THUMBS UP

We finally got to watch Where The Wild Things Are this weekend. (I say “finally” even though it’s only been out just over a week because we originally intended to watch it on the opening day.)

I fell in love. I bawled my eyes out. I remembered. I laughed. I wished I could be a Wild Thing too.

The things that were going on in my head during the movie are a bit too complex (and personal) to explain here, but I just felt that I had to say I loved it. I wanted so badly to love it and I did. And hopefully he will too :)

P.S. I REALLY love her too.

Let the gain begin!

I have no idea how much I really weigh right now. I don’t trust my cheapo scale at home, nor our Wii Fit to get an accurate reading. I feel three digits though, however that feels!

I’m so excited to go to my next appointment and get weighed. The lady who always weighs me always moves the weight straight to the 100lb mark, likely out of habit, because I’m sure there are many patients who are over 100lbs, especially pregnant ones. So when she does this, the balance falls every time, then she giggles at how tiny I am. I promised her last time that the next time I’m in, the balance won’t do that. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to keep that promise.

Other than the obvious point of weight gain (my belly), it’s starting to appear in other places. I don’t know if it’s just me though, so maybe I won’t point them all out, since I’d rather not draw attention to them!

One spot, that I knew would get bigger anyway, is my fingers (or is that 10 spots?). It sorta happened all of a sudden. My wedding rings were purposely sized a bit larger than my finger because my sisters all told me that after I have kids, I’d get some meat around my fingers. They were right.

My fingers stayed the same until last week. I found that after I took my rings off at night, I had indentations on my skin and I had to wiggle them off my finger. I thought maybe my flight had something to do with it (I was out of town) but then realized that a 45 minute flight PROBABLY wouldn’t do that to me.

Then yesterday, during mass, my husband saw me struggling to pull my rings off (to put on hand sanitizer...I’ve been a bit coughy lately) and so we, together, came to the conclusion that the time has come for my fingers to get fat. So now, I’m sporting only my wedding band since it’s rounded inside and is quite easy to put on. I’m glad I can still see my knuckles though. Hopefully that won’t change.

This weight gain isn't a mystery to me though. I've been eating like a pig. Or maybe more like a wild boar. At the end of a meal, my husband seems to look at my plate, completely baffled. I've never eaten like this, and quite frankly, I'm enjoying it. Now's the time to eat healthily and to eat well and that's exactly what I'm doing!

A word from the Husband...

(I left the New Post window open and lookie, lookie)

i love you

LOST/MISSING!

*note, this is not an exact picture, but bears a close resemblance

Belly Button, also known as a Navel

Last seen June 2009 and has since shown erratic behaviour

Beautiful Innie
Very friendly
Completely clean
Not prone to lint

Please return to owner, likely after March 18, 2010, no questions asked.

Things I'm thankful for - 12:42PM

• Sleeping in. I managed to sleep for around 12 hours, which is especially good for several reasons. One, I haven't been able to sleep in for pretty much the entire pregnancy. I've been waking up earlier than 8AM on days that it's okay to sleep in, mostly because I feel the need to eat. Two, I've come down with a cold and cough (BOOOOOO!!!) and I could use the rest
• My waistline. I found myself laughing at my new "waistline" this morning while I was brushing my teeth. Sometimes I can't even feel that I'm as big as I am and for a brief moment, I feel slim and then I look down and just laugh at what has become me + 1.
• Groggy goodbyes. I've been off work since Thursday and that morning, Friday morning and this morning, my husband has still had to go to work. Before he left, he said every morning before leaving "Have a good day, Love!" to which I responded, "You too!" which would then make him frown...because what he was really saying was "Have a good day off!" OOPS!
• The availability of good hair cutting scissors. I'm going to finally fix my stupid hair today. No more looking like I have droopy dog ears.
• The Office Marathon. I cannot get off my arse because they just keep airing episode after episode and the commercial breaks consist of one commercial.
• Pies. I didn't get to make any pies for this Thanksgiving because I don't think people need to eat my germs. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a good sampling of pies today and that makes me happy. AND, I just remembered I froze one of my apple crumble pies...which I think I just might make my lunch. j/k
• Fall decorations. I must find my wreath hanger. My big fall wreath doesn't look as nice sitting on the floor.

Inspired

One of the good things about having sisters and friends is that they tell you about things that are worthwhile. And often, these things are things that they love and that they know you'll love too.

My sisters introduced me to NieNieDialogues a while back and I'm so happy they did. This woman, Stephanie Nielson, has been writing a blog for years, with countless subscribers. She writes about all sorts of things, about her every day life, about the things she's grateful for, about her children, about her husband, about her faith... Then one day, a tragic accident changed her life drastically and in turn, the lives of her family members. Her sister reposted some of her old entries in the time following the accident, while she was in a coma and then during her recovery. Then she came back and started writing again.

Hearing that she was going to be on the Oprah show, my sisters and I exchanged a flurry of excited emails this week. We were so excited to be able to see this woman, one of our common heroes, on TV, telling her story.

As if it was a Lost night, I made sure to give the show my undivided attention and even stopped eating my dinner until it was time for commercial breaks.

This woman (and her sister, who happens to also be pregnant right now!) has already been an inspiration to me, my sisters and countless other people all over the globe, and seeing her on the show was a whole other story.

She's a testament to the resiliency of human beings. After the accident, she had burns covering 80% of her body. The possibility of her survival and the likelihood of her getting back to the routine of everyday life were grim. But, she came back, against the odds, and for the love she has for her family.

She's a testament to good mothers everywhere. Learning about how she is has truly inspired me and has made me even more eager to be a mother (didn't know that was possible!). It was like seeing what my sisters talk about so often, about how motherhood is a gift.

She AND her husband are a testament to love and it was so nice to see that what she talks about in her blog can actually be seen in real life. They're in love, and it's easy to see it. SO REFRESHING.

I could go on and on and on, but I think to really get the idea, you'd have to follow her.

Thanks NieNie!

Katrina + 6

No no, not 6 kids, 6 POUNDS.

Yes, the weight gain has begun, Friends. The last time I was weighed was in September and I had only gained 1 pound since first being weighed after it was confirmed I was pregnant. This was toward the end of my first trimester.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor and got weighed again and lo and behold, I’ve gained 6 pounds! WOOHOO!!!! I’m ALMOST at three-digit weight, which I’m quite excited about since I’ve never been a three-digit weight, something I’ll probably only achieve with pregnancy.

Now that I’m in my second trimester, I’m enjoying myself. Morning sickness has subsided (can I get an ALLELUIA?!?!), cravings are settling in and I’m feeling good. I’m working towards gaining more weight, but of course, all healthy weight.

Now that I’m spending time in the washroom to pee most of the time rather than toss my cookies, it’s certainly helping. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to “get sick” and it’s a really nice thing. Seriously. I got to a point where I thought I’d never feel normal again and I was drowning so badly in self-pity, God was probably laughing at me while I begged him for mercy because the picture was probably hilarious. But you know, I did ask Him for this and I knew that there must be something really good coming that’d make me forget because women all over the world, for years and years, have been having more than one child, WILLINGLY. I kept that in mind…most of the time.

And now, here I am. I have a lot more energy and so I’ve gone back to cooking (I think I’m starting to develop secret powers in the kitchen or something because I’m learning to break apart dishes and make them from scratch or imagine a taste and turn it into dinner! ALRIIIIIGHT!!! My husband’s very happy about this BTW), back to cleaning (my husband is glad that this can be split again and my house is pleased with me), and well, back to doing stuff! I can go out more, which is nice, because staying in because I wasn’t feeling well wasn’t really fun.

I’m also becoming more active, walking more and beginning to run again. Slowly but surely, that’s the key. It’s quite a challenge to force myself to pace myself because much of my usual running was push, push, push. I’m happy to be back to pounding the pavement though. Scratch that. I’m ECSTATIC to be back. AND, just in time for my favourite time of year to run (provided the rain steps aside). I have to say though, I look pretty ridiculous in my running getup. Thank God for 4-way stretch!! (I’m not big enough yet to fit in my maternity active-wear.)

Now, after all that hard work, Momma’s HUNGRY, and well, even when there is no hard work (haha). Everyone’s been asking what I’ve been craving and really, my cravings can be summed up in one word (repeated): KARE KARE (find out what it is here. Note: I don’t do tripe). I cannot seem to get enough of the stuff. When I fill up on it, I think I’m done, but after around 12 hours, I’m thinking about it again. My intake of bagoong has also increased, and I’ve even been finding myself eating it with rice after all the meat and veggies are gone and all that’s left is sauce. I’m crazy.

I’ve been having other frequent but less intense cravings too. One is Pandesal. I love it anyway, but I’ve been finding that one bag is not enough. I think I either need to make really good friends with the people at the local Filipino bakery or perfect the recipe myself (I tried once and FAILED). Another is Smartfood (OMG I love Wikipedia)...and er, well, snacks with processed powdered cheese in general. There was one day I ate a whole bag of Smartfood by myself in about 10 minutes…and then I ate a bag of Cheetos. I had to ask my husband to eat some Cheetos with me so I wouldn’t feel so horrible about eating so much junk. But really, Smartfood does it for me (I’m eating some right now).

Okay wait, I should also mention that for the most part, I'm eating quite well still. I think I've got a more balanced diet now (only I've also incorporated Smartfood haha!!) than before I was pregnant.

Anyway, Life is good.

A Twist on my 2009 Marathon

As you know, I had registered to run another marathon this year. I had on my 2009 to-do list that I would run two half marathons (did one, missed the next one which was actually a 30K, not a half, but was more so I counted it) and one full and so I signed up early.

I was really excited about the marathon, beating my time, getting another medal, and was even training again. Obviously though, I didn’t run it. This summer brought me a few strange obstacles but I was determined to do the tests, prayed for favourable results (which I got :) and go back to training. And then I was given another marathon to run (a 9-month long one haha) and well, I really don’t mind that I wasn’t able to run it.

But since I registered already and paid, I didn’t want the money to go to waste so I weighed my options. I could defer it to next year and run it next year, but who was I kidding? When would I have time to train for a marathon? I could switch it to a half or even the 5K but I was in no shape to train, especially with morning sickness.

Then my husband offered to do it for me…and well, for us. So then I transferred my registration to him and changed the event.

Carb-loading the night before the race

before the run...

Being a spectator at the race was bittersweet for me. While I do miss running in races, I really enjoyed cheering on my husband and teammates from Team In Training. As a TNT alumnus, I felt it my duty to cheer them on, and since I couldn’t waddle (okay, I don’t waddle yet) my way over to the TNT cheer/water station, I parked myself at the 200m mark and yelled my guts out. Every “GO TEAM!!!” that I yelled brought a smile to each TNT member I cheered for and that was really something they needed. I was so proud of these people, doing what I had done only a year prior, and I felt their pain, struggle and feelings of defeat at the same time as their pride, perseverance and strength. Ugh, it made me cry and I just pretended it was the wind when people started staring at me. I’m really happy I got to be there, whether running or cheering.

Runners

The TNT tent

My husband did extremely well too, and I’m looking forward to cheering him on for his next race later this month.

After the run

A Pregobrain Tale

(and I’m posting this late because, surprise surprise, I forgot to post it on the day I wrote it – September 28)

I remembered this afternoon that I had some blood work that I had to get done…TODAY. Luckily, I found a lab not too far from my office that had later hours.

As usual, before leaving work, I made a pee-stop because these days, I have to pee pretty often (I’m so screwed when this child is bigger). I took the subway and a short bus ride to the lab. I walked in and 2 of 3 of the nurses were Filipinos (BONUS!). I went through the usual drill -- was asked to fill out a form with my information…and OH CRAP -- I forgot my wallet! I NEVER forget my wallet, but I just happened to take it out of my purse and put it in my husband’s bag for yesterday’s race. So, I didn't have my health card :( I never never have my health card. Then I remembered I usually have these numbers written down, so I looked for that piece of paper and realized…it’s in my wallet. So smrt.

So I told the nurse at the desk that I didn’t have my health card and that actually, I didn’t have my wallet either. She sorta panicked for me and was like, "How are you gonna get home?!" So I told her I had my Metropass. Then the other nurse came, sat me in one of the rooms and was talking to me in Tagalog so I explained to her first that I was going to answer in English because I can't speak but I can understand. As is the usual procedure for this conversation, we went through the whole thing about me being born here so I never learned to speak Tagalog, that maybe it was because my parents were worried that I wouldn’t be able to speak English well and that I wish I could speak and understand better. I even told her about how one of my BFFs and I decided that she’d help me and teach me to read and learn more words by emailing me in Tagalog ;). Then we talked about the flooding in Manila, where her family is and where my family is (my answer is always “Manila” followed by “I can’t remember exactly where though” even though I’ve asked my Dad several times), if everyone is okay and all that. We then talked about my pregnancy, how I’m feeling, how excited I am, how excited my husband is, and how this is my parents' 14th (not 1st, like she first thought) grandchild. Yes, we covered all this while doing bloodwork because I had to give 8 vials. After all that, she joked that I was a good girl because of how easy it was to take blood from me. This woman had become my honourary Tita in 15 minutes.

So then, she took out TWO urine sample containers. I thought I just had to get bloodwork done so I didn't have any pee ready since I went before I left the office! I figured that since I always have to go these days, maybe I'd be able to come up with some pee somehow. So I went to the washroom. It was those urine samples that required "mid-stream pee" so right off the bat, I’d lose some urine there. SHOOT! So I started my stream, stopped and tried to put the cup under and almost nothing came out!!!! This was the first time I’d ever sworn in a washroom…and I swore a LOT. Being that this had never happened to me and that I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone else, I had no idea what to do. “Should I sit here and wait for more to come?” I only had maybe ¾ cm in there! FRIG! Then I figured that well, through all this, she knows enough about me that I don’t really need to be embarrassed about this…much.

So then I went out hoping Tita Nurse was still available. I took all my stuff, opened the door and there were a LOT more people in the room. I was so sure she’d be busy, but luckily she wasn’t!

The distraught feeling I had must have been an expression on my face because then she asked me if everything was okay. I gestured for her to come closer so as not to announce my dilemma to the whole room, but it was no use – the room was so small and she didn’t come close enough for me to say it quietly, so I just said "Uh, I have a problem.” She had a really puzzled face. “Uhh…I can't go!!" So she told me I could take the cups home and come back and do it then. Then I told her, “Uhhh…I peed a little in one cup. I didn’t know I had to give urine today so I went before I came here!” Then she whispered, “Let me see…”

So she put on some gloves and went to see how unsuccessful I was. She picked up the cup, tilted her head and looked at it for a bit. Then she said she'll see if they can do the tests with that much urine and if not, I have to come back and pee again.

OOOOOOOOOPS!!