I'm still on here...

So it has been oh so long since I posted, I don't even know where I should begin???  The last you heard of me was that Ibrahim had just come into the world with a vengeance!  He is now almost 2, can you believe that??? TWO!  There have been careers changes, residence moves, you name it!  Safe to say, we are still 5 Falcons.  No mas babies over here... at least not "planned".  An old friend of mine (you KNOW who you are CARO!) has requested I start blogging again.  I can only imagine she loses sleep at night not being able to know about the Falcons.  The blog will likely change slightly, although will still keep the world updated on our day-to-day I am going to start documenting my recent DIY projects I have been battling this summer for our new home.  I have been all over searching for vintage pieces to re-do and re-vamp.  I'm excited to share, probably a bit more excite than a normal human would be.  Don't judge, just follow along and enjoy my madness.  I promise I'm pretty entertaining!

Can’t believe it

This little chunkster was born just 3.5 short months ago.  I cannot believe how much he has grown.  He was my tiniest when he was born, and I felt guilty about not being able to cook him for that extra month he needed to grow bigger and fatter.  But my little Ibrahim sure has made up for lost time. He is well over 12 lbs, and so very active.  He loves watching his brothers act a fool and smiles as soon as he opens his eyes.  This little guy is last in line, but has managed to steal my heart just as his brothers did. 

2013 ... ready or not

2012 brought lots of madness for our growing family.  Can’t complain, because it also brought us lots of happiness with the birth of Ibrahim in September.  I am a huge believer in keeping it positive and only thinking of the good.  So my words to 2012, thank you for all that you gave us.  We are grateful for our family’s health and safety. 

For the new year I have a couple of resolutions that I will try to stick with.  I’ll inform you guys of them as I break them- lol.  One is to attempt to keep a better blog. With the pregnancy and birth of Ibrahim I completely neglected my little cyber corner.  And once he was born it was one holiday after another, and I just caught my breath from all of that madness.

 

So lets hope that 2013 is little more slow motion and lets me get back on my feet with tending to the house, church, birthday parties, and just life in general.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful 2012, and that 2013 brings only the best of things into your lives.

Life has changed so much

This morning our world changed, a lot.  It scares me at times when I think of the world my children are going to be raised in.  Today my four year old son (indirectly) lost a little bit of his innocence- and it killed me.

When Omar and I were of school age, the worse thing was “stranger danger” and making sure to never take candy from someone we didn’t know.  Not mention looking both ways before crossing the street.  Does anyone else remember that cheesy movie reel (at least at my school it was a reel and not a VHS video) where the kid’s ball rolled across the street???  That was our biggest concern folks.  Or the now meaningless tornado drill?  As if hiding under our desks was really going to make a difference.  But the point is, our parents would drop us off at school daily with the notion that we were safe.

Today, that all changed drastically.  I know that this has not been the first time, my first tragic memory of this type of horror was back in high school- my Junior year with Columbine.  I hate to seem as if it was acceptable back than, but the whole loner who got picked on by other kids made sense in a very demented way.  I could understand why the shooters decided to allow the devil into their head and kill their fellow classmates.  But today--- today I am at a loss for words with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.

My Omi is only four years old, two years younger than 20 of those little angels taken today.  I know what those babies are capable of, how much light they bring into the lives of anyone they meet.  I could not fathom dropping my child off at school, giving them their good bye hug and kiss and it being the last time I hear their voice.  It breaks my heart, over and over again. 

The most difficult part has been trying to explain to Omi that he needs to be careful in school.  At four years old I should not be trying to find a way to explain a massacre to him in a manor that will not freak him out but still make him aware of what is going on and what he should do if such a monster would come into his classroom.  It’s not right- and what pains me more is that there are 20 sets of parents who will not have to explain it to their little ones.  Not to mention all the other children who had to live through the hell on earth in Newtown, CT. 

I want to make sure to not forget those beyond brave teachers and staff.  True heroes in their own standing.  They deserve all the beauty that is heaven and are sure to have their place there along side the children they lost their lives trying to save.  I pray that all my children have teachers with as much heart and dedication as those taken today during their scholastic years.

The horrible reality is that so many families were affected by this massacre both directly and indirectly. I pray for them all.  I pray for those parents who will be missing one of their babies on Christmas morning, unfortunately your lives will never be the same.  I pray for the loved ones of all the teachers and staff and the difficult days ahead of them.  I pray for all the children who were in Sandy Hook Elementary that tragic day and will have to live with that memory for the rest of their lives.  I pray for all the first responders who had to discover all those little bodies and may they find peace, no training can prepare you for such a horrific scene.  I pray for all teachers who’s lives were rattled that day, and likely found themselves asking the question “would i die for my students”.  I pray for my children and the world they will grow up in, I am sorry it is so different from the one that was given to me and I wish we had taken care of it more.  And I pray for our nation, we simply MUST find a way to keep this from occurring again.

                                 Matthew 19:14                              But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

The most precious gifts we have in this world are our children, please raise them to be an asset to the world.

11 day long story

So as most of you know by now yes I already gave birth to our newest addition Ibrahim Arturo Falcon.  Yes he did arrive earlier than expected and YES he caused almost two weeks worth of madness.  In case you were really wanting to know the details and have yet to hear it from me first hand... enjoy

Day 1- Sunday Sept 9

Omar left to Denver, CO for what was expected to be a month worth of training for work.  He would be gone from Sept. 9- Oct. 6, which would not be a problem because I was scheduled for a c-section Oct. 9 to have baby.  More than enough time to tie up loose ends and get everything taken care of.  Plus with the help of our families it really was not going to be that bad on me.

Day 2- Monday Sept 10

Lots of ugly face crying took place after my first night and no Omar.  I missed him and started to realize that being 35 weeks pregnant with two boys was no joke and way harder than I had imagined.  Boys missed Omar and were driving me nuts asking what time Papa was coming home from work.  All the while trying to hold the ugly face crying in. 

When I picked up Omi from school they had told me that one of his eyes was slightly red and I should get it checked out.  Since their pediatrician is very close to my mom’s I decided it would be easier for us to sleep over there; keep him home from school and take him to the pediatrician first thing the following morning. 

Day 3- Tues Sept 11

Of course Omi wakes up and his eye is perfectly fine- no redness or swelling (thank goodness).  However since I am over at my mom’s and not taken a school uniform for him, he stayed home from school anyways.

Later that day after lunch I started feeling sick to my stomach.  Not a huge deal, if you know anything about me and my pregnancies it is that I spend a large amount of my pregnancy purging my meals- its just how it is.  So it really was no caused for alarm.  However, a snack and dinner at pizza hut later still not doing so well.  So what is my grand plan?  Have my mom take me and the boys home of course... all I needed was to just get some rest.  So0o0o0o0 so0o0o0o0 so0o0o0o0o0o0 VERY wrong.  After a short Skype session with a couple of interruptions Omar suggested I call my mom and have her take me to her house.  Every so often I actually listen to my husband’s advice and boy am I glad I did this time. 

Except since I was feeling so nasty I actually thought leaving boys with his parents and having my mom take me to hospital was a better idea.  Very glad and proud I did so.  When I got to triage they started me on fluids right away for dehydration and turns out I was having contractions (which I never felt).

Day 4- Wed. Sept 12

So yeah they admitted me.  Because the first two shots they had given me to stop contractions did NOTHING for me but speed up my already nervous heart. Instead  they started me on this awful medication, magnesium.  Phew... not sure if any of you have ever had the pleasure--- but this medication kicked my butt.  It is a muscle relaxer that left me feeling like I was OD-ing.  I could not even pick up my head and well there are plenty of other stories regarding my rendezvous with the medication but i will spare you the details.

A high risk pregnancy doctor saw me and reassured me that since I had no prior problems in my previous pregnancies she had no reason to believe that this would be any different.  Baby would likely be full term and no reason to think otherwise. After checking baby’s amniotic fluid levels I was told I could go home.  Which I of course went happily.

---screeching car tire noise---- Oh I forgot to mention that while I was in the hospital both of my poor boys had since contracted my stomach virus and were feeling pretty crummy at abuela’s house. 

All the while poor Omar over in Denver is receiving play by play updates from my mom regarding me and what doctors are saying etc.

Day 5- Thurs Sept. 13

First thing in the morning I received a phone call from my (awesome) Ob’s office.  Dr. Leon after reviewing the ultrasound done on Wednesday himself asked me to go back to the hospital and have another done.  He was not thrilled with my fluid levels and wanted to have it redone in order to make sure fluids had not gone down.

Remember, both boys had been sick so they too were home.  At this point I had already decided I would be staying at my parent’s house until Omar got back home since I had been told bed rest was a must at this point.  (Just a little more insight on the background story).

Because I am this very optimistic person (it seems) I asked my mom to drive me to hospital and no big deal on finding where to leave boys--- I would be right back home once procedure was completed.  She drops me off and waits patiently in the parking garage with the boys for my phone call to return home.

Now the following events made me angry, sad, frustrated, and actually had some comedic relief for a moment.  I waddle my way up to labor and delivery to have my ultrasound done.  To begin with I feel upset that I am doing this alone without Omar.  Whenever a nurse speaks with me and asks me the usual questions they ask every patient I feel like I am being judged because I am there alone.  So already I am sad because Omar is so far away, feeling like I am being judged--- made it worse.  After my ultrasound (which the technician already mentioned my fluid were slightly lower than yesterday) I am patiently waiting for my doctor to decide if I will be admitted.  Than it happened.  Probably one of the most traumatizing things occurred--- a very pregnant woman in labor comes in.  Now I for one have never experienced labor (at this point) and was mortified.  This woman is screaming all sorts of horrific groans and moans and repeatedly pleading with the nurse to give her pain medication.  She is in the little “room” (for lack of a better word) right next to me, and by room I mean there is nothing more than a fricking curtain separating us!!!  And than she begins to yell, “I have to push!”  And all I can think of is “sweet baby Jesus PLEASE do not let this woman start pushing right next to me.”  A nervous Yvette who has her own baby issues to deal with is now freaking out even more because apparently the lady next to her is crowning.  All the while the nurses are telling her that she cannot start pushing yet for whatever the reason they may have given her.  People I could not have been more relieved when they finally rolled her out.  I huge sigh of relief must have come out of me.

In all that madness, I manage to over hear the nurse answering the phone and repeating “ok so she is going to be admitted to receive more fluids”  I knew it was me, and than tears started flowing.  The nurse walks in to find me a sniffling with eyes watered, and in what must have been the most pathetic looking puppy face I interrupt her “I heard.  I’m not going home.”  When I had first arrived I had mentioned my husband was out of state in CO and I had two sick little boys at home all in one breath... so I am pretty sure she was glad that she did not have to really break the bad news to me.

From there what had seemed to turn into the newest routine occurred, gave Omar the update, called my mom to let her know I wouldn’t be going home, called Lourdes to arrange boys going to her house, and than start the pity party.

Day 6- Fri Sept. 14

Since my brother is awesome, he had come to the hospital the evening before to stay the night with me.  (He had also spent the night the last time I had been admitted- telling you people he IS AWESOME).

Well after another ultrasound and another visit by the high risk pregnancy physician I was sent home- again.  Bed rest and lots of fluids was a must.  At this point I just really wanted to get home to my babies, and could not have been more thrilled.

Before I left they checked to see if I had any leakage- which I did not.  And was told I HAD to see my OB and have another ultrasound on Monday.  Than I went on my very merry way.

Day 7- Sat Sept. 15

I really had an easy day.  Boys went to the children's fair with Heidy and Lourdes so I got to lay in bed all day.  Oh!  And if my life had not been eventful enough, my phone died.  Not like oh the battery stopped working, or maybe even stopped working by some fault of my own— no it just stopped wanting to turn on/ load properly.  So now I am phone-less, husband-less, not in my own home, and confined to a bed.  ANNOYED.

Day 8- Sun Sept. 16

Sunday morning I begged and pleaded my brother (you remember the awesome one) to come over and take me to the sprint store so that I could just get a new phone.  Poor guy, he had by now also managed to acquire that lovely little stomach bug the boys and I had so thoughtfully shared.  But he came over anyways.  I cannot stress how AWESOME he is people, just can’t. 

So now I have a phone again.  But with ZERO contacts because my poor little phone was just not able to power up one last time and share my contacts.  I have since than acquired some of my contacts back, but not even close to having everyone back in there.

Here I am, a very pregnant Yvette with lovely swollen feet trying to enjoy some outside time with my monsters.

Day 9- Mon Sept.  17

Alrighty, so I make my doctor rounds.  Dr. Leon stresses to me how important it is that I keep an eye on my fluid levels and need to be in taking a whole lot of water!  He than ships me on over to the perinatal to have the needed ultrasound and make sure that they call him ASAP after I have results.  I am really good at following doctor’s order (not being sarcastic at all). 

At this point Omi is actually really paranoid about me going to the doctor, since every time I have gone I have had to stay the night.  So I reassure him that mama is ok and he can actually come with me to see the baby this time.  So with Omi and Aiden in tow my dad and I make our way over to the over physician’s office.

After another ultrasound I am told that my fluids have gone down, but not to worry.  Baby is doing well, he is active and heart rate is perfect.  A little frustrated since I am chugging water constantly with no improvement on fluid levels; but again I am reassure not to be alarmed and sent on my way and come back for another ultrasound on Thursday.

Day 10- Tues Sept. 18

Today was Omi’s parent- teacher night.  I was so excited!  After all the in and out of the hospital I was beyond thrilled that I would be able to go.  These past couple of days my parents had been taking him to school and I had just been feeling out of it.  During the day I went to MY house, straightened my hair, did my eye brows... actually had myself looking like a human again-

I was (again) sad  that Omar wasn’t here to see all of Omi’s work first hand but made sure to take loads of pictures and forward his way.

This picture I actually took just for Omar!  My belly felt like it had grown so much in the short week he had been gone.  I had to share!  Plus I had also taken the time to straighten out the hair, so I was having a “pretty” day.

Now this folks is what I looked like right before it happened.

It was about 2 am and I was chatting with Omar about Omi’s parent- teacher night.  When than what I thought was the lingering of last week’s stomach virus hit.  A sharp cramping... I honestly thought I just had to use the bathroom.  Keep in mind, VERY optimistic lady over here.  I wrap up our conversation and make my way to bed.  A little cramping here and there but Braxton- hicks can feel this way, oh so naive.

Day 11- Wed. Sept. 19

4 am comes and I am woken up by what is the worse pain I have ever felt at this point. I think to myself, whoa what the hell was that!!! Could this be a real contraction? Nah... I still have a month to go. Just as I am writing it off another comes. Alright so I would love to say I was all super woman about it- but nope. I get out of bed and like a little scared baby start making my way to my parent’s room. And just like that, it goes away. I stop dead in my tracks, is there another one coming? When was the last one? Aww man, I don’t want to wake up my parents if these aren’t real contractions. I know! Let me walk around the house and see if I have another... but nothing else came. So I scurry back into bed, only this time I turn TV on that way I can actually time these things and see if there is any pattern.

No pattern ever came folks. I fell back asleep eventually. Only to wake up in order to get Omi ready for school. By this time I wasn’t feeling very well, but chalked it up to not getting much rest and asked if my mom could help me with Omi.

So yeah by this point most of you obviously know where this story is going, but humor me and let tell it anyways. The “cramps” came back only they were a little more intense now. Crazy enough that was not what actually convinced me to call the doctor. See in the morning I always drink orange juice; after that cup of OJ the baby is always really active. After breakfast that morning I had barely felt him. I am convinced its a mother’s intuition kind of thing, I just knew I should call the doctor. Still in my own world of sunshine and rainbows I call and tell them I “think” I am having contractions and if I should go into the office. The lady who answered must have thought I was nuts, she replied “oh don’t come here, go to the hospital”... so I do.

After doing the whole registration thing again I find myself with the nurse I had seen on my previous two visits and we exchange greetings like old friends would- lol. They strap me up to a monitor, and I could not have been more relieved when I heard that little boy’s heart beating just as it should. I kept asking if his heart beat was strong and if he was ok- she reassure me he was doing fine.

At this point the doctor has told the nurses to give me more fluids to try to stop the contractions and if that did not work no more ultrasounds or shots... baby would be delivered.  Now twice before I had received fluids and been sent home, why would now be different?  SO of course that is basically what I relay to Omar via text

Optimistic doesn’t even cover it at this point.  So after my 3rd bag of fluids and contractions are still there, nurse wants to check if I have dilated.  While sitting up to get comfortable, a very embarrassed me breaks the news that I peed a little on the bed.  Very aware of how ashamed I am explains how common that is and not to worry she’ll change the sheets.  Again no big deal right?  Imagine the utter horror I felt when she removed the sheets and very calmly and in a  matter of fact tone said “oh hun- you did not pee yourself, your water broke”  WHAT????  My reply?  Probably the stupidest ever “what does that mean?” as my eyes swelled up with tears... but deep down I knew exactly what that meant.  Baby was coming, and it was not only coming today, but very soon, and Omar would not be here.

My dad starts making phone calls to Omar, my brother, and panic mode was set into effect.  Baby was coming ready or not-

Poor Omar jumped on a plane as soon as he could.  But baby was born before he even got to leave Denver.  It really did all happen that fast.  Out of no where shit got real.  Contractions got stronger, doctors and nurses started preparing everything for surgery, my dad suited up so he could be with me in OR and me... I was scared, no other way to put it.  And I am going to say it, I don’t care who disagrees--- any woman who willingly goes thru labor is nuts!  I have had 3 c sections now people and holy f*ck, those pains are like nothing I have ever felt nor want to feel.  I actually felt more exhausted and sore from contractions than from the surgery.  So yeah all of you who have done this child birth thing naturally—you are more of a woman than me.  I want nothing to do with it.

My dad thought it would be great to get a picture of me during a contraction.  Not so much dad, not so much.  But I’ll share it anyway.

And this here is what a woman who knows that her epidural is only minutes away looks like.  Right before the rolled me into surgery.

 

 

Ahhh... right after the epidural. I am not joking I was so at ease I almost fell asleep.  And when you are suppose to feel pressure because they are “going for the baby” and putting you back together I could not have been more calm and pain free.  I guess after all the stress my body had been thru courtesy of the contractions, it was more than willing to deal with surgery.

My little man was born with the cord wrapped all over his neck, right shoulder, arm and leg.  One thing I remember Dr. Leon saying as he took him out “viste por que pasan las cosas”  After my water had broken he told me that at this point the priority was baby and making sure he did not go under stress and we got him out ASAP.  My OB is a little bit of a nut job, but such a wonderful doctor.  I really am thankful for him and how on top of things he was the entire time.

Ibrahim Arturo Falcon

6.75 lbs and 19.5 inches

And for those of you wondering, yes of course Omar did finally make it to Miami.  He got to the hospital at about 1 am poor guy, was last one to meet his son.  But proud as a peacock took night duty so I could get some rest just like with the other boys.

After all the madness, things seemed to somewhat work out.  Omar got to come home for a couple of days and although he did arrive a month earlier than expected, the best part was we now have a healthy baby boy.  Our growing family is now at 5 and we are all feeling extremely blessed.

Big Boy Status

I had been meaning to blog about this for almost 2 weeks, but with Ibrahim’s arrival right around the corner the madness at home has been a little above our average.

However let me tell you that this little gentleman started school on August 20.

Omi’s first day of Preschool was definitely bitter sweet for his poor very pregnant hormonal mother.  As most of his classmates clenched to their parents desperate to not be not left behind, my big little guy went around the ENTIRE room to each child saying “Hi, what is your name?  My name is Omi Falcon.”  I stuck around just in case my poor 4 year old who has never been to school spazzed out at the idea of not being home with his mama ALL day.  But nope, nothing, nada.  At one point when he saw one of the other little boys crying he asked me “mama, why is he crying?”  scared it what trigger him to cry I told him softly “because he is sad that his mommy left”.  His reply?  In typical Omi fashion “mama, doesn’t he know she is coming back?”  This kid cracks me up.  I on the other hand got slightly teary eyed when I saw him socializing and bouncing around the room happily.  Kind of like the end of an era for Omi and I.  He and I have spent the last four years together at home doing all our day to day routines together.  Trips to the zoo, movie theater, playgrounds, museums... you name it.  Now our routines would include him being dropped off in the morning.  It made me realize just how much he is growing up and how quickly it has all seemed to happen.  I’m so proud of my Omi.

During the last two weeks he has already learned how to write his name (which I will take a little credit for since he was taught his alphabet, colors, numbers, shapes, animals, etc by his mama), comes home singing all sorts of new songs, tells me what he had (or didn’t eat) for lunch.  As a matter of fact last night he made us sing the song they sing before eating, which of course we do not know--- he was more than happy to teach us.  Not to mention that he is the self appointed class greeter, even walking the girls to their seats every morning.

   

I took those on the first day :)  Enjoy!

Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans

In this world we try to plan out our lives so methodically.  When we’ll finish school, get married, who will be the perfect husband/ wife, the age WE will choose to have kids, buy your first home, etc.  Truly believing that it will go as planned, because why not? Well the reality is that it doesn’t always go down as planned.  No matter how much planning you do and how many things you do correctly--- life happens.  Life sometimes can hand you lemons when you don’t want lemonade, throw curve balls your way...and other times just to mess with you it will throw curve balls with lemons!!! I’m amazed at how some deal with forks in the roads and how others just stand at the fork like an ant who has lost their way in line. 

I feel fortunate to have my world the way it is, and continue to be thankful to God for everything he has blessed my family with.

This quote to me never gets old, I love it.  It puts me in so many places, both baseball and non-baseball related and always brought comfort.  Crazy I’m not a movie buff nor do I ever look to them for inspiration, but this little clip right here is always worth sharing.