Weeks 27 and 28

Weeks 27 and 28

It’s officially the third trimester now! I am feeling more tired lately and simple tasks are getting to be a bit more difficult. I can still put my own shoes on, but not in the same way. Getting up from a couch or chair is a little more difficult too now that I don’t have stomach muscles. I am finding that I am walking a bit slower and it’s not as comfortable. I have had a pain in lower left back and it is slowly creeping down to my butt and hamstrings. My walk has a slight limp to it! However, thanks to our AIS-R Get Fit Challenge, I am still getting around 10,000 steps a day. Some days I can get it without going for a walk after work, other days require a 30 minute walk around the compound. I haven’t done yoga since I learned I was pregnant and I am really missing it (and needing it). Today I decided to start it up again. I logged onto yogaglo.com and signed up. They offer all kids of yoga classes. I am eager to get at it again!

Baby girl is moving a lot! I can feel bigger movements now and Travis was able to feel her again. I find that she likes to move the most when I lay down to sleep. She also wakes me up in my sleep sometimes. I really like feeling her, but it is still such a strange sensation!

Here are my 27 and 28 week photos.

The last two weeks have been quite a blur. We had Week Without Walls at school, which really tired me out. Everyday we do different activities. It’s a break from the curriculum for the students, but is much more physically demanding. It was a great week!

Then this past weekend we went to Byblos, Lebanon. We planned this trip back in October and have been looking forward to it ever since. I really can’t describe what a great city it is, so I will let the pictures do all the talking. I will tell you that we walked a lot, ate a lot and really enjoyed the city and people.

Port Byblos

 All the buildings were gorgeous! The city was built in the 12th century.

 There were churches all over the town. They were beautiful!

 Loved this view each day! It was right across the street from our hotel.

 Lunch at Feniqia, loved, loved, loved this food!

 Tracy and I smiling after eating our delicious fish sandwich.

 Byblos Castle

 Byblos Castle surroundings

 Krystle and I enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea from the castle grounds.

 The amazing view from the top of the castle

 Port Byblos

This sunset was amazing!

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling tired and can feel baby girl a lot!
• Mama has swollen ankles and a sore back.
• Mama craves ice cream and all kinds of sweets right now.
• Daddy felt baby girl move again.
• Daddy does just about everything to help out mama.
• Baby is close to 2.5 pounds.
• Baby is the size of cauliflower.
• Baby is about 16 inches!
• Baby’s sleep now includes REM phases.

Weeks 25 and 26

I am now 26 weeks (almost 27 since I am WAY late in posting this). Although I am ready for it to be May (actually June), the time is flying. Overall, I feel really good. My ankles are swollen almost all the time and I have to move my body a little different lately, but I feel good and have a decent amount of energy. I am still walking around 2 miles four times a week, but would like to do more. It is becoming a challenge to put on socks since I am just not use to a big belly in my way! Sleeping comfortably is getting a little difficult. Baby girl uses my bladder as a trampoline, so I pee a lot and I seem to require more food lately. She is still a mover and daddy finally got to feel her! He was getting a little frustrated that he couldn’t, but last night he could feel her kicking or punching and was VERY happy! It is such an amazing feeling.

My belly and boobs have continued to expand quite a bit. This past week I got a lot of comments that I now looking really pregnant. As I was talking to Travis last night, I just felt huge! I still can’t see my belly when I look down because there are two other giant mountains blocking my view, but when I see a side view it’s a little shocking now!

Here is what has happened over the past two weeks.

I had my glucose test on February 7 and I was really nervous about it. Mornings are not easy for me still and the thought of not eating, getting in a car and getting my blood drawn four times before noon, scared me a bit. Luckily, the night before we had a girl’s movie night where we ate CPK and watched a chick flick. I ate a ton of food to prepare for the next day. 

The morning of, I felt good when I woke up. I was not hungry or nauseated. However, we got on the road and right away there was an accident. I don’t deal well with accidents. I usually freak out or cry. This was a bad one, so I freaked out AND cried. It looked a little dusty or smoky ahead of us as we got on the first main road and we couldn’t see very well. In front of us was a giant dump truck. Apparently he couldn’t see well either. We all tried to pass through the dust. The dump truck did not succeed. He tried to avoid a truck that was stopped in the road (unseen by all) and swerved to avoid hitting it at the last minute. He failed. Not only did he hit the other truck, his truck flipped over to the left side and dumped his gravel all over the road. As the dust cleared, you could see the truck that was hit was pouring fuel onto the road. The other truck was turned on its side and I thought for sure that the driver would be seriously injured or dead. I panicked immediately. I felt like we were trapped on the road and fuel was everywhere. I was convinced that there would be an explosion. Travis calmed me down and was able to drive around the mess. As we passed it all, we saw the driver out, limping around. He was alright after all. It was very scary and really shook me up.

We drove on and got to the doctor’s quite quickly. Travis dropped me off since I was going to be there for three hours. I went in, got my blood taken and then drank the orange drink, which was not bad at all. After that, I went out into the waiting room and read for an hour, until they needed to take my blood again. At the end of three hours, my blood was drawn four times and my fear of needles was nearly overcome. Travis picked me up and took me home so I could eat. I didn’t feel sick and hungry until we got in the car. I was shocked. There must be a LOT of sugar in that drink! Overall, it went really well and I was happy it was over.

Here are my 25 and 26 week photos.

A highlight of the last couple weeks was ordering Indian food with a group of friends. We had all been craving some delicious Indian food. We got it delivered to the compound and had a FEAST! We had so much food. Check it out!

Then on Friday I had a ladies brunch at my house. We all brought some kind of food to share. It was amazing! It was so nice to start the weekend with friends and food. I can’t wait until the next one.

On Valentine’s Day Travis and I went back to the doctor’s office. We found out that I do not have gestational diabetes and I can continue to eat my pasta and ice cream! I was so relieved. The doctor did another ultrasound and took some measurements. He said everything was perfect, which is always nice to hear! He also told me that baby is very active. This is not news to me. There is a party every day in my belly. Anyways, the appointment went well and we ended the day with a homemade fancy steak dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Then I had another Book Club meeting. This time it was at a restaurant that I have not been to, Lusin, which is Armenian food. It was a nice night with some new interesting food.

The next night we made dinner for our friends Amy and Rob who just welcomed their baby boy into the world! She went to the same doctor I go to and had a wonderful experience. It was great to hear a little bit about what to expect when our day comes.

Finally, I was a judge for the high school talent show on Wednesday night. It was so much fun to watch all the talent of the high schoolers and to see their friends cheer them on as they took the stage. The winner was a rap singer! I was really impressed with his abilities. The second place winner was a dub stepper that was quite entertaining!

As you can see, we have been really busy! The next month should be the same. We have Week Without Walls this coming week which is a week of non-curricular activities with the students. I am sure I will be worn out at the end of each day. The we have report cards coming up after that and spring break starts March 18! I am so ready for a nice break.

On a side note, I am totally jealous of all my Shanghai friends that were vacationing at a beach for CNY. I miss the beaches of SE Asia SO MUCH!!! I hope you are all enjoying your vacations. That’s all for this post.

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling good and can feel baby girl a lot!
•  Mama has swollen ankles.
• Mama craves pasta and ice cream more than anything right now!
• Daddy felt baby girl move for the first time!
• Baby is 850grams (almost 2 pounds!)
• Baby is the size of a butternut squash.
• Baby’s eyes are starting to open.
• Baby is over 14 inches!

My birthday, book club, craft sale and another doctor visit

I just finished cooking a gourmet meal for dinner. It was grilled cheese with tomato soup. You should be jealous. It was amazing! The soup even had macaroni noodles. That’s very fancy of me, I know. You are probably drooling as you imagine dipping that sandwich dripping with cheese into the creamy soup. Yep, it was creamy. I made it with milk, not water.

Speaking of food…I LOVE food lately. Well, most of the day. Breakfast continues to be a nightmare. My staple foods are one fried egg done to perfection thanks to Chef Travis and a bowl of instant oatmeal. I seemed to be able to stomach that the best. It may take me 20 + minutes to eat, but I do it. Shortly after I get to school I am hungry again. I can’t seem to eat enough lately. My morning snacks keep getting larger and larger, as do my lunches! So for the time being, food is my friend most of the day and that is how I want it to stay! Um, also, I think I am addicted to ice cream, even more than I use to be.

Here I am at 24 weeks. My belly is growing out more and has surpassed my boobs! Although they are working hard to catch up…

And here I am on my 34^th birthday.

My birthday was fantastic this year. Over the past few years I have dreaded birthdays because I just get older. But then the day comes and I feel so special and loved! All the messages on Facebook made me smile. At work the whole staff got an email about birthdays, so everyone said Happy Birthday. It was a great start to the day. My team also celebrates each of our birthdays. At the end of the day we all gathered in Krystle’s room and ate cupcakes, donuts, lots of fruit and chips. It was delicious!

That night we went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. I had gone once before with a large group of women. The food was amazing and it was so nice to order lots of different foods and then share them. I wanted to do the same for my birthday. There were 10 of us and we had a great time. Everyone came to our house first for a little gathering and some tea. Then we took a bus to the restaurant so we didn’t have to worry about driving in the traffic and parking. We ate tons of food and had wonderful night.

Here are a few pictures from the night.

Allison, Krystle, Liz, me and Tracy

Here we are outside the family entrance section of the restaurant. That’s my gorgeous Abaya. Single men have their own entrance and section of the restaurant. Don’t go in the wrong door, they will stare you down and make you feel awkward, so I hear.

Oh, I almost forgot…last year for my birthday we had a PJ Pub Crawl on Yongkang Lu. We dressed up in some great jammies. Krystle, Zach and I got to wear ours again this year on my birthday because it was pajama day at school!

This year Tristan joined the outside world! He was the cutest batman!

The next day was our book club meeting at Marcelle's house. We had a delicious meal and I had a special seat. The group gave me a balloon, a card and I got to blow out candles. Here are a few pictures.

That weekend there was a craft show at another compound. I went with Tracy, Josiane, Josiane’s mom and another friend Jessica. While there, I got the first piece to baby girl’s nursery. I LOVE elephants and I wanted the room to be pink, gray and turquoise. I found a woman there who custom makes art. She had an adorable elephant that I had to have. She is making me a pink and gray one. I can’t wait to see it and get going on decorating the room!

It ended up being really hot that day and I was feeling quite ill by the end of our shopping trip. I sure hope that it was just because I didn’t eat and drink enough and that it is not a sign of the future. It doesn’t seem to be cooling down, just getting warmer. I hope my pregnant body can handle the heat that is coming, because baby girl is not making an appearance for quite some time still.

And finally we had another doctor visit. This one was pretty pointless. We went in, the nurse weighed me and checked my blood pressure and then talked to us about the glucose test and sent us home. Seemed kind of silly to go all the way there, just for that. Anyway, I learned that I have to go in next week for the three hour test. This is to see if I have gestational diabetes. I have to fast for 10 hours before and that is going to make me feel really sick. Then I will go, drink the stuff three times and get my blood taken four times. I can’t wait! Ugh. He said I have to do the three-hour test instead of the one-hour test because my dad had diabetes. So, I guess I will deal with it. I have a good meal planned for before the fast and after the tests! We will learn the results and have another ultrasound on Valentine’s Day.

That’s the scoop over here. I hope everyone else is well and that all you Michiganders enjoyed your snow days! I sure am jealous of all that white fluffy stuff.

In case you were wondering, after I post this I will be getting a nice big bowl of ice cream...

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama gets swollen ankles and feet after a long day of standing and walking.
• Mama has very vivid and strange dreams.
• Mama craves tomatoes with salt, cucumbers in Wishbone Italian Dressing, ice cream, fruit and sour candies.
• Mama’s belly button is getting closer and closer to an outie.
•  Baby is the size of a foot long sub!
• Baby weighs a pound and a half.
• Baby’s lungs are getting better at breathing
• Baby’s face is almost fully formed, with eyelashes, eyebrows and hair, which is all white since there is no pigment yet.
• Baby likes to dance around in mama’s belly, especially after long walks.

Our Trip to Bahrain

Last weekend was spent in Bahrain for assessment professional learning. When I first signed up for it, I opted to take the bus. I was under the impression that it was only a 3-4 hour bus ride over there. It seemed doable and I thought that was the better choice. At that time a plane ticket didn’t cost much, but it seemed silly to spend the money if we could take a bus for free. Then, a few days before we left I learned that it was actually going to take 5 hours to get to the border and then going through customs and immigration could take a while as well. I immediately regretted my decision, but tried to look at it as a fun road trip with friends. It started fun, but ended in tears.

We boarded the bus at 3:15 on a Thursday afternoon, right after school. I had my kindle, a large bag of snacks, my iPod and a water bottle for emergency use only. We were told that we would only be stopping once during this journey and that left me a little stressed out. I normally pee every one to two hours (TMI, sorry), so I was a little concerned. To prepare myself I barely drank anything during the day and certainly wasn’t planning to drink on the bus, unless absolutely necessary. The ride started out great. Krystle, Allison, Lindsey (another teacher) and I passed the time by playing Heads Up. We were laughing and enjoying ourselves for quite awhile. We stopped once to use the restroom, and as you can imagine it was not a pretty site. The squatty potties reminded me of China and only the brave used those rather than the western toilets. I had to go and didn’t want to wait, so I squatted with my pregnant belly. I was successful and quickly got out of the dirty, wet restroom. In Saudi there are water hoses in every bathroom to squirt yourself down. As you can only imagine, it makes for quite a wet floor. This just adds to the already difficult task of peeing with an Abaya on. Not only do you have to hold up your Abaya, you also have to take care not to let anything drag on the floor at the same time. You become pretty multitalented. Oh, and there are not just sinks, there are usually washbasins for your feet. Many Muslim women wash their feet, pray and then wash again (I think). So water is pretty much everywhere!

The second half of the ride began with sharing food, more laughs and fun. We seemed to be making good time and I was actually thinking that it was fun and I was glad I took the bus. Those thoughts did not last long. As we entered customs and immigration everything took a turn for the worse. We were moving along and seemed that it would only take an hour or so to get to the other side. However, we quickly learned that we were supposed to switch buses before going through. Our bus did not have clearance into Bahrain. Somehow the bus drivers didn’t communicate and after waiting in a line for about an hour (I may be exaggerating a little) we had to TURN AROUND and get to the other bus! This was a process and by the time we got back in line in the right buses, the line was much longer.

These new bus drivers were not very talkative. No one was explaining what we were doing, why we could only be in one line (the longest) and why we were not moving AT ALL. I was starting to get uncomfortable. At this point, we were on the bus for at least 6-7 hours. I was tired, cranky and ready to punch someone. I finally asked the driver what we were doing and why we were moving. He just smiled at me. This is when I began to really lose it. I asked again, demanding an answer. Finally, I learned we had to be in the bus line and it was a slow process. We would have to wait our turn, get off the bus, take our passports, get them stamped, then return to the bus. It was a long time until our turn. While waiting our turn, we were able to get out and use the bathroom, which again was not very nice, but I was thankful to walk and pee. After showing our passports twice, once for Saudi and once for Bahrain, we were off. But the damage had been down. I lost it. I had cried, yelled and thrown a fit, you name it, I did it. Luckily, everyone on the bus was very understanding and I did not lose any friends.

We arrived to our hotel at 1:30am, 9 hours after we left school! The conference started the next morning at 8:30am, but the bus was leaving at 6:45. I went straight to the room, Travis brought me some food and then I went to bed. We were all pretty tired all weekend, but survived. I apologized many times for my craziness on the bus, but most people said I had only vocalized what everyone was thinking. I hope that is true!

Here are two pictures from the weekend. It was nice to be out in public and not wear an Abaya! The first is of Allison, me and Krystle posing with the I love Bahrain sign near a restaurant we went to. The second is Travis and I at the restaurant, The Meat Company.

When it was time to go back to Saudi, Krystle, Allison and I decided to take a car back. It would be much quicker and much more comfortable. The customs line was like a drive through since there were only three of us and we had an SUV to ourselves. Here is another Saudi fun fact, women can’t ride in the front seat of a car unless it is their husband. That means we would have had to squeeze in the back for our journey back. However, our car had a third row, I went in the back so I could put my feet up when needed. I didn’t want swollen ankles and feet again!  It ended up being totally worth the cost. We got home at 9:30pm and thought we had to work the next day. Travis took the bus and didn’t get home until 11:30. Unfortunately, the King of Saudi died over the weekend. Fortunately for us, we got the day off of school on Sunday because of it. We were able to recover a bit. If we didn’t get that day off, I don’t think I would have survived the work week!

It really was a nice weekend though. It was great to get out, do some learning and get some good work done. My next professional learning is in Istanbul! I love working abroad! How many teachers get to travel to other countries for work? It’s one of the many perks of leaving the USA!

22 Weeks...18 to go!

I am now 22 weeks pregnant and I feel great! This is the best I have felt since week 5. I have more energy during the day, I am not feeling nauseated and eating is quite enjoyable lately. The energy is coming from finally getting active again. Now that I feel good, I can actually do some exercising. Our school is doing a Fit Challenge right now and I love it! It is exactly what I needed to get my butt in gear. The goal is to get 10, 000 steps a day or 70,000 steps a week. I use to come home from work and nap or just lay around. Now, I come home and walk. The challenge keeps me motivated and makes me want to walk. I started slow with just walking the perimeter of our compound once. According to my Nike app that is about 1.7 miles around. The next day I did 2 laps and then even walked 3 times around (more than 5 miles) a few times. It has gotten cold the last few days so I moved to the indoor track, but am still walking at least 3 miles. It has also been nice seeing friends out and about and joining them. The more you talk, the faster it goes by. I met my goal last week and was so proud of myself. I am hoping to do the same this week. We get tickets according to how much you walk and then we are entered into a drawing for prizes, which is extra motivation. It has really been wonderful and the timing could not have been better. Travis runs in the mornings, walks a ton throughout the day at work and goes for walks with me most days after school. Needless to say, he has a lot of steps each day!

Here I am at 22 weeks. Belly is growing, baby is moving, I am feeling good and loving it right now!

21 Week photo:

It has been two weeks since my last post, so I will fill you in on what has been happening over here in Riyadh. I really can't believe it has been two weeks already. This year is flying by! Anyways... shortly after we returned to the magic Kingdom, I got sick. It was just a cold, but it hit hard. The combination of being pregnant, having jet lag and getting sick was terrible. I was quite miserable. I had to leave work early one day and then took the next day off. It took a while to get over the cold and am feeling pretty normal now. I really hope I do not get sick again for a while! I went through so many tissues and drank a ton of hot lemon, honey water. 

I also did some shopping. When living on a compound, it is easy to get stuck here and not leave for a week, sometimes longer. I often feel like I want to stay here and don't want to go into the outside world. However, every time I leave, I feel better. I feel like a normal person. The first weekend we were back, I went shopping with two girlfriends, Tracy and Josiane. We all needed to get a gown for the AIS-R Black Tie Gala that was the next weekend. We had a great time shopping and eating. It was a nice girl's day out. We even got to try on clothes at the mall! Here in Saudi that is not normal. At most places you have to buy clothes, try them on outside of the store at special designated areas and then return them if you don't like them. We went to Kingdom mall though, and they have a special floor dedicated just to women, so you are allowed to try on clothes right in the store in a normal dressing room. It was great! We tried on loads of dresses and were very successful finding what we needed and wanted. 

Then the next weekend was the Gala. It was on a Thursday night after work and I was worried that I would be really tired. The night ended up being fantastic! The event was outside at the British Embassy and the weather cooperated. It was not too cold and we stayed warm by dancing! The evening included a four course meal catered by The Four Seasons Hotel. The food was amazing. I had such a great time. After, we were invited to the British Ambassador's house. His wife is our high school principal, so she asked us to stay a bit longer. We didn't end up getting home until 2am! I was really proud that I made it so late. I was doing really well until about 1am and then I pretty much demanded that we go home. Everyone understood and we ended the night. Travis and I slept until 11am the next morning! It was so nice. We need to sleep in while we can!

Here is a picture of a picture of us at the Gala. You cannot take photos inside the embassies so this is all we have of the evening.

Other than that, Travis has been golfing with some other men and is loving that he can do that year round. We continue to be busy with school, but are settling into some routine now. This weekend we are going to Bahrain for some professional development. The next two months are really busy at work. It will be April before we know it and then May and then baby girl Klump will be here! We can't wait!

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama feels great!
• Mama can feel baby girl move!
• Mama is craving fruit, tomatoes with salt, ice cream and pasta.
• Baby has eyebrows and eyelashes (and probably a lot if she is like daddy!).
• Baby is developing her sense of touch.
• Baby's sense of sight is also improving. She can sense light if we shine a flashlight on my belly (this is crazy to us!).
• Baby is over 1 pound now and 10-12 inches long.
• Baby is the size of an ear of corn.

Hello 2015!

It’s unbelievable to me that it is now 2015! That sounds just crazy. When I reflect on 2014, I can’t help but smile. It was such an amazing year for both Travis and me. We started the year in Shanghai, and we definitely lived up those last few months there! I love looking back at pictures. It makes me smile and cry at the same time. I enjoyed those last days and told myself to look ahead and that I would never go back. But, just last night I was telling Travis that we should take a trip there next year! I couldn’t believe those words came out of my mouth. I thought it would be perfect though, since we will still have a few friends there, we can eat all the amazing food we miss and shop til I drop once again! Anyway, then came summer 2014, a fantastic break at home. We spent endless hours on the lake and with family and friends. My favorite part was buying our own home! I can’t wait to spend time there this coming summer. Then we started a new chapter of our lives in Riyadh at a new school. Finally, we learned we were having a baby! It truly was an amazing year!

It ended on a high note with this Christmas break. We headed home for the quick two weeks. The time we spent with family was awesome! We had numerous family gatherings and even more shopping trips. It went by a little too quickly for me though and I had quite a meltdown as we began to pack. It was the worst packing up and leaving for me to date. When we first left for China I was a mess too, but not like this. I cried the night before as we packed (and maybe yelled a little too!). I cried the morning of leaving, in the car and of course at the airport as I hugged my mom and told her I would see her in a few months. I don’t know if it’s because I still have not fully adjusted to life in Saudi, my pregnancy or both, but it was SO hard!

So here we are in 2015 and I am halfway through my pregnancy. It feels like I just found out I was pregnant and at the same time I feel like I have been pregnant forever! I love the attention of being pregnant and at times I feel like a celebrity. However, I am really looking forward to May when we meet this sweet baby.

Here is my 20 week bump, she is growing and growing!

I realize I am way behind with pictures! I do not have an 18 week picture, but I do have a 19 week one. Here it is. I should really learn to stand facing the same direction each time!

In other news, Travis spent a lot of time at our little blue lake house over the break. We made a lot of (unplanned) decisions and he worked on the demolition of a lot of it. One reason we picked this house was because we didn’t have much to change. It was fine how it was. We just wanted to update it a bit. Well, as you can see from the pictures, we have changed our minds a bit. We are changing EVERYTHING, including the siding. So our little BLUE lake house will not be blue anymore! Here is a little peek at what is happening.

 French doors moved to bedroom wall (there is also a window on either side of the doors now) and the screened porch is now a part of our living room and has the amazing new door wall that takes up the whole wall!

 Three new (reused) windows added to the side of the house for more of a lake view from the living room. That green is what was under the siding they removed. The new color will be tan.

This is inside the living room, looking out to the lake. All the drywall was ripped out.

We cannot wait to see the finished product in June (or July, depending on baby girl)! So that is all for now, until next week…

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama’s belly and boobs have taken over her body.
• Mama craves fruit, juice, ice cream and sour candies.
•  Mama has LOTS of new clothes!
• Baby has LOTS of new stuff too!
• Baby is not kicking mama yet.
• Baby is more than 6 inches (10 inches from head to toe!) and is the size of a mango (YUM!).
• Baby weighs 10 ounces.
• Baby is developing more layers of skin.
• Baby girl’s uterus is fully formed and her ovaries are holding 7 million primitive eggs.