Boy...or a Girl?

Here's some reasons why I think this baby is a BOY.

1. I don't feel as sick as I did with my girl. I haven't vomitted much. (Sorry!)

2. When Mr. S received a baby blessing, my husband was inspired to say that he would be a good example for his brother and sister who may come after him. He already got a sister so next is...

3. I had a dream before I found out I was pregnant- no, it is not one of those spiritual one. In my dream, I was talking to a boy about 2yrs of age. I knew he was my son but somehow couldn't think of his name. I felt so aweful but just couldn't remember it! He had blond hair and blue eyes... chance of having mine like him is very slim so most likely it was just a dream. Anyway.

And... here's a reason for a GIRL.

1. My leg hair keeps growing so fast! I need to keep shaving it. I'm glad it's winter now.

That's it. Although it would be nice to have a girl since we have 2 boys and a girl, the odds are that we will be welcoming another boy. Yes, I think so.

Well, this pregnancy is somewhat different from last three. The biggest difference is that...

CHOCOLATE MAKES ME SICK!!!!!

Well, I eat them anyway, little by little. One day 5 M&M made me nauseous but not 2 so I just need to be careful with the amount, I guess. Thus, I eat them anyway, very carefully.

And also... I am so not good with physical contact. I felt aweful but needed to tell the kids "Please don't touch me!!" ummm... okay, I admit, sometimes "Don't touch me!!!"
When I wanted a hug mentally, I knew my husband's hug would make me nauseous so I just needed to wrap myself in a blanket. At church, I tried to sit away from the family because rubbing of the shoulders etc. would make me feel sick. I couldn't even hold my husband's hand for a while. This is difficult when two of my 3 kids are on the touchy side. Many times bed time singing and caressing their forehead was a torture... well, I didn't take the chance anyway.

I am glad to say that I am coming out of the phase. I feel like my clock is ticking again and I am not in hybernation anymore. It's like "Spring is here!" Well, almost.....

Going back to the subject, my husband thinks it would be a girl. Just because. Hehe
We will see what happen when we go in for ultrasound in January.

The end.

Daily Menu

Since many people ask me about what we eat as I am Japanese and my husband is American, I thought I would keep track of the menu and post it. Well, it is not quite as usual since I am expecting but you'll get a glimpse of daily menu. Come take a peek.

Sunday- Breakfast hash brown, broccoli, and oranges

Hash brown is actually quite easy to make from scratch. I found a recipe on Japanese cooking site and have been making it often. My gourmet son likes the store bought one better but other kids eat them just fine.

-lunch cereal

-dinner BBQ pork riblets, shredded cabbage, rice

Monday- Breakfast pancake with whipped topping and raspberry syrup

- lunch Mochi with soysauce and red azuki beans

- dinner Progresso Chicken noodle soup & toast

Since I was very exhausted and needed to lie down after taking the kids around
the stores, this is what I had in mind and what my husband followed. Thanks.

Tuesday-breakfast Spam musubi

Hawaiian food. Yum yum.

-lunch butter sandwich That's all I wanted and could eat.

-dinner baked potato(spam, sour cream, broccoli, egg, cheese, chives), alfredo fettucine

Actually my husband made dinner that night. I was very grateful.

Wednesday- breakfast chicken noodle soup(campbells chunky kind), toast

- lunch Sushi(cream cheese, smoke salmon, cucumber)

-dinner okonomiyaki(cabbage pancake)

This is typically more like lunch menu but since I like to have griddle on the table and cook with the family, we have it for dinner once in a while. The ingredients are shredded cabbage, flour, egg, tofu, seasoning powder, cheese and beef. Normally pork is used but I made it with beef yesterday because I had just bought a chunk. I sliced the top and fried it before pouring the dough on top.

Thursday- breakfast toast, sunny-side egg, cucumber, and strawberry

With these colors on the plate, it looked so pretty. Gotta get 30 items per day.

- lunch cream cheese pound cake.

I was craving for this and since I had enough eggs and was feeling good enough to make it, I made it in the morning. Yum.

- dinner stuffed double baked potato, left overs

Again, I was craving. The sad thing is that I couldn't add evaporated milk that the recipe called for. The one we had was bad... separated inside. My husband suggested to mix sourcream and milk in place and I did. It was better than expected but I still yearned for the certain flavor that evaporated milk gives.

Friday-breakfast my brain refuses to remember

- lunch did I have one??

-dinner Taco rice. Basically the topping for tacos.

Instead of the taco shells, we eat with rice. Yum.

Saturday- absolutely, no memory...

Yes! I am one step closer to food storage by keeping the daily menu! I think I will do the 2 weeks rotation thing my friend Crystal is doing. It seems like we ate more potatoes the week than we normally do. Well, looking at this, we eat about half Japanese and half American. I go through a cooking phase here and there so maybe next time I keep track, it could be better? Definitely more to come... Anyone is welcome to share theirs! It would be fun and inspiring. Please?

Visit with the doctor

I was excited for this day. I would finally get to see the doctor, hopefully ultrasound, and find out what the choices are for my situation. All I know is that it is better for me to have a c-section but with the due date so unsure, it will be difficult to know the timing. All my children are born on 37 weeks.


Well, after weighing and answering a few questions and getting the blood pressure taken, the assistant nurse left, telling me I needed to change into the gown with nothing underneath... Oh..... nothing. My husband asked me if I wanted him to go out even... as if! After a while, the nurse came in. Oh, she was the lady who I saw at church when I went to do some service work!!! It was so nice to see her. Anyway, she said she would look for the heartbeat and with doppler, she listened around and ...found it. There was a strong heartbeat. Tears came in my eyes. Definately, a human was growing in me. It was certainly the moment that I would never forget. I am responsible for not only my body but my little one growing in me as well. What I do, eat, listen, and so on is going to affect this baby. It is just not me anymore.


Anyway, she told me that they don't schedule the c-section until you are 39 weeks pregnant. Great. I knew I will not last that long for sure. Then she said with my case, it might be better to do the test to see the lung is fully developed as soon as I hit 37 weeks. If it is, I will have the operation on the day or the day after. Sounds good to me... although thinking about surgery makes me very nervous. They are going to open me. Scary.


Hearing me talk about my concerns, she felt my uterus and did ultrasound for me. There it was, my little one. It was only about 3.5cm (1 1/2inches). So she pushed back my due date to beginning of June and thus I am 10weeks pregnant instead of 12 now. I just hope everything goes smoothly and okay- Yes, this is a blessing.

head on the right with two hands in the middle then body and feet.

It will be a BOY;-)

Shopping for...

So, I needed to buy some new cloth etc to adjust my growing needs.
I had 30% off coupon for a good department store and the kids needed a few things so
the whole family and 11yrs. old Zenmaster's friend went together.

I needed to get new bra for my girls(check out my friend's site about her girls... quite hilarious!)
I felt a little awkward thinking my kids, especially my boys might notice this but well, I needed them anyway (and I was NOT going to take another trip just for that!!!) so while the boys were at toy section, I went and grabbed some.

Here's the reaction.

Zenmaster and his friend- saw what was sitting on the counter, turned away embarrassed, and didn't say anything.

Mr. S(needs a nickname!)- saw it and acted quite normal. I take a note for myself, "he might be my shopping buddy one day"

Miss S(needs a nickname also!) -As soon as she saw me going to the bra section, she gets very excited, takes one off the rack and put it around her stomach. Then she starts dancing and sings "♪ I look so beautiful". Embarrassed, my husband tells her to put it down (while grinning) and reluctantly she goes with him to get bath towels. She comes back again and gets excited(again). This time she didn't sing and dance but begs to stay with me. I say no because I needed to go try them on and didn't really need any of those innocent curious questions, not in the department store anyway! While I was talking with my husband, she starts to try various bra on again (of course around her stomach) and wonders why she cannot put them on yet. One more thing, she decides, that she has to wait until she becomes a mommy.

She was so funky! Shame on me for having no camera with me!! Now I just hope she would know where to put her bra on when she gets to the age... NOT!!!

1st visit!

...to the medical assistant that is.
I needed to go 15 min. earlier to do some paperworks but of course, I got lost.
After asking 2 people for direction, I finally get there 5 min. earlier. Oh well, that is just me.

Receptionist was very nice. She was from somewhere I used to live so it was fun
talking with her.

Then the nurse took me while I was still trying to complete the paper and talking with the receptionist. She said I would like the doctor because she is really nice. If the nurse has been working there for 2 months and really likes the doctor, I maybe able to trust her. Anyway.

She asked me a bunch of questions regarding my medical history and about each children. Gee, I had a hard time remembering all the details about how long the delivery was for each of my 3 kids. Well, the last one I remember really well since it was only 2hours!

Then, she told me to go get the blood drawn for lab works so I obediently went to the other room with the urine cup. I asked lab worker if they would call me if I am not pregnant. She grinned and said the doctor will. I also asked the receptionist to call me if actually nothing is happening. She said she would. Well, like my friend said, maybe I am in denial still. Some days, I just cannot wait to hold this little one but some days, I get very nervous. The other day I hysterically tried to find the baby's heartbeat with the good quality stethoscope I have, in vain.
Maybe I just want some kind of proof... or what. I am just still so confused! Then at times when I finally convince I am, I start thinking about all the "what if"s. Hmmmmmm........

According to them, I am 11 weeks pregnant and am due on May 20th. We will see about that since it sounds all suspicious... I will find out more when I actually go see the doctor next week!

More to come...

Life is what happens when...

My goodness. What is going on? I was not sure if it was really real or not.

Let me share with you what had recently happened to me.

Positive. Pregnant??? What??? The thing has expired in 2003. Well, I didn't know that it actually expires but I somehow kept it with me. The result might not be accurate if it is expired, said the instruction. Well? I went to show it to my husband who was watching TV in the living room. I had him close his eyes while I put it in front of his face. His face melted. He was happy. I kind of doubted the whole thing anyway but my tummy keeps getting big. I started to feel nauseaus a week after I found out. It has been almost 7 years since I was pregnant last! I am slowly remembering there are foods that I can eat and cannot. Today I wanted to eat curry noodle so bad that I made it knowing it might not go well. Yes I had it with rice last night and was sick a little later. Man, I was so right. Gee.... what do I do???

According to the calender, I am due in the later part of May but I don't think so. I must be in June. Well, I found out that the OB here don't take me until I am 12wks pregnant in addition to the fact that the office was closed during UEA. WHAT?????

Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying I am not happy with the baby. I am just really surprised but thrilled to imagine the baby in my arms just one more time. In fact, I don't get pregnant very easily (went for the infertility treatment with the first one) so this baby was really meant to come.

I am just confused even now, 2weeks after finding out...

"Life is what happens when you are making other plans."

So true.

Happy Birthday Little Princess

Yes, we call her princess. And she knows she is one even when her brothers tell her all the matter-of-facts kind of things to prove she is not. She believes whatever her daddy says is true -at least for now anyway.

For her birthday, we had a combined party with two of her good friends. Many of the friends we invited came and we made school kits together. Fun!

So she wanted a princess cake for her birthday. I didn't make any cake on her birthday because we went to the museum and ate out. Well, to be honest with you, I thought she would be satisfied with rootbeer float with candle and tons of people singing her Happy Birthday was enough. NOT!

She kept asking and I knew she was going to be 6 only once so I made it for her a few days later. I actually made one two years ago when she didn't even ask for princess cake. She didn't care much about princess then. I just had to make it becaue I actually had a girl after having two boys, you know.

This is before picture. Yes I just used the normal doll she had. Washed it and put foil around so it won't be too messy. She called the doll mermaid! Well, this is what happens when you use only one cake mix box and not getting the doll at party store!

Yes! Made it! This is the first time I used Mazipan for the red rose. It was so fun!

She enjoyed the cake. She actually called it a mermaid cake.

Happy Birthday My Little Princess...

We are so glad you are with us.

Buried in the book

This is my oldest son. He is 11 yrs. old now. He LOVES READING.

If I cannot find him, it is almost guaranteed that he is reading something somewhere.
When I don't see him taking a shower like he was told to, that is because he finds something to read on the way there. It could be anywhere from newspaper to just a little article about something on a piece of paper that got left on the ground.

Because he reads so many books, he is knowledgable. Well, with things he is interested in that is.

The other day, when I was chasing after a fly, I was frustrated because it seemed like the war that never ends! Then after seeing how stressed I was, he came over and said *"It's a good thing they live only for 3 days. Of course he read it in the "BOOK"

*This information might or might not be accurate.

When Mr. S asks interesting and intriguing questions, I usually ask Mr. Z to answer because he knows the answer and can give scientific explanation. So, the other day, what I had been afraid of just happened. Mr. S didn't bypass me but asked Z directly for scientific quesion he had !

When he is reading, he cannot hear anything-just like his dad- but we still love you!

I simply LOVE

Here are some of the things I LOVE doing with my family.

1. COOKING

Most of the time, I enjoy cooking. And I like it more if someone else is in the kitchen with me while I am cooking, especially if they are helping me make meals etc.

In this picture, we are all making potstickers together. Yum Yum! This time, Ms. S tried wrapping it and did really good! Even when one of us made a mistake and ripped the thin wrap, we just laughed away. Simply fun. Of course, we had a tasty dinner.

I wonder what I should make with everyone next time... maybe curry?

2.Hiking -especially the short ones!

One weekend, we went to the waterfall. We did this after we walked around the canyon so it was hard! Yes, we complained and complained, especially to my husband who said it was just 'right there' when we asked him how far the hike is. It was only about 20min. on foot but was a constant uphill. I started to feel nauseous in the end even. Good grief!

Mr. grouchy was really happy to see the waterfall! He was ready to give up many times and called his dad a 'lier' many times! He was very happy when we got there. Can you tell? lol

He loves climbing and exploring! Not a close up one but this one shows the waterfall the best.

"I can even do it just fine!" She was boasting in the beginning but had the hardest time in the end!

Oh well. I spent two days just making this post so I will finish it here for now. To be continued...

First day of Kindergarten and school in session

"You can get sick anytime." I joked in the car. The kids giggled.
The summer has officially ended in our house when the kids went back to school.
I miss waking up and seeing them all over in the living room.

I miss being silly and laughing with them. Yes, some days were hard. I remember letting Mr. S run around the house or even running with him because he was using the energy toward wrong things. Mr. Z and Miss S. fighting because they both wanted to lie on the same couch. Miss S. screaming her lungs out because Mr. S was teasing her too much. Well, now the house is quiet.

Anyway. A week after the boys started school, Miss S. started kindergarten. She was excited as can be! I insisted on taking her to school on the first day even though she wanted to ride the bus.

Here she is in line to go to the classroom.

Got on the school bus finally!

Kindergarten was SOOOO FUN!

The other night, she wanted me to put my hands in cupping shape. I wondered what her plan was. She then kissed the hands and said "This is a kissing hand. Whenever you get lonely, you can put this hand on your cheek and you will remember that I kissed you. Then you won't be lonely anymore." I almost cried to this. She told me that the teacher read her the book about racoon's kissing hand in the kindergarten. Well, the teacher read it to comfort some kids in the class so they will be okay leaving the home. My case? Hmm. Sometimes I don't know who the oldest one is in our house. lol! BTW, I did put my hand against my cheek a few times. Miss S.? NEVER has yet!

Sweet moment

I love, LOVE the moment like this. Thank you Shule for helping your little sis., Sefia.

Father's day gift

We were getting ready for Father's Day. Of course girl S was making a card without being asked. Finally we have someone who would do that on her own. Nice! Then she came to me and asked how to spell "Smith". Smith? What for? I thought. We don't have anyone in the family who has the last name Smith, wait, we actually do. But that is someone who is on the other side already or uncle who lives in another State. I wondered what her intention was but told her how to spell it anyway. She smiled very happily and left to finish her gift.

Then the day came. She had a gift that she wanted to buy with her own money. Actually I did pay half of it for her. It was a tie, the neck choking device as someone called it.

Anyway, she brought out the gift and there it was, a piece of paper with "Smith" on it, tightly stuck on the wrapping paper. Her daddy received the gift and was puzzled.




"What is this?" he asked.




"Credit card", answered the little S.




"You can use it for anything like when you want a massage, you can just show it to me and I will give you a massage."

Oh, I got it. It was the ultimate almighty card! Use it for anything!!


Now you obviously know where I shop for groceries the most. Well, all this time when I was showing my card to the casher, she must have thought "Oh, the almighty card again! With the card, I can buy anything or use it for anything!" kind of thing?? I wonder how far her imagination went...

So, when her daddy was asking big S for a massage, she quickly joined and said " I will give you a massage. Just show me the Smith card. " S massaged him very nicely. Giggles and tickles followed.

Now I wonder if my husband will let me use the card sometimes..... plot, plot, plot
And, if I have one of those card, I would use it to- hmm.
Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmm.

What would you use it for??

Sun is...

My little girl has a very artistic wordings sometimes.
I know that is what the kids do anyway. So, I decided to write it down before I forget it.

Today, we were walking home from church. The sun was high and the heat reflecting off of the concrete made it even worse. Gee, it is finally getting hot now. Regardless of the heat, she was happy because her big brothers had walked home already and she had mommy on one side and daddy on the other. She said it was getting hot and then 'Ouch, ouch, the sun is tickling my back!'

The sun actually tickle your back? I could just imagine how she was feeling just by the way she said it. Yes, the sun sometimes tickles my face and makes me smile.

Bootilicious

Bootilicious-


The lady walking in front of me had it on her bottom, yes, the bottom part
of her sweat. Yes, it was on her bootie.


Yes, bootie could be delicious I guess.

We were at a gym. She was holding a girl's hand and walking reluctantly.


I would have thought that it was a charming pants normally.
But this time, the situation was a little different.


Her pants was sliding down a little bit.
She had a kind of see- through underwear, thus,
showing her bottom a little bit.

Maybe a line.

Bootilicious.


I almost thought about going up to her to tell but since I don't know if it was her style or
what, I decided to keep my mouth shut. I usually tell when someone need to be XYZ. I
would want people to tell me if it happens to me anyway, you know. But the fad is to have low rise pants anyway so I hesitated.


Even if I go up to her, how should I approach anyway?

"Excuse me, your bottom is showing half way." or

"Your bootlicious might look very much so with the way you wear your pants"?

She would definately think I am nuts.


Bootlicious. Yum Yum.

Not really

I have not told anyone about this site yet.

Should I or shouldn't I? Would the pictures be safe or not?

If I keep it secret like this, this would be my journal in a way.

If I tell it, it would widen the friendship circle and it would be fun-maybe.

Should I stay as a quiet person and love being not known well?

Hmmm well. I will just go with the flow. My mood will decide sooner

or later anyway.

My motto today is- go with the flow. That is it.

Simple Joy

Water bottle.

She wanted one because her friends have it. I thought about it and decided that

maybe it is a good idea since she doesn't have one. Plus, she doesn't have her

OWN thing that much so I got one for her.

I just cannot forget the smile, the cute smile she had on her face. It just lit up her whole entire world. She was happy. Only a thing like water bottle can change her life.

The next day, I said to her " Yesterday, water bottle made you happy.

What made you happy today?"

She immediately wrapped her arms around my legs and said

"Just hugging you. Hugging you makes me happy."

Gee. She knows how to make ME happy even.

What changes your life that much these days?

When I feel so grateful to be a mother

I feel grateful to be a mom when...

1. My son wakes me up every weekday morning with his sweet voice saying
"Mom, it is morning." (I have his voice recorded on my cel phone)

Okay, I admit it. I don't feel the way all the time because I hate to wake up in the morning. Yes, sometimes I feel like throwing my cel to the wall but well, that's another story anyway.

2. My other son who wakes up early no matter what, wakes me up when I sleep in- which happens once in a while. Yes, I push the snooze at least 4 times everyday!

3. My boys turn around and wave at me when I see them off to the bus stop in the
morning. I will take picture of this one of these days. Put tears in my eyes often.

4. My little girl runs to give me a hug with open arms and a sweet smile.

5. The kids thank me for making good dinner. -where did they learn the trick anyway?

6. they come cuddle up and put their head on my shoulder so I can caress their forehead to sleep.

And the list goes on.