Another Dinner Date in San Jose

Date night with a baby is only a little different than date night without. Basically the only big changes for us are that we need to get home earlier so she can go to bed on time and we can have some adult time in the evening, and that one of us has to hold her during whatever activity we chose for the evening. This past friday, it was just a simple dinner.

Leighton got a recommendation for a place called Okayama in San Jose's Japan Town from our home teacher who lives in that area. We hadn't been there yet, so we packed ourselves into the car and drove over. The restaurant had its own little private parking lot, so we got to avoid the meters (score!) and only walk a few yards to the front door of the establishment.

Once we got in they seated us at a table and one of the waitresses cooed over Baby Llama's little toes and fingers and everythings. It was actually really adorable. We took a while looking over the menu, and finally decided on some Japanese potstickers, teriyaki pork ribs, and a sushi platter. From start to finish, the meal was a win, though we did discover that I am a wuss and can't handle wassabi because I mean that stuff is hot. After the meal, the waitress brought us our check and little scoops of their complimentary green tea ice-cream, which I kinda fell in love with and think I may order a full serving of next time we go.

We left the place satisfied and smiling, but then because I am a glutton, we stopped at this dairy-queen like place a few blocks away and I ordered a giant banana split for us to share. There were strawberries and pineapples and chocolate and whipped cream and bananas and ice-cream and we finished it in under three minutes, that's how tasty it was.

So basically we had a lovely evening and I regret nothing, even though It's probably going to take me all week to work off the calories I consumed in the banana split alone.

 ^^^ FYI, I have no idea why i look up and away from the camera when I know someone is taking a picture of me eating. I guess its just one of those endearing quirks you will grow to love about me.

Probably TMI Bump Update and Nerdliness!

Okay, so yesterday's Midwife appointment. It went well. Mr. Llama got off of work early to go with me, which was nice, and we drove over to Cupertino to make the 3 o clock time slot I'd been given. We got there on time at which point I drank a couple cups of water to try and fill up the bladder (which doesn't take very long these days, let me tell you) and then had my blood pressure taken and my weight measured. It's always super thrilling standing on that scale, really the highlight of the whole experience, so I don't even know why I'm bothering to go on (sarcasm).

Next up they sat me down in this really peaceful room and strapped a couple things to my belly to monitor the baby's movements and heart rate and whatnot. They call it a non-stress test (NST), and it took maybe five minutes. Baby Llama passed with flying colors because she is a genius. After the NST I met the ultrasound technician and we got to see the baby while he measured and joked and talked about how she had a bit of peach fuzz but probably not a lot of hair, which makes us think she'll be either blonde or red-headed like her Daddy. And then Baby Llama stuck her tongue out at us and blinked and did all manner of cute things.

For those of you interested, she's measuring about seven pounds nine ounces (give or take a pound) and  has the roundest little cheeks in there. So round in fact that Mr. Llama suggested she might have inherited them from my father, who has the awesomest cheeks ever. She also seems to be super cozy (even though she's super crowded) and has a good amount of fluid to swim in as well as a still fully functioning placenta.

After that it was time for the not so cute part of the visit, during which my no nonsense, down to earth and personable midwife got to stick her fingers into my nether regions and check my cervix. Joyful day.  Good news though! She was surprised to find that I'm already dilated 3-4 centimeters (for reference, fully dilated is 10 centimeters) and 80% effaced. She told me with those stats I could ask to be induced at any time and they'd be cool with it, but she suggested just letting nature do it's thing because the baby could really come at any point now. By any point though, she meant any time from that night to two weeks from now, because women have been known to stay at 3-4 centimeters for weeks. Fortunately though, baby's head is super low and in a great position, so as soon as she says it's go time, we can evacuate her.

So basically my body is doing what it is supposed to do like a champ. Thanks, body!

Oh yeah, and she also told me to call them as soon as I was in labor, because things might move quickly due to my current progress. So cheers to a fast, easy, and painless delivery. Are those a real thing while unmedicated?

Once that was over I left a urine sample (still can't aim worth a toot) and we left the office. On our way home we passed a BJ's and I was craving a Pizzookie, so we stopped and had a pretty early dinner, but it was delicious so I don't even care that I had to have a second dinner before bed time.



Anywho, this BJ's happened to be conveniently located next to the one place in Silicon Valley that Mr. Llama has been dying to go, but far too embarrassed to actually suggest visiting because he thinks I don't like his nerdiness or something, which is so not the case. I love him in all of his nerdly glory, especially when he is reluctantly but ecstatically standing next to the Apple Campus's sign and then going in to explore their official gift shop while pretending like he didn't want me to drag him there. It's just super dreamy to see. Watch, I'll show you.

So yeah, we had a pretty rad time yesterday. And I highly suggest getting a cookies and cream pizzookie next time you're at BJ's, because guys, it was divine. 

Now Ciao!

What is the nerdiest thing about you? Should I have purchased that onesie? Isn't my husband handsome?

Family Home Evening

So the FHE last night was pretty rockin. After our midwife appointment and an impromptu early dinner date following (which I'm going to make you wait until tonight to hear about, bwahahah!) we came home and did some scripture study together before digging into the really awesome part of what we had planned. Onesie painting! 

I know, we're so exciting. But I've had the blank onesies and the paint for ages and ages now, and I've been meaning to do something fun with them but just never got around to it. This way I was able to rope Mr. Llama into helping though, and we could call it a family enriching experience. Yay us! 

It took me over twice as long to finish with my onesies as it took the Mr. to finish with his, but maybe he's just more naturally talented than I am? I mean, he free-handed his and they both look awesome, while I and my serious lack of painting talent had to use copious amounts of painters tape. 

 ^^^See, those are Leighton's. Super legit, right? Ruby (Baby Llama) is going to have a onesie with a ruby on it, painted by her Daddy who loves her very much. And also a smiley face onesie because Daddy was channeling Forest Gump for some reason.

Now here are mine. 

^^^ So this one started off cute enough. Her heart is in Arizona with both sets of grandparents. Adorable, right? Now do you see all those green streaks? Those are there because I accidentally got green paint on the onesie and figured I should just do streaks everywhere to make it look like I meant to do it. And I mean, it does look like I meant to do it now... but it also doesn't look good. I could always say it's to bring to mind the bold saguaro though I guess? I mean who doesn't want their baby to look prickly and unapproachable like a cactus?

^^^And here is the proof that without painters tape I would be lost. (How do you think I managed straight lines on the Arizona outline? 

So basically, we had fun, but I should not be allowed to dress my child in clothing of my own creation. You live you learn. 

Have you ever used acrylic paint on fabric before? Did it stay through the wash? Are you good at painting like my husband is? Or should you perhaps stick to writing as an art form like me? 

Date Night (Director's Cut)

In case you were wondering whether we celebrated national donut day yesterday...

We totally did.

And I give Yum Yum Donuts on the corner of Willow and Meridian two thumbs up.

Although now that I know it is delicious and also within walking distance, this could potentially turn into a very dangerous sort of relationship involving too many late night calls, possessive visits and co-dependency issues.

What is your favorite type of donut? Favorite donut shop? If you don't like donuts (heathen) what is your favorite dessert? 

A Party of Two

First of all, I'm still pregnant. I like to preface everything I say with this lately so people don't think I'm going to share more exciting news than I actually am. It sort of lowers the bar a little and makes everything I say thereafter a little more note-worthy. Try it sometime, even if you've never actually been pregnant. Or are a man. At the very least it's a conversation starter.

Now on to the the actual content.

Mr. Llama and I had our weekly date night last night. Since we've been in San Jose we've been trying something new every week restaurant-wise (a challenge from my father-in-law) and enjoying pretty much every minute of it. Normally I'm a stick to the basics sort of girl when it comes to eating out. In Arizona my go to spots were Oregano's, Texas Roadhouse, the Cheesecake Factory, and a variety of fast food places (Taco Bell, yum). And I never branched out when we went to those places, I just stuck to whatever I'd had to start with that tasted so good I wanted to go back for more. This was suuuuper frustrating for Mr. Llama, who is more the type to try something new, even if he loved the first meal he got. He likes variety and trying new things and tasting all of the flavors. Which explains his love affair with Dr. Pepper I suppose. Anywho. So when we moved I promised I would try new places with him and let myself be open to new tastes.

So far it's working out. We've tried an Indian place (the last time I had Indian was in 2010) which I kind of adored, a Chinese place where I ordered something other than my standard beef with broccoli, A brunch place I blogged about previously, and tonight, a Mexican taqueria we both pretty well fell in love with.

Because guys, the food! It was super delicioso and reminded me of the sorts of little hole in the wall restaurant's my dad loves to eat at because honestly, that is where the food is most authentic. I ordered a carnitas taco plate and Mr. Llama got himself something called "asada fries" which was basically a heart attack of fries smothered with carnitas, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo. And you know what else? My plate came with beans and rice, and I actually liked the rice, which is super rare for me when eating Mexican away from home, because they never make it dry enough or tasty enough to remind me of what my Dad and Abuelita make. But this place aced the rice test and so now I have a little Mexican place within walking distance that I am not ashamed to like ( ahem tacobell ahem) and that I can show off to my Dad when he comes to visit after this baby decides to evacuate my uterus like its a burning building and she's just woken up to a smoke filled room and an intense heat outside of her bedroom door from which the only escape is a tiny window that looks sort of like a fully dilated and effaced cervix.

Now look at these pictures!

 ^^^40 weeks in just two days, folks!

 ^^^Delicious Horchata drink (with free refills, thank you very mucho).

 ^^^Horchata drinking Mr. Llama.

 ^^^Heart attack fries.

 ^^^I maybe started eating before I remembered to take a picture. SUE ME. It was too tasty to wait.

 ^^^ This is his "Holy shiz, did I just eat all of that and is my stomach about to explode?" face.

 ^^^The tasty thingamabobs from which the horchata (and tamarindo) come.

 ^^^The name of the restaurant. In case you're wondering, it's conveniently located between a non-name brand Mexican market and a laundromat, just as all good hole in the wall Mexican taquerias should be.

^^^The Llamas, on what could be there last date night before their family of two plus puppy becomes a family of three. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Will I go into labor tonight? Where is your favorite Mexican food located? Have you ever used a laundromat?

Puppy Love Song

Monday night is family time. We call it family home evening because we're oh so totally Mormon, but normally I just say FHE and leave it at that. It's the one evening a week we try our darndest to stay home doing "wholesome recreational activities" and usually having a quick spiritual lesson. This Monday, we started things off right with a french toast dinner (apparently brinner has become my thing lately) and a nice discussion about churchy things before heading off on a walking adventure, just us and the Llama Dog. 

 ^^^ Mr. Llama planned out our study for the week, like a good dude. We use a white board because it's big and obnoxious and makes it harder to miss or ignore, so we're more likely to actually study what we planned to.

^^^And then we left to go explore the area. Unfortunately that meant we had to cross the busiest intersection in the world, which meant we had to wait for the walk sign for about twenty minutes (only slightly do I exaggerate) before we could finally get going. One of us was not amused by the wait. 

 ^^^Once we actually got going, our adventure took us along a trail with access to Los Gatos Creek which runs right near our place. Of course the access was pretty small, and most of the time on the trail you couldn't actually see the creek because it's so far below the trail itself... but we did get to stand beside the water, which was sort of cool we guess?

 ^^^And Llama Dog decided drinking the water would be a good idea, and then gave me this face as if to say, "What? Don't you drink from streams that contain runoff from the streets above?"

 ^^^Anyway, then because I am an attention seeker, I had Mr. Llama take a picture (maybe more like 15, but I'll only make you look at one) of me posing while "walking the dog." For posterity and whatnot.

 ^^^And because I've seen too many pictures of bulldogs on instagram, I asked Mr. Llama to walk with Doggy Dog into some tall grass so he could frolic. The only frolicking he did was once he got out of the grass, because he hated it with a passion, and once completely surrounded, planted himself and refused to take another step. So much for a joyous insta of him enjoying himself in nature.

 ^^^On our way home though, at the corner of that street where the KFC stands (I ATE THE BONES!), we were waiting for another light and saw a bulldog sticking its head out of the window of a car right next to us. "Oh look, Honey, another Bully!" said I. "HEY! Can we come talk to you!?" Shouted the woman driving the car.

 ^^^So there, in a small patch of grass behind the KFC, Llama Dog met Libby Dog, the future mother of the children he will never have because we had him neutered before we moved to San Jose.

 ^^^It was a passionate meeting, one I'm sure neither dog will forget.

 ^^^Many soft words and promises were exchanged. They were soul mates. We nearly shed a tear.

^^^And when they said their farewells, the audience sighed. 

Unfortunately, Llama Dog forgot to ask for his new girlfriend's number, so the chances of them meeting again are pretty slim. Hopefully he doesn't pine too much. The whole thing did make me think though, that I'd like to find a group of dogs he can play-date with. Maybe there's a bulldog club nearby where he can make friends and get his crazy out every few weeks? Or a dog park we can take him to periodically? 

Anywho. Long story short, we went for a walk on Monday night and had a pretty good time and then came home. 

And yes, I'm still pregnant. 

If I paid you ten bucks, would you drink from the creek like Llama Dog did? Should I look into a bulldog club nearby? Do your pets have significant others? Why didn't our dog want to frolic in the tall grass like other dogs do!? 

Brunch Date Your Red Head

I never understood the big deal about brunch. I mean, it's breakfast and lunch at the same time, which is pretty cool, but why is "going out to brunch" such a big deal in movies and shows about the rich and the famous? Yeah, I'm talking about you, Gossip Girl. Personally, I've always been the type who would rather eat her brunch home-made than in some restaurant where people are going to judge you for nomming down on more than you usually nom on at that time of day. And it's not like I drink, so really the 11 o clock cocktails don't appeal to me all that much. No judgement if that's your thing though, for reals.

Anywho. Yesterday I got the brunch love, and its all thanks to a place just a mile from our house called Bill's Cafe where magic happens at the 11am hour. Now normally I wouldn't have bought into the hype of a spot like this, I mean all they do is breakfast foods and a few sandwichy things. Where is the variety!? BUT, after several recommendations that we try the place from people at Mr. Llama's work, and driving by it on two consecutive Sundays only to find it packed with a huge line out front and people holding what looked like saucers of some sort of orange drink--we decided to give it a go. And holy balogna, am I ever glad we did.

Was the wait exhaustively long? Yes. Was the food 103% worth it? YES. And as a bonus it provided me with an epiphany about brunch. Brunch is not just about enormous amounts of breakfast food, it's about enormous amounts of delicious breakfast food that you'll wait in line for 45 minutes to get and then wish you hadn't devoured so quickly because now your plate is empty and it looks very sad, but hey the waiter keeps pouring you more water every two minutes and you probably couldn't take another bite without exploding anyway, so you don't have many complaints.

Now, below I've included a photographic guide to having an excellent brunch date experience. Execute and report!

 ^^^Find someplace highly recommended that specializes in brunch and is a little expensive but only because it is extremely worth it.

 ^^^Pick out a companion. Red hair is preferable but any color will probably do. The sense of humor is pivotal, though.

 ^^^ Order a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (or an alcoholic equivalent if that's your thing). Drink.

^^^Get served a delicious bacon, spinach and cheddar omelet with sour cream and chives, as well as a honkin side of hash browns.

 ^^^ Make sure your date orders something equally delicious looking with salsa, carnitas, and poached eggs piled onto an english muffin.

 ^^^Chow down.

 ^^^Now walk back to the car you had to park several blocks away because there was zero parking at the restaurant due to the over-population of brunchanistas in attendance, and find a pinecone nearly the size of your date's foot in someone's yard.

^^^Finally, pretend a conveniently shaped tree trunk is a race car and win a nascar championship.  That's it.

Do you have a favorite brunch spot? Do you like nascar? Do red-heads have souls?