Half way there...update.

And I thought I'd be better this time around keeping up with the blog, but I guess it's true what they say about pregnancies and keeping track as you have more.  I just haven't kept up, although I am enjoying this pregnancy better now that I am over the nausea and have begun an exercise program.

So, let's look back at the first half of this pregnancy...

The first trimester was probably by far my worst out of the three in terms of nausea and exhaustion.  I think I was probably much more grumpy this time around, too...mainly because of the nausea and exhaustion.  Work was also much more stressful than my first two pregnancies, I think, and the hours were longer, although during my first trimester while I was active duty, I worked much longer days...

Anyhow, the first trimester passed without incident, thankfully, and although I spent more time in the bathroom than I would have liked, I am just thankful it passed.  Things of note, however, is that during the first couple weeks after discovering I was pregnant, all I wanted to eat was steak.  Not just red meat, but straight steak with steak sauce.  Marinated meat made me more nauseous, so I ate lots of just regular beef seared during the first week or two after discovering I was pregnant. Perhaps I was a little iron deficient.  Much like the two previous pregnancies, however, I never really had any cravings other than the red meat, and I was more ambivalent about what I wanted to eat than ever before.  I did eat constantly, though, whether or not I could keep eating whatever I chose was another story, but I had to keep munching on something.  I pretty much stayed out of the kitchen the first trimester due to the nausea, and only cooked when I had to for the kids. 

Jeff has been so much help with the girls this whole time.  Letting me nap for hours on the weekend, putting the girls down when I pass out after getting home from work, cooking, doing laundry, dealing with my hormonal outbursts and insecurities...

Speaking of hormonal outbursts...this job I have now requires a lot of patience and friendliness on my part because of the international relationships that I need to maintain and the senior leaders I come in contact with regularly at meetings.  Well, with the surging of hormones and my constant discomfort with the nausea in my first trimester, I noticed that I get very irritated and frustrated during my meetings...and apparently in my writing as well.  As I draft up letters to be sent from one office to another, occasionally I get a little more emotionally invested in the work and tidbits of "rosa rage" kicks in and my boss comes chuckling holding the letter and asks if I'm doing okay.  I seem to have become much more aggressive and directive at the office, which actually has made for much more efficient meetings, although I'm not sure everyone leaves as "happy" or as "appeased" as most of my meetings used to go...at least it cuts out a lot of the political back-rubbing and explaining and re-explaining (and re-explaining and re-explaining) why things have to be done a certain way or why the answer is "still" no.  I am enjoying the efficiency, personally...now that my hormones have settled down a bit and I am a bit more stable (at least at work), I am trying to maintain my "more aggressive persona" and it seems to be working, for the most part.  I am keeping the "rosa rage" out of the papers, though...

Another first trimester symptom (that contributed to the excessive nausea this time around, I'm certain) was my bloodhound nose.  I smelled anything and everything, and boy, was it not a pleasant experience when working in an office full of men (sorry, men).  I had to go to one meeting with the big boss and it was hot in the room already and the entire room smelled like old corn chips...Fritos...I lasted about the first 10 minutes before I had to excuse myself and step out for fresh air before coming back in so I wouldn't hurl on the table.  After that meeting, I started carrying around a plastic bag...just in case. Luckily, I never had to use the bags.  I did huff a lot of Altoid mints, though...the strong peppermint smell actually helped quell the nausea much better than actually sucking on them.  (They actually tasted awful to me...like sucking on gasoline drops or something...bizarre).

Although the nausea lingered this pregnancy longer than I wanted it to (around 16 weeks), now that it has passed, my energy has picked up and as I mentioned, my moods seem to have evened out for the most part.  I actually don't pass out right when I get home from work and I have made dinner a few nights. 

As I transitioned into the second trimester, I started having a lot of insecurities about my ballooning body, breakouts on my face, general personality...etc...so after much discussion with Jeff, I decided to do the on-ramp for Crossfit at our local gym by our house and do it throughout this pregnancy.  I had been running about six miles a week through the first trimester (about 3 miles twice a week), but it just wasn't helping me in my moods as much as working out with others could...and as good as swimming felt once I was in the pool, getting myself in the pool took so much motivation, I'd frequently just skip it, even if I had all the stuff with me to swim at lunch!  So, I on-ramped and finally got certified on 31 October!  I am reading up on the safety of Crossfit-ing as a pregnant woman through the crossfitmom website (http://crossfitmom.com) and am scaling and focusing on technique as much as possible now.  It's giving me tons of energy that I didn't have before (although I'm sure it also has to do with the fact that I'm well into my second trimester now), and my mood is so much better every day.  My body and belly continues to balloon, as I expect, but I feel fitter and healthier for this pregnancy than my two previous ones, so the outlook is good that I won't make my doc fall out of her chair from my weight gain...I hope. ;)

OK, so I think I've covered most everything that has been happening to ME this pregnancy, but let me close with a note about my little one growing within...

As of our 17-week ultrasound check-up, the baby is going to be our princess number 3!  I got to feel her fluttering inside for the first time in mid-October while I was in a meeting, although I failed to write down the date.  And, this morning, I felt her hiccuping in my belly for the first time! :)  I'm not sure why hiccups seem to be such a significant milestone in my pregnancies, but I seem to take note of it because it's such a funny sensation for me...it makes me smile. :)

In more medical aspects, all the tests have come back clean and she's growing on par with her estimated due date of 16 March, so I'm hoping I have a late late February or early March baby.  Here's to hoping! 

Next doc appointment is on 12 November, and that one is the full ultrasound with all measurements and such, so I'll see you then, Little One.  In the meantime, keep kicking and fluttering in there!

And we begin the journey again...:)

So...

Here I am again at the beginning of a familiar road that leads me for nine months.

Destination: Baby #3.

I honestly couldn't be more joyful! (Well, maybe if I allowed myself to tell people about it and didn't keep it a secret!)

Here's how the discovery went...the long version:

On the drive home from the airport after a grueling flight back from the US, I was feeling quite nauseous and I let Jeff know. His initial response was: "You'd better not be pregnant!" The thought hadn't even crossed my mind...I just assumed it was the long plane ride, lack of sleep, and just the muggy air...but we both laughed it off and didn't think of it again. This was Sunday, 8 July 2012.

The ever-so-slightly nauseous feeling still lingered through Monday, but I assumed it was due to lack of sleep. I did think it was a bit unusual that I still hadn't started my cycle even after I had stopped nursing for about three months already. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Sung on Tuesday just to get checked out down there to make sure all was well. I figured I could also ask for about six months of birth control to ensure we were fully moved into Germany before having a baby. We had decided we definitely want another child in our life...we just wasn't sure when yet. We figured since we are definitely moving to Germany next summer, it would probably be a good idea to delay getting pregnant until after we were settled there.

God clearly had other plans for us. :)

Tuesday rolled around and at lunch time, I went in for my appointment. The nurse called my name for the initial assessment and she asked me what I was here for. I explained that we were leaving Korea in the next 10 months and wanted to discuss some birth control options to reduce the risk of disrupting the move timeline. She asked if there was any possibility that I was currently pregnant since I still haven't had a period since I stopped nursing. I told her, not likely. She recommended we do a pregnancy test just to rule it out before talking about the next step. I went and peed in a cup, she took it and went back into their lab. I waited in the waiting area not thinking anything of it. She called me up and casually showed me the pregnancy test result and at first, I just glanced with the assumption that it came back negative because she didn't say anything particular; she just said, "here's the result" with no surprise or excitement (considering our conversation before the pee-test, you'd think she would have given some indication...maybe she was afraid of my possible reaction?). I looked again and there was the faint pink line. As I stood there staring at the test trying to decide whether or not it meant positive or negative, the nurse finally spoke up and said, "Looks like you're pregnant!" The biggest grin spread across my face unwittingly and I couldn't stop smiling as I stood there speechless.

The nurse told me they would confirm the pregnancy with a sonogram shortly, so I waited a bit longer and debated internally how I should let Jeff know the news. The tech called me in and lo and behold, there was the little speck, confirming the just barely 4-week mark of my pregnancy! Who knew?

At this point, I was led back into the waiting area to wait for the actual Doctor consult. That's when I just sent a text to Jeff with this: "Um...prepare to move to Germany earlier than planned if you really want a German-born baby..." His response, "What? You suck!"  haha...

Well, long story short, the doc said, "Here we go again!" and told me I needed to start taking prenatal vitamins. I'm surprised she didn't mention I needed to exercise considering her opinion of my pregnancy last time...

Jeff and I had a fairly lengthy discussion about the timeline, but ultimately decided it probably doesn't need to be affected since the expected due date is 16 March 2013 and we can plan on leaving country at the end of April or beginning of May. The date seems SO SOON. I can't believe how quickly things are happening now...

Now the question is, how to break the news to the rest of the world. :)

Looking forward to seeing you again, Little Speck. See you on the July 24th. :) I love you already!

Hello Kitty Castle...and other less than exciting events.

This weekend, we took the girls to Hello Kitty Castle in the Kintex in Ilsan. It was a lovely set up with fun activities for both girls to do including a train ride, hand-paddle boats, bumper cars, "viking" ship ride, bungee trampoline, and various bounce houses. They also had a small "museum" of sorts set up with the history of Hello Kitty and a special "Hello Kitty Room" completely with furniture and even a mock bathroom with a Hello Kitty in the tub. :)  Cute.

Tay really enjoyed riding all the rides and wandering around the place as did little Ri, but she was too little to ride on any of the rides by herself. I took her on the bumper cars, which she seemed to enjoy, and we rode the little train, but I started feeling nauseous because I was riding backwards to take photos of Ri...ugh.

Ri's been unusually clingy lately, too, but I think it's just the second round of separation anxiety that's coming into play...she just wants me to hold her all the time...and funny thing is, as tired as I get, I admit that I am loving every minute. I just wonder when she'll hit the point of wanting to do everything on her own.

Anyhow, great fun was had by all, and after a quick snack, we headed home and Tay knocked out in the car while Ri just zoned out. That girl just doesn't sleep very much...hm...

On a less eventful note, I got food poisoning and got very sick that evening and got nothing done that I needed to before Monday. I barely woke up Monday morning to make Zuppa Toscana for Superbowl morning, packed Tay's lunch for school and weakly made my way to work. I didn't eat anything all day for fear of getting sick again, but by the time I got home after picking up the girls after work, I was so famished I had to eat something, so I ate some rice and water (rice soup), and then a small bowl of the left over zuppa...and then some broccoli that Jeff made. I was just so hungry...and I got a little nauseous again, but am now feeling better. I felt well enough to knock out the dishes and clean the kitchen after it had been a wreck for two days! Thank goodness. That was really stressing me out...

I'm feeling well enough to blog if that tells you anything. Well, I do need to get to sleep, so good night to all. Work call comes early in the morn...

Must Write!

The girls are just...hilarious. Learning so much, growing so much, learning to love each other...simply beautiful. They share their own giggles already, without any of us adults interfering or initiating. They make each other giggle when they're supposed to be going to sleep. When they first wake up in the morning. When they're eating. Even when they're crying.

There's just so much to write about it seems these days, but I can't seem to get it written down. Why do I have such writer's block???

Tay is her usual sweet self as always. She is having a bit of a struggle because it seems she really wants to push away from me, at the same time, she really wants my attention so she acts out if I'm busy doing something else (like the dishes or taking Ri to the bathroom). She has also been Daddy's girl a lot lately, and I am okay with that, except that sometimes I wish I could spend some one-on-one time with her. Must schedule a mommy date with Tay.

In other Tay news, we have been working on some sight words with her and she is really doing a great job. Usually I start too late in the evening with her so she's exhausted by the time we're partially through reviewing them, but she's up to about 20 words and we've only been doing it for about a week, missing a few days in between. I'm not sure how exactly to go about doing it effectively, but what we are doing seems to be working okay so far. Little minds are so amazing. Her favorite words to read are "elephant" and "gorilla," and she is now also identifying the shorter words like "dog" and "hi" in her reading books, which is very exciting for her!

With the new semester of school that started in January, we decided to enroll her in ballet and Korean class for after school activities. She was very excited about ballet because her two best friends, Jianing and Shiri, are also in the class with her. She was a bit apprehensive about the Korean class and said that she did NOT like the class even though she had not been to one class yet. Well, we told her to try it at least once, and so she went and she had a great time. I think she may have been a little nervous about going to a "class" on Korean when she could not speak Korean comfortably yet. Anyhow, after the class, she even "taught" her Daddy some of the phrases she learned to include, "Anyeong-ha-sae-yo" and "Gahmsa-hamnida" and how to count to ten. She also told us her teacher taught her how to say "no" in Korean when one of the Korean children in the class was trying to hit her. What? I don't think that little boy means any harm, but is just over excited, but she does need to tell him to stop if he's getting a bit aggressive. Luckily, she's actually much bigger than he is so I don't fear that she's getting pushed around or anything. They're actually friends and she wants to invite him to her birthday party. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy that she likes her Korean class and I hope that once she gets a little more comfortable, she will want to practice with me. They're supposed to teach some culture in that class, too, so we'll see what she learns...:)

Also, in the last month, I've merged my two blogs so I will write about Tay and Ri both in this one.

I had been neglecting Ri's health check-ups, and I blame it on the fact that every time I remember to schedule an appointment, she seemed to be sick, so I would just post-pone and not reschedule. Anyhow, finally, she went to have a check-up today and got some immunization shots. She weighed in at 11.2kgs (24 pounds, 11 ounces) and she measured about 80cm (31 inches), but she didn't stand still very well, so I'm not sure how accurate the height measurement was. She was very cooperative for most of her check up, except for when the doc wanted to look inside her mouth. When we told her to say "ah," she did, and as soon as the doc went to put the tongue depressor in her mouth, she'd clamp shut. She squirmed a bit and fussed, but eventually she had to be forced to open her mouth to get checked and she did NOT like it. Oh well...it had to be done. All is well, though, so she did not put up much protest after the fact. She was also distracted by some stickers on the doctor's table. She was also not a fan of getting her two shots, but the crying ended quickly when she saw some toys. After we left the office, I think she remembered that she got some shots and was upset again briefly, but then got distracted once more and was happy again. Yay for short attention spans?

In other Ri news, since about 15 months, she has been picking up about a word a day...the rate that she is retaining these words and utilizing them to meet her needs is just stunning. She's up to about 30 words she uses regularly. She still uses signs and hand motions to get most of her needs across, but now she is starting to include the words and/or phrases, too, so she's putting things together. Children and cognitive development...absolutely amazing. Here is her collective list of words I could come up with at the moment:

Mom - moMEE, umma, mama
Dad - BBA BBA, DAD, dada, appa (she's always very excited to call him...it starts from the elevator when we're coming home and doesn't end until he has smothered her with kisses)
Unni (Tay) - Unna, anna
Tita (Beth) - Tata, Toto
Tito (JD) - Toto
ball - boh
hi - hi (with hand wave)
bye - bah bye (with hand wave)
turtle - tuttle
bubble - bubBUL
water (mool or any drink, really) - mooooah
blue - boo
bath - bah bah BAH (if "bath" is EVER mentioned within ear shot of her, she goes running to the bathtub shouting "bah bah BAH!")
balloon - baoooon
juice - djuce
strawberry (dalki in Korean) - aki
noodle - nooodu
peepee - peepee (grabbing and tugging on her diaper in front)
poopoo - nnnnn (grabbing her tummy and tugging her diaper or patting her rear)
up - uppa (with arms up)
down - oun (like, noun, but no "n")
out - ow (pointing or running toward door)
ouch - ow (with hand on booboo)
cup - ptka (odd, but this is exactly how Tay used to say "cup," too...)
banana - nana
cat - yow!
monkey - ah ah ah
one more - moh moh
this - dis (pointing)
that - dah (pointing)
milk (ooyoo in Korean) - oo oo
help please - hep pee

Speaking of peepee and poopoo, Ri's gotten very good with letting us know when she has to go to the bathroom, and she can almost always distinguish between the need to go number 1 or 2, but she usually confuses just gas and the actual need to poo, so we have been spending a lot of time going to the bathroom for false alarms. She's still hit or miss sometimes with pee because it depends on what she's doing whether or not she tells us with enough time to go or if she tells us as she's going, but she tells us, nonetheless. :) At home, we usually leave her in training undies, and when we go out, she wears pull-ups. Maybe I'll get lucky again and have an early potty trained child. Just have to figure out this night-training business...:P

Well, I think this entry is long enough...don't want everyone to be bored to tears half way through...right?

Thanks for reading this far...:) Here are some photos, too, with the hopes they load properly.

Shingil's 20-Questions at Age 3 (15 Jan 12)

1. What is your favorite color?
   - Purple (usually she says, all the colors or blue)
2. What is your favorite toy?
   - Jasmine Dress (odd, because she doesn't have a Jasmine dress...?)
3. What is your favorite fruit?
   - Pineapple, because it's delicious and it gives me energy (a quote from a book - she doesn't really care for pineapples, though!)
4. What is your favorite tv show?
   - Princess
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
   - Spaghetti (we haven't had this in a while...perhaps I should pack it for her lunch)
6. What is your favorite outfit?
   - Jasmine Princess Dress (again, she doesn't own a Jasmine dress)
7. What is your favorite game?
   - Chutes and Ladders
8. What is your favorite snack?
   - Crackers (I would have guessed cheese)
9. What is your favorite animal?
   - Giraffes
10. What is your favorite song?
   - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
11. What is your favorite book?
   - Dinosaur book (How Big Is a Dinosaur)
12. Who is your best friend?
   - Jianing and Shiri
13. What is your favorite cereal?
   - Cocoa Pebbles
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
   - Play tennis
15. What is your favorite drink?
   - Chocolate milk
16. What is your favorite holiday?
   - Easter (I would have guessed Christmas)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?
   - Monkey, Panda, and Baby
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
   - Strawberries and grapes (I would have guessed cereal or oatmeal or rice soup!)
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?
   - Cake (LOVE this answer...a girl after my own heart)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
   - Princess

Pre-Christmas Writing Attempt

I've been at a loss for words lately, and I blame it on my seemingly constant state of "sniffles" since Tay started school back in August. Gotta have something to blame, right? My brain has just been feeling like mush and stuffiness lately so I just can't be creative. Even now, I am stuffed up and breathing with my mouth open. Feel sorry for me yet? Also, I think I may have a fracture in the tip of my right pinky...but that's a story for another time...maybe.

As Christmas is right around the corner, I feel like I should be relaxed and for the most part, I am. There is a strange calm (or maybe it's sheer laziness) about this season this year, and perhaps that is what is prompting me to write finally. I don't feel a bit ready for Christmas, and I can't believe it's actually already here, but I'm not even sure what I need to do to get ready any more than I already am. I do feel strangely disconnected from everything, but I think a lot of that has to do with my stuffy head and cough I can't seem to shake. It makes me think I should probably go get my overdue annual physical so I can find out what is wrong with my fading health these days.

Moving on...