Jude Stephen Vicente Caringella

Introducing Jude Stephen Vicente Caringella! My new nephew was born October 12th at 11:05pm. I got a call from Grase on Monday Oct 11th around 3:00pm. I was off due to teh Columbus day Holiday(hey I work for the county!)and I had just got out of the Dentist. I just found out I needed a root canal and they asked "would you like to do it today?" I said no, good thing I did!! I rushed home grabbed some clothes for Karson (he was heading out after he got off of work at 4pm) and then I was on my way. Karson actually beat me to Tobi and Grase's house! Hey my car can only go 65 miles per hour!! Well Tobi, Sofia me and Karson headed to the hospital around 7pm. We stayed until around 10:30pm. Me and Karson took Sofia back to Tobi and Grase's and slept for the night. The next day we headed to the hospital around noon. Still no progress so we hung out there for awhile. We went home around 6 or 7. We went to walmart for some groceries and got dinner. Tobi called me and updatd me on the progress and let me know he would call if anything happened. Sofia and Karson were sleeping and I was about to fall asleep when I got the call around 11:20pm. She had the baby!!! Tobi said we could come then or the next morning. Well we decided to head straight to the hospital so Karson could see the baby and then head home because he had to work on Wed. So me, karson, sofia(sleeping), and Jason all went to the hospital. We got to hold Jude for the first time! Sofia woke up and was a little moody and got jelous when I was holding Jude. Well we all left since it was the middle of the night and we wanted Tobi, Grase and Jude to get some sleep! Jason was kind enough to stay with me at Tobi and Grase's since I hate bieng alone! The next day me, Sofia and Jason went to the hospital around noon and got to visit some more with Jude. We left for a couple of hours then me and Sofia went back that evening. My mom, dad and Quint were there to visit that night. Jason stayed with me again that night. The next day Grase was going to be released so me and Sofia headed over there around 11:30am. Turns out we did not get out of the hospital until around 4:30pm!! They came and took pictures of Jude and they were so cute! I snuck the above picture while the photographer was fixing her camera. We went home and Chris, Connie, and Jimmy were there waiting for us. They got to visit with Jude. Then my mom, dad, quint and Amy came over and brought dinner. Jason and Grase's mom came over too. Later that night Kenny came by to visit Jude. Friday night we watched Iron Man 2 and it took us 5 hours because we kept having to puase it for Sofia and Jude. On Sat Grase's mom and dad came by to visit Jude. Then my mom and dad came. Then later Jason, Chris, Connie, Karson, Callie, Jimmy, and Kenny came over. Jason brought Grase sweet potato fries and also bought us pizza. He also brought wine and sparkling wine from a winery he services. It was good!! Sunday me and Grase gave baby his first sponge bath! Karson, Jimmy and Callie spent the night so we all hung out on Sunday.
During the whole week I spent most of my time with Sofia and it was a challenge but it was also great. She calls me "auntie" and it sounds so cute when she says it. Especially when she yells it from another room!! I changed so many diapers, Sofia's and Jude's! I got to hold and care for Jude alot! Sofia wanted mommy alot so I got to help by taking Jude and caring for him. Sofia loves kissing Jude. She also strokes him and says "baby". She is so cute! It is going to be hard but I know she will eventually adjust to his arrival. When it came time for me to leave I almost cried. I mean I was there for almost a week! I really enjoyed it. It was nice to be able to help Tobi and Grase and I got to spend time with Sofia and Jude! I loved it! Now I have a nephew and a niece!! I am so happy to be an aunt of 2!!! Can't wait to see Jude grow as I have watched Sofia grow.

Desirae

2 Weeks to go!!

2 weeks until Grase is due! My nephew can come at anytime. We are hoping for 10-10-10, I mean how cool would that be!! Well I think he will come on the 13th. Sofia was late so I think newB will be early or right on time. They did pick a name but I won't post it until they have posted it on their blog or online. :)

NewB is almost here!!

My new nephew is almost here!! I am so excited to meet my new little nephew. No name for him yet so we call him NewB (newbie). Grase is has less than 4 weeks to go until her due date. Basically in a week NewB can be here any day. I am on baby stand by. Need to pack my bag because it can happen at any moment. Since we are the farthest away we are promised to be the first to be called so we can make the 50 minute drive to Glendale where the hospital is located. Last time we spent awhile but it was well worth the wait. We got to hold Sofia when she was only minutes old. I also got to help take care of her the first couple of days. This weekend is Grase's congergation baby shower. I am so excited...can you tell?
DEZ

Working 8 hours...ahhhh

So my disability accomadation request went through and now I am only working 8 hours a day starting today. I am so happy. It is so much easier to function when I am working 8 hours a day.

Working 10 hours a day sucks!

Sure anyone else would love my 4/10 schedule. Working 4 days for 10 hours with every Friday off sounds great right? WRONG!! I work 7:30am-6pm! 6PM!!!! I get home around 6:20pm. If you thought getting to meeting was hard think about if you got home at that time! It is so exhausting that I have been knocking out around 8:30-9pm during the week. I take my pills at 5pm and I am still at work!!! This past week I made it all 4 days without bieng late or leaving early and I am telling you I am exhausted. People say but you get Fridays off!! You know what my Friday's are? Busy Busy Busy. Doc appts, picking up meds, grocery shopping or visiting family. Sat and Sunday? Busy Busy Busy! So much going on. This month is almost over already. Thankfully me Erica King and Keri are planning a spa day on Friday the 30th. I sure need it!!! In August we are a little less busy but still busy.
Where has the time gone? Grase is already 6 months pregnant! She is due in 95 days!!! ahhh! The time flies!! In all these busy plans I try in get in my Sofia time as much as possible. She is growing up soooo fast. I have to be a part of it. Soon Jude (the name I have picked for the newbie) will be here and it will get even crazier! Boy Sofia is a handful, now there will be two!! I need to lose weight! STAT! I must keep up with my niece and nephew!!! I have to!
My pain has been ok as long as I take my pills and wear my girdle every day. I also have to get up and walk a bit during the day. It is getting way too hot to walk outside so I think me and Karson are going to join L.A. Fitness, the county gives a great deal we can't pass up with no contracts.

So this weekend the plan is Friday I am suppose to go and pick up AC units from Chris and Connie's house. Sat clean house, Toby and Grase are coming to spend the night because the Stone Soar Fest is Sunday. Me, Grase and the baby get to hang out on Sunday. Maybe we will go swimming at Kelly's parents house! We will see.
So busy! Well that is all for now.
Dez

San Fransisco

We had so much fun in San Francisco this past weekend. Me and Karson flew out of the Ontario airport to Oakland Thursday night at 8:50pm. We arrived at the Oakland airport around 10pm. This was my very first flight ever. I know I am lame. It was fun. It did not last long but at least I got to experience it. We packed light so we each carried on a small suitcase so we did not need to check any baggage. Toby and Grase picked us up from the airport and we headed to San Francisco to our hotel. We shared a hotel room. There was a lot of snoring but I think the beds were really comfy so I did not mind (yah I was one of the ones snoring, i think Grase was the only one who doesn't snore!)It gave us a taste of what every night is like for Toby and Grase. Sofia woke up one night in the middle of the night and she would not go back to sleep. I tried to help but she wanted mommy. I don't know how Grase does it!!! The first day, Friday, we had already bought tickets for Alcatraz for the 1:45pm tour. We headed out to find parking down by the pier we were leaving from. We did some driving before we found the cheapest parking (15.00) Then we headed to the pier. We go there just in time to line up and we were pretty close to the front so we got good seats in the ferry that took us over to Alcatraz. The ride was like 5 minutes! Alcatraz is not that far from San Fran. On the boat we ate some snacks. They had the best cheese stuffed pretzels!! We arrived at Alcatraz and listened to the welcome from the Ranger. Then we headed up the steep hills to the top of Alcatraz, since that is where the main prison is located. We took some great pictures on the way up there. We got to the top and we started our audio tour. Sofia did pretty good considering we were all busy listening to our audio tour. The tour was really good. We took some pictures outside with the view of San Francisco behind us. It is amazing to hear the history of the prison. We finished up the tour and spent some time in the store before heading down the hill to ride the ferry back to land. After Alcatraz we walked over to Fisherman's Wharf which was really close. We stopped at a few stores before getting to the end of the wharf and eating at a nice restaurant that overlooked the ocean and Alcatraz. We had a nice dinner there. Very good seafood!! Toby ate oysters!! I had salmon!! Karson had a variety of seafood! Grase had...salad. :) After we ate we sent the boys to get the car while me and Grase stopped at a few more stores. It was freezing! We watched some sea lions for a bit but it was so cold!!! We moved on to more stores. We were watching in amazment as a guy made a bannana, nutella crepe when Toby called and said they were there to pick us up. The crepe looked so good!! Well we were back in the car, at this point I would like to tell you that Karson drove the whole time we were in San Fran and Grase navigated for him. So Toby has had very bad allergies and Grase had found out, through her connections, that Allegra D would really help him so we had to find a pharmacy to get it. Well by then, 9pm, most pharmacies were closed. Grase found a 24 hour pharmacy and we headed to it. It was located right in the center of rainbow town, if you know what I mean. So poor Toby got dropped off at a corner full of guys and went in the Walgreens by himself. We picked him up about 10 min later. He got in the car and was traumatized....:) It was an experience!! Finally we got back to the hotel. Toby took his medicine and he slept better and felt better!! The next day we got up and headed out and our first stop was to see the Golden Gate Bridge. So we stopped and took pictures. Then we all piled back in the car and headed to Chinatown. What a drive!! Up and down, up and down. The view was great but it sure was a different kind of city. Toby really did not like the up and down streets and we finally got to chinatown. We again had to find parking and it took awhile but we finally found some. We ate in Chinatown at this nice chinese restaurant, very good food. We then walked and went in many stores. We finally left when it was getting too cold! We then headed to the Rouge brewery/restaurant. Of course we again had to try and find the best priced parking. We finally found some. Rogue was located right in Little Italy. We had some good cheese and crackers with different beers. My favorite was a pomegranate cider, it was sooo good. We then walked a little in Little Italy. We found a great little pastry place and got some dessert. It was soooo good. We then headed back to the car. I have to mention that the whole point of this trip was so that Toby and Grase could go out to dinner by themselves (Sat was their actual anniversary) and we would watch Sofia. Well they ended up spending it with us and they were happy we were there. I really enjoyed it! We went back to the hotel and went to bed for our last night in San Fran. We woke up and got ready and left the hotel around 11am. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and took some pictures. Then we got on the road to head home. We got a little taste of what Toby and Grase had experienced over the past 7 days before we met up with them. We stopped every 2 hours to stretch and change Sofia. We stopped for lunch too. Sofia had about enough during our 7th hour driving. She finally fell asleep. We got to our house around 8:30pm. Toby and Grase left around 9:30pm from our house. We finally went to bed around 11pm.
The trip was so much fun!! I really liked vacationing with Toby, Grase and Sofia. Sofia made it a challenge but with more hands it was easier. Wait until they have newbie!! Vacationing with two little ones will be even more challenging!!!
Well I hope you enjoy some of the pictures below. Thanks for reading!
Dez

Update

So I have not updated the Blog for awhile. So here what has been going on. We had an anniverary dinner for Tobi and Grase on June 5th, it was Wizard of Oz themed. It went really well. We had the yearly Turner/King family reunion yesterday. Next weekend we are going to San Fransisco next week. We are leaving late Thursday night. We are meeting Tobi and Grase up there and then we are driving back with them on Sunday. The next weekend we have our District assembly. In August Karson is doing the Beer trip with my brothers and friends. We are going camping in September. So busy.
So the County has decided to do 4/10's for most of the County offices. I have been on modified duty of only 8 hour days but that ends at the end of June. I thought the County would go back to be opened 5 days but I was wrong. So now I put paperwork through to get my chronic pain as a disablility so they can accomadate me because I CAN NOT work 10 hours. It is very painful and and exhausting for me. Yah it would be a dream schedule if I did not have pain. At least I still get Fridays off.
We recently had our Circuit Assembly. It was so encouraging! I am so excited to go to the District for some more spiritual food.
I has started to get hot but not up to 100 yet. Oh it will come! Summer is the worst thing about living in Riverside County. It is hot!!!!!
Well that is about all that has been going on. We continue to be busy and when we get a rest it is nice. We are looking foward to our well needed vacation to San Fran coming up this week! Here are some pictures from the anniversary dinner we gave Tobi and Grase.
Desirae