2013

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?

Quit university before finishing a program.
Saw my little brother get married.
Ran in a race.
Co-organised and co-ran a conference.
Got my research published.
Got pregnant. 3 times!

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I wanted to finish my honors degree, but for several reasons that didn't happen and I'm at peace with it. We wanted to save enough of a deposit for a house, and we did but only for a small house, then the lending rules changed (higher % of a deposit needed). I don't feel too disappointed about these 'failures' though. Thats life, these things happen.

I ran a PB in a 7k race- so I did achieve one of my goals :)

My goals for next year- get fit again. Be a calm, well slept mother (??!!)

3. What countries did you visit?

I just stayed here in good old NZ this year! The first year we haven't gone overseas in a while.

4. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Jan 12th. The day my little brother got married and my family was all together.

5. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Running 7km in 38 minutes. For the 'girl who never runs' I felt pretty stoked about that one.

The dream running team.

6. What was your biggest failure?

Being too disconnected from people and from God.


7. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Well, miscarriages. And a few minor trips to hospital with this pregnancy.

 

8. What was the best thing you bought?

A new car with 4 doors, wohoo!

9. Where did most of your money go?

Rent, food, maternity clothes, board games.

10. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Being pregnant (are you seeing a theme here...?).

11. What song will always remind you of 2012?

The hurt and the healer by Mercy Me.

12. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) Happier or sadder? Happier
b) Thinner or fatter? Much, much heavier (but I have an excuse.)
c) Richer or poorer? About the same.

13. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Being present in the moment. Not day dreaming or worrying.

14. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Moving house (two times in 6 months is more than enough.)

15. What was your favourite TV programme?

Sherlock! (BBC version.) We also got into Jonathan Creek (English murder dramas are the best.)

16. What was the best book you read?

I've been going through the old John Grisholm's- he's a pretty good author!

17. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Mercy me, Haerts.

18. What did you want and get?

Pregnant.


19. What did you want and not get?

Seeing my family more often (being spread out over NZ doesn't help.)

20. What kept you sane?

God, Matt, music on pandora.

21. What political issue stirred you the most?

Again, child poverty in NZ. I've struggled with some of our governments initiatives (or glaring lack of.) And I've struggled with my on and off apathy towards others in this country, if I can be completely honest.

22. Who did you miss?

My parents and my grandparents.

23. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012

A picture can sum this one up:

That was 2013 for me. A year of extreme highs and lows, compared to my relatively sheltered life so far. I keep an online diary where I just write a summary of each day (have been doing it for about 3 years) and it's been interesting going back to read the entries from this year .

I could sum the entries from each month up this way

January- yay new years and holidays and my brother getting married

February- yay running and being fit

March- yay back to work, starting uni, moving house and am I pregnant?

April- I think I'm pregnant... oh nope, I lost it.

May- I am sad and busy organising a conference and studying

June- yay I am pregnant again. Oh nope, I lost it. I am very sad and also busy organising a conference.

July- Yay for conference and distracting things. Oh man, think I am pregnant again I am very scared.

August- definitely pregnant and sick sick sick every day.

September- yay we made 12 weeks, can't believe it! So happy telling everyone. Oh also, uni is not working for me right now, I quit.

October- we're moving house again and yay I got to see my parents. Also yay I stopped vomiting every day.

November- IT'S A GIRL! Also crazy busy at work

December- End of year shindigs and sun

When you simplify 365 days like that it looks like I packed a lot in this year. It didn't feel like it at the time though, some months really dragged.

I'm excited for 2014 and the changes, hope and possibilities it brings.

Happy New Year to you and yours xx

Pregnancy weeks 19-28 + bump pics

It feels like a loooong time ago since I wrote my last pregnancy update. I feel much more pregnant now then I did then. A big belly, feeling kicks, knowing baby's gender and setting up baby's room has helped with that!

I haven't been as diligent with taking pictures, but I still have a few...

20 Weeks

22 Weeks

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

28 weeks- Merry Christmas!

Here's one from another angle at 25 weeks

Goodbye to my feet and my belly button ring

Belly: My belly has made itself quite apparent now- there is no hiding it! My innie is now an outie and my feet are a distant memory. It's quite a good size in that I look pregnant but it's not big enough to make me waddle yet! And, it's a great place to rest my hands, or cups of tea.

Baby's size: Baby is now the size of a butternut pumpkin. Over 1kg in weight and over 35cm long. Baby has a log of weight to put on, but not too much length.

Weight gain: I've gained 13kg. Which seems a lot to me but the midwife said not to worry! I can't fit my wedding bands any more, but I still fit most of my clothes (apart from around the belly of course!).

Movement: Baby has been kicking away since about 18-19 weeks. It started feeling a big like gas bubbles or popping, and has become more and more defined. She has busy times and quiet times. Sometimes she is busy for a few days then quiet for a few, and I have to let my worried mind not read into that! Lately she has been hiccuping a lot. Matt and some family members have been able to see and feel her move which has been special. I love the kicks, it makes me feel much more connected to her.

Scans: We had the big 20 week scan...and then had our gender reveal party! Yep, baby is a girl! We loved the 20 week scan, as she looked so much more like a baby. She was wriggling around a lot, and it's amazing how much they can move that we don't feel. All is healthy and well.

At 26 weeks I had another quick scan, and got to confirm that she is definitely a girl! Wohooo!

Midwife appointments: Still at 4 weekly, and still hearing her strong heartbeat. Have had a few blood tests lately (regular pregnancy ones) so will wait for the result of those.

Bleeding: I had a tiny bit of bleeding at 26 weeks (hence the extra scan), but baby is well, and there is no apparent cause for it, so I just need to chill and relax.

Symptoms: Morning sickness stopped being a daily feature of my life at about 18 weeks. I still get nauseous or gag at things pretty easily, but I feel so much more human now! I've had some lower back pain, but a visit to the osteso, as well as aqua jogging and yoga has helped that for now. My main, daily pregnancy reminder is that I feel SO HOT all the time. My mini-heater is keeping me a bit too warm during this summer....I don't like to think what the next few months will bring. 

Sleep is getting much harder, but it's not a complete write off yet. I've been getting braxton hicks for a few weeks now, but they aren't painful so it's no worry.

Cravings: Milk! I could drink a litre a day, but I try to restrain myself. Baby must be growing her bones good and strong.

Baby's room: Baby's room is coming along well. We have the cot, a bassinet, change table, some decorations, a bouncer, a pram, some clothes etc. Just needs some finishing touches in these coming months. I made some bunting for the room over christmas.

I'm starting to get excited now about meeting baby, it's feeling more and more real every day. I'm so looking forward to these last 12 weeks and meeting our daughter. Bring on March!

Number one

Baby number one was due this week.

Right as I advance into trimester 3 with baby three.

You will always be in my heart.

Fear is a liar

Fear is a sneaky beast which likes to visit me in between my day to day thoughts, when I don't even expect it.

I'm going along fine, thinking about normal things, then BAM *what if I lose my baby? I couldn't bear it- what if, what if, what if.*

I struggled with heavy fear early on in this pregnancy, and to be fair to myself, it wasn't without reason. I thought once I got to 12 weeks I'd be ok, then it was once I felt the kicks, now it's once I get to 24 weeks (viability- tomorrow!), but actually I don't think this fear will go away till baby is born, and probably not even after that.

I'm starting to realise that fear isn't necessarily logic based (as it seemed to be early in this pregnancy). Fear plays on possible but unlikely worst-case scenarios. The thing is I know there is no point wasting my time on fear. And I have some good strategies for recognising and shutting it down when it creeps up. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach is not something I need to be living with.

What is the point of me sharing this? I don't know. I don't have any amazing cures for fear, except for praying it away and ignoring it's pull into darker thoughts. I have a feeling this will be something that visits me for many years to come, and maybe it visits you too- perhaps it's just part of the human condition.

But what I, you, we, must remember is that anxiety and fear are just lies, with enough small threads of truth to make them seem real. They aren't true, they aren't our reality- fear is a liar.

Marble Cake: Strawberry, Vanilla and Mint

Last week I made a cake for a friends birthday. I wanted some colour but I couldn't be bothered doing a layer cake (too much time!). So instead I decided to do a marble cake, because you can have all the colours and flavours and you just put the mixture in one pan- easy!

I took a basic vanilla cake recipe and made a big batch of that. Then I split it into 3 bowls. To the first bowl I added some more vanilla. To the next I added a little spearmint flavouring and green food colouring. To the third I added some strawberry puree (about 10 strawberries pureed) and a little pink food colouring. You could just use strawberry flavouring, but why not use the real stuff if you have it?

Then I added 'splotches' of each flavour to the pan. Once all the mixture was added in I swirled it with a toothpick.

Bake as usual, then let it cool. Decorate as you wish- there are so many ways! I decided to do rosettes in the three colours, but you could just do plain rosettes or frosting and let the inside be a pleasant surprise!

I found that the flavours went together well. But there are so many other options depending on what you have in your cupboard- chocolate, orange and vanilla? chocolate, lemon and strawberry? Chocolate, mint and orange? So many options, my mouth is watering already.....

Our gender reveal party

Last Saturday we had our baby gender reveal afternoon tea. I had fun preparing the food- lots of little treats, and my sister in law got the sacred envelope with the gender tucked inside, and she baked the reveal cake.

Around 30 of our friends and family came over, and it would have been a lovely afternoon tea even without the cake! Cutting the cake was so exciting though....

It's a girl!!!! Yay!

We're of the philosophy that we want to enjoy every part of this pregnancy, so having the gender reveal afternoon tea was part of that. It was so much fun, and I reckon this will happen again if we have future children. Oh and if anyone wants me to bake their gender reveal cake, I'm keen!

Pregnancy explained in GIF's

You know I'm on a GIF roll at the moment. Here I go again:

When I haven't vomited in a week, 
I'm like:



Realising I'm half way through this pregnancy,
it's like:



When Matt tries to snuggle with me when I'm feeling unwell,
It's like:



Seeing my growing bump in the mirror,
I'm like:



Baby's kicks waking me up,
I bet it's like:



Watching birth videos,
I'm like:



When I poke baby awake just to feel it kick,
We're like:



Seeing how much all the baby stuff costs to buy,
It's like:



When heartburn keeps me awake at night,
It's like:



When people have a WTF reaction to us having a gender reveal party,
I'm like:



When Matt felt baby kick for the first time,
He was like:



Whenever I see some controversial parenting article, or something about how mothers should try to 'have it all,'
I'm like:

It's 8.30pm and we're off to an event and I'm super tired,
I'm like:



When I'm hungry and I NEED FOOD NOW,
it's like:



Everyone who already has a baby, when they find out we're expecting
they're like:

Terp Life

There is the most amazing tumblr that pretty much explains my day job, Terp-Life tumblr.

I resonate with nearly every single one. It's fun to look at the amusing side of life too. I've copied and pasted some of my fav's below

When I wave at a hearing person who I thought was Deaf at my assignment

(awkward is my middle name)

I’m like

When I'm in a class where students are dissecting animals

(Or- when people are discussing bodily functions/eating with their mouth open/checking the snot on their tissue in a job and I'm pregnant-)

I’m like

When I am just about to leave for an all-day assignment and it cancels

(this hardly ever happens so when it does, it's gold!)

I’m like

When I'm in the hot seat trying to fight back a cough or a sneeze

(unfortunately due to hayfever this happens on nearly a daily basis!)

It’s like

When I'm trying to voice something, but my tongue gets twisted and I don't make sense

It’s like

When people ask me why I became an ASL/English Interpreter

I’m like

(obviously!)

Last but not least, my favourite pet hate:

When people call me a translator instead of an Interpreter

I’m like

(they are VERY VERY different things people!-- ok well maybe in the scheme of jobs they are kinda similar.)

And that is pretty much my day job, explained in Gifs. Off to work now. Toodles

Women should....

I found this interesting article today about google searches, and thought surely it can't be true. But I did my own experiment and it is- google searches are sexist. I don't know if what 'pops up' is based on the content of what is on the internet, or on common google searches, and which is worse. But these are certainly not heartening findings.

(wear saree???)

At least we can agree that both women and men need to grow up (??)

Whats with all the incomplete sentences?

(I think this is the most depressing one.)

 Ok ok, so what does google say about pregnant women, while we're on a roll?

Oh why am I not surprised?