3 Sisters 7 Days

When traveling – especially while traveling internationally – I always try to stay away from the trendy restaurants…with the exception of McDonald’s and Starbucks, which are always good for a clean and free bathroom. I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas, and, though I say this everytime,  next time I really am flying. We were stuck in 2.5 hours of traffic in Ontario on our way to Vegas because of an accident!

On our first night there, we decided to stay away from the high end restaurants and go for something the “locals” would eat. We ate at a restuarant just off the strip called Battista’s Hole in the Wall. Out in front is a huge gaudy neon sign letting us know it serves Italian Food. The restaurant was large, but broken up into small rooms with half walls. We were seated within five minutes, which is great for a Vegas restaurant on a Friday night with no reservations. We all laughed once we saw the menu. All meals come with the following: salad (garden salad with italian dressing) or soup (minestoni only), bread sticks, side pasta, cappuccino, and all you can drink wine! We read it a couple of times to be sure. The waiter arrived and put down a carafe of white and a carafe of red wine on the table. The white was a chablis and the red was a cabernet. If I weren’t pregnant, I really would have enjoyed the wine! Both tasted great for a FREE table wine. The cappuccino was a complete surprise. I was told it tasted like sweet hot chocolate, but there wasn’t a single hint of espresso. On our way out we picked up a card with the ingrediets to their famous espresso. What’s in it? Mostly, coffee, chocolate, cream and…a shot of brandy. The waiter never even mentioned it was alcoholic. Good thing I opted out because I didn’t want the espresso.

If you ever find yourself at the Hole in the Wall located just behind the Flamingo, I recommend the chicken rio.

He finally got it!!

It’s only taken five and a half months but he did it. Peter finally claims to understand how much an expectant mother sacrifices during pregnancy, the toll it takes on her body, as well as the miracle of carrying a living being in her womb.  This past weekend, we were sitting there and he rubs my belly – note that this was the first time since I became pregnant. He looks at me, shakes his head, and tells me he can’t believe I’m carrying around another human being. He said I deserved a present! He suggested a painting by Vladamir Kush. I like his “Red Purse.”

Critics suggest that Kush “infuses into his image a certain irony: greed and excessive accumulation of wealth could lead to the separation of lovers”:

[The] purse is a symbol of wealth and accumulation. But only love is the master key … This symbolism corresponds to the color of the purse. Red means love and passion in the first place, although purses are used to have the colors of earth or gold. But we employ red also in cases when we want to emphasize the symbolism of luxury and wealth. In China, red is considered to be the color of happiness and good luck. It is the color of the wedding attire too.

I’m so excited! “Red Purse” would be our second Vladamir Kush. We recently purchased the artist’s “Fauna in La Mancha” which positions giant butterflies atop windmill platforms in a “mad” play on Cervantes’ Don Quixote. I can’t wait for it to arrive.

Peter and I decided to go wine tasting in Paso Robles for our five year anniversary. I’d wanted to go for years but thought we needed a good reason. A “major” anniversary was a perfect reason. Hearst Castle topped my list of sites to see while away, so we decided to stay in nearby Morro Bay, a place where my dad use to camp and go fishing with his brothers annually. Always one to jam pack my vacations, leaving little time for leisure, we’d pre-paid for our hotel and massages and purchased Hearst Castle tickets early. Once we found out we were expecting a baby, the wine tasting trip turned into a Morro Bay/Hearst Castle tourist vacation, minus the wine. I guess we’ll have to save the wine tasting trip for another time. Small price to pay for a baby.

The trip turned out to be fantastic.

Morro Bay was a cute little town full of the elderly. I swear we were the youngest people in the city! We rented bikes and road down to Morro Rock, and ate seaside every evening. I was surprised that the temperature there remains about 65 degrees almost year round. At that temperature, I was surprised to see people in the water kayaking and swimming – it was way too cold for me. We stayed at the Inn at Morro Bay directly adjacent to the Heron Rookery. If you are not a fan of birds, I wouldn’t recommend this Inn. The birds made so much noise and the amount of bird feces on the property was amazing. At check-in, they even warn you that your car will be dirtied and they give you the location of the closest car wash.

I LOVED Hearst Castle. We went on two tours, I wanted to go on more, but Peter didn’t think it was necessary.  I purchased a biography on William Randolph Hearst and I cannot put it down. I want to join “Friends of Hearst Castle” – an organization that raises money to assist with the renovations. The Castle brings in more than $12 Million in a year, all of which is given to the state. The state then re-distributes the money to all state parks leaving only $100 Thousand for the Castle. According to the docents, this isn’t nearly enough money to maintain the billions of dollars worth of artifacts stored within the Castle. There is so much money in art located within those walls, its a shame the state would allow it all to deteriorate.

On the way home, I stayed awake and noticed that we passed several California Missions! Had I known, I would have tried to add them to our vacation. Next time there will be wine tasting; I’ll finish up my tours at Hearst Castle, and visit the Missions.

A couple of years ago, Peter asked if I wanted to take a sushi-making class hosted by the local community center. His sister and I decided to take the class. It was several hours long, we took pages of notes, bought all of the supplies, and made sushi once. It was so time consuming and we made enough to feed an army (I’m not a chef; I follow directions, and didn’t think I could down size the recipe). Every month or so since then, Peter asks me to make sushi and my response is always the same: 1) I can’t remember how and lost my notes, 2) It takes too long, and 3) I make too much and we end up throwing it away.

Fast forward to today. I woke up from a nap to the smell of dirty feet. I went down stairs to find that Peter has decided to make California Rolls! He had already purchased all the ingredients and was in the kitchen making rice and heating up the vinegar – source of the dirty feet smell. All the effort I put in to making sushi the first and only time didn’t seem to phase him. He said it would be easy, no problem. At one point, I to help and explained how to mix the rice with the vinegar and he stopped me. “That’s not what the video said to do,” he said. He was home all day today and I guess he’d been studying.

So…what took me FOREVER took him 45 minutes, and we ate home made California Rolls for dinner. They were fantastic!

Considering Peter and I are expecting our FIRST child, I think it’s reasonable to expect “the baby” will need a few things. I am constantly telling Peter what we should get before JJ (for Jeanna Junior, even though we kind of think the baby is a boy) comes home from the hospital. Peter doesn’t agree. He certainly doesn’t think we need everything I’m asking for. Note, we’re not talking about outrageous “needs”: crib, cradle, dresser (we have NO bedroom furniture in what will become the nursery, and no room in our bedroom furniture baby clothes, etc.), rocking chair, and car seat. Doesn’t seem too outside the realm of normal, right? While I’m thinking about it, we also need to get out of the 1,000-square-foot condo where we currently reside, and into free-standing home before this child starts to walk. Peter thinks kids don’t need anything, and we really don’t need a bigger house.

On the upside, I’m gaining allies. We recently visited one of Peter’s cousins whose wife recently had a baby. The first thing he said to Peter on the subject is, “Don’t argue with your wife about what the baby needs. She’s right no matter what it is.” I laughed so hard! He and his wife had similar arguments and it took bringing the baby home before he caved, and purchased the items she’d said she needed all along.

The following weekend we finally decided to put up shelves in our second bedroom – shelves we had bought several months prior. At the time, we’d already planned for a baby, bought a smaller desk, cleared out all excess furniture, and designated place for a crib. While we are deciding where to hang the shelves, I realize it would be a waste of time until we had the baby furniture in the room. The location of the shelves and pictures would have to revolve around the baby furniture.

So we decided we’d purchase the crib! I had walked around Baby’s R Us and priced the things we needed. It seemed like it would cost a lot of money. I decided that we’d purchase one thing a month until JJ arrives, and it looks like the crib is first. It may not seem like it, but here is a lot to think about when buying a crib. We researched cribs on-line using Consumer Reports, read the reviews and safety ratings. Then we measured the room, checking dimensions of the crib on the internet against the space we have in the room; we also checked the dimensions and measurements for a dresser. Then all I could think about is that there won’t be room for a rocking chair! Hours later, after figuring out how a crib, dresser, and rocking chair can fit into the room, Peter tells me that babies take up a ton of space, and we will probably need a bigger house! Yeah, we both laughed.

We bought the crib and it arrived today. The one thing all the reviews left out is that this crib will be a beast to put together. I think we’ll leave this job for the weekend.

I’ve been wearing a sports bra just about everyday since I realized I was pregnant. Prior to actually knowing I was pregnant, I just assumed the sore breasts would eventually go away. Once I realized it would take awhile, I wanted to wear a bra that wouldn’t allow them to move. The sports bra fit the ticket.

Unfortunately, I can’t (or don’t want to) wear a sports bra for my entire pregnancy; besides, most of my tops don’t look good with a sports bra. For the past six weeks or so I’ve been wanting to go to a maternity store to get a bra that might be more comfortable. In addition, my pants haven’t fit right since the end of my third month. I’ve been cycling through two pairs of jeans every other day and they are getting pretty worn. My sister Juliann told me about a band that goes around your waist and covers your jeans so you can wear them with the button undone. This seemed like a really good option.

Going to the maternity store posed a different problem. There was just something about buying maternity clothes I wasn’t feeling right about. Was I wearing them too soon? Can’t I hold off one more month? I am four months pregnant today, this past weekend, I decided I had no other option but to get some clothes. I didn’t want to go alone so I asked my sister Kathy Jo to go with me. I hate shopping in general, and shopping for pregnancy clothes wasn’t going to make it any better.

I had a mission. A) buy a comfortable bra, and B) find out about this cloth band Juliann was talking about. We walked in and a super nice sales lady asked me if I needed any help, I of course, I said, “No.” Then I thought for a minute, and realized I had no idea what exactly I needed or wanted. I asked about the bands, and she said they were fantastic. It’s called the Tummy Sleeve and fits over your belly and top of your jeans with the button undone. The sales lady explained that  you can even have it sit low on your hips and it looks like you’re layering. I bought two, one in black and white.

Next, bras. I gave her my size, and she picked out a ton for me to try on. While standing there waiting for her to get the bras, I saw t-shirts and tanks. I was wearing a normal t-shirt of mine but with the ever expanding belly and larger breasts, the t-shirt looked much too short. I decided to try on some tops while I tried on the bras. After the fourth bra, I found one that fit right! I bought two, in black and beige. I also bought t-shirts and tanks, which look okay – two of each.

Today I’m wearing my first maternity outfit: new bra, t-shirt, and Tummy Sleeve, and I feel pretty good. It’s really nice to actually wear another pair of jeans and heals! I feel normal.

My husband and I attended a good friend’s wedding on April 17 this year. The reception was at an Armenian hall in Glendale, CA. It is typical at these events that a photographer, hired by the reception hall, takes pictures of the guests. The pictures are printed and put into photo frames before the night ends. When the photographer handed us our picture, my husband says “This is our first family photo!” At the time, I was almost 11 weeks pregnant. Now I HAD to buy the picture. It cost $20 and, normally. I wouldn’t have even thought to purchase it. I plan to keep the picture in the baby’s room.

Now that I’m pregnant, I can’t help but think ahead at what kinds of parents we’ll be. I’m petrified; we will be responsible for raising a person who will need to be a contribution to society, self sufficient, responsible, and an independent thinker. I expressed this fear to my husband, Peter, and he told me I was over thinking everything; raising a child isn’t that difficult. All we need to do is treat him or her like an adult.

That got me wondering what kind of father my husband will be and I started to laugh…

I have many nieces and nephews who have stayed with me over a couple of days at a time. On occasion, I’ve needed my husband to keep an eye on them while I ran to the store, did chores, or whatever else needed to get done. When left with the kids, he always turns it into a learning experience.

Once I came back and two of my nieces – then ages 7 and 9 – were dancing hip-hop. These girls don’t have a whole lot of rhythm, and most of their music choices are either country or Miley Cirus; hip-hop is not within their realm. It seems that they were watching Bend It Like Beckam and got up to dance to the Indian music. That got Peter thinking. He found “Learn To Dance” shows On Demand. By the time I walked in, the two girls had learned an entire routine. I couldn’t help but laugh! I asked him what made him choose hip-hop and he explained that he couldn’t find belly dancing. I bet they can still remember the moves.

Earlier, before we were even married, when I was leaving to study abroad in England for a year, my entire family came to see me off at LAX. We all waited at the gate for four hours (!) before my flight was ready to board. For some reason, Peter was put in charge my one-year-old niece. Most of use took turns holding her, but not Peter. He was determined to make her walk. The two of them walked hand in hand up and down the terminal for I don’t know how long. I swear he taught her to walk!

I’m excited to see what I’ll have waiting for me every time Peter’s left in charge of the baby – there will never be a dull moment. I can just see it, I go away for work and I come back to find my child speaking Russian because his dad had him listening to Rosetta Stone.

Even now, with JJ (Peter nicknamed the baby JJ for Jeanna Junior about a year ago, before we had even thought seriously about getting pregnant) arriving in November, Peter’s asking me when he can teach him, or her, calculus and he’s thinking JJ can attend RPI University in New York because he’s never met a dumb person from RPI. Of course, JJ will be an engineer, because Peter believes his purpose in life is to supply this world with engineers…

Maybe I really don’t think have anything to worry about – I was over thinking it.

We are leaving Prague today at 2:30; I think the train ride should be about 4 hours to Berlin.

Prague is very small. We can walk most of it in no time at all. The first day here we went to Prague castle by taxi (which is about 2 miles away) and walked back. Everything here reminds us of a fairy tale. Imagine five story town homes with ornate sculptures and decorations. Each painted a completely different color. In most of the places like this that I’ve visited, the buildings like these only surround the area just outside the castle/palace, but here it goes on for street after street. Every square has Christmas decorations, shopping from little booths, food, and drinks. We’ve decided that we need to get a shop in Big Bear, and sell hot wine and kabobs on baguettes. It’s cheap and warm – perfect for the cold weather.

Prague is also COLD. We have NEVER been so cold! Before we leave each day, we do a “layer” check to see who is wearing the most. Nicole is always wearing the most amount of clothes; Danny and Peter switch off wearing the least. We’ve bought ear protection, scarves, coats, etc. all in effort to stay warm. Today wasn’t so bad, it was about 36F. Juliann – you were right; all the women here wear tights, boots, and long coats. I don’t know how they keep from slipping on the paved roads or stay warm; the wind has got to go straight through the tights! Terri – the thin layer of silk bottoms don’t work! I should have gotten the super thick ones.

I know most of the world thinks we Americans are obnoxious and rude, but I’ve got a whole other outlook. We are definitely the loudest people in the room; we walk fast, and expect everyone to speak English. But the people here have no self awareness. We’ve been stepped on, pushed, shoved, and cut in front of. Then they say “Pardon” like that’s supposed to help. Nicole was standing in line for eggs this morning at the hotel, and an entire family stepped right in front of her and ate all the eggs, leaving none for her. It doesn’t make any sense! She was standing there, plate in hand, and they just took over. I think the people here have been extremely rude! With the exception of the hotel staff … they, at least, were really, super nice and informative!