Our Exciting Lives

Lately, this is how we've been spending our nights: researching various baby related gear. Mike's on his laptop researching what kind of 'family' car to get when we leave Japan. Tonight I'm researching car seats and strollers. The previous nights have been dedicated to nursery bedding/decor. I've already decided on the girl's bedding, but am down to 2 possibilities for a boy. Next week's ultrasound should help solidify my decision, but if not, I may post the choices on the blog and have y'all let me know what you think.

On another note, I have a voracious appetite right now! For dinner, Mike made a salad, grilled steaks, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. Then for dessert I had a strawberry popsicle. It was all wonderful and I left the table completely stuffed. An hour later, I was rooting around in the kitchen looking for something else to eat because I was hungry again!! Now it's an hour after that and I just asked Mike to get me some Rocky Road ice cream. My husband, sweet thing that he is, assures me that any weight gain thus far has all gone to my baby bump, but we're only at 18 and a half weeks. We'll see if that sentiment still holds true by trimester 3...

I Couldn't Help Myself

I have been really good about not buying any baby things until we find out exactly what we're having, which hopefully, will be in 10 days. I do like wandering around the baby section to admire all the cute outfits, one moment imagining I'm having a girl, the next a boy. But yesterday, I couldn't resist buying this little thing. I know it's not a gender neutral outfit, but I've been eyeing this little number for weeks now and it ended up on the clearance rack for $3. That's less than a McDonald's fish sandwich value meal, which strangely enough, is what I've been craving lately. And it was the last one! If we do end up with a baby boy, I'm only out a few bucks.

Here's my 18 week baby bump picture. I know I'm not that big yet, but my belly is starting to feel stretched already. Especially after I eat. I bought some cocoa butter yesterday to rub on my belly and hopefully prevent stretch marks. Now I smell like a Cabbage Patch Kid! Girls, remember when you got your cabbage patch doll and you pulled it out of the box? That weird, yet sweet scent is what my belly smells like now.

More Japanese History...from Feudal Lords to WWII.

Last week, I was away on travel to Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, in the southern region of Japan (it's roughly the distance from Washington, D.C., to Jacksonville, FL). If you've ever been to a USMC base, you know that they're always surrounded by absolutely nothing, which is a good way to keep young Marines out of trouble. MCAS Iwakuni is no different - it's kind of like the 'countryside' of Japan. Living so close to Tokyo makes me forget that there is almost as much diversity of people and land here in Japan as back in the USA, so this was a good trip to remind me of that. The picture above is of the Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni's major historical landmark. Originally built in the 1500's, it's significant because it's the first bridge in Japan built with 20th century technology - it uses arches, and wood that's reinforced with iron plates; for hundreds of years after this, most civilizations were not using these methods yet. Also, at the top right of the picture, is the local castle, on top of the mountain behind the bridge. From that position, the Feudal Lord of the area could see his enemies coming from pretty much anywhere.




Back on base, this was definitely one of the cooler things I've seen. This is an original airplane hangar/bunker used by the Japanese (when the base was still a Japanese Navy Air Station) in WWII. Inside, is a replica of a Zero (the same kind of plane that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor). It's neat to see how they crammed each plane into it's own bunker - very tight, and a good way to protect them from attacks when they weren't flying.






Here's a description of the plane...this is what Mitsubishi built before they went into the car business.












The gouges in the wall of the hangar are from U.S. attack planes making bombing/strafing runs on the bunkers during WWII - definitely surreal to see these in person.

16 Weeks

Here's another update of the baby bump. The bump is getting a little bigger and this picture shows me sporting my first pair of maternity pants. As for how I'm feeling, pretty good for the most part, although I still have relapse sick days. I'm officially in the second trimester now, so I'm hoping that my good days will become more consistent soon. But despite my sick days, I'm still thrilled to be pregnant and thankful that the baby is doing fine. The next milestone we're looking forward to is our 20 week ultrasound. We'll finally be able to find out whether I can decorate the nursery in shades of pink or blue.

Another One Bites the Dust...

Although I couldn't make it back to Virginia to help celebrate my childhood buddy's wedding, the rest of the boys didn't forget - here we are at the wedding...from L to R, Matt, [superimposed] me, the bride Ellen, Mike (the Groom) and Jeff (the last bachelor we live vicariously through). Can you guess which blog they took my picture from? Matt did a great job with the editing - it looks like we had a blast! Congratulations Mike and Ellen!

Spontaneous Weekend Getaway

My sweet husband surprised me with a weekend trip to Tokyo which included a romantic candlelit dinner. I know that once the baby is born, spontaneous getaways will be rare, if not down right impossible. So I fully appreciate these moments because I know that they're numbered. Here are a few pictures from dinner...

Mike couldn't quite figure out how to eat his soup at first. Turns out you have to break through the pastry shell that was baked on top of the soup bowl. Fancy!



Surf and Turf for me and quail and polenta for Mike. We were a little taken aback that the quail looked like a huge meatball. I guess that's what happens to quail when it's part of a fancy dinner.






After dinner, the plan was to take a romantic walk around Tokyo, but I was so full and I was afraid of getting sick and losing my precious lobster that we decided to hang out at the hotel bar instead. We had a lot of fun people watching and enjoying our drinks-- Shirley Temple for me and some froo-froo type drink for Mike (see picture). Actually I'm only making fun because I was jealous of his drink, a Mint Oreo concoction- it smelled divine!


The next morning was spent lounging around the pool and then indulging in a spectacular all-you-can-eat brunch which included ice sculptures and shrimp cocktail. Gracious! I ate so much this weekend I think I put the baby in a food coma. I started to feel the effects of my overeating after brunch, but Mike still had one more surprise in store for me. So I ignored my pre-nausea and ventured out onto Tokyo's hot city streets in anticipation of this...



I have been craving Krispy Kreme donuts since BEFORE I got pregnant. We once wandered around the city of Akihabara in search of the elusive donuts after seeing a woman carrying around a box. But this time, we actually found them. In Ginza, Tokyo's '5th Avenue' District. I don't remember how much a dozen donuts cost back home, but I vaguely remember buying them from my fundraising students for about $5 a dozen. Check out how much they cost here!















It roughly comes out to $1.60 a donut, $16.00 a dozen, or a deal at $30 for 2 dozen. Naturally, the bargain hunter in me went for the best deal, so I made Mike buy 2 dozen.

















Here's his thrilled expression after my 2 dozen donut demand. But in return, he gets to be with one happy and satisfied pregnant woman. Am I a lucky girl or what??