Will it be PINK or BLUE at our house???
Looks like the baby will be wearing this:
And there will be a lot more of these around:
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Things are a little different in Africa...AND in Manila!!
I found this on a blog that I happened upon recently, and thought they were rather amusing....and yet totally believable (Am I right, fellow Expats?!). These are pictures from this lady's friend who lives in Africa. Brings back some fond and some not-so fond memories of Manila. I wish I had taken more of these kind of pictures while we were there! After all, this IS everyday kind of stuff in Manila too!! You've got to give them a little credit though....at least they've got some ingenuity! :o)
Walkman
Capitol Hill Offices
Transportation
Ambulance
What were these guys smoking?? Poor goat!
It takes teamwork and a little human ingenuity to paint a swimming pool.
Notice where this electrical pole is located:
This picture was taken near Makerere University, Uganda:
Must be Zimbabwe:
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Reminicing of Manila
I was thinking about Manila today, and it hit me....HARD....
The handful of LDS Expat families that were there when we first arrived have all left now. Some of us are back in the States, while others have moved on to new posts in other countries. Wherever we are, one thing is certain--we are all experiencing something VERY different than our lives in Manila!! That is such a crazy thought since we all became so close and really "needed" each other over there! People here just don't "need" each other in that way. I miss that...ALOT!
Adjusting to a different lifestyle is hard! I'm not sure how other "former Expats" are taking it, but this re-adjusting stuff really stinks! We've been back for about 9 months now (wow--that FLEW by!), and I'm still struggling to feel normal. After 2 years, life in Manila became normal and comfortable. But this American lifestyle definitely DOESN'T feel comfortable yet. Hopefully it doesn't take me 2 years to get to that point!
The handful of LDS Expat families that were there when we first arrived have all left now. Some of us are back in the States, while others have moved on to new posts in other countries. Wherever we are, one thing is certain--we are all experiencing something VERY different than our lives in Manila!! That is such a crazy thought since we all became so close and really "needed" each other over there! People here just don't "need" each other in that way. I miss that...ALOT!
Adjusting to a different lifestyle is hard! I'm not sure how other "former Expats" are taking it, but this re-adjusting stuff really stinks! We've been back for about 9 months now (wow--that FLEW by!), and I'm still struggling to feel normal. After 2 years, life in Manila became normal and comfortable. But this American lifestyle definitely DOESN'T feel comfortable yet. Hopefully it doesn't take me 2 years to get to that point!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
My "condition"....
I wasn't planning on posting much about this, but people keep asking. I figure I might as well just lay it all out there and be done with it. The question I keep getting is: "So what exactly IS your condition?" Good question, but a little hard to answer since I don't exactly have a definable condition. It would be nice if I could just give people a one word medical term--but I can't. Here's the low down for those of you who have been wondering--the rest of you can just skip this post altogether.
Basically, I have this extremely rare (and rather odd) thing where I have no immunity to rubella--even though I've had several immunizations for it. I've actually had about 3 rubella shots in the last few years, but for some strange reason my body still has no immunity to it. The doctors don't know why it's happening...it just is, and I'll probably never be immune (which isn't a big deal--unless I'm pregnant). Rubella isn't extremely dangerous to the average person. It just causes a rash and a high fever. However, if I am exposed to rubella while pregnant, I am 99% likely to pass it to the baby--which can cause a whole slew of problems including miscarriage, blindness, or deafness. I actually have a friend who's mom got it while she was pregnant, and the baby ended up being deaf. So with every pregnancy it has been a HUGE concern. We've been lucky so far and I haven't ever been exposed. But I have had to take extra precautions with each pregnancy. While we were living in Texas, for example, there was an outbreak of rubella and chicken pox. My doctor wouldn't let me go anywhere for over a month. I missed church and we basically just stayed home. That was when I only had Parker though, and it was MUCH easier to stay home then! Staying home really isn't even an option anymore though, so this pregnancy has been a lot more worrisome as far as the whole rubella thing goes. I am skipping out on all our family reunions, not having many playdates, and trying not to go where there are a lot of big crowds. They also released me from Primary so that I didn't have to be around so many kids each week. Adults and older kids who've had all their MMR shots aren't a problem...it's the younger ones that we worry about. So before you come over, if I ask you if anyone in your family has a rash, now you'll know why! Rashes are not allowed at our house. ;0)
So there's that...and then there's the whole pregnancy episode that happened in Manila. I had a severe hemorrahge at 7 weeks, which landed me on complete bedrest for the ENTIRE pregnancy. Not so fun! After Logan was born, I had some other issues and ended up having surgery when he was only 3 months old. If you think having a baby in another country is rough, try having surgery with a newborn sharing your hospital bed...again, not so fun! After the surgery, I had 3 different doctors tell me that we shouldn't have any more kids because of all the past issues, and other issues that could develp. They basically said that my body couldn't handle it. So while, I don't have an exact condition...it's all a little scary. And it doesn't help that I can't get my records from Manila either. I don't think my doctors here really believe me when I tell them what happened. It would be nice to have some medical records to back me up. So far the doctors have just looked at me funny and said "We can't do anything UNTIL something bad happens". Uh, the point is to NOT end up on bedrest again--not to just deal with it when it happens!! Frustrating! So I've taken matters into my own hands. I'm making myself take it easy and rest A LOT, in the hopes the I don't end up on bedrest again! And if I do...I'm blaming it all on the doctors!! Too bad I can't make them sit in bed for a few months and see how they like it--maybe then they'd take me a little more seriously.
That's the story....not too terribly exciting. Now, don't you wish you wouldn't have asked?!
Basically, I have this extremely rare (and rather odd) thing where I have no immunity to rubella--even though I've had several immunizations for it. I've actually had about 3 rubella shots in the last few years, but for some strange reason my body still has no immunity to it. The doctors don't know why it's happening...it just is, and I'll probably never be immune (which isn't a big deal--unless I'm pregnant). Rubella isn't extremely dangerous to the average person. It just causes a rash and a high fever. However, if I am exposed to rubella while pregnant, I am 99% likely to pass it to the baby--which can cause a whole slew of problems including miscarriage, blindness, or deafness. I actually have a friend who's mom got it while she was pregnant, and the baby ended up being deaf. So with every pregnancy it has been a HUGE concern. We've been lucky so far and I haven't ever been exposed. But I have had to take extra precautions with each pregnancy. While we were living in Texas, for example, there was an outbreak of rubella and chicken pox. My doctor wouldn't let me go anywhere for over a month. I missed church and we basically just stayed home. That was when I only had Parker though, and it was MUCH easier to stay home then! Staying home really isn't even an option anymore though, so this pregnancy has been a lot more worrisome as far as the whole rubella thing goes. I am skipping out on all our family reunions, not having many playdates, and trying not to go where there are a lot of big crowds. They also released me from Primary so that I didn't have to be around so many kids each week. Adults and older kids who've had all their MMR shots aren't a problem...it's the younger ones that we worry about. So before you come over, if I ask you if anyone in your family has a rash, now you'll know why! Rashes are not allowed at our house. ;0)
So there's that...and then there's the whole pregnancy episode that happened in Manila. I had a severe hemorrahge at 7 weeks, which landed me on complete bedrest for the ENTIRE pregnancy. Not so fun! After Logan was born, I had some other issues and ended up having surgery when he was only 3 months old. If you think having a baby in another country is rough, try having surgery with a newborn sharing your hospital bed...again, not so fun! After the surgery, I had 3 different doctors tell me that we shouldn't have any more kids because of all the past issues, and other issues that could develp. They basically said that my body couldn't handle it. So while, I don't have an exact condition...it's all a little scary. And it doesn't help that I can't get my records from Manila either. I don't think my doctors here really believe me when I tell them what happened. It would be nice to have some medical records to back me up. So far the doctors have just looked at me funny and said "We can't do anything UNTIL something bad happens". Uh, the point is to NOT end up on bedrest again--not to just deal with it when it happens!! Frustrating! So I've taken matters into my own hands. I'm making myself take it easy and rest A LOT, in the hopes the I don't end up on bedrest again! And if I do...I'm blaming it all on the doctors!! Too bad I can't make them sit in bed for a few months and see how they like it--maybe then they'd take me a little more seriously.
That's the story....not too terribly exciting. Now, don't you wish you wouldn't have asked?!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
A sobering thought....
This morning, I was supposed to be on a plane with Brett bound for Europe. Two weeks with no kids...just us, the sites, and all the yummy German bread we could eat. It was supposed to be a surprise trip for our 10 year anniversary today. Brett started planning it quite a while ago. He was actually busy planning way back in Manila when I was on bedrest the last time. I think he felt sorry for me (and himself, to be honest) that we weren't getting to travel all over Asia, like we had planned (planning never seems to work very well for us). Remember the bag of baby carrots Brett found for me last year in Manila...well, this year was even going to top that one (and let me tell ya, I was pretty thrilled about those carrots!!!). But things didn't quite go as planned once again [ahem...another baby for example]. Funny how that seems to work!! Note to self: Stop trying to plan out life and just live it as it comes!
So, instead of being on a plane this morning sipping cranberry juice and watching an in-flight movie on my way to a restful vacation with my husband; I took my4 kids to a baseball game at 8:30 am; where Addie and Lily declared all out war on each other, Logan ran after every dog he saw, and then tried to join Parker's team on the field OVER and OVER and OVER again. I couldn't help but think to myself: My plane is somewhere over the ocean right now with strangers sitting in our seats--and I'm doing this?!
Luckily Brett used some of our skymiles from all our trips to Manila to get the tickets....so we can change the dates and it's not a total loss. STILL....the thought struck me that it will be AT LEAST a good year or two before we will be on that plane headed for Europe and two relaxing weeks with no kids. Ahhh, life is funny isn't it! But it is what it is...and this IS my life...screaming kids or not. So I better enjoy it--even on the craziest and most sobering of days!
Besides, Europe can't keep us away for too long!! Now we just have more time to plan! ;o)
So, instead of being on a plane this morning sipping cranberry juice and watching an in-flight movie on my way to a restful vacation with my husband; I took my4 kids to a baseball game at 8:30 am; where Addie and Lily declared all out war on each other, Logan ran after every dog he saw, and then tried to join Parker's team on the field OVER and OVER and OVER again. I couldn't help but think to myself: My plane is somewhere over the ocean right now with strangers sitting in our seats--and I'm doing this?!
Luckily Brett used some of our skymiles from all our trips to Manila to get the tickets....so we can change the dates and it's not a total loss. STILL....the thought struck me that it will be AT LEAST a good year or two before we will be on that plane headed for Europe and two relaxing weeks with no kids. Ahhh, life is funny isn't it! But it is what it is...and this IS my life...screaming kids or not. So I better enjoy it--even on the craziest and most sobering of days!
Besides, Europe can't keep us away for too long!! Now we just have more time to plan! ;o)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
