glad I didn't give up on maternity pictures just because I was in the hospital.  We were able to make due and give me breaks to catch my breath and they turned out beautifully. It is not every day you are preggo with triplets... and we have been able to capture this moment forever. 

Bump Day: Week 28

How far along? 28 Weeks... this is a HUGE milestone for us. Yay!
 

Sleep? Good days and bad days.  The better I sleep, the better I feel the next day.

Maternity Clothes? Pajama pants and XL t-shirts.

Stretch Marks? None

Best Moment this week? There were two. 

Numero Uno: Friday was our 5 year anniversary.  Brian arrived to the hospital close to 7 PM and suggested we go for a ride (in the wheelchair).  We were gone about 30 minutes and when we got back, he said, "Since we weren't able to go anywhere this year, I brought Italy to us".  There was a table set with a checkered table cloth, 2 dozen roses, italian food, italian music, and pictures from Italy playing on my tv.  What a great surprise! 

Numero Dos:  Ryley got to come see me on Sunday.  It had been 5 weeks since I saw her last and we were so excited to reunite.  I miss my puppy.

Miss Anything? Walking like a normal person.  I like a 90 year old woman walking the 5 steps to the bathroom.
 

Movement? Yes and I have felt them have hiccups a couple of times.

Size of the Babies? Three Cabbages!  Ultrasound on Sunday said...
Baby A: 2 lbs 3 oz
Baby B: 2 lbs 4 oz
Baby C: 2 lbs 2 oz

Food Cravings? Naw...
 

Morning Sickness? Nope.

Gender? Three girls.

Bed Rest? Still in the hospital.  Its been 5 weeks.

Limitations?  You know it!

Labor Signs? None this week besides the occassional contraction.

Weight Gain? 37 lbs.

Pregnancy Symptoms?  I feel like I have a basketball in my stomach pushing up on my lungs and heart.

Belly Button In or Out? Slightly out.

Wedding Rings On or Off?  They fit just fine for some maternity pics I took on Saturday.
 

Mood?  Pretty good most of the time.
 

Looking Forward To?  Starting to see the nursery come together.  Carpet was put in on Monday so now Brian can begin moving furniture in there.

What Brian is Saying: "This new carpet is so squishy between my toes"... I can't wait to feel it myself :)

Bump Photo:

 

Debt Free... Yes Please!

You may remember on my anniversary post how I said we are completely debt free.  Well... I'm not lying.  Brian and I have paid off our mortgage and it is such an AWESOME feeling.  We also don't have debt anywhere else... we have managed to pay off our cars in full a few years ago, we never carry a balance over to the next month on our credit card, and we were both fortunate to not have any student loans from college.  Thanks Mom and Dad! (and scholarship people)

  You may be wondering how in the world did they do that in under five years? 

Well, if you know Brian, you would know that he has an Excel spreadsheet for EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. So, naturally for him, we have a spreadsheet of our yearly budget and an updated monthly cashflow. As a result, we always know how much money we have coming in and how much we have going out. We pay ourselves first (very important) and stick to our budget throughout the year. We haven't lived outside our means and try not to spend money on things we don't need. Luckily for Brian, I don't particularly like shopping and we normally choose the cheaper options for most things. Yes, we still manage to do things we love... like travel... but we stick to our set budget and spend money more on the "experiences" rather than fancy dining or resorts.

Since buying our house in June, 2008, we have always done an automatic payment that was about 1.5 times our actual monthly payment.  Once we finished our cashflow for the month, we would see how much extra we would have and dump that in to our mortgage (rather than giving ourselves time to spend it on other things).  Some months it may have been nothing extra while other months it was a lot more.  Just depended on what was going on in our lives at the time.  If we ever received a monetary gift or bonus from work, that money also went towards our mortgage.

With the extra contributions we have been able to pay, guess how much we have saved in the long run... about $150,000! Yes, if we had paid our monthly payment for the full 30years, we would have spent $150,000 more on interest. That is CRAZY! It is such a load off of our shoulders, especially with 3 kiddos coming in our near future.

I'm no financial advisor or money expert, but I do know that it takes some discipline and organization to accomplish.  Brian and I set this goal a long time ago and believe that if you set your mind to something, it is achievable.  I give our parents credit as well, as they taught us about money as children and the importance of saving.  We are so proud of ourselves and now have a little more financial freedom.  Instead of a mortgage payment every month, we will have extra cash to spend on babies and of course use it to continue saving.  It feels so good :)

PS.  Shout out to my followers!  I can't believe I have over 30,000 views and 150 followers.  Thanks everyone!

Five Years

Five years.  Wow, five years.  Time goes by so quickly.  It has been five years since I said "I do" to this handsome man.

It has been the most incredible time.  We have been lucky enough to do many things over the past 5 years... like buy a house, travel the world, welcome our pup Ryley to the family, and love each other more every day.

Along with small gifts, Brian and I are able to do something HUGE for each other this year.  As of today, we are completely DEBT FREE!  Our mortgage is paid in full.  Whoo Hoo!! (I'll elaborate more in a later post on how we did it).

 

To celebrate our 5th year anniversary, our original plan was to take a really awesome vacation to somewhere tropical... however, those plans have been diverted for something far more important... Welcoming our 3 baby girls in to the world very soon.  So we will be celebrating tonight in my hospital room.  Maybe I'll get some time out of the room in the wheelchair.  It doesn't matter where we are as long as I am with him.  I love you, Brian.