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.

Blue or Pink, what do you think????

Week 17

December 15, 2014

Since I learned I was pregnant I have felt like baby Klump is a girl. I’m wearing a pink shirt in this picture (taken before the doctor’s appointment) because I am thinking pink! I really don’t know why. I have never had a dream about it, like most do. I think I am just afraid to have a boy. I have many nephews and they are definitely movers! Girls seem a little less crazy, except for my niece Emily. She never stopped moving when she was young! I also think I want to be like three of my older sisters. They all had a girl first. And now, my sister in law Marcie just had a little girl, so I have been hoping that little Addie won’t be alone with all the Klump boys. So, blue or pink, what do you think???? Keep reading to find out.

This last week has been a mix of feeling good and feeling not so good. Generally, I am not sick. However, mornings are pretty rough again. I wake up really hungry and when I wait too long to eat, I get really nauseated and feel like I am going to get sick. Then, breakfast takes forever to finish. I have found that I need to eat at least every 3 hours and now I need to eat a little more than I used to eat. Meals and snacks are becoming a little bigger, just in time for Christmas! My belly continues to grow and every night it feels like it doubled in size from the morning. I can’t wait to get to America and eat Jet’s pizza, bacon, sausage and home cooked food!!!

Here I am at 17 weeks:

Today we went to the doctors. I have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting for this appointment for five weeks! I love to be planned, prepared and organized. I always knew that I would want to know the sex of the baby ASAP! So today was really exciting for both us. We had boy and girl names picked out, well, narrowed down to a few favorites. Now we know that Baby Klump is a…

 Girl! I knew it! Travis had to run to the grocery store tonight and found this balloon. :)

Other than baby news, we have had a lot of holiday celebrations this week. Last Wednesday I had my book club Christmas dinner and book exchange. It was held at the high school principal’s home on the British Embassy. We sat outside talking, eating and exchanging Kindle books. It was such a great night! Then Thursday Travis and I went to our friend Marcelle’s house with Tracy, Ian, Allison and Derrick for a delicious Christmas dinner there. I ate so much, my stomach hurt. Friday was our staff winter party back at the British Embassy. It was amazing food, great entertainment (teachers dancing) and perfect company. Saturday was another party filled with some amazing food at our friend Josiane’s home. We played games, ate and had a gift exchange. Finally, Sunday I went to our friends’ Liz and Jon’s house for some Christmas caroling. It was a really great night. I just love this time of year and can’t wait to make more memories in Michigan.

Maher, Marcelle, Tracy, Ian, Travis, Christy, Derrick and Allison

Staff Winter Party

Tracy and I ready to go to the staff party!

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama has a bigger belly and it makes getting comfy at night a little more difficult now.
• Mama craves fruit, cheese bread, cupcakes, hot chocolate and cheeseburgers (thanks Laurie!).
• Mama gets needs to start exercising again! She gets out of breath way too often!
• Baby is a girl!
• Baby is slightly more than 5 inches and is the size of a pomegranate.
• Baby’s cartilage is hardening into bones now.
• Baby is practicing sucking and swallowing.
• Baby girl has a ovaries full of eggs already.

16 Week Update

It’s been a while since my last update. I’ve been trying so hard to do one each week, but by the time I went to write the week 15 update, it was closer to week 16. I decided to just combine them. A lot has happened over the last two weeks. We have been really busy with fun stuff and work stuff. Here is a little recap of that time.

First, I am feeling really good lately. I eat more and sleep a little less. My belly is growing and my pants were not fitting. Luckily, Krystle has let me borrow lots of clothes! It was so much fun trying it all on last weekend. The jeans are my favorite! I feel like I will never want to wear regular jeans again!

Today Travis and I were supposed to head to the doctors and hopefully find out the sex of baby Klump. However, Travis was unable to come with me. Luckily the doctor allowed us to reschedule to next Monday. I will be further along, which makes it a better chance of seeing boy or girl parts! And of course, Travis will be with me. I really wanted him to come to all the appointments. I am really happy it all worked out. Stay tuned to next week’s update to find out if baby will be wearing pink or blue!

Here I am at 16 weeks:

On to life in Riyadh…Thanksgiving this year also happened to be UN Day at school. It was a great combination of one of my favorite American holidays and my favorite international day. I went to school all dressed in my American clothes and colors and enjoyed seeing some of my students dressed up in their home country traditional clothing. The big celebration was planned to be outside. But, just as school was starting, the sky was darkening. Before we knew it, the desert looked more like a rain forest! It was pouring rain and the pavement started to flood quickly. It was only one hour until the celebration was supposed to begin. It didn’t look like it was going to happen. However, the rain stopped fairly quickly and the amazing workers cleaned up the water, put out new rugs and had it ready for the school almost on time. It was amazing! We heard speakers, watched dancers and sang Wave Your Flag! My eyes filled with tears many times. I always cry when I see so many different cultures in one place. It’s one of my favorite things about living and working abroad. You learn so much and see such pride. It was an amazing morning!

That evening we celebrated Thanksgiving with some friends. The food and company were perfect. It’s hard being away from family during the holidays. Luckily, when you teach abroad, everyone is away from family so we celebrate with our new ‘framily’ (friends that are your family abroad). We had a bird, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, salad and pumpkin cookies for dessert. When the night was over, my belly and heart were full. It was a perfect evening.

The celebrating didn’t stop there though. Saturday was the Turkey Trot and AIS-R Thanksgiving celebration. Travis and I woke up early to head over to the race area on the compound. The social committee planned, organized and set up the route for us. You could choose a 2.5K, 5K or 10K. When I signed up I thought I could do the 5K since I have been running for a few years now. However, between working a lot, sleeping a lot and feeling sick a lot, I haven’t run in a LONG time. I was still hopeful that I could jog and walk the 5K. After the half way mark, you could stop or keep going. I decided the 2.5K was enough for me. I jogged almost the whole thing, so I was happy. Shortly after I finished, Travis finished his 5K. It was a fun morning. 

Later in the evening we had a big celebration with a lot of teachers on our compound. The school provided the turkey and stuffing and everyone brought a dish to share. It was honestly some of the best food I have ever eaten! It was such a good time.

Then things got REALLY busy at work. I may or may not have had a few break downs… This time of year is always crazy, but being at a new school makes it even crazier. We are trying to finish up many assessments, grades and report cards. I was really overwhelmed at first and didn’t think I could possibly get it all done. Once I calmed down, I prioritized and planned out how I was going to get it all finished on time. I am impressed with how much work I have done and I am no longer stressed. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! Ten more days and we will be in Michigan!

In other fun news, it was also Krystle’s birthday last week. We decided to do a little mini celebration on the actual day, December 3. Travis and our friends the Jeffersons always bowl on Wednesdays and we all wanted to help Krystle have some fun that day. So we all went up to the bowling alley (on our compound). Krystle and I did a little bowling. We ate some food and then went to Tracy and Ian’s house to eat some cake. It was a fun night. Then Friday night we went to the Winter’s house for some more celebrating.

That’s it for us. A new update will be coming next week…ballet shoes or soccer cleats????

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama has a bit of a belly and maternity pants make her happy!
• Mama is feeling SO MUCH better now! Certain foods are exciting to eat again and I feel like I have more energy.
• Mama craves fruit, juices, cheese bread and salad.
• Mama gets headaches and dizzy sometimes.
• Baby is nearly 5 inches and is the size of an avocado.
• Baby hears external voices. I should really sing more often now!
• Baby sleeps and dreams.
• Baby knows how to breathe.