Gabe is going to be 6 soon, and Morgan is 2.5 (Morgan is Gabe's new brother who very much did come to the world right around Thanksgiving!).

Anyways, Alicia's doing well, she's on the copydesk now.

This is a test...

Just when you think life is getting back to normal, just when you think you've reached calmer seas and smooth sailing, life throws in a few surprises.

We're putting the final touches on the remodel. The stained glass cabinet door should be done in about a week. We still need to paint, however, but I can live with that right now.

Gabe is about 80 percent potty trained and 20 percent stubborn. I was looking forward to no more diapers and a vacation to Hawaii that has been several years in the making.

Then, life throws me one of those little surprises.

I haven't been feeling too well lately. I thought it was probably stress or the workouts at the gym. I thought slowing down would help, but it didn't.

I complained to my doctor about fatigue, but he just chalked it up to working full time and chasing after Gabe. I didn't believe him, so I did the only other thing I could think of.

I took a pregnancy test.

They really should make these things a little more simple. Plus or Minus, Bah humbug!

Mine showed two verticle lines — what the heck is that supposed to mean?

I waited a week and took another one — same result. Inconclusive.

This was irritating me, so we called the EPT hotline.

Yep, I'm pregnant.

I still didn't believe it, so I scheduled an appointment with my doctor.

Yep, I'm pregnant.

Ok, so that wasn't a little surprise. That was a big one. I think it's still sinking in. We had tried for eight years before I became pregnant with Gabe. It wasn't supposed to be this easy.

Three more years of diapers, and no trip to Hawaii. What fun would it be waddling around on the sand and looking like a beached whale at 8 months and counting?

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, heck I'm thrilled beyond belief. I just wasn't expecting to be expecting so soon. But, the tradeoff will be something very special. (Due date is Thanksgiving Day — seems appropriate don't you think?)

I've postponed Hawaii once before, I suppose it'll be there in a few more years. I'd rather enjoy my kid(s) while I'm still somewhat young. I can lie around on the beach when I'm older. I'll be more able to enjoy the peace and quiet then.

Change is good, so are surprises.

Wow, it's been three weeks since I last posted.

Sorry.

I told you before I was going to take things a little slower, do more things for me and my family, etc.

Since I last posted, my husband and I have joined a gym. The office here established a program with a couple of the gyms in the county to offset some of the cost, and the one we joined has day care, so we thought we'd give it a shot.

We also signed up for personal trainers.

My husband thinks I did it to kill him. I just think he whines too much. We're sore, we're tired, but we're actually accomplishing something. I guess Gabe did inspire us to be a bit more athletic. He sure seems to enjoy the play gym in the day care area.

There are days I'd rather join him than work out on the torture machines, but getting in shape will do us good. Perhaps it will even keep us around a little longer to spend more time with Gabe.

We've also been eating better, thanks to the diets designed by our trainers. We're trying to stick with them anyway. It also gives me more of a chance to use that new kitchen.

We've also been going on walks, and we took Gabe to see Thomas The Tank Engine at the Fillmore and Western Railway. That's always a fun trip. Only Gabe was a little cranky this time around. Next time we'll plan ahead and go in the morning, when he's not so tired.

It's been nice to spend some quality time together as a family. I regret that the past few months have been so busy. Eric and I really missed each other with all of that schedule juggling.

It seems that in taking time to build our muscles at the gym, we've also been building our relationship, too. I never thought working out would mean working together. Or that sweating would bring us closer.

Normally, I don't talk much about my job. I live it day in and day out, and when the day is over, I want to focus on my family. But, this week was different.

Part of my job here is to help monitor the comments posted on the comment boards. I had read about the tragic motorcycle accident in Ventura, and started monitoring the comments posted on the story.

Simply said, they touched me.

Wow, I wish I had known this man. To be remembered for how much you'd helped everyone you knew, it's a powerful thing.

The love and compassion this man's friends and family express for the driver of the vehicle that hit him is remarkable. They understand her pain in spite of their own.

It is tragic that such a vibrant life with so much love, laughter and friendship has winked out. But, his legacy will live on through everyone whose life he touched and even some of us he didn't. He's inspired me try to be a better person.

Read the comments and you just may be inspired, too.

And say a quick prayer for both the victim's family and the young driver. They need your love, strength and compassion. They have my thanks for sharing this man's wonderful life with me.

Well the potty training is continuing. I'm hoping we're turning the corner. We've had our ups and downs over the past couple of weeks.

Gabe's also received Spencer from the Thomas the Tank engine line and three more packs of underwear, which amazingly enough qualify as prizes to him. I guess it's because he gets to pick them out. He's chosen Spongebob, Shrek and Nemo. He also acquired "The Incredibles" on DVD and a T-ball set.

Wait, you say, the prizes are getting bigger. Yes, bigger and better, but that's because we're spacing them out further. Two days in a row for Spencer, two to three days for the underwear and DVD, and for the T-ball set, a whopping four days straight. He picked that one out himself. We went to Toys R Us and he traveled through he entire store looking at just about every toy possible and then chose the T-ball set.

He seems to be showing a real interest in sports lately. I'm still trying to figure that one out, since neither I nor my husband are big sports fans. Sure we watch the occasional game on TV and hold a Super Bowl party or attend a baseball game once in awhile, but for the most part, we're non-athletic. Sedentary geeks, if you will. Who knows, perhaps Gabe will inspire us.

While in the toy store, we spent a lot of time looking at bikes, another recent interest of his. We skipped the trike stage, unintentionally. Gabe is a rather tall child. At nearly 3 years old, he rivals some 5-year-olds in height. He simply grew too fast to get a trike. At first, he wasn't coordinated enough, then we looked down and he was just too big.

While in the toy store this weekend, he hopped on a trike that was in the middle of the bike isle and his poor little knees were hitting the handlebars. We found 14-inch Spider-Man and Batman bikes that have training wheels. The size looks pretty good. I think this may be a birthday present in a few months. Of course, by then we may have to consider the 16-inch version.

We still haven't finished painting the laundry room, or the three pieces of trim in the kitchen. We did finally put handles on all the cabinet drawers and doors though, and spent one great weekend with my brother-in-law and his wife. We've been taking things a little slower lately, stopping to smell the roses, so to speak.

Eric and I have both come to the realization lately that time has been moving a bit too fast. Changes take place without us noticing. Gabe and the trike, for example. I should have noticed that my son is no longer a toddler, but a little boy. This hit me like a ton of bricks the other night when I realized he's nearly too big to cradle in my arms. Even so, he'll always be my baby.

So, I'm taking my time with things. The laundry room and trim eventually will get painted, but they can wait. It may take a few weeks or months, since I'll be doing it on the weekends during Gabe's nap times, maybe one wall at a time. I simply refuse to waste the little time I have with him as a little boy. It's just too important.

I know it seems like I've taken a break lately, but that is far from the truth. Life has just been chaotic.

We still haven't painted the doors, or the laundry room, or the three pieces of trim in the kitchen yet. It seems we're falling a bit behind.

We have, however, taken care of some of the important stuff, like having a dinner party to celebrate the almost finished kitchen (and to mark the end of the Battlestar Gallactica season on the sci-fi channel -- I know there's still Friday's episode, but you don't have a friend who's a reviewer and gets preview copies :P).

I've been out of town at a business conference, and we've been working really hard at potty training Gabe.

Well, the two new back doors are installed now and it's pretty amazing how much more insulated the house is. No more cold drafts seeping in beneath the doors and one of them actually shuts.

The doors were installed Thursday. We had painted them, thinking that once they installed them, that would be it. It doesn't quite work that way. You see, the carpenter had to plane the edges and trim them so they would fit the frame. A frame that has been sitting in a 50-year-old home that has settled a bit.

Well, we opted for the Valentine's Day cookies, only I must have forgotten something in my mother's recipe -- or I wasn't able to decipher her hadwriting.

Well, I'm still not so sure about the coral calcium thing, but the soft water is fantastic. No more water spots, the taste of the water is superb, and my hair is starting to lose the frizzies.

I've actually been able to cook three nights in a row in my own kitchen. I had to scale back my chocolate chip cookie plans since I take a water aerobics class at Ventura College on Monday and Wednesday nights. I was too tired to mess with cookie dough.

So, my first meal was grilled cheese sandwhiches and Campbell's Tomato Soup. Mmmm Mmmm Good!

The water softener was installed today. I really don't know that much about it since my husband made all the arrangements for this appliance. I do know that he ended up getting all the bells and whistles, including a component that will add minerals back into the water, which is supposed to make you feel better and boost your immune system because of the coral calcium. It's a more holistic approach, according to the salesman. I know that was the salesman's words since my husband, with the store-bought cookie and fast-food addiction, would never use the word holistic.

We'll see how it works when I get home and if I feel better after a few weeks. Of course a lot more sleep and eating at home for once may make me feel better anyway.