Urban Farming

Tanaka Farms has a flower field closer to home. We were rained out for our original time. So, they allowed us to reschedule. I can't believe how many things are accessible within several miles!

The bees were very active here. It was nice to see so many of them.

The kids loved that this drive was much shorter than the Carlsbad Flower Fields drive.

These photos make it look gloomy in California. However, we are in the "June Gloom" season. It's often foggy in the morning. However, the fog lifts by mid-day. Rest assured, the sun comes out every single day here. I don't think we've had a single day without some sunshine. Thank you, Jesus!

This kid was so thrilled he kept body slamming the dirt and rubbing his arms and legs around in it.

"Dad told me to 'rescue the baby.'" She is quite capable. 

The Eldest held the shears and pushed the stroller because he's the eldest. He forbade Mr. Serious from riding in the stroller because "he always leans way over and the entire stroller drags in that direction." I reminded him of when I took the four of them to Costco and they hung off the edges of the cart pretending to be Maui from Moana. Massive drag. Not at all annoying. Haha.

Anyway, there were two varieties of yellow sunflowers. The ones called "yellow sunflowers" had a more balanced petal-to-seed ratio, and were much more vibrant in color. These colors are not enhanced.

Mr. Serious simply refused to cooperate here. We are working on that.

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Conversations with Sweet Pea

 "How do you say 'thank you' in Spanish?"

"De nada."

"How do you say "please" in Spanish?"

"Por favor."

"Do you know everything, Mom?"

"Everything."

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Progress of the Pomegranates

 We have a variety of fruit-bearing trees in the yard; but the pomegranate is my favorite. We've witnessed 10 months of the life cycle. This tree is beginning to grow fruit.

A mini-fruit. We harvest the mature fruit in early October:

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Twitterpated

We woke up to rainfall yesterday, the first substantial rain in months. The birds have been active too.

The above bird appeared to be a chaperone for these two.

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The Boys

 I was out with Sweet Pea this morning and returned to these:

"We made you a flower cafe, Mom!" 

-Mr. Serious

"Do you mean a flower bouquet?" -Mom

"No. A flower CAFE!"

"Okay! Thank you so much!"

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Baby Update: 27 Weeks

Baby looks great! (He did not give us a good image of his face this time. So, what's blooming is what you get.) Baby is measuring in the 59th percentile, about 4 days gestationally ahead of expectations. The perinatologist is happy with this. Small babies are the concern with placenta previa and placenta accreta. He will check again in 4 weeks. We are still aiming for 35.5 week delivery. Finally, all my specialists are on the same page! And there are many.

We've covered everything: Hysterectomy will be medically necessary. This will not be an elective procedure. [I spoke with a trustworthy priest with a medical ethics background. He confirmed the specialists' approach and emphasized listening to their advice, especially in my case. Placenta accreta is quite rare. An "experienced" specialist (gynecologic oncologist) treats moms with this 5-7 times/year. Most obstetricians see 1 case every year-and-a-half.] The problematic area has expanded slightly -- from 1.5cm to 1.8cm. No one is alarmed about that. However, it does confirm our plan-of-action.

They will use a vertical incision, which my OB apologized about; but the possibility of bladder damage is too great with a bikini incision, especially given the placental intrusion. Also, they have to see "enough" if caesarean hysterectomy is necessary (though we hope not!); and a bikini incision isn't the best approach to caesarean hysterectomy. The GyOn tells me if we can delay the hysterectomy, we greatly increase chances of sending both me & baby home together and everything that goes along with that: nursing, recovery, etc. (I've spoken with a couple of moms who've had caesarean hysterectomies for placenta accreta; the experience sounds harrowing! Thankfully, they both lived through it; but I am hopeful we can avoid massive blood loss, which is my GyOn's goal. He claims he's lost "just teaspoons" of blood with the delayed approach. Thanks be to God for excellent specialists here!)

They need to use both spinal and general anesthesia; and there will be five major disciplines involved. So, continued prayers for the surgical team are greatly appreciated! I am grateful that we know I have this condition going into delivery. My outcome will be much better because of it. +

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Mother's Day 2021

 Happy Mother's Day to our moms!

We had to send flowers and spend the day with our kids this year. DH asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day. All I really wanted was to go out to breakfast with the family. Pop Pop generously paid. (Thank you, Grandpa!)

DH insisted on me including a photo of myself. The good news is: despite a terrible diet and zero exercise for the past 3 months, I passed the gestational diabetes screening (the 3 hour one). Pregnancy is no fun; but it's totally worth it!

We picked a place with no line and ocean seating; and arrived at 7am, which allowed us to avoid crowds. We reminded ourselves that we "pay for the weather" as one of Ricky's L&D nurses told us about living here. Mornings like these make it all worth it!

He asked for this photo:

My favorite man:

The next 3 photos give you a good idea of what the "twins" are like together:

"Whose order is that?" asked the Engineer. Yes, we also had a lot of people say, "Happy Mother's Day!" and a few made positive comments about big families. The early crowd is the best. <3

Thank you for the flowers, Aunts R&C!

And thank you for the cards and Mass novenas, Mom & Dad and Aunt M!

Gratuitous love from the kids, thanks to their incredible teachers:

The Firstborn made a really heartfelt note for his teacher for teacher appreciation week. He showed me but didn't want anyone else to see. It's nice to observe how he's maturing.

Mr. Serious was elated to give me this gift he made. He couldn't wait until Sunday and passed it to me at pickup after school on Friday. I love the kids' first gifts. They capture a moment of sweetness and innocence that carries me through the tough ones:

Sweet Pea was hardly less ecstatic. She kept telling me they were making a "surprise" and "drew their hands" and "shrunk them;" and I would stop her and ask if she wanted to keep it a surprise or tell me the whole thing right then. Then, she told me more details. She really enjoys making me things:

The Engineer made some things at school and some things at home. He put them into a "mother's day packet" and put that into a zip-lock bag in his backpack, and brought it to brunch. DH told him to have me open the gifts in the car. LOL.

I'll have to think carefully about this one:

Notice a food theme in the below:

I was told to open this one last:

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