Puppy seeking attention

I often neglect to write about the happenings of my husband’s life in medical school. He continues to do well but he’s feeling a bit bombarded with all that he’s learning in Neuroscience and Physiology. Every once in awhile he reviews what he’s studied with me and it seems as if he is learning another language. He has just completed Clinical skills for this year; he’s pretty excited about that. Last month he performed male and female examinations on actual patients. The patients were paid to teach the students how to perform the procedures accurately, I hear they pay well but you could never pay me enough to let students examine me!



Here he is in his white coat; he looks so handsome and professional.

Skofeild on the other hand has had plenty of anxious days with me stuck in bed. I’m doing a lot better but I no longer take him out for runs and it’s been too cold to throw his ball outside. If he’s not chasing his tail (which he does when he’s anxious) he is in the bathtub because he’s gotten in trouble (he runs to the bathroom with his ears down when he knows he has done something wrong). I finally decided to teach him how to run on the treadmill. He surprisingly caught on very fast especially with treats involved. In the morning when I ride my bike trainer or do a pregnant Yoga video he’ll run the whole entire time on the treadmill. He runs about 3.5 mph for at least 50 minutes. He really is too smart for his own good, lately he has taken up making fake vomiting noises to get us to let him outside. He’s good at it. I never thought I’d enjoy a dog as much as I enjoy Skofeild, he has so much personality it’s hard to imagine how animals can be mistreated sometimes.

Skofeild in the bathtub, his ears perked up when he saw the camera.


Here he is on the treadmill. I have video footage of him running on my phone but the quality isn’t good enough to post on the blog.If you really want to see it, let me know and I could send it to your phone.





I’ve started the craving stage of my pregnancy; it’s been so nice to eat food without vomiting. Last week I was nearly in tears when the Mexican restaurant brought me out a soggy burrito with too much sour cream and cheese. Luckily the waiter caught on and took the meal off the bill. That night I looked up how to make a California style burrito with homemade tortillas. My friend Melanie gladly accepted my invitation to cook them so I spent the majority of my Wednesday at her house making delicious authentic tasting burritos. I was in heaven. I haven’t had a really good burrito since I lived in California. It was nice to be outside of our home and in great company.

My days are a lot better. I’m able to work out with no problem. I’m grazing on food all day, I feel hungry all the time. We’ve started shopping for the basics like a crib, stroller and car seat; online of course, because this small town doesn’t have much to offer. I’m really excited to start decorating the nursery. I catch myself daydreaming about what I’d like it to look like I plan to hit up the thrift store to see what I can find. We’ll find out our baby’s gender next week so if you haven’t voted do so before February 15, 2010.

Baby UNDER Construction...

Almost 18 weeks! There is a wives tale that says "baby girls steal your beauty". According to the copious amount of pimples on my face, we are definitely having a girl. My face is worst than it ever was in high school hence, the headless portrait!

Pregnancy has been TOUGH. Thankfully, we didn’t struggle to conceive as I know it is difficult for many. Shortly after we found out I was pregnant, morning sickness (more like 24/7 sickness!) hit me like a ton of bricks. As my sense of smell increased, my appetite decreased. I had aversions to meat, especially red meat and anything powerful smelling. I felt ravenous with hunger all the time but nothing sounded appealing to me. Derek has been so loving, he would either pick up dinner or make dinner despite his heavy load of studying. In frustration I would end up crying because I couldn’t eat. I spent the majority of the day in bed, curtains drawn shut, phone turned off and a vomit bucket right beside my bed. I’m sure you might wonder "why didn’t she just run to the bathroom?" I was throwing up so much I became tired of the toilet water ricocheting into my face and clothes; the bucket lined with a garbage bag was a far better option. I’d throw up stomach acid and the little food that I managed to keep down. It was the first time my life that I was concerned about losing weight.


Due to several complications at 9 weeks, we had an emergency ultra sound. Our little baby was dancing around so much we nicknamed her/him "dancing gummy bear". Dosn't it resemble a gummy bear?

At our 2nd prenatal appointment, the nurse noticed that I had lost several pounds. I was advised to try "crackers and 7Up" I was very annoyed at the quick fix suggestions everyone had thrown at me. It was almost like it was my fault that I was nauseous because I wasn’t doing one simple thing, eating crackers with 7Up. The fact that it came from staff at a OBGYN office bothered me, surely I wasn’t the only pregnant woman suffering severe morning sickness to the point where I was losing weight! Not to mention, what good would the suggestion do if I couldn’t keep anything down anyway?

The following pictures are reccomendations to cure morning sickness by the MANY friends, family and stranger offering their expertise...


This was not worth the $5.97 I spent on it.



These worked at first, so well that I obviously went over board on purchasing so much. My justification, I knew we wouldn't have it here in West Virginia so I splurged. It stopped working after a week.


My mom sent me these along with maternity clothes. I've stopped by every store in this town and no one sells maternity clothes. My mom claimed that she ate these when she was pregnant with me. She failed to mention that there is a very hard seed in the middle of it, it nearly cracked one of my crowns! Needless to say these don't work.

In my mind I envisioned pregnancy to be wonderful… smooth sailing. I’d continue my routine of running or working out in the morning, working and participating in activities with the other wives. I figured I was a healthy young woman (but not too young) so naturally I thought that my pregnancy would allow me to continue life as it had been. I must admit that I’ve never had patience for anyone who blamed their pregnancy for their actions (such as punctuality, upholding expected responsibilities ect.) My experience with my pregnancy has definitely altered my perspective. I have no routine, I quit my job (which I wasn’t sad about at all) and I have developed a profound respect for women who can work, attend school ect while being pregnant. I haven’t cooked or done much housework at all. I’m thankful to have a husband who is understanding and is willing to do what he needs to do to help out. I’m also thankful for our friends who are so persistent in keeping tabs on us. They’ve brought us meals and have kept us in their prayers.


This was taken at 12 weeks. Everytime the we get an ultrasound, the doctor comments on how big the baby is...I'm really hoping for a normal sized head rather than the traditional supersized Tongan head that runs in our family.

This week I’m heading into my 18th week. Although the nausea hasn’t cleared up completely I haven’t thrown up in the past 6 days! I’m sure by our next appointment I’ll have gained weight; I’ve developed an appetite of a football linebacker. My Doctor prohibited running so I plan to continue watching what I eat (as I had been doing pre-pregnancy) and exercising regularly. My poor husband has already heard enough crying from me and the last thing he’ll need is to hear me cry over excessive weight gain post-pregnancy.

Despite all the uncomfortable symptoms and sickness, we are truly so excited for gift we are about to receive. We are blessed with the knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s love and awareness of our situation. We’re thankful that we can draw strength from our faith in him and from one another.

Resolutions

Derek and I had a great holiday break together. I can't believe 2009 is over already. I'm proud to say that we have accomplished some of our resolutions for 2009,the following are the goals we are most proud of!

1. Derek was accepted into medical school!! (See post on January 28, 2009)

2. I ran 5 races this year (one 10 miler and three 5K's) and my first Marathon (See post on May 19, 2009)

3. We paid off my student loans (See post on June 1, 2009)


In 2010 we have set goals to:

1. Improve photography, master Adobe Photoshop (a very complex photo editing program)

2. Derek plans to master Osteopathic Manipulation (he has already mastered manipulating my migraines and headaches away:)

3. Prepare for our NEW EDITION!! COMING SOON ON JUNE 29, 2010



I know, I know the announcement of our pregnancy deserves a whole post to itself. More details to come as soon as I feel more energized. Can't wait to disclose all the juicy details of my life as a pregnant woman!

Oh the weather outside is frightful!!!

Derek had 3 tests to prepare for this week...
em>Here he is studying long hours in his office...he didn't want a picture so therefore he wouldn't look at me. I keep telling him that I need to document the tough times:)

Derek has successfully completed his first semester in medical school! So far he has checked off Human Anatomy, Nutrition, Histology and Biochemistry!Next semester he looks forward pharmacology, Human physiology and neurology. He has been learning osteopathic manipulation techniques and I love it when he practices on me. I can't wait until he learns how to manipulate my head to rid myself of the migrains that I often get:)
On friday,shortly after the test we celebrated with our circle of first year friends.

My all time favorite Christmas game, I never get tired of it. It is multiple presents wrapped inside of other presents. Each person must roll dice and get doubles in order to proceed to unwrap the present. A hat, scarf and gloves must be put on before you can open the present




Stewart missed the majority of the game, but somehow he managed to beat us all. Congrats Stewart!



It was great to get together and play games, eat great food and relax. Good thing the party started at noon because by 3pm a supposed snow storm was heading our way. I didn't think too much of it, just last week I walked in my flipflops,coatless to the library.Boy were we surprised when we stepped out the door the next morning. It had snowed 16 inches!





We had so much snow that there wasn't enough plows to go around.I had friends traveling home who were stuck overnight on the freeways and Church was also cancelled on Sunday due to the unplowed snow. I don't think I've ever experienced having to cancel church due to snow. For all you who live in Utah, appreciate the salt. Not only to we lack in snow plows but we also don't have salted grounds.


Skofeild loves the snow, he couldn't get enough of it.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Make a Smilebox greeting

10 Days in Utah

My eldest brother Simi and his wife just had their third son Isaiah Simi Cazeau. My brother asked me to help out, Simi has a busy schedule with work and school and Stacy needed help with Braxten and Audric while she recovered. I of coarse jumped at the opportunity to go home to meet my new nephew and visit with family.



The boys (Audric and Braxten) refer to Isaiah as 'baby Isaiah' they are so cute with him. Braxten is constantly kissing him and Audric always wants to hold him.



The Boys are so energetic, good thing for the movie "UP" I could bribe them to watch a movie rather than play 24/7. I took them on walks a few times to burn energy but that didn't seem to help. When we weren't watching "UP" (which we watched 4 or 5 times) we were playing on the ship aka their bunk beds.
Audric is so funny with grandpa, I guess dads ears are irresistible to a 3 year old. Audric has also taken up shaking his bum around the house, as seen as the picture above.



Almost every morning, if I wasn't up the boys would run down stairs and scream "wake up lazy bum" and jump on the bed. They were my alarm clock in the mornings.



Audric won the contest Jack-o-Cuties, he won 10 tickets to Disney on Ice. Thanks to my BFF Susiane, she heard the announcement on the radio, if she hadn't we probably would have never known. It was the first Disney on Ice I had ever attended. I was pretty impressed at how well the characters skated in their huge costumes.



Simi also invited our first cousin Mele and her two oldest girls. It was fun to hang out with her, she is like one of our sisters.




I met up with my BFF Susiane and enjoyed a session at the temple (temple trips here are 5 hours away). We also visited Alithie in Logan, she just had her first son Emett Mathias Rock. She declined to a picture, so I took pics of her good looking son instead.

My last picture with Susiane, she is such a great friend. I'm blessed to have amazing friends in my life.

I nearly missed my flight because I was confused at the time. As I rushed the around the house the boys thought it would be funny to hide in my suitcase. I offered to take them with me, I promised they could play the Wii as much as they wanted but they refused. It's obvious that they love their family and home. They were so much fun.
I also visited my in-laws, I didn't catch pictures with them but it was so fun reading with little Zoe and hearing Alecs stories about his swords and guns:)

I took a lot of pictures of family, I have an armature photography blog (it needs a ton of work). I figure it's time to learn a practical skill like photography, I've been working on this skill since my mom bought Derek and I a Nikon for our farewell present. Please check it out if you'd like to see more fun pictures of my family. www.Nativarodebackphotography.blogspot.com I've been hesitant to reveal my blog because it's definitely not up to par with many other photo blogs. I figure I need constructive criticism in order to improve my my skills:)

New Orleans Trip

November 1-4, 2009
I was nominated SAA (Student Advocate Association)Historian and so I was asked to travel to the AOA (American Osteopathic Association) Conference in New Orleans. Lauren Rigby (Secretary) and I traveled to her home town in North Carolina to fly out on a cheaper flight.

I had never been to New Orleans so I made sure to take plenty of pictures. As a member of the SAA we were expected to network mostly so had a lot of free time to explore. I thought I'd see a lot of the hurricane devastation but I didn't see anything but the painted X's which meant dead bodies had been discovered at that specific location.

During the conference, a new president was nominated. A traditional New Orleans band played as we made our way to lunch. It was catchy music, the kind that makes you want to dance. I didn't dance, it's hard to do when your surrounded by people who don't dance at all. It was fun to notice all the employees in the hotel dancing around as we walked by.

Supposedly Bourbon street is the partier street, 24/7 partying happens on this street. The bronze and gold street entertainers reminded me of Las Vegas. I thought the buildings were pretty interesting, they called it the French quarters but they building seemed to have a lot of Spanish influence.


This funky car reminded me of Chicago, I always wonder what state of mind the person gluing useless trinkets onto a car is in. I just noticed that the drivers side windows asks for donations. Hmm...


Here is one of the many cruise dinner boats. We were so excited for a meal until I realized it was a buffet. Mass produced food doesn't really sit well with me, I told my husband it's because he's spoiled me and we enjoy qualitiy over quantity. It was really disappointing because everyone raved about Creole food. I was thinking Creole like my Grandma Nativa's cooking, but I've discovered that my Grandma's cooking is more influenced by Spanish rather than Creole French. I miss my grandmas rice and beans and fried plantain yum.





My old roommate from UCLA is from Louisiana so I made sure to call her so we could meet up. She took us to the airport (Thankfully we didn't want to pay another $40 to a crazy taxi driver). Unfortunately we were running so late I didn't get a chance to take a picture with her. I'm still sad about it. This is her son Steven, isn't he so cute? Stephanie and I ended up getting married a week apart a year after we had been roommates. It was fun to catch up with her, it's been almost 3 years since we were roommates.