Breast Milk Ice Cream?

While I was browsing the news this evening I stumbled upon this story on NPR. In England an ice cream shop created a new flavor using breast milk from screened mothers. While my initial reaction caused me to dry heave, I realized it's not that big of a deal. Really, I drank it for 1 year with my mom and what makes cow's milk any better? Break it down unemotionally and you have yourself a simple way to get nutrients.

Plus, maybe this will promote breastfeeding. Then all the women breastfeeding will either sell some to ice cream stores or decide to give to a donation bank. If more people are doing it then chances are that more people will donate. Save a hungry baby :)

If this catches on then I really hope to see more access to donation banks. The benefits of breast milk are so great and very cheap. People donate blood and plasma all the time so why not milk? Just a thought.

Tchau,
Sara

Bigfoot

I put on my "carnival threw-up on my flip-flops" flip-flops the other day and I thought they were someone else's!! My feet grew over night! After taking this picture I realized how veiny my feet are and dilated my veins are... That is probably a result of my blood volume increasing because of Belle and how hot it is right now. All the blood is pooling in my feet. The nurse in me wants to place an IV but the girl in me says, "Gross"! Owell. Nate feet are still way more gross than mine :)

Tchau,
Sara

Ps- Nate hates these flip-flops because he says it looks like a carnival threw up on them. Hence the name. He will be so happy to know I can't wear them anymore even if it means I get to buy more shoes!!

Belle moving!

I promise that I felt her moving around this morning. I was laying in bed contemplating going to the bathroom again. Then I felt it. I think that she like to hang around the lower right side by my pelvis because she brought me to my knees once last week. It was just a little flutter but enough to wake me up fully and it happen on the lower right side. How crazy!

I know for sure that this was her because gas doesn't feel like that at all and being pregnant you become very familiar with that feeling! Nate thinks that I am turning into him while I am preggers. I have hair growing in weird places, weird skin stuff going on, I eat more and I have gas. I beg to differ :) While I do have those weird things going on, I also feel like I am glowing constantly, my boobs are huge (are yours Nate?), my hair and nails are awesome and people in the street are really nice to me! Love it!

Tchau,
Sara

17 weeks and 2 days!

Here are a few photos to show you the growing tummy! The other day someone told me I was huge which made me laugh because now I have heard everything. I have been told: I'm going to have the smallest baby, I didn't even know you were pregnant, what a cute little bump, your baby is going to be huge, and now that I am huge myself. I guess nobody cares what they say about your body once your pregnant. Really I find it all hilarious because I am loving the way I look big or small. Grow Belle grow!

Tchau,
Sara

Are we there yet?

Lately I have had very little incentive to write. I am so happy to be pregnant but now it's seems that nothing new is happening. Each day I grow a little bigger but there really isn't anything to being pregnant. I make a few modifications and go on with my day. So far, I haven't had any of the typical pregnancy problems. Which means that I really don't have to do anything.

The one thing I am focusing on still is nutrition which seems to be a constant struggle. While my appetite is back Belle seems to be hungrier than me so I constantly have to eat when I am not hungry. In other words the weight gain is still slow going. At this point I need to be gaining a pound a week which would put me in the range for 25lbs-30lbs for overall weight gain. This number is recommend all across every pregnancy book and by medical professionals. That is my goal.

Basically I am ready for Belle to be here already! I am not in the stage where I want her out but I just want her to be here! It's taking forever! Well, it's only been four months and one week but I am really ready. I guess I wouldn't be ready now at this moment but if she came in two months instead of five that would be great. I still need to get a bunch of stuff from the US and fix up her room. Ahhhh. That's a post I should do... show you what her room looks like now and what I want to do with it!

Alright. This week I will be more interesting I promise.

Tchau,
Sara

Long Weeekend

Wow. Where did the time go? The summer time here in Brazil makes weekends go by so fast. Another weekend almost identical to the last weekend. Concerts, cookouts, beach walks, and lots of friends leave little time for anything else. I am officially exhausted.

This week marks the last week that I will be participating in pilates. Fridays class started out rough and didn't improve over the hour so it's not worth it to pay for another month. She actually told me to go spit out my gum while she was eating an apple :) I didn't even have gum in my mouth so I said no I don't have any and then she pointed to the bathroom and repeated. When I showed her she kinda laughed a little but seriously?

I will be taking the high road but I don't feel bad about her losing my money. I am just going to tell her that yoga is better for my back right now which isn't a lie. Besides, I ran into my yoga teacher a week ago and she is pregnant too! I didn't think that I could go to yoga while I was pregnant but she told me that she will modify all the poses for me. Awesome. This works out great because I still get to practice my Portuguese because nobody speaks English there either. Plus, it is 1/8 the cost of pilates.

Other than that life is great! I feel great and still have no problems being pregnant. More people are starting to touch my belly or ask if they can. A brazilian friend of ours told me last night she didn't care if I didn't want her to touch my belly because she was going to anyway. That's Brazilian culture. I just started laughing and told her I really didn't care. When in Rome? Besides people started touching my belly at 6 wks so I have already had the adjustment to it being the weird new thing in my life. I honestly do love how much Brazilians love pregnant women, babies, and kids. It rubs off on you and I find myself constantly happy.

I just can't wait until lil Belle starts moving around and I can feel it. They say after 16wks but for sure after 20wks. Our next doc appointment isn't until after Carnival but I will be 20wks and then the week after I have another ultrasound and then I visit home!!

I am so excited to shop for things and start preparing for her arrival. Even though I only have about 5 months left I wish it was here sooner!

Off to pilates. T-3days until I am free. Fake smile. check. happy attitude. check. good to go.

Tchau,
Sara

Clean Pool!!

I love my new pool guy!! After four consecutive days of work we finally have a clean working pool! He not only fixed the piping but he hand scrubbed the pool when a brush wasn't good enough. He showed up each day on time with supplies ready to go. Of course this cost a pretty penny but worth it to not worry anymore. He will now be visiting our place twice a week to clean and maintain! Ahhh. To bad today is a little chilly for a swim. Tomorrow the sun should be back as usual and I will be taking full advantage!

Tchau,
Sara

Lost in Translation

Last Friday I found myself lost in a conversation with my pilates instructor. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but with her it is. She has a very thick carioca accent and speaks very fast. Despite my requests for her to slow down she continues to baffle me. Most of the time I get through class with minimal damage except for the occasional mix up of stepping back when I should have stepped forward. This happens to be a mistake I would make in English as well so I never worried about it. 

I have no problem communicating with anyone else in the studio except her. When I ask her to repeat, because I am concentrating on my workout, she gets flustered and then speaks really really fast. A few instances I have heard her comment about how difficult I am because I don't speak Portuguese. I have even heard her tell people that I don't speak any at all which is not true. These people then look at me with a confused look because we have already had a 15 min conversation in Portuguese together in the lobby. 

One time while I was working out my bill at the front desk, my instructor came up and started mixing in the conversation. We were doing great without her and then she came and confused everyone involved. Then she turned her head and said, it's so difficult to the lady sitting in the chair across the room. When she finally left the conversation the other girl and I just laughed because we both didn't have any problem communicating.

With the conversation on Friday she pulled the same crap by turning her back and telling a random person how difficult it is speaking to me. I jumped in and said I was sorry and that I really do try. Of course she just blew me off but I was pissed. I refused to speak to her the rest of the session for fear that I would blow a gasket. I then went home and cried. I understand that you might have to put in a little more work with me but I pay her really good. I am pregnant so I have to pay for private classes which means that I am her only student for one hour. So doesn't that mean she should at least be nice to me? 

Today was the first class back after Friday's incident and I no longer feel comfortable speaking with her. It almost seems that everything that she says I immediately cannot understand. Then I am so self conscious that I have trouble speaking. This has never really happened where I have been afraid to open my mouth because I can't say everything perfect. 

I am lost. I want to tell her that her behavior is unacceptable but then I cannot finesse the conversation it will be very blunt. I don't think that is the right solution. At this point it cost to much money to put up with it though. I want respect from her even if it is fake. Behind my back she can say whatever she wants. I think I might just cancel it all and not deal with it. Actually I think I will just reduce it to two days instead of three. Ugghhh! 

The sad part is, is that my Portuguese has made leaps and bounds in the past year. I told Claudia about the instance and she told me to hit her! Of course she was kidding but she even told me that my Portuguese isn't bad it's just not perfect. I love Claudia :) I want to take her with me everywhere I go in the world.

For those of you who speak Portuguese here is an example of a simple misunderstanding with my instructor:

Me: Estou com calor

Instructor: Que?

Me: Estou com calor

Instructor: Ahhh. Ta com calor. 

F-off. Because I didn't shorten the verb I got chastised? Seriously. 

I am lost still. I thought writing this out would help me solve the situation but it didn't. Maybe Friday's class will give me some insight. Maybe I will just stop being a baby and shrug it off. 

Off to cook lunch. 

Tchau,

Sara

Pot Pie

This photo is proof that my cooking skills keep increasing. Bad for you because there are less funny stories but good for our little family! Granted I have tasted this yet but individually all it tasted good. Steamed carrots, bell peppers and potatoes along with broiled chicken and homemade broth and gravy. Two hours of cooking for chicken pot pie!!

Now to eat!

Tchau,
Sara

Sunday Cookout

This weekend was another great weekend with some fun in the sun and lunch at the beach. Usually by the end of the day we are so worn out that we end up canceling our night plans for a date with the couch.  As carnival approaches the spirit of everyone seems to be at a high. People are just everywhere all the time. There are always activities at the beach including mini concerts, volleyball tournaments, and families just enjoying the sun. 

Sunday we had the pleasure of witnessing a Bloco parade for carnival. The weekend before we missed one because we were not home :) These parades start at the beginning of the beach road and go all the way to the end which is about 2 miles. There is usually a large truck that play music and everyone follows as they slowly move down the road.

To be a part of the parade you have to buy a ticket. The ticket includes: a t-shirt that must be worn so you can be identified as part of the group, water, beer, and various other drinks. Basically you pay to walk in a huge party while listening to music and have a great time with friends. 

We were not a part of the parade but we watched from our deck as we cooked out. Below are the pictures we took :)

The parade moving down the street. All the people participating are in red shirts. 

Getting closer... the music being played can be heard pretty much all over town. 

A water truck was leading the group that continuously sprayed water at the crowd and everyone dancing.

Trying to get a pick with us and the crowd in front of our house. 

The band playing music on the top of the truck. 

The beer and drink truck following behind the band. Drinks will only be given if you are in a red shirt that they provide to you.

For those not participating in the parade but just following along, have no fear. These guys with the umbrellas sell everything you could want. 

The crowd as they leave our house.

The police maintaing our blocked street. Notice how clean the streets are right after the crowed left! There were zero trash cans around but a group of people hired to clean up the mess as the parade made it's way down the street. Amazing. I wish they were here all the time because I really get annoyed with no trash cans along the street.

Well that has concluded our fun little weekend. Next weekend one of the larger Bloco parades is walking. I think the last count was around 3,000 tickets sold. A bunch of my friends are either walking in it or just hanging out at a restaurant down on the beach a little further! More pictures to come as carnival gets closer!!

Tchau,

Sara