Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Highs and Lows DAYBOOK

How did it go so quickly!!???  THREE weeks away from becoming a family of FIVE.


Being pregger (for me) means a lot of extreme highs and lows.... so let's run with it! That's the theme this post..
Outside My Window
HIGH - 22 Celsius (71*F) - gorgeous. perfect. hong kong showing off.
LOW - 8 Celsius (46*F... feels colder to us hong kongers) - still lovely with a hot belly bump

Repulse Bay Beach
Aberdeen Marina
I'm Thinking About
HIGH - work / life balance. Life Purpose. you know, small stuff.
LOW -  same


I Don't Want To Forget 
HIGH - the love and affection my girls are showing their baby brother ALREADY.
LOW - getting kicked in the ribs... no wait, that's a high... I love feeling this boy inside of my belly... but dang, that hurts! I'm already sad that this feeling is fleeting and that this is the last time I'll feel it. I want to bottle this up - as painful as it is - and remember it always.


I'm Learning 
HIGH - that the public medical system here is so far so good! Efficient, predictable, affordable, and medically sound.
LOW - that Jasper won't be with me for the pre-op, nor post-op recovery room time... and only for 2 short 'visiting hours' per day while I'm in hospital due to the shared room situation. Nervous about being lonely and vulnerable and not having my ROCK by my side.

I'm Hearing
HIGH - "you're such a cute pregnant lady!" - tell me again!!! :)
LOW - "Mom, when baby boy is my age... I'll be 19 and in college." 👀




I'm Reading
HIGH - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine ***** fabulous. simply fabulous.
LOW - the bills from all of the (not covered, private doctor) prenatal appointments.

Around The House
HIGH - my new nursing chair !!!! happy momma. Why did I ever stew over this expense?
LOW - seriously. what are we going to do!?? We live in 900 square feet. Everything is already squished. What other baby equipment are we going to need? Where will we put it? How are we going to babyproof this tiny place with 2 big girls and all of their small teensy tiny things? And are all our apartment neighbors going to silently hate us because there will be crying in the middle of the night?



At Work
HIGH - Everyone is extra nice to me, even with my uncharacteristic brash preggo-demeanor. And they feed me. And encourage me to take the elevator. And just smile lovingly when I forget things ... which is ALL the time now!
LOW - I'm so bone tired at the end of each day. And have no comfortable chairs in my classroom.


Eating Out (confession - I'm never in the kitchen anymore)
HIGH - Thai food, Italian, Tapas, stopping at a random Russian TeaHouse for sweet potato fries all by myself on a whim....
HIGH - (in the kitchen again! Nesting much??) goat-cheese-stuffed medjool dates toasted with bread crumbs for lunch.... just because I can and nobody teases me for it. And I'm hungry enough to eat them all so none go to waste.
LOW - the heartburn... oh! The heartburn!!!! Kill me now.

gingergread cookies!

So Very Hong Kong
HIGH - having strangers usher you to the front of a (v long) taxi queue because you are pregnant (HEAVENLY BLESSING!!!!) Hong Kong can be miraculous when you're pregnant. Strangers even speak up for you and make others give up their seat on the MTR just so you can sit down.
LOW - Strangers also appear out of nowhere with giant smiles on their faces, rub your belly and tell you that you must be having a boy and coo and congratulate and then ask how many kilos you've gained. Yes they do.


the MTR queue - Admiralty Station
 Aberdeen Fish Market excursion to get lobsters for a lunch with friends



One Of My Favorite Things
HIGH - My belly.
LOW - It's so very very itchy!!!

A Less-Than Favorite Thing 
HIGH - X
LOW - My backside. It's monstrous.


I'm Thankful
HIGH - to have had Christmas break during my 3rd trimester. What a gift of rest!
LOW - I'm thankful to be having our third child in this amazing city that I love where we are well supported with extra domestic help, easy delivery options, taxis with automatic open/close doors, surrounded by loving friends and accessible (free) public medical care where our children are thriving in an international, multicultural, mind-opening setting and that our son will boast an international birth certificate. The low side of all this is that we are FAR from family and that we don't have any family near for the big event.




at The Nutcracker
note* directed by Washington DC ballet director Septime Weber who recently moved to HK!

I'm Planning
HIGH - feeling more and more ready for *BABY*
LOW - it's going too quickly! I already miss being pregnant... and I'm still pregnant!

HIGH - names... what a fun rabbit hole!
LOW - names... what pressure for such a big decision.

Picture Thoughts :