The baby is coming!

The fact that we are having a baby feels a little more real now that the c-section has been officially scheduled. For any who are interested: our baby boy should be entering this world at noon on Feb 12th. It will be a special Valentine's Day!

There is a reason for the Lollipop

I thought I would add my pictures of Finn to the zillions of blog photos online capturing the cuteness of children dressed up for Halloween. Finn was a skunk. Its the first time I actually sewed a Halloween outfit and I was sure it would be all for nothing because Finn cried everytime he tried it on and it was way too much work for him not to wear it! But we bribed him with a sucker and he magically seemed totally fine with his Halloween costume.
We had a blast this year!

Check the Opinin Section!

Irene has written an article that was put in the Opinion Section of the Fresno Bee that is Pro-Proposition 8. Read Wednesday's Business Section where the Opinion articles are and check it out. Way to go Irene!

"Please vote yes on Prop 8!"

Look at Finn's pleading face at The Wave (waving signs in support of Prop 8 at street intersections) today on Herndon and Willow... which was his first "protest". It was tons of fun being out there this morning. Thanks to everyone who was willing to spend their Monday morning supporting Prop 8.

A Summer Day at the Zoo with Family

A Baby... or an alien?

It is amazing that they can do this kind of stuff now.  Here is a video of our "bun in the oven" sucking his thumb.  They always look like something out of the Aliens movies this early in the pregnancy (19th week), but he's our little alien.  While I was at the perinatologist office, he said "Statistically you can always expect your second child to be bigger than your first."  He couldn't have missed the panic in my eyes.  My response was, "Don't tell that to a woman who has had a 10 lbs. baby."  With an amazing lack of sympathy he told me to expect a BIG baby.  We will see if this one follows in the footsteps of his older brother.

It's a Boy!

We went to the doctor today and, though it is not 100% sure, they seem rather confident that the baby is another boy! And what a relief. I am terrified of having a girl.... I just don't know how I would do raising girl and I have been hoping (not so secretly) that this one would be another boy. And it it looks as if it will be! So I will have to get used to some rough housing and wrestling going on in the future.

A Day at Yosemite!

Kasey came out last week with baby Ryan... happy day! So us women (plus Finn) went up to enjoy a day at Yosemite. It was wonderful! It felt so extravagant to go up and enjoy such a beautiful place all day long. Ryan and Finn were little angels, and Mom and I were deliriously happy to have Kasey with us. Thanks for coming out Kasey!

My birthday with Coldplay

Caleb took me to San Jose to see Coldplay in concert on my birthday last week. I've seen a lot of shows but this was one of the best I've ever seen. They know how to put on a show.

A big thank you to Travis and Brittany for being on Finn duty while we were at the show. Its always a pleasure to spend some time with them in San Jose!

Its not easy being green!

In case any of you have noticed my unusual shade of green, we have wonderful news to share. No, I don't have the flu and no, a conversation with you is not making me ill. We are expecting a baby in February (I'm about 2 months along). This kind of news from us often inspires panic in people who are close to us. After all, the first pregnancy was a nightmare. But this time I am doing well so far. We were trying to wait until August to tell people, but the information has leaked. It is really hard to keep frequent sprints to the restroom secret.

The due date is exactly what Finn's due date was so it is easy to look back 2 years and see the differences between the 2 pregnancies. By this time I was hospitalized twice already, and by next week would have permanent IVs put in for nutrition and fluids. This pregnancy has kept me constantly ill, but functional and most important, vertical! We are pushing through and hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel once September rolls around. I have the eye of the tiger and will fight through this to the bitter end!

So while its not easy being green, it is well worth it, and Caleb and I could not be happier.

You can visit our Baby Progress Page to keep tabs on the pregnancy.

So, what is this "tag"?

I have been "tagged" by Krista... some kind of virtual game of tag I guess... in short, you have to read little tid-bits of information about me. But I should warn everyone that I am breaking the rules. It is a "one-word"game in which I have to use only one word to answer these questions. Well, being a Ryan, I will naturally ignore this rule and use as many words as I like.

1. Where is your cell phone? ....................wherever Finn happened to leave it last
2. Your significant other?......................."Guy Smiley"
3. Your hair?....................................blacker than it should be
4. Your mother? .................................a formidable force
5. Your father?..................................Socialite
6. Your favorite thing?..........................2 favorite things, Ben & Jerry
7. Your dream last night?........................probably trying to catch a flight and missing it, its a reoccurring nightmare that I will someday look up in a dream book
8. Your favorite drink..........................water really is great
9. Your dream/goal?..............................to someday eat a meal in which I do not get most of it on me (Finn is cleaner than me, as Caleb points out on a regular basis)
10. The room you're in?..........................full of little toddler growls that are meant to intimidate Grandma
11. Your children?...............................Curious George X 10!
12. Your fear?...................................Dental Work
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years...........not leeching off of my parents (though it has been quite wonderful)
14. Where were you last night?...................searching for the Crystal Skull with Indiana Jones
15. What you're not?.............................a football fan, the poor Poduska family is stuck with me though
16. Muffins......................................sick of making them ("Crumbs" is expanding and doing breakfast pastries for Corner Cafe in downtown Clovis)
17. One of your wish list items?.................the 4th book of the Twilight series
18. Where you grew up?...........................California
19. What you read last..........................."Horse and His Boy" by CS Lewis
20. What are you wearing?........................nothing special
21. Your TV?.....................................has the final game of the college baseball series on (I have just barely mustered up enough interest to even slightly care about who wins)
22. Your pets?...................................don't live long
23. Your computer? ..............................omnipresent
24. Your life?...................................blissfully happy
25. Your mood?...................................see previous answer
26. Missing someone?.............................My Sistahs!!!!
27. Your car?....................................dented bumper and not really interested in getting it fixed because it makes it so easy to spot it in a parking lot (Toyota Corollas are everywhere nowadays)
28. Something you're not wearing?................lipstick, its a rare occasion that it makes an appearance, something my Mother used to always point out "Where are your lips?!"
29. Favorite Store?..............................everybody wins with Winco
30. Your summer?.................................lots of family time, just the way I like it
31. Like someone?................................trying to find something to like in everyone, but I'm not perfect
32. Your favorite color?.........................dark blue (I am sure there is a real impressive color name for dark blue like deep Aquamarine or something, but that would probably sound too pretentious)
33. Last time you laughed........................today
34. Last time you cried?........................I actually cannot remember, though I am sure it wasn't as long ago as it sounds
35. Dislike?..................................slow drivers, c'mon! at least go the speed limit!
36. Like?...................................boring people with my blog

I hope I did this right Krista. I don't know the social rules of blogging... or any social rules of any kind for that matter, but thanks for the tag.

Happy Father's Day Caleb

Happy Father's Day, Caleb! Finn and I love you.

Travis is a Daddy!

Last week I had the privilege of meeting baby Schroeder. I stayed with Travis and Brittany for a few days, leaving Caleb and Finn to have some male bonding time. It was so wonderful getting to spend time with Brittany and Travis! They are such good parents! Here is a video of Schroeder with his proud Dad... and if you look closely, you can see a very tired Mom in the background.





Being away from Finn was much harder on me than it was on Finn. I expected a rush of excitement from him when I got home. Apparently I overestimated the effect my absence would have on him. He must have had a great time with his Daddy.

Little Rockers!

We have noticed that Finn has a new passion. If his Daddy's "Rock Band" drums are out, Finn cannot resist playing. I don't know if its him wanting to imitate Caleb, or a natural desire to hit things really hard... but he loves it. We were getting a kick out of his intense drum solo today, being backed up on base by Rheanna and vocals by Ian, and by "vocals" I mean imitating a lead guitar. The next step is deciding on a name for the little rock band (that's if they don't break up due to artistic differences).

Happy Mother's Day!

One of Finn's Mother's Day gifts to me was a packet of photos that Daddy and Aunt Irene took of him. Its one of the very few times I have ever seen his hair hair-sprayed and slicked to the side. Thank you to Finn for making being a Mom so fun!!!

Farmer's Market Fun

Farmer's Market started last night, and we had so much fun! It was a success! We even sold out of a few of our cake and trifle items by the end of the night.

Family came out to help and play. Mike and my Dad helped Caleb get everything set up, Tim and Irene showed up with all the kids, Jade and Laurie were there at the start, and Mom came with Finn half way through.


We all enjoyed the music, food, and business. It was a great way to spend our Friday evening. We look forward to the many Fridays to come over the Summer.


Rheanna was a HUGE help! She is the perfect little employee.


We had tons of fun and wanted to say thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us. It was fun to see some familiar faces. And thank you to all the family who helped us get everything started this weekend (it was a hectic few days getting it all ready).

You can click here to
see our website

To Exclude or not to Exclude?

This is the big question. A friend of mine was recently telling me that it is a bad idea to have a family blog open to the public, but making blogs private is a bit of a pain. Almost everyone I know who has a blog has asked me this question, "is it dangerous or making your family vulnerable?". Caleb is all for making this a private blog, but then we would be excluding legitimate people because we forget to "extend the blog invite" to them. Anyway, I am putting a poll up to get your feedback.

What do you think????

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Say Yes to Handbells

As some of you know, Mom and I are in the Clovis Adult School Community Handbell Choir. We performed at the Fresno County Office of Education this past Wednesday. So here is a little clip of us performing, white gloves and all.



To stop the music so you can hear it, click pause on the Playlist player (gray box in the upper right hand corner)

A little Thank You!

After our last post "Finn's Comfort Show" (scroll to the next post to catch up if you missed it), one of the band members from The Postmarks left a comment on our blog wishing Finn better. I thought that was an incredibly nice gesture and so.... THANK YOU to Jonathan. You and your talented band have earned a place on our links section (a very high honor).


PS Finn is feeling much better now.

Finn's Comfort Show

Poor Finn has been sick the last few days. He woke up the other morning with a fever and has just been sluggish. And although you can tell how much he wants to get down on the floor and play, play, play... he doesn't seem to have the energy to do it. So he just sits in my lap and plays with my hair. His sad lethargy elicits a response in me, in which I am willing to give him just about whatever he wants. Though I am a firm believer in keeping children from turning into spoiled tyrants, when Finn is sick all I want is to make him as happy and comfortable as possible, so I throw all structure out the window.

An example from the last few days: Let the boy have his Yo Gabba Gabba, 24-7 if he wants it. It is after all the one and only show that can completely captivate him. One of Finn's FAVORITE episodes has this song on it by the Postmarks and he loves to watch it... which makes total sense to me. I can't help but feel happy when I hear it as well.

So in honor of Finn and his valiant little effort to fight the bug, I present to you: "Balloons"




To stop the music so you can hear this video, hit the pause button on the top right "Playlist" music player (grey box)

Happy Anniversary Kasey & Paris!

Congrats LoveBirds! It doesn't seem that long ago, does it? We love having you in the family, Paris! You were meant to be a Ryan! (...and if that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will)

A Quick Note

For anyone who is interested... with Farmer's Market closing in on us, we are busy getting ready. For anyone who may be interested, we have re-worked our Crumbs website (I like this one much better) and the new site is at: www.cloviscrumbs.com

Crumbs Update

An update for everyone... the wedding planner loved our cakes and the taste testing. She plans on using us for her fondant wedding cakes. Now, I have to decide if I can handle the pressure. Yikes!

A Kasey Moment

Kasey, my sister, wrote in her blog about a "Kathryn moment" she had involving Rod Stewart, living forever, and particularly loud and oblivious neighbors.

Well, I had a full on "Kasey moment" the other day. I walked into the back bedroom and the above clip was on TV just as I came in.

This link is for you Kasey... and to everyone else, despite it being an inside joke, you may enjoy it as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdhiRwuzis8

My Heart Took a Little Stroll Today

This is a picture of Finn peacefully sleeping and unaware of just how much fear he caused my poor heart minutes prior.  He was doing the climbing and exploring thing that he does so well, and had somehow managed to get hold of a small hershey kiss wrapper... which he proceeded to eat, and hey why not?  Its shiny and smells like chocolate.  Being in the same room you would think I would have caught this, but I was oblivious until he started choking.  It was a relatively brief incident and had resolved not long after I reached his side to remove the offending object (although you wouldn't think something so small would have caused him to choke for as long as he did)... but it took a year or two off of my life. 

I can't help but wonder how Moms do this.  It reminded me of a quote I found a few years ago:

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. 

-Elizabeth Stone

It is something I struggle with everyday.  There is so much joy in loving someone so much, and consequently there is always an element of fear because loving someone so much makes you vulnerable to any harm or sadness that befalls them.  How mothers do it without a strong faith to rely on is totally and completely beyond me.

This is what my weekend looks like

So, today we meet with a wedding planner who wants to see a cake dummy (a decorated styrofoam cake) and also do some cake testing.  So I decorated this cake and hope that it is a design that they are interested in.  If it goes well, we could be providing most of the wedding cakes for this event planner... which would be great.

People ask what I'm up to, and this is literally what I have been up to all weekend.  My life has been consumed (this particular cake is a pretty time consuming one).  Wish us luck! 
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Travis for Treasurer!

I thought this was the best promotion for someone running for office. Well done Travis. And good luck with the campaign!

Check out the campaign video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SwkruWBaOI

Nothing happened... Trust me.

So, Tim & Irene's youngest daughter, Meriel, toddled in with a mysterious white powder substance all over her... but the most entertaining part was that she assumed that if she pretended that there wasn't white all over her, then we wouldn't realize it either (which means we wouldn't sleuth out what she had been up to).  Unfortunately for her, this mess did not go by unnoticed.  Its hard to ignore a whole room of the house being doused in powder; carpet, furniture, walls, everywhere.  Needless to say, Mitchell is now without baby powder and Irene is still trying to decide if she is on speaking terms with her fun but mischievous daughter.

Obviously, this picture is pre-punishment.

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This one goes out to Mom

A little entertainment for my Mom while she is stuck at the Dallas Airport. But anyone who flies should appreciate it.

Visit this link (Brian Regan on Airports): 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl0rB-DQnwQ

So, why are we hiding these???????

Well, the Easter Bunny came to visit, and though Finn was pretty confused as to why we were hiding perfectly edible eggs (which he loves to eat), he enjoyed the frenzied game of finding them. He sniffed out his own little Easter Egg. Hope everyone had fun last week!

To see the easter video of Finn, go to:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8253245916488263261&hl=en

Cake Crazy

So, we are getting started with a little cake business, with absolutely no idea how this is going to work out. But we feel so official with a business license and a website. Special thanks to Travis and Brittany for doing the logo! It pays to have creative family members!

If anyone wants to see our business website and pictures of cakes, etc., you can go to www.cloviscrumbs.blogspot.com.

Spring Break!

We went up with Tim and Irene's family last weekend to Wonder Valley (which is where Caleb proposed to me).  The weather was beautiful and we had a blast.  Finn is fond of eating rocks, so if we weren't being vigilant we would find stones rolling around in his mouth.

Here are some pictures of the bigger sized boys trying to throw rocks that are probably too big for them to be throwing.

Schroeder is coming!

Brittany had her baby shower his past month, and it was a fun weekend!  (This is the cake I did for the shower... Brittany came up with the color scheme and I love these colors together.)  I am very excited to see Travis become a daddy.  And I love the name Schroeder.  Can't wait to meet him.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

We stumbled across this children's television show that is awesome! I have a hard time with many children's shows just because I cannot stand listening to the music over and over again... but we cannot deny Finn his entertainment every now and then.

We found this show called "Yo Gabba Gabba!", which may sound bizarre.. and it kind of is, but SO COOL! Its a kid's tv show on Nick Jr. that has indie bands and guests come on and perform, and the music the puppets sing is stuff I don't mind singing all day long after watching it early morning (unlike Barney)... in fact, I like singing it! And Finn, who does not have too much interest in tv yet, loves this show. The Shins performed on the show! There is a clip of The Postmarks on Yo Gabba Gabba at: http://jezebel.com/357230/the-postmarks-sing-about-balloons-on-yo-gabba-gabba

The show has some funny nuances that are appealing to us big kids. Caleb found it and we have been sold ever since! Speaking of music, for anyone who is interested in the "Poduska Music Lounge", I have posted a second mix. You can listen to our music by clicking on the Poduska Music Lounge link on the right. And if any of you have any music suggestions, I am always looking for new stuff.

A Family Venture

We are trying something new! We plan on starting a little family business this summer. I have been doing cakes for the past year now (mostly fondant cakes... and all thanks to Kasey), but we have decided to get a business license and sell individual size bundt cakes at Old Town Clovis for Farmer's Market this year. We have narrowed it down to some of our favorite recipes and we think it will be a fun way for Caleb to get his feet wet in the business world. And I just like making cakes, so everyone wins. I'll also be able to officially do fondant cakes if I want. So for any of you who want to come out and see us... we'll be in down town Clovis Friday nights starting mid-May.

Finn and I are back from Florida, now... and while it is so nice to be home with Caleb again, I am missing my sistahs!  Ryan Sierra is gorgeous!

The kids had so much fun together.  Finn wanders around the house sometimes and it seems like he is looking for his cousins, Atticus and Wyatt.

Kasey is such a great MOM!!!  I get great pointers just by watching her with her kids.  I can't wait until I see all of the Florida people again!  We love you Southerners!

Smiles on a Plane

I discovered that Finn has a favorite game to play on an airplane. I recently took him to Florida to visit his new baby cousin, Ryan Sierra. While we were on the plane, Finn would stand on my lap and look over my sit so he could have a better view of the passengers on the plane. He would proceed to pick out the person who was paying the least amount of attention to him and make it his mission in life to charm that person into a smile. He was laying on the charm thick! And as soon as the kid got a smile, he moved on to the next conquest. It was entertaining, and at times almost embarrassing.

Gabe and Jade are finally hitched!

After months of governmental delays, the two lovebirds are now married! Jade looked beautiful and Gabe was as handsome as ever (not to mention all the good looking groomsmen... I love Caleb in a tuxedo). The Temple Sealing was very touching and adds what nothing else can to a wedding. I am proud of the two of you.

During the weekend my thoughts kept turning to our wedding over two years ago. Not only was I so relieved to have known that the years of waiting for just the right person was the right thing to do and that the pay-off was so great, I also realized the blessing it was to marry into a family like the Poduskas. During all of the preparations for my wedding, I realized how lucky I was to be marrying into a family where the parents-in-law care so much about their sons' new wives. Mike and Laurie did everything they could and worked so hard in preparation for our wedding (I will always think of poor Mike setting up all of those lanterns in the trees with my sister, Kasey) and I was so grateful. What is truly impressive is that the hard work, care and concern for us never diminished, but they try to always provide whatever the married couples need.

So, Jade, welcome to the family and count me as one of the many Poduskas who are excited to have you in the family!

[Gabe and Jade asked me to do their wedding cake, and despite being terrified I would ruin their wedding by making a horrible cake... I was happy and excited to do it. Jade picked out a beautiful design and the rest fell into place.]

Valentine's Day

Caleb surprised me with this Valentine's Day gift, and I thought I would fall over laughing. It was a larger-than-life poster of Finn as Cupid. Caleb has always been able to to make me laugh. I love his sense of humor! I don't know what we are going to do with a life-size poster of Finn, but I am never getting rid of it!

In honor of Valentine's Day, and at the risk of boring everyone greatly, I have to say how much I love Caleb. I have always recognized how unique and wonderful he is... from the moment we began spending time together, I knew he was different from anyone else I had ever known. But I could never have known at that time how supportive he is. The pregnancy proved Caleb to be capable of things that few men are.

It just so happened that the person I fell in love with turned out to be the greatest source of support, strength, and laughter in my life. I will always have fun and laughter in my life because I have him. So thank you Caleb (and since I am the one writing most of these blogs, I can embarass you all I want!)