Just the beginning

April 2016



"You do want to find out the sex of the baby today?"  Linda, the ultrasound tech turned to confirm with us before proceeding.  I grinned widely.

"I need to prepare for three boys, I'd love it, but trust me I need to know, " I laughed nervously.

She squirted some gel on my belly, making my six year old, Raen, giggle at the sound. The small screen no longer showed an empty space, instead a moving figure appeared. Linda pointed out what we were seeing, the heart beat rapidly, legs were kicking around and the baby moved into a position where you could see the profile perfectly.

"That's our baby!" Kai excitedly remarked making us all smile.

"Well I can definitely tell what it is." Linda started.

"It's a boy isn't it," my husband grinned. He was excited for either but he was sure it was a boy.

"Nope it's a girl. See right there, the three lines?" She continued on and exclaimed what we were seeing and how she was 100 percent certain. I was too surprised to listen though. I was finally getting a girl! But it almost didn't feel real. I looked at Raen and Kai's smiling faces and felt sad for a second that I wouldn't be holding another little baby boy again. Man, these hormones are annoying during pregnancy,  I wanted a girl so bad and here I am sad over it. I brushed it off and focused on the fact that everything was healthy and I would finally be able to shop in the girls section.

After getting our print outs we left and headed to lunch.  I sat nibbling on my chips and salsa and watching my boys. They were giggling about something,  they always were.  I can't believe how time flies. It felt like just last month I moved to San Diego and like yesterday when I got married.



It was April 2005 and I had just been zipped into my form fitting sleeveless champagne colored gown. Alicia helped me fasten my necklace and make sure my updo was all in place.

"You ready for this?" She grinned.

"More then ever," I said as my dad walked in to get me. When we rounded the corner I didn't notice any of the details, decorations or guests. All I saw was his face smiling back at me. The closer I got I noticed those beautiful blue green eyes glistened with water.  He leaned into me and whispered.

"You're breathtaking Jujie."

We had finally gotten to this moment, I know we were young but there wasn't a doubt in my mind, I was meant to be here with him.  It had always been Jacob.

Back when we first made things official things had gone so well, we were inseparable.  Unfortunately I panicked and broke things off over some silly fight. I know at the time I was just nervous with how much I had fallen in love with him. I was afraid of going too fast so quickly.

 This had also been right before I left for Nicaragua with Dean and Alicia. I know what you're thinking, I wanted to see what could happen with Dominic and that's why I broke it off. That's far from the truth though as I had all but forgotten about the cute older brother of Dean's.  In fact Jacob was going to go with us on the trip until I ended it.

The trip to Nicaragua was great, I was able to relax and think about why we broke up. That was until Dominic hit on me one drunken night. He said all the right things and flirting with him felt so adventurous.  That was until I sobered up and tried to have an actual date the next day. We awkwardly made conversation over a candlelit dinner at a tree house style restaurant on the coast. We didn't carry conversation great so we spent the night making out instead.  Something was off though and I pushed an annoyed Dominic off me, apologizing for leading him on. He actually turned out to be OK with it, and that broke some of the awkward vibes from dinner. We stayed up talking about his plans for the camp and when the trip was over we parted as friends.

Alicia and Dean had such a great time on the trip as well. Alicia was able to do some research while Dean surfed.  While Dominic and I had our weird dinner date, Dean had actually proposed to Alicia.  When I found out the next morning I was shocked at how calm and excited she was. The once commitment phobe Alie was practically dancing around for the rest of the trip.

They married early the next summer at Dean's parents estate. To say the wedding was grand was an understatement.  Alicia looked like a real live princess in her strapless ballgown. Her mom walked her down the isle and Dean fist pumped when he saw her. Alicia kept it together during the vows until Dean ended his promises with, "woman, It's always been you." I couldn't help but tear up, hiding my face in her bouquet. It was at her wedding that Jacob and I got back together. He and Dean had become close friends so I wasn't surprised to see him there. Somewhere during our second dance he pointed out the fact that I was wearing the dolphin earrings he got me, we shared a slow passionate kiss and from then on we were back together, like we hadn't split months prior.

We married the next year and spent our honeymoon in Kauai. That set off our love to travel, we made it our commitment to go somewhere at least once a year, sometimes two. Our trips always centered around water since we both loved the ocean so much. Someday we will go somewhere non tropical, someday.

I finished my associates degree and with the support and excitement from Jacob I went to culinary school.  I loved it, I finally understood Alicia's passion for her work. I hoped to eventually open my own bakery.  Jacob stayed in the defense industry and worked his way up to a directors position and even started his own business on the side.

Alicia finished school, went on to get her Ph.D. and now works as a professor at Scripps Institution. Her and Dean spent the last few years trying to get pregnant.  Their one success ended in a miscarriage. It was hard to be there and try to console the once bubbly Alicia during her loss.  They ended up adopting a baby overseas last year. And about two months before we found out we were expecting baby number three, Alicia found out she was expecting again! So far everything is going great and she too is expecting a girl. I can't wait for our daughters to grow up together.

Jacob's sister Amanda, continued to couch hop for about a year after she left my apartment.  She eventually took a job in Oregon and has lived there since. Last year in 2015 she eloped with her longtime boyfriend Adam.  Miles had tried to weasel his way back into her life when she first started living with me. Luckily she didn't fall for his tricks a second time around.  I made a mental note to call her after lunch and share the happy news, I know she would be excited to be having a little niece.

I snapped out of my trance when the waitress set a plate of fish tacos in front of me. Jacob leaned down and kissed my forehead before turning his attention to his plate. It's been a fun adventure so far and I was thankful to be spending it with Jacob, it has always been Jacob.





Thanks everyone for reading. I wanted to end the story with a little more then just a list so hopefully it works. If there is anyone you are interested in hearing about that I missed please let me know.   Thanks for reading and for all your kind comments. It's been fun writing.

Juliette 

Blog status

Blog status


I know how much it sucks when bloggers don't post and I can't say I'd blame you if you find it annoying that I haven't posted much lately.  My schedule has practically doubled and finding the time between raising two boys and spending time with the hubby makes it hard to write. So... unfortunately I need to take a break.

 What I would like to do is end this blog completely that way if/when in the future I write it will be a new story instead of picking up were I left off.  Would you guys prefer a fast forward to the wedding day to find out who I end up with or a summed up time line of what happens?


Sorry, I just know when the baby comes in three months it will get even harder to write.

Juliette

New post

Sorry,  hoping to post by early next week!

Up all night

September 2003


The phone just kept buzzing, it felt like time stood still, neither of us moving. Jacob had glanced down for a quick second to see who it was. Apparently he wasn't interested in speaking with her because his attention was immediately back on the road.

I tried to act casual, I looked out the window, I ran my hands through my hair, all while trying to glance briefly at him. I wanted to see his reaction.  Unfortunately it hadn't changed since the call, he looked just as relaxed and calm as before. He even started chatting again about a bonfire his friends were throwing next weekend. I brushed aside the fact that his ex girlfriend just called and joined in on the conversation.

My mood had drastically changed, but I don't really know if I had a right to feel this emotional.  It was just a call, and technically we weren't exclusive.  All that said though I was annoyed. When we pulled up to his house I remained on auto pilot and followed him in. Jacob poured us a drink and we went upstairs to his room.

"Want to watch a movie or something?"  He held up a couple dvd's and I pointed to the comedy. About half way through we were too busy making out to pay any attention to the movie. All thoughts of the call were forgotten as his lips touched my neck. Unfortunately somewhere between removing my shirt and his, my insecurities creeped back in. I pushed him off me and sat up.

"Everything ok?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah...no, I don't know. It's about earlier,  in the car. Your phone lit up and you got a call?" He still looked confused so I continued.  "Kim, as in ex girlfriend Kim called." The memory registered on his face. I expected him to react nervous or something, at least that's how Cal would have reacted. But instead he just smiled and shook his head.

"Kim is the name of my ex girlfriend, but it's also the name of my aunt." He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and flipped it open, scrolling to missed calls he opened up the contact and there was a small picture of a women holding a little boy. The picture wasn't great quality but you could tell she was older. I instantly felt a little embarrassed. Jacob noticed my reaction and raised his hand gently to cup my cheek.

"Hey, I can see where the confusion happened. But honestly I haven't given the other Kim much of a thought in I don't know how long."  This did make me feel better but I knew I still had to say something.

"I guess that makes me happy but what I don't like is how much it bugged me. I mean we're not exclusive or anything but the thought of you still talking to her made my mind wonder and I didn't like thinking you might also be seeing her. " I looked up at him.

"Juliette, I'm not seeing anyone but you. In fact I don't want to see anyone but you. I didn't realize you didn't know that." He exclaimed. He had stood up now and was leaning against his dresser facing the bed. I crawled off the bed and walked toward him. Reaching up on my tiptoes I raised my hand, brushing it through his hair then pulling his head to me. His forehead rested on mine.

"Well I'm not seeing anyone else either." I said in an almost whisper.  His mouthed curved into a smile. I moved my lips to his and gave him a quick kiss.

"So, you saying what I think you are?" He asked before giving me another quick kiss.

"You think we should see other people. " I said leaning my head back and giving him a crushed look. I couldn't keep a straight face though and started smiling. "Not what you meant?"  I squealed when he pinched my ass and pulled me closer.

"Just shut up and kiss me Jujie." With pleasure my mouth found his.

I woke up the next morning with Jacob's arm around me.  He wasn't awake yet but I had to pee so bad. I slowly moved his arm off of me and ran to the bathroom.  When I returned he was already getting dressed.

"Sorry I woke you but I had to pee." I smiled as I watched him pull his shirt down over his delicious abs.

"It's OK, I'm starving, my girlfriend kept me up all night working out. "  I couldn't help the huge grin that appeared when he called me his girlfriend. We got ready then headed to IHOP for some pancakes. I had a class that afternoon so he drove me home after.  It was hard breaking away from his kiss to go inside but somehow I manged to.

When I opened the front door I was greeted by Amanda and Alicia.  They were sitting on the couch laughing at some photo album.  Stepping closer to see I noticed one of the kids in a picture was me.

"Let me see that! " I yanked it away from the giggling girls. The photo was a large group of kids of all ages.  In the back row of children I was standing with my arm around Amanda on my right.  Next to me on my left was Jacob and we were standing so close or cheeks were touching.

"How freaking cute,  how many people get to say they have a photo cheek to cheek at five years old with their boyfriend?" I glanced up from the album to see Alicia grinning.  Amanda had a different look however. .

Happy birthday to me!

September 2003


"Where are you taking me?" I said for the hundredth time. Jacob turned his attention to me and grinned like a mischievous little boy before looking back to the road.

It was a warm September night and more importantly, my birthday.  I spent the day sleeping in, getting a pedicure and getting ready to go out with Jacob. He didn't say where so I wore a solid pale blue sundress, figured it would work for something casual or a little fancy. When Jacob knocked on my door I was pleased to see he wore a nice black button down and jeans. He looked so handsome with his hair a little messy and his sleeves rolled up,  showing off his strong forearms. I was thankful Amanda was out. I haven't really talked to her much about seeing her brother, especially since we never had the talk. I just think it would be awkward to mention, 'hey I sometimes go out with your brother and ya, am sleeping with him'.

When he took the exit for the Coronado bridge I turned to him in excitement. I've only been over to Coronado once to walk around the ferry landing. Coronado Island technically isn't an island, it's a peninsula but even the welcome sign said 'Coronado Island'. It was still in San Diego County but managed to have a small town feel.

Jacob pulled into a parking spot along the beach and ran to open my door. He took my hand in his and led me along the sidewalk. We took the path that led toward the ocean. The beach in Coronado was very long so it was a pleasant walk to the water.

We climed the stairs of a vacant lifeguard tower. We sat with our backs against the tower, facing the sea. After taking a few pictures of the two of us with my camera, I leaned closer into him and cuddled.  Jacob was stroking my arm lightly which sent shivers through my body. With the same hand he casually slid my spaghetti strap down. His hand began messaging my shoulder gently before sliding down the front of my dress. When he cupped my breast I sucked in my breath and moaned as he played with my nipple.  When he stopped I pouted then turned toward him straddling his lap.

"Mhm, Juliette your going to have to stop soon or anyone walking by may see me take you right here." He groaned as he kissed my neck. I pushed his head up to face me.

"Maybe I don't want to stop," I said before leaning in to bite his upper lip. When I pulled away he grinned and shook his head. Grabbing my neck he pulled me back in for a kiss. When my tongue found his I felt him harden beneath me and I knew I couldn't stop now. Luckily I was wearing a dress so we managed to finish as discreetly as we could. I can't say we were as quiet as we should have been but it was well worth it and by the huge grin on Jacob's face I know he felt the same.

"Happy Birthday to me," I sang as I tried to adjust my dress.

"Your birthday isn't over baby, come on let's go eat." He helped me off the tower and led us back toward the sidewalk.

We walked to the Hotel Del. This beautiful red and white hotel was built in the late 1800's. Besides being historic it was very grand and well known for its famous guests like Marilyn Monroe and several presidents. Walking through the lower level we passed several shops and stopped to read about the history of the establishment.

We came upon an old gold colored metal elevator and were excited it was still operating. Stepping in the metal birdcage we were greeted by a friendly operator in an adorable uniform making you feel like you stepped back in time as soon as your feet hit the bright red carpet. Closing the gate we were slowly raised to the hotel lobby. Stepping out we continued our time travel as we wondered around admiring the lobby. Everything was keeping with the Victorian theme, from the elaborate sparkling chandeliers to the dark rich woodwork.
We explored the courtyard before walking across the street for dinner.

"I think I remember you said you like sushi? This restaurant has high reviews so I thought we should try it."  Jacob said. I smiled knowing I would soon have a spicy tuna roll in front of me. Jacob gave the hostess his name and we were quickly seated at a table by the window.

"You know I've never actually had sushi," Jacob shyly admitted.  I looked up from my menu in shock.

"What!? You grew up here, there's fresh fish here. Is it the raw thing?  You chose a sushi place for dinner Jacob." I babbled on. He laughed shaking his head.

"You like it so I figured I may as well try it. As a kid the thought of raw fish grossed me out but I don't know, what the hell."

"Alright, well let me order for us then?  Besides I noticed fried rice, we can order just in case." I got busy picking out a few rolls, I stayed away from anything too out there just in case. I picked a spicy tuna, a California, and a crunch roll with cream cheese, jalapeño and tuna with crunchy flakes on top. We chatted about wanting to stay a night at the Hotel Del as we waited for our food. Rooms are super pricey so doubt I'd stay there anytime soon.

The waitress returned with our rolls, they looked so good my stomach growled in agreement. I showed Jacob how to break up the Wasabi into his soy sauce. He questioned if he should really put the whole slice in his mouth at once, I promised I wasn't messing with him so he dipped a tuna roll in the sauce and popped it into his mouth.  I had patience enough to wait and watch him,  hoping he would like it.  After he swallowed he grinned happily and reached for another. That was all I needed to dig in.

After our delicious dinner, with chocolate cake for dessert of course, we walked hand in hand slowly back to the car. Jacob walked me to the passenger side and instead of opening the door he lightly pushed me against the door and leaned in for a deep kiss. Breaking away he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small box with a red ribbon. My heart sped up as I stared at the box. I untied the ribbon, inside were two silver earrings in the shape of a dolphin. Each dolphin were wrapped around a blue sapphire stone.

"Jacob they're beautiful!" I gushed looking up at him.

"Well I saw how much you fell in love with the dolphins at SeaWorld, I saw these and I had to get them." He grinned happily.

"I love them," I handed him the box and removed the hoop earrings I was currently wearing.  After I got the second dolphin on, I reached up and wrapped my arms around Jacob for another kiss. This birthday definitely ended better then last year's I thought as we drove back to his place for the night. A small buzzing caught my attention, I looked down as Jacob's phone lit up in the cup holder next to me. My heart sank when I saw the name on the display.

Boy or Girl?

We had our midway ultrasound and I have no patience I had to know if it was another boy or a girl. Everything is looking healthy and it's a....Girl!!!

New post should be up this week :)

New or old friends

September 2003



After work I drove straight to school for my economics class. I was running a few minutes late so I breathed a sigh of relief when  I walked in to see the professor wasn't there yet either. I grabbed my usual seat in the third row. The old wooden desk creaked when I landed roughly in it. I pulled the pocket desk over and cursed the fact it was a right handed desk. It's my weekly ritual since the first day of class when I discovered how annoying these desks were for the left handed.

I greeted Sam as she sat down to my right. She grunted something that vaguely resembled a hello and slouched down in her chair. I just shook my head and smiled, Sam was in a bad mood about 80% of the time yet she managed to win people over with her charasmatic personality during her 20% happy self. I think we got along because she was very blunt and I tend to shy from blurting out whatever is on my mind, I liked that about her, it's like she said what I wanted to.

"Good evening,  I'm professor Smith but you can call me Henry."

I looked up surprised to see our usual professor, Johnson was absent. Instead, standing in front of us was a gorgeous specimen..I mean man. His dark hair was buzzed and complimented his strong facial features. He wore a black v-neck that looked about a size or two too small leaving you with little to imagine of the muscles underneath.  He looked less like a teacher and more like he was a uniform away from yelling drills at boot camp.

"If he teaches all semester I would never miss a class!" Sam whispered loudly as she sat up in her seat and removed her hoodie. I laughed at her as she tried to fix her hair quickly.

Professor Smith or rather Henry began lecturing the class on micro economy.  As he spoke I tried to concentrate, he was just too pretty. I felt my cheeks burn when he pointed right at me to answer some silly open ended question about supply and demand on product A. Luckily I had just read about this subject in our ridiculously over priced textbook and answered without blubbering like the pathetic star struck teen I felt inside.

"Very good answer.." he paused and nodded his head forward with his hand stretched out toward me.

"Juliette, it's Juliette." My voice shook a little and I thanked God I usually don't turn the shade I felt in my cheeks. Henry quickly moved on and before I knew it class was over.

"I call dibs!" Sam all but yelled at me when we grabbed our stuff to leave.

"What! He's our professor, besides I'm good. He's gorgeous but I'm good." I laughed her comment off and walked to the door. We were about half way to the parking lot when Sam mentioned she forgot her folder back in the classroom.

"Want me to come with you?" I asked, it was late now and dark.

"No..no I'm OK, I'll see you Thursday." She waved me off. I smiled to myself knowing full well she didn't leave anything.

On the ride home I called Alicia, she couldn't talk long but promised a girls night this week to catch up.  After hanging up I called Jacob, he seemed distracted as I made small talk. After awhile he had to go because he had a basketball game he was in starting. I felt a little embarrassed picturing him at the gym on the phone while his friends waited.

Deciding to embrace the alone time on the drive home I turned on the radio and sang along to Crazy In Love by Beyoncé.

It was my birthday later this month and I thought about last year's birthday. I rolled my eyes thinking about being with Cal, and letting Shelly crash on our couch. I don't know what the plans were for this year's birthday but I was thankful to not have them there. Maybe I'll throw a party, but then who'd I invite? In the year I've been here, I've only made a handful of friends, and that included Shelly. Great now I was depressed about my lack of a social life.

I pulled up to apartment hoping Alicia was home, someone to talk to. Instead I was surprised to see Amanda sitting on my doorstep.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked as I turned the key opening the door.

"Hey, it's been awhile. I just figured I'd come check on my good friend Juliette." She smiled, the smile never reaching her eyes. I considered us friends but not really the type to drop in on each other. I gave her a look as I fell onto the couch.

"Alright truthfully,  I did want to see you its been awhile, but I was also hoping I could maybe crash here for a few days." She said shyly.

"What about your apartment?" I scrunched my brows in confusion.

"Well back when I was with Miles, he was paying for almost half my rent. When that ended I struggled to make rent and had to move. I've basically been sleeping on different couches since. The last place was at a coworkers but her husband got home from deployment and he wasn't really interested in someone living on their couch." She put her hands together and gave me a pleading look. I know I was just complaining about needing more friends but did I really want another person crashing on our couch?

"What the hell, I mean at least until you find a more permanent place right?"

"Yeah of course, three or four weeks tops."  She said grinning wide.  Sounds a lot like a few days. This should be interesting I thought as I left the room in search of something to eat.


Note: had hoped to have something up earlier this week but my son and I caught a stomach bug. So far my oldest son and husband haven't caught it and I pray they don't!  Feeling better now and got to hear the baby's heartbeat yesterday, so did my three year old. He says it's "our baby"  :)