Baby N  got his/her first care package from Grandma and Aunty Kylee yesterday!!

The greatest thing about being Australian is that the seasons are opposite to that of Japan. So my mum and my sister were able to pick up some great bargains at the end of the winter season. At the time (and still even now…) they weren’t sure of Baby N’s gender so stuck with fairly neutral colours, except for a few things that were so cheap and cute they bought them in both pink and blue, lol!

The care package contained -

2 cot quilts (a green one and a brown one with teddy bears):

3 sets of cot sheets(blue cheek, green polka dot, black polka dot):

3 baby sleeping bags (the pink one should fit the baby straight away, the green and blue one will be for when it starts to cool down again):

1 pair of pajamas (size 0000, for a newborn):

1 jacket (size 00, so when it starts to cool down again):

1 jumpsuit (size 00 again):

And a few pairs of sock and booties:

Thank you mum and Kylee!! They are gorgeous. I love them so much!!

 I forgot to mention that the care package also contained the nappy bag I ordered from Ebay. I know that a lot of people these days prefer modern or sophisticated nappy bags but I really had my heart set on the cute nappy bags that used to be sold everywhere. When I found the brand new sesame street nappy bag on Ebay I knew it was exactly what I wanted. It was also the start of Baby N’s semi ‘Sesame Street’ themed nursery!!

One of the best things about the English class I teach on Wednesdays is being told all about the local events happening!!

A few weeks ago one of the older men in my class did his short oral on the ‘Mozai Culture Exhibition’ at Hamamatsu Flower Park. I had never heard of it before and didn’t realise until he explained it to me that it was an exhibition of 2D and 3D sculptures made from plants and flowers. It sounded interesting so Naoki and I made a day trip to Hamamatsu last Sunday and checked it out.

I am so glad we did because it was amazing!! I took nearly a hundred pictures in total. Most of the exhibits were made in Japan but there were also exhibits from China, Brazil, America, Korea, Indonesia and Switzerland (plus probably a few other countries I have forgotten now!). Our favourite exhibits were definitely the 3D ones. It was just wonderful to see the creativity of some of the sculptures. I was really, really impressed and would recommend it to anybody!

It was a lovely day for an outing too – not too cold but not too hot. We looked at about half of the exhibits before settling down on the grass for our picnic lunch. We cheated and bought stuff at the supermarket before we arrived – karaage (fried chicken), melon pan (bread rolls that taste like melons) and a snickers bar that we shared for dessert. Not the most healthiest of lunches but you can’t be good all the time, can you!

Then we set off to look at the final exhibits before heading back home! Walking around for 4 hours did do me in though and not only were my legs killing me but my stomach was a little bit crampy afterwards as well… It’s very easy to forget that I’m pregnant at times but I was fine again on Monday so I am sure I did no real damage!

Going to places like this though really makes me wish my family lived closer… The Mozai Culture exhibition was something I know my mum would have loved to see. But because it is only a seasonal thing it would be nearly impossible to share it with her. Hopefully the amount of photos I took make up for her not being there to see it

For any of you who are on facebook  I plan on uploading all the photos soon so please check them out.

Another month, another pregnancy update from me!!

But first my letter to Baby N this month:

15th November, 2009
Dear Baby N, I can’t believe that I have officially reached the half way mark in my pregnancy with you. What a journey it has been! I am loving every minute of it. I am grateful for every little kick,  every movement and even the growing pains I have been experiencing on and off for the last week and bit. Listening to your heartbeat every night (I bought a doppler on Ebay  while back…) before I go to sleep is the most magical sound in the world. Some days it sounds like a herd of horses galloping over a field, other times it’s like a train rushing off to its final destination but every time I hear it I fall in love with you all over again! I am now feeling you move on a regular basis – at least once a day and your kicks always make me stop what I am doing and rest my hands on my tummy where I felt you last. They are getting stronger and have the ability to surprise me on occasion but to daddy’s dismay they are strong enough for him to feel them. He’s waiting, Baby N – anxiously!! Please let it be soon… Love always, Mummy

I had my 20 week check up on Saturday and everything is going well!! Baby N measured in at approximately 14cm from head to bum, weighing approx 200/300 grams. The doctor has also started taking measurements of the baby’s head, abdomen and legs.

The doctor asked if we wanted to find out the sex and obviously we said yes!! I had been waiting anxiously for the whole month wanting to know if Baby N was a boy like I believed or in fact a girl…

At this point in time the doctor believes Baby N is…. A GIRL!!! But… that is only because of the absence of a willy not because he could see any ‘girly’ bits. When I was originally told I was so excited. I spent the whole day dreaming of the little girl growing in my stomach. It was only after talking to Sara and Lulu on Skype that they pointed out (with examples of people I know) that being told it is a girl at this stage isn’t completely accurate. I mean I know it’s NEVER completely accurate but you know what I mean. With me wanting 4 kids I kind of assume that I will end up with at least one of each by the end of 4 pregnancies so  I didn’t have a preference either way. But if I continue to believe that Baby N is a girl but she turns out to be a boy at my next appointment I think I would be disappointed for a second – only a second but still. I don’t want that to happen so for at least the next month I am going to keep thinking that Baby N could be either a girl or a boy!!

I also spoke to the doctor about getting the seasonal flu vaccination and the swine flu vaccination and have decided to get both done at my next appointment. I know that many people have varying opinions on this but I am confident that I have made the right decision for myself and Baby N. I would never knowingly put Baby N in danger…

Somehow I managed to lose 1 kilogram this month so for the first half of my pregnancy I have only gained 1kg. Don’t worry I am not dieting or anything silly like that.  I just cut out the snacks and soft drink I was drinking and exchanged them for healthier options. No weight underlined in my boshi techou (mother/child handbook) in red this month!! I was surprised though that my stomach circumference didn’t change at all from last month to this month. My ‘bump’ definitely looks bigger to both Naoki and myself. It doesn’t disappear like it used to, lol! But after comparing my 16 week photo to my 20 week photo I have to admit my stomach really doesn’t look that much bigger at all…

Oh well, I can only assume from this point on it will get bigger and bigger and start getting in the way of things. So I guess I shouldn’t complain

Finally my ultrasound video: This week there is a lot of times on the ultrasound that even I don’t know what I am looking at. But the doctor clearing points out certain parts of the body whilst doing the scan with his pointer so make sure you look for them! There is a very good ‘toilet shot’ of Baby N that proves that there is no willy or it’s just hiding somewhere!! LOL

done

 

Last weekend Naoki and I went back to his parent’s house for the weekend. Normally Naoki’s mum infuriates me so much that I can’t enjoy myself in her company. But this weekend was a nice change from the norm and we actually spent a pleasant day at Tanuki Lake, near Mt Fuji with Tokio san (family friend). It would have to be my most favourite place in Japan – seriously.

I have been so many times it’s not funny – I bring everyone there!! Tanuki Lake, is obviously that, a lake but it is more than that. It has a wonderful walking track that goes the whole way around – you can even rent a bicycle and spend the day riding around the lake. It also sports big open spaces where you could easily play a game of some sort with the kids. We saw a few people camping there last weekend and I decided that it would be the perfect place for our next camping adventure – with Baby N in tow.

The whole purpose of this post isn’t actually about my weekend to the inlaws but more because I wanted to share my new favourite photo of Milo and I that Naoki snapped. I love it!!

And just because I can, I will share a few more with you all

I have always wanted to have my own house – I guess I can blame it on being on Aussie. I haven’t really given it much thought – until recently that is… Naoki and I haven’t even really discussed it because it just hasn’t been an option for us.

You see, Naoki and I have plans on moving back to Australia in the next 13 years or so. It was something we decided upon way back before we were married. I needed to know that the option of moving home was available to me. Because seriously, at the time there was no way I would have been able to marry Naoki without that option available to us.

I guess now with Baby N growing inside of me I have started thinking a lot about our future and wondering if what we are doing is right. To be honest I am starting to believe that our dream of moving home one day is very unrealistic. As sad as it makes me feel to say this but I just can’t imagine it happening.

Why?

Well for starters although I speak English to Naoki nearly 100% of the time his English is not improving at all. He still can’t communicate easily with others. He still makes grammatical mistakes in easy sentences. And I seriously think he just doesn’t have the motivation to improve… For us to move back to Australia Naoki’s english would have to improve immensely for him to find a decent job. I can’t imagine him being a house husband. He would go crazy. Also, he loves the job he has now and I can’t see him being happy in lower ranking job.

Although I have a degree in accounting I seriously believe that I will never get the chance to work in an Accounting firm. Accounting standards and practices change constantly and being an accountant involves continuous learning. As hard as this is to admit, I know that nobody in their right mind would hire me -by then a 36 year old, a 15 year old degree with no experience – over a graduate who is up to date with all the new standards and practices. I am kidding myself to even think I would be able to get a professional job in Australia. I left Australia when I was 19 years old and before that the only work experience I had, was cafe work. I don’t have ANY professional skills…

So even forgetting for a moment that neither of us would be able to get a well-paying job in Australia, the cost of living in Australia would ruin us. I mean, to buy a house in Australia, even a really, really old house, would set us back at least $300,000 or more. I guess if we were to move to a country town in the middle of nowhere we might be able to get one cheaper but if I am going to move back to Australia than I plan on living as close to my family as possible. Renting is another option but still it’s expensive. House rental these days in Brisbane, even in the suburbs, would set us back at least $300 or so a week. Add on top of that groceries, at least say $200 a week at least (because hopefully we will be a family of 6 by then), we would have no money at all. We would still need to be able to save money each paycheck for plane tickets because we have family here in Japan that we would be visiting once a year.

I have spoken to Naoki about this but he won’t talk to me about it. He still believes that we will be moving back to Australia so will not even think about buying a house in Japan.

I blame my confused state of mind on the pamphlet I received in the mail last weekend. It was for a second-hand house right near Naoki’s work. From what’s on the pamphlet it looks like our dream house. It is a 2 storey house, only 10 years old. Upstairs has 3 bedrooms, 2 verandas, a toilet and storage area in the roof. Downstairs is a lounge room, a dining room, the washitsu (Japanese style room) plus of course the kitchen, bathroom  and toilet. It also has a small balcony off the lounge room. All of that for only $180,000. The loan repayments every month are only about $500. It is cheap enough that even if I never find another job we would be able to afford living there and fly home (with all 4 kids) once a year, as long as Naoki continued to get his bonuses. You would never find a house that cheap in Australia… To be honest, this house might not be our dream house – we wouldn’t know until we went and saw it. I have no idea how big the land is, if there is any carports or anything like that. But I just can’t get the stupid house out of my head.

I would love my children to grow up in a house not an apartment. I would love having a yard that Milo (and the kids of course) could run around in. I would love to have enough room for guests. I would love to have space for all the crap that we have accumulated but can’t throw out. I could go on and on about the positives about buying a house now. But the most important is that we can afford to buy a house now - we have enough already saved for a deposit (and would still have savings left over) and because of the way the economy is at the moment, Naoki is not working a lot of overtime but we can still afford the repayments.

If we bought a house now, we have a good 10 years or so before we even plan on moving back to Australia. We could get a lot of loan paid off in that time, especially if we put more than that was required every month into the loan. Maybe if we did move back to Australia, we could rent the house out? Or sell it? I don’t know…

It’s never going to happen though – as I said, Naoki won’t even think about it. But it was nice to put all my thoughts down on paper per se.

*Disclaimer to my family reading this*
THIS DOES NOT MEAN IN ANY WAY THAT I DON’T WANT TO MOVE BACK TO AUSTRALIA. IF IT WAS POSSIBLE, I WOULD MOVE BACK TOMORROW… But with Baby N on the way I really have to stop being selfish and start putting our own little family first – and at the moment I am just confused to which path we should follow…

This week I tried out 3 new recipes but unfortunately only two of them were successful.

The first is ‘Spicy Vegetable Parcels’ which I made for lunch on Sunday. With the weather cooling down over here the parcels really hit the spot!!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or cheat like I always do and use the already crushed garlic)
1 tablespoon curry powder
400g potatoes
1 1/3 cups prepared vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
3 sheets of puff pastry

Method:
1) Heat oil in frying pan and cook the onion and garlic until tender. Add the curry powder and cook for 2 minutes.
2) Add the potato and season well with salt and pepper
3) Stir until well coated in spices
4) Add vegetable stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until potato is tender
5) Add frozen vegetables and heat through for 5 minutes. Allow to cool
6) Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
7) Cut each pastry sheet into 4 equal squares and place 1/3 cup potato mic into centre of each piece. Fold in half to form a triangle and seal edges with fingers.
Place on baking tray. Brush with lightly beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

My thoughts:
I halved the recipe and used the pie sheets you can buy here in Japan. Doing this worked out really well – I had no leftovers at all. It ended up making 6 parcels altogether. The only thing I found was the liquid wasn’t enough to boil the potatoes until they were tender. I needed to keep adding a little bit of water until they were done.

 I thought this recipe was great for lunch – not too filling but more interesting then a sandwich!!

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The next recipe I found in my recipe book – it is one of the original recipes I brought back with me from Australia more than a year ago now. It is a recipe for ‘Tuscan Pesto Chicken’.

Ingredients:
75 grams pesto
4 x 140g skinless chicken breasts
3 tomatoes
55g cheese
sprigs of fresh basil, to garnish

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper.
2) Put the pesto and chicken breasts in a bowl and toss them until well coated. Arrange the chicken breasts a few centimetres apart, so they don’t touch each other, on the prepared baking tray.
3) Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.
4) Slice tomatoes. Top each chicken breast with the tomato slices and sprinkle over with cheese. Return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

My thoughts:
This recipe was super doper easy to make. In fact I really didn’t follow the recipe at all. I had a little bit of pesto frozen in the freezer that I used – I didn’t even bother to weigh it. I coated the chicken pieces on a cutting board with my fingers, lol! Also I only used one chicken breast that I cut into half instead of one whole chicken breast each. With the side of salad and roast potatoes I served with it, it was definitely enough to fill our hungry bellies. It has definitely become a favourite in our house though – Naoki absolutely loved it!!

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The other recipe I tried was for ‘Apple and Cinnamon Muffins’ that I found on www.taste.com.au. We had guests coming over for lunch on Saturday so I wanted to make something yummy for dessert to go with the pizza we had prepared.  The muffins were a disaster though. They didn’t rise at all and were all wet and gooey inside. I followed the recipe so I don’t know what I did wrong but I have already deleted the link to the recipe and won’t be trying it again!!

I came home yesterday after visiting A-chan with a bunch of new recipes to try!! All of them have been tried and tested so I am confident I will have more ‘Two Recipes for Tuesdays’ to post in the next coming weeks!!

On Saturday Naoki and I noticed that every time Milo was scratching her ear she was yelping out in pain. We tried having a look but she wouldn’t let us close enough. She seemed to be in a lot of pain but we couldn’t work out what was wrong with her. Her ear was definitely itchy and she was continually trying to scratch it even though it hurt her so much. It brought tears to my eyes to see her in pain like that.

The veterinary clinic down the road is shut Saturday afternoons and Sundays so I took her to the Vet first thing this morning. Poor Milo completely freaked out and peed all over the weighing table. She was howling and scared stiff. Once again my eyes filled with tears (stupid pregnancy hormones!!). I couldn’t hold her tight enough though. She kept squirming out of my clutches and eventually the other Vet needed to come in and help.

The Vet examined her and was soon able to tell me what was causing the pain. Milo has an ear infection. What caused it? Me not cleaning her ears… I didn’t even know you had to clean a dog’s ear!! How stupid am I… 

The Vet did say that it wasn’t that bad and put some medicine in her ear and told me to come back in a week so they can have another look. She wants to clean down deeper in Milo’s ear but because it hurts her so much at the moment she said she will wait till next week. Until then I have to wipe the insides of her ears 3 times a day to get all the gunk out.

I feel absolutely horrible. Milo is in pain and it’s all my fault. I just can’t stop thinking about what an awful mother I am going to become. I mean, geez, I can’t even look after my own dog

To end on a happy note, I really like the veterinary clinic we take Milo to. They are friendly and don’t mind at all that I am a foreigner. Today we were chatting and the wife mentioned that they have a Sheltie as well and asked do I think Milo would enjoy having a play with their dog, Lassie? It was raining outside so instead of letting them play in the dog park outside the Vet brought Lassie into the examining room and the two dogs got to know one another.  This was the first time Milo had been around another dog so I was a little bit apprehensive but I shouldn’t have worried. She was a little scared at first but you could tell that she was interested in Lassie and wanted to play. After about 5 minutes or so she was fine and they were chasing each other around. It was sooo cute to watch!! It made me laugh to watch them play because their playful antics were exactly the same!! The Vet said we can bring Milo around anytime we want and play with Lassie if she is outside in the dog run. I think I am just going to have to take her up on that offer

Last but not least my favourite picture of Naoki and Milo:

Looking out the window – watching the world go by. Milo’s favourite pastime.

I have something weighing heavily on my mind at the moment. It doesn’t seem to matter how much time I put into thinking about it I can never decide what I am meant to do.  I know that whatever decision I make there will be people who criticise my decision and that’s what makes it even harder to choose. I don’t want to have to make this decision at all but Naoki is putting pressure on me now that it is cooling down.

The swine flu vaccination is being released here soon and Naoki is dead set on me getting it. He believes that everyone is going to end up getting swine flu this year. I really believe he is blowing it out of proportion but there have been people at his work with it so we aren’t completely safe.

 I’m pretty sure pregnant woman are one of the first people the vaccination is being offered to. Knowing how low my immune system is usually and now being pregnant as well, Naoki believes that if I get swine flu I could end up getting very, very sick. I can understand his reasoning – I think last year I was sick with a cold the whole winter and remember, I nearly ended up with pneumonia. If I wasn’t pregnant and was able to get the vaccination I would. I would be the first person lining up for it.

But what bothers me is there is no evidence (or none that I have come across in my readings) that the vaccination is safe for my unborn baby. I don’t know what it will cause now or in the long term for Baby N. How can I agree to this vaccination not knowing that??

From what I have read though there seems to be 2 different types of vaccines – one of them is adjuvant free which is supposedly safer for pregnant women to get. Naoki hasn’t really done any of his own research into the swine flu vaccination and there is no way my Japanese skills are good enough to find out if the adjuvant free vaccination is even being offered in Japan.

My thoughts so far are that I would consider getting the adjuvant free vaccination but I am not too keen on the other type. I don’t even really understand half the stuff I read online though. I am not a doctor nor do I have any medical experience. Why is this my decision to make?!?!

Any thoughts?

＊UPDATED＊

I have added a poll on the right hand side of my blog for all of you to guess Baby N’s sex if you want to!! I have already voted for a boy – I have thought it is a boy since I found out I was pregnant. Naoki is dead set certain it is a girl though… Can’t wait to find out!!

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(17th October, 2009)
Dear Baby N,
I naively believed that once I hit the magical 2nd trimester I wouldn’t worry so much about you. I was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong. To be honest I found the last 4 weeks to be the hardest so far. There were days that I really thought I had lost you and would crawl up in bed and cry for hours. It was irrational to say the least. So far, my pregnancy with you has been pretty close to perfect. I have had no bleeding, no cramping, nothing. But still, I couldn’t help but worry that something had gone wrong.

So as you could imagine I was pretty much a wreck by the time by 16 week appointment came. I shouldn’t have worried though because you were healthy and growing appropriately!! You are now measuring in at 9.1cm from head to rump. I thought that you were a little undersized but apparently by Japanese standards I have nothing to worry about!! I still haven’t seen you wave at me – actually besides from one little hiccup (which I thought was the cutest thing in the world) I haven’t actually seen you move. You have been asleep at every appointment so far!! You really must love your sleep, just like mummy!!

The doctor told me that if we are lucky she might be able to tell us if you are a baby girl or boy at our next appointment. I have been dying to know since I found out I was pregnant with you.  Daddy and I already have you name picked out. We chose both the girl’s name and the boy’s name before we were even married. I know that it takes some people a long time to choose  a name. Some people don’t even chose a name until they have given birth. But we know the name we have chosen for you is perfect – it suits you already!! I want to tell you a little story about when your cousin was born 9 years ago. Aunty Kylee didn’t name your cousin Lachlan until after he was born and it took ages for any of us to really feel comfortable calling this tiny little baby by his name. It definitely suits him now and I can’t imagine him with any other name. Now, let me tell you about Sara and her baby girl, Sakura. Like mummy and daddy, Sara & Ryohei had chosen a name for their baby before they knew the sex and from the moment they knew she was a girl, she became Sakura. The weekend I went up to visit after Sara had given birth, Sakura was just that – Sakura. The name already suited her. I know that is going to be the case with you Baby N - We can’t wait to call you by your name!! (although it has to be a secret on my blog, ok? Shhh… don’t tell anybody!!)

Apparently I have gained 2.5kgs in the last month. I was as surprised as the doctor was. The doctor basically told me though that I was gaining too much too quickly and really needed to watch what I ate. She expects me to gain no more that 8kgs in my whole pregnancy with you. I was really depressed when I came home from the hospital because of my weight gain. She even underlined my new weight in red – just like I was some naughty schoolgirl who did badly on a test. I don’t understand how two countries can have such a different outlook on weight gain in pregnancy. According to Baby Centre Australia, by 16 weeks I should have gained at least 2.2kgs, maybe as much as 4.5kgs. So realistically, my weight gain shouldn’t be a problem. I have to tell you Baby N, that I am not afraid of gaining weight while pregnant with you. If that is what my body needs to protect and bake you for the next 6 months than I don’t care how big I get – that’s the truth. But in saying that, I don’t want to get fat for no other reasons besides the fact I am eating unhealthily. So from today I am going to be watching what I eat and trying to avoid certain foods. One of my challenges on my 101 things in 1001 days was to give up coke for a month so I have decided that this month is the perfect month to do it- don’t get me wrong, I really don’t drink much soft drink at all. But when I do, it needs to be coke. We usually buy one 1.5 litre bottle a week and drink that between the both of us. I am also trying to increase the amount of water I drink. Now that it is starting to cool down the amount of water I have been drinking has decreased a lot. Don’t worry, I have no plans on starving myself or doing any silly type of diet. But I am going to be more careful with what I eat…

Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you the most exciting news of all – I have been feeling you move around in my tummy for the last week or so. Your movements are still very random and sporadic but I swear I have felt them!! Sometimes it feels like you are trying to tickle my insides, other times it feels like I am on a rollercoaster and just lost my stomach, other times my stomach just feels ‘weird’. I can’t even say that I feel you once a day because I don’t. Your movement only ever lasts a few seconds and if I wasn’t concentrating I wouldn’t even have noticed. I can’t wait for your kicks to become stronger so that I know without a doubt it really is you I am feeling. Hurry up and get stronger Baby N, because daddy really wants to feel your kicks too. I think he is slightly put out that he has to wait when I don’t!!

The clinic we are going to is really behind the times in regards to technology. We are able to get a copy of each ultrasound if we want one but it recorded onto a video, not a DVD. Lulu had a great idea when she came to visit that I could watch the video on my TV and then record it with the camcorder. Surprisingly enough, it actually worked out quite well and I am going to put your video up for everyone to look at. I find that the video is a lot clearer than the print outs I get – if everyone looks close enough they will be able to see where your eyes, nose, mouth and ears are. In some shots they will even be able to see the rubbery cartilage that will become your backbone!! Oh, and the scene where you hiccup is too cute for words that I just have to make sure everyone is on special look out for it!!

done

(The quality isn’t that great but if you make it bigger, than you can see the different things I was talking about easier)

I don’t have a bump as such but my stomach shape is definitely changing. If you didn’t know I was pregnant, you wouldn’t be able to tell but the permanent bloat I have is something I have never had before!! The photo I am going to upload is especially for my sister who told me she didn’t want to miss out on watching my bump grow…

Keep growing up nice and strong, Baby N. Only 1 month till I can see you again!! 
Love always, Mummy

PS – Baby N, I love you lots and lots and lots, but please?!?! All that hair on my belly is not nice…

Any of you who read Lulu’s blog will know that she came down to Shizuoka to visit us for a few days. As I write this she is on her way back to Tokyo, stuck in traffic due to the annual road works done on the Tomei highway.

I was worried about the traffic before she bought her tickets and actually suggested putting her trip off till another weekend but I am really glad that she did come down. I had a wonderful time with her. I am so glad that our friendship is able to continue to grow although we can’t visit each other often.

Monday afternoon/night was spent mostly chatting but we also squeezed in a walk with Milo and finally  we sat down to watch ‘Miss Congeniality’ with some cheese and crackers to munch on. It’s funny because before I fell pregnant I hated all types of cheese unless it was completely melted and then only a little. But now I have found myself CHOOSING to eat cheese – smoked cheese with pepper to be exact. It is delicious!! Lulu was also kind enough to set me up my computer so I can download and watch TV from my computer. Unfortunately I am still not able to get any of the Aussie dramas I like but there are a few American dramas that I know and watch which I will start downloading for myself. I have a feeling that I will be spending a lot more time in front of the computer now!!

Tuesday we headed down to Lala Port in Iwata to watch ‘My sister’s keeper’ at the cinema. The movie is based on the book written by Jodi Picoult that both Lulu and I have read and enjoyed so it was a perfect choice for us. I have to admit I didn’t cry as much as I thought I was going to but Lulu did need to hand me a tissue (or two) throughout the movie!!

There are some parts of Saturday that I am sure Lulu won’t be forgetting for a while – i.e a scenic tour up and down a mountain because I couldn’t find the entry to Route 1… Or the conversation we were having with Naoki on Saturday night that ended up with me bawling my eyes out (stupid pregnancy hormones…) but what can I say? I take after my mum in regards to getting lost easily and Naoki and I are infamous for fighting in public

Today we took Milo to the beach which was nice. She seemed to enjoy it a lot more than the first time we took her. Now that summer is completely over, I plan on taking her back a lot more often. Then we sat down and watched ‘Miss Congeniality 2′ before I drove Lulu to the bus stop where we played Sudoku for an hour waiting for her bus to arrive.

I am really grateful that Lulu came down to visit us. I loved having her here and thought the few days flew by way too quickly.

It’s funny to think the next time we see each other will be exactly on her due date (unless goma chan arrives exactly on his due date!) as we plan on stopping in to visit before we pick my mum up from the airport.